This Was Too Good Not to Post

Jack Cafferty says it all in this video. Plain and simple, we all should be scared as hell.






Seriously, what the fuck was she talking about with that answer?!! I never took a business class in college but I could have schooled her!!!!

This is Your Nation on White Privilege

This was too good not to re-post.

It was originally published on Tim Wise's Zspace page. Tim Wise is the author of White Like Me (Soft Skull, 2005, revised 2008), and of Speaking Treason Fluently, publishing this month, also by Soft Skull.

This is Your Nation on White Privilege

For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

• White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

• White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

• White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

• White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."

• White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.

• White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you. White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.

• White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.

• White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."

• White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.

• White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America

• White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

• White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a "light" burden.

• And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.

White privilege is, in short, the problem

Dr. Henry Black Ingram, R.I.P.

I was going to write a post this morning bitching about the stress I've been under the past two weeks, and then turn it into a positve post about my ex-girlfriend's upcoming wedding. That post will have to wait until tomorrow because of the news that I received this morning.

Dr. Henry Black Ingram, my first undergraduate advisor when I got to Greensboro College as a freshman passed away this weekend at the age of 76. Even though I have not seen Dr. Ingram for many years I am deeply saddened by his passing and had to take time this morning to reflect. Please go read his obituary linked above and then come back here. I'll wait.

Dr. Ingram was a tremendously kind man and most definitely a extremely talented and practiced pianist. I have three memories of him that I'd like to share with you to honor his life.

The first and foremost was the compassion he showed as an advisor that went above and beyond the call of duty for that job description. The greatest benefit Greensboro College offered me because of its small size was the personal attention that one could receive. Dr. Ingram and I would often have great conversations that lasted well longer than the time required to pick out next semester's courses. I was young as a freshman, 17, and 600 miles away from home. Dr. Ingram made me feel welcome at GC. He asked me about my family, my home life, my personal development as a young man, and my interests beyond music. He encouraged me to take as many classes other than music as I could because, one, Greensboro College's firm belief in a liberal arts education and a well-rounded student, and more importantly, two, it is our life's experiences that truly inspire our music and music performance.

An example would be Beethoven's 3rd Symphony which he originally dedicated to Napoleon, but later rescinded that dedication. If I only took music classes and never took a world history class, I would never have learned the socio-economic and political issues of that time to understand why Beethoven made and rescinded that dedication.

2. I think it was in my sophomore year that I signed up to take a Film class co-taught by Dr. Ingram and Dr. Leslie, a sociology professor. The class would meet one night a week, watch a movie based on a different type of "success" and then write a two page paper in answer to some questions about that movie. For "financial success" we watched Wall Street, for "sports success" we watched The Sandlot, for "academic success" we watched the movie The Paper Chase, and so on.

In this class I got to see as side of Dr. Ingram other than music; his love of movies. The class also inspired me to be more active in my thinking while watching a movie. The following year I signed up for another film class co-taught by Dr. Ingram. This time the class was titled "Ethics in Film" which was co-taugth by the chair of the Ethics department, Dr. Philip Rolnick. This time each film examined specific ethical issues or dilemma's. Those two classes stand out as some of my favorites in my entire college career!

3. Each semester every Greensboro College music student was required to attend a certain number of musical performances. Dr. Ingram was scheduled to have a recital with his wife, Lucy, for a "four hands play piano" type recital. This is where a piece of music is either written for two pianists as separate pianos or sometimes two pianists playing the same piano. I believe this event took place during my junior year after Dr. Ingram had retired and was no longer my advisor.

I remember watching Dr. Ingram and his wife perform from the balcony of Odell Auditorium (now named the Gail Huggins Performance Center). I was enraptured by the music. It was rich, complex and far more difficult than just any two hand piano piece. I also remember being touched by how well Dr. Ingram and Lucy worked together. And saying to myself, I have to make sure that I have a wife someday that loves music as much as I do. (Also, I said to myself, "I hope my hands move as fast as Dr. Ingram's when I am his age!")



I don't think Dr. Ingram knew how much of an influence his was one me. I really don't think I knew until recently. I'm 32 now and I have a lot more wisdom than I did at 17. Ok, maybe not that much more, but some. I hope that all of you would have the fortune to have someone like Dr. Ingram in your lives; a teacher who goes beyond teaching a subject and touches your soul and leaves your forever changed for the better.

