Tons of Guns

"I got mines I hope you [got yourself a gun]" Nas - "Got yourself a Gun"

I'll be honest I don't listen to or really read the news. The reason being is because it's usually all bad news. So I can appreciate when ClnMike does his Good News Tuesdays. But last week I came across an article about a young 11 year old boy that killed his pregnant step mother with a gun. Well the twisted part is that apparently the gun used to kill the 8 month pregnant step mother was a youth 20-gauge shot gun that was given to the child. Just 2 weeks prior to this tragic event the boy won a turkey in a shooting competition. I just don't understand what some parents are thinking these days. This tragedy could have been prevented so easily. But now a woman and her unborn baby are dead, a young boy is facing life in prison for double homicide and a family is torn apart.

Now I know I started off with something a little depressing, but that story made me think about me and guns when I was a young boy. So on a lighter note I have a little confession. When I was younger like most young boys I had a fascination with guns. Upon saying that some may assume that I had plenty of toy guns to play with. Well actually it was the total opposite. My parents absolutely refused to buy or allow me to play with toy guns. Yep they were all off limits. Water pistol? Nope! Cap gun? Nope! Suction gun? Nope! Trust mom and dad vetoed them all.

So, as a young boy I was stuck at a crossroad. I mean how am I to play cops and robbers with no gun? What kind of cop or robber has no gun? So what was I to do? Well being the innovative young boy that I was (and still am) I didn't need an actual gun. Yes ladies and gentlemen I turned any and everything into a gun. I made guns out of legos, Lincoln Logs (that's old school for the younger readers out there. Lol), sticks, and of course my finger. Pow! Now as much as my parents tried to stop this behavior they just couldn't keep me from making more guns. As soon as they took one of my make shift guns away I would immediately grab something else, aim it at someone, and say POW! I think its just one of those things about little boys. Its somehow in their nature. Although I will admit I was an extreme case.

Likewise, my son's mother and I adopted the same philosophy to keep our son away from guns. But of course it doesn't stop him from running up on me with his finger or some other object and unloading on me. POW! Lol. Luckily for me his fascination is with cars and rarely thinks about guns or violent toys. As for me I eventually turned to sports cards and video games and my gun fascination died down some. However, when the super soaker was out I had to have one.
Again, the key word is it died down "some." I can recall at about age 12 a friend of mines and I bought these 2 toy guns. They resembled 9 millimeters. But what kept them from looking real was the fact they were painted in camouflage fatigue colors. Well in an effort to make them look realer we came up with the bright idea to spray paint the guns black. So, after spray painting the guns to the average untrained eye the gun really did look like a real 9 millimeter (similar to the toy gun to the left). Bright idea #2 came when we decided to actually carry these guns around. Yep just like they do in the movies in the waist band. Now we didn't do anything devious with these guns but we just carried them around to make us look or feel cool.

Fortunately, no one ever mistook the guns for real guns. However, there was one particular incident that I recall so vividly. Now let me first paint the picture. The year was around 1992 or 1993, the place Los Angeles, California (Technically the San Fernando Valley). So this was after the Rodney King verdict and L.A. riots. So tension between blacks and police were at an all time high. A 12 year old young black male walks out of a local mall. He has a toy gun spray painted to look realistic. A police squad car with 2 white officers in it passes by and they notice him reaching for what looks to be a gun. They immediately stop! They tell him to stop and one of the officers walks up to him and asks what he has tucked in his jeans. He pulls out a toy gun and immediately states "it's just a toy." Officer #1 replies "this thing looks real why are you carrying it?" The boy replies "for no reason its just a toy." Officer #2 states "don't you know we could have shot you thinking this gun was real?" The boy keeps quiet. Officer #1 says "we're going to give you a bag to carry this thing in."

Next, Officer #2 interjects and says "no better yet we're going to just drop you off at home. What's your name and where do you live?" The boy panics and tries to think fast. He gives his first name. They then ask him his last name. He attempts to think even faster. Well he didn't want to give his real last name, so the only thing that he could come up with quick enough was Mc Williams. "Mc Williams is your last name?" Officer #1 asks with a suspicious look on his face. He then sarcastically states "Okay then hop in the back we're gonna drop you off at home Mr. Mc Williams." On the trip the young boy realizes he can't be seen by his parents with a squad car dropping him off. So as they approach his apartment complex he tells them to stop at the building right before his. The officers let him out of the back and give him the gun in the bag. They leave him with a stern warning not to carry the gun out in public any more.

Well of course that young black boy was me. Whenever I think back to the incident I just think God was with me that day. Those cops could have shot me and would have gotten away with justifiable homicide because I decided to carry a fake gun. Then I laugh at me choosing the last name Mc Williams. There was a white girl in my class with the same last name so I guess that's all that came to mind in time. Back then I didn't realize that it was strictly an Irish last name. So the chances of a black man having that last name were the same of Rodney King still having some of the money left that he won in the civil trial. Although my brother once out drank an Irish man and called him self Dre Mc Williams, beyond that it wasn't a plausible alias. LoL.

