“My God is a God who wants me to have things,” the singer tells May’s Blender magazine. “He wants me to bling. He wants me to be the hottest thing on the block. I don’t know what kind of God the rest of y’all are serving, but the God I serve says, ‘Mary, you need to be the hottest thing this year, and I’m gonna make sure you’re doing that’.”

I think that statement is just worded poorly, because it's making me feel like God is somewhere looking down on me and saying, "Yo punk ass deserves to be broke. I ain't seen ya in mass regularly since 2002. Stay broke! You hear that. Stay broke! And I'm busting ya knee caps next week, just 'cuz."

:(

I'm going to wake up tomorrow and sing about drama and no more drama. Maybe then I could pay my Visa bill.

I always say this country is heading back to the 1950s. South Dakota kicked it off by banning abortions, and now Nebraska is bringing back segregation to its public school system.

Last Thursday the Nebraska legislature voted to divide the Omaha school district along three lines: One district to be mostly black, the other two predominately white and Hispanic.

Supporters of the bill, which include the state's lone black senator, argue that the plan will allow minorities control over their own school boards and afford them the opportunity to ensure that their children are not short changed in favor of their white counterparts.

The governor of the state is expected to sign the bill into law shortly. The breakup is not expected to occur until July 2008.

Are they bringing back segregation, or are they choosing to just no longer beat around the bush about something that's been happening for quite some time now?

But old patterns of segregation persist. A survey of enrollment statistics reveals that, in several important ways, the school segregation Brown was enacted to end more than two generations ago remains a fact of life today, in some parts of the country worse now than it was at the time of the decisions.

Also...

A July 2001 study from the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University found that school systems are resegregating, despite the impact of Brown.

And why is that?

"There is no intent to create segregation," said Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, the Legislature's only black senator and a longtime critic of the school system.

He argued that the district is already segregated, because it no longer buses students and instead requires them to attend their neighborhood school. --- Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers

Chambers said the schools attended largely by minorities lack the resources and quality teachers provided others in the district. He said the black students he represents in north Omaha would receive a better education if they had more control over their district.

I can attest to this, as every k-12 school I've attended has been largely populated by blacks and Hispanics. Much of it has to do with zoning. That's a sure fire way to keep schools lily white.

And just how do most of us feel about these schools?

Perhaps — in a nod to the idea of perception being as powerful as reality — that's why the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found, in its 2002 National Opinion Poll on education, that most whites rate their local public schools highly, while most African Americans and Hispanics give their schools only a fair grade.

So in a nutshell, school districts are resegregating anyway, only they're not allotting an adequate amount of funds to schools largely populated by minority groups. This means if you're from a higher socioeconomic status, you're afforded the luxury of attending a quality school full of caring teachers, an abundance of resources, and all the opportunity in the world.

If you're on the lower end of the totem pole, you attend schools like mine: Schools with class sets of books. Schools surrounded by fences. Schools with strict dress codes. Schools with administrators who attempt to channel Joe Clark a wee bit too much. In short, you attend a training ground for prison.

I don't think it's a coincidence that schools are more segregated now than ever. If you don't have equality in terms of money and resources, than it's just pretty much for show, isn't it?

Before desegregation, black students dealt with greater barriers than the ones I've listed. But, their mindset was completely different than ours. There was a sense of community still prevalent. Education was valued so much more.

Decade's later nihilism runs rampant in our community, and while we are certainly partially to blame for that, we can't negate the government's role in fostering its growth.

I've heard many older people say blacks were better off before desegregation. That before desegregation we all wanted to learn. We used to look out for each other. We persevered to overcome the racial barriers placed upon us to further the race.

Fifty years after Brown vs. Board of Education a black man will likely see more money spent on his prison cell than his education. That is a problem.

But is the solution a true "Separate but Equal" policy? Are we going to counter new millennium grievances by returning what was formally viewed as our biggest obstacle?

I think Christina Milian is a really nice girl. Dull, but cute. Sweet, but not the least bit impressive as a vocalist. Ever the trooper, but destined to continue to hit a brick wall with every album she releases. Let's face facts: Ashanti took her spot and patted her head and rubbed her tummy like Elmo to the top years ago. Her music career has gone downhill ever since. She had a brink of hope with "Dip It Low," but even after all of LA Reid's form of assistance (it rhymes with "ola"), the album still managed to flop. On top of that, the songwriters were sued for copyright infringement. None of this screams let's give her a bigger budget for her next LP.

Now she's returned with "Say I," an annoying song featuring Young Jeezy where the former Disney Channel star promises to keep it gangsta. Everyone, say Iiiiiiiiiiii know better. And if you just so happen to have half of your vision intact, you probably noticed that ever since she went blonde she's been styled a lot like another blond chanteuse --- only one that is actually popular.

Not so says Christina in a recent interview with All Hip Hop alternatives.

AHHA: One of your greatest criticisms is that you’re trying too much to be like Beyoncé.

