Friday Roundup: Cavemen, The Ghosts of Jena, Pizza, Jazz, and the News

Wow, what a jam packed post, here's hoping I don't get lazy and just pack it in, like [insert awful sports team like the Orioles or favorite early cancelled television show...your fate, Cavemen].

If you clicked on the Cavemen link, then you have watched the worst thing on the web since any Craig Ferguson clip on youtube (how do you find him funny, America? No clips for you). Man-date? Man-tastic? The only way these statements are funny and enticing is either if you are part of the "Queer as Folk" viewing sewing circle or, in a way, if you're watching NFL football with your buddies. I wouldn't mind the "we've finally got a night of our own" if it were for a lineup of football followed by the Dallas Cowboys' Cheerleader boob-a-thon, but for Cavemen then a show about carpooling and Jerry "I haven't done anything cool since Sliders except maybe sleeping with Rebecca Romjin" O'Connell? Go screw yourself, ABC.

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Serious news: The fall out from the Jena Six story: a resurgence of noose related hate crimes. All articles are over the last week.

• HATEFUL TEEN ALERT - Two arrested in noose incident near Jena, Louisiana: Authorities in Alexandria, less than 40 miles southwest of Jena, arrested two people who were driving a red pickup Thursday night with two nooses hanging off the back, repeatedly passing groups of demonstrators who were waiting for buses back to their home states.
• ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING ALERT - Noose left wrapped around neck of black figurine in Clyde: In the midst of a flurry of racial incidents around the country this week, a house in Sandusky County has its own display that is likely to generate controversy.
• FILE UNDER MAYOR HANGING - City backs off boycott threat on Bloomberg noose art group: City Hall has backed off a threat to boycott a Queens civic group until its leaders apologize for a poster of a noose "reserved" for Mayor Bloomberg.
• CLOSE TO HOME RACISM - Noose Found on Maryland College Campus: A noose, long associated with lynching and racial hatred, was recently discovered hanging outside the University of Maryland's hub for black cultural affairs.

An addendum to the Jena Six post - there have been two counter arguments posed to me from private emailers (who I will respect and not post their user names, etc). First of all, the vitriol with which a certain emailer addressed my comments were wholly unnecessary. The civil rights movement happened and you shouldn't use such hateful words to get across your ideas of racial dissimilarity. The world is not as simple as 1950, and separate but equal ought not to be the working idea.

I will address one of your arguments, though. You made a comment about the failure of the press to look at the other side of the racial divide, at the suffering of the white community in Jena. Here's two articles, an article and another article, with the exact thesis that you utilize in your argument. I'll go with the key quote that I think sums up your opinion: I actually heard a girl shout 'Shame on Jena,' " said Pam Sharp, 43, a local resident who sat in a plastic chair in her driveway as the marchers walked past her house. "I shouted back 'No, shame on you!' How can they include the whole town? That's the shame."

Here is why you are wrong and Pam Sharp is wrong, as are any member of the whole of the American community who thinks that what's happening in Jena is an isolated incident blown up by a 24-hour media cycle: America has to be shamed. Jena is America in a microcosm. Any town that has "a 'whites only' tree in the courtyard of Jena High School" has a serious problem. Any town that allowed for the following things to occur without a blink of an eye is morally wrong: "no white teens were ever charged in the noose incident, despite demands it be treated as a hate crime. On at least two other occasions, black students claim they were assaulted by white students who faced no comparable punishment for those attacks."

The problem with Jena, and racism as a whole, is the belief by some that racism is no longer a problem. White America has been able to sweep the entire historical subjugation of a racial group under the rug, utilizing various psychological techniques (from ridiculing black leaders to claiming innocence of the history of slavery/Jim Crow) to claim that there is no problem. The isolated incidents should be moments of clarity, a time to get your house in order. It should not be a moment to rail against the anger of an entire segment of the population...these protesters in Jena (and throughout the USA) are not harping on a single isolated series of racially idiotic moments...they are rallying against an entrenched systematic racism that pervades all of America.

Shame on you, Pam Sharp. You should be protesting, front and center, working to save your small town. You should not chastise those who protest very real injustice occurring in our country. Shame on you Ricky Coleman: "I believe in people standing up for what's right, what bothers me is this town being labeled racist. I'm not racist." Your town allowed racism to occur over the course of a year in the case of the lead up to the Jena six, and yet you worry about the reputation of Jena? It doesn't matter if you claim that you have no prejudice in your heart (which I sincerely believe is bogus, as I think that all people are prejudiced, not matter how much love you have in your heart), your town failed in race relations. Additionally, Jena citizens, how's this for non-racist actions: Concerns about violence mounted further when five large Confederate flags were hung along one of the main highway routes into Jena on Wednesday, so they could be seen by passengers in the dozens of buses headed to the town for the rally.