I don't think my fascination with guns was quite the same after that incident. Pretty much non existent would describe it best. Although once my ex father in law (an ex-police officer) took me to the gun range once when I was about 21. That was the first real life gun I had ever held let alone fired. So I guess that allowed me to finally live out some childhood fantasy. Whatever the case may be a child does not have the mental capicity to handle real guns. Hell there are plenty of adults that shouldn't even be handling guns. So to purposely hand a child a real gun is a tragedy waiting to happen. Just my take on the story.

--C-Recks--

Text-ual Healing

Well its the New Year, and with the new year comes many wonderful things: mostly new beginnings, and next week, a new President. However with the New Year also comes one of the more dreaded aspects: new laws are taking effect all over the country. I just want to take a minute to express my displeasure with one in particular. I am currently in Los Angeles,California: home of palm trees and blond bitches. (According to Ice Cube, Lol). But as I stated in a previous blog, California is also the testing place for some of our more wacky laws that spread across the country. The newest is a law banning text messaging while driving. This encompasses Reading, composing, and sending text messages. The state of California rushed this particular law through very quickly. See, in 2006, the California legislature passed a law making it illegal to talk on your cell phone in any manner that was less than hands free. The law may have been passed in 2006, but it was not to take effect until July 1st, 2008. I guess upon its arrival over the summer, there must have been an increase in the number of individuals caught text messaging, because, as I remember it, sometime around August or September, the legislature decided that text messaging while driving was just as dangerous. BANNED! Law to take effect January 1st, 2009. And that's where we find ourselves today.

Now in the interest of intellectual honesty, I will admit that I am one of those people who reads, composes, and sends text messages while driving. In my defense however, I drive about 5 times as much as a normal person, maybe more. So its unrealistic to think that I would never find myself in a situation in which I have to read, write or send a text. Also, I have an incredible driving record. (In every state but Illinois. Lol. But that's another blog for another time). So what I'm saying is that whenever I'm driving, I'm also in my office. Meaning that text messages, emails and making/taking phone calls is an absolute must. And to this point, I've been nothing but safe while doing so.

That's my initial argument against the anti-texting ban. However, I have one main argument. We've all seen people driving doing something that I believe is infinitely more dangerous while driving. I'm speaking of people who drive while holding they damn dogs! I don't know about you, but this ranks in my top ten of all-time pet peeves (No pun intended). Now I believe it a fair comparison. Holding a dog while driving versus holding a cell phone while driving. The difference between the two is that the cell phone is an object that only responds to what I command it to do. A dog on the other hand is an animal that is has a mind of its own. Yes there are some dogs that are better trained than others, but that dog is still going to do what it wants to do at the end of the day. And no matter how well trained the dog is, it has absolutely no concept of what the driver is doing.

All that being said, you might ask yourself "why isn't holding an animal while driving illegal?" Seems like a proper question given the assault of cell phone usage the last 3-5 years. Well, in all fairness, the California legislature took up the issue in 2008. A bill was proposed, and passed. All it required was a signature from the governor. No Go! Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his seemingly limited wisdom, vetoed the bill as it came across his desk. Now this is the man who said “The simple fact is it’s dangerous to talk on your cell phone while driving. CHP data show that cell phones are the number one cause of distracted-driving accidents.” Hmmm, I may be able to concede that fact. But since you're doing such a bang up job Nanny Governator, why don't you take a stab at some other things that are dangerous while driving? Say, changing the song on the radio or your ipod, grabbing a bite to eat on the go, and definitely keeping them damn dogs out of the front seat of your car.

I'm not against passing laws to protect the masses. Sometimes government does have our greater good at heart. It just when you have such hypocrisy on the part of some law makers, you have to wonder what their actual motivations are. When it comes to these cell phone laws, I'm sure that the makers of different bluetooth and ear pieces have paid a pretty penny to different governments around the country to ensure that you'll no longer be able to get by with just a hand held. And to all you pooch holders: I guess until PETA starts bitching to the government about how you're endangering the welfare of your pets, and someone invents a doggy car seat, and then lobbies the government to pass a ban on holding your pets while driving, I guess you're in the clear. (Lord, please hasten that day)!


-DrizaDre-

Ready or Not, Here He Comes!

Well people, we did. We finally got the first black President. And yes, it does feel good. 3 weeks later, I'm still on a high that's pretty amazing. The saddening aspect of this historic feat has been the reaction that I've seen and heard by others. I mean, for as much as this election has shown that we've come a long way, the reaction has reminded us of just how far we have to go.

As I've said in previous blogs, I travel across the country for a living. I have been to all of the lower 48 states, and one of the states that, to me, is very underrated is Wyoming. Very beautiful scenery. No, there's not much to do there, and of course there are very few black people there. (1.15% black as of 2005). In spite of that, I have found the people of Wyoming to be very engaging and hospitable. Well that all changed a couple of weeks ago. I don't want to disparage all the people of Wyoming because of one particular incident, but I must admit that it definitely put me on guard.

I was coming inside a truck stop. As I was heading to the bathroom, I happened to walk past a trucker who looked at me somewhat menacingly. I wouldn't have thought much of it, except for the fact that the man was wearing a shirt that had a confederate flag on it and said "Dixie Trucker". Now I'm not from the south. I was born in Chicago, and I've split my life between there and L.A. So most of my exposure to southern culture has been on the road, from television, and my country ass cousins. But like most black people, the confederate flag represents the absolute worst of American culture. So the fact that this man was eyeballing me, and rockin this on his shirt, I was absolutely on guard. Yes, I could have just been misreading this experience. However, some of these are unmistakable.

