Mind of BruGz®

White Privilege? Yeah, But Not All of It

2008-09-18T07:51:00.002-04:00

Well, I knew it was gonna take something major to get me back here, and a lot of major events have gone down since I lasted posted. Today I'm posting to (kinda, sorta) defend the McCain-Palin ticket from an e-mail/MySpace bulletin forward asserting them of receiving "White Privilege."

My motive: You already know I'm not a conservative, so this may seem at odds with my ideology. I'm doing this because minorities seem to be a little close-minded when it comes to defending their candidate. When you speak of White Privilege, you're not just alienating John McCain and Sarah Palin; you're also (if unwittingly) a taking a shot at white folks with genuine white pride (and believe me, there is such a thing as non-racist white pride). And that matters because if it becomes a Whites vs. Minorities election, McCain wins by a landslide.

On that note, let's take a look at Internet forward that inspired my return (even if brief) to blogging. My added commentary will be in italics...

For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

No contest here. Though the media hasn't considered the Bristol Palin pregnancy off-limits, it is hypocritical of conservative commentators who've publicly criticized celebrity teen pregnancies and teen pregnancies in general in the past (read, Bill O'Reilly).

White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

Ehh, I kinda have to call bullshit on this one. If you've ever watched Jeff Foxworthy and the Blue Collar TV comedy act, you'd know that there is a culture of people who proudly refer to themselves as rednecks. And if anyone messes with me, I'll kick their fuckin' ass, too. And I've shot a gun, and it is fun. Are these the makings of the stereotypical All-American white boy? Definitely not. As far as I can tell, the only thing wrong with this self-description of Levi Johnston is that his vocabulary is too vulgar to be associated with a presidential campaign -- but he's not the one running for office.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

Well, it's kinda hard to question her commitment to achievement if she did graduate. There are too many people in the U.S. that pursue alternate paths to higher education to criticize how long it took her to graduate or how many schools it took her to earn her degree. As far as how well she performed in school, according to this article, federal privacy laws prohibit the schools from releasing her transcripts, and none of the schools disclosed why she transferred out, so any statements about her college career are speculation and hearsay.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."

Actually, this isn't White Privilege so much as is it blatant hypocrisy, and if she didn't have so many other skeletons in her closet, the media would probably spend more time pouncing on her for that. What you can credit her political advisors for is spinning the issue. While the Republicans tried to minimize Barack Obama's public service record, Palin shot back at her detractors by riling up small-town voters, suggesting that Democrats are saying that citizens of small and rural towns don't matter.

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school, requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.

The "under God" portion of the Pledge of Allegiance is especially embarrassing for John McCain because he ought to know those words weren't in the original pledge. He was alive (and definitely old enough to remember) when it was edited in 1954. The talking point regarding reading alleged terrorists their rights stems from the delusion of the ignorant among us that it's easy to spot a criminal and they should have no rights to begin with.

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.

Sorry, gotta call bullshit on this one. People for stricter gun control would be just as afraid of a White gun enthusiast as they would be of a minority gun enthusiast.

White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.

This double standard (if it truly exists) has more to do with biased coverage of what the media outlets deem newsworthy. If the coverage really is skewed, it means one of two things: 1. The supposed liberal media bias we hear so much about doesn't really exist, or 2. There's nothing really extremist about the Alaskan Independence Party.

White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.

Again, this is more a case of imbalanced media coverage than racial double standard. Sarah Palin's dismissal of the duties of a community organizer demonstrate what little she knows about the position. Then again, what more can you expect from someone who asks, "What is it exactly that a VP does every day?"

White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."

I think this is an insult to white women voters. I don't think Palin's nomination has given the McCain campaign any significant boost in the White women demographic in the polls. And even if it has, it will probably fade away by Election Day. If the mere presence of a woman on a presidential ticket truly had an effect on an election, Walter Mondale would have defeated Ronald Reagan in 1984.

White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.

The talking point regarding Obama's connections to party bosses in Chicago didn't stick, while Palin is being openly accused of abusing her gubernatorial powers long after the fact.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.

This is an appeal to the Bible Belt. For the most part, they can't be helped and Obama stands no chance of winning over the most close-minded Christian fundamentalists. The best thing the Obama campaign can do is control the message in the swing states and make sure his spokespeople deliver the message accurately and in (at worst) a neutral tone.

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

I really don't see the problem here. On one side, Sarah Palin is so (un)qualified to be the deputy commander-in-chief that she's unaware that the Bush Doctrine isn't just some abstract, debatable set of ideas that the media supposes is Bush's foreign policy, but a concrete document published by the National Security Council in September 2002. On the other side, you have Bill O'Reilly, a man so aware of his intellectual deficiency next to Barack Obama that he resorts to interrupting Obama and shouting him down. By the way, "overly intellectual" is a meaningless term; there's no such thing as being too smart. Again, I don't see where White Privilege applies.

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a "light" burden.

I'm not aware of Sarah Palin dismissing Barack Obama's adversity as "light" compared to McCain's service in Vietnam -- though it does sound like a right-wing political tactic used to stir the base. I say we let John McCain parrot on about his time as a POW in Vietnam; the more he does it, the more he starts to sound like Rudy Giuliani did about 9/11.

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing.

Sadly, White voters aren't the only ones unsure about that whole "change" thing. It embarrasses me to say that Hispanics are reluctant to vote for Obama based on race. This stems from the sometimes turbulent relationship between Blacks and Latinos in the inner cities, and humans' tendency to judge a person by his race first. Given that the presidential hopeful not named Obama confessed, then denied confessing, he doesn't know much about economics, and the current state of the economy, it's kinda scary to think Hispanics -- the majority of whom belong to the working class -- would vote against their own interests because the other guy is brown.

Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain…

Well, you hit the nail on the head there. That's one major reason to vote for McCain over Obama. Humans, by nature, don't accept change very well, even if the status quo isn't especially good. The problem is that the present situation is very bad and on the verge of catastrophic. It's shit-or-get-off-the-pot time on the "Are we ready for a Black President?" question.

White privilege is, in short, the problem.

No, it's not. It's a scapegoat, and we have enough of those in politics.

Baseball Roundup: Jackie Robinson Day

2007-04-15T17:08:00.000-04:00

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the day Major League Baseball corrected a major wrong created by a long-defunct baseball league, and solidified by racist men who abused their star power to promote their bigoted views. On this date in 1947, Jackie Robinson, Branch Rickey and the Brooklyn Dodgers chose to ignore (as best they could) the unofficial policy of baseball to exclude Black players from the Major and Minor Leagues.

Every athlete from that day forward should be grateful to Jack Roosevelt Robinson for paving the way to bring sports to its highest level by admitting the best athletes, without exception; but more importantly for helping to change race relations when most people in the public eye seemed content with the status quo. Today, MLB honors Robinson by unretiring No. 42 and allowing any player (and the entire Dodgers roster, among other teams) who wishes to pay homage to wear it. The game-worn 42's will then be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship Fund.
On the Bomber front, the Yankees just wrapped up a six game road trip by dropping the rubber game vs. Oakland with Mo Rivera blowing his first save opportunity of the season. The Yanks went 3-3 for the road trip, which isn't bad, but heartbreaking considering they came within a strike of heading into their off-day on a good note.

On the pitching side of the picture, the staff did well against Minnesota, but by week's end New York was falling behind early in games and Sunday saw Mike Mussina and the uninsurable Carl Pavano hit the DL. The Yankee defense has been a train wreck, leading the Majors in errors (13), and in Saturday's game commiting 4 flubs (miraculously, this is the game they won).

In the rest of the AL East, the Toronto Blue Jays went on a tear, leading the pack in runs scored (38), hits (75), and OPS (.861) for the week, good for 4 wins and a share of the lead. Boston seems to have righted the ship on all fronts, with the pitching staff surrendering just 7 runs in the four games played. The offense is running on all cylinders, making blowouts of all last week's games except a one-hit loss to Seattle's young phenom Félix Rodríguez. Baltimore's pitching looked good last week, earning them 5 wins in 7 contests, putting the O's at 6-6 and 3rd place in the division.

In the Central, the Tigers are riding a wave of good pitching performances this week to compensate for mediocre hitting. Detroit's 5 victories for the week puts them within a half game of the Cleveland Indians and 1st place in the AL Central. The Chicago White Sox's lackluster hitting (.211 batting and 18 runs in 6 games) spoiled what should have been a good week for the pitching staff.

Out West, the Texas Rangers lineup finally woke up, clubbing 11 homeruns and scoring 35 runs for the week. But their 3-3 record for Week 2 proves yet again that pitching wins ballgames. Aside from the previously mentioned stellar outing from King Félix, the West is devoid of any noteworthy news.

Over at the Senior Circuit, the Mets' bats couldn't carry over the momentum from last week, going yard just twice all week and striking out 41 times. The Amazin's' pitching also faltered this week, which was to be expected, but not so precipitously. New York's staff held opponents to a .211 average for the week, but the 37 walks allowed (worst in ML) led to a 3-3 record for the week, keeping them a game behind the Braves in the East. The Phillies led the pack in run production (31) in the NL, but their dismal pitching (5.82 ERA, worst in ML for the week) limited "the team to beat" to 2 wins. In defense of Jimmy Rollins, aside from the costly error that opened the floodgates for the Mets on Monday, he's been pulling his weight on the team (6 HR, .411 OBP). The Marlins used solid pitching and hitting to match their Week 1 mark of 3-2.

Checking out the NL Central, Milwaukee's excellent offensive averages (.286 AVG, .361 OBP, .439 SLG%) didn't translate into a ton of runs (23), but superb pitching (2.06 ERA, 50 K's, 8 BB) made for a 4-1 week and a tie for 2nd slot in the division. The Redbirds displayed a similar inability to produce in critical spots, but kept the the opposition in check, allowing only 8 runs all week (1.50 ERA).

