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Chavez vs. Bush and Clinton vs. Rice
By Kwesi McDavid-Arno
This past week two of my favorite political figures crossed paths once again. In a payback for a military coup allegedly orchestrated by America a couple of years ago, Hugo Chavez shut down a TV station critical to his policies. We conducted this Chavez vs. Bush poll last November. I thought it relevant to post the results again this week based on President Chavez s actions in Venezuela. Chavez effectively shut down his major critic RCTV network and has created a, new media elite, composed of ideological loyalists a power play that President Bush most certainly would have made if he were in Mr. Chavezs shoes.
The results of the poll show that Black people strongly agreed with Chavezs assertion that President Bush is the Devil. President Chavezs comments were designed to send a shrill noise through the mainstream American media. African American's feelings were running high after Katrina, and Chavezs words were a veiled attempt to appeal to the millions of disenfranchised Black and Latino Americans. The American media attempted to show a unified response to Chavezs remarks. However, Chavez knows that America is far from unified.
In my opinion, Chavez and Bush are one in the same, two sides of the same coin Power Players. The point I am trying to make is that although we may view George W. Bush as the Devil and Chavez as a nationalistic hero, power and politics have their dirty side, and every politician will have his dirty side. It is necessary to get the job done. I think we as Black Americans need to have a greater level of sophistication with the way we analyze our political leaders. Chavez is consolidating power by eliminating an enemy whom he accuses of working with the Americans during a brief coup in 2004. George W. Bush is consolidating power by stealing
Iraqs oil. War is never waged for the reasons stated. There is always a profiteering motive.
Just watch the movie Wag the Dog. The whole point of war is personal gain; since ancient times just watch HBOs Rome.
Now let us look at the War on Terror. An astounding 85 of Black people do not feel that the War on Terror has made America safer. However, I dont think that George W. Bush is any more devilish that any other republican President. Dick Chaney has worked for every Republican administration since Nixon. It is the same government. George W. is but an extension. What Bush is is effective. He is the Al Pacino of American politics.
He gets his agenda across and refuses to lose face. Bush is no fool, he appeals to his constituency. America is 40 Evangelical and Born Again Christians. That is his power base. G.W. Bush is a Born Again Christian and the first President within the last 50 years to use religion as the center of his candidacy. Neither Nixon, Ford, Regan, nor the elder Bush will be remembered as religious zealots. That is the legacy G.W. is giving to the Republican Party, the marriage of Church and State, and a powerbase of religious zealots three times larger than the Democratic power base. The Democratic power base are the good Negroes that vote 85 Democratic in every election.
Remember, Black folks make up a mere 13 of the U.S. population. Remember me tell you dat. Bush is a beast, he is better than Tony Montana, and I love him for it. Every one calls my dude G Dubs stupid, but he is stuffing his pockets and building a legacy with HIS constituency. The question is what are we doing
The last poll asked simply whether one would vote based on the individual candidate or on the policies that the individual supports. It is good to see that Black people are somewhat sophisticated, as illustrated in the last poll with Hillary Clinton trouncing Condoleeza Rice. We will begin to evolve in the complexity of our polls and if you have any suggestions please feel free to send them to
info blackballot.com.
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Behind The Scenes Politics The Charles Rangel Inaugural Ceremony
BlackBallot.com is proud to bring you Behind the Scenes Politics  The Charles Rangel Inaugural Ceremony. Although Congressman Rangel is already the most senior member
of the New York Congressional delegation, on this special day he was appointed Head of
the House Ways and Means Committee. Rangel now controls the purse strings of the U.S. Congress and is probably the most powerful African American legislator in the
nations history. He even
had the personal pleasure of kicking Dick Chaney out of his office.
Congressman Rangel, a decorated war veteran who earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his service in the Korean War, was first elected to Congress in 1971. Since then, he has continued to represent the Fifteenth Congressional District of New York which encompasses Upper Manhattan including Harlem, Spanish Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood, and a small part of Queens.
More than 2,000 people attended the inauguration, including former President Bill Clinton, Senator Charles Schumer, the Honorable Percy Sutton, and Reverend James Forbes of The Riverside Church. The reception was hosted by Lt. Governor David Patterson, who is the funniest man in politics right now. We will bring you the second half of the footage next week. We are proud to have been given the opportunity to document this momentous occasion.
