Million Dollar Athletes Whine

Some NBA players are crying "racism" over the league's new dress code:

Indianapolis, IN (AHN) - The NBA's lastest announcement against "bling-bling" in players' dress code has some in the league raising questions of racism. Indiana guard Stephen Jackson believes the new ban is racially motivated, demonstrating the league's fear of becoming "too hip-hop."

The NBA's new dress code will go into effect at the start of the season. Players will be required to wear business-casual attire when involved in team or league business and are prohibited from wearing visible chains, pendants or medallions over their clothes. Jackson, who is black, feels the new anti-jewelry rule specifically targets young black males because chains are associated with hip-hop culture. In protest, he wore four chains to the Pacers' exhibition game against San Antonio on Tuesday night.

Jackson defended his actions the next day, saying, "They don't want your chains to be out, all gaudy and shiny. But that's the point of them. I love wearing my jewelry. But I love my job. I love playing basketball more than I love getting fined and getting suspended."

Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce supports Jackson's accusations, saying, "When I saw the part about chains, hip hop and throwback jerseys, I think that's part of our culture. The NBA is young black males."

Golden State guard Jason Richardson adds, "They want to sway away from the hip-hop generation. You still wear a suit, you still could be a crook. Hey, a guy could come in with baggy jeans, a do-rag and have a Ph.D., and a person who comes in with a suit could be a three-time felon. So, it's not what you wear, it's how you present yourself."

Jackson first publicly announced his disagreement with the new rule Tuesday. He says he hasn't heard from the league office, and doesn't expect to, "I still have freedom of speech, don't I? I didn't disrespect anybody by saying it, so I can say what I want to say."

I say "Get over it!"

The idea that being forced to dress up has anything to do with racism is beyond ridiculous. So maybe David Stern is a greedy, capitalist pig, but racist? Gimme' a break. First of all, Stern didn't just wake one day and "make up" a new rule, he simply "enforced" a rule that already existed in the current NBA/Players Association contract. If the players were THAT upset about it, they shouldn't have accepted the rule as a part of their latest Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NBA.

Secondly, since it took root, the NBA, like the NFL has become a global phenomenon that transcends national boundaries. With 29 teams in both the U.S. and Canada, NBA games and related programming are broadcast to 206 countries in 42 languages. The league is also one of the largest suppliers of sports television and Internet programming in the world. While corporate America, of which the NBA is a part, loves the demographics and numbers hip-hop represents, there's a lot of baggage that comes with it. Like when Nelly became part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, it created a dicey situation in that now you had an NBA owner who also endorses a beverage called "Pimp Juice". I'm sorry, but nothing about a pimp should be put on a pedestal and I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Lastly, when it comes to the "infringement" of their precious Hip-Hop attire, NBA players have to take part of blame. Think about it. Recently, there was the Artest-led fight in Detroit last year, an ugly scene seen worldwide that did nothing to help the league's image in some sectors of the world that sees it as strictly being young, Black and out-of-control.

Think too about the responsibility NBA players refuse to take part in when it comes to the obsession over material items that leads to kids still killing kids so they too can have one of the "big chains" Stephen Jackson wears. Think too that a huge chunk of Michael Jordan's legacy lies in the fact that MJ was a winner, so the NBA had plenty of leverage in marketing Jordan and making him the face of the league. For all his talent, Allen Iverson shouldn't be complaining about th edress code because while he may be the original hip-hop/basketball-playing icon, he still remains a selfish ball-hog who has never won anything team-oriented in his life.

Then again this whole "dress code is racist" drama isn't that big of a deal in the first place considering that we're only talking about wearing a collar for 10-minute press conferences, traveling from the bus to the lockerroom and also while your seated on the bench because you can't play due to injury (mind you, while STILL getting paid). Doesn't seem too harsh to me. Or as Carmelo Anthony, who wears one of the NBA's most popular jersey's, said: "I guess Jay-Z said it best: 'Real recognize real.' I think hip-hop has become so popular because it's real. When cats like me hear hip-hop songs, it's like, 'Man, I went through that. We can relate.' When suburban kids hear it they feel they're broadening their horizons. They want to know what's going on, they want to be down. People say I'm real, and while part of that is my personality, I think listening to hip-hop all my life has had a lot to do with it. Like hip-hop, our generation links with the streets. That's why, as a player, it's important to keep your street credibility. But you've got to know how to balance when you can be street and when you should be a businessman. There's a time and a place for everything."

