Sticks and Stones won't break my bones, but they won't pass a bill either....

Well, it looks like us on-lookers got Punk'd by the legislative branch today. The approximate $700 billion bailout plan that was so confidently talked about this weekend got shut down.

Blame is being thrown from left to right as to the reasons why the bill did not pass. Democrats are blaming Republicans for being partisan school children and Republicans are blaming Speaker Nancy Pelosi for telling over zealous capitalism about itself. Passage was missed by 12 votes from which Bush's call to rally the GOP turned into a damaging and telling mutiny from his own party. No word how soon they are going to bring this back to vote.

In light of the news, stocks dove a record breaking 777.68 points today. The biggest point drop in history. This is a really big spotlight on America's flawed social, political, and financial values.

Speaking of flaws...how bad do you feel, John McCain, for doing all you could to take credit for a bill under the assumption it would pass just because you sat in the room? Looks like that "suspension" was twice proven to be unnecessary.

*Handing over a towel* There you go...you got a little egg on your face.

Blacks 2.0

Its something about these times that bring the tom-foolery out of otherwise reasonable human beings. Such is why I find humor in the ignorance of those who proclaim themselves educated, good-sense having folk. And once their foolishness is brought to light, its seen as a shock. They are seen as an isolated case of ill-directed thinking. But so many have been coming to light recently, that we can no longer hide that the primitive and base views of those people come from somewhere deep within America's culture.

The latest tragic comedy comes from Didi Lima, a (former) Republican Party spokeswoman in one of Nevada's largest county and (former) Hispanic Outreach Coordinator for the McCain campaign. She makes a "colorful" analogy of her concerns towards the Democratic Party and their dealings with the Hispanic Community.

"We don't want (Hispanics) to become the new African-American community," Lima told The Associated Press. "And that's what the Democratic Party is going to do to them, create more programs and give them handouts, food stamps and checks for this and checks for that. We don't want that."

"I'm very much afraid that the Democratic Party is going to do the same thing that they did with the African-American culture and make them all dependent on the government and we don't want that," she said.

Wait...I get a check? Is it still valid? If so, I wanna cash that baby before the economy falls to Hades any further. And where's my 40 acres? Can the old Blacks actually reap these magic benefits first before we start shuffling in the replacements? Needless to say, she has been disowned by the McCain campaign and removed from her post. In her defense, if I were her, I wouldn't want to be the new Blacks either. I just wouldn't know what to do with all the inherent power I had over the psyche of the mainstream culture that makes them obsess over us so.

...Gangsta

I want to recognize a brand that has caught my attention a little while ago, and one I hope will grow to define a new turning point in the Hip-Hop and Black community.

dangerousNegro.

Making its mainstream debut in Bun B's "Thats Gangsta" video was the "Smart is the New Gangsta" tee. This new line of apparel seeks to send the message of Black empowerment and achievement in eye catching, tongue-in-cheek fashion. Merging style and social awareness, dangerousNegro offers a range of men and women tees that come in limited edition or even customizable colors, messages, and designs. It even features a special line of Obama inspired designs.

Its this type of fashion meets statement that I gravitate towards (which is why I've become a dedicated customer).  Check it out, start a movement, or at least a conversation.

2 AM

So this is what its come down to...sitting up unable to sleep while my macbook announces its 2 o'clock so matter-of-fact like. To be fully honest, I'm not completely unable to visit the less expensive equivalent to Disneyworld (my dreams). Part of this Anna Nalick moment is due to more my hesitation to fall asleep more than my inability.

I'm waiting...

...for the phone to ring/ding/make that "new text message" sound.

At the same time I know it won't. It never does, when I need it to most. The waits have become a part of life. Keeping the phone nearby. Staying logged on to iChat. Simultaneously convincing myself that as soon as I find a distraction it will ring/ding/make that "new text message" sound. But it doesn't. And as soon as I give in and call it a day, my phone lights up with a familiar sound and a familiar face. But its too late to answer, because I am too asleep to hear it.

I tried...