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To Vote or Not To Vote 
By Matin Salaam Bari
Before you people bite my head off after reading the following, remember that I represent only a tiny fraction of the population. Furthermore, I would never hope that my personal views influence the people who are blessed with receiving them. In other words, just take it as
 food for thought
Why I Should Vote:
Im in my late twenties and have never voted. Yeah, I admit it. No shame in my game. In fact, this is the first election where voting has even become an option. Election Day, to me, has always meant that I could get extra drunk the night before because I knew I could show up late to wherever I needed to be the next morning and use my ballot as the excuse. I never spoke out against voting, though. It just wasnt my thing, as I used to always claim. My vote doesnt count
Actually, when people got after me about voting, there were times when I simply lied about it.
Yeah, I vote. Democratic, in fact, is what I would say. But in reality, the democratic process hadnt even registered to me yet. I often found myself engaging in light banter about the Electoral College, the swing states, and I am usually even able to hold my own when the chatter wanders into party conventions and the effect of certain candidates speeches. Go figure You can call me fraudulent if you like. I dont mind. I guess Im not too unlike that successful,
yet illiterate, athlete. I talked a hell of a game even played one but when it came down to what truly matters in life, I didnt stand for anything. I never got  what appears now to have been my lazy black ass out of bed.
Well, the times have changed. Im a grown ass man with grown ass problems. I understand now that each issue that these candidates
debate during these upcoming 2008 election campaigns, affect me directly. Back in 2004, when Bush and Kerry each revealed his stance on military spending and the war in Iraq, the oil energy crisis and global warming, the rapidly increasing national debt, health care, education, and other foreign policies, I was still a single guy. While the world was changing around me, I remained in full fledged young buppy mode, with little responsibility outside of deciding where I would party each night. Needless to say, I wasnt too worried about either of these issues. I just knew being the dynamic dude that I was none of this pertained to me.
Shit, I wasnt in the armed forces, didnt know anyone who was and was quite confident that the draft wouldnt be reinstated. You might ask, Well what about the 1,500 or so brave U.S. soldiers who had died in Iraq for you
Doesnt that make you want to vote to bring about change My response at the time was that as painful as any death is, 1,500 U.S. lives is far less than the quarter
of a million innocent Iraqi civilians who were slaughtered, so this unjust war wont motivate me to use my ballot.
As for global warming, I didnt own a car and lived in the heart of D.C. so I could care less about global warming. I felt as if I did my part by walking and catching the train everywhere. Furthermore, I hadnt planned on getting sick, so why the fuck did I need health care Plus, I used condoms.
Education The national debt To hell with both My education was finished but since I still owed a small fortune because of it, I had my own personal deficit to concern myself with. And the only foreign policy I was concerned about involved trying to sneak mad dutyfree jerk sauce back from Jamaica.
So I admit that I was selfish at the time. I was so ignorant. Life itself expedited my growth, however. I have to take a long look at myself in the mirror as I revisit those same issues in 2007, and its not a pretty sight. Shit has gotten worse Not only has that U.S. fatality toll in Iraq climbed well over 3,000 since 2004, but the Iraqi civilian slaughter is rapidly approaching 3 quarters of a millionthats 750,000 for those who need to see the zeros to understand how serious that is. And I still dont have a car, but its not because I cant afford one.