Speaking of T-Shirts, there are almost no words to describe what this fool is wearing. (For those who can't read it, it says "Nigger Please! Its called a White House!). I mean, I understand that your candidate lost, but have some respect. Its unfortunate that nearly 150 years after slavery was abolished, there are still people with attitudes like this. I guess the last remaining segregated club has just been infiltrated. Can't call it.

I caught this little article the other day. Apparently after the election, while a large percentage of us were celebrating Barack's victory, someone got the bright idea to start an assassination pool. Yes, in Portland, Maine, a General Store had a sign outside that read "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool." The saddest part about this is that it plays to Blacks biggest fears, someone will assassinate Obama. Yes its in the back of all of our minds, but I think its very ridiculous for white people to joke around, and take such a subject so lightly.

The last example is one that hit me very hard. Last week, I turned on Fox News, and across the screen it said something to the effect of "Al-Qaeda uses racial slur to describe Obama". Instantly I was pissed. I mean, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? They called Barack a nigga. Well if only it could have been so simple. Of course I just needed to know. I couldn't wait for Bill O'Reilly to eventually get to the story. So I hit the Internet. Damn, it was so much worse. Essentially, Al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman Al Zawahiri called Barack a "House Nigger", and also said that he was a disgrace to Malcolm X. I was livid. I can't front, if I was in the military, I would have asked to be shipped to Iraq or Afghanistan just to fight these fools. I mean, how the hell can you not even be from this country, and have the audacity to go there? You're gonna call someone a "House Nigger" and essentially you're lower than dog shit on the evolutionary scale. Please. Don't worry, you'll pay for that one bruh.

My friend and I have been having a long running discussion: Were we really ready for a Black President? I want so badly to say that we were. Examples such as these, I do believe, expose that we truly were not. Yeah well, its here, and its real. And some people obviously need to wake up, and get their act together. Because going forward, everything has changed. And I think that's exactly what Barack wanted.


--DrizaDre--

Black to the Future

It's late afternoon on March 23, 2050.

"Grandaddy. I need some help with my homework". Jesse, a cute little girl of 9 snuggles up to her grandfather.

OK baby, what do you need help with.

"You know that President that just died? Well we need to do a report on him. Our teacher told us to interview someone who was alive when he was President. So I figured I would interview you".
You mean President Obama baby?

"I guess" the little girl shrugs.

OK, well what do you want to know?

"I don't know. Tell me about when you voted for him and stuff like that".

OK. Well, it's actually a very funny story. See, I was in Chicago on that Saturday before the election. I was absolutely determined to get back to Los Angeles to vote. I mean, this was going to be historic, and I didn't want to be sitting on the sidelines for this moment in history. So I left Chicago on Saturday evening. I was supposed to go bowling with my brother Cory and my nephew Cory, but they wouldn't let us. Some snake league was bowling. In hind sight, its probably best that I didn't get the chance. You'll understand why later.

Anyway. I left Chicago that evening, and back in the day I actually drove cars. Not how you guys have flying cars now, I actually had to steer and drive myself. So I drove all the way to Denver, Colorado. I made it there on Sunday evening. From there, I had to drive to Salt Lake City, Utah. I didn't make it to Salt Lake City until Monday afternoon. I would have caught a flight from Salt Lake to Los Angeles, but your grandfather isn't the flying type. So I bought a ticket to ride the bus. Well, the company the ran the buses back then was called Greyhound, and let me tell you that they were the absolute worst. I got on the bus, and the bus was supposed to leave at 6:30 p.m. Well, at 7 p.m., the bus was still sitting in Salt Lake. And as a matter of fact, the driver put me off the bus so that they could put on some other passengers.

I was so upset. It really was beginning to look like I wasn't gonna be able to make it home in time to vote. But I got a bright idea. I called someone from my job, and I figured out that if I took the bus to San Francisco, I could pickup a car and drive myself to Los Angeles. So I went for it. I made it to San Francisco around 2:30 p.m. that Tuesday afternoon. Greyhound was supposed to get me there earlier, but again, they were the absolute worst company back then. Probably the reason they are no longer operating this many years late.

So I left San Francisco at 3 p.m. Well unlike today, we had a such thing as traffic back in my day. And San Francisco was notorious for having some of the worst traffic in the country. I can't deny, I was weaving in and out of the car pool lanes trying to pass up some people. Eventually I made some headway, and I was flying. I mean, going so fast that I could have given these flying cars of today a run for their money. I had to drive 344 miles, and I needed to get to my polling place by 8 p.m. It was hectic for sure. I pulled up to my polling place at 7:58 p.m. (Pacific Time) I ran inside. Out of breath, I asked the lady for a ballot. She said "you barely made it". I told her that after all that I had been through, I was happy that I made it at all. She handed me my ballot, and I went to do my civic duty. I finished voting, got my stub and my "I voted sticker" and I went back out to the car.
As soon as I got back in the car, they made the announcement that Barack Obama would be our 44th President. I was ecstatic. I mean, after traveling all that great distance, I had cast the ballot that sealed the deal for Barack Obama.

