Barack Obama For President

As you may have guessed from my teaser post yesterday, I photographed Barack Obama, at a town hall meeting held in Troy, MI. It was very last minute & I spent the entire weekend waiting for the moment when I would have our next president as a photographic subject.

Like many, I have seen Barack speak on TV, defending himself, talking about what he envisions for America & going on the offensive against his GOP rivals. Whenever I watch, I get excited, inspired & yet nervous at the same time.

Well, after being there in person with about 2000+ (I think this number is not official) other supporters I got more than I bargained for. There was so much energy in the crowd that it could have lit up 2 city blocks, and this was before Barack appeared.

One of the major highlights before Barack took the stage was that he got two super delegate endorsements from Brenda Lawrence (Southfield, MI’s first Black and first female mayor) & Lu Battaglieri (Executive Director of the Michigan Education Association).

After all of the local notables said their piece, Barack was introduced by a local woman who seemed almost too excited to talk. She told the story of how her job left MI, & how her & her husband whose also unemployed cannot afford gas to live their daily lives. Her story was touching & all too familiar these days. Just before she exploded with excitement, she turned the mic over to Barack & the crowd went wild. At the same time, I was fighting with another local photographer after she PUSHED me to take a photo. I was so ready to jump off but, well, you know.

As Barack spoke the crowd burst into encouraging chants of we love you, Obama 08, etc. I think I even shouted once. Another photographer next to me called out & said, you are too happy & I take it that this is your first political assignment. I told him that he was more than 100% right & we both laughed.

Anyway, Barack, spoke on many of the points that he has covered over the past few months: gas, energy, education, jobs etc. He also dissed JM big time, which was awesome & he also showed Billary some love.

After his familiar speech, he turned to the audience for questions, which were unscreened & in a boy/girl fashion. The questions ranged from wanting answers on gas prices, his plan on mental health coverage, corporate greed/profits & a few others to which he broke down without skirting the issues. The best questioned asked from the audience IMO was from a gentleman who admitted to spending 13 years in prison because he stole a pair of Nikes & a set of bed sheets (a possible crack move!!!). The gentleman stated that since his release, he started a company that employs 1300 people & noted that he does hire ex-offenders. His question to Barack was what does he plan to do about decreasing prison/jail recidivism rates.

This question really resonated with me because of the paper that I wrote last semester on mandatory drug sentencing & the release of thousands of former crack dealers. His answer was on point & covered prevention programs to curb conditions that turn people to crime, offer programs that would help introduce ex-offenders back into society so that they could be successful & productive. Then he also flipped the script & stated that parents need to be more accountable for their children, “parents need to parent”, “fathers need to be step up to the plate”. Those last to statements made the crowd swell with praise. I heard several amens & hallelujahs from the older Black women that were standing near me.

After the Q&A session, Barack thanked the crowd for coming out & for the support. He then toured the crowed & was surrounded by the supported who wanted to hug him, shake his hand & get photos with their cell phones. It all seemed surreal to see the love that he was getting!

Quick flashback::::: When I showed up at the school, I meet many journalists from all over & they were open & warm. Many asked who I was with & when I told them that I was a blogger, I got some great reactions. They were like wow, who do you blog for & what do you write about. A few even asked what a blog was.

I also mentioned that I was a member of the AfroSpear & excitedly told them that a few the AfroSpear bloggers were recently credentialed to blog from the National Democratic Convention this August.

Two of the most notable people that I spoke with were Rochelle Riley of the Detroit Free Press (I swear I met her last year at a party) & Peggy Agar, the local reported who was the center of “Sweetie Gate”.

I actually talked with Peggy about the incident & she told me that it was not a big deal to her & she blew it off. Her main gripe was that Barack did not get back with her as he said he would. She went on to say that she was shocked to see how bloggers were dogging her out as if she created the drama & the way it was being handled in the media in general.

I asked if any of the cable news networks requested interviews after the jump off & she laughed & said many of them did. Her network requested that she not appear on any programs because they knew that it would spin out of control & she would just be a pawn in the game. Peggy also stated that she was just focused on doing her job, getting a paycheck so that she could feed her family & make sure that they had health coverage. Her husband has been laid off for an extended period of time & she has much bigger fish to fry. You go Peggy, & apologize for dogging you out boo!