Christina: Oh gosh! Well that’s not true! Do people think that every light skin Black girl that has blonde hair has to say that she wants to be like her? That’s not the case. And that’s wack, because people don’t realize they’re stereotyping us. It’s unfortunate because I feel like it’s ongoing for me. My career has been a thirteen year process. I didn’t even know about her until five years ago. My career, and every move that I make, I try my hardest to set myself apart from everyone else. And I don’t even think it’s a matter of trying; I am a different person. When I make music, I’m not listening to [Beyoncé’s] music and saying I want to make a song like that or I want to dress like her. Everyone dresses their own way, has their own style. It’s sad that people have to make comparisons based on looks. I can be very real with you; in no way, shape, or form have I ever tried to be like anybody else.

Riiiight. Maybe it's a subconscious thing, but I don't think it's a coincidence that a significant number of R&B female acts post-Beyonce have gone the route of blond sexpot in an effort to duplicate her success. Also five years ago would mean Christina hadn't heard of Beyonce until the group's third album, Survivor, hit the shelves. I guess she lived in a bubble when "Say My Name" played non stop two years prior.

Of course, I know she can't flat out say, "I want her success, so I was thinking going blond and doing similar poses in photo shoots wouldn't hurt." But c'mon. I don't think Beyonce invented the wheel. In fact, I know Beyonce has jocked Jennifer Lopez (among others) over the years.

Still, you can only be mistaken for Beyonce so many times before you have to stop and think, "Hmm I wonder if this chick is purposely trying to look like her." And if you wanted to be original the next go 'round, I seriously doubt you would suddenly be channeling your inner gangsta. If she wants to separate herself from the rest of the pack, she ought to try something new, something innovative --- you know, her natural hair color. That will really set her a part from the new breed of R&B female singers.

That is all. ;)

I've been waiting on blogging about the uproar over the proposed legislation regarding immigration. After reading this article, I'm pretty much losing what little sympathy I had left.

While I do understand their plight and how it may have been necessary for them to flee their home countries in an effort to better their lives and the lives of their loved ones, I still find it pretty laughable how anyone can demand rights from a country you entered illegally.

"We all know pay is not the same everywhere and lot of people won't work for the minimum here, so if they won't take the job, what's the problem?" said 47-year-old Jose Salazar, who joined about 100 people outside Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record)'s office in Pittsburgh early Monday.

This excuse always bothered me, because I don't completely find it to be true. There are a lot of people looking for jobs. Even those who may have initially balked at the idea of doing work they find demeaning have since changed their tunes as this country continues on with its downward economic spiral and jobs become scarce. True enough that when it comes to agricultural work, people like illegal immigrants will be exploited on dollar a day wages that many Americans will refuse to work; but, that is the exception not the rule.

Nineth Castillo, a 26-year-old waitress from Guatemala, said she has lived in the United States for 11 years "without a scrap of paper."

Asked whether she was afraid to parade her undocumented status in front of a massive police presence, she laughed and said: "Why? They kick us out, we're coming back tomorrow."

Kudos for being honest, though your display of outright arrogance won't garner you any support among Americans.

Carlos Carrera, a construction worker from Mexico, held a banner that read: "We are not criminals. Give us a chance for a better life."

You entered the country illegally. You broke the law. You are a criminal.

Several hundred people gathered in Lexington, Ky., where demonstrators waved American flags and signs that read "We were all immigrants once," and "We are not terrorists."

Speak for yourself. A slave isn't an immigrant. You're not a terrorist, but you're still breaking the law.

In Birmingham, Ala., demonstrators marched along the same streets where civil rights activists clashed with police in the 1960s and rallied at a park where a statue of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stands as a reminder of the fight for equal rights and the violence that once plagued the city.

And this is the part that upsets me the most. Do not liken your struggle to ours, because there is no correleation. How do you compare 400 of years of slavery and another hundred of legalized segregation to illegally entering a country and demanding the same rights actual citizens barely get anymore?

In my home county back in Texas, there is over a billion in unpaid medical bills because illegal immigrants skipped out on the bill. How many of you get free health care? Do you know how many times in one semester I have to send my school schedule just to keep my health coverage?

Then you have Vicente Fox acting as if illegal immigrants are entitled to rights. He should be more concerned about fixing the problems of his own country versus creating additional ones for us.

I'm not even understanding why are there so many protests going on. Come here, have kids, pay no taxes, get free healthcare, housing, and food stamps, send the money you do make back home, and leech off a system at the expense of the people it's actually supposed to help. Haitians sure haven't been afforded that same luxury over the years.

People are breaking the law, exploiting the system, then boldly declaring that this is just how it's going to be and expect people to empathize. Fuck outta here...literally.

