Today I was watching an episode of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher (guest starring Mos Def). As every show, this was a pretty good one. I could pick out some of the more important issues talked on this show, there was one thing tha stuck a chord with me.
Some time in the past week President Obama had a town hall meeting shown via the Internet. There was a question about the possibility of legalizing Marijuana as a remedy to help with the economy. Clearly, Obama said no and joked about how ridiculous this was. I am not surprised at all about that. But, my question is… is that question really out of the ordinary?
Let me preface this by saying that I am not a weed smoker, nor do I have the desire to smoke. However, I know a lot of people who do. It is one of those things where it seems like everyone is doing it. Not to say that this makes it right, but Marijuana does not have the effects that tobacco smoking has.
Lets say it is legalized. Lets look at the positives. The police do not have to do all that work to find pot dealers. They can put their energy into other crimes or drugs. Just imagine the manpower taking just to stop the weed trafficking in this country. Has that stopped anyone from smoking? Don’t think that smoking weed is just something that Black & Latinos do, because White people smoke a lot more. In fact, I heard they get the better shit.
Think about how much money the economy would get if you can buy weed through distributers. How many jobs that would create? Do not think for a second that weed sales have dropped due to the economy. Marijuana is recession proof, just like alcohol. People want to either get drunk or get high, or sometimes both.
Legalizing Marijuana would cripple the economy of those nations smuggling this into our country. This is an import that the United States make no money on! Stop the smuggling and grow this in our country. Agriculture would go up the roof! Central and South America (yes, fucking Latinos)makes tons of cash just on weed.
What bothers me more than anything else when it come to politicians and the people who run this country is that there is this flakiness that suggests that they are all pure. We are all human! People in congress get just as horny and the next person, which is why so many of them get caught in scandals revolving sex. I am also very sure that they have kids who are hitting bongs on the campuses of Yale and Harvard (they are certainly doing it at Syracuse). Does that make people evil? Not at all.
Legalize the shit. How many black kids get arrested just trying to make paper? It helps with chemo-therapy and glaucoma. Legalize it so that the economy can get high…like the rest of America.
Category: President Obama
This past week we have been witness to many things. Superstar Chris Brown beats his girlfriend and All Star Alex Rodriguez admits to taking steroids. Both events have caused serious discussions in certain circles and blogs about the severity of both events. It just makes me think about how we view the role of masculinity in society.
Lets view both acts as what they are, Chris Brown, for whatever reason wanted to asserted his male dominance or a female and A-Rod wanted to assert his dominance over the baseball diamond. Does that make them real men? Does a real man feel that he has to dominate another individual, or sport, or industry?
Men seem to measure how much of a man they are by the size of their penises. I want to state that obvious fact because I know when growing up I would always hear jokes about how big some one’s dick was. I would always ask myself if that was really necessary? The fact is that many males equate how manly they are by the number of women they can sleep with. While that may be fine to them, these may end up being the same men that women end up avoiding in clubs because he is too old to be there. The male ego is a very fragile one and once it is broken it is hard to repair. Those who have issues with self esteem or confidence have a hard time dealing with those issues.
In college, I would here about who real men were. Apparently these are guys that step and stroll and are a part of a Fraternity. They would be able to tell you who was a real man and who wasn’t. While I understood exactly what they meant by the sacrifices they made to become the men representing those organizations, I was sure if that was something that I wanted to aspire to. So again, I am left think what is a real man?
Lets start with best man that we know today: President Barack Obama. No one will question his masculinity. How is he a real man? He is a leader with vision that provides us hope. He is good husband with 2 beautiful daughters. An educated man that can take you out at a debate or break you down with a crossover. Clearly that is not a hard one to follow, but many men cannot compare.
So I will go with something simpler. A single father who raises his only son. Works tirelessly at his job to make sure that he can afford college for his son. He makes mistakes along the way because he doesn’t want raise his son in the same way his father raised him, with violence. His son graduates and the next chapter in his life is spent dealing with cancer that he contracted from working late hours in manholes that contained asbestos. I would say that my father is a real man.
A real man to me is a man that can lead the way when times are difficult. A real man is man that will not let an obstacle get in his way of achieve a goal. A real man makes mistakes and is ready to pay for them when the time comes. A real man also acknowledges these mistakes and learns from them while being able to cope with it. A real man does not need to assert his control on other people because he is confident in himself. A real man knows the difference between gentle and firm.
Once you recognize those traits. You will know who the real men in your life are. They are not perfect in any way, but they will always leave an good impression on you.
I am not one for political commentary, especially after the election, but l there is a lot to be said about the way this new administration is taking shape. I think that President Obama is the best thing to happen to this country in a long time. So naturally, because of how he won with such a large amount of votes, people are taking notice.
Now, the Republican party has selected a new leader for their party and he is black. This happened on Monday and I wasn’t really sure how to address this. Micheal Steele is not the man for the GOP. Some would view this as progress with the thought that perhaps the GOP will get out of the South and appeal to younger voters. While i understand that, the party values are still the same.I will be interested in seeing how this plays out. I think video below sums it up.
Now, the Republican party has selected a new leader for their party and he is black. This happened on Monday and I wasn’t really sure how to address this. Micheal Steele is not the man for the GOP. Some would view this as progress with the thought that perhaps the GOP will get out of the South and appeal to younger voters. While i understand that, the party values are still the same.I will be interested in seeing how this plays out. I think video below sums it up.
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On a personal note, my taxes are all done and I am happy about that. Times are hard and I hoping that I can catch up on some bills. I am not happy that gas prices have also risen above 2 bucks. So, hopefully this stimulus package will help.
Have a good weekend everyone, but as you know I will back on here tomorrow! No Black Super Hero updates today…
Anthony Otero 
