Martin Luther King, Jr. Information

This link provides information on Dr. King's messages, writings, etc.

MLK Information

Dr. King: In Our Heart and Mind FOREVER

Dr. King, I just wanted to say that you are in our heart and minds FOREVER. There are many people attempting to be and sound like you, but you will never be duplicated.

You were a living example of God's teachings on service.

Happy Birthday and THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

Written by COWBOY4EVER

Read this article: Dr. King's Biography

Little Rock: 50 Years Later

HBO is showing a excellent documentary dealing with the 50 anniversary of Little Rock desegregation. If you get the chance, PLEASE watch this insightful look at Little Rock 50 years after desegregation. I found it very thought provoking.

HBO Documentary: Little Rock: 50 Years Later

Judge Mathis's Commentary On the Hurricane Katrina Aftermath

Our beloved Judge Greg Mathis wrote a commentary on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He's comments were "right on point."

Read: Judge Mathis and Hurricane Katrina

Russell Simmons Endorses Republican From Maryland

Land of free!

Home of the brave!

In America we are all blessed with the abiility to use our FREE CHOICE especially when it comes to the voting process.

That's why I congratulate Mr. Russell Simmons and Ms. Cathy Hughes for finding a candidate in Maryland (a state that Russell Simmons doesn't live in) that they can really rally behind.

Now my point of view!

This latest development in the race for Maryland senator does not change my vote ONE BIT. Although I support and congraulate Mr. Michael Steele on his political accomplishments I still can't vote for the Republican party.

I cannot forget that the current administration (Republican) has lied to the American people about the reasons for war.

I cannot forget that the current administration (Republican) treated fellow Americans like "refugees" during Hurricane Katrina.

I cannot forget that the current administration (Republican) continues to take away our PRIVACY rights.

I cannot forget that the current administation (Republican) defy federal courts when it doesn't go along with their agenda.

If Russell Simmons feel he can support Michael Steele, I support him. My question is how can Maryland resident let Russell Simmons influence them in a political race that he (Russell) can't even vote in. Last I checked, he's not a Maryland resident. Which leads me to assume that this endorsement promotion is only set-up to get the "black" vote.

Sorry Mr. Steele, it didn't work for me.

STEELE'S ENDORSEMENT

Written by COWBOY4EVER

New Orleans PR Stunt

Bush, Bush, oh Bush!

I'm so sick, I can't even write about my feelings on this story.

Read it for yourself.

Katrina Survivor Lauds Bush

Great Job Spike Lee and HBO

HBO and Spike Lee have joined together to present a powerful documentary on New Orleans before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. It's currently on rotation on HBO. Please take time to watch this powerful documentary.

WARNING: It may make you MAD at all the local and federal politicians.

Spike Lee Takes Heart Wrenching Look At Katrina

Also visit this website:

When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts

Written by COWBOY4EVER

KATRINA: ONE YEAR LATER

On August 29th, the world will take a moment to remember the tragic events of Hurricane Katrina. Our President will hold a press conference touting everything that his administration has done for the area. He also plans on spending the night in New Orleans to show the world that he is ON THE FRONTLINES. Unfornately, things in New Orleans are no better than they were one year ago. There STILL are thousands living in mobile homes (with unsecured locks - see link below). There are STILL thousands of New Orleans residents living in other states because they don't have a home or job to come back to. Crime is running rampant in the area. And finally, the local and federal politicians are NOT DOING THEIR PART.

It's extremely sad when I turn on the news to find out that America has pledged billions of dollars to other countries or will send troops to other countries but our administration won't ORDER the politicians to REBUILD this city.

August 29th will only serve one purpose for me. That purpose is to remind me that I must VOTE during the upcoming elections because the treatment New Orleans residents are receiving is a classic example of how this administration values foreign policies more than it values the issues are home.

For those of you that are still supporting this administration, I must remind you that the events of New Orleans could have easily been in your hometown. How would you like to feel like a "refugee?"