Flashforward::::: The event was awesome, my journalistic experience was definitely interesting & I want more!!! Lastly, I encourage you to go see the political candidate that you are backing in person. Watching on TV is cool, but being there in the crowd is so much more. Kinda like watching a good movie, then you read the book & are just blown away by all of the detail that you missed.

To see images of the town hall meeting, check out my photojournal here.
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Updates:

- My sister found out that she is having a boy & his name will be Asar. She asked that I give him a middle name, so I am choosing something of greatness to complement his powerful first name.

- Barack Obama is now the official Democratic nominee. He gave a scorching hot speech that anyone can be proud of. I teared up a bit & only wished that I was in that stadium tonight.

- Hillary Clinton showed her ass during her sappy assed speech that should have been a concession speech. Homegirl did not announce any future plans & did not concede. I think she maybe stuck in a state of denial so tight that only R. Kelly & Kwame Kilpatrick can understand. Hillary, give it up boo, the popular vote does not get you nominated, delegates do. Ask Al Gore if you don’t believe me.

- John McCain is now older than he was earlier today making him still one old as mutha who needs to retire to FL vs. trying to run the country. Why does he always look freshly embalmed????

- On CNN tonight Anderson Cooper tried to get all up into Donna Brasile's business & she shut him down by saying that he is not her boo. Anderson retorted, “I wanna be your boo”. That exchange cracked me the fuck up.

Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!

Guess what I covered today???? More details & photos coming later tonight. I'm off to this damn statistics class.

HillBillies

Hillary Clinton's hard working American base is fucked up.  I know now all Whites are not racist but there are a hell of a lot of them & I think we will see that come out as Barack Obama makes his way towards 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

I saw this video on Jovan Miles' blog & was not shocked, or freaked out.  I was & am just like, damn, what we's gone do about these HillBillies that ain't got no teeth, poor as hell, uneducated, obviously do not read or watch the news to know who policy makers are & don't mind fucking a sheep or cousin here or there.

I am so happy that I do not live in those southern towns where these type people breath & hold their head up high like they are the most precious thing under the sun.

I'm surprised that no one yelled out "white power" or "I likes coloreds but they all just some shady coons".

White men have been fucking this country up from jump.  What makes people think that one day a white man will get it right?

What we's gone do???

Why is Black Just Black

Last week when Billary was courting the "Hillbillies" of W. Virginia, she stated that she has the blue collar voters supporting her & that Obama could not get them in his camp. The media spread this as most of us see this to mean; that she has the white voter & Obama did not have the pull to take it away from her.

This week, I was listening to my favorite NPR program: "News & Notes" & Jay Andersen of Average Bro blog on the "Bloggers Round Table" segment, questioned why Black American voters  get sifted in to just being black, while white American voters get sifted into many descriptive classifications such as:

• Soccer Mom
  
• Nascar Dad
  
• Working Class
  
• Blue Collar Worker
  
• Middle American
  
• Moral Majority
  
• Evangelical
  
• Etc....
  

Then he cleverly asked why we Negoroes get one classification; "BLACK"!

Today after having lunch with Suite Suzy & Sade, a bit aired on the radio on how Billary is dividing people with her blue collar appeal & that made me think.

Suite Suzy is a soccer mom, we are a middle class (but somewhat ghetto) family, we both were once blue collar workers & we are both Democrats, who happen to be Black.

Do we count for anything else other than being Black? Why are we always just Black? If you are Black & have climbed the later in life professionally or socially, we are still just Black.

A Black man in a Beamer, with a Brooks Brother's suite on in Manhattan pulled over by the NYPD is just a Black man & next beat down or shooting victim. They will not see his power, they will not see his accomplishments, they will not see that he runs a fortune 500 company; they will see A Black Man, A Misfit, A NIGGER.

Am I going overboard? Maybe, maybe not but history & my experience speaks for itself!