"No you didn't Grandaddy. You just voted, that's all"

Hey, I'm telling the story not you. Were you there in 2008?

With a big grin on her face, Jesse shakes her head no.

Alright then. Anyway. The most important thing that I want you to take from this story is this; too often our people, back then, believed that their vote was insignificant. And unfortunately, that's exactly what certain segment of our population wanted them to believe. But President Obama reminded people that it was not only a privilege to vote in this country, but a responsibility. And plenty of our ancestors died for us to have just this very privilege. That's why I tried to move Heaven and Earth to get myself home in time to vote. I mean, I knew one day that you and you brothers and sisters would need to hear this story. And most importantly, you one day would tell your own children and grandchildren. Your Grandaddy voted for the first Black President of the United States. I know that it doesn't seem like much now considering that we've had other Black Presidents, including Barack's daughter Malia, but you need to know that on November 4th, 2008, the world did change. President Obama did make it to where we as black people understood that we were important in this country. And yes, we could make a change.
So when you do your report, you make sure you let your class know that though I never thought I'd ever see a black President, I give glory to God that I was absolutely wrong.

"I will grandaddy, I will!!"


-DrizaDre-

No Butts About It

I was listening to the radio yesterday and they happen to play a throw back song. Now I'm an avid Hip Hop listener. But some of this new stuff today I can't even categorize as Hip Hop (Soulja Boy we still got unfinished business). So when I hear a classic song it just takes me back to an era when the music was pure. Well on this particular day I heard the beat come on I thought oh hell no it can't be!! Then I heard the talking at the beginning of the intro and I simply had to laugh as I could envision the video in my head. And as soon as it finished I heard the rapper begin the verse with four words which right away told what the rest of the rest of the song would be talking about. Anyone from my era remembers these four famous words...

"I Like Big Butts..."

I'm sure that's all I had to say and most of you were probably able to fill in the rest of the lyrics probably up until the hook. LoL. But in 1992 when Sir-Mix-A-Lot released "Baby Got Back" he probably never imagined the impact this song would have. I'm sure long before 1992 men (especially black men) had been admiring women's rear ends. But he brought to light something that was obviously on a lot of men's minds but they weren't bold enough to say. Let alone bold enough to write a whole song about it.

Well I was only 12 back in 1992. And as appealing as the video (which was banned by MTV for a short time) for "Baby Got Back" was I had really just gotten into the full mode of liking and pursuing girls. My brother and I used to joke about certain girls belonging to what we considered the BBC (Big Booty Club), but unlike some 12-14 year old girls now a days none of the girls at our school really had this "round thing" that Mix-A-Lot mentioned. Well it wasn't until I moved back to Chicago in 1994 and started High School that what Mix-A-Lot spoke of came more into focus. It was during that High School career that I learned a new term to describe a woman's physique. This term was "Thick." Perhaps it was new to me because I had never heard the term while in California.

The problem I had with the term "Thick" back then, which has gotten worse now is that there was no real criteria for someone to be classified or classify themselves as thick. My assumption of what thick meant was that you maybe had a little extra weight in the areas of the thighs, and booty. For those of us men that don't always go for the skinny model type females this is very appealing. Giving us something extra to... well you get the point. Just think of the term "more cushion for the pushin." However, I think the term thick somehow began getting misused. No offense to anyone, but some women began referring to themselves as "Thick" but were in fact a little or sometimes even a lot more than thick. But regardless, the fact is that thin is definitely no longer in. I can't count how many times I've heard or seen females that are slim or thin saying they're trying to get thick. Or they want a booty. I remember when my cousin moved from Chicago down to Atlanta. She was as slim as can be hence why we put the [Lil'] in front of her name. Well within a couple of years she was no longer the skinny young girl we all knew she had indeed gotten a bit thick. Could be that down south food I'm not sure but if you go down south you will definitely see ass for days and cheeks for weeks. LoL.

Now typically the thickness and the big "sometimes ghetto" booties are seen on black women. That was until a new phenomenon (as rapper Ludacris referred to it) occurred. And some how White girls even started getting these booties. Black men had no clue what was occurring was it something in the water or what? I remember when most white women suffered from the Nassatall (No Ass At All) disease. But my brother and I think that we figured out what it is though. Yep you can find one in just about every suburb and city. It's tasty goodness is just as addictive as crack. Yes the beloved Starbucks is our theory as to why white girls are getting thicker. Think about it, they are the main consumers of Starbucks, they probably drink it at least daily or possibly more. They hang out at the stores with their laptops sipping they're Caramel Macchiato Grande size in a Venti Cup with extra whip cream (yeah that's the only thing I've drank from there before and it's damn good I must admit). But usually white guys aren't attracted to big butts. So who are the white girls trying to attract? Hmmm? You be the judge: conspiracy theory or true fact? Check out ya girl Kim Kardashian. LoL.

(Starbucks in hand)

(With her Black man [Reggie Bush])

Well my brother recently told me that a white girl asked him this question? "Why do black guys like Big Butts?" This prompted a short discussion between him and I about this topic. We both agreed that in our opinion although big butts are great, they're not the end all to be all. We much prefer that a female's body simply be well proportioned. Basically if you're a slimmer female and really have no booty there is nothing wrong with that as your booty matches your body type. But to be extra slim but then have a humongous booty is just a little disproportionate. The opposite also holds true. Now I know E-40 mentioned the booty big enough to sit a cup on in the Lil' Jon song "Snap Yo Fingaz;" however, I can hold my own cup thank you very much. LoL.