Written by COWBOY4EVER

Prediction: U.S. First Black President

Not Jesse Jackson! Not Al Sharton! Not even Colin Powell! Barack Obama, the freshmen Senator from Illinois, will be the first black President of the United States. Mr. Obama has something we haven't seen since William Jefferson Clinton was elected President. He's charismatic! Unlike Howard Dean, Democratic National Leader (I don't know why) or John Kerry, Mr. Obama has a way of getting focused attention (when he speaks) from Republicans, Democrats, white people, black people, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, and everyone else. Personally, I believe he has a better shot than Hillary Clinton (although I believe her time is coming). Maybe after the way the Bush administration treated Colin Powell, he could be Barack Obama's running mate (Vice President), then eventually succeed him in eight years. This would cover all bases. You will have the communicator (Obama) and the experienced military man (Powell). The Republicans couldn't say the Democrats don't care about National Security. Bush wouldn't be able to make statements like "There's a group in the opposition party who are willing to retreat before the mission is done," he said. "They're willing to wave the white flag of surrender. And if they succeed, the United States will be worse off, and the world will be worse off."

Read this article about Barack Obama.

Written by COWBOY4EVER

The Wrong Man (Being a Black Man Series)

In life we all have something that just scares us to death. For some people it's not having enough money to pay the rent. For others, it's not getting married or having kids before their biological clock starts ringing. For me, it's being mistaken for someone that just committed a crime (and spending time in jail for it).

Yesterday's Washington Post told the story of Maryland resident Elias Fishburne. Mr. Fishburne was mistaken for a career criminal named Jarvis Tucker while driving on morning. This article takes the reader through Mr. Fishburne's emotions during this terrible ordeal. It also points out the old saying that black men are "guilty until proven innonence." Although Mr. Fishburne continued to urge the Maryland police officials to match his fingerprints against those of Jarvis Tucker, he was IGNORE. It was Mr. Fishburne's job to prove he wasn't Jarvis Tucker not vice versa.

Read this interesting article: THE WRONG MAN

Written by COWBOY4EVER

Len Bias: 20 Years Later

I can remember the day as if it just happened.

Everyone in school was crying. Although many of us didn't know Len Bias personally, he still felt like family.

My high school had the future Prince Georges County all-time leading scorer on the team, but Northwestern had THE M-A-N. Our star player was one of the best players I have seen but LEN was THE BEST.

Len Bias's death was difficult because he was the closest thing Prince Georges County had to a sports legend. He was the one everyone in school was going to brag about for years to come. We had already planned on asking our parents to buy us tickets for the Washington Bullets (now Wizards) vs. Boston Celtics game so we could see Len play. Unfortunately, our hopes and dreams never transpired. During the mid 80's, our community had not yet become numb to death. Cocaine had not become the PUBLIC drug. But after Len's death, we all started noticing this drug. Area drug dealers even started calling cocaine, "the Bias." Whenever we heard that (as teenagers) it was our warning to STAY AWAY.

Today's newspapers and local newscast debated whether Len Bias's death helped create a change in our community. I heard many former college and professional athletes (Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Alonzo Mourning, etc.) say how much it affected their lives (kept them away from drugs), but I'm not really sure that it really impacted our local community (DC/MD/VA). According to the Washington Post, the Maryland Terrapins basketball team STILL has a horrible graduation rate since Len Bias's death. The drug trade has gotten worse. Crime (especially killings and robberies) has seen a steady increase each year. And the local schools (and youth's attitudes) are getting worse.

Have we done a good job as a community of preventing another tragic lose? I'm not sure.

Len Bias: 10 Years After Len Bias: 20 Years After

Len Bias AKA "Prince Georges Maryland Best Basketball Player Ever"

Written by COWBOY4EVER

Hip-Hop Videos: Sexploitation On The Set

Last evening I watched a program on VH-1 entitled "Hip-Hop Videos: Sexploitation On The Set." I have to say, the program made me angry.