Photo Credit: Taken by Chomchom | Entitled "Angela"

Sad State of Affairs

What the hell kind of weed was OJ smoking when he admitted to killing his wife & her boo? That must have some good shit for him to slip up & expose the truth that we all know but love to deny.

Sad thing is that he cannot be retried, he is not the 1st person to get away with murder (well, maybe the 1st Black man to get away with murdering a white woman) & will not be the last. I wonder how his kids feel about him????

What the fuck took so long to get R. Kelly’s trial going??? In the last six years, that nigga released like 8 albums, made me “step in the name of love” countless times, he did 35 collabos & paid for 4 abortions. Honestly, why is this going to trial??? I saw the video when it was circulating & if that was not R. Kelly, maybe he was kidnapped & got into some “face off” type shit.

The (obviously willing) victim is now twenty-damn-three & is denying that it is her in the video. Can you say, the dick brainwashed her (she needs to talk to Alexyss) & she mos def got paid off.

The Detroit City Council is a step closer in getting Kwame’s delusional ass out of office. All I wanna know is what can I do to help!

In other news:

1st) Who made that dress?
2nd) Likeded is not a word!
3rd) Why does she have that big ass tattoo on her chest & that tongue ring?
4th) Why is this in the news, & who really cares?
5th) Last but not least, where is her momma. I would have said where are the parents but it is clear that there is no father around.
6th) Can't wait to see this featured on the Hot Ghetto Mess website.

In personal news:
- I got a Myspace message from my sister Baby today that stated “just left the doctors and my due date is 11-11-08 yes i'm having a baby”. OK, WTF!!!

1st) Why would you Myspace message that kind of news. This is worse that a text message. So impersonal!!! And why didn’t you just tell me this bittersweet news when you saw me Saturday?
2nd) Last week you called me because you were out of money & food until your current boo got paid & begged me to order you a pizza so yall grown asses could have something to eat. How are you going to afford another mouth to feed. Oh wait, I know food stamps. Duh!!!!
3rd) You don’t have a job now, have not had one for months, is this a sign of a life line system lifestyle?
4th) Why is my mom so excited about this new baby? Yes I know it is another grandchild who will be precious, but all I see is another bastard child who will be sharp as hell & living in the lap of ghetto luxury.
5th) My sister changes her boo more than she changes her panties. I started to ask whose it was but that just would have been too fucked up for me to even ask.
6th) Why do I have to have that one sibling that people talk about at the family reunion?

I love my Baby, but she makes the worst life decisions ever. I wanted to call her so bad tonight but all I would have to say would have been counter productive & a waste of breath. What’s done is done.

In political news:
- Will someone fucking take over Myanmar with an international coup. I really do not understand why the government over there is denying aid. I saw videos of all of the squalor & dead bodies floating around to this day. I guess if I was a Katrina victim, I would stop complaining right about now, or at least until the FEMA checks ran out.

- Hillary, you mos def can’t count & we all know you can’t budget. Drop the fuck out & have a BBQ with your hard working white supporters. How dare you insinuate that white Americans are the only ones that are middle class, hard workers etc. This is the exact reason your campaign is going down faster than Monica Lewinsky or Karrine Steffans in a room full of hot dick & nuts.

- George Bush, fuck pictures of your daughter's wedding cuz I don’t give a fuck!!! I wanna see my damn stimulus package check. I need some damn gas money bitch.

Take a Bite Please

I have not given a Watermelon Award away in quite some time.  Actually the last one I gave out was to Kanye West after he referred to light skinned Black video hoes as “mutts”.  I think about who deserves a Watermelon Award all the time but never put it down on paper & basically talk shit to my friends about possible recipients.

Well now that the semester is coming to an end, and I’m feeling free; it’s time to issue some awards to some ghetto superstars.

The 1st award goes to Jeremiah Wright.  Why?  Well, because I think he should have held his tongue so that his former parishioner, mentee & friend Barack Obama could wrap up the Democratic nomination process.  I have been watching the coverage of his antics since his appearance in Detroit (city of many fools) & I have not been impressed.  He had the perfect opportunity to change national perceptions & all he did was make shit worse, a) for himself/reputation & b) for Barack.

