Yellow cheese bus gettin’ beatings if I cuss
Lay away another day in stripped Lees and Le Tigres
But the leather bomber momma tried to stop
Paranoid cause this boy around my neighborhood got shot
Name plate hair straight metal braces on my teeth
Fat laces on my feet when crack first hits the streets…

As the tale gets poetic watch the streets turn magnetic
Tawanna Brawley’s rape is alleged
Hang out in hooky places watch streets corners turn to oasis
Young men aspire to be Scarfaces
In the year of the dragon lots of men disappear
Quiet as it’s kept they won’t be back next year

Clef it kind of remind me of this chick I once knew
Used to be a dime now she’s strung out in Bellevue
See the serpent play tricks, run game like the Knicks
Build you up just to lose the championship.
I seen her reminisce over Wu-Tang ‘Could It Be that Simple’
She lost her Prince cause there were Thieves In the Temple
Tragic depression made her lose all her teeth
Lost and turned out, gave her body to the streets
Sweet Mary don’t you weep
Still waters run deep
So be careful of the company you keep
In the year of the dragon lots of men disappear
Quiet as it’s kept they won’t be back next year

It’s that time again! Today marks the start of the 2006-2007 NBA regular season. Here are my predictions and thoughts:

Eastern Conference

New Jersey
In a division with the underachieving Sixers and hapless Knicks, the Nets have little competition. Expect the Celtics to make it interesting but slip down the stretch.

Central Division – Cleveland
Without Ben Wallace, Detroit lacks the inside toughness to win the division. Wallace’s new home, Chicago, will enjoy another season of growth and improvement. Although the team will be more talented and confident, this will serve them well in the postseason rather than the first 82 games. With another record-setting season from Lebron James, the Cavs should win the division by 5 games.

Southeast Division – Miami
With the whole squad returning and Dwyane Wade still improving, Miami should run away with the division. The only question is if his body will break down after nearly 12 straight months of hoops.

Western Conference

Northwest Division – Denver
David Stern must be grinning ear to ear to know that his three young superstars will all enter the playoffs with the division championships in their back pockets.

Pacific Division – Phoenix
Without Amare Stoudamire, the Suns dominated their competition. With Stoudamire back, even at 80 percent, the Suns will compete with Dallas for the league’s best record. Expect Kobe’s Lakers to finish tied with the Clippers for second place and one of the final Western Conference playoff spots

Southwest – Dallas
Conventional wisdom says that the Mavericks will lose a little regular season ground now that they know they are the class of the Western Conference. The one catch is that Avery Johnson has never succumbed to conventional wisdom. While the Spurs won’t get hot until January, The Little General will have his Mavs in late season shape from start to finish.

Eastern Conference Champ – Miami
Lebron is still one year and two players away from the big dance. Dwyane Wade will outduel Lebron James  and Shaq will contribute his final drops of dominance in a spirited (and heavily marketed) conference final. Miami over Cleveland in 6.

Western Conference Champ – Dallas
Like last year, the real Western Conference Final will take place in the second round between Dallas and San Antonio. After that, expect Dallas to will its way past Phoenix in a tough series. Dallas over Phoenix in 6.

NBA Champion – Dallas
Recent NBA history suggests that winning consecutive championships is not an easy feat. Although Dwayne Wade will be just as heroic as last year, another deep playoff rundown will render Shaq ineffective by the middle of June.  That, combined with Dallas’ home court advantage, will make a second ring extremely unattainable. Dallas in 6

Awards

MVP – Lebron James
As long as Shaq is in Miami, Dwyane won’t win the MVP. As long as the Lakers aren’t legitimate contenders, Kobe won’t win. As long as Lebron’s Cavs win 55 games, the prize will go to King James. Runner up – Dirk Nowitzki

Coach of the Year
This is a tough call because many of the league’s best coaches have already won the award. Isaiah Thomas will get some sympathy for improving New York’s record. Fortunately, the experts will see through his smoke and mirrors and give the award to Jerry Sloan.

Defensive Player of the Year – Ben Wallace
Even though Ron Artest is the league’s best on-the-ball defender, this award tend to go to big men. Although he’s a year older and a step slower, no one can block shots, rebound, and intimidate like Ben Wallace.

Rookie of the Year – Randy Foye Runner up – Brandon Roy
Nowadays, draft picks are a crap shoot. So, I’m just guessing.

Most Improved – Darko Milicic
Although Detroit certainly regrets trading him, Orlando should be extremely happy to have Darko Milicic. With a team of strong young talent, Milicic should hit his stride and become the player he was meant to be: a solid role player who can complement Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard.

Sixth Man – Jerry Stackhouse
As long as Dallas wins big, there no reason to think the Stack won’t put up big numbers and snatch the award from Andres Nocioni.