Exactly.

You're Just A Blip On My Screen

To all the Harriet Miers critics, including the depressed, the skeptical and the downright angry, the President has a message for you:

From Reuters -

President George W. Bush, hit by a series of domestic woes that have eroded his popularity, said on Thursday he was focused on his job and not on what he called "some background noise." Bush was asked how preoccupied the White House was by distractions that include an investigation into whether any of his top aides deliberately outed a CIA operative, a conservative revolt over his nomination of Harriet Miers as a Supreme Court justice and investigations into senior Republican leaders in Congress.

Bush told reporters he was concentrating on his work.

"There's some background noise here, a lot of chatter, a lot of speculation and opining. But the American people expect me to do my job, and I'm going to," Bush said in the White House Rose Garden, after talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The president has been hit by falling job approval ratings in public opinions polls in recent months. "Part of my job is to work with others to fashion a world that'll be peaceful for future generations. And I've got a job to do to make sure this economy continues to grow," Bush said.

Couldn't have said it any better myself.

Thomas Got In; So Should Miers

A date has finally been set to begin the Harriet Miers confirmation proceedings.

But trouble is still a brewing.

Arlen Specter, a liberal Republican, referring to Harriet Miers, is quoted as saying that, "It is unfair to start the hearings before she's ready." Liberal senator Chuck Schumer says that Miers needs "some time to learn" about key constitutional cases. Why? Because Schumer didn't like the answers he got to cases he presented to Miers when he got meet her one-on-one the other day.

Chuck Schumer is a funny guy.

You see what makes Chuck so comical is that, amongst other things, here's what the Senator WON'T talk about: when it comes to George W. Bush making Supreme Court picks, the Senator's mind has long been made up. And it's a resounding "NO!". Chuck Schumer (who despite going on record expressing great admiration for John Roberts' judicial skills, yet still turned down his nomination) wouldn't vote "yes" to a Supreme Court nominee unless they absolutely hated the idea of prayer in schools, literally had an abortion and would go on record as having attended a gay wedding. Therein lies the Senator's litmus test. And last time I checked, that's illegal.

At least Specter has the excuse of being old, tired and literally sick. But who needs him anyway? Miers doesn't.

If Conservative Republicans would put their selfish pride aside and I don't know . . . TRUST the guy in charge, they'd see that a Miers confirmation is a step forward for the conservative movement. Conservatives wanted an obvious judicial conservative for their nominee. They didn't want to be asked, as they were with Judge Roberts, to support a nominee based on faith. They wanted another Robert Bork, a judge whose paper trail clearly identified him as a constitutionalist, yet he got rejected anyway.

We're supposed to learn from our mistakes, not repeat them.

So President Bush gave them Harriet Miers. She has never been a judge. Her paper trail is even thinner than Roberts'. Her judicial tendencies can be inferred, but they can't be proved. But what does that matter? Miers, has MORE experience at law than Clarence Thomas did before he got elected, so all the talk of "lack of experience" is really insignificant chatter covering for petty jealousy. Also, she has clearly shown where she stands on issues at the heart of conservatives. Sure, she hasn't said much so far in public, but legal speak says that she doesn't have to.

Like Roberts before her, Miers just needs to excel at the game of "getting in", and what that essentially means is that she has to learn the art of not saying much, without saying nothing. Convince at least 45 Republicans and 10 Democrats that she knows what she's talking about, get in tune with past major cases that shaped U.S. law, know the ins and outs of the Constitution and she's our next Associate Justice.

Then, she can make life easy for herself by just being like Thomas. Do like Thomas does in public: smile and say nothing. And, like Thomas does with Antonin Scalia, she can just lean over and copy another justices' notes. And, just like Thomas, in 10 years Conservatives will have the same adoration for Harriet as they do now for Thomas. And they'll throw her plenty of accolades. And call her "brilliant". Just like Thomas.