Pitching ruled Week 2 in the NL West, with only the Giants turning in a staff ERA above 3.20 (5.02). Colorado's dead bats (.213 AVG) spoiled an uncharacteristically good run for their pitchers. The D-Backs are totally dependent on their arms, while the Dodgers are getting it done on both sides of the game.

That's all for the baseball roundup this week. On an unrelated note, I'm boycotting the news in most forms in protest of the self-created media hype surrounding the Don Imus-Rutgers Women's Basketball scandal.

BruGz®..

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A-Rod Lifts the Bombers, So Is He Finally a Yankee?

2007-04-07T17:05:00.000-04:00

Today Alex Rodríguez bailed the Yankees out of losing their first series of the season in dramatic fashion. With the bases loaded and two outs, A-Rod smashed a homerun into the black in centerfield for a walk-off 10-7 victory. With all the recent drama surrounding him in training camp, and the boos coming from the Yankee Stadium crowd as early as his second at-bat of the season, the question now is: Will he finally stop sticking out like a sore thumb on the roster and get to enjoy being on the Yankees?

I was hoping the answer was "yes," but history isn't on my side. While browsing the Daily News website, I was reminded by this article by Mark Feinsand that last year, as Alex was deep in a slump in June he hit a walk-off dinger which bought him exactly one at-bat without boos. Hopefully his hot start this year (3 HR, 9 RBI through four games) coupled with him finally speaking frankly about his relationship with Jeter are enough to let him finally relax.

In other Yankee news, the rotation isn't looking too good. Carl Pavano (0-0) did just well enough for the Yanks to win the opener; Pettitte (0-0) lasted only 4+ innings, surrendering four runs (2 earned) in the 7-6 loss Thursday, Mussina (0-1) didn't even come out for the 5th inning as he got tagged for 6 runs, all earned, in a 6-4 loss on Friday, and Kei Igawa will probably be buying A-Rod dinner tonight, throwing 5 innings of 7-run baseball in an unimpressive Major League debut, coming away with a no-decision.

More of a concern to me than the struggles of the rotation is the strain it puts on the bullpen. In 36 defensive innings they've played, the relief corps has thrown more innings (18⅔) than the starters (17⅓). This wouldn't be such an issue to me if I had confidence in any of the starters to be able to pitch a complete game. The guys most likely to do it are either too old to pull it off (Pettitte and Mussina) or injured (Chien-Ming Wang). Plus, the Yankees head to Minnesota on Monday; the chances of going deep into late innings against the Pirahnas are very low.

Elsewhere in the AL East, Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-0) was on point in his Major League debut, allowing 6 hits and one run through 7 innings while striking out 10 for the win. Curt Schilling (0-1) showed signs of his age in the opener, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits in 4 innings for the loss. Josh Beckett (1-0) was solid vs. the Royals, hurling 5 innings of two-hit, one-run ball for the Red Sox first win of the season; however, he did allow 4 walks and threw only 46 of 94 pitches for strikes. As expected, Tim Wakefield (0-1) frustrated the Texas Rangers lineup with his knuckleball, giving up two runs (one earned) through 6 innings, but Robinson Tejeda (1-0) bested him by shutting down Boston through 7 innings, earning the Rangers their first victory. Tonight, the Sox test their project in Julián Tavárez (NR) against Kevin Millwood (0-1) and a struggling Texas lineup that's batting an embarrassing .149 and averaging one run per game in the first week of the season.

The Boston lineup stumbled out of the gate, batting a meager .227 through four games. The Sox join the San Francisco at the bottom of the heap in long balls with one apiece (Kevin Youkilis for BOS, Barry Bonds for SF).

Out West, Vladimir Guerrero is having batting practice with the opposing pitchers, hitting .500 (tied for 4th in MLB) with 3 HR (tied for 1st) and 9 RBI (tied for 1st).

In the National League, the Mets are living up to expectations early. The lineup is getting on base and scoring runs well, the starting staff has been lights out with the first four starters turning out gems, and the bullpen has been even stingier.

The Cincinnati Reds are riding on good outings early by their starting staff for a 4-1, with only Bronson Arroyo turning out a less than respectable outing.

The NL West is looking as disappointing as expected. Maybe this division should be demoted to the minors.

That's all for now; I'll try to have a baseball roundup once a week.

BruGz®..

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MySpace Goes Political

2007-03-30T12:10:00.000-04:00

I guess it was only a matter of time. I mean, how long could Rupert Murdoch last without using such a wide-reaching resource to promote his political agenda?

The social networking website MySpace.com has opened a new channel called Impact, which features promotion community awareness events (concerts, etc.), PSA videos, ads for current events magazines, a collection of candidate-created MySpace profiles and voter registration tools, among other content.

According to an article in ECommerceTimes.com, "[MySpace] expects it to play a major role in the 2008 U.S. presidential election." That's all well and good, but when you've got a partisan CEO that's been documented to use his media outlets to spin stories and give more air time to stories that benefit the conservative agenda, you need to be very wary about his intentions when it.

But so far, so good; at least on it's surface the portal actually seems to lean toward the left, featuring a lot of pieces focusing on global climate change. But it's been less than two weeks and the 2008 elections are more than a year and a half away, more than enough time to turn the tables on the message. At least I know that as long as my head doesn't get run over by an 18-wheeler I'll still be able to spot the bullshit.

I wish I could say I'll be keeping an eye on this, but I'm not about to start looking to Tom Anderson and News Corp. for political news.

The Orphan

2007-02-27T09:49:00.000-05:00

I have two parents, but both of them deny me. One gave birth to me, raised me, supported me and gave me everything I need to be successful, but whenever the topic comes up, she insists that I'm not her child. I speak her language fluently, I know her history, I've lived all my life with her, but I'm still a black sheep because my last name doesn't sound like hers.

My other parent gave me his culture, I speak his language too (albeit with a smaller vocabulary), I wear his last name proudly, and I show interest in his well-being, but whenever I go to visit, my brothers and sisters think differently of me because I flew in with a blue passport.

So to one group I'm a "hyphenated American," and to the other I'm simply "un gringo que por casualidad habla español."

Nevertheless, I'm proud of my heritage, both of them. But I feel that I need to stress my American pride more for two reasons, neither of which is because I'm more proud to be American. First, because I outwardly display more Dominican pride (because I haven't gone in so long); and secondly because I'm a liberal and a lot of conservatives have gone out of their way to state that liberals are un-American and out to destroy the country. It's just silly name-calling, but coupled with my foreign roots, I feel I need to defend myself.

The United States gave me life, gave me a free education, gave me public assistance whenever I needed it, and lets me speak freely and do as I please. I don't have to be rich to get a decent education, and I don't have to inherit a fortune or be a corrupt businessman or politician to become a wealthy man in the U.S. These luxuries aren't birthrights to anybody; the American Constitution protects these principles, but that's no reason to take them for granted. But I'm also very aware of the fact that the U.S. twice invaded the Dominican Republic; on the first ocassion leaving a dictator in power and in the second blocking the reinstatement of a democratically elected president.

The Dominican Republic gave me its language, its food, its music, its popular culture, baseball (an American invention, but I definitely get my deep interest in it from my Dominican roots), my revolutionary spirit, and my open-minded worldview. Because I have plenty of family out there and I want the country to prosper, my perspective of the world stage is different from that of a purely American or purely foreign point of view. But I'm also ashamed of the fact that the Dominican upper class tries to deny its African heritage, even though the musical instruments in our music suggest a strong link to Africa. The evident multiracial physical traits of our people are attributed to the indigenous people of Quisqueya according to revisionist historians, in spite of the mass extermination of the Taino tribes by the Spaniards upon arrival.

This is part of who I am, an imperfect person from two imperfect cultures. On this day in 1844, the Dominican Republic regained its independence by defeating the occupying military of Haiti. I thought this would be an appropriate time to share this bit about myself. ¡Felicidades a todos los Dominicanos celebrando hoy! Que Dios bendiga nuestra patria.

Baseball Roundup

2007-01-18T17:54:00.001-05:00

Bronx to host '08 All-Star Game in old Yankee Stadium's last year

Unnamed sources within Major League Baseball have unofficially announced that Yankee Stadium will host the 2008 All-Star Game. You'd think I would be excited about it.

I'm not.

I'm actually a little pissed off. The last time the Bronx had an All-Star Game was in 1977, the year after the Stadium was remodeled. Venues for the Midsummer Classic were picked by alternating AL and NL parks, and cities with new ballparks got preference. Now that the Yankees and New York City have finally reached an agreement on a new stadium, MLB decides that they'd rather have one last look at the old park. It's like having an old relative who doesn't keep in touch suddenly wanting to visit you when you're about to move to a better place.

And then the question becomes, "When do the Mets get to show off the new pad?"

The same story that announced MLB's plans for the '08 All-Stars has the 2009 edition earmarked for St. Louis. This leaves Queens's earliest possibility at 2011. Would the Commissioner's office really vouch for two All-Stars to be held in New York City in such close proximity? Given its contempt for large markets, the answer is most likely "No."

A rookie or not?

This week, Baseball America and ESPN's Alan Schwarz wrote an article for ESPN outlining his predictions for potential Rookies of the Year. First he offered a definition (actually the definition as defined by voting guidelines) of a rookie:

Like it or not, Daisuke Matsuzaka, eight-year veteran and 108-game winner in the Japanese Leagues, has officially pressed the reset button, kicked out the cord, and is rebooting as far as the major leagues are concerned. It doesn't matter that Hideo Nomo, Kazuhiro Sasaki and Ichiro Suzuki made mockeries of the official Rookie of the Year awards in their first seasons after coming west.