Rest in peace, Dr. Ingram. Thank you for your life.

A Minor Observation

I went to a local open mic night last night with a friend to relax and hear some local music. As usual, some really great music....and some really bad music. But it's all in good fun.

But that's not the point. The point is that my friend buys me a beer, and knowing that I should have said Guinness I instead said, "I'll have what your having."

He gives me a Heinken bottle.

Never one to turn down free beer I say thank you, do the ritual "First One Today!" toast, and glady drink my beer. (There's a whole story to that toast which will be fodder for a future post when their site comes back online.) Which in turn leads me to the following conclusion.

Heineken beer tastes like ass!!!

Now, I have to vehemently exclaim that I have NO experience whatsoever with tasting ass (I'm sure my mom really needed to know that) to be able to make a comparison. HOWEVER, I am sure that if I ever tasted ass (which ain't gonna happen!) I would say, "Holy Shit! (Pun very much intended) This tastes like Heineken beer!"

I mean they (Heineken brewers) don't even hide the fact that their beer tastes like ass in it's name. "Heine(y) + ken (kin)" I am sure that wordologists would sure be able to tell that that name means a "heiney's kin" or "a kin to a heiney"

Of course, all this ass-tasting beer is bringing back memories of my high school graduation night where my best friend Steve and I each drank at least 36 ounces of this green bottled libation. Since he had a higher tolerance, he was able to go out on the boardwalk and beach with our friends while I stayed in the car with the spins. You would have thought that I would have learned the lesson to stay away from Heineken then, but really do we ever learn anything at 17.

Should have asked for the Guinness. But then you would never have learned this valuable lesson from my pain.

Imagine This....

As I was looking for my birth certificate last night, I found my only copy of this poem/story/declaration that I wrote when I was 17. I thought I'd share it here so it'd last forever.


Imagine This...
by James O'Gara


Imagine this world was as beautiful,
As that flower about to bloom.
And that statement was true,
"The light and will always shine through."

But I know this world isn't that pretty,
And light and good are just figments,
In a young child's mind, young as a flower,
A flower in the middle of a deep thick forest.

Whose canopy, has for centuries, darkened the forest floor,
So that every little light from the sun reaches it.
There on the forest floor is where you'll find a place,
A place very similar to where my flower grew.

Sure it would have been nice to grow,
In those few well lighted places,
But most of the forest is in darkness,
Where the light and good don't shine through.

So the flower wilted for a time in the shade of the big trees,
Till it saw the other flowers blossoming and said,

"I WANT THAT!"

But deep in its heart of hearts,
It knew that it would never be in the light for a long time.

This made the flower sad and it wilted some more.
It wanted to bloom like the others, but no light shined upon it,
Till it said, "Let me make my own light then!"
So from deep within its roots a changed occurred.

Energy coursed through its petals,
And for the first time it blossomed.
The other flowers stared in awe.
They had never known any other light an good,
Except that which was given to them by the sun.

Now to see such light and good radiate,
From a flower in the darkness amazed them.
What surprised them more was that the flower,
Grew faster than all of them,
Because the light and good care from within.

It was stronger than any light and good that,
Could ever come through the canopy of the threes.
That light and good didn't shine through,
And probably never could have.
That flower had to create its own light and good to survive.

Just like a life that has begun to bloom,
It needs to create its own light and good,
To live, to see, to enjoy beauty.
All the life has to do is remember that light and good
Come within and just Imagine This...

NO! I Don't Want to Date Your Mom!!!

So this morning when I logged into Myspace, and I got one of the oddest emails. Now this isn't the usual spam trying to get me to join some dating site or to try some penile enhancement product. (I swear a spiteful ex has given my email to every spammer of that product!)

Well, before I comment about it, I want you to read it.


Hello there cuddles! Wanna have tons of fun?

