80 Gigabytes...Where do I start?

The Queen got me an 80 gig Zune (very cool device)for Christmas....I'm still figuring this thing out. I wonder how long it'll take to fill this badboy up.....

Hmmmmmm

I'm just sayin'....

FED UP....

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Lakota Indians, who gave the world legendary warriors Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from treaties with the United States, leaders said Wednesday.

"We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us," long-time Indian rights activist Russell Means told a handful of reporters and a delegation from the Bolivian embassy, gathered in a church in a run-down neighborhood of Washington for a news conference.

A delegation of Lakota leaders delivered a message to the State Department on Monday, announcing they were unilaterally withdrawing from treaties they signed with the federal government of the United States, some of them more than 150 years old.

They also visited the Bolivian, Chilean, South African and Venezuelan embassies, and will continue on their diplomatic mission and take it overseas in the coming weeks and months, they told the news conference.

Lakota country includes parts of the states of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

The new country would issue its own passports and driving licences, and living there would be tax-free -- provided residents renounce their US citizenship, Means said.

The treaties signed with the United States are merely "worthless words on worthless paper," the Lakota freedom activists say on their website.

The treaties have been "repeatedly violated in order to steal our culture, our land and our ability to maintain our way of life," the reborn freedom movement says.

Withdrawing from the treaties was entirely legal, Means said.

"This is according to the laws of the United States, specifically article six of the constitution," which states that treaties are the supreme law of the land, he said.

"It is also within the laws on treaties passed at the Vienna Convention and put into effect by the US and the rest of the international community in 1980. We are legally within our rights to be free and independent," said Means.

The Lakota relaunched their journey to freedom in 1974, when they drafted a declaration of continuing independence -- an overt play on the title of the United States' Declaration of Independence from England.

Thirty-three years have elapsed since then because "it takes critical mass to combat colonialism and we wanted to make sure that all our ducks were in a row," Means said.

One duck moved into place in September, when the United Nations adopted a non-binding declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples -- despite opposition from the United States, which said it clashed with its own laws.

"We have 33 treaties with the United States that they have not lived by. They continue to take our land, our water, our children," Phyllis Young, who helped organize the first international conference on indigenous rights in Geneva in 1977, told the news conference.

The US "annexation" of native American land has resulted in once proud tribes such as the Lakota becoming mere "facsimiles of white people," said Means.

Oppression at the hands of the US government has taken its toll on the Lakota, whose men have one of the shortest life expectancies -- less than 44 years -- in the world.

Lakota teen suicides are 150 percent above the norm for the United States; infant mortality is five times higher than the US average; and unemployment is rife, according to the Lakota freedom movement's website.

"Our people want to live, not just survive or crawl and be mascots," said Young.

"We are not trying to embarrass the United States. We are here to continue the struggle for our children and grandchildren," she said, predicting that the battle would not be won in her lifetime.

Ron Paul Revolution???

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has received a $500 campaign donation from a white supremacist, and the Texas congressman doesn't plan to return it, an aide said Wednesday.

Don Black, of West Palm Beach, recently made the donation, according to campaign filings. He runs a Web site called Stormfront with the motto, "White Pride World Wide." The site welcomes postings to the "Stormfront White Nationalist Community."

"Dr. Paul stands for freedom, peace, prosperity and inalienable rights. If someone with small ideologies happens to contribute money to Ron, thinking he can influence Ron in any way, he's wasted his money," Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said. "Ron is going to take the money and try to spread the message of freedom."

"And that's $500 less that this guy has to do whatever it is that he does," Benton added.

Black said he supports Paul's stance on ending the war in Iraq, securing U.S. borders and his opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants.

"We know that he's not a white nationalist. He says he isn't and we believe him, but on the issues, there's only one choice," Black said Wednesday.

"We like his stand on tight borders and opposition to a police state," Black told The Palm Beach Post earlier.

On his Web site, Black says he has been involved in "the White patriot movement for 30 years."

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Ron Paul and His KKK, White Supremacist, and Neo-Nazi Supporters
Written by SJ Reidhead
Published November 27, 2007
During the past month or so the conservative blogsphere and media has finally discovered the fact that GOP Presidential hopeful and Texas GOP Congressman Ron Paul has some very strange supporters. During the past months on Blogcritics, I have been exposing various and sundry rather tawdry aspects of the whole anti-immigration movement with profiles on John Tanton and Tom Tancredo.

The Blogcritics piece I recently did about the white supremacist assault on Senator Lindsey Graham is garnering some interesting comments from the far right. But no series exposing the extreme and far right forces distorting the once-honorable conservative agenda could possibly be anywhere near complete without a commentary about some of the supporters of Ron Paul.

This isn’t the first time Ron Paul has run for President. In 1988 he did so as a libertarian candidate, attracting little attention. This time, though it is different as Paul and his supporters have mastered the art of the internet candidacy and almost defined a new and improved way to raise funds. Instead of going for a few high dollar supporters, they are going for large numbers of small dollar donors, and are rewriting the way fundraising is done.

Conservative bloggers are patting themselves on their ramrod straight backs for finally facing the fact that their movement is being hijacked by white supremacist forces from the far right. Unfortunately they are miles behind the curve, and just a little too little too late as far as I am concerned. Congressman Ron Paul has some very nasty white supremacist friends. If the problem dated only to this election cycle it would be one thing, but Paul has a past history of making some rather racially insensitive remarks, on a rather consistent basis.