That's all well and good, but let's not forget that Hideki Matsui was left off some Rookie of the Year ballots completely in his "rookie" year of 2003. The writers who declined to vote for "Godzilla" claimed that he wasn't a pure rookie, being a seasoned veteran from the Japan Leagues.

Will Daisuke Matsuzaka be held to the same standard? Will he be good enough to put this potential hypocrisy to the test? I'm not so curious as to wish Matsuzaka well to find out.

Prosecutor investigating BALCO forced to resign

U.S. attorney Kevin Ryan, who has headed the investigation on the BALCO steroid distribution ring, was among a group of federal prosecutors who announced their resignations. There has been talk that the White House is pressuring these prosecutors to resign so Washington can appoint "interim" attorneys without Senate confirmation and no term limits, thanks to last year's USA Patriot Act reauthorization.

The provision in the Patriot Act was a last-minute addition by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA). What a schmuck.

Un-American to cheer for the Bears?

Rush Limbaugh took issue with Illinois Senator and potential presidential candidate Barack Obama for saying that New Orleans's football season was all but over. This is a reference to the upcoming Conference Championship between the New Orleans Saints and the Chicago Bears. The Saints have become something of a feel-good story given New Orleans's plight with Hurricane Katrina. Rush Limbaugh feels that Obama's comments are insensitive given that the Saints are "America's team."

Limbaugh thinks that it was politically incorrect to trash talk the Saints. Really, Rush? You mean like suggesting that Donovan McNabb's fame was due to the media overcrediting him for his team's success to fuel the media's own desire for an African-American quarterback to do well? I was just waiting to hear in the news that some right-wing asshole suggested McNabb an affirmative action hire.

Umm, so does this mean that it was un-American to root against the Yankees throughout the playoffs and World Series in 2001? Is Luís González an asshole for daring to get a bloop hit off Mo Rivera over a drawn-in infield? Or is this just Limbaugh's pathetic attempt to lead his audience away from the fact that the Bush administration was slow to provide relief to the citizens of the Gulf Coast, FEMA was incompetent in their efforts to do the same, and Sen. Joe Lieberman is backing down from his vow to use his position as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee to investigate the administration's handling of the situation.

The conservatives are cringing at the very idea that a brown man might be President. Play the clip below to hear Rush spin this non-story.

The Twilight Zone: No Time Like the Past

2007-01-10T15:18:00.002-05:00

This clip is timeless.

The most ignorant statement in this dialogue: "The virility of a nation is in direct proportion to its fight qualities." This declaration ignores the simple truth that power corrupts. Any person, corporation, institution, government or global power who gains or is granted too much power will abuse it. Yes, that goes for the United States, too, flag-wavers.

Hoping for a Better World in '07

2007-01-01T22:08:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year, world. At this time every year, we hope that a new calendar offers us new beginnings, the opportunity to right the wrongs of our past and accomplish the goals we fell short of last year. Que Dios nos dé la fuerza y la voluntad para cumplir nuestras metas y mucho más.

Despite our wishes to start anew, we know that our actions in the past will have an impact on the future, and we must deal with them accordingly.

"Iraq" ended last year by hanging Saddam Hussein for killing 148 Iraqis in 1982. Somehow, a portion of the United States believes this is some kind of victory in the "War on Terror," despite no evidence of weapons of mass destruction, no link to Al-Qaeda, no real attempt to obtain yellowcake uranium from Niger and no credible imminent threat from Hussein's regime.

The following is a crude video of Saddam Hussein's hanging being carried out. It was taken by an eyewitness with his or her camera phone.

Dead or alive, Saddam had been irrelevant since his capture at the end of 2003. It took a mere three weeks to overtake Baghdad and after that, Hussein's only realistic goal was to make it out alive. While it's true that much of the violence in Iraq was being made in hopes of bringing him back to power, he had no influence over those warriors, and we would imagine that under American custody he would not be able to issue orders to anyone.

At the end of the day, history will look back at December 30, 2006 (Iraq date) as the day Some Guy Who's Not Osama Bin Laden Was Hanged. Now our supposed mission in Iraq is to establish democracy out there. See, that's the new plan after we couldn't find any WMD. And the capture of Saddam Hussein? Well, that was kinda like a bonus, since he wasn't a nice guy anyway. It's true that he was a harsh dictator, as dictators tend to be almost by definition.

And exactly how "established" does this democracy have to be before we pull out? Didn't Iraq have elections already? I remember it well since right wing media outlets wouldn't shut the fuck up about how there was a 90% voter turnout and how they were risking their lives to be free. Supposedly Iraq doesn't have a trained army to keep the peace. No shit, is that why the U.S. took it over in less than a month? Even military leaders were surprised at how quickly and easily coalition troops seized Baghdad, which speaks volumes about our intelligence gathering agencies.

If the goal of the United States in the 21st century is to eradicate dictatorships and monarchies, I expect to be alive when America falls on its ass from the weight of a massive national debt.

America scored a victory last November when the Democratic Party took over both houses of Congress, putting a leash on Bush for the first time since he took office. But at the end of the day he's still Commander-in-Chief of the military. So unless Dubya grows a brain or a conscience, it's a countdown to January 20, 2009.

Un Problema Verdadero de los Bateyes

2006-12-19T16:26:00.000-05:00

Hace casi dos semanas que varios legisladores Americanos llegaron a la República Dominicana para inspeccionar las condiciones de los trabajadores y sus viviendas en los bateyes y los posibles efectos positivos o negativos que el DR-CAFTA pueda tener al implementarse. Los congresistas concluyeron que la situacion presente de los obreros es inaceptable.

Hoy, el periodista Americano Anderson Cooper se pregunta si la producción de azúcar es la esclavitud del día. Aunque Cooper dice que no es exactamente esclavitud, igualemente criticó las malas condiciones de los bateyes que habitan Haitianos ilegales.

Obviamente esto no es un problema nuevo; el indocumentado que no tiene derechos tiene que aguantarlo todo o seguir por su camino. Y así mismo lo soportan, porque el inmigrante tiene su familia que mantener y la situación económica en su tierra natal le ofrece aún menos. Esta noción fue apoyada por Cooper. ¿Y porqué no se habla de posibles soluciones para el estado económico de Haití?

Es verdad que los dueños de los ingenios azucareros son culpables en parte por proveer bajo sueldo. Claro, esto es el resultado de querer maximizar beneficios y ofrecer el mejor precio en el mercado.

Pero también es dificil criticar los ingenios muy fuertemente en un país donde hasta muchos de los ciudadanos de la clase obrera viven en barrios no muy distintos a los bateyes. ¿No parece un poco ilógico pelear tanto por los ilegales cuando los ciudadanos están dando los mismos gritos? Vuelvo y digo que la mejor manera de combatir este problema es buscarle remedio a la situación de Haití, asi los obreros no tendran que cruzar la frontera para mantenerse y los empleos que ellos no ocupan se le puede ofrecer a los Dominicanos a un sueldo decente. El mercado tendrá que resignarse a que producir azúcar a tan bajo costo no es realizable. O los azucareros tendrán que aceptar ganancias mas pequeñas (¡muy dificil!).

A ver, ¿cual político se atreve a considerar mi propuesta? ¿Ninguno? ¡No me digan! Vagabundos todos, se ponen a hacer escándalo solo por llamar la atención mientras les fingen ser Robin Hoods a los pobres. Si no pueden resolver los problemas de su propio país, ahora quieren meterse en los asuntos ajenos. Diganme, si verdaderamente les interesa tanto como viven y trabajan los obreros, ¿porqué no se estipularon condiciones al respecto (o por lo menos hacer este bulto) antes de ratificar el DR-CAFTA?

¿Y Qué Si Fidel Murió?

2006-12-13T05:39:00.000-05:00

Otra vez están circulando rumores de que Fidel Castro quizás murió. Esta supuesta noticia me interesa poco, ya que en los últimos años han matado al dictador muchisimas veces. Además, el hombre tiene 80 años; noticia fuera si muriera a los 50 o antes.

Lo que verdaderamente hallé interesante fueron un par de comentarios hechos en la cuenta de Flickr de Remolacha.net. En el primero, el usuarios elbonitillo21 expresa esperanza de que sea cierta la noticia de la muerte de Castro. Continúa a suplicarle a los Estados Unidos "que chekeen y si es verdad q metan mano paya y organisen ese pais que esta en las ruinas..." Cerró su comentario diciendole a los Cubanos que "cojal de ejemplo lo que le hicimos a trujillo carajo!!"

El comentario que sigue fue entrado por el usuario vladsanz:

Solo 2 cosas al bonitillo21:
Quien le dijo a el que los EE UU son los encargados de organizar el mundo...
Segundo aprende historia y lee un poco mas sobre la historia de nuestro pais R.D. y te sorprendera quienes fueron los que ajusticiaron a Trujillo (personas que trabajaban para el ) trujillistas un pueblo lamentablemente no tumba un gobierno y menos tu, asi que no te incluya cuando dices que 'hicimos'...

Vladsanz está en todo lo correcto. Mucha gente, especialmente los mismos Americanos, están bajo la ilusión que los Estados Unidos son los encargados de poner los asuntos del mundo como deben ser. Esto es una idea ridicula por la cual los EE.UU. ha recibido bastante crítica y hasta odio en muchas partes del mundo. Por esto es que muchas nacionalidades del mundo que no hablan inglés conocen una frase muy intimamente: "Yankees go home!"

EE.UU. pasó el siglo veinte, de inicio a cierre, estableciendose como el poder supremo del hemisferio occidental. Esto se hizo muy claro con el Corolario de Roosevelt a la Doctrina de Monroe en 1904. Roosevelt gastó poco tiempo para llevar su política a la práctica, invadiendo cuatro naciones de Centro América en los 12 años que siguieron.