So really, what is the draw?

We all know that men are visual creatures where as women are more turned on in the mental. So any man (black man especially)would be lying if he didn't admit that a big butt is nice to look at. Also, he'd be lying if he says he doesn't check out women's butts. In fact it's probably the opposite he probably doesn't miss an opportunity to get a glimpse as a female walks past. Just waiting for that opportunity to do like Craig and Smokey looking at Mrs. Parker in Friday "Daaaaamn!" LoL. The sad thing is that some men feel that even if the woman's face and or appearance aren't too appealing that as long as they are thick and or have a big butt that it can make up for the fact that they aren't attractive in the face. Now I may offend some men and possibly have a lynch mob waiting on my after I say this next statement, but I have to be honest. Although they have some of the biggest butts in in the business, Buffy the Body and Deelishis (Flavor of Love) both fit into this category. They are not the best of lookers. So I'm sorry me personally, I'll take a pretty face and little to no booty any day over an ugly or unattractive face and a huge butt. If I can barely stand to look you in your face what's the point? Am I just going to just talk to exclusively to your booty? Can I have an intelligent conversation with your booty? Do we sleep head to foot and I get to wake up looking at your booty instead of your face? When we get married will the minister say I now pronounce you man and booty, then I unveil the booty revealing a nice lil' thong? I know I'm getting a little extreme but you basically get the gist of what I'm saying.

(Buffy the Body)

(Deelishis)

Well the bottom line is that all women are beautiful in their own regards. But there is no real explanation or reason as to why men [especially black men] like big butts. You can try to be theoretical and go back to ancient African civilizations and say it has something to do with a woman's child bearing ability. Or you can simply say men are horny freaks and their admiration of big butts is simply proof of that. Either way neither explanation will change the fact that at the end of the day if a woman walks past with a big butt that a man will break his neck to get just the slightest glimpse of what kind of junk she has in her trunk. Also, it won't stop him from picking up the latest issue of King Magazine. And if you have never seen an issue, lets just say men aren't buying them to read the articles. Although I'm sure there is pure journalism excellence inside each issue.

--C-Recks--

Light, Camera, Action!

Since George Orwell wrote the book 1984, the term "Big Brother is watching" has been commonplace in the American lexicon. It was normally spoken as a warning of the days to come. Well people, those days are here with a vengeance. I have been all across this nation. Almost all major cities, all except for Miami. (I've only gotten as close as Ft. Lauderdale). And now in many of them they have red light cameras. In my current city of residence Phoenix, Arizona, they also have cameras to catch you speeding. All of this has made for a formidable journey on our roads. For those of you who are blessed to live in a city without any of these cameras, let me be the one to prepare you for what's probably coming to an intersection, or roadway near you.

It all began sometime back in the 90's. (Sounds like such a long time ago). I lived in Los Angeles back in 1996 and 97. At the corner of Desoto Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard there was this contraption that sat right next to the bus stop. I had absolutely no clue what the hell this thing was. I consider myself a pretty intelligent person, so I came up with what I thought to be a reasonable explanation for what I saw. "This is obviously a means by which the bus can change the light so that it can breeze through intersections". It was a plausable explanation, I had just moved back to L.A. from Chicago, and the newest rave in the suburbs of Chicago was that all emergency vehicles could change the light to green so as to minimize the possibility of a collision as they came through the intersection. Brilliant. Well in the city that invented, patented, and perfected the art of the traffic jam, I thought it was great that L.A. had found a way to at least keep public transportation moving. Plus given that back then I actually rode the bus at times, that would only mean that my time spent on the bus would be lessened.

But as I traveled throghout the city, I began to see this contraption more and more. And not always next to bus stops. And then the moment of despair, I saw a sign that indicated that the intersection was photo enforced for red light violations. And the fine was $280. Damn! They weren't playing at all. So now the cops don't have to actually be there to catch you making a quick dash through a yellow that quickly turned red on you, they have a camera that catches your moment of weakness. And the penalty was ungodly in my opinion. I had no idea that this was just a first in what the police would use in combat against those who broke even the slightest of laws.

In late 96 and early 97, I spent some time in Phoenix, Arizona. The city of Tempe, a suburb most known for being the home of Arizona State University, devised a program to combat speeders. The police department took an innocuous white minivan, and parked it on the side of the road. unbeknownst to the passing motorists, this van was equipped with a radar gun, and a camera to snap pictures of both the driver and license plate of any vehicle caught speeding. I heard about this during a local news program, and almost choked. This was patently unfair. What happened to having to look out for motorcycle cops wedged in between two parked cars? Or a squad car conveniently positioned behind a high bush? This pushed entrapment to the extreme in my opinion.

