The Weekly Dream: Making Adjustments

“If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.”

I recently found myself trying to get into golf and I must admit it is really an addictive game.  As I was taking my first lesson in years last week, I was amazed at how precise the game is.  The smallest flaw in form could be the difference between a beautiful shot and a slice.  Another thing about golf is that it is just as important where you end as where you begin.  We were constantly taking aim, taking practice swings and checking our ending form in order to make sure that we were developing good form. 

Detroit updates

What’s up fam,

Let me just say for all my people that are planning on coming back to Detroit in the future, don’t wait too long. This past week, my city shined. The new and improved Riverfront was unveiled at The River Days festival and it was breathtakingly amazing. There were three main stages with fantastic music. Hotsauce, an incredible R&B/funk group that performs original music and all purpose classics, brought the house down, symbolizing how young people are vital to Detroit’s success. Families from all backgrounds were out smiling, dancing, and otherwise having a good time.

Covenant, meet D-Presidential candidates

I know people really don’t watch TV during the summer but I need you to watch the Presidential Debate tonight on PBS, hosted by Tavis Smiley at 9 ET. If you will recall, Tavis Smiley announced these debates when The Covenant was released and the topics covered in the debate will focus on the key priorities outlined in the book. Tonight will feature Democratic candidates and Republicans will debate on September 27^th. If any of you have ever heard Tavis, give an interview, the brother is extremely adept at asking probing questions. I forgot to mention that both debates will be held at HBCUs with Howard hosting tonight and Morgan State hosting in September. We are giving a hat tip to Tavis and the great work he continues to do for the community. Check your local listings, and if you can’t be at home, you can watch the debate online. Expect follow-up coverage from The SuperSpade.

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

The Danger of hope dashed

Hope is a very delicate feeling that if damaged, can cause irreparable damage. Bush and the RNC’s strong arm tactics scuttled the hope of many minority voters as tried to vote in hopes of seeing real change. The one thing that people hate more than a bad situation is being denied the choice for something better. That is why we here at The SuperSpade are teaming up with our good friends from Color of Change to oppose the nomination of Hans von Spakovsky to the Federal Election Commission. This man helped engineer the “felon” voter purge in Florida that disenfranchised thousands of Black people. The last thing we need are guys like Spakovsky having positions of great influence where he can dash the hopes of more people of color. The dangers of more conservative lunacy is like living in a real-life nightmare.

Go to this link and sign the petition.

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

The Weekly Dream: Crisis in Manhood

Father’s Day has just passed and hopefully you took the time to appreciate the father in your life, whomever it may be.  As I have written before, Father’s Day is an interesting holiday to me.  I am not a father, but I think the relationship between a father and a child is a unique one and it tends to be a more complicated one than the mother and child dynamic. 

As I was driving around the city last week, enjoying the excellent weather, for the first time I noticed that there were women and children everywhere, but you rarely saw the fathers or men.  I am not talking about young men, but grown men.  And I not only asked where are all the fathers, but where are all the men period?

Is racial integration required?

Honestly now, how much is racial integration (work, where you live, social life, etc.) important to you? I ask that because my take is that racial integration in is not vitally important and it would be…(hold your breath) OK if groups more or less kept to themselves while having the freedom to experience different races/cultures. It seriously has to be alright to be with your own sometimes. And for Black people, it pains me when we praise the solidarity of other races/cultures but scoff at the notion of having such solidarity amongst ourselves. Something has to give, can you help me understand?

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

Actively wanting less

After reading Garlin’s fantastic post on the Black Middle Class, I was inspired to think of ways that we can maintain an engaged and active middle class. This idea is not original, but I think the answer comes from actively wanting less.

The Divided Minority: Black America

In an interview with Prensa Latina that focused primarily on Michael Moore, Cuban-American activist Andres Gomez made an interesting observation about Black america:

We can say that the black caucus is mostly liberal, although there is a strong black middle class that does not respond to the interests of the black poor and divides that minority.

This is sad, but unfortunately true.

Obama’s New Politics

My colleagues at the Northwest Progressive Institute pointed to a disturbing story about a document put out by the Obama camp. It was basically a slap in the face to Hillary Clinton’s India supporters. I would never have expected this from Obama.

New rule: Black Presidential endorsements

New rule: If you are Black person of any influence and want to endorse a Presidential candidate, avoid saying dumb stuff!!! My outrage is directed towards Daryl McDaniels, founding member of the legendary Run D.M.C. This guy, speaking to reporters says he is

Maya Angelou endorses Sen. Clinton

I keep seeing “hat tip” on many Black Blogs so I am giving a hat tip to Jack and Jill for posting a video featuring the video of Dr. Maya Angelou endorsing Senator Hilary Clinton for President.

