Gone For a Minute Now I'm Back: Mini MInaj Rant

So I promise I'll be back in a wee bit with something more substantial but because we all know I am not here for Nicki Minaj so I must quickly say this.

IF TARGET AND WALMART DON'T WANT TO SELL YOUR ALBUM AND BEST BUY WILL ONLY BUY IT IN LIMITED QUANTITIES THERE IS A PROBLEM.

That is all.

Election 2012: Live State by State Election Results Tonight!

So just in case you want to stay abreast of the 2012 Election results you can feel free to head to twitter and follow @urbanaffairsdly.  I'll be providing live updates all night long!  And remember if you haven't voted yet GO OUT AND DO IT! Most polls don't close for a while so you still have time, no excuses!

Happy election night!

He's Not Heavy He's My Brother: My Support for President Barack Obama

As the 2012 election draws to a close I wanted to dedicate my final campaign post to the candidate I've been endorsing for months, the current Commander-in-Chief, Barack H. Obama.

Admittedly it's been a rough 4 years, the economy is in the toilette, college is more expensive than ever, jobs are scant and just in case republicans haven't said it enough, the was an attack in Libya.  But when looking at the hand Obama was dealt I find it disingenuous for anyone to say he hasn't performed admirably and with grace.

When Obama came into office he inherited a massive debt accrued by former President Bush.  With limited help from republicans the President has been trying his best to fix the economy but it is not an easy job.  how can one honestly expect a person to fix something in four years that it took eight years to break?  It is just not that simple.

The President has also been working tirelessly to make student loans more manageable and to increase funding for community colleges.  He understands that higher education is not a privilege it is a right.  In 1954 The Supreme Court declared that separate but equal is inherently unequal and it seems as though republicans have forgotten this history lesson.  The separation today may not be De Jure but it is most definitely De Facto, with people of lower socio-economic classes being left out or left behind.  Mitt Romney and his fellow republicans believe that the answer to improve the education problems in the U.S is to have more charter schools, to impose more benchmark tests and to limit if not remove federal college aid, and of course if you need money for school you can always borrow from your parents because they MUST be wealthy.  None of these solutions would do anything but worsen the state of education in this country.  We don't need more tests, or to ships students out of their neighborhoods to attend school, we need equality of opportunity.  If the local public schools are damaged the should be fixed the not outsourced because no child should have to travel outside their own neighborhoods to receive a quality education and our President understands that.


Anytime foreign policy is discussed republicans love to fear monger and ignore the fact that Obama did in three years what Bush couldn't do in eight, capture Osama Bin Laden.  They claim that we are in greater danger than ever before and that the President has made the United States look weak.  In a sense maybe they are right, anytime a nation goes from being a diplomatic bully or a global police officer to a calmer, less "rough and ready" force than I'm sure War Hawks would see this as weak, and I'm okay with that.  This world doesn't always need soldiers ready to annihilate anyone they perceive may eventually be a threat, sometimes we just need peace or at least not active conflict. Because where have these bulldog tactics gotten us?  Millions of lives lost and damaged in Vietnam, death and destruction in South East Asia, an unwinnable war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more enemies than ever before, clearly brute force is not the answer.


Mitt Romney will tell you that government is the problem and that the power should lay with the states  but historical we know that is a falsehood.  The federal government got us out of the Great Depression not localities, government creates jobs and provides aid to the people who need it most when states cannot.  The federal government passed laws to end segregation and voter intimidation in the south when the states either did nothing or encourages it.  In fact states like South Carolina still must have changes to their voting laws approved by the federal government because of their history of discrimination so it is clear states don't always get it right.


Nobody told us the road was going to be easy, in fact the road has been rough and the going has been tough, and the hills have been hard to climb, but we must hold on because that is life. There is no such thing as a quick fix to a major problem and to expect one you are only doing yourself a disservice. That being said, at the end of the day the choice is all of ours. Do we want a President who knows that our problems our his problems, that the wealthiest among us should pay their fair share and that the poorest among us need the most help, that equality should not be a dream but a reality, and that it IS in fact the Government's responsibility to serve the people. Because if they are not serving the ones who elected them, if they are not here to aid the ones who have put them in office who are they here for?

I took the title of this post "He's not heavy he's my brother he can not encumber me" from a Donny Hathaway song because it perfectly exemplified my feelings about this election and Barack Obama.  I know these past couple of years have not been perfect, there have been mistakes and pitfalls but despite the political baggage the president has accumulated (just or unjust) I honestly believe that he is the best choice for the the nation and I will continue to support him and I hope that all of you will as well.

Pop Culture Friday: An Open Letter to Ciara

Ciara,

My sweet honey child, we must chat.

I haven't written you before because I thought you had gotten yourself a baller and decided to shy away  from the limelight but clearly I was wrong.  Now girl, I didn't say anything when you decided to fancy yourself an actress and act in that terrible All You've Got MTV movie.

 I never touched the fact that your middle name is princess or that almost ombre hair your still clinging to. 

Most importantly I remained silent when I found out you were in the straight to dvd version of Mama, I Want to Sing! Even though I found the whole thing ironically humours. 

See Ciara I was giving you time to find your self or just simply have a seat but now with your latest Got Me Good Video, you've gone too far!

I'm not even going to shade you for doing a video in the desert when your weave already looks like it's quenched for thirst, but the lyrics girl, the lyrics did it for me.

Cici (if I can call you that)  it's one thing to massacre your own intellectual property put I'd appreciate if you wouldn't drag one of my favorite childhood games into the situation.  I caught the little "My backs aching my bra too tight" chant reference and I'M NOT HERE FOR IT.  I need you to get it together immediately!