Si fuera por el bien del país en cuestión, se le perdona y se le aplaude. Pero los Estados Unidos "intervienen" solo por intereses propios, metiendose en asuntos ajenos si el régimen en poder parece ser un riesgo a la influencia Americana. Por esto es que durante la era Trujillista EE.UU. no tuvo nada que ver contra una dictadura. Al contrario, las fuerzas armadas Americana fueron quien entrenó a El Chivo a mantener la orden después de la ocupación.

En ningún país de afuera se le puede confiar que haga lo correcto por un país en conflicto. Todos los de afueras tienen su intereses y quieren asegurar lo suyo alante. Esto fue evidente cuando los Yanquis decidieron intervenir durante el conflicto en Santo Domingo en 1965, impidiendo que una rebeldía popular vuelva a poner en poder al presidente elegido democraticamente. Todo porque la inteligencia Americana temía otra situación como en Cuba la década anterior. El temor al Comunismo provocó que los Estados Unidos de hecho instalara otra dictadura al asegurar la "elección" de Joaquín Balaguer.

Cuando caiga Fidel Castro del poder, el pueblo Cubano tiene que entender que la democracia vuelve como por arte de magia. Habrá conflicto civíl, y si no actúan de forma inmediata corren el riesgo de que el régimen presente mantenga el poder con un nuevo líder.

Bill O'Reilly Misses the Point, Yet Again

2006-12-13T04:37:00.001-05:00

Last week, Bill O'Reilly commented on The Coolest 8-Year-Old in the World on his TV show. Rather than challenging what the child had to say, he spent the segment speaking with a child advocate debating whether the girl's parents were guilty of child abuse. Here's the clip:

The only point that was addressed by either of these two retards is the girl's assertion that the Republican party is guilty of mass murder. While that might be an exaggeration or simply a conspiracy theory, the girl said a whole lot more and O'Reilly had no response for it.

Maybe even funnier than that is O'Reilly's insistence that the worst parts of the clip weren't aired on his program. I dunno, seems to me that everything important to the message made the cut. One thing that was noticably missing, however, was the little girl calling Bill O'Reilly out by name. Could O'Reilly be that arrogant?

Now, to address the supposed "child abuse." It's not government secret that Bill O'Reilly is a closed-minded idiot that thinks anyone who disagrees with his thinking is less than human. So it should surprise no one to hear that he considers a child being raised liberal to be abused.

There's a reason this video clip became popular on YouTube: plenty of people found it insighful, well-written and most importantly humorous due to the girl's young age. We know that it's very unlikely she wrote the dialogue herself, but we still found it cute because it's a child apparently outsmarting a grown man. I'm sure O'Reilly would have found it plenty funny if the girl had been shitting on someone like Al Franken.

The bottom line is, parents have the right to raise their children with whatever views they please. O'Reilly insists that "forcing or coercing" a child to recite something they don't understand is abusive. If he were truly concerned with that, he would have a major problem with Bill Cosby, who hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things. It's basically the same idea; kids are put on stage and told how to respond for the sake of entertainment. Unless O'Reilly is ready to admit that it's the content of her rant that bugs him rather than the possibility of her exploitation, he should shut the fuck up.

So once again, Bill misses the point and lives his life blissfully ignorant, which would be fine if he were just muttering to himself. Although, unless you're watching The O'Reilly Factor purely for laughs, you're probably a lost cause anyway...

¿Quién Es Peor?

2006-12-08T13:29:00.000-05:00

Tanto rápido como se formó el pleito, así mismo se desarmó. Aparentemente la guerra entre Johnny Ventura y La Mega está resuelta, y el Merengue es bienvenido en esta emisora. En verdad que esto hiede a negocio detrás de puertas cerradas.

Ventura hasta apareció en La Mega pidiendole disculpas a Jorge Mier, diciendo que conoció un Jorge Mier "totalmente diferente a monstruo que a mi se me había vendido. Encontré un Jorge Mier abierto para los Dominicanos."

O sea, que al Caballo solo había que hablarle bonito y ya queda impresionado. No sé si Johnny Ventura esperaba conocer un Jorge Mier vestido de rojo con horquilla a mano. Se supone que si a alguna persona o empresa le interesa resolver un problema, le van a poner cara bonita. También me da la impresión de que Ventura es muyinconstante; sufre de ser creerle al último que le habló. Es decir que si alguien le dice que lo engañaron, se atreve a decir que la protesta vuelve. Ahora, la verdadera pregunta es, ¿quién es el peor? ¿Johnny Ventura por venderse barato, o lo demás artistas por no respaldar al Caballo?

Johnny Ventura tuvo una reunión con Vidal Cedeño a su lado representando el Merengue, y Raúl Alarcón y Jorge Mier representando La Mega. Como nadie más del género quizo involucrarse en el asunto, nadie mas aportó a la charla. El artista que quede descontento con los resultados (los cuales no se verán definitivamente hasta un par de meses más) que haga su propia protesta a ver si La Mega lo coje a Ud. en serio.

Lo que más molesta de los resultados de aquella reunión es que Johnny Ventura parece haber llegado a Miami sin la menor idea de como funciona el sistema de promoción y programación. Se hizo la vista gorda de la payola que existe no solo en La Mega, pero también en las emisoras de la República Dominicana.

Dicen que las casas disqueras llevan pocos temas a la emisora, pero cuando alguien llama a la radio y le piden un disco que no conocen, nadie se ocupa de averiguar quien lo canta y como lo consiguen.

Dicen que el pueblo tiene culpa por no llamar a la emisora y pedir su Merengue. Pero si en la emisora no se le presenta Merengue nuevo, ¿como hace uno para saber quién sacó un disco nuevo? Se supone que la radio le introduzca el tema al público y si es popular, la gente lo pide. Por esto es que la gente depende de las discotecas y el Internet para mantenerse al día con su música.

Y despues dicen que las descargas ilegales y la piratería son enemigos de la música. ¡Pero si es la única forma que vamos a conocer la música nueva! La ilusión que la distribución gratuita del trabajo artistico sea una cosa negativa es invento de las casas disqueras porque no les conviene a ellos mismos. Los artistas tienen que entender que el uso de las emisoras y las ventas de albunes son para presentar sus nuevos temas para promover las giras que harán en el futuro. Y si uno de estos medios de promoción se le niega, tienen que adoptar otra.

Les pongo de ejemplo el Merengue Típico. ¿Quién toca Merengue Típico en las emisoras de Nueva York? Casi nadie. Uno tiene que ir a las discotecas conocidas por tocarlo y/o conectarse a la Super Regional de Santiago y oír su transmisión en vivo. En este sentido los artistas del Merengue Típico han sidos los más abiertos a la promoción via el Internet, tanto que hasta se oyen mentar en sus presentaciones a Los Traficante, Los Reyes del Mambo, MusicaTipica.net, entre otros.

En fin, no se hizo gran mierda con la supuesta protesta de Johnny Ventura, y me arrepiento de haberle dado tanta atención.

Un Mejor Líder

2006-12-01T18:56:00.000-05:00

En los ultimos dias se ha formado una protesta contra la emisora radial La Mega 97.9 FM de Nueva York. Esta protesta fue iniciada por el merenguero veterano Johnny Ventura con un discurso que dió en su concierto en el teatro United Palace que forma parte de su gira de retirada, La Sabrosa Despedida. En este discurso denunció a la emisora de no apoyar la música Dominicana, específicamente el Merengue. Llamó al pueblo Dominicano de Nueva York a que exigiera que toquen mas Merengue en La Mega.

Esto ha creado una reaccion en el cual muchos han opinado, otros han tenido que defenderse, y un lado no ha dicho nada por su parte. Muchas cosas dichas tienen razon, otras son disparates, y algunas son dificiles de descifrar. Aquí trataré de separar la verdad del embuste, y explicar porque creo que Johnny Ventura no es la persona adecuada para guiar esta iniciativa.

Entre los primeros comentarios que se hicieron en El Vacilón de la Mañana fue en cuanto a la primera protesta que el Caballo Mayor hizo contra La Mega porque no se tocaba suficiente Merengue. Luis Jimenez comentó que en aquella ocasión, toda mención de protesta se apagó cuando la emisora empezó a tocar la música de Johnny Ventura. Esta declaración fue reafirmada por Johnny Famolari al dia siguiente.

Lo primero que tenemos que hacer es reconocer quien es responsable y culpable de la falta de Merengue en la radio de Nueva York y quien ha apoyado nuestra música de principio a fin, porque no todo el mundo está en contra del Merengue en La Mega.

Cronológicamente, el primero dandole respaldo a toda musica Dominicana (de los que quedan empleado por La Mega) es el mismo Johnny Famolari. Famolari siempre ha luchado por poner musica de calidad de la República Dominicana al aire en Nueva York. En aquella epoca que Famolari formaba duo con Norty Cotto, el fue el unico DJ en los 90's tocando Merengue Tipico en la radio. Incluso, Famolari expresó que en varias ocasiones el intentó introducir nuevos temas a la programación, y que por la mayor parte, fue rechazado por el director de programación, Jorge Mier. También dijo que al apoyar la primera protesta de Johnny Ventura, perdió su trabajo.

Otra persona que ha hecho todo lo posible no solo por el pueblo Dominicano, sino por todas las nacionalidades de América Latina es Alex Sensation. Alex Sensation fue otro DJ que tomó la oportunidad para defenderse en El Vacilón de la Mañana y en su propio programa. Alex se disgustó con la prórroga general que se usa al decir que La Mega por completa está ocultando el Merengue. Alex declaró correctamente que el hace hasta lo imposible para complacer a todo oyente de su programa. Alex Sensation es el unico DJ que se ocupa de estar al día con Merengue, Bachata, Salsa (sea de Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia o donde sea), Reggaeton, Cumbia, Vallenato y Merengue Tipico. Ningun otro disc jockey es tan versátil como "El Mezclú."

