News & Articles

COLDWATER… Friends, I have to give the Stanley Cup tourney a break this week, and by the time I hit it again next week, it may very well have been decided. The Pittsburgh Penguins hold a 2-1 lead in games after G3 in Nashville last night, won by the Predator’s in a beat-down, 5-1. When I resume it will most likely be a series analysis. If it goes seven games, G7 will occur on Wednesday the 14th. Oddly enough I will be in the Nashville Metro tomorrow night and I began to scope out a ticket to attend but the least expensive single I could find was over $900 and the costliest ducat I came across was up for $4200! I’ll be watching on TV. I will offer one thing though, the Pred’s aggressiveness may be starting to get them an upper hand in the series, and the Pens injuries may be coming home to roost. To sum it up, toughness wins series like these and if these two met in a dark alley right now, it may very well be NASH that emerges at the end of that fight….    

TO THE MATTER AT HAND…. As I sat in front of my keyboard this eve, mentally going through what I wanted to write, I had a political program on. And obviously, the London attacks were a topic as was the spray painting of racist graffiti on the gate at the Los Angeles home of NBA star LeBron James. A quote was given by James relative to the matter and it was eloquent to say the least. He spoke of how it is hard to be a black American, of how racism has always seemed to permeate our society and so forth. As always, James was well spoken and to the point. One of the studio guests was a black lesbian of Jamaican heritage who grew up in a white neighborhood in the NY City area. She spoke of how she was once accosted by a classmate at the beginning of classes one year after she had picked out a seat for herself. The young man and his friends surrounded her as he told her that she was in “his” seat”.    

I sat right up at that point and the show suddenly had my full and rapt attention. I have always had it out for bullies, racists and people who treat others unfairly as if the world revolves around them and all else are on board for the ride. I can’t tolerate injustice, and by god, we have a country so chock full of it we don’t even bat an eyelash anymore, even when we bear witness to it. So, in a move of profound strength and courage, the young lady informed this punk that seats hadn’t been assigned as of yet, and that she liked this one and it was hers, and in fact would never be his, no matter what. The offenders friends looked away and moved back from him, the incident over and decided. There could have been a worse outcome, the atmosphere was ripe for it. Most bullies don’t do well though when strength looks them right back in the eye.    

So, my usually very busy mind was into overdrive at this point and it wasn’t on hockey. To the contrary, it was suddenly the last thing I could think about. I was born in 1954. My Dad was a Korean war vet. The Cuban missile crisis occurred as I was in grade school. Then Vietnam. Shortly after I graduated from High School I signed up for that draft. Another war we were lied into, and the draft was little more then a Vegas style lottery to see who got to go overseas and perhaps never come back. Then we lost our appetite for that for a bit, but then South America was heating up, Eastern Euro genocide, the Middle East crisis’s were incubating with the Soviets invading Afghan. Then Iraq, followed by 9/11, then more Iraq, throw in Afghan, North Korea, a variety of terror groups that we certainly must “fight” (even if the CIA helped get them started) ISIS, the name surely right out of a James Bond movie (hence my suspicions) and on and on.    

And a certain constant within all of these external messes was the continual drumbeat of the country bumpkin, jethro-like, brainless white haters turning their internal angst toward people of color here, particularly black Americans, and now expanded to include Mexicans, Muslims and so on. This has all served to come to some sort of an internal mental crescendo within me and I have basically had it. I have endured listening to all of this shit for close to 63 years now. Conflict, war, violence and hate. I have now officially fucking had it. Worse yet, we have elected an individual to be our alleged leader for the next four years, (or less) who is one of the biggest dog whistling, code speaking A-holes I have observed in my lifetime. And his fellow party associates, it would be a stretch to refer to them as “leaders” are so indulged in their quest for political party power over all else, they sit on their hands. Yup, that is you McCain, Graham, McConnell and more. Party before country. It’s pretty clear.    

I wasn’t brought up in a racist home. I met and knew black people when I was growing up, and some were amongst the greatest people I ever knew. In my neighborhood where I grew up, there were people from all over the world and it was great to know them and to learn from them. Haters? Hate is a taught thing, no one is born with it. Haters are lacking in intelligence, most of them operate in groups, so they are mentally weak people and generally lacking in any sophistication. If they could think for themselves perhaps they could reconsider their thoughts on hate. Donald Trump is one of the weakest of the weak. He makes inciting statements frequently, and then when he gets called out on it, claims he didn’t say it, or was “misunderstood”. Sorry Donald, there was no mistake in the Mexican immigrants are murderers and rapists quote you made. You leading the anti-Obama Birther movement is hardly becoming of someone who is supposed to be a leader of ALL people.    

Guys like you Donald are pussies. You can say it but you can’t own it. The worst kind of hater. The weakest. To think that the renewed vigor behind the hater movement here is our own President is repulsive. Hate if you must, but how about keep it to yourself, or your hater brethren? Be civil amongst us, even polite, smile once in awhile. Learn how to get along. And please, since I’ve really tired of your worn out shit, STFU. You don’t live here alone. Thanks… PEACE