In 2004 Paul made a short statement from the floor of the US House of Representatives about his refusal to vote for the renewal of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

"The Civil Rights Act of 1964 not only violated the Constitution and reduced individual liberty; it also failed to achieve its stated goals of promoting racial harmony and a color-blind society. Federal bureaucrats and judges cannot read minds to see if actions are motivated by racism. Therefore, the only way the federal government could ensure an employer was not violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was to ensure that the racial composition of a business's workforce matched the racial composition of a bureaucrat or judge's defined body of potential employees. Thus, bureaucrats began forcing employers to hire by racial quota. Racial quotas have not contributed to racial harmony or advanced the goal of a color-blind society. Instead, these quotas encouraged racial balkanization, and fostered racial strife….”

In 1996 in an article, in the Houston Chronicle, “…Paul, a Republican obstetrician from Surfside, said Wednesday he opposes racism and that his written commentaries about blacks came in the context of "current events and statistical reports of the time." ... Paul, writing in his independent political newsletter in 1992, reported about unspecified surveys of blacks. "Opinion polls consistently show that only about 5 percent of blacks have sensible political opinions, i.e. support the free market, individual liberty and the end of welfare and affirmative action," Paul wrote. Paul continued that politically sensible blacks are outnumbered "as decent people." Citing reports that 85 percent of all black men in the District of Columbia are arrested, Paul wrote: "Given the inefficiencies of what D.C. laughingly calls the `criminal justice system,' I think we can safely assume that 95 percent of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal," Paul said. Paul also wrote that although "we are constantly told that it is evil to be afraid of black men, it is hardly irrational. Black men commit murders, rapes, robberies, muggings and burglaries all out of proportion to their numbers.”

The Stormfront (white supremacist, neo-Nazi leaning) website has a promotional page for Ron Paul. Paul’s campaign accepted $500 in campaign donations from Stormfront founder and known neo-Nazi Don Black, and until recently Paul refused to return the donation. While Paul’s campaign has a fascinating number of ties to Stormfront, they refused to return the calls of Daniel Siederaski of the Jewish Telegraph Agency. Siederaski wrote:

Any other candidate would unequivocally reject that money as soon as its donor’s identity was known. That Paul’s campaign needs time to think about it is shocking. Also of concern is the fact that Paul’s campaign has ignored my repeated attempts to interview the Congressman for JTA, the Jewish newswire service by which I am employed. I had intended to write a story about the Congressman, and to provide him with the opportunity to distance himself from his extremist supporters, to clarify his position on Israel, and to state his case to the Jewish community. Yet, after three weeks of repeated telephone calls, two chats with his Deputy Communications Director, and several left voicemail messages, I have yet to receive a callback to schedule an interview….

In Tennessee one of Ron Paul’s biggest internet organizers is neo-Nazi leader Will Williams, who is a southern point person for the National Alliance Party, the largest neo-Nazi organization in the US. According to Andrew Walden, author of the American Thinker piece, Williams is in part responsible for the extreme numbers of “meet-up” individuals who have registered for Paul. Some 61,000 Ron Paul supporters are registered, compared to 3,400 for Barack Obama, 1,000 for Hillary Clinton, and 1,800 for Dennis Kucinich. Williams may also be responsible for the enormous amount of spam and comments received by anyone who dares criticize Ron Paul.

Williams is not the only white supremacist, KKK, or neo-Nazi supporter Ron Paul has. He is supported by David Duke and Pat Buchanan. Ron Unz, editor of Buchanan’s American Conservative magazine is also a Ron Paul supporter. Strangely enough Barry Manilow is also a Paul supporter as is Cindy Sheehan. There are ties to the American Nationalist Union and several serious anti-Semitic sites and organizations. Also supporting Paul are long time “Christian” conservatives like Howard Phillips and Chuck Baldwin who is closely associated with the Constitution Party.

Dave Neiwert, quoting Chip Berlet, wrote “Those neo-Nazis have a First Amendment right to endorse Ron Paul, but Ron Paul has a moral obligation to disavow that donation." He added: "There's two issues: Why would anyone have to ask Ron Paul to disassociate himself from the endorsement of neo-Nazis? And the second is that when they did ask him, his silence spoke volumes about his values. You know, 'I don't enjoy the endorsement of neo-Nazis' — how hard is that to say? And why hasn't he refunded it? It's not like this is a gray area."

Currently Paul is polling about 7% in New Hampshire and 8% in South Carolina.


SJ Reidhead is a writer and political junkie who lives in Lincoln County, New Mexico and is the author of two western novels, and has several non- fiction books about Tombstone and Wyatt Earp. She is currently counting hits her Pink Flamingo blog and is working on an expose of the anti-immigration movement as well as forming her own publishing company.

My Goodness....

Does anyone else see the irony here?

Papa Robbie Live...

Here I am performing at the Charleston County Library with my very capable band "S.W.A.T.". This is the one song that I do at EVERY show...."The Lesson". Hope you dig it.

Real Soul Music....

Ryan Shaw is a man with a mission.