El tercer patrocinador del Merengue (que solo dejo de último porque ya no es parte del roster de La Mega) es Janeiro Matos. No hay que decir mucho para defender a Janeiro, ya que su reconocimiento fue demostrado con el escándalo que se formó cuando "El Nene de Chocolate" anunció su resignación repentina de La Mega al aire. Sin embargo, me siento obligado a mencionarlo por su gran aportación a nuestro género con su programa sabatino Merengue Hits. Un gran talento como Janeiro siempre cae de pie.

Ahora, también hay que sacar del hoyo a los que se han tirado inmerecidamente. En la sección de comentarios de Remolacha.net, algunos lectores de la pagina querían involucrar a Luís Jiménez y El Vacilón de forma negativa, a lo cual Jiménez respondío. Luís está en todo lo correcto; a el hay que comendarlo por traer el tema al aire en contra de su propio jefe, cosa que quizás solo el pueda hacer por su puesto como el locutor con más audiencia radial en Nueva York. Y Luís Jiménez a cada rato tiene que defenderse en cualquier tema cuando se trata de Dominicanos, pero esto es un caso para otro día.

Y por supuesto hay que poner la culpa donde se merece. Jorge Mier ha recibido la mayoría de la crítica por la falta de Merengue, ¿y porque no? El es el director de programación de la emisora, o sea, el forma la lista de todos los temas permitidas tocar. (Antes que nada quiero decir que no me gusta el concepto de una lista restrictiva; esto le quita la creatividad a los DJs y los reducen a nada más que barajar los mismo discos día tras día.) Pues si, si uno está disgustado con la programación, hay que ir directo a la fuente. Esta no es la primera vez que se ha hablado de forma negativa de Jorge Mier, y no escribo solo del asunto con Janeiro Matos. Mier también fue acusado de intentar suprimir el Reggaetón, diciendo que la radio no puede sonar como una discoteca. Hoy el Reggaetón está entre los géneros más tocados en La Mega. Y esto puede ser señal de que no sea asunto de discriminacion contra la cultura Dominicana (si la Bachata tiene gran presencia en la programación de La Mega); esto es un caso de un director con la mente tapada. Lo nuevo hay que forzarselo porque el hombre no está abierto a las innovaciones. Como Jorge Mier sigue empleado es un misterio para mí.

Una cosa que dijo Johnny Famolari que yo apoyo es la propuesta que cualquier otra persona lidere la protesta para restablacer el Merengue en La Mega que no sea Johnny Ventura. Lo digo por el simple hecho de que Ventura ha demostrado en otra ocasión que usa el nombre del Merengue para inspirar movimientos para su propio beneficio.

El líder ideal sería alguien que no tenga intereses en ningún artista ni casa disquera, alguien que tenga una buena estrategia de ataque y no se rinda hasta que se cumpla, alguien que tenga un plan de cambio que resuelva este asunto una vez por todas para que no se repita esta guerra civil económica, un gran orador que pueda inspirar todo el pueblo, alguien que represente los intereses de todos los Latinos, porque no es justo que solo se haga escándalo cuando los Dominicanos están disgustados. No sé decirles quien será esta persona, pero le pido a cualquier persona que tenga algo constructivo que aportar a esta discusión que por favor lo haga.

Esto es todo por ahora, mis hermanos. Unámonos a la causa, ¡y Que Viva el Merengue!

The Character Assassination of Mark McGwire

2006-11-28T23:01:00.000-05:00

"He doesn't want to talk about the past? Then I don't want to consider his past." -- Hal McCoy, Dayton Daily News sports writer

"He won't get my vote this year, next year or any year." -- Chicago Tribune sports writer Paul Sullivan

"I think he's a Hall of Famer, myself. He hit 500 or so homers, almost 600. I think we have no proof whether he did or not." -- Former player and Hall of Fame candidate Tony Gwynn

"I don't plan to vote for him on the first ballot, but I do plan to vote for him." -- Former Chicago Tribune writer Jerome Holtzman

All these quotes were extracted from an ESPN article in relation to Mark McGwire's Hall of Fame candidacy, with ballots being mailed out to BBWAA members yesterday, as reported by the New York Daily News. This is McGwire's first year of eligibility.

As even casual followers of baseball know, Mark McGwire's accomplishments on the field have come under suspicion with allegations of steroid use coming from a variety of sources. While McGwire has never been formally accused of any wrongdoing -- either by Major League Baseball, the U.S. Congress or a criminal court -- there are many individuals and entities, from former teammates to the FBI to journalists with inside sources, who claim that McGwire was indeed a steroid user. Given the opportunity to denounce these accusations under oath, he dodged questions relating to his playing days altogether, claiming that he didn't appear at the hearing to talk about the past.

Most of the world took this action as his admission to using steroids or other illegal performance enhancing drugs. A small percentage of blindly faithful McGwire fans continue to defend him, arguing on his behalf from all angles, from statements such as "He never admitted to anything," to "He never tested positive for anything," to "There was no drug testing policy," to "Steroids were never a banned substance during his career," to "He's not that bad, he never endorsed what he did," to "He's only human, we have to be forgiving," to "How much do steroids help an athlete, really?"

All of these arguments are weak, especially coming from people who wish to view McGwire as an All-American hero. While it is technically true that Big Mac never admitted to the world that he used any illegal substances, his inability to give a definitive answer under oath is a clear indication that he has something to hide. Some have argued that by offering no incriminating information he was merely protecting his loved ones from further criminal investigation. Had he been the model citizen that McGwire supporters make him out to be, there would be no need to be evasive in the first place.

Another argument suggests that nobody, including Major League Baseball, the Hall of Fame or the Baseball Writers Association of America, can punish McGwire for something they can't prove. This statement only holds true for the criminal justice system, and to be perfectly honest I believe McGwire can be convicted on steroid charges if the government chooses to pursue it. However, the BBWAA members can vote however they please and they don't need to justify how they chose. And history has shown that sports writers can be partial, as evidenced by the 1941 AL MVP vote. Which isn't to say it's OK, but it does happen. And back to the original point, just because you can't prove something doesn't mean it isn't true.

Some say, "Why should anyone adhere to an unenforceable drug policy?" Because it's a rule nonetheless. I believe that an All-American hero and a baseball icon should be interested in preserving the integrity of game by abiding to the league's rules, regardless of its enforceability. If this is supposed to be a role model for the youth of America, the message we are sending is, "It's OK to cheat if you know you can't get caught or punished."

Then there are those who'll say that steroids weren't a banned substance until 2002. I won't argue this point too heavily because it's technically true; there was no collective bargaining agreement to ban steroids or other performance enhancing drug use until 2002. However, the purchase and use of anabolic steroids without a doctor's prescription has been illegal since 1990. In other words, though his accomplishments may be in compliance with MLB rules on a technicality, McGwire is a felon. Not a role model.

One argument I heard suggests that Mark McGwire is not a bad man because he never endorsed steroid use nor the supplements that he is willing to admit to utilizing. He even went so far as to discourage minors from using anything that isn't prescribed. The problem with that logic is that he is a public figure, and whether or not he poses in front of a camera and says "Andro gave me this body" is irrelevant. If I'm an impressionable young person that admires Mark McGwire and I come to find out that he only wears blue underwear on Tuesdays, if I want to be like him desperately enough, I will only wear blue underwear on Tuesdays. He doesn't need to appear in a Joe Boxer ad to influence me.

There are also apologists who say we should forgive him for his wrongdoing since he is generally a good person who has done a lot for the community. Before I, personally, can forgive somebody for anything I need an admission of guilt. If he feels that he can't do that because it will bring unwanted attention to his loved ones, fine. But he won't use that defense to bypass the forgiveness process. Furthermore, there is a very big difference between forgiving misconduct and honoring it. Pete Rose has admitted to and apologized for his offenses (albeit showing no genuine remorse and poor timing), but he gets no brownie points at all for conceding the obvious.

And finally, there's the most absurd of all rationale for Mark McGwire's Hall of Fame induction: questioning the impact that steroids can have on a baseball players abilities. The simple fact is that Hulk Hogan can hit a baseball farther than Napoleon Dynamite; which of the two will make more contact is less predictable since higher muscle mass (and by correlation, steroid use) doesn't guarantee increased hand-eye coordination. Mark McGwire's career .263 batting average supports this. There are sillier rules that exist in MLB (fraternizing with opposing players) and continue to be enforced (corked bats).

If Mark McGwire wants to get into the Hall of Fame, he's gonna have to pay admission, just like the rest of us.

The Gyroball's Not Worth That Much

2006-11-10T20:48:00.000-05:00

ESPN has released a report stating that the Boston Red Sox may have the highest bid for the rights to negotiate with Japanese star pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. The report estimates the bid between $38 and $45 million.

If everything in that report turns out to be accurate and the Seibu Lions accept the bid, I'll be glad it wasn't my team putting up all that money. I've never been a person to worry much about my team's payroll (you really can't do that as a Yankee fan), but when numbers in that range are being offered just to TALK with a player, you gotta start playing the insanity card.

There's really no team that can justify wagering more than $20 million for the simple privilege of offering to spend even more money. I don't care what kinda of mystery pitch he throws, how young he is, or how well he did at the World Baseball Classic; putting that much money on the line is very risky.

According to the same article, the Texas Rangers reportedly submitted a bid of $22 million with the intention of offering Matsuzaka a 5-year, $50 million contract. In other words, it's essentially $72 million for 5 years, or $14.4 million per. A pretty serious attempt at gettin a legitimate ace for the Rangers, but it's gonna burn a hole right in the Red Sox's wallet.

The thought is that if the Red Sox outbid the Yankees (who are also rumored to have made a bid), it would work in Boston's favor twofold as was the case when Johnny Damon left Boston for New York. On the other side of the scale, if Matsuzaka turns into a flop (like Hideki Irabu), they'll be stuck paying a heavy contract that they can't get rid of (like Kevin Brown and Carl Pavano, to name two).

