In the wake of this week’s historic election somebody is trying to save their own political career — is it just me, or does formerly Democratic and now “independent” Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman comes off like a fair-weather weasel while giving this press release concerning his political future?

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After establishing a June verdict of approving gay marriage this year, during the 2008 general elections this past Tuesday, 52% of Californians voted “Yes” on Proposition 8 that aims to revoke marriages between gay couples via an amendment to the state’s constitution. Apparently, the Church of Later Day Saints lobbied hard for this result and people are filling complaints across the state to repeal the decision.

My friend Bill Rude has made a great video (see above) currently being featured on CNN documenting some of the protesting that took place in Los Angeles once the news hit the street.

I can’t believe my former beloved home state of California, one of the most progressive states in the union (if not THE most) would allow this to happen!? Grown up already people, gay marriage IS NOT a threat to any straight marriage. Instead of being jealous or bigoted about the issue why don’t you just focus on making YOUR relationship and/or marriage work well instead of trying to taking that right away from anyone else.

If one of us isn’t free to be able to openly give our heart & lifelong commitment to our chosen spouse/partner, then none of us are. Not allowing gays to get married is no different than the discrimination that was once dominated and perpetuated by Jim Crow laws, and it is equally just as absurd.

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This is an open letter to Mr. Ralph Nader:

I’m completely shocked and disappointed in you, a person who I regard as one of the best of us outside of the mainstream in U.S. affairs. Your inspiring work fighting for consumer rights & safety, a fair living wage, exposing government corruption, and supporting environmental causes is something that every American should not only be made more aware of, but should praise you for your tireless efforts on behalf of your fellow compatriots. I certainly do.

But the other night, during a radio interview in Houston, you made a comment regarding Barack Obama winning the general election that I find very hard to digest:

“To put it very simply, he is our first African American president; or he will be. And we wish him well. But his choice, basically, is whether he’s going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations”

Now, although provocative, I know the general point of what you said has merit and essentially you were really asking:

“Will President elect Obama live up to his campaign promises or will he sellout to special interest groups?”

I think that in itself is a very reasonable & fair question to ask. But did you really have to use the phrase “Uncle Tom” to make your point?! Why was that necessary? And what good do you really think it does towards helping people understand the principal point of your statement?

Although I’m confident that in your heart of hearts you’re really not a racist, I just hope you understand that this idiotic statement is not only unappreciated but only serves in making you come off like a bigot. And the fact that you choose to say such a thing on the eve of a tremendously historic occasion in our nation’s history, in electing it’s first black president, is careless and disgusting. Even if only for the symbol of hope & reconcilation this election result brings to tens of millions of Americans (and the rest of the world) why would you try to tarnish that in any way? How could you?! AND WHY WOULD YOU???

My heart ached when you said it the first time, but it really sank after Shepard Smith, an anchor of Fox News of all places, asked if you would consider rephrasing that comment and your response was “not at all”.

I just can’t believe you would say something like that, let alone stand by it.

I voted for you and Matt Gonzalez in this year’s election, not because he’s a Mexican-American and you’re an Arabic & English speaking Lebanese-American, but because as I said all along (despite the protests of my family & friends) that I was very weary of the establishment this time around. For the first time in 4 presidential elections I choose to vote for a non-Democratic Party ticket, and after some heavy thinking picked your ticket. I knew statistically you & Mr. Gonzalez had little chance of winning the general election, or even my home state of New York, but I didn’t feel that my vote for your candidacy was any less worthwhile or noble. In theory, had you won the presidency it would have been a noteworthy & historical event in it’s own right. But more importantly your campaign spoke to my own personal conviction that we need to make more assertive & substantial efforts to reshape this country for the better, and I felt your campaign did present a worthwhile mandate that I could support, even if it was only a long shot.

But now in light of all this, I’m really saddened & appalled by your recent statements. And I’m certain that I’m not the only one that feels this way. You have truly left me speechless.

At best you took your commentary too far. At worst, you’re no longer worthy of our respect or future consideration. But, I’m hopeful that at some point in the near future you’ll find a way to redeem yourself for offering such a thoughtless comment. I care very much about our country as much as you do, and often I’m as passionate in my rhetoric as you are with yours. But I don’t ever feel the need whatsoever to throw around such racially charged & political provocative statements just to make my differing points of views known, no matter how righteous it may be or feel. You’re a better man than this, or at least I thought you were.

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Despite being several thousand miles away from home, holed up in my freezing east London flat, checking every hour or so via the internet, I still had the privilege to bear witness to the very fabric of history itself unfolding right in front of my eyes. Something so remarkable, so unprecedented, so epic in it’s scope that, quite honestly, I never thought I’d actually see it happen in my lifetime. The fact that someone named Barack Hussein Obama, an American of humble, culturally diverse and mixed race origins, would be elected President of the United States (and in a convincing manner) is a watershed moment unlike any other in U.S. history.

“To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too.”