Random Thoughts

•    Since Larry Brown tanked last season to prove a point, Isaiah Thomas will probably look like a genius when the Knicks show a 12-15 game improvement.
•    If Steve Nash wins another MVP award, the NAACP must launch a full investigation and protest
•    With all the D-Wade/Lebron hype, everyone is forgetting that Kobe is the league’s best player. Expect him to tear the league a new one all year.
•    This will be Carmelo Anthony’s breakout year. In addition to having a strong regular season and making his first All Star appearance, expect him to gain much-due props in the media for his growing maturity.
•    Where the hell is Latrell Sprewell?
•    Like the players, I hate the fact that the league is using abandoning its traditional leather basketball. Still, all of the controversy about the new synthetic ball will subside by early 2007, when the players get adjusted to its slippery grip. Until then expect every high turnover or poor shooting game to be blamed on the rock.
•    Contrary to popular opinion Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett will not be traded during the season. The Sixers are selling the team and need him as a selling point. The Timberwolves have too much faith in Randy Foye to give Garnett away right now. Remember what happened to T-Mac in Orlando? As soon as he left, Dwight Howard emerged as bona fide star.
•    Barring something extraordinary, Bob Hill will be fired before the end of the season. Dwayne Casey won’t be far behind. Doc River should definitely not make any new real estate deals in Boston.
•    Expect the Memphis Grizzlies to take a step back this year.
•    Detroit’s lackluster season will finally force them to appreciate Ben Wallace… and Larry Brown.
•    Grant Hill will play 50 games this year before breaking down and FINALLY retiring.
•    Chris Paul will prove that he’s the best pure point guard that the NBA has seen since Jason Kidd.

Bush’s defenders say he’s just an honest guy who gets lots of bad information but the evidence points to a leader who wants his subordinates to give him a steady supply of “talking points” that can be used to achieve his goals whether the arguments are true, half true or totally false.
Bush Lies… And Knows He’s Lying
By Robert Parry 

Many Americans are cynical about what they hear from politicians — and often with good reason — but perhaps no U.S. political leader in modern history has engaged in a pattern of lying and distortion more systematically than George W. Bush has.

Bush’s lies also aren’t about petty matters, such as some personal indiscretion or minor misconduct. Rather his dishonesty deals with issues of war and peace, the patriotism of his opponents, and the founding principles of the American Republic.

They are the kinds of lies and distortions more befitting the leader of a totalitarian state whipping up his followers to go after some perceived enemy than the President of the world’s preeminent democracy seeking an informed debate among the citizenry.

For instance, in an Oct. 28 speech in Sellersburg, Indiana, Bush worked the crowd into a frenzy of “USA, USA” chants by accusing Democrats of not wanting to “detain and question terrorists,” not wanting to listen in on “terrorist communications,” and not wanting to bring terrorists to trial — all gross distortions of Democratic positions.

Bush has used this same gambit for many years. He characterizes his strategies and actions in the most innocuous ways; he then ignores honest reasons for disagreement with him; and he characterizes his opponents’ positions in the most absurd manner possible.

So, regarding the “war on terror,” Bush never mentions the constitutional concerns about his strategies or the questions about their effectiveness. According to him, his decisions are always benign and obvious; those of his opponents border on the crazy and disloyal.

Now make your case!!!

As we move closer to election day, the Evangelical Right has begun to exert its influence in more aparent and dramatic fashion. Unfortunately, as in 2000 and 2004, the Republicans have convinced many Black clergy to echo their melodramatic and quasi-moralistic rhetoric. The most recent example comes from Dr. Creflo Dollar, who recently penned the following letter in support of President Bush. Not only does he link blind patriotism to Christian duty, he unequivocally views all forms of dissent as sin worthy of repentance. Just so you don’t think I’m exagerrating, I’ve posted this ridiculous missive in its entirety:

When a nation is on the brink of war, the worst thing its citizens can do is allow themselves to become divided. The Bible says that there is a time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:8). In fact, Jesus said that in the last days there would be wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6). When this country was attacked on September 11, 2001, there was a fierce public outcry. America wanted her enemies to pay. Now, two years later, those same Americans are protesting the war against terrorism.

President Bush is worthy of your prayers and support. He is a man who rises early every morning to seek God and His wisdom through prayer and the study of the Word. This is not the time for Christians to picket, carry protest signs or throw their opinions around. The election is over, and the man in the Oval Office is the one we, as Americans, voted in. Numbers 32:7-13 makes it clear how God feels about a nation divided during a time of war.

This country needs unity, and it begins with the church. It is your responsibility as a believer to pray for the president, others in leadership, this nation, the men and women serving in the Armed Forces and our enemies–whoever they may be. Forget about your political affiliation or preference. You are first and foremost a Christian.

Begin by making these confessions:

* In the name of Jesus, I declare that I will not allow any corrupt communication to proceed out of my mouth concerning President Bush or others in leadership (Ephesians 4:29).

* I declare that he is a man of wisdom, and he is strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit. I wholeheartedly support the decisions he makes for this country (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

* I lift up every man and woman serving in the Armed Forces. I declare that they walk in favor, wisdom and safety and that their lives are redeemed from destruction (Psalm 91:7; Psalm 103:1-6).

If you have taken part in any protests or have allowed any corrupt communication to flow out of your mouth concerning the president, repent and begin to show your support for him by calling his name out before God. Pray for wisdom and wise counsel regarding the decisions he must make for this nation. Obey what the Word says in 1 Timothy 1-2 and 1 Peter 2:13 and: 1) continue to pray for those in authority over you; and 2) submit to that established authority. In doing so, you honor God, our president and thousands of service members. When the temptation comes to murmur or complain, rejoice that there is a man in the White House who walks and talks with God daily. Remember, united we stand, divided we fall (Matthew 12:25)!

The only thing missing is a voice saying, “I’m President Bush and I approve this message.”

Although Dollar’s comments are certainly extremist, even for evagelicals, he nonetheless represents a disturbing trend in many Black Christian circles with regard to appropriating the Bush’s Administration’s proto-fascist language and belief. Even worse, this ideological shift seems more indebted to the spoils of free market fudamentalism — such as the ever theological investment in American imperialism.