The possibility of the Red Sox signing Matsuzaka doesn't scare me very much. The Sox have more than just one rotation spot to fill, and their lineup is only two deep. Meanwhile, the Yankees are helping themselves by trading away one of their aging (albeit more time tested) stars and replenishing their farm system in the process.

And if the Red Sox are really risking that much money on one player, that's less money on their payroll to fill other holes in their roster, especially if the posting fee is due in a lump sum. Even for a person with little regard for payroll constraint, that's a major investment for a right-hander most famously known for a pitch nobody can confirm exists.

Of course, nothing is confirmed yet, and my team could still be the one shelling out too much money. Until the Seibu Lions announce their intentions (the deadline is Tuesday), it's all speculation. Be eazy, my peoples.

BruGz..

iz..

out..

1...

Un Género No Saca a Otro

2006-11-08T13:15:00.000-05:00

Un tema que ha llegado a la atencion de la prensa Dominicana es de la supuesta batalla de generos tradicionales como Merengue, Salsa y Bachata contra sonidos relativamente nuevos como el Reggaeton. Sin nadie haber declarado guerra, los promotores de Merengue y Bachata aseguran que el Reggaeton no le superara.

Lo ridiculo de esta declaracion es que el Reggaeton busca superar a nadie. Esta competencia es un invento de las mismas instituciones que intentan poner nuestros ritmos por el piso. Una "competencia" creada para distraer a uno de la verdadera razon por la cual hoy se oye menos Merengue en la radio.

El Reggaeton no va a tumbar el Merengue ni la Bachata, porque no pueden. Un genero no saca a otro. Cuando el Hip-Hop nacio en los Estados Unidos, eso no mato ni al Rock ni el R&B. Al contrario, cuando el Hip-Hop se establecio el Rock le dio un abrazo, igual que el R&B. Y asi mismo lo hace la Salsa con el Reggaeton. Lo ha hecho el Merengue tambien, aunque ha sido un poco forzado.

Hay dos hechos que mucha gente no entienden del Reggaeton. Una es que el Reggaeton ya es un ritmo establecido. Ya este genero ha tenido su epoca en el "underground," o sea, fuera de la vista de los medios de corriente. El Reggaeton ya tiene una fanaticada mundial y esta aqui para quedarse, guste a quien le guste. El otro hecho es que el Reggaeton no pretende ser competencia para ningun otro ritmo. Todo lo contrario, cuando se habla de la historia del Reggaeton siempre se oye las influencias musicales que contribuyeron a su creacion, etre ellas el Reggae Jamaicano, el Hip-Hop Americano, y ritmos Latinos como Bomba, Plena, Cumbia, Salsa y mas reciente Merengue y Bachata. Como puede creer uno que el Reggaeton quiere ver a ningun otro genero morir, si se incorporan todos en si mismo.

Siempre habran aquellos que oponen el Reggaeton, igual como 30 años despues de su nacimiento hay quienes oponen el Hip-Hop. Solo les digo asi: no esperen que caiga el Reggaeton. Esto no es un capricho que viene y se va y el mundo sigue como a ustedes les gusta. Asi como la Bachata, ya el Reggaeton paso por el purgatorio y esta firmemente en nuestra cultura.

Even 8-Year-Olds Know O'Reilly Is Full of Shit

2006-11-06T23:49:00.000-05:00

Long time no blog. I've been "busy..." ::ahem:: LIAR! ::ahem::

Found this video clip on YouTube of an 8-year-old girl making Bill O'Reilly look like a fool. Of course this is all scripted by someone older, but the point is she hit the nail on the head.

Of course O'Reilly will never concede that he's wrong on these things, especially on the rap issue, despite the fact that he was outdebated by a rapper. On his own show! With a high school principal on as a guest to back O'Reilly.

Theory: Why the New York Media Comes Down Hard on A-Rod

2006-10-06T16:39:00.000-04:00

Alex Rodriguez has been taking a lot of shit from the sports media, especially in New York. A lot of it during the season was deserved; his defense was horrendous and he went through hitting slumps that made even his deepest sympathizers mad.

In the end, his numbers were very good: .290 batting average, 35 home runs, 121 RBI. Those 121 RBI are the best on the Yankees, better than anyone on the Mets, and ranks 8th in the Majors. Far from a disappointing season, despite hitting just .217 in June. Now the postseason comes and this is all forgotten. The center of attention becomes his 2-for-15 performance in last year's Division Series vs. the Angels. No mention of the fact that he batted .358 in September and this might just carry over into the postseason. Granted, it hasn't. He's just 1-for-8 in the first two games of this Division Series and hasn't come through in a couple of critical spots. But in their Game 2 loss vs. the Tigers, A-Rod somehow manages to be the focus of scrutiny when the whole team came up short.

I wonder why. That was not a sarcastic statement. I truly wonder why Derek Jeter is the face of the Yankees, the pride, the class, the success, everything that is pure and good about a storied franchise, and Alex Rodriguez is the goat, the weakness, the face behind the Yankees' failure to win a World Series since 2000 (nevermind the fact he didn't join the Yankees until 2004).

I came up with a theory. It came to me while mentally reviewing all the shit that's been said over the years about A-Rod. One particular quote came up was from Rick Reilley of Sports Illustrated on Sept. 20. He was a guest on The Big Show with Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann on ESPN Radio reacting to an article by his colleague Tom Verducci in which some of his teammates (most of them anonymously) expressed their opinions on A-Rod. Asked what surprised him most about the article, Reilley responds:

I guess that somebody finally told a reporter what we've heard so often, what we've whispered so often, that A-Rod's not well-liked, that he's sort of alone in the locker room; that the players sort of think he's a phony. He--, I mean, I've been with him, I've been to his house, he's certainly a nice guy, but at all times you always get the feeling that you're always with his-- he's his own PR guy. He's constantly like, 'Look at this painting,' and 'Isn't this-- look at what I've done for kids here,' and 'Here's my best friend from childhood,' and it's kinda like Phil Mickelson in that he's a good guy, he's very good with the fans, he's a great athlete, but you're kinda like 'OK, where's the real you?'

We've become a tabloid society. And it's kinda pathetic. We're so bored with our own lives that we constantly want to know what everyone else is doing. Anyone who opposes is looked at as an oddball or as someone who doesn't know how to deal with their own fame. Everyone looks at A-Rod and it appears that everything he does, from his haircut to the brand of toothpaste he uses to his reaction to a called third strike, is rehearsed or planned out. Like Jose Canseco said in his book, everything out of his mouth "sounds like it was tested by some kind of focus group beforehand."

That's fine. I happen to agree with that. Alex might be a closed person, or maybe he just boring! It might be hard for some people to believe, that a guy that can cause so much excitement on the ballfield can be boring off it.

I believe sports reporters overanalyze A-Rod's on-field accomplishments because of this. Since they won't get any quotes out of him that'll get people talking, they beat the same story to the ground. Osama Bin Laden is no longer front page news, not because he's no longer a top priority for our military (or so they say), but because the same story became boring and wouldn't sell newspapers. My question is, is this A-Rod bullshit really selling papers?

Terror Storm

2006-10-03T11:01:00.000-04:00

I seem to have a talent for finding things I'm not looking for. Again browsing websites looking for something unrelated, I came across a documentary by Alex Jones, an American radio host and owner of the Prison Planet and Info Wars websites.

The documentary is called Terror Storm. This video would probably be classified as conspiracy theory by most, but this is the most factually accurate piece I've ever watched; so much so that it should be deemed more historical fact than conspiracy theory.

Watch it and question it. You should doubt. But you have the ability to look it up. If anything sounds like an exaggeration, vague or just plain bullshit, look it up. I paused the video at least a half dozen times because some shit just needed a closer look.

Collected from Shoutwire via Torrentspy.

What We Thought of Saddam Before 9/11/01

2006-09-29T23:25:00.000-04:00

Another interesting bit of old news I stumbled across while not looking for it. Here is a video clip from two separate interviews in which Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice state that Iraq is not a threat to the U.S.

I think the most interesting part of that clip is Colin Powell's use of the phrase "weapons of mass destruction." Back then it was mostly a military and intelligence term; since then it's been the center of the worst told lie in American history.

One interesting angle this takes on, though, is the conspiracy theory that the Bush administration knew beforehand of the events that were to transpire on 9/11/01. If they really knew of the attacks beforehand, would they really have gone out of their way to tell the American people and the world that Iraq was harmless? For that matter, if the Bush administration truly had Saddam in its crosshairs since Inauguration Day '01, would they make these statements? Is this all just red herring? At this point, who cares? The bottom line is we're occupying a country that was never a threat, imposing democracy as if it was our job. If the people want democracy, let them revolt.

¿Falta de Calidad?

2006-09-29T15:24:00.000-04:00

Hoy leyendo la pagina de Remolacha.net me encontre con un articulo que lo halle embute sin leerlo, porque antes de haberse escrito ese articulo ya yo lo habia descalificado de pura mentira.

Me refiero a este articulo del Diario Libre donde los directores de programacion de las emisoras de Santo Domingo culpan a la falta de material bueno suficiente.

Ya he dicho que en el merengue no hay falta de calidad; es falta de apoyo. Pero este articulo no se trata solo del merengue, sino de toda la musica criolla: bachata, merengue tipico, balada, reggaeton, rock, etc. Las emisoras de la capital tocan muy poca musica criolla de cualquier genero.

Tambien dijo el director de programacion de una emisora que la falta de baladistas Dominicanos al aire es debido es por falta de apoyo de un sello discografico. O sea, lo que ha dicho es que no tocan por falta de payola. No se como son las leyes en Dominicana, pero en los Estados Unidos no es requerido que un artista sea firmado por un sello discografico para sonar en la radio.