The key to remember is that there is racism, hate is alive and doing quite well. We need these incidents to keep the civil rights movement alive and active. We non-blacks need to keep in mind that a race separated and disenfranchised require an apology. Until white America wakes up and realizes that they are the cause of much of the continuation of racism in this great country, there will be no justice, there can be no peace.

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Pizza - I have to admit, the last time I ate at Joe Squared was a year ago...though I know people have eaten there a month ago and found it lacking. I may try it again, but then I'd have to miss out on good pies, like the personal pie at Wink's in Canton. Thin crispy crust, a spicy sauce, and just enough cheese to make my love handles smile. A good pie...and the place is BYOB. Try it out for lunch.

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Music...listening to "Money Train" by Ellington, Mingus, and Roach. This is challenging jazz. Don't know if I like it that much, but its definitely something that's violent and agitating. I'm not familiar with this type of classic jazz, but its something to spend more time examining.

Also...get the new Aesop Rock album...great, great hip hop.

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News that you can use:

• Ready or Not, Here Comes War With Iran: USA, we're a peace loving country - A top American commander on Friday accused Iran of supplying powerful roadside bombs to militants in Afghanistan and said the U.S. would "act decisively" if the cross-border flow continues. Uhhh, what he meant to say was - His comments were not meant as a threat of military action against Iran but a suggestion that border interdiction efforts may need to be increased, Fallon's aides said later. Nothing like death to really make you want to march about peace - The spike in violence came as Afghans marked the U.N.-backed International Day of Peace on Friday. Marches and celebrations were held around the country, and U.N. spokesman Adrian Edwards called the numbers of Afghans participating "remarkable."
• Democrats fail to pass anti-war bill: As Eddie Murphy once said, What have you done for me lately - The Senate rejected legislation Friday that would have ordered most U.S. troops home from Iraq in nine months, culminating a losing week for Democrats who failed to push through any anti-war proposal. Hey Republicans, No Cutting and Running equals fat hippies - Republicans blocked the measure, contending it would have dire consequences for the region and usurp control of the war from seasoned generals. Democrats voting with Republicans, Cats sleeping with Dogs, its just not right - Blocking the bill were 43 Republicans, Connecticut Independent Joseph Lieberman and Democrats Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut. SC note: Lieberman is a schmuck, and I hope Nelson, Pryor and Dodd (!!!) enjoyed their hummers from Larry Craig.
• Another Reason Why Art May Be Idiotic: this is how they sororities at MIT - An MIT student wearing what turned out to be a fake bomb was arrested at gunpoint Friday at Logan International Airport and later claimed it was artwork, officials said. too bad she was good at following directions - Simpson was "extremely lucky she followed the instructions or deadly force would have been used," Pare said. "She's lucky to be in a cell as opposed to the morgue." play-dohhh - The battery-powered rectangular device had nine flashing lights, and Simpson had Play-Doh in her hands, Pare said.
• What America Needs is More Guns: Ain't no hanging chads when you vote with a pistol - Republican Rudy Giuliani sought to reassure the National Rifle Association of his support for a constitutional right to bear arms as rivals Fred Thompson and John McCain focused on the former New York mayor's past calls for tough gun control. I'm a dumb motherf'er and I want to vote for you, TV cop - Some stood and cheered as Thompson said: "Our basic rights come from God, not from government." When did common sense become a bad thing - McCain criticized Giuliani outright, describing the former mayor's "devious attempt to bankrupt gun manufacturers" with a lawsuit against them over violent crimes involving guns. A federal court heard arguments on the ongoing lawsuit Friday in New York. The Arizona senator also mentioned Giuliani's use of the word "extremists" in talking about the NRA.
• The newest celebritard!
• Alba, Cook raise $260K for charity: money to go to charity for people who like Dane Cook syndrome
• Columbia won't cancel Ahmadinejad speech: a bastion of liberalism meet one of the most hateful men in the world (sorry to disappoint, but its not W) - Columbia University said it does not plan to call off a speech by Iran's president despite pressure from critics including the City Council speaker, who said the Ivy League school was providing a forum for "hate-mongering vitriol."
• Floyd Landis loses the Tour de France: will appear on TNA wrestling, hopefully. then again, just take all the cyclists and form a new doping-positive racing league...call it the Tour de Balco.