This 26-year-old singer/songwriter from Decatur, Georgia is out to revive the passion and soul of the Golden Age of Rhythm & Blues (1960-1972) for a new generation. His debut album, This Is Ryan Shaw, combines a powerfully expressive voice with a clutch of great songs both classic and new—and a state-of-the-art, in-your-face sound that makes it impossible to sit still.
Working with player/producers Jimmy Bralower and Johnny Gale, Ryan dug deep into the "soul mine" for overlooked gems by obscure artists like the Combo Kings and the Sharpees along with more familiar songs made famous by Wilson Pickett, Jackie Wilson, and Bobby Womack. Ryan's original tunes—"Nobody" (the first single), "We Got Love," and "Over and Done" —are most definitely of the moment but built on the old-school values of strong melodies and meaningful lyrics.

Ryan delivers every song with the kind of emotional commitment and vocal panache that have nearly vanished from the mainstream musical landscape. Compositional craft and studio technology blend in an album of irresistible appeal from the opening dance blast of "Do the 45" to the heart-wrenching ballad "I Am Your Man" and "Over and Done," the upbeat Ryan Shaw original that closes the set on a joyful, triumphant note.

On stage, Ryan brings it all together with a combination of Southern warmth and New York vitality. Using just a small rhythm section and two male backing vocalists, he's able to effectively reproduce the sound of his album while stretching some tunes into full-on vocal rave-ups. Ryan's thrilling voice and charismatic presence are all that he needs to get over with an audience. There's no posturing or mindless booty-shaking, no need for contrived antics: Ryan Shaw is the real deal.
Courtesy of
http://www.thisisryanshaw.com

Imus' New Sidekick....Hmmmmmm

Courtesy of Essence.com

Karith Foster: Don Imus's New Sidekick Defends Her Decision to Be on the Show

Comedian Karith Foster talks exclusively to ESSENCE about her role on the Don Imus radio program, why she took the job and how she's not a sellout
By Tatsha Robertson

Months after Imus was fired from his job for calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy headed hos,’’ he’s back on the air, but this time with two Black comedians—Karith Foster and Tony Powell—at his side. Will it be back to business as usual for the famous radio talk show host, or will this new lineup really start an ongoing conversation on race in this country as he promised? ESSENCE news editor Tatsha Robertson caught up with Imus’s new sidekick Foster, a 33-year-old performer from Plano, Texas. In her first lengthy one-on-one interview, she talks about her new gig, her new boss and what she has to say to anyone who calls her a sellout.

Essence.com: Congratulations. Have you slept at all?

Karith Foster: (Laugh) I can sleep when I am dead.

Essence.com: What did your family say when they heard that you got the gig?

K.F.: They were not thrilled. Most of my friends were like, “Oh, my God, this is an awesome opportunity.” My parents were like, “Is this something you want to do? Is this is something you are prepared to do? Is this a person you want to work with?”

Essence.com: So they had questions?

K.F.: Of course. Absolutely. My parents are extremely protective. I am their firstborn. They have always done everything in their lives to help me have a better life and to keep me safe and happy, especially the whole safety issue. There are a lot of angry people out there, as it should have been.

Essence.com: What is it really like to work with Imus?

K.F.: He is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He does have the grumpy old man demeanor. I’m not saying that is not who he is. That is definitely part of who he is. But he is definitely a very kind, gentle person. If I hadn’t seen that side, if I wasn’t aware of that side, then I don’t think this would be a position I would have considered. Our very first discussion—ever—was about the Rutgers situation and what he had said and my feelings about it. I’ve been in the comedy business for about ten years, and you (develop) a gauge for people; you can tell who is BSing you after the show. This man was truly, genuinely sincere and regretful for the hurt that he caused people. In that conversation he said he always made it a policy not to make fun of celebrities’ children or public figures and so forth because that’s not fair. And that (his comment) was wrong.

Essence.com: Did he call you first? I’m just curious how this happened.

K.F.: It was being at the right place at the right time. It was arranged through a manager. I remember very vividly when everything happened because my uncle had just passed away that weekend when everything broke, and he (Imus) was meeting with the Rutgers women. I remember thinking, Wow, I just wish I had been there to be able to say something. It’s kind of like the universe heard me.

Essence.com: I hear what you’re saying, but someone out there will say that you were hired to save face for Imus. Your reaction?

K.F.: (Long pause) Well, I am not here to defend the man. I am also not paid to be his policeman. I am here to contribute to a historically entertaining show. I have no issue whatsoever speaking up when I feel the need to. I feel as if I am here to represent. That is another reason I took the job. What an opportunity to be a positive role model, not just for African-Americans and not just for women, but especially African-American women.

Essence.com: Are you going to hold him accountable when he goes too far? Because sometimes he does.

K.F.: Absolutely. There is a fine line. The rules in comedy are this: All is fair in love and comedy, but it has to be funny. There is a fine line between being funny and malicious. But it’s a distinct line, and when you cross it, I think something should be said. And I think you should be held accountable.

Essence.com: Interesting.

K.F.: Listening to it and having heard the actual recording of the nappy-headed hos (incident), it was so obvious it wasn’t malicious. He was an old White guy trying to be young and hip and use the modern vernacular. And it wasn’t funny.

Essence.com: Hmm… Your life is going to be open. How do you feel about that?

K.F.: Of course I am still taking it in. It’s something I think I planned for—for a while. Even in college I kind of lived my life as if I wanted to run for political office one day. I don’t want anything coming back to bite me in the butt. So I’m afraid there won’t be any Internet photos or kids popping up out of the blue.

Essence.com: There is some confusion. On your Web site you say you’re a Jewish woman, and so many people think you are Black and Jewish. Can you clear that up?

