- George Bush whipped John Kerry in the presidential election. You can't beat a wartime president without making him look bad or incompetent. Kerry argued some good points but never tried to take away any of GW's stature and presence. He didn't have enough charisma of his own to diminish any the president had.
- For the first time a team I have followed my entire life won a championship. The LSU tigers beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl to hold up the crystal trophy. I watched this game 4 times on video tape.
- Hurricane Ivan ran more people out of South Louisiana than the Union Army. It's no surprise that many people left considering the fact that Mayor Nagin made it seem like Armageddon. Speaking of the mayor...........
- A black ministers group in New Orleans called the mayor an uncle tom that is not concerned with black people. They were pissed because he stopped the endless amount of government money they were receiving when Morial was in office. If not giving contracts and grants to millionaire preachers who live in mansions, while the majority of their congregations live in neighborhoods infested with drugs and poor schools makes you an uncle tom then maybe I am one too. Maybe they can take some of those offerings and sell some of the vast property they own all over the city and help the mayor build some drug treatment and adult education centers around the city.
- Kathleen Blanco was sworn in as the first woman governor of Louisiana. Although I didn't vote for her, I won't make any negative comments about her until I see what she does with the Saints deal. If she messes that up, I will be on all out attack.
- New Orleans citizens ran almost the entire school board out of office and decided on a fresh start. I just hope we don't let this group stay in office forever before we realize that progress isn't being made. If we can't see any changes in 4 years then we need to clean house again and that includes Mr. Amato. What's in that audit?
- The Saints and the Hornets were so average and disappointing they don't even deserve to have separate bullet points.
- The Pistons, Patriots, and Red Sox were the major sports champions. It was a good year for Boston. Speaking of championships.........
- Janet Jackson flashed her breast at the Superbowl, excited millions of perverted men for two seconds and started censorship in America. Personally, I'm glad she got in trouble. She shouldn't have been up there with Justin Timberlake anyway. She better be glad she is with Jermaine Dupri and not somebody like 50 Cent or Mike Tyson because they would have made sure black people under 40 were banned from attending the Super Bowl for the next 5 years. Justin knows who to play with. Plus, he turned state's evidence on her every chance he got after the incident.
- Kobe Bryant's rape case was dropped and every one involved looked stupid and shady. The only winner in this episode was Vanessa Bryant. She got a 4 million dollar ring, and a scared husband wrapped around her finger. Plus, she potentially has half of a 100 million dollar contract from the Lakers if he slips up. All that from five minutes of hanky panky in a Colorado hotel room and she didn't even have to do anything. She hit the golddigger's lottery.
- Bin Laden managed to make it another 365 days without getting captured. I was thinking. Does the U.S. government have anybody on the payroll that is similar to Rambo? Shouldn't we have a group of commandos that can run in their and take out the entire Taliban with a knife and bow and arrow?
- While we spend billions to make the Iraqi people love us for getting rid of their evil dictator and murderer, millions of people in the Darfur region of the Sudan die from ethnic cleansing and America does absolutely nothing. They should have had some oil under their huts and everyone would be safe.
- Hundreds of gay couples flocked to San Francisco and Massachusetts to get married. When this story broke, Karl Rove and George Bush lit a victory cigar.
- Cliff's Top Five T.V. Shows for 2004: 1. Dave Chappelle Show 2. American Chopper 3. Monster Garage 4. The Wire 5. The Family Guy
- Rest In Peace to Reggie White, Rick James, Ray Charles and the Old Dirty Bastard. Have you ever noticed how black people treat entertainers and athletes like family when they die but can watch their local news of some young unknown brother in their own community getting shot and show no concern what so ever. That's just something to think about.
- As I am writing this the death toll from the tsunami continues to rise. This might be the biggest story of the year in it's last week. Mr. Bush, please send these people more money than any other nation. If you spend billions on war, you have to spend at least 1 billion on helping people. This is the moral value moment that will validate 53% of American voters. 35 million dollars is ridiculous.
- Entertainer of the year is Jamie Foxx because he moved up the list in Hollywood without changing his style. He really did keep it real.
- Jackass of the Year is a tie between Kobe Bryant and John Kerry. Kobe because I am a Shaq guy and Kerry because now I have four more years of George.
- Album of the year is another tie. Lets go with Kanye West - College Dropout and Nas Street Disciple. The reason is simple. I am 30 years old now but still love hip hop as much as I did 20 years ago. It was nice to have two mainstream CD's that actually had mature lyrics I could relate too. There is no rule written that says hip hop has to be directed towards teenagers who have no guidance or understanding. If you are a 30 year old rapper, you should be able to make a record about where you are as a person now, not 10 years ago. If the things you did in your teens and 20's make the same sense to you in your 30's and 40's then you are either not "keeping it real" or you are just stupid and not worth my hard earned money anyway.
- Worst album of the year is a tie also and both CD's belong to Nelly, Sweat and Suit. Read the above paragraph.
- The person who did the most without talent this year is Lil John. He made himself famous using the same beat and two words. You have to respect stuff like that....Yeeeaaahhh!
- The Suge Knight Scary Negro Award goes to Ron Artest for running into that crowd like Tupac at a Biggie concert and attacking that poor fan. I honestly think the fan that threw the cup had no understanding of ghetto culture. No one from the hood would have done that. Anybody that has ever known a brother like Ron(and there are many of them) knows he was going to click out at any minute. When that beer hit him you knew what he was going to do. Sometimes, when the hood meets the suburbs bad things happen. Why did ESPN show that replay 5,669 times like Ron Artest was some strange creature from another planet and they couldn't believe he did it. He's just a product of urban living. At least he just grabbed the guy. Some brothers would have went to the locker room first and came back shooting everybody not in a Pacer's uniform. Since I am on the subject of urban living, I will end my year in review with this last story......
- Bill Cosby has been going off on "lower economic" black people all year. Every chance he got he gave the message that the "lower economics" are not living up to their end of the bargain. When was the bargain made and why didn't I get the letter? Mr. Cosby I hope you are reading this. I agree with what you said about the kids not being able to read and speak. I also agree that some of our priorities are messed up. I respect the fact that you have provided a way for many young black people to go to college. However, please remember Mr. Cosby that you grew up as a "lower economic" yourself and I am sure there aren't too many people in your old neighborhood that got to leave it. The reason you got to leave is because you have a special talent just like most people who get a pass out of the ghetto. You can entertain people. Some people can dunk, some can run, some can rap, you can make people laugh. I know you are an intelligent man. It's a great possibility that had you not been able to make people laugh you would still be in Philadelphia working a 9-5 job doing well and trying to raise your kids right. You would still have friends and most of your family in that neighborhood and have a different understanding since you would be one layoff away from moving back there yourself. Imagine how you would feel if you turned on the TV and seen an entertainer making a sweeping indictment about you and your people just because you happen to be a "lower economic". That's why even though you were right in what you said, lots of black people were pissed. I wasn't offended personally but understood why some people were. Next time, make your statements and suggestions without sweeping every "lower economic" under the blanket of ignorance and complacency. Give some props to the men and women that are out there guiding their kids in the right direction despite the things that you mentioned.
I hope everyone had a good year in 2004 and a better one in 2005. May all of your plans come through for you.
Peace and Love,
Clifton
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