In the beginning of the video craze (the 80's), women walked around in videos but many people didn't pay attention to them (except for Ola Ray in Micheal Jackson's "Thriller" video) because they usually didn't have anything to do with the lyrics of the song or the video concept. These women usually received about 15 seconds of air time in each video. TODAY IS DIFFERENT! Now the lyrics of the songs match what the women in the videos are do or trying to protray themselves as (SEX TOYS or EASY). When the song talks about "ho's", the video will show women as "ho's".

Here's the description of the program:

With roughly 200 hip hop videos created each year, all of them require the staple element of voluptuous women to dance, shake, or just look hot. VH1 News wants to find out exactly who these women are and what goes on behind the scenes of these risqué video shoots.

In this special report, VH1 News interviews dozens of working video girls to discover the industry's secret sexual commerce. When a girl enters the video world, is she playing the role of sexual prop? Is she compromising herself for a little bit of fame? What are the sexual demands placed upon these girls on the video set? The relationship between the video girl and artist and director can get complicated. We'll hear from many women who refuse to date artists and see video work as "strictly business." But sometimes sex is expected. Some girls lost work because they wouldn't date a director or sleep with a rapper's ubiquitous entourage. But not all girls know how to say "No."

We'll meet some groupies and hear from the industry's most infamous video girl, Karrine "Superhead" Steffans. She'll explain how the video girl lifestyle almost destroyed her life. Today, away from the video world, she hopes other girls don't follow in her footsteps. There's another side of hip hop videos known as the world of uncut. This niche market of videos has more explicit images and are seen on DVDs and late night TV. In Fayetteville, North Carolina, we'll go on set of an independent uncut video for an artist named Big Delph. We'll also meet Vanity, Princess and Jayda, three strippers from NC, who are chosen to appear in Big Delph's uncut video. One is raising a child and the other two are just trying to survive. They all hope a music video will give them a little bit of exposure, or at least an opportunity to feel special. The show features rappers like Common, Cam'ron, Mike Jones and Luther Campbell, Trina and Jacki-O as well as former video models Karinne Steffans and Melyssa Ford and two casting directors, Ulysses Terrero and Pablo Cornejo, who audition girls for an upcoming video.

Here's my problem with today's videos. Our children (society) aren’t realizing this is JUST A VIDEO and that the actors/artists in the videos probably don’t dress and act like that 24 hours a day. Our kids are acting and dressing like that all the time. Our boys are wearing “wife beaters” in public so they can protray a rough image. Our girls are wearing jeans tight and below the waist. Our boys think they are suppose to refer to girls as "bitches" and "ho's." Our girls think it's normal to "Shake It Fast" (for you old heads, the rapper is really saying "Shake That A#@"). Our boys think it's normal to carry a 9mm whenever they go outside. Our girls think they have to give up the "STUFF" in order to make friends. Our girls think being in a video is the ultimate career move. I can go on and on, but you get my point.

Many of these videos are doing harm to our children and we're not doing anything about it. I often hear the rappers, producers, and filmmakers say it's a matter of free speech. I don't think they should be allowed to use that excuse anymore. It's amazing to me that BET, VH-1, and MTV are own by the same company. VH-1 caters to the older consumer. MTV caters to the 16-35 white citizen. BET caters to the 16-35 black citizen. Why is it that you ONLY see these rauchy videos on BLACK ENTERTAIMENT TELEVISION (BET). You don't see it on VH-1 or MTV. MTV even has a video program that shows the latest and hottest rap videos, but the same artists that make rauchy videos for BET are required to make a CLEAN version of the video for MTV. If the rauchy stuff was shown on MTV, the parents of those sububuran kids would attempt to SHUT MTV DOWN. Why do we allow it? Why hasn't the NAACP, Jesse Jackson, Mr. Dyson, Farrakan, and others join together to stop these videos from being shown on BET. I'm starting to believe that it's become NORMAL to them also.