Fast forward, oh maybe 7 years. I began to come out to Phoenix on a semi-regular basis. Of course I'd continue to see the vans on the side of the road. Unfortunately, many more cities throughout the Phoenix area had caught on to this new racket. However, there was a new one. On the 101 freeway, the road was now equipped with cameras that would catch you speeding. This was crap. I mean, yeah, I know that speeding is a crime. I know its not something that we should be doing, but we all do it. And for them to post a camera on the freeway was wholly different from them posting it on the streets. I understand that on the streets we're talking about a more confined space that includes other motorists, and pedestrians. But the freeways were off limits in my opinion. If the speed limit is 65, and I don't have somebody in front of me, and I decide to go say 75, what's the big deal. If there's a highway trooper that catches me, so be it. How fair is it though that the camera catches me? How much more danger am I placing myself or other motorists in by going 75? Actually in my many miles of travel, I've actually come to the conclusion that you have greater attention and care at higher speeds than you do at lower speeds. When you're going, say 80 in a 65, you're much more likely to be checking for police, road hazards, and other drivers that may get in your way. If you're only doing 65 in that very same 65 mph zone, a lot of people put the car, and subsequently their brains, on cruise control. I would bet money that there are just as many accidents caused by people going the speed limit as there are by people speeding. I tried to do a little research, but I was unable to find any specific statistics to neither prove or disprove my theory. They must keep that information under wraps. (If John Stossel ever reads this, you are more than welcome to use this as an inspiration for your next issue of "Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity").

On the other hand, there are individuals who push things to the limit, and make it bad for the rest of us. I mean, I'm no stickler when it comes to speeding, but going 114 in a 65 is well over the top. That was the case on January 21, 2008 when rapper DMX was caught speeding in his 1966 Nova by the before mentioned cameras on the 101 freeway in Scottsdale, AZ. DMX, or Earl Simmons as his government name, was arrested for criminal speeding (anything 25 mph or more over the speed limit), public endangerment, reckless driving, and driving on a suspended license. I would love to defend a hip-hop titan, but in this case I can not. This latest run in with the law by DMX was definitely of his own doing. And not that I want them to throw the book at him, but I have to admit that he deserves whatever he gets.

(DMX's photo being taken on the 101 in Scottsdale, AZ).

The last thing I want to discuss in the area of "Big Brother is Watching" are what I will call community policing cameras. These cameras hit the scene in Chicago a couple of years ago. They have blue lights that flash constantly, and can be seen from a mile away. (Probably further than that). I have also seen these cameras in use in Philadelphia. As my brother discussed in an earlier blog, these cameras are used as a deterrant for illegal activity. They have a range of several blocks, but its amazing that it seems like the negative element of the neighborhood doesn't seem to be very far from the cameras. I guess that as long as you're out of the direct view of the camera, there's really no reason to actually cease your potentially illegal activity. These cameras don't trouble me as much as the others. I don't hang out on street corners, and I guess that if they're somewhat of a deterrent, then by all means use them. Those flashing lights can be annoying though. And of course there's a slippery slope effect. I mean, depending on the camera placement, can the police have access to view what may be going on inside a person's home? That I can say I will never be in support of, but for the moment I can give community policing cameras a pass.

As I said before, right now, there's really no way to know where we'll end up when it comes to Big Brother watching us. In London, England, they have 10,000 closed circuit cameras throughout the city. I can't remember the exact statistic, but your picture is taken something like 10-20 times per minute. (Forgive me if you find the exact statistic and I'm slightly off). In the case of the bombings of July 7th, 2005, the cameras helped Scotland Yard discover the identities of the bombers. So there are very good uses of cameras in our society. I just hope that we're not giving up more in privacy than we get in safety.


-DrizaDre-

100 Years and Counting

I Love You. I really do. I always hold out hope that we'll be able to celebrate a great life together. I understand that not all times will be good. All relationships have their ups and downs. However this is really starting to get out of hand. I have been by your side for the better part of 25 years. And that's saying a mouthful considering that I'm only 30 years old. But you were my first love. When I was first introduced to you, I didn't know that this would be a life long relationship. But you brought so much joy to my life back then that its not really surprising. We spent the entire summer together. Everyday! On those occasions when you weren't in Chicago, you always made sure that I could see you and know how you were doing. I know that once October hit, you had other things to do. But you always came back in February. And boy did I look forward to February!

Since I've gotten older, its been one heartache after another. Just when I think we're gonna finally do this, something unexpected stands in the way. I'll be honest, I've contemplated giving my heart, and loyalty to another. But I wouldn't respect myself if I did. Too often I've seen others around me divide their loyalties. Selling themselves for a moment of pleasure. And while I saw them, and wondered how great it would be to experience that level of jubilation, I thought about you, and how much more it will mean to me to stick by your side and be there on your day of success. To know that I've poured so much of myself into this, I wouldn't feel vindicated unless it was you and I together, side by side on that day of success.

But my soul is getting weak. The setbacks are becoming ever excruciating. I'm not so selfish as to think that its all you. What can I do to get us to that next level? Tell me, I promise that I would do it. 100%. That's how much you mean to me. That's how much this relationship means to me. That's how much our success means to me. I know that it seems weird that I've invested so much into this. Please don't consider me weird, there are many more people that do much weirder things for the people they love.