This was probably the single, most memorable quote for me as I watched Mr. Obama give his victory speech (streaming live online) because within itself it encapsulated not only the potential of his transformational presidency but also spoke earnestly about his eagerness to reach out to those of us who are still skeptical of the substantive change he’s promising to rebuild this country with. Change that is badly and urgently needed. Change that I do hope he can help usher in, and change that we all need to help hold him to delivering on.

I was also very impressed by John McCain’s concession speech because it was truly sincere and magnanimous, and by far his finest moment in this election process.

“That is the true genius of America — that America can change.”

The appointment of Mr. Obama to the highest office in the land won’t by itself fix our current problems as we try to navigate through a severely collapsing economy, reign in corporate greed & excesses, end two disastrous wars, while also finally turning the page on one of the more shameful parts of our history as a nation. But there’s no doubt in my mind that this is a step in the right direction. Not just for restoring faith in ourselves as a country and for all the tremendous promise and good that we’re actually capable of, but also for the rest of the world to believe in us once again too. Belief in the promise that another world is possible. A world where we can all be free, live in peace and live as one — that it is not only imaginable, but well within our reach to achieve.

And it is in that spirit of hope that I leave you all with this song I’ve been playing non-stop over and over and over again for the last hour, and I’ll probably play it some more over the next couple of days or so:

click to play NINA SIMONE:

(And yes, it really does feel good.)

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Today is election day in the United States as voters brace themselves for a sneak peak into the future of the country after the sorry years of havok and fraud the Bush II administration has brought upon us all these past 8 years. I hope everyone goes out and votes today, picking the Presidential candidate they wholeheartedly believe will be best at cleaning up the current mess we’re in, as well as laying down the foundation to put us on a better path of governance, social justice, corporate oversight, and a more humanistic & realistic sustainable future.

I’ll be keeping tabs on the news all day but being 5 hours ahead of EST means I probably won’t really know who won the election until tomorrow morning. In the meantime I’m keeping my fingers crossed that John McCain isn’t the pick over Barack Obama… I shutter at the thought!

Also, the above video is a prank call made to Sarah Palin recently, having her believe she’s talking to the president of France Nicolas Sarkozy, it’s worth a chucle or two, especially since it’s completely unscripted on the Alaskan Governor’s part.

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Only two games into the NBA season and the Denver Nuggets shake up their team by trading Allen Iverson back to the Eastern Conference to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncy Billups & Antonio McDyess. I’m not sure if this actually helps Denver much, but it’ll be interesting to watch Chauncy back with his former club while also seeing how hungry Detroit will be now for a championship with A.I. on their roster. Either way of it, both teams won’t win the championship this year, and the Nuggets will be lucky if they make it to the playoffs, let alone get out of the first round.

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If there is anything I like more than watching my home sports teams winning in general, is watching the Dallas Cowboys get their asses kicked by the New York Giants as they did earlier today. They whooped them nice too, dropping 3 TD’s in the first half, before ending the beat-down at 35-14. Although I didn’t actually watch the game itself, it was very warm to read the good news. Not only are the Giants at 7-1, and are at least two games up in the divison, but we also dropped “the ‘Boys” to last place in the NFC east. Sweet.

Now I’ll be cheering for Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football to beat up on the Washington Redskins, ohh yeahh!!!!

BTW, what’s up with the Tennessee Titans, they’re still perfect!? WOW, that is an interesting story there.

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This Chicagoan was a notable member of those in the media who really knew how to speak truth to power, and Louis “Studs” Terkel did so for over 40+ years as a pioneering radio personality.

Among other things he was a battler against McCarthyism, and knew a thing or two about the perils of unrestrained wiretapping by the U.S. government. He was also an oral historian, believer in the common good of people and the steadfast importance of an truly unbiased media doing it’s watchdog job disseminating government policies in earnest. Studs also possesed a great point of view regarding political “moderation”. He was a light in the media like no other.

Respect.

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Happy Halloween everyone!

For those of you interested in keeping pace with the creepy U.S. Presidential election checkout this electorial map that is regularly updated with the latest bone-chilling poll trends around the country; and it’s present indications across the board is very frightful news for the GOP, yet bodes ghoulishly well for the DNC. Meanwhile, the rest of the world shivers in anticipation at the final results hoping for an end to the nightmarish U.S. policies of these past 8 years.

(sorry, I couldn’t help all the spooky references… it is Halloween after all!)

Also, please remember to vote on Tuesday, I already did!

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Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies on beating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 5 games to win the World Series. Even I didn’t think they would do it, but alas they proved all of us nay-sayers wrong. The Rays just didn’t seem to play well at all once they got to the big dance, and I’m sure the game 5 delay in the 6th inning forced by heavy rain didn’t help matters much for Tampa Bay, as the Phillies closed them out in the resumption of the last 3 innings a couple of nights later. But the Devil Rays got a really solid core of players and they’ll be back, I’m sure of it.

Meanwhile, Mike Schmidt and the rest of the Philly faithful are proud I bet, but now I wonder now if those famous cheesesteaks taste any better after winning their first major pro-sports title since 1983?

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Great spin on those classic Budweiser commercials.

And if you have a moment to spare read this article as it speaks rightly to the urgency & implications of what next week’s election entails exactly.