Truth be told, I actually agree with a lot of what Wright has to say but there comes a point when a nigga needs to shut the fuck up especially when he is harming someone who has aspirations larger than thyself.  Barack is trying to become the fucking president of the US, why would you open your mouth & possibly fuck that up???

Jeremiah put your foolish pride aside & let another brotha have the stage please.  And while you are on the sidelines, please have a slice of watermelon!

The 2nd award goes to; you guessed it, Kwame Kilpatrick.  Special K, why are you denying that you & Freaky Chris (Christine Beatty) never sent all them text messages?  If you two did not send them, who in the fuck did.  And do you really think that you are that important for someone to frame you?  Muthafuckas dubbed the Hip Hop mayor are not all that important.  Please look in the mirror & wake the fuck up!  If you spent more time eating watermelon instead of Freak Chris, you would not be in this hot mess.

If Freaky Chris got her shit together & your hot dick & nuts off her mind, she would turn evidence on your ass.  And speaking of hot dicks & nuts, Kwame must have fucked the shit out of her to have this bitch about to face time for his ass.  Man, talk about dick whipped.  He had her ass hypnotized. She needs to watch a few Alexyss K Tylor videos t o get out of her dick-oriented matrix!

The 3rd award goes to the nigga that got on the elliptical machine next to me at the gym yesterday (he also happens to be the gym hot mess of the week).  Why did you come in the gym musty?  Why did you have to get on the machine next to me & talk to your friend who was on elliptical machine to my right?  I was sandwiched between to fools talking about absolutely nothing & loud as hell.  The sad thing was both of their breath was off the chain & smelled like severe halitosis.  I was surrounded by aroma of badussy (booty, dick & pussy) & crack head scented armpits.  By the time I left the gym, I had a pounding funk induced headache.

Do you have any Watermelon Award recommendations for this week???

Untitled For a Reason

A Confessed 19%er

After last Tuesday PA primary, I was a little down because BO lost by 9.4%.  After CNN called the race I was like shit, what we’s gone do now.

During HC speech, I found myself having a harder time looking at her marionette type face.  Every word she spoke turned me off, but deep down, way deep down, I was like good for her; even liars & back stabbers can be winners some times.

On the flip side, I was not even in the mood to here BO speak so I cut the tv off & feel asleep with May 6th on my mind.  I am thinking that if BO cannot take BO, the shit is over & it will get a whole lot nastier for real.

Going back to the tv.  One thing that stuck with me in terms of all of the Gallup Poll stats thrown out by the CNN commentators was the fact that 28% of HC’s supporters will back JM if BO is the Democratic party nominee & 19% of BO’s supporters will back JM if HC is the Democratic party nominee.  I was like shit, those numbers are tough no matter how you slice it.

I said months ago that if HC was the Democratic nominee, I was not going to vote at all & possible reject no I mean denounce my citizenship if she won.

Today I feel a little different because I kinda like JM although his tightly packed yellow teeth, turkey neck & partially embalmed body make me want to throw up in my shirt.

Another thing that is bothering about my decision to be 19% is the fact that if I do not vote, I am fucking over our predecessors who fought for voting rights.  And the voting rights act was passed only 43 years ago & recently renewed.  Do I really want to sale out the people that died to have the choice that I have?  In terms of my other conscious do I want to sale myself out by voting for someone that I think will suck if they were in office.  Things would be much more simple of we had candidates that had it all; integrity, honest, not too ugly, not hated around the world, can speak a complete sentence that makes since, no DUI’s, drug issues, no huge sexual appetite that makes them creep etc.

Anyway, I am an anxious 19% hoping for the best from BO over the next few weeks.  I hate to say it, but I hope that BC makes another fuck-up & HC tells another lie & I hope that someone else asks CC where’s Monica to just piss her off.  BTW, where is Monica & I wonder who she’s backing in the race.  We all know she loves a democrat.

Since we are talking about politricks, check out LosAngelista’s latest post “Tough Enough”,  I’m loving it!