Unfortunately my father warned me that you would break my heart. The love of his life did the same thing to him when he was younger. And that jaded him permanently. To the point that anytime your name is brought up, he can't do anything but shake his head, and question why I continue to deal with you. There's some laughter on his part, but mostly bewilderment at my undying devotion to you. But as I see it, that's what makes me different from him. I stick with things, for better or worse. I obviously didn't learn it from him, but it is a great quality none the less.

In closing I just want to say that I'm reaching a breaking point with you. I can't take much more of this. We have to make a change soon. Either a change for the better, or a clean break. One way or the other, we need to do what's best for the each of us. I Love You, and that will never change.

Forever Yours,
Andreas



What you have just read is my open letter to my beloved Chicago Cubs. For a 25th straight season, since I've been a fan, the Cubs failed to win the Major League Baseball championship. Now that's not a long time by the standards of some teams. Hell, the city of Cleveland hasn't celebrated a championship of any kind since the 1964 Cleveland Browns won. Though I've only been a fan for 25 years, the Cubs haven't just won a championship since 1908. So this year's loss makes it an even 100 years since the Cubs have last won. Now that's absolutely terrible.




The hardest part is that this year seemed so promising. The Cubs finished the season at 97-65, first place in the central division. There were some rough patches during the season, but the Cubs actually finished up the season strong. They opened the playoffs against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that I have hated since I lived in L.A. in the 90's. So I actually looked forward to the Cubs playing them, and beating them, and moving on. Much to my dismay, the Cubs laid a huge egg. Swept by the Dodgers. Boy did that hurt.



And so I'm putting my team on notice. I mean, its been an entire century since the Cubs have won a championship. I can't take this much more. The ups and the downs are definitely taking a huge toll on me. After the Cubs late season collapse of 1969, my then 11 year old father, gave up on the Cubs. I don't want to follow that path, but I'm running out of patience. This is not a threat, but I do have more than one team that I can support in Chicago. I like the White Sox, and they are from the southside of Chicago. My neck of the woods. It wouldn't take much for me to support them. I mean, nothing but selling my soul to the Devil as I would see it. But I've had enough with the Cubs. I'm running out of years to give them. I believe that I'll live to at least 75, but at the rate they're going, I still won't see a championship. I don't want to be a fair-weather fan, but its rained so much that I'd be a fool to stick around. And given what White Sox fans are known for, I don't want to commit myself to them, but I gotta do what I gotta do. So I'm putting the Cubs on notice. You don't have much longer. Until then.

-DrizaDre-

Nanny Government

Think back to when you were a kid. I'm sure we all heard some variation of "Eat your vegetables" or "no dessert until you finish your dinner". Well, let's magnify that onto a huge scale, and you can begin to understand some of what local governments are doing to their constituents. More and more across the country, state and local municipalities are involving themselves into the most mundane aspects of every day life. And the saddest part is that the "real" problems are being left unaddressed.

As was the case on July 22nd, 2008. The city council for Los Angeles put a moratorium on the building of new fast food restaurants within a 32 square mile area of the city. An area that encompasses mostly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. The one year restriction is on restaurants such as McDonald's, Taco Bell, and an L.A. staple, Jack in the Box. (Hell yeah, Hell yeah. Inside joke, see Menace II Society). Lawmakers also reserved the option of renewing the plan in two six month extensions.

Now on the surface, it may seem as though the L.A. city council is doing a good thing to protect the great citizens of their fair city. However, with anything, there is what's called "the law of unintended consequences". The main one, to me, being the loss of numerous potential jobs. And where would those jobs have been? In those very same Black and Hispanic communities. Interestingly enough, Blacks and Hispanics seem to be the ones needing jobs the most in this struggling economy. That's just one aspect of what this ban does for the city of Los Angeles.

Almost at the very same time Los Angeles was dictating to business what they could do, Arnold "the Governator" Schwarzenegger, ignored his state's pressing 16 billion dollar budget shortfall, and instead signed into law legislation that made the state of California the first in the nation to completely ban trans fatty acids. Yes, cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Seattle have taken steps to ban the ingredient, but California has taken it to a whole new level. (Quick side note, can't you see hustle man coming into the barber shop, "yo yo yo, I got them pork rinds ya'll. And they got all the fat in them. I got these off a truck from Vegas. Just two dollas a bag. 3 for 5 though!").

Again, I will make allowances for those of you who at first glance believe that what, in this case, the California legislature is doing is a good thing for its citizens. But see, here's the problem I have with it: at what point do we as Americans stand up and say to our government "I can control what I eat, get these goddamn roads fixed"? Or "My fries taste just fine as they are, go spend time trying to legislate a way to fix our schools". (For an idea, read the Mis-Education of America posted on July 17th. I had to give myself a plug). Too often we've seen kids that are overweight. And while you feel for them, sometimes you lay eyes on the parents, and then you understand why the kids look the way that they do. Now, I think its awful when you see a 9 year old that looks like he could be making tackles on Sundays for the Chicago Bears, but why should I be deprived simply because his mother doesn't have the backbone to stand up to her 9 year old and say "no, you can't have 2 happy meals". Or, "get yo ass out my house and go play".