True.

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In honor of the 2008-09 NBA basketball season kicking off tomorrow I’m sharing this clip of classic Ali G. rips on various basketball superstars. The look on Kobe Bryant’s face is priceless, but below are some of my other favorite comments throughout the video clip:

“Is it well annoying being very famous and having all of these hangers on?”
- to Shaquille O’Neal regarding Dwayne Wade sitting right next to him.

“I can’t understand what you’re saying, you’re speaking in Canada.”
- to Steve Nash regarding his MVP season.

“Well, there’s air in this room how come this room isn’t bouncing?!”
- to Kobe Bryantafter he tells him that a basketball has air inside of itself and not springs.

“40 games in 40 nights? That’s like that bible story, innit?!”
- to Steve Kerr asking about TNT’s playoff broadcast schedule.

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Nice to see the New York Giants pull out a victory at the Pittsburgh Steelers Heinz Stadium tonight when both teams offenses played like crap. The Giants “D” was better and ultimately that’s what kept them in the game. Some drama with N.Y. WR Plaxico Burress before his first game against his former team kept him benched for the 1st quater; this seems to be in a series of recent bad behavior from him and it’s starting to look like he may not return to the Giants next season if he keeps it up.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Rothenberger got manhandled all night. Sorry Dave, you know I have nothing against the Steelers personally, but we needed the “W” more than you guys so we can have some extra cushion in the ultra competitive NFC East; next week we play Dallas so we’ll be on common ground again cheering against the Cowboys.

And least I forget, what’s the deal with this year’s World Series?!

Fans and sports writers alike outside of Pennsylvania have all been too busy jumping on the Devil Rays’ band wagon (myself included) that everyone forgot about the Philadelphia Phillies being viable contenders as well. And the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are folding like paper fans to boot, they lost tonight 10-2, and are down in the series 3-1. Holy smoke, Philly fans are going nuts, and you know what?! GOOD FOR THEM! In fact, I hope they finish off Tampa Bay tomorrow night because it’s been like, what, 25+ years or something since that town won it’s last pro-sports title*. Besides that, the series has been BOOOORING so far, so please just end it already.

*1980 was the last pro-sports title Philadelphia won, and you guessed it… by the Philadelphia Phillies. Actually it was 1983, Julius Erving’s 76ers…. thanks to Chad for that Nazi fact checking

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The moment of truth for this year’s U.S. Presidential election arrived at my door earlier last week by way of an absentee voting ballot. Yet I must admit even right now I’m still undecided. But rest assured the indecision has nothing to do with John McCain or Sarah Palin as I wouldn’t vote for them even if I was in their same tax bracket!

No, the dilemma for me is either casting a vote for the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden or a 3rd party candidate. As much as I do find Senator Obama charismatic and full of good intentions, I’m very weary of our current two-party system and I feel a major shakeup is badly needed to fix it, else it’s just going to be business as usual. However this election cycle’s crop of independent candidates are not impressing me too much either so I’m still thinking about whom I should vote for.

Either way of it, I will make decision by this Wednesday for sure and then go drop off my ballot at the U.S. embassy here in London. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions, thoughts or opinions on the matter, now is the time to share them before I ink up the ballot and mail it out.

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By the way, the absentee ballot I got is from New York and for some strange reason Obama-Biden is listed twice while McCain-Palin is listed three times. THREE TIMES!!! How are they listed multiple times on the same ballot??? What is going on here!?

Lastly, as a side note: the rest of the world, especially here in Europe, thinks Sarah Palin is a big fat joke and certainly they don’t think too highly of someone who’s touting that they have some respectable foreign policy experience while only in 2006 did she apply for her very first passport. Aww shucks, I guess that is what being a “maverick” is all about in when you’re the “Thrilla from Wasilla”.

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His profane style of comedy is legendary and paved the way for the likes of Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor. Often overlooked and uncredited Rudy Ray Moore is actually the most sampled comedian of all time, and his influence on comedy and rap is undeniable.

He passed away earlier today due to complications from diabetes. In his memory I leave you with some of my favorite quotes from this legendary pioneer:

“I want him out of here in 24 hours. And 23 of them are already gone.”

“Dolemite is my name. And rapping and tappin’ is my game.”

“I’m not here to brag, not here to boast. I can sit on a tombstone and produce a baby ghost.”

Also, check out this video retrospective next chance you get. And lastly, Dolemite has to be one of the most classic Blaxploitation films ever made! Respect.

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The people behind this poster are freaking geniuses! A frightening prospect indeed, and if Sarah Palin thinks she’s changed people’s mind about her unfitness to be Vice President just because she guest-appeared on SNL and “took it on the chin” as they still mocked her she’s sadly mistaken. Lord have mercy, Tina Fey impersonates her way too good!

See any speech similarities with the video below? You decide:

(if you liked that, then check out this actual video mash-up of Palin & Miss Teen USA… brilliant! Thanks to MC for that one.)

Bonus video: apparently some people are up in arms over this other spoof video of Katie Couric’s interview of Sarah Palin, but I say tough titty!

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