K.F.: Oh, my God! Okay, again humor. Some people get it and some people don’t. In my act I joke about being a Jewish girl from Long Island trapped in this body. I have very dear friends who are Jewish…so it’s kind of an inside joke.

Essence.com: I got it. In one of your skits, you say you were “ebonically challenged,’’ and it was funny. But some people may think you’ll say things Imus can’t.

K.F.: I am going to say what I feel. I am going to say what is true to me. I am certainly not up there to hurt or humiliate my people. I am reading some things online that are saying, “Oh, they hired two comedians.” It’s as if we are there just to be funny. The job of a comedian is also to provide social commentary and make people think. That is what I use my comedy for. I get up on stage and show another perspective. Part of what I had to fight my entire comedy career is that I don’t fall into the stereotype of the fat Black, sassy woman rolling her neck and talking about having baby daddies. Not that I have any issues with that because comedy is hard and anybody who has the balls to do it I applaud. I talk about being a Huxtable because that’s my experience growing up. Ebonically challenged—I grew up in Plano, Texas, where I was literally in an all-White production of A Raisin in the Sun. So I joke about it (Plano) having the ethnic diversity of a Klan rally.

Essence.com: Do you think this is a dream job for you?

K.F.: This is only my second day on the job. I don’t want to go crazy (Laughs). I do see it as an opportunity. It’s definitely a turning point. If God didn’t want this for me, it wouldn’t have happened. If I couldn’t handle it, then someone else would have gotten the job. That’s how I see it.

Essence.com: Okay, last question. Someone is going to call you a sellout. What do you have to say about that?

K.F.: Absolutely. I weighed that and thought about that. What outweighed that is when I thought about what good I can do. If people would call me a sellout, I’d have to say they don’t know me at all, and I am sorry they feel that way. I would hope and prefer they would see this as an opportunity to have a form of representation where there previously was none.

Essence.com: Okay, gotcha.

James Brown's Legacy....

By Davey D

There's no excuse not to have a few stocking stuffers. Leading the pack is a new Chuck D/Public Enemy project that pays tribute to the late James Brown. Its done under the name The Peeps of Soulfunk and features SlamJam artists like singer Kyle Jason and his group the banned. It also introduces us to a new artist named Revue.The name of the album is 'Tribb to JB'

The project is off the hook as it manages to capture the musical essence and feel of many of Brown's classics like 'Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)', 'Funky President' and my favorite 'Get Up, Get Into It and Get Involved'. At the same time Chuck and company add their own twists to some of these songs, by either rapping new lyrics or adding little riffs and extra beats here and there. Kyle Jason's band is superb. Trust me on this you will not be disappointed...

On a more somber note, I spoke with Chuck D the other night for a long time about the significance behind this project. He explained that as soon as Brown passed away last Christmas, he thought about doing a tribute album. What surprised him was over the past year was seeing that no other group had come forth to do something similar. To date the PE project is the only tribute album. Chuck pointed out James Brown's legacy has pretty much been obscured when you consider the impact he's had on music and his global appeal. He noted how other pioneering rock icons like Elvis and the Beatles are celebrated while Black music icons like Brown and Curtis Mayfield who also passed away several years ago in late December are pretty much forgotten.

This oversight and lack of celebration is not by accident, but instead indicates a larger problem within the Black community where history is discouraged and downplayed. It seems to be a continuum of the edict applied to Black folks when we first brought over to this country, which was to strip away and erase one's cultural heritage. The lack of knowledge of our musical history is a microcasm for what is going on in the larger society.
For example, today the average African American 18 year old not only knows more about Souljah Boy and his new dance than he does James Brown, but he probably couldn't care less about the Godfather of Soul's immense contributions. That attitude may extend to a dis-interest in political and social history. So he may not know about James Brown, the Black Panthers, SNCC or the local heroes and sheroes who paved the way for him.

Part of this disconnect is elders in particular parents not taking time to pass down the info, but that disconnect is equally fostered by popular urban media outlets that rarely celebrate and expose that history to their audience. Aside from the BET Tribute during an awards show which Public Enemy participated, there has been barely a mention. During our conversation, Chuck noted what I had personally experienced where many urban radio stations refuse to play records more than 5 years old aside from an occasional specialty shows or old school mix. Not only is the soul and blues history lost to the masses but increasingly Hip Hop's recent history. If you don't belive it ask that 18 year old Souljah Boy fan if he ever heard an X-Clan, Big Daddy Kane or MC Lyte record. Contrast that with a 18 year old rock fan and see if he or she ever heard of Nirvrana, U2 or Red Hot Chili Peppers who were out around the same time as their Hip Hop counterparts. Chuck is on a mission to change that...

Here's the video to the song 'Think Mamma for the Soul Sisters'

Ghostwriting: Lyrical Steroids

The above pic is of Lil' Wayne and his "father figure" Baby ....somethin' just ain't right with this picture. You tell me. Wayne and Baby are breaking a few rules on several levels, but having someone write Wayne's elementary rhymes for him is what we're addressing here. -Papa Robbie

Ghostwriting: Lyrical Steroids

by: Jason Fleurant


I remember a time when sounding like, or even appearing the slightest bit like anyone else was cause for a beat down in Hip Hop. To quote Steven A. Smith “Quite Frankly!" I want those days back. It’s bad enough nowadays that everyone wants to go into the booth and instead of taking time to concentrate on what they’re about to say, they want to freestyle on records. No, that was not a diss towards the Jay-Z/Biggie style of Writing lyrics in their heads. Unlike those chumps who imitate they actually took their time and wrote the words in their minds. Yet this is a topic for another day.