Its because I cant afford the  60 in gas it would take every 4 days to drive it. Word I went down south and even El Cheapo gas is
3.14 for regular Not only did I have to teach my kindergartener how to read this past school year
because her teacher doesnt really care but I also had to pay nearly
a million dollars a month for before and after care. Not only can I not afford health insurance when I freelance write for income, but I dont feel safe visiting one of my best friends from college in the United Arab Emiratesan ally, nonethelessbecause Im afraid the world now hates me because of my
leader. Not only have 75 of the males in my family been incarcerated, but 88 percent of the children in my generation of my family grew up with no father figure present. Maybe you see the connection
between these social situations and the democratic process. Maybe you dont. My point, though, is that each of these situations has a history on Election Day. Meaning those who choose neither to vote for or against policy involving these particular situations and situations similar to these have absolutely no right to complain. NOT TO MENTION THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, BOTH WHITE AND BLACK, WHO DIED JUST SO LAZY, SPOILED PEOPLE SUCH AS MYSELF EVEN HAVE THE CHOICE
Why I Should NOT Vote:
Hey Im certainly not the Devil, but I often serve as what many people perceive as his advocate. With regard to voting, my answer is simple. I shouldnt vote because my vote doesnt mean shit Ill explain to you why. So peep game, and before you get your britches in a bunch or stop reading altogether, you must keep an open mind. In my opinion, we live in a time of major crisis especially in the black community and we must look at progressive solutions such as, but not limited to, mass voting. However,
we MUST realize that voting is only a fraction of what we as a community must do to make it safe for our children to learn, to provide stable work for our fathers so that theyre dignity remains in tact, to cultivate the earth around us in a more efficient manner, and to just live in harmony So I propose the following checklist of items that all black registered voters must satisfy in some way BEFORE being considered a registered voter
Join your local civic association. Whether it be city council, a neighborhood association, or if its just you and the people on your block that meet once a month, communication is key Election Day is not limited to the Presidential election. Many of the aforementioned social issues may be resolved simply by a group of responsible adults putting their heads together.
Join your childs PTA and or spend one hour a night to read or do homework with a child. Shit, even if you dont have kids you should join a PTA or volunteer to educate a child in some way. I know you have a niece or nephew, or Godchild that you love and feel obligated to. I also know that while Chuckie Cheeses is a nice way to spend time with the children in our lives, the library is ALWAYS better.
Volunteer at a local hospital or nursing home. I know we are busy, but when we are ill we expect the world to stop spinning and heal us, so why should we not contribute to this We are the world, ya know
STD Tests nuff said
Well What do you think It sounds like a lot right In between working, school, shopping, clubbing, sleeping, sexing and playing, Im sure you can squeeze in a little world saving and difference making. If not, your little vote REALLY doesnt mean shit. I truly believe this prerequisite to voter registration is a great idea. Sure, itll only grace these pages for a week or so and then itll eventually disappear. Just remember that these are the things that Ive done instead of voting,
in the past, and will continue to do these as I walk in to the booth for the first time this November.
Do
Vote
Then do some more
Peace
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Reality Television Exploitation in the 21st Century
By Alyssa Menard
For decades now, black women have appeared in music videos degrading themselves to nearly nothing just to make it big. The superficial idea that dancing around to lyrics that label them hoes and tricks will land them a oneticket to Hollywood is an agelong misconception that has cost black women as a whole their reputation. For this very reason, video vixens have received the blunt of the criticism from women and the black community alike, for allowing themselves to be subjected to such demeaning behavior. However, times have changed and business has cleverly found new means of exploiting us.
Flavor of Love is a new take on the Bachelor reality show that focuses on Flavor Flav and the 20 women who compete for his heart. However, it is pretty ironic that most of the women look like they came straight out of a music video. Of course rappers get groupies, even the unattractive ones. But, you dont usually see that many pretty women lining up to date a 50 year old hasbeen rapper whose money has long depleted and is still living in the projects. It was clearly a deliberate attempt to make the most of the cameras and rush into stardom overnight. I wont
lie I like many other people, am secretly addicted to watching. Its entertaining to watch the constant drama, the boozing and the repulsive makeout sessions with Flav in the hot tub. However, what kind of message are we sending here There was so much controversy after the Don Imus rant, especially after he justified what he said by stating that it has been done by people within our own community. There was a lot of backlash for his futile attempts to cover up his mistakes, but was he really wrong Flavor of Love, films women the majority being African American,the majority being AfricanAmerican women, films
them flaunting their breasts, gyrating on strip poles, and bending over and shaking their booties. How is this any different than a music video, besides the fact that we are now given a whole hour to laugh at these womens lack of class.
Flavor of Love has broken the record to become the most watched television show on VH1 TWICE. The saddest part is that black women make up the majority of the shows viewers. So, I repeat the question. What signal are we sending to the world by allowing this type of objectification of our own people We have shown so much support for this show to date that it has garnered three spinoffs based on the series. But whose idea do you really think it was to continue to milk this series for all its worth The producers, of course. To add salt to the wound, I can assure you that the majority of those producers making that decision are not people of color.