Dijo Junior Sosa, director de KQ 94, "Yo diría que no tenemos suficiente material bueno, para hacer una programación de 24 horas, basada sólo en nuestra música." Sera un milagro que logran las emisoras del interior. Yo, que vivo en los Estados Unidos y tengo 10 años que no he podido volver a mi paisito, se que La Super Regional de Santiago tocan merengue tipico y bachata casi exclusivamente, y el unico tema que se repite es "El Hit de la Hora." O sea, que solo en dos generos criollos tenemos suficiente material para programacion de 24 horas.

Dijo Teo Veras, "Hace mucho que el merengue está de capa caída porque no tiene letra, son sonidos, son disparates lo que hay hecho; es letra de merengue que nadie entiende." Eso suena mucho a unas palabras atribuidas a Jorge Mier, director de programacion de La Mega 97.9FM en Nueva York: "... la música dominicana no sirve, que alli se ponen los merengues porque no le queda otra alternativa..."

Parece que el merengue esta pasando por segunda vez lo que los otros generos del mundo solo tienen que pasar una sola vez: la aceptacion de la mayoria del pueblo. Pero lo que tienen que entender estos directores que privan en ser los jueces de que es bueno y que esta pegao' es que hay que tocar lo que pide el pueblo. A lo que tu le dices "disparates" en las discotecas lo piden con frecuencia. Con una falta de apoyo asi, no es ninguna sorpresa que los Dominicanos somos casi completamente ausentes en nominaciones a galardones de musica latina. Si nosotros mismos no nos respaldamos, ¿quien lo hara?

Video: Alfonso Soriano Logra Entrar al "Club 40-40"

2006-09-18T16:43:00.000-04:00

El sabado pasado, 16 de septiembre, Alfonso Soriano logro entrar al exclusivo "Club 40-40." En la primera entrada del partido entre los Nacionales de Washington y los Cerveceros de Milwaukee, Soriano se robo segunda base para su cuadragesima base robada, acompañada por sus 45 quadrangulares y hacerse el cuarto pelotero en la historia de las Grandes Ligas en llegar a 40 jonrones y 40 bases robadas en la misma temporada.

Aqui les traigo el video clip del momento y de la ovacion que le hicieron los fanaticos presente.

Why David Ortiz Doesn't Deserve the MVP This Year, Either (and Who Does)

2006-09-12T18:11:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, Sept. 10, David Ortiz said to reporters that he believes that his team's fall from playoff contention shouldn't affect his candidacy for MVP this year. He made reference to the fact that Alex Rodriguez won the MVP award in 2003 despite his Texas Rangers finishing 25 games out of first place in the AL West that year. "...[S]o now they can't play that BS anymore, just because your team didn't make it," Ortiz said.

Valid point. Won't get him anywhere, though.

I decided to analyze the 2003 AL MVP to see if I could figure out exactly why A-Rod won in '03. I had a hunch I already knew. I was right.

The truth is, in 2003 there weren't too many other hitters putting up gawdy numbers. In the Triple Crown categories, Boston's Bill Mueller posted the American League's best batting average at .326, Alex Rodriguez took the home run crown with 47, and Carlos Delgado knocked in 145 RBIs.

Based purely on offensive numbers, Carlos Delgado should have won the MVP. In '03, he hit .302 with 42 HRs and 145 RBIs, compared to A-Rod's .298-47-118. Delgado's Blue Jays also finished better in their division race (86-76, 15 GB) than A-Rod's Rangers (71-91, 25 GB). Then why did Delgado finish second?

Defense. By virtue of playing a position that's more physically demanding and historically lacking in offense (especially power numbers), Rodriguez won the MVP just for being the phenomenon he's been all his career. To add to his legitimacy, he won the AL Gold Glove Award in 2003 as well.

Which is why Papi won't win the award, again. As long as there's someone out there putting up even remotely similar numbers (do NOT read, Derek Jeter), a DH will not win an MVP. You can expect this to remain true until at least 2009, when Edgar Martinez becomes eligible for induction to the Hall of Fame.

David Ortiz should be more upset about finishing fifth in MVP voting in 2003, behind Shannon Stewart. That year, Stewart was credited with being the spark plug that helped Minnesota win the Central. He was indeed on base a lot, but that's about it

So who does deserve this year's AL MVP? Well, Ortiz got it right there. It's a toss-up among Jermaine Dye (White Sox), Paul Konerko (White Sox) or Justin Morneau (Twins). Also getting heavy consideration are Minnesota's Joe Mauer and Johan Santana. My vote goes to Santana. Entering today, Santana is 18-5 with a 2.75 ERA and 230 Ks. In the pitchers' Triple Crown categories, Santana leads all three in the Majors. That's right, his ERA and strikeouts are better than any other pitcher, regardless of the DH. And the truth is, regardless of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau's offensive numbers, without Johan Santana the Twins wouldn't be in prime position to take over the lead in the AL Central division race. Especially with Francisco Liriano missing a month of action with pain in his left elbow. That is the definition of an MVP.

I'll leave you with this article written shortly after the MVPs were handed out in 2003. It discusses the controversy that usually surrounds MVP and Cy Young voting, and it explains that the debate over what the definition of an MVP is (or should be) should be dead, because since 1999 there has been an award honoring the top hitter of his league. At the same time, this should squash all talk of pitchers not deserving MVP honors because "they have their own award."

Be eazy my people.

BruGz®..

iz..

out..

1....

What Happens When You Don't Know Your History

2006-08-22T13:10:00.000-04:00

There's a bit of "news" that's been getting a lot of face time in the Hispanic media, mostly in Miami and the Dominican Republic. Merengue singer and newly sworn-in Dominican politician Sergio Vargas has been getting a lot of heat for an image of him in front of a microphone wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt. That's it.

This "incident" is getting way too much attention simply because Cubans either don't know enough about Ernesto Guevara or they bought into Fidel Castro's propaganda.

If you don't know who Ernesto "Che" Guevara is or aren't sure you know enought about him, look him up. I also suggest you read The Motorcycle Diaries or watch the movie of the same name. You also need at least a basic understanding of Communism to comprehend why it was (and in many minds, continues to be) a popular idea.

Among Cuban exiles, Che Guevara and his likeness are seen in a negative light because he was a friend of Fidel Castro and aided in the Cuban Revolution that overthrew Fulgencio Batista's regime, a move that was applauded. For this he is considered a hero by Castro and his followers, his image found on monuments, buildings, even Cuban currency. Castro continues to speak highly of Guevara, despite the fact that they had a falling out of favor due to political differences. Castro's propaganda trumps everything.

Since the controversy first started, Sergio Vargas has publicly stated that he does not support the Castro regime. Cubans may not accept this as a legitimate claim, but they also fail to realize that "el Che" is seen as a revolutionary hero by all types of social and political groups. Cubans shouldn't try to minimalize or criminalize his ideals and achievements.

I would have liked to have written this post in Spanish since it deals with Hispanic issues, but I'm rushing through this and I communicate better in English. Be eazy my peoples.

BruGz..

iz..

out..

1...

It's a Good Day to Be a Yankee Fan

2006-08-22T12:14:00.000-04:00

Five games in four days. A lot of things could have gone down last weekend. A sweep wasn't expected by any objective fan. Boston's season isn't over, but their chances at the AL East almost are. They can't expect the Yankees to go on a similar skid while the Sox simultaneously go on a hot streak.

Of course for that to happen, the only thing the Red Sox can control is how well they play up until they come to Yankee Stadium on September 15-17. You'll hear everyone say, "Take it one game at a time," "Just concentrate on winning today," shit like that. It's corny and clichéd, but it's true. You'll be watching the out-of-town scoreboard, but the idea is to try to win every single game. There's no solace in seeing the team ahead of you lose if you can't capitalize on it.

I know this sounds more like a consolation note to Red Sox Nation than a celebratory post of a die-hard Yankee fan, but I did state that the East is pretty much out of reach for Boston. You can find arrogant articles and lame excuses anywhere. Logic and reason are hard to come by in this rivalry, even from sports reporters.

The Favorite to Win the World Series

2006-07-17T20:29:00.000-04:00

I'm a Yankee fan. Hardcore. Ask around. I'm also a baseball fan, and some of you may say "No shit!", but there is a difference between being a fan of a sport and a fan of a team in that sport. Being a fan of a team, but not the sport, is just a few steps short of being a bandwagon fan. If you can't defend your argument that your team can or will win its sport's championship, don't debate sports with me.

Now that you know what I'm about, let's talk baseball. There are always people that make estimates over who's gonna win each division, who's taking the Wild Card and of course who's going all the way. A lot of them do it before the season. I'm not that stupid. I've seen too many people be horribly wrong because there are always factors that can't be forseen: injuries, chemistry, off-field issues, who's off the juice, who's gonna age suddenly before our eyes, etc.

We're halfway through the season now, so it's pretty fair to say that (barring a blockbuster trade) we have a good idea who has remained relatively healthy (or at least coping with their disabled list the best), what teams are meshing well, and who's still in the running to make the playoffs.

Now to the point. My pick to win the World Series.

It's the New York Mets. Yeah, the guys across town. At the very least they should make it to the Series. I knew they had a special team around mid-May. Sure they have a good (even great) team on paper, and there was walk of October baseball for the Mets in February; but we heard that last year when they were sellin' us what they call "The New Mets." The New Mets still had some kinks to work out, and people were setting expectations too high on a team coming off a 71-91 record in 2004. But they definitely were headed in the right direction. And they did it without rebuilding, as so many critics said they needed to do.