Lets address the plague that’s running wild like a headless chicken in Hip-Hop. The steroids of rap, ghostwriting. Lately we’ve seen the impact on sports in general with the whole steroids epidemic. Mostly standing out in baseball with Barry Bond’s chasing and then surpassing Babe Ruth's home run record. Now the allegations against Lance Armstrong as well as fellow cyclist Floyd Landis (who tested positive for substance abuse).

It’s been known for years that Puff or Diddy, whatever the hell he calls himself today is a notorious user of Ghostwriters. As Dj Drama said in a blog “Everyone ghostwrites for Puff”. But is it really fair? Well not even fair, the question should be is it right? The art of rapping isn’t like pop or R&B songs, where someone else writes the song for some singer because singers expressed themselves through actual singing. Rapping is about you expressing yourself through your own words not someone else’s.

Maybe the Hip Hop Gods need to come down with the Ten Commandments. Rule number one could be something like “If Thou Hast Not Written It, Thou Shalt Not Spit It” (hmm I think I‘m going to put that on a shirt). This has gotten ridiculous to think that someone would strut around claiming they’re ill but doesn’t even write their own rhymes. Bad enough people pretend to be something they're not in order to be famous, but this is another level of disgrace. The “Steroids Of Rap” scandal has a new face: Lil Wayne vs. Gillie.

Gillie the ex-Cash Money artist from Philly has been out and about trash talking Lil Wayne’s seemingly overnight lyrical growth. Stating that in fact he ghostwrote for Weezy F. Baby’s (please say the baby) ‘The Carter’. Which by the way is held as a critically acclaim album, some even consider a classic. I mean Gillie has been going full-force with this appearing on radio, magazines, and even an embarrassing moment that felt straight out of the Black Exploitation movies on MTV Sucker Free. Where he, accompanied by the Clipse let it be known to all the teenyboppers that Wayne was a fraud. Lets just say that it was silent enough to hear a fly land on a moving locomotive in the MTV studio.

The idea that the man that is most considered the prominent lyrical rapper from the south may have been so only because an east coast artist gave him his swag is a major blow to the south in general. Especially since The Carter II while a decent album fell short of what the first installment brought us and Gillie has gone out his way to claim he wasn’t there to right for that one. Could it of been a possible case of Barry Bonds being jealous of the love Mark McGuire and Sammy were getting that he decided to get a performance boost. In Wayne’s case being the only souljah left on Cash Money, while Juvenile and B.G. where getting love, could it be that in-order to stand out he possibly enlisted the help of Gillie to give his lyrical skills a boost? Or maybe a case of someone exploiting him to get some shine of their own.

Worst yet is the fact that a rapper like Young Joc had his number one song “Going Down” ghost written by his producer Netty. Netty exposed this and bashed Joc for his lack of skill in an issue of XXL Magazine. This has got to be where the buck stops. You mean to tell me you’re so untalented in writing rhymes that the producer has to write one of the wackest joints ever heard. “Verse number two, do the damn thing” Are you kidding me!? Who the hell starts a verse by saying verse number two, how can these guys get deals? Next you’ll hear D4L come out saying they didn’t write that “Laffy Taffy” mess.

Rumors have circulated for years that some of your favorite artists used ghostwriters. Puff of course, but even one so bold to say Nas wrote for Rakim. Yea crazy isn’t it. Almost down right blasphemous to even imagine. What are we to feel when you find out an artist uses a ghostwriter? I said it before that this isn’t R&B where you sing what someone wrote for you. This is Hip Hop, this is rap baby where you EXPRESS YOUR SELF! I can’t lie, I lose a lot of respect for those who use ghost writers (example: Eazy-E, Dr. Dre) but lose even more respect for those who write for them (Ice Cube, D.O.C. and Jay-Z).

I remember watching QDIII’s DVD on ‘The MC’, it’s a documentary brought to you by the man who made the infamous Beef series. Back on subject, Krs-One had said something that always stayed in my heart about the whole idea of ghostwriters. I’m going to pretty much paraphrase but it went along the lines of “when you sell something you write, you sell a piece of your soul. So in fact you're selling yourself because the words on the paper came from no where else but from in you.” Think about that, let it marinade for a minute.

I understand that we all can’t get inside the industry and get the shine some of the other maybe lesser deserving cats have. I understand and feel people when you say its good 'easy money'. Please don’t get me wrong and think I’ve never worn those shoes and considered going the ghostwriting route. I have, but I just can’t do it bro. I just can’t really respect anyone who will basically sell themselves to someone else just for some quick bucks. There is this thing I have that I like to hold on to called Integrity. It would actually sicken me to see or hear someone else quote my rhymes, fronting all over the T.V. like they were the genius that wrote it (not saying that I’m some genius, just using it for dramatic effect).

What if someone came out like Jaz-O exposing that he actually ghostwrote for Jay-Z or some dude wrote for Nas? Same thing for Pac, Biggie, Pun. What if someone out of the blue could prove they actually ghostwrote for them? All this time we’d have been giving props and arguing over lies. The fact of the matter is the fool that is in the limelight getting rich and famous by faking is a liar. Just like lip-synching is a huge no-no in the world or R&B and Pop, ghostwriting is a huge no-no to us that love Hip Hop.