I was 9 once. And if I could've, I'd have packed up all my little belongings, and made any local McDonald's my new permanent residence. Its family lore that when I was a kid, I could see the McDonald's arches long before the adults in the car did. They would be looking around, and still didn't know where McDonald's was. I did! So I don't speak to you as someone who's unfamiliar with an addiction to hamburgers. They're my favorite food. But the reason I didn't move to what would have been my "Happiest Place on Earth" was because my parents were parents! Sure, we got an occasional reward of a trip to McDonald's, usually provided by my Grandmother after church on Sundays. (Another quick side note, it must've been hard for my Grandfather John to cart around my Grandmother and 4-6 of his screaming and clowning grandkids. I'm slowly but surely beginning to understand why he drank). However, I also recall eating some of what I then considered to be the grossest things put on planet earth:

Liver! Still can't touch the stuff. If I smell it, I'm 7 years old again, sitting at my Grandfather Porter's table trying to find a way to rationalize either eating this crap, or just taking my whooping and being allowed to go to bed. Nobody told me that you get both!

Okra. I was introduced to this little nugget in a gumbo prepared by my Granny Alverta. Everything else in the gumbo was great. Couldn't get with the okra. So as any intelligent child would do, I ate everything but the okra. Well, Grandfather Porter would have none of that. I believe that turned into another one of those all nighters that ended with me falling asleep at the table, and my grandparents being none too happy with me. Still can't roll with Okra to this day though.

Brussel Sprouts. Now kids of today have it easy. They get all of their vegetables served to them with cheese, ranch, and all kinds of nice toppings. Well that didn't happen back in the day. You got straight raw or cooked vegetables. That's what happened when it came to brussel sprouts. And if I remember correctly, the only salt that existed when it came to my sprouts was the salt on my face at the fact that I had to eat them. Me and sprouts are cool now, but we had beef like Shaq and Kobe when I was a child.

Now I share that with you to show that its the parents who should be deciding what the children eat. Not the kids, or some commercial, and definitely not the government. But I can tell you right now, of all the times that I wanted McDonald's as a kid, I probably got it 10% of the time at best. And that's because my parents knew that stuff was ok in moderation, but there was no need for it as a primary source of nourishment.

Some people will say that what they're doing in L.A. is protecting its citizens from evil corporations that prey on the down trodden with their 99 cent double cheeseburgers. Well, that's a load of crap. I have lived in Los Angeles for half my life, and I can tell you that I have pretty much been to every single neighborhood that there is. And there is no shortage of fast food restaurants in any of them. Period! South Central, got em. Bel-Air, got em. The beaches, got em. There's no conspiracy on the part of McDonald's or Burger King to subjugate the minorities of the city to their will. All they're trying to do is make money. And as I have stated in previous blogs, I believe in capitalism 100%. As long as McDonald's is providing me a service that I decide is worth my money, its not their responsibility what happens to me down the line. Now I do go into this believing that they're not intentionally serving me tainted meat and things like that, But its not their responsibility to hand out an angioplasty with every super value meal.

I hope some of you aren't just thinking that this is unique to California. Trust me, California is just the testing ground for some of the more wacky ideas. But they usually make their way across the nation. So here's some of California's "finest" ideas.

Anti-spanking

http://www.nbc11.com/politics/11085867/detail.html?rss=bay&psp=news

Pet "Guardians" instead of pet owners

http://www.guardiancampaign.com/petlaw.html

http://www.doggienews.com/2005/11/why-dog-guardianship-is-more-dangerous.htm

Hand Held cell-phone ban
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/09/15/BAG75L6BJC1.DTL&type=politics

The last one was especially difficult for me to understand. Now if using a cell phone is so dangerous, why, when the bill was passed in 2006, did you push the implementation of the ban forward until July 1st, 2008? I mean if the road is so dangerous with those cell phone using drivers, why have another two years with those dangerous individuals on the road? Did you arrest Charles Manson in 1969, and then tell him "ok Chuck, in 1971, we're gonna come pick you up to serve your sentence. You're a dangerous individual, and as of 1971, we can no longer tolerate you in our society". Hell No! They decided that the man was so dangerous that he had to be taken into custody immediately. I know its an extreme comparison, but similarly, if driving while using a cell phone is so dangerous, why not eliminate its existence from our society immediately?

Now let's make the natural progression from childhood to adulthood. Once I was old enough to decide what I wanted to eat, I took full advantage of it. I would have, what I termed "the breakfast of champions". I know that Wheaties pioneered the slogan, but Michael Jordan never dreamed that it could apply to what I would eat! Morning burgers, a can of chili, or 8 oatmeal raisin cookies, and a couple pepsis. (Not all of that at one time, damn, I do have some self control). And after almost 10 years of eating meals such as that, needless to say, I put on quite a bit of weight. Now unlike the losers who find sheisty attorneys and file 100 million dollar lawsuits against McDonald's, Hormel, Mother's cookies, and Pepsi bottling, I decided that I needed to change my diet. Simple solution! Less hamburgers. (Can't give them up completely, I do believe they have worked themselves into my DNA). 1 or 2 cookies instead of 8. Juice or water instead of Pepsis. And its made a noticeable difference. I've lost 20+ pounds in the matter of just 4 months. Now I can't say if I have completely reversed those 10 years of gorging or not, but I can say that I've taken responsibility for myself. And going forward, its up to me what my diet will be. No government will ever dictate that to me.

--DrizaDre--