Can it be that it's all so simple?

For Miers sake and the President's, it'd better be.

Mase Murder Is Back

Well, it's official, Pastor Mase has joined G-Unit.

According to MTV:

Mase still has them talking with his G-Unit freestyles. If you haven't heard, he has a joint that dropped a couple of weeks ago called "Check Cleared" on which he's throwing a light jab at Diddy and calling Brandy a hoe (to her on again-off again boyfriend New York Knick Quentin Richardson no less). People have been calling in to New York radio stations, calling Pastor Murda a hypocrite. The G-Unit's "Energy God," Tony Yayo, says let Mase do his thing."I feel like he felt like he was in a situation and had to get things off his chest," Yayo explained of Mase's recent hardcore freestyles. "He's around 50 and us, he's feeling good, he's in a good situation. It's just a mixtape rap."I think he wanted to see if he still had 'Murda' in him, and he did," Yayo added. "On them tracks he's spitting fire. When everybody around you is spitting like that, maybe it tempted him to spit like that a couple of times. 'Let me see if I can go toe-to-toe with some of the best artists that's out right now.' "

I have to admit that not only did I read Mase's book, but I fell for the sentiments in it hook, line and sinker. Mase, who I'd met and interviewed a few years earlier, really came off as sincere, apologetic and inspiring in his rants against the evils of Hip-Hop and how he'd turned his life around for God. He seemed content with his life and a deep understanding of what he'd been through. He seemed fulfilled in finding his purpose by becoming a minister. Granted, you just knew that part of the reason Mase left Hip-Hop was because of what happened to his former labelmate Biggie, but Mase had me convinced especially when I read how much of a prominent pastor he'd become and how he'd even opened up his own ministry down in Atlanta.

Yet, after 3 long years and to the surprise of everyone, there he was back with another album titled "Welcome Back". He said that his style hadn't changed, that he wouldn't be rhyming about women and sex, and that the chicks in his videos would actually be required to wear clothes. Ok, tho' I had every reason to be skeptical, he still had me convinced, I even thought that the "new" Mase might actually work out. In fact, I hoped he would, esp after he went on MTV and said:

"We're gonna teach the ladies that they can still respect themselves and still be beautiful. That's what's up."

Well, needless to say the album tanked, Mase left Bad Boy and now he's a part of the almighty G-Unit. All I have to say is, he better watch the company he keeps.

The Karl Rove Witch Hunt

The fiends are getting closer and closer to indicting Karl Rove:

WASHINGTON — Karl Rove and the man who could indict him were in a federal courthouse throughout Friday morning and into the afternoon as President Bush's top political adviser testified in the ongoing investigation into who leaked the identity of a CIA operative.

Rove was in the building for over four hours, and left without speaking to reporters. Instead, his attorney, Robert Luskin, issued a brief statement saying Rove appeared voluntarily.

"Karl C. Rove testified voluntarily today before the grand jury investigating the disclosure of a CIA agent's identity," the statement said. "The Specal Counsel [Patrick Fitzgerald] has not advised Mr. Rove that he is a target of the investigation and affirmed that he has made no decision concerning charges."
Luskin's statement also said Fitzgerald has asked Rove not to discuss his testimony, but did not anticipate the need for Rove to testify further.

Friday was the fourth time Rove has been before that grand jury, which is set to wrap up its term Oct. 28, barring a possible extension.
The investigation centers around the question of who "outed" Valerie Plame as a CIA operative back in 2003 — an action Bush critics say was taken in retaliation for Plame's husband's public criticisms of the White House regarding the Iraq war.

Judith Miller, apparently suffering from sudden memory loss, admits that she can't recall another source. Times editors admit that they didn't bother to review Miller's notes. And Valerie Plame's own husband, Joseph C. Wilson, a confirmed liar, who told any and every "reporter" and anyone else who would listen on "background" that his wife was working for the CIA (that's NOT covert!). Yet, Karl Rove is supposed to take the fall for all of this?

Of course he is.