I know what some of you will say, "don't allow your kids to see it." We live in the age of cell phones that show videos. If they don't see it in your house, they will find out about it somehow. We can avoid all of that if BET stop showing the stuff.

Please make it your business to watch this program. You should see the images that are being planted in our children's head. The program will be shown (again) on Thursday Jun. 22 12:00 AM EDT. RECORD IT because I know everyone is sleep by this time of day.

Written by COWBOY4EVER

BAGHDAD ER

Today I had the opportunity to see the HBO documentary entitled "Baghdad ER". This film gives the viewer an inside look of life in the military emergency room. Unlike the "ER" television series, this documentary is raw, and uncut trauma.

Once again, if you are still undecided about voting in the upcoming election, this documentary will certainly get you thinking. It caused me to instantly pray for the men and women in Iraq.

I can't tell you what political party to choose, but I can tell you that it's EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you exercise your right to vote.

For more information on this documentary, please click on this link: BAGHDAD ER

Written by COWBOY4EVER

Being A Black Man

The Washington Post has embarked on a series entitled "Being A Black Man." This series include surveys and interviews with men from all walks of life. Some of the men interviewed include NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, local pastor Deron Cloud, and a host of other men. The first installment is entitled "At The Corner of Progress and Peril." I encourage everyone (men, women, and children) to read this series. From the first article, it's apparent that no matter what level of success you have achieved, black men experience some of the same difficulties.

I'm not going to spoil it for you. I will begin posting my OPINIONS about this series very soon.

BEING A BLACK MAN

Enjoy
COWBOY4EVER

Lower Income May Mean Higher Stress

A recent study by Health Day News found that lower socioeconomic status usually attributes to higher stress. DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those of us that have been (or currently in) living check to check or living below the poverty line, know this study is nothing new.

The study included 193 adults with annual incomes ranging from $2,500 to $162,500. The lower the income, the higher the stress.

My question now becomes WHO PAY THESE PEOPLE FOR THESE STUDIES. The people near the poverty line are frequently worrying about how they are going to eat, pay rent, and live in general. They also receive no respect from the local and federal governments (see NEW ORLEANS). They receive no respect from the local school systems.

To the researchers at the Health Day News, I want my subscription money back (LOL).

DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Military School

Congratulations goes out to the young people of Forestville Military Academy (formerly Forestville High School) graduation class of 2006 (Article on the graduation). I'm extremely proud of these young people (and their parents). This school was a major risks for the county, school board, parents, and kids. For those families that endured the "you can't wear the latest clothes at the school" taunts, I applaud you. For the kids that endured the "you're stupid for taking orders all the time" taunts, I applaud you. For the school leadership that endured the "this will never work in Prince Georges County" taunts, I applaud you.

Although their test scores haven't reached the level everyone expects, this school is making a difference. This school has done a wonderful job in teaching the students that your life won't be over if you don't wear "booty jeans" and "jeans hanging off your a#@" everyday. This school has done a wonderful job in teaching the students that they can be successful at the next level (the number of students taking the SAT test has risen dramactically).

I never thought I would say this but if the school adminstrators really want to see a difference in our kids start with THE DRESS CODE. Most of the time student fights and sex drives can be traced by to dress code influences from the media and friends.

GREAT JOB FORESTVILLE MILITARY ACADEMY

Just a thought
Written by COWBOY4EVER

Is The War Taking a Toll On The Troops

I was saddened to read in today's Washington Post about investigation into the actions of a Marine convey in Iraq. According to initial reports, on November 19, 2005, the convey was hit by a roadside bomb killing on solider. The initial report stated that the other Marines were being attacked by other insurgents with gunfire. From all the early reports, the investigation will reveal that the only thing true about the initial military report was the number of Iraqi citizens killed. The evidence will reveal that some of these Marines simply killed these civilians. Evidence shows that one child was actually killed while laying in bed.

