I would like to thank you for your advice and the support as I embarked on this new adventure. The wedding went extremely well, the vows came out better than I thought and we have enough stories to last us a lifetime. I wish I had enough time to tell you about the reception. But I am sure as I get the pictures up, I will post some for your viewing enjoyment. Special thanks to all of those who were able to attend.
Now we are on the verge of another New Year and I cannot help but be excited. 2008 is going to be a big year. Some of my friends have already gotten their catch-phrases and mottos for 2008.
When Woodbridge Estates redeveloped the decaying Jeffries Projects site just west of Wayne State University in Detroit, they renovated one of the old towers that are visible from the Lodge Freeway and outfitted the tower with a giant clock. The clock is a tangible symbol that it’s a new time in Detroit.
Yet some fear such gentrification of the city will in time become a social problem of its own, pushing out current residents in favor of suburbanites with more money. Read the rest of this entry »
At approximately 5pm today, our very own SuperSpade Steve DeVougas will be getting married in South Carolina. I hear the weather is beautiful right now and I just wanted to wish Steve and his new bride Sharece all the best as they embark on a new and exciting chapter in their lives. On behalf of Garlin and the entire SuperSpade community, we wish you nothing but happiness, joy, and peace.
The murder of Benazir Bhutto leaves the world with many questions, puzzles the world with many implications, and presents to the world both challenges and opportunities. There are political realities in Pakistan, throughout the Middle East, and across the world that now exist due the killing of this woman. However, these are neither the most sensible nor the most appropriate issues to be discussed at this point. What we, the media, and anyone conversing on this subject should be grappling with is the fact that a woman, a daughter, a wife, a mother of three, was murdered because she had different ideas. Read the rest of this entry »
What’s up fam, for those that haven’t heard, former Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated two weeks before before parliamentary elections where her party (Pakistan’s People’s Party) was widely expected to win the majority of the seats, making her Prime Minister. She was someone who truly believed in democracy. Politically, this is groundbreaking because Pakistan’s leader, Pervez Musharraf will rightly or wrongly be suspected of having his hand in allowing or ordering this attack to occur. No matter what, the US again pledges allegiance to an “ally” who really isn’t helping with the so-called war on terror and has a horrible record on human rights. Bush called on Musharraf to continue with elections. And what is Bush going to do if Musharraf doesn’t follow through? Nothing. Did I mention Pakistan has nuclear weapons?
More importantly, Bhutto’s father was hanged, one brother dies mysteriously and her other brother died in a shoot out. Her life embodies the importance to not think of progressive values as a fad. Being a martyr is appealing when it is not you or someone you love. Martyrs can be the heroes we admire and have all the super human qualities we can imagine. The downside is that too many of us think we could never be martyrs but if we are all going to die, then effectively we are all martyrs in a sense, provided we live a life of meaning and purpose.
Like leaders before her, there will be a long standing debate as to who is best suited to carry on Bhutto’s dream. I just ask that when we think about our heroes and honoring their legacy, we should be very careful to make sure we support their ideas over their personality. And I know it’s cool to rock t-shirts of Che, Malcolm, MLK, and others but I have a new rule: You can’t wear apparel that features activists until you read their book(s) AND are doing something in your life to further their vision. Bhutto’s loss is very unfortunate but if you think democracy (or any other cause worth fighting for) was accomplished by one person, you are sadly mistaken and never use the term movement in your vocabulary.
Condolences to family, friends, and supporters of the dream that is and life that was Benazir Bhutto.
So, ya boy is getting married in three days and I need to write my vows. Me and My ol’ lady are saying some words to each other before we give it the standard heave ho. As such, I need to write something sweet.
However, I have always been of the opinion that you should promise to do or not do certain things when you write your own vows. So I figured the blogosphere is far better than my one head and a stack of R-n-B cds. Thus I am asking for your assistance. What do you think I should promise to do for my future wife that is not a rehash of the standard vows? In the words of the late Ike Turner, I need to put some stank on it.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I am also open to any advice the vets have for a young whipper snapper going through this life changing event. And dont worry, I will chronicle all of the changes of married life for posterity. Because at 24 1/2, this should be quite the adventure.