My suggestion is that you call up Steevie J and Mona Scott Young and see if you can be the Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta version of Olivia so you can make a little change.

Or you can always go the Ashanti route and find Bow Wow or some other struggling rapper and make a nice little happy home and call it a day with all the celebrity foolishness.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, stay away from my DMV soul mate Wale and Kendrick Lamar.    I have such high hopes for these amazing artist and I feel like you might Yoko Ono their careers.

I doubt you'll listen to me but I wish you all the best,

- A concerned music lover

Don't Miss a Thing: Live Tweets During the Presidential Debate

Tonight is the final presidential debate before the election and I'll be tweeting live the entire time!

Stay up to date on all the moments people will be talking about in the morning by following urban affairs daily on twitter @urbanaffairsdly or following this link https://twitter.com/urbanaffairsdly

Knuck if You Buck: Tagg Romney Wanted to "Take a Swing" at the POTUS

Where is Reggie Love when you need him?!?

Apparently one of  Romney's clones kids found their thuggish ruggish bone and decided to take aim at the President!

Yesterday during an interview with a North Carolina radio station Tagg Romney said that when he heard President Obama call his father a liar during the debates he wanted to

"jump out of his seat and ... rush down to the debate stage and take a swing at him."
 

He followed this by saying

 "But you know you can't do that because, well first because there's a lot of Secret Service between you and him, but also because this is the nature of the process, they're going to do everything they can do to try to make my dad into someone he's not."

Look, I find it hard to take someone with a misspelled verb for a name seriously but little statements like this aren't cute, dignified or appropriate.  It just goes to show that with all the money the Romney's have their children lack a wee bit of class and political savvy. 

I'm sure millions of people and POLITICIANS wanted to punch George W Bush in the throat while he was President but they didn't dare say it because no matter what he is the President and there is a certain amount of respect he deserves.  Also Tagg's main reason for not taking a swing at the POTUS should have been because it would be wrong to do and that's not how adults or any person should handle situations not because he knew he'd get bodied by Secret Service. AND if making the other candidate look bad is just the nature of the process then aren't you doing the same thing?

Either way I'm sure the Romney team will sweep Tagg's thoughtless comments under the rug and make sure he doesn't slip up again and I'm fine with that.  However if I was Tagg I wouldn't try it with Obama, I'm sure he's not a "fighter" but to me he has "run up get done up" written all over him.

*I realize that I previously referred to Tagg as Tripp.  I apologize, I often feel as though yuppie, smug names are interchangeable*


Receipt: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/tagg-romney-obama_n_1976186.html

 

Pop Culture Friday: BasketBall Wives LA, Nicki Mina, Bus Driver Uppercut, Bobbi Kris & More!

Happy Friday! Now let's talk pop culture.

 

Basketball Wives LA
This show entertains me like no other and I'm slightly ashamed to say it.  That being said this episode was cute and drama filled.  I still don't understand why Jackie Christie is still on the show because she's really too old for all of that drama but I guess a check is needed.  The episode focused a lot on family and issues.  We got to see Draya and her family and the Govan sisters hashed out their little drama as well, all culminating in a fight between Jackie and Draya.  Now this whole fight was stupid but Jackie gets the crown for doing the most.  As the only person in the group who's close to receiving AARP she should have known better.  The only thing she needs to be fighting for at her age is medicare and social security.

Nicki Minaj's New Album Cover
                                                                   
3 words. good.day.sir
Fresh off  cussing Mariah Carey out in true hood rat fashion on the set of American Idol, Nicki has released the album cover for the re release of her redundant Pink Friday: Roman Re loaded album.  Why she's re releasing an album that wasn't that good in the first place is beyond me but hey why not.  What I really can't wrap my brain around is why she come up with a new name for this pop crap she keeps putting out.  That's why I'm still keeping the "help Nicki come up with a new album title" campaign...in fact it shout just be trending. something like #nomorepinkfriday #endpinkfriday #namenicki'salbum #pinkfridayisdead anything.  I know the Barbz are going to come for my neck but I can't stand the lil wayne repetition anymore.

Bobbi Kristina's Reality Show:

Where is Cissy and who gave this the green light?  I can't see how this is a good idea for anybody.  All I see is a train wreck and a break down in the future for all parties involved in this foolishness



 

Stacy Dash Voting For Mitt Romney:
Apparently Stacy Dash supports Mitt Romney.  I haven't been really interested in what Stacy Dash had to say since she stopped being Dionne Davenport but hey good for her at least she's voting.







J Cole, Kendrick Lamar Album Still Happening:

Words cannot explain how bad I stan for both of them and whispers of a join album have made my whole entire year!  A couple of weeks ago Kendrick Lamar assured the public that the album is still in the works and they're a couple of tracks deep.  Hopefully they aren't going to pull a Detox and release random tracks every couple of years but never an album.



Bus Driver UpperCut Video:

This is exactly why I hate riding the bus! If you haven't watched the video follow the link and do it now before you read the rest of this.  I never advocate violence by anyone but this shows all the little Nicki Minaj's of the world exactly why you can't go around acting like your "bout that life" and disrespect people..especially not your elders.  This little girl knew she was wrong for threatening that elderly bus driver and cussing and spitting in his face and because she clearly had no home training she thought she could get away with it.  Now I'm not saying the old man was right for uppercutting her to the next dimension and knocking her little dollar tree ponytail off but when you act like a thug you get treated like one. ovaries or not .Bus driver Uppercut


So that's pretty much it for the week feel free to comment and let me know what I missed.