My question now becomes, "Is The War Taking A Toll On The Troops." Everyone has their opinions on this war, but no one really talks about the toll this war is having on the troops.

Please follow this story (TROOPS KILL CIVILIANS) and our troops state of mind upon returning home.

Written by COWBOY4EVER

Lawsuit Against CIA Is Dismissed

Bush administration gets another free pass in court.

Today's Washington Post reports that a lawsuit brought by a German citizen against the CIA was dismissed because the judge thinks it would harm national security if key government officials reveal certain information.

For those of you that don't follow the news, this German citizen was arrested in Macedonia in December 2003. He was beaten, sodomized, and repeatedly questioned about alleged terrorist ties. He was held for 5 months before the CIA realized they had the WRONG MAN.

The judge believes he was seriously injured during his detention but refuses to hold anyone accountable. It's this the story of the last 5 years. When will it stop.

Click on link to read the story: Lawsuit Dismissed

Written by COWBOY4EVER

Bill Cosby Sounds Off

Theo! Rudy! Claire! Denise! I wish someone would pass me the "Jello Pudding Pops." LOL!

That was the mild manner Bill Cosby, but ya (ebonics) crazy black folks have turn him into the "TERMINATOR." LOL

Bill Cosby has been on his "Calling Out with Cosby" tour. This tour has taken him to college graduation ceremonies and town hall style meeting rooms across America. Mr. Cosby feels that it's time to speak openly and honestly with black America. You must read the Washington Post and EURweb coverage of Mr. Cosby's last two addresses: "Cosby Scolds Idle Churchgoers" and "Cosby Airs Out Black Men at Spellman Graduation".

Although Mr. Cosby has some valid points, I have a problem when someone voices their opinions on a "national" stage but doesn't offer possible solutions. Over the last few months, all we have heard from Mr. Cosby is the PROBLEMS in the black community (black women, black youth, now black men and churchgoers). Because he has made some valuable points, I would love to hear some of his suggestions for possible solutions. I think Mr. Cosby is one of our great minds. It would be soooo refreshing to hear some of his solutions. I think that's most people problem with "Jello Pudding Pop", he's being tuned out because there are no suggestions in his speeches.

He transformed my generations expectations with his televsion show. Now Bill transform us with action. Go sit on the "106 & Park" couch and break it down for Tigger. Go do a live interview on the "Donnie Simpson", "Wendy Williams", "Ed Lover", etc. radio shows. Have a made-for-tv town hall meeting with Tavis Smiley, Russel Simmons, Jesse Jackson, T.D. Jakes, and your boy Michael Dyson. I think people will look at your comments different if it appears you was doing more than just mouthing off.

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with Mr. Cosby, but he has the platform to begin the "change" process. If Farrakan can gather countless black men, Cosby can surely gather the black family (single parent, two-family household, etc.)

Written by COWBOY4EVER

Uplifted Spirit Despite Tragic Events (Yvette Cade)

Yesterday Oprah Winfrey featured a story about Yvette Cade. I was excited to find out that someone from the Washington DC/Maryland area was being featured on the top rated talk show in America. I wasn't excited about the circumstances that helped Yvette Cade get on the show.

For those of you that don't know, Yvette Cade's estranged (now divorced) husband, Roger Hargrave, walked into the T-Mobile store she was working at and proceed to pour gasoline on her body. After Yvette ran outside, Roger proceeded to set her on fire. He was recently convicted for this heinous crime (although prison time will never equal the amount of therapy and pain Yvette must endure).

During the interview, Ms. Cade showed strength despite her circumstances. It was apparent that she has a strong faith in God. Although the road may be rough, Ms. Cade showed that she will not allow her current situation to hold her hostage.

You go sista! You are in my prayers!

Read today's Washington post article on Yvette Cade: On "Oprah," A Wife's Tale of Terror

Written by COWBOY4EVER