Big Money

It seems that Jay-Z made a large bank deposit recently when he sold his Rocawear clothing line for over 200 million dollars. Theoretically, his great-grandchildren will never have to lift a finger. It's bad enough that the man was already worth nine figures but now his worth is just ridiculous. The crazy thing is that he still has money coming in by the boatload from Rocafella Records, Armadale Vodka, President of DefJam Records, and don't forget that he owns a share of the New Jersey Nets. If he is not the epitome of maximizing your earning power, then I don't know who is. Not bad for a guy who really just came on the national scene in maybe 1994. Pretty soon, entertainers will probably rule the Forbes 500 it seems like. Damn I wish I could rap.

Identity Theft

Today I found out more about a comment I posted the other day about males pledging AKA. It seems that a group of homosexual men at either Texas State University or Tennessee State University didn't try to pledge Alpha Kappa Alpha but formed MIAKA. The problem that has arrisen is that they stole the colors, the shield, part of their name, and etc. to have their group, sorority or whatever they want to call it. My advice is that you can form whatever group you want to but don't steal someone else's identity in the process. If they wanted to form their group they could have made up all their own things and everything would be okay from the standpoint of people who don't dislike homosexuals as I don't myself. I would say this about anyone may they be straight, athletes, other females or anyone who tries to steal someone else's style. There is an old saying that copying is the most sincere form of flattering. This might not be the best place to impose that flattering. To these guys, get your own gig. Right now the attention may be flattering to them but eventually, it will most likely turn negative because of the world we live in and even just because they ripped off another prestigious organization that is going almost 100 years strong. Not just to them but anyone else out there who wants to perpetrate, stop hatin' and do your own thing. Hell you never know, one day you might be able to trump the people that you are trying to mimick.

Probable Origin?

Today I was just sitting around thinking and I was thinking about where black folks got the idea to swing their cars(weave side to side from lane to lane). I remembered back to the days when I was a little kid and I remembered that when race cars in NASCAR and INDYCAR pick up tread while following the pace care, the swing from side to side. Now not saying that this is where tippin, swangin, or whatever came from, but it makes you wonder. Basically to me, it would be funny if one of the things that white people say is a big traffic nuisance came from the whitest and dare I say most redneck sport on the planet, stock car racing.

It's Raining Men

Recently I heard that some men at Texas State University are trying to get into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. The problem I have with this is obvious. What the hell are they doing? As of the writing of this post, it is unknown but highly speculated that these men are gay. As a person who believes that homosexuals have the right to everything that anyone else, I believe that this is something that they don't. If these are some straight men trying to prove a point, they are still wrong because what is the purpose? I say this because the reason the sorority was created was as a organization for educated BLACK WOMEN. Not MEN. Not straight men, not gay men, not white men, not black men, not white women. It is the same as the Kappas in Jonesboro, Arkansas allowing a white male to join. This goes against the reason the organization was formed. You don't see black people trying to join the Klu Klux Klan. Even if you did, it would be pointless since their basis is on white domination. I believe in breaking down barriers as much as the next purpose but this is just a place that needs to go unventured. If these guys have to be part of an organization, there are numerous societies that have both females and males on college campuses. Gay, straight, or otherwise, as a straight man who believes in equal human rights and understanding, guys please just leave this one alone. But if there is some deeper point to be proven, I am fully willing to stand corrected if need be.

Lesson Learned

It seemed to me from the response that the tornado ravaged town of Dumas, Arkansas is getting that someone has learned a lesson from the debocle that was Hurricane Katrina. There was rapid response, good follow-up aid, etc. Given that this wasn't as big a tragedy, but it seems that no state or local government wants the reputation of FEMA. There have been so many drives supporting food, shelter, clothing, vaccinations and the like and this impresses me to the point that where I trust local government to help me in a crisis more that the federal government. At least someone out there is working on earning the public's trust back with regard to emergency management response and control.

Motorists Beware

Lately Arkansas lawmakers have tried to upgrade motorists not wearing a seatbelt from a secondary offense to an offense that officers can pull someone over for. This is going to be one of the biggest profiling greenlights that we will have seen in a long while. Now when an officer wants to pull someone over because they don't like them for one reason or another, all they have to do is make sure the person is not wearing a seatbelt. Gone are the days of trying to prove someone was speeding or had their music too loud. This is going to lead in a spike in search and seizures. Some good. Some bad. Lawmakers will have you think that the only people who have to worry about this are people out there doing wrong. As a law-abiding black man I can tell you that isn't the truth. If people don't want to wear seatbelts and risk their safety, that should be their business. You don't see laws banning people from smoking, drinking, eating the wrong foods, and all the other things that could lead to death so why should wearing a seatbelt be any different. And wearing a seatbelt doesn't insure survival. What's next, a law saying what size rims a person can have on their car.

Murder Incentive

I read today that they are coming out with a movie about the Zodiac killer in San Francisco in the '60s. The thing that gets me is that this may be incentive for serial killers if they know they are going to get a movie. They said one thing that drives serial killers is the fame the comes behind it. Well you can't get more high profile than a big budget Hollywood movie. Now when it comes to black folks, they say they need to get rid of rap, music videos, jewelry, big rims, or basically anything that will intice someone to go get money. But in the white folks case, they throw the rules out the door for preventing things if they think it will make a quick buck. Why do white "experts" seem to think that if you get rid of something, then people will forget about it and never think of it again. Wrong. If you get rid of hip-hop culture as they have been driving for, black folks are still not going to be the conformists that they want us to be. But back to the point, I don't see them doing away with their own dirt. I guess pretty soon, there will be a movie chronicalling the Columbine and Jonesboro school masacres. Hey Hollywood, that might be a quick dollar.