So who is really getting played These women, who clearly are playing Flav to advance their own careers, are ultimately being played by the producers who are laughing all the way to the bank. For a race in desperate need of a facelift to combat those negative stereotypes that have plagued us for far too long, we have just taken ten steps backward.
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Black Music, Who Killed It
By Justin Mitchell
Recently, after watching a retrospective of
90s R B videos, a friend of mine asked me when black music died. This friend of mine shares my passion for traditional AfricanAmerican music and together we often muse over and lament the state of contemporary art. But whereas I grew up in a rather traditional AfricanAmerican household suffused with the sounds of 70s soul, funk, and jazz, he grew up in Europe and, to my understanding at least, came across these American exports somewhat haphazardly. We have more or less the same heritage,
but my friends parents were American expatriates who wound up in bohemian Paris. In our conversations I often get the sense that he views me as more of an authority on the culture than himself. Thus, it came as no particular surprise that he would pose this question to me. What did come as a surprise was my relative inability to provide a sufficient answer.
Dont get me wrong, its not like this question never crossed my mind, or that I actually fancy myself some unsung expert AfricanAmerican cultural critic, who should have a readymade answer to all questions pertaining to the black experience in America. Its just that hearing this questions come from someone other than me somehow legitimized it and finally commanded me to take it seriously, to think about it deeply and out loud. I realized that I was just as
dumbfounded and confused by how so much of todays black now, often tragically referred to as urban music sounds so utterly foreign and, dare I say, stupid. It just doesnt sound like what I know or thought to be us. It doesnt reflect or speak to me, and here I am, just about as AfricanAmerican as they come. I grew up in a Baptist church, lived in black communities, was steeled on fried chicken and sweet potatoes, and, as I have already,
suggested, spent much of my childhood listening to the music and vernacular of my parents and grandparents generations. As anyone who reads my contributions to BlackBallot might be able to tell, I have tremendous affections for all these things. But what I cant shake is this feeling that so much of what I hear in my black Brooklyn neighborhood or on my black radio and television station doesnt sound like music to my ear. And to hear another black person say this and have a straight look on his or her face is both comforting and saddening.
My response to my friends question was a jumbled mess, a series of inchoate ideas, impressions, and approximations. I uttered something about the decline in instrumentation, the sudden popularization of bad taste and underclass values, and how everything went wrong with such and such a person
Reagan Whitney Houston Puffy I cant remember. The truth is I have no answer. All I know is this all the critical flourishes praising
Beyonces vocal prowess are downright frightening Mary J. Blige and Aretha Franklin should not be mentioned in the same breath except to illustrate how much the former has to learn the best rap cannot hold a candle to the black mainstream music of the 60s, 70s, and early 80s and the last point should be a cause for serious alarm among more people of my generation.
I am often amazed by those who complain about the current state of hiphop and how much it has deteriorated. Whats more disconcerting to me is how hiphop has poisoned everything in its path with its boring, one dimensional narratives, simplistic arrangements, and sheer childishness. I feel like an old fogey saying this, but when I hear Monica singing about how her lover reminds her of her Bentley Coup over a Curtis Mayfield sample I almost want to risk electrocution and put my fist through the television shouting, Blasphemy
Sadly, contemporary black music most of which is rapinspired has managed to divorce its cultural antecedents from their political contexts. It is now fashionable to be staunchly apolitical we have JayZ to thank for this. Why bother making a statementany statementof substance when, as Mims points out, you can make a 100 million saying nothing on the track.
While I dont expect everyone to share my take on the state of black music, I am rather disappointed that it seems so few have taken the time to really reflect on the state of our traditions. Who can honestly say that this music is healthy, rich, fulfilling, meaningful I would love to hear from someone who can justify the shape were in and defend the aesthetic principles of contemporary black music. Who out there can honestly say were doing well or that weve done justice to those who came before us Is that silence I hear Good. Perhaps after
the crushing weight of that silence has sunk in, we can start to get to the bottom of this.
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