While perusing my favorite message board, I came across the following:

"CELEBRITY PLATINUM CELEBRATION FOR THE QUEEN OF HIP HOP R&B KEYSHIA COLE"

Umm, Keyshia, as happy as you should be that your album has grown legs and finally gone platinum, I think it would behoove you to never, ever, ever, ever refer to yourself as the Queen of Hip Hop anything so long as Mary is physically strong enough to pull off that ill advised spare braid in her head and wax that ass.

"Queen of Hip Hop R&B" is wee bit too close to Mary's 15 year old title of "Queen of Hip Hop Soul." Now, Keyshia, I've seen you perform: The meows, missed notes, the hop, skips, and tumbles that recall Pentecostal services, and the "That n*gga ain't shit" screams. That's all Mary. Not to mention, I hear you miss scheduled interviews, talk to some fans like shit, and you have the nerve to walk around like your shit don't stank. You don't think Mary's aware of you looking at her old marketing plan?

Now, I realize you're from Oakland, so you probably got hands. But, Mary is Mary. You don't think someone that used to box w/ a crackhead can't take you out?


I see Mary or her new alter ego, Brooke (anyone with an alter ego is scary...Even Beyonce and her special friend, Sasha) finding you in a dark alley, and taking out all that aggression from the failure of Love & Life on you. She clowned Ashanti a few years ago for biting her style. What do you think will happen to you for biting her title?


It's good that you found love. Now it's time to find a bodyguard.

Many people don't know this, but I do have an older brother. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to meet him, as he died two months after he was born. Still, I always acknowledge his birthday, because while God may have taken him home a lot sooner than anyone anticipated, my mother was blessed with two miracles in me and my younger brother. I say miracles since shortly after Jason's death, my mother was told that the likelihood of her bearing anymore children was incredibly slim. Life can be complicated, believe me, I know. But, be grateful that you have one. Jason, I'm sure you're in a better place, and while you were never afforded the opportunity to lead a full life, we still celebrate the short time you were here. Happy Birthday.

There's really no other way of putting it. It is what it is. The Democratic Party consists of nothing but a bunch of sorry, opportunistic, Republican-lite idiots who have no idea of what they're doing. Here you have a President who will no doubt go down in history as one of the absolute worst and what do the Democrats do about it? Do they capitalize off of the American public finally getting a grip and realizing George Bush for the moron that he is? Do they learn of his monarchy-like administration's foul play and do everything in their power to bring them down? Well one of them does, and the rest of them duck and dodge like the cowards that they are.

Senator Feingold, a brave man no doubt, called a hearing with the hopes of garnering support for his bid to censure President Bush over baseless and very much illegal wiretapping. There are eight Democrats on the Judiciary committee - only three showed up. What's more, only two other Democratic Senators have signed on to support censure. Thank you Senator Leahy of Vermont and Senator Barbara "I Ain't Neva Scurred of Condi" Boxer of California for having balls.

"The president told the American people on more than one occasion that if domestic wiretapping were taking place, it was being done with a court order. That simply wasn't true, and this president has to be held accountable for breaking a very clear law, which requires a warrant when spying on Americans on U.S. soil,'' Boxer said Friday in a statement.

How hard is it to figure out? He is the President. He broke the law. He should be punished for breaking the law. I mean, there was an uproar about Slick Willie reenacting Shawna's "Getting Some" and lying about it a couple of years ago, was it not? You would think the Democrats would go for blood. Especially with this being an impeachable offense actually worth discussing.

I wish Boxer were on the Judiciary committee since the other California Senator who's actually on it couldn't make it due to "scheduling conflicts." Yeah, you can't make a hearing when you're too busy quivering in fear.

Some Democrats feel Feingold's proposal goes too far by attacking a president while the country is involved in war. Others fear it could energize Republicans, much as GOP efforts to impeach Democratic President Bill Clinton backfired on Republican candidates in the 1998 congressional elections.

Morons. Idiots. Dumb asses. Support for the war is waning. Actually, that's an understatement. An overwhelming number of Americans now realize they were geeked over nothing, and that the conflict in Iraq is only going to get worse before it gets any better...leaving many of their children dead in the process. As far as it backfiring in the congressional elections of '98: How stupid are some of you? No really, how stupid are some of you? No one cared about Bill Clinton lying about an intern giving him a blow job when they had jobs, peace, and a future to live for. They will care now when they're broke, hungry, sending their kids to fight a war that has nothing to do with the terrorist network they're reminded over and over again to fear, and learning that they're being watched by "Big Brother" without a warrant.

To top it all off, they even got John Dean, known for Watergate to appear at the hearing.

Dean, now an author who traveled from his California home for the hearing, said the National Security Agency eavesdropping case is far more of a threat to American liberties than the Watergate scandal. He said Bush's order for the warrantless eavesdropping, which began shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, is "part of a consistent, long-term, announced policy of this administration that they want to expand power for the sake of power.''

What is wrong with you, Democratic Party? Actually, what's right with you? If I didn't loathe everything the Republican Party stood for, I'd vote for them just for kicks. At least they stick up for all the nonsense they believe in.