Black people have come up with a surefire way to end the occupation in Iraq [and Afghanistan, and pretty much everywhere that America has no business being]: stop enlisting! I am glad to see that so many brothers and sisters are seeing through the trumped-up incentives, increasd military advertising (why the hell does the military even have an ad budget???), and huge enlistment bonuses and understanding that there are other ways to achieve their goals [especially when the president's George W. Bush].
“In this world you will have trouble, but rejoice, I have overcome the world.”
-John 16:33
”The crown of life will go to those who endure to the end”
-James 1:12
A couple of weeks ago, I was in Madison, WI as a guest speaker for a group of African-American sixth grade males. I was asked to speak about my experiences in law school and undergrad, things black men face and how to overcome them.
At the end of the hour long discussion, I wrote on the board “Steve’s Seven Pillars of Success.” At the very top of my list was Stamina and Discipline. As I reflected on this, I realized that most of life is about how much you can take before life breaks you. Read the rest of this entry »
Michigan’s native son Mitt Romney falsely claimed that he watched his father, former Michigan governor George Romney marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Romney’s campaign had to backtrack when called to the carpet because when yesterday “Romney’s campaign said his recollections of watching his father, an ardent civil rights supporter, march with King were meant to be figurative.”
Not that I am surprised but when I think about the currency that King holds in the American psyche, I am trying to figure out if we need a new claim to truly honoring the civil rights movement…like working on civil rights!!! Lest Romney stand alone, I am specifically skeptical of people like Andrew Young and Jesse Jackson who can honestly say they have marched with MLK and have reaped (and sold unfortunately) an inordinate amount moral authority as a result. Read the rest of this entry »
In my conversations with people over the years, I have heard people tell me that they are really communists at heart. That Indeed, something can be said for a classless society. To be sure, there are various forms of Communism and I didn’t know this, but there is an ideology known as Christian Communism, which says that based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, Christians are impelled to support this system. Below is an interview with Harvard Chaplain Peter Gomes speaking on the connection between Christianity and Communism. Let me know what you think,
Michigan is studying whether to hold more sessions to help homeowners who fear foreclosure, after thousands of people came to Detroit’s Cobo Center last week for a forum to learn how to save their homes.
The forum was hosted by state Attorney General Mike Cox and the banks and lenders present represented 98 percent of the Michigan mortgage market. Participants were able to interact directly with their lenders, talk to independent loan counselors and the Federal National Mortgage Association, and attend 45-minute classes on topics like options to avoid foreclosure, dealing with property taxes and what to do when you are in foreclosure. Read the rest of this entry »
With the holidays, the premium on good food takes precedent over nice gifts. With that said, one disease that is prevalent in America and Black folks in particular is diabetes. We have to start taking better care of ourselves and allow others in our lives to hold us accountable.
Sentencing Commission votes in favor of crack cocaine retroactivity
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), the nation’s leading sentencing reform organization with 13,000 members — many of whom are incarcerated people and their families — praises the U.S. Sentencing Commission for its courage and leadership on improving crack cocaine sentencing policies for future defendants and current prisoners.
Today in an historic vote, the Commission agreed to allow prisoners serving crack cocaine sentences to seek sentence reductions that went into effect on November 1. Retroactivity will affect 19,500 federal prisoners, almost 2,520 of whom could be eligible for early release in the first year. Federal courts will administer the application of the retroactive guideline, which is not automatic. Courts may refuse to grant sentence reductions to individuals if they believe they could pose a public safety risk. Read the rest of this entry »
I would submit to you that our personal path to financial freedom actually has less to do with how much we make but how we spend what we have. The need to constantly upgrade can wipe out any financial gain we may realize from additional income. So my question to the family is this; what are the services/goods that you refuse to pay a lot of money for, regardless of how much you make? Another way to think about this question is to think about the things that will probably never be upgraded in your life, regardless of income. My goal is to help us collectively understand how we can better live below our means.
With Compuware, Quicken Loans and other businesses setting up in Detroit, the city’s downtown is experiencing what some would consider an economic renaissance. While these developments give the city much-needed economic activity, experts disagree as to whether these changes could have a negative impact on neighborhoods in the form of gentrification. Read the rest of this entry »
I am writing this post from a hotel in Providence, Rhode Island. I am here doing a training for Campus Camp Wellstone at Brown University, teaching students how to become organizers.