What it may really come down to is the fact that creativity and originality in Hip Hop has come to a stand still. In large part thanks to the big wigs at these record labels who want to just clone artist success. Forcing the idea of being original out of the door and following a Mini Vanilli formula in. So now it is easier to not really give a flying (you fill in the blank) about selling a original piece of yourself for some money because it’s all about making money nowadays. People will do anything to get it. “Don’t worry if I write rhymes, I write checks” I guess that pretty much can sum up the mentality of the industry today. You know what the saddest part about that rhyme is? The fact that he didn’t even write it.

DECEMBER 5th......

Births

* 1377 - Jianwen Emperor of China (d. 1402)
* 1443 - Pope Julius II (d. 1513)
* 1495 - Nicolas Cleynaerts, Flemish grammarian (d. 1542)
* 1537 - Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Japanese shogun (d. 1597)
* 1539 - Fausto Paolo Sozzini, Italian theologian (d. 1604)
* 1547 - Ubbo Emmius, Dutch historian and geographer (d. 1625)
* 1595 - Henry Lawes, English composer (d. 1662)
* 1661 - Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, English statesman (d. 1724)
* 1687 - Francesco Geminiani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1762)
* 1782 - Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States (d. 1862)
* 1803 - Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev, Russian poet (d. 1873)
* 1820 - Afanasy Fet, Russian poet (d. 1892)
* 1822 - Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, American college president (d. 1907)
* 1829 - Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, French Canadian politician (d. 1908)
* 1830 - Christina Rossetti, British poet (d. 1894)
* 1839 - George Armstrong Custer, American general (d. 1876)
* 1855 - Clinton Hart Merriam, American ornithologist (d. 1942)
* 1859 - John Jellicoe, British admiral (d. 1935)
* 1863 - Paul Painlevé, French mathematician (d. 1933)
* 1867 - Józef Piłsudski, Polish revolutionary and statesman (d. 1935)
* 1867 - Antti Aarne, Finnish folklorist (d. February 2, 1925)
* 1868 - Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist (d. 1951)
* 1869 - Ellis Parker Butler, American author (d. 1937)
* 1870 - Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer (d. 1949)
* 1871 - Bill Pickett, American rodeo performer (d. 1932)
* 1872 - Harry Nelson Pillsbury, American chess player (d. 1906)
* 1875 - Sir Arthur Currie, Canadian soldier (d. 1933)
* 1879 - Clyde Cessna, American airplane manufacturer (d. 1954)
* 1879 - Nunnally Johnson, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1977)
* 1886 - Rose Wilder Lane, American writer and reporter, daughter of 'Little House' books writer Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1968)
* 1890 - David Bomberg, British painter (d. 1957)
* 1890 - Fritz Lang, Austrian-born film director (d. 1976)
* 1892 - Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (d. 1973)
* 1895 - Elbert Frank Cox, American mathematician (d. 1969)
* 1896 - Carl Ferdinand Cori, Austrian-born biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
* 1898 - Grace Moore, American soprano (d. 1947)
* 1898 - Josh Malihabadi, Urdu poet of India and Pakistan (d. 1982)
* 1901 - Walt Disney, American animated film producer (d. 1966)
* 1901 - Milton H. Erickson, American psychiatrist (d. 1980)
* 1901 - Werner Heisenberg, German physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1976)
* 1902 - Strom Thurmond, American politician (d. 2003)
* 1903 - Johannes Heesters, Dutch singer and actor
* 1903 - Cecil Frank Powell, British physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1969)
* 1905 - Gus Mancuso, baseball player (d. 1984)
* 1906 - Otto Preminger, Austrian-born director, producer, and actor (d. 1986)
* 1907 - Giuseppe Occhialini, Italian physicist (d. 1993)
* 1910 - Abraham Polonsky, American screenwriter (d. 1999)
* 1911 - Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist (d. 2000)
* 1914 - Hans Hellmut Kirst, German author (d. 1989)
* 1917 - Ken Downing, British racing driver (d. 2004)
* 1927 - Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand
* 1932 - Sheldon Lee Glashow, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1932 - Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman), American singer and pianist
* 1934 - Joan Didion, American writer
* 1934 - Nikos Kourkoulos, Greek actor, artistic director of the National Theatre of Greece (d. 2007)
* 1935 - Yury Vlasov, Soviet weightlifter
* 1935 - Calvin Trillin, American writer
* 1936 - James Lee Burke, American writer
* 1938 - J. J. Cale, American songwriter
* 1940 - Peter Pohl, Swedish writer
* 1940 - Boris Ignatyev, Russian footballer
* 1943 - Eva Joly, Norwegian-born French magistrate
* 1944 - Jeroen Krabbé, Dutch actor
* 1945 - Serge Chapleau, Quebec caricaturist
* 1946 - José Carreras, Spanish tenor
* 1947 - Jim Messina, American musician (Buffalo Springfield - Loggins and Messina)
* 1947 - Tony Gregory, Irish politician
* 1947 - Jim Plunkett, American football player
* 1947 - Bruce Golding, Jamaican politician
* 1949 - Ray Comfort, New Zealand evangelist
* 1950 - Camarón de la Isla, Spanish flamenco singer (d. 1992)
* 1950 - Osvaldo Golijov, Argentine-born composer
* 1951 - Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven, Belgian artist
* 1951 - Morgan Brittany, American actress
* 1952 - Andy Kim, Canadian singer, songwriter
* 1953 - Larry Zbyszko, American professional wrestler
* 1956 - Brian Backer, American actor
* 1956 - Krystian Zimerman, Polish pianist
* 1957 - Art Monk, American football player
* 1958 - Dean Erickson, American actor
* 1960 - Jack Russell, American singer (Great White)
* 1962 - José Cura, Argentine tenor
* 1963 - Doctor Dre, American radio personality
* 1963 - Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards, British skier
* 1963 - Carrie Hamilton, American actress (d. 2002)
* 1965 - Johnny Rzeznik, American singer, songwriter and guitarist (Goo Goo Dolls)
* 1965 - Wayne Smith, Jamaican reggae musician
* 1966 - Patricia Kaas, French singer
* 1967 - Gary Allan, American singer
* 1967 - Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin, titular Bulgarian royal family
* 1968 - Margaret Cho, American comedian and actress
* 1968 - Lisa Marie, American model and actress
* 1969 - Lewis Gordon Pugh, British swimmer, polar explorer and motivational speaker
* 1969 - Morgan J. Freeman, American film director
* 1970 - Robert LaMont Ellington, oh come on...you know about HIM!!!
* 1971 - Kali Rocha, American actress
* 1972 - Angela Shelton, American actress & writer
* 1972 - Mike Mahoney, baseball player
* 1972 - Cliff Floyd, American baseball player
* 1973 - Shalom Harlow, model
* 1973 - Luboš Motl, Czech physicist
* 1975 - Ronnie O'Sullivan, British snooker player
* 1976 - Amy Acker, American actress
* 1976 - Xavier Garbajosa, French rugby player
* 1978 - Olli Jokinen, Finnish ice hockey player
* 1979 - Matteo Ferrari, Italian footballer
* 1979 - Niklas Hagman, Finnish hockey player
* 1979 - Nick Stahl, American actor
* 1979 - Gareth McAuley, Northern Irish footballer
* 1979 - Evonne Hsu, Taiwanese singer
* 1979 - Marcus Stevens, Elk, California's first gay youth
* 1980 - Shizuka Ito, Japanese voice actress (seiyū)
* 1981 - Leila Tong, Hong Kong actress
* 1982 - Eddy Curry, American basketball player
* 1982 - Trai Essex, American football player
* 1984 - Chris Solinsky, American distance runner
* 1985 - Josh Smith, American basketball player
* 1985 - Frankie Muniz, American actor
* 1985 - Nico Verdonck, Belgian racing driver