If your answer is yes, my mother would like to be your personal playmate, you can reach her at marie_foxter at XXXXX. She's been single for about 24 months now and she wants to meet a funny, romantic guy to date. I'm helping her with online dating because she has no idea how this works. Here's a little about her. She's very pretty and engaging. She likes to be outdoors and practices a few activities like tennis and golf. She also loves to swim and to dance. She keeps an open mind about things, but don..t get her going on the sad state of politics in this country! She likes taking scenic drives or leisurely walks. She loves to work but will not sacrifice that for family time. A memorable first date for her would include doing something like visiting a museum, visiting a gallery, going to a trendy nightclub or even catching an independent movie at an art house.

That's all for me! you won't regret replying to my mom, thanks.


Ok, where do I start with this one.

1. She started off by calling me "cuddles." Serious, do I look like a fucking "cuddles" to you?!

2. You're pimping for your mom!! And on MYSPACE! Am I the only one who finds something slightly wrong with this? You say that she has no idea how it works. Well, goto EHarmony.com, show her how it works and then leave her to it. It worked for me and a buddy of mine.

3. This person gives their age on their page as 22 (or 19 depending where on the page your read.) So that would make her mom, at the youngest (I hope) 36. Maybe even as old as 45. I'm 32. My older woman fantasies include just three women. Salma Hayek, Catherine Zeta Jones and Shania Twain.

Catherine Zeta Jones is married to Michael Douglas, so that one ain't happening. Shania Twain recently split with her husband so there is a chance there. And Salma Hayek…well, her lawyers say I need to stop trying to contact their client or else they're going to press charges.

And yes, while I have to accept that as I get older some of the women I may date will have kids, I'm not at that level of acceptance yet. I'm still getting used to my best friend in the world having a 5 year old!

4. Along the lines of the age thing about her mom, the picture of this girl shows that she is hot! So hoping for good genes, I hope her mom is hot. However, this is a problem as I'd be distracted by her. I'm sorry, I'm still a guy, and still young enough that I'd be distracted by a hot 22 year old, or 19 year old (again depending what's right), hanging around.

5. It is obvious from my profile that I'm "In A Relationship" and my fiance is the number one friend in on my page. Not that a relationship stops people from hitting on other people, but you'd think if one was trying to find someone for their mom, who hasn't dated in 24 months (talk about dry spell there), that they would exclude people already in relationships, like me, from their search just to make things easier for their mom to get back in the dating game!!


Again, at least this was something different from the usual spam that I get. So I responded with a polite declination, wished her and her mom luck in their search, and thanked her that she wasn't someone hawking penile enhancement.

A Guitarist Tries Guitar Hero for the 1st Time

So I have been in Greensboro, NC for the week visiting family and friends. Last night, my lady and I went out with my friend, KRSONE, and his wife. After a nice dinner we went back to their house for wine and to play Guitar Hero.

I've never played Guitar Hero as I don't have a video game system. And for the fact that I have currently have 7 REAL guitars. (I've had more that 25 in my lifetime.) Why play a video game of a guitar, when I can play the song in real life.

But there I was at my buddy's house watching him and his wife smoke the songs, on easy level. After watching them and getting a feel for the game, KRSONE says, "Your turn, Spider!"

So I start on a practice level with the song "I Hate Myself For Loving You" by Pat Benatar. (A fitting song for someone in my life.) And, I SUCKED!! I only got 24% of the notes correct.

The next song I tried was "Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson. A decidedly harder song, but I thought I was getting the hang of things.

I SUCKED AGAIN! This time getting 49% of the notes right.

Later in the evening I tried an Aerosmith song while the band was on stage. I got booed off. Dang!!

Ok, I know. I'll do good on the song "Black Magic Woman" by Santana. I can play both the guitar and bass parts in real life so I should rock on this one. Right? WRONG!!! I played the bass part and I only got 53% right. The whole grooving end part I just blew out of the water.

I think one of the problems was that I was picking the songs in time with the music and not as the color notes passed the lines on the screen. At one point my buddy turned off the music to see if I would do better just using the visual cues. That helped me only a little.

The big thing was the scrolling fretboard really bugged my eyes out. You get so focused on it, and then when I'd look at something else in the room it appeared to be moving vertically. By the end of the night, I couldn't look at the screen anymore. (And no, I know it wasn't the wine I had been drinking.)

My eyes hurt through the night as I slept. And they still hurt this morning as I type this. I guess I am not used to video games anymore. I hope that doesn't eat into my geek cred.

Off to go play my REAL guitar and be a REAL guitar hero!