Palestine matters…

I am sure many of you have heard about the recent fighting between Hamas and Fatah in Palestine. I don’t claim to be an expert on this issue but the hypocrisy of the United States and the West is beyond the pale.

The Weekly Dream: I Can Love You Better?

“Show me you love me and you won’t have to say a word”-Charlie Wilson

Well every one, we are knee-deep into the Wedding Season. That means love is in the air and Cupid is mighty busy. The tension and the desire is palpable. In the midst of listening to “Here and Now” for the one hundredth time, I cannot help but wonder if we spend too much time looking for love?

False choices

What’s up fam, I hope everyone is enduring the summer better than I am. I was remiss in not letting the family know I had the opportunity to speak at a press conference with Al Sharpton a couple weeks ago dealing with decency in hip hop that is calling on the record industry and artists to stop using the n-word, b-word, and the h-word. For those of you that read the SuperSpade often, you know that we very rarely discuss entertainment or sports related issues and this post will be no different.

Stem Cells and Affirmative Action

A good friend of mine, Jameelah, has a fascinating knack for science and political issues. Recently, she penned an amazing piece describing the relationship between Stem Cells and Affirmative Action. I was floored after reading this and I think you will be too. Thank you Jameelah, you are a true SuperSpade.

Fox News is not perfect

They are really just off the cuff when it comes to people of color. In an all too-familiar case of universal Blackness, Fox News “mistakenly” ran video of Representative John Conyers while the segment is describing the legal indictments handed down against Representative Bill Jefferson. Fox knew what they were doing and we do too and for that, I am proud to stand in coalition with Color of Change in praising Conyers for calling Fox out on their relentless “disrespect of people of color.” Conyers was upset of course and had this to say,

Unfair Pay and the Discrimination Loophole

A Supreme Court ruling from last week made it more difficult for people to sue their employers when they found that they were being discriminated against and paid neither fairly or equally. I missed this, but I think that was the point.

Dennis the Menace & Why it’s Important to Watch Candidates Closely

Many people have never heard of Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic Congressman from Ohio. Kucinich is running for President in 2008, and is considered to be one of the most progressive candidates on the Democratic side. In my view is right on on most of today’s issues: Iraq, the media, health care, and others. I think he did very well in the debate this week. All in all, a guy I’d vote for.

The above reasons are why it troubles me so much that he is SO ABSOLUTELY WRONG about the CBCI/CBC-Fox New Debate Issue.

Education’s Open secret

I don’t have any kids but I know many people that read this site either will be mothers or fathers in the near future or already have young ones probably tugging at you right now. And as you consider different educational options, the lines are often drawn over to send your kids to public, charter, or private schools, with you choosing the best option available to your family. But as a New York Times magazine article by Elizabeth Weil so elegantly explains, perhaps a bigger factor in your child’s academic and social development may hinge greatly on your kid’s birthday and when they start kindergarten.

Why don’t we care about Africa?

I borrowed the title of today’s post from Presidential Candidate, Governor Bill Richardson. In a story that was grotesquely swept under the rug, “US warships fired navy missiles at foreign fighters in Somalia.” We have wrote about military operations directed towards Africa before but this ups the ante…a lot.

Moral School Reform?

If your family lived in a major city with a poor educational system, do you think it would be morally wrong for you to use a relative’s address that lives in the suburbs so your kids could access a higher quality education?

I ask this question because false address changes are probably the easiest way many parents access better schooling for their children. And for as much we want to see positive change for K-12 public schools, it is very difficult to ask a parent of a low-achieving school district to wait for these changes to take root. My hunch is that many people think it is bad, but permissible. Nevertheless, what does it say to our kids when we tell them to lie if and when they are asked where they’re from?

And let me flip the script, if you were living in a high-achieving school district and were asked to lend your address so the child of a relative/friend could access your school district, how would you evaluate whether or not to grant that request?

Let me know what you think,

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

Friday Fact – If people wanted to impeach Clinton, they REALLY want to impeach Bush

Percentage of Americans that wanted Bill Clinton impeached in 1999: 32%

Percentage of Americans that want G. W. Bush impeached as of earlier this month: 39%

Hmmmm… Let’s go one step further:

Bill Clinton’s public approval rating during time of Impeachment: as high as 73%

G. W. Bush’s current approval rating: 28%

So, why was there so much political momentum to impeach Clinton, and so very little to impeach Bush?

One Love. One II.

Unchecked power

Do you think Bush could be in office past January 20, 2009? I do and so does Bush apparently. An article from Alternet.org reads,

The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, signed on May 9, 2007, would place all governmental power in the hands of the President and effectively abolish the checks and balances in the Constitution.