READY TO ROLL!

That's Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C.

They're sane in Austraila

Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history. We reflect on their past mistreatment. We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations – this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country. For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry. And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation. For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians. A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again. A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity. A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed. A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility. A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.

YES WE CAN!

FIRE IT UP!

READY TO GO!

Lassiz les bon temps rouler!

yeah, bad french, I know.

Anyway, my interpretation of the civil service rules indicates that I'm allowed to do this so:

SUPER FAT TUESDAY

Mardi Gras festivities, New Orleans-style fare, Hurricanes, other refreshments and election results!

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party
Chairman T.J. Rooney
Congressman Tim Holden
Auditor Jack Wagner
Members of the General Assembly

You really don't want to miss this celebration!

The Quarter – 321 North 2nd Street – Harrisburg
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Register Here

Ok, this is just a what the frek moment

I'm So Hood (Listen)
I Wear My Pants Below My Waist
And I Never Dance When I'm In This Place
Cause You And Your Man Is Plannin To Hate (I'm So Hood)
And I Got These Golds Up In My Mouth
If You Get Closer To My House Then You Know What I'm Talking Bout
I'm Out The Hood
And If You Feel Me Put Your Hands Up (hood)
My Hood Nigg@s Can You Stand Up (I'm So Hood)
If You Not From Here You Can Walk It Out
And You Not Hood If You Don't Know What I'm Talkin Bout
-T PAIN-

This is a real song. I'm not kidding. When I first heard it, I thought it was satire. In a way, it is kind of funny. So I laughed until I was walking through Uptown one day and heard a bunch of badass little kids singing the song (and dressed like the song.)


There really aren't enough words for me to describe how this particular piece of music makes me feel, but this guy says it much better.

It's a sad commentary that the glorification of gaining material success through illegal or self derogatory means. But dude, sometimes you just got to do what you got to do. Get your grind on in these streets in order to represent.

Uhhhhh, represent what? Oh I forgot. My blackness. Pants below waist. Move product. Treat women like they are less than me and nothing more than an object. Kill people that get in my way (literally). Don't forget the car on dubs (that may be rented).

But it doesn't' have to be this way. We are capable of so much more and have been so much more in the past. Our African ancestors established trade through the west, built pyramids, and established libraries in ancient Egypt. Minorities as a whole ruled ancient history.

We can still elevate our minds to so much more. Just because we are poor doesn't mean we have to objectify the worst that society can become and further degrade ourselves by replacing dignity with with acceptance of self humiliation under the guise that it's "keeping it real."

I will say, this is as bad as that slave chic I came across a couple years ago.