If I could steal a page from Garlin’s book, I want to give you a glimpse of what is happening as I travel. In 2005, Rhode Island boasted a Black population of 6.2% and when over the past two days, I have seen about three Black people and they were all students. Regardless, it’s a cute city and has a ton of character. Right now I am looking at the famous (and very ritzy) Biltmore hotel, which is ironic because Biltmore was the name of the street I lived on growing up in Detroit. Life is a trip right? Read the rest of this entry »
Today, President Bush announced a private sector plan to address the mortgage crisis by freezing the subprime mortgage rates of some borrowers. In a speech today outlining the centerpiece of his plan, President Bush said, “We’ve launched a new initiative at the Federal Housing Administration called FHA Secure. This program gives the FHA greater flexibility to offset refinancing to homeowners — to offer refinancing to homeowners who have good credit histories but cannot afford their current payments.”
The focus on helping homeowners with good credit will exclude many of the people who have bad credit and should not have been offered mortgages to begin with. It’s funny how assistance to rich people is deemed essential to growing the economy but government assistance to low-income people is depicted as crippling the economy.
Among the critics of the plan, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow released a press release that said in part, “The President’s announcement today is a good first step, but I believe more action is needed to assist families in danger of losing their homes…we must immediately do everything we can to help families faced with losing their home. I will continue to lead efforts to pass my measure that will relieve families of a tax burden when their lender forgives a part of their mortgage. No one who is faced with losing their home should be faced with an additional tax bill.”
If you are feeling the pain of this mortgage crisis, call this number 24 hrs a day, 1-800-995-4673.
As you prepare to wrap up the year, I want to alert everyone to a very important event regarding drug sentencing. On December 11, the U.S. Sentencing Commission plans to hold a public meeting where they are expected to vote on whether to make the new, lower crack cocaine guideline retroactive.
On May 1, 2007, the U.S. Sentencing Commission proposed an amendment to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines to reduce the sentencing ranges for crack cocaine offenses by two levels. The amendment went into effect on November 1, 2007, and will affect 70 percent of crack cocaine cases sentenced in federal courts, reducing sentences by an average of 15 months.
In breaking but not surprising news, it was revealed today that Iran is not actually developing nuclear weapons. From the New York Times via truthout.org.
Washington – A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains on hold, contradicting an assessment two years ago that Tehran was working inexorably toward building a bomb.
The conclusions of the new assessment are likely to be a major factor in the tense international negotiations aimed at getting Iran to halt its nuclear energy program. Concerns about Iran were raised sharply after President Bush had suggested in October that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to “World War III,” and Vice President Dick Cheney promised “serious consequences” if the government in Tehran did not abandon its nuclear program.
Now before you think that this report will actually end the saber-rattling regarding Iran, please put your dancing shoes back in the closet. The Bush administration has already shifted its justification against Iran by citing Iran’s meddling in Iraq. We are very much not out the woods yet and I would ask for all of my liberal-minded friends to not think that evidence or facts prevail in Bush’s world. Please continue to speak out against war escalation and not just in safe progressive bubbles.
I was watching Austin Powers 2 the other day, and for the first time, I was struck by the way he was so depressed when he lost his mojo. He was so defeated.
Poor Austin Powers got me thinking about the times when we have lost our mojo. We all have periods in life where, we just are not quite ourselves. Our equilibrium is off, our internal compass no longer points due north. It is a period where we have lost a grip on the essence of ourselves. Our swagger is on the ropes. In sports, they call it a slump. Normally, this occurs in times of uncertainty, growing pains, transition or when we experience some kind of set back. Read the rest of this entry »
I hope your holiday season is well underway. I recently heard a ridiculous story about some houseguests from hell. A coworker of mine related to me that she had some of her boyfriend’s friends come stay with them during Thanksgiving. Well, the visit started off on the wrong foot. First, they stumbled into her house, drunk, at 3AM-after walking into the wrong house first. Then, they violated the one house rule my coworker had, which was keeping their bedroom clean. And to add insult to injury, they ate all of the leftovers, single-handedly after Thanksgiving.
I was in awe of the sheer audacity and lack of respect these people showed this woman, upon first time meeting her. And it got me thinking that some people are habitual line-steppers. Read the rest of this entry »
About The SuperSpade
The SuperSpade: Black Thought at the Highest Level, is a forum that presents critical, intellectual perspectives on the current issues, seeking to elevate the level of Black political thought. The goal of this space is to provide actionable commentary on social, political, and personal issues affecting the daily ... Continue reading »