CHANNEL ZERO is in TROUBLE...

The writers are serious...I love it when "the industry" gets kicked in the pants.
Late Night
"Late Show with David Letterman" - In repeats.
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" - In repeats.
"Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - In repeats.
"The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" - In repeats.
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" - In repeats.
"Last Call with Carson Daily" - In repeats.
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" - In repeats.
"The Colbert Report" - In repeats.
"Real Time with Bill Maher" - In repeats.
"Saturday Night Live" - In repeats.
"Nightline" - In repeats.

ABC
"Desperate Housewives" - Nine out of 22 episodes completed; production shut down.
"Grey's Anatomy" - Eleven out of 22 episodes completed. Production shut down.
"Ugly Betty" - Will have 13 out of 24 episodes completed.
"Boston Legal" - Will have 14 of 22 episodes completed.
"Lost" - Expected to have eight out of 16 episodes ready. Scheduled to air in February.
"Private Practice" - Will have 10 of 22 episodes completed.
"Pushing Daisies" - Will have nine of 22 episodes completed.
"Big Shots" - Will have 13 of 13 episodes completed if production is not halted.
"Women's Murder Club" - Will have 10 of 13 episodes completed.
"Samantha Who?" - Will have 12 of 22 episodes completed.
"Cavemen" - Expected to have 12 out of 13 episodes completed; has not received an order for a full season.
"Men in Trees" - Will have 19 of 27 episodes completed, including five episodes left from the first season.
"Cashmere Mafia" - The premiere has been delayed because of the strike.
"Dirty Sexy Money" - Will have between 11 and 13 episodes completed.
"Brothers & Sisters" - Will have 12 episodes completed.
"Eli Stone" - Will have 13 of 13 ordered. Midseason premiere date is undetermined.
"Carpoolers" - Will have 13 of 13 episodes completed.

CBS
"CSI"- Will have 11 or 12 out of 22 episodes completed.
"CSI: Miami" - Will have 13 out of 24 episodes completed.
"CSI: NY" - Will have 13 or 14 out of 22 episodes completed.
"Criminal Minds" - Will have 11 or 12 of 22 episodes completed.
"Without a Trace" - Will have 12 out of 22 episodes completed.
"Cold Case" - Will have 13 out of 22 episodes completed.
"NCIS" - Will have 13 out of 22 episodes completed.
"The Unit" - Will have 11 of 22 episodes completed.
"Numb3rs" - Will have 12 of 22 episodes completed.
"Survivor: China" - Full season has been shot. Finale will air Dec. 16, 8-10 p.m.
"The Amazing Race" - Full season has been shot. Finale is scheduled to air in January.
"Kid Nation" - Full season has been shot. Finale is scheduled to air Dec. 12.
"Moonlight" - Expected to have 11 out of 12 episodes completed; has not received an order for a full season.
"Cane" - Expected to complete all 13 episodes; has not yet received an order for a full season.
"Shark" - Will have 12 of 22 episodes completed.
"Jericho" - Will have seven of seven episodes completed and will probably premiere sometime in January.
"New Adventures of Old Christine" - Production has been shut down. Will have eight or nine of 13 episodes completed. Midseason premiere unscheduled.
"Big Bang Theory" - Production has been shut down. Will have eight or nine of 13 episodes completed.
"Two and a Half Men" - Production has been shut down. Will have 11 of 22 episodes completed.
"Rules of Engagement" - Production has been shut down. Will have nine or 10 episodes completed.
"How I Met Your Mother" - Production has been shut down. Will have 11 of 22 episodes completed.

NBC
"The Office" - Production has been shut down. Will have nine or 10 of 30 episodes completed.
"My Name is Earl" - Will have 13 out of 22 episodes completed.
"Law & Order: SVU" - Will have 14 of 22 episodes completed.
"Medium" - Will have nine of 22 episodes completed.
"30 Rock" - Expected to have 10 of 22 episodes completed.
"Heroes" - Production has been shut down. Will have 11 of 24 episodes completed.
"Friday Night Lights" - Expected to have 15 of 22 episodes completed.
"The Biggest Loser" - Finale is scheduled to air Dec. 18, 9-11 p.m.
"Scrubs" - Expected to have 12 of 18 episodes completed.
"Journeyman" - Will have 12 of 13 episodes completed; has not yet received an order for a full season.

CW
"Everybody Hates Chris" - Expected to have 22 of 22 episodes completed.
"Aliens in America" - Still in production. Will have 17 of 22 episodes completed.
"Girlfriends" - Still in production. Will have 10 of 22 episodes completed.
"The Game" - Still in production. Will have 10 of 22 episodes completed.
"Reaper" - Still in production. Will have 13 of 13 episodes completed.
"Gossip Girl" - Will have 12 of 22 episodes completed.
"Smallville" - Will have 12 to 14 of 22 episodes completed.
"Supernatural" - Will have 12 to 14 of 22 episodes completed.
"One Tree Hill" - Returning in mid-season; will have 12 out of 13 episodes completed.
"Beauty & The Geek" - Finale is scheduled to air at 8:00 p.m. Dec. 4. A new cycle will air in mid-season.
"Life Is Wild" - Will have 12 of 13 episodes completed.
"America's Next Top Model" - Season finale is scheduled for Dec. 12. An additional 13-episode run scheduled for early next year.
"Crowned" (the mother-daughter beauty contest) - Has eight episodes ordered. Scheduled to premiere Dec. 12.
"Farmer Wants a Wife" - Has eight episodes ordered; premieres Dec. 12.
"Pussycat Dolls 2" - Has eight episodes ordered.

Fox
"24" - Will have eight or nine out of 24 episodes completed. Originally scheduled for January, now premiere is delayed.
"House" - Will have 13 of 22 episodes completed.
"Bones" - Will have 12 of 22 episodes completed.
"Prison Break" - Will have 13 out of 22 episodes completed.
"Back to You" - Production has been shut down. Will have nine of 24 episodes completed.
"'Til Death" - Production has been shut down. Will have 11 of 22 episodes completed.
"K-Ville" - Production has been shut down. Will have 10 of 13 episodes completed.
"Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" - Will have 13 of 13 episodes completed. Two-night premiere is scheduled for Jan. 13 and 14.
"Kitchen Nighmares" - Finale is scheduled to air in December.
"Family Guy" - Will have 19 of 22 episodes completed.
"King of the Hill " - Will have 21 of 22 episodes completed.
"American Dad" - Will have 22 of 22 episodes completed.
"The Simpsons" - Will have 22 of 22 episodes completed.

USA
"In Plain Sight" - New show, episodes are nearly wrapped.
"Psych" and "Monk" - Enough scripts in hand to guarantee a full second half of each season.
"Law and Order: Criminal Intent" - Will have 10 of 22 episodes completed.
"Burn Notice" - Scheduled to start production of Season 2 in January.
"Starter Wife" - Scheduled to start production in March.

Sci-Fi
"Stargate Atlantis" - Currently airing; production completed.
"Battlestar Galactica" - Final season is scheduled to premiere in April. Will have 10 of 22 episodes completed.
"Eureka" - Third season is expected to premiere next summer, but will probably be delayed.

FX
"30 Days" - Production on third season completed.
"Nip/Tuck" - Will have 14 of 14 episodes completed.
"The Shield" - Production on the series finale is underway. No air date set.
"The Riches" - Second season premiere is scheduled for March. Will have seven of 13 completed. Production is shut down.
"Dirt" - Will have seven of 13 episodes completed. Production is shut down.
"Rescue Me" - Production on fifth season scheduled to start in early '08.
"Damages" - Just picked up for two more seasons. Production on season two scheduled to begin early next year but will be delayed by strike.

HBO
"Entourage" and "Big Love" - Both series are scheduled to air in the summer of 2008 but are expected to be delayed.
"True Blood" and "12 Miles of Bad Road" - Have begun production.
"The Wire" - Fifth and last season is completed and scheduled to premiere Jan. 6.
"In Treatment" - New series scheduled to premiere Jan. 28.

Showtime
"Dexter" and "Brotherhood" Production is completed; shows are currently airing.
"The Tudors" - Second season returns in late March, completed production Nov. 1 on 12 episodes.
A new Tracey Ullman series - Will have five out of five episodes completed.