But the thing that sets them apart from those good Met teams of the late '90's is something that you won't find in the stat sheets: chemistry. The 2006 Mets are bonding like long-lost family. And the fact of the matter is, when you get along with your teammates, playing is more fun. When you have fun, you try harder to win (and I'm not talkin' about the kinda "trying hard" that makes a player put way too much pressure on himself, like A-Rod is guilty of doing sometimes). Everyone in that dugout knows the goal, knows his role and executes it with precision.

Their record reflects that. Entering today, they have the best record in the National League, lead the NL in runs scored, and are third best in runs surrendered. This team was built to win from Opening Day; I was convinced of it when they singed Julio Franco. That's right, the guy that turns 48 next month. Bench players are important, especially in the NL with no DH and all the double switches.

I'll close this post with this article from yesterday's Daily News. Let's go Yankees!!

BruGz..

iz..

out..

1...

El Estado del Merengue

2006-07-13T15:46:00.000-04:00

En los ultimos años he oido y leido de muchas personas -- amigos, familia, locutores, periodistas, y hasta musicos -- que el merengue esta en peligro. ¿En peligro de que? De extincion, o por lo menos una metamorfosis tan extrema que dentro de poco no lo conoceremos.

Yo no lo veo de tal manera. Sí reconozco que el merengue ha desarrollado bastante desde su principios, y hasta en los 23 años que lo llevo como como el "soundtrack" de mi vida. Tambien concedo que los merengues de ayer tienen un tal "je ne sais quois" que no se ha podido duplicar en por lo menos 10 años. Pero decir que el merengue esta a punto de morir o de tranformarse en algo irremediable simplemente no es cierto.

El problema con la prediccion de muchos cae dentro de su metodo de analizar el genero. La mayoria ven el merengue como una cosa fija con reglas que son inflexibles y no perdonan. Si fuera asi, la gran mayoria de nosotros no hemos oido un verdadero merengue, porque el merengue (como todo genero) cambia con los tiempos. Es decir que el merengue se hace hoy no es igual que el merengue que oia el viejo mio cuando tenia 23, que tampoco es igual que el merengue que oia mi abuelo (EPD) en su juventud. Pero nunca se ha dicho que los merengues que sonaban en la era Trujillista son mas merengue que los de los 80's, epoca considerada los años dorados del genero.

Yo veo el merengue como una entidad con una base fija con un alcance amplio que le pone un sabor distinto a cada generacion, pero no pierde sus raices. Su flexibilidad ha sido esencial para complacer las demandas de su audiencia cambiante. Asi tambien es el merenguero. Es muy dificil encontrar un artista con longevidad significativa con una discografia consistiendo exclusivamente de merengues. Versatilidad es una necesidad.

La critica con el merito mas alto contra el merengue es la desaparicion (aparente) del merengue de letra. Esta declaracion es cierta, pero no por falta de autores, compositores o arreglistas, sino por falta de la promocion y apoyo debido de las emisoras radiales. Por esa razon deje de escuchar el radio y busque otro medios para mantenerme al dia con la musica, y esos son los medios es que los musicos con poco respaldo deben utilizar para mantener y ampliar su fanaticada. Los dos mas importantes son los DJ's de discotecas y el Internet. Los dos son medios efectivos para promover un artista y el costo es bastante bajo, y a veces ninguno.

Los dejo con este articulo y unas cuantas canciones de merengue de letra que, por lo que sé, no recibieron el respaldo merecido por los medios tradicionales.

¿Quien es el Dominicano?

2006-07-07T03:07:00.000-04:00

Un pedazo humoroso que define en parte las carecteristicas del Dominicano:

¿Quien es el Dominicano?

Ah, los dominicanos... que dificil pregunta! Los dominicanos estan entre ustedes pero no son de ustedes. Los dominicanos beben en la misma copa la alegria y la amargura. Hacen musica de su llanto y se rien de la musica. Los dominicanos toman en serio los chistes y
hacen chistes de lo serio. No creen en nadie y creen en todo.

¡No se les ocurra discutir con ellos jamas! Los dominicanos nacen con sabiduria. No necesitan leer, ¡todo lo saben! No necesitan viajar, ¡todo lo han visto! Los dominicanos son algo asi como el pueblo escogido, por ellos mismos.

Los dominicanos se caracterizan individualmente por su simpatia e inteligencia y en grupos, por su griteria y apasionamiento. Cada uno de ellos lleva en si la chispa de genios y los genios no se llevan bien entre si. Reunir a los dominicanos es facil, pero unirlos es casi imposible.

No se les hable de logica, pues eso implica razonamiento y mesura y los dominicanos son hiperbolicos y exagerados. Por ejemplo, si te invitan a un restaurante a comer, no te invitaron al major restaurante del pueblo, sino al mejor restaurante del mundo.

Cuando discuten, no dicen: "No estoy de acuerdo contigo," sino "¡Estas completamente equivocado!"

Tienen tendencias antropofagicas; asi entonces, "¡Se la comio!" es una expression de admiracion, y "comerse un cable" es señal de una situacion critica, pero llamarle a alguien "come mierda" es un insulto lacerante.

El dominicano ama tanto la contradiccion que llama monumentos a las mujeres hermosas y barbaros a los eruditos.

Si te aqueja alguna situacion de salud te advierten; "Coño, debiste hablar conmigo para llevarte donde un pana (no medico) que es un tiro! (a donde?)"

Los dominicanos ofrecen soluciones antes de saber el problema. Para ellos nunca hay problema. Saben lo que hay que hacer para erradicar el terrorismo, comunismo, encausar a America Latina, eliminar el hambre en Africa, pagar la deuda externa, quien debe ser presidente y como cualquier pais puede llegar a ser una potencia mundial.

No entienden porque los demas no les entienden cuando sus ideas son tan sencillas y no acaban de entender por que la gente no quiere aprender a hablar español como ellos.

Ah, los dominicanos... No podemos vivir mucho con ellos, pero es imposible vivir sin ellos!

Las Siete Pasadas

2006-07-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

No hay duda que la mejor manera de medir la capacidad de un acordeonista del merengue tipico es en su abilidad de tocar el tema instrumental Las Siete Pasadas. Aqui les presento cuatro versiones: la original de Tatico Henriquez, y tres mas de mis favoritos; El Prodigio y La Super Banda Tipica, Jovanny Polanco y Su Mambo Swing, y Liony Parra y La Mega Mafia Tipica.

La version del Prodigio fue grabada con los viejos integrantes de La Super Banda; tambien fue grabada en estudio, aunque prefiero mi perico ripiao' en vivo. La de Jovanny Polanco tambien fue grabada en los tiempos de los viejos integrantes de Mambo Swing.

Close the Door on Your Way In...

2006-06-30T12:55:00.000-04:00

That seems to be the feeling of some sons and daughters of immigrants in the United States. "Let me in, but close the door when I get through." Cute. So you and/or your parents are better than the rest of 'em because you got here first or had the good fortune to be born here. This post was inspired by this article via Remolacha.net.

I find it very sad (and kinda ironic) that one man can tell another man that looks just like him that he's not welcome here. And then people wonder why we instill pride in our heritage on our kids. So we don't sell each other out, among other reasons.

In the Best Interests of Baseball?

2006-06-28T18:12:00.000-04:00

With the advent of free agency in the mid 1970's, the owners of Major League Baseball teams found themselves having to share a bigger piece of their wealth with the players that put on the show. After the 1979 season, starting pitcher Nolan Ryan became the first player to earn a million dollars per year. Just six years earlier, Hank Aaron was baseball's top earner at $200,000. Minimum salary as of the last collective bargain agreement is $325,000 per year.

Since then, the average major leaguer makes about $2.3 million. Player salaries rose exponentially throughout the 1980's and 90's, reaching their peak when the Texas Rangers signed shortstop Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year, $252 million contract before the 2001 season. That same year, owners claimed their teams were operating on a deficit due to the lucrative contracts that they themselves handed out. Essentially, they said they needed to be saved from themselves.

In 2002, team owners and the players' union agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that implemented a luxury tax on teams whose player payrolls exceed a certain threshold. It also expanded a revenue sharing program that was put in place in 1997. These are supposed to restore competitive balance in baseball (read: "We want the Yankees to lose and stop taking our players"). In other words, the purpose is to curb free-spending and give small market teams a boost by giving them more spending money.

The CBA failed on all fronts. Big market teams are still posting record-breaking payrolls, and the same teams that showed no promise five years ago are still dead-last with no forseeable end. This is due of course to the flawed system. The best example of this is with the Florida Marlins. In 2005, the Marlins received $31 million in revenue sharing while posting a player payroll of $56.3 million. This year they are expected to receive even more in revenue sharing, but their payrolls stands at $15.9 million. In other words, the 14 teams that put money into the revenue sharing fund are paying the Marlins' salary in full, with plenty more to spare.

However, the Marlins aren't the prime example of revenue sharing being abused; they're expected to be competitive down the road, and entering today are in a virtual tie for second place (albeit with a losing record) in the NL East. The biggest offenders are the Pirates and Brewers, two teams who haven't had a winning season in ages.

The problem with revenue sharing as it stands is that it's flawed on many fronts, including the very definition of big market and small market. If the Yankees suddenly decide that they want to rebuild and trade away their big contracts as the Marlins did last season, they could be considered a small market team (well, not really; they rake in $50 million in TV revenues from the YES Network alone). Even without the use of payroll as a definition for market size, the system is off-balance. The Boston Red Sox are considered a big market team, nothing wrong with that. The Greater Boston metro area has a population of roughly 5.8 million. The Florida Marlins are considered a small market team despite being located in the South Florida metro area, population: about 5.4 million.

Here is a great article written in 2002 by Keith Woolner that points out the many inherent flaws of the CBA and proposes remedies. The chances of this program being approved by either side of the bargaining table are pretty remote, but it's like the New York lottery: "Hey, you never know."

The Philosophy of Poverty by Immortal Technique

2006-06-27T03:49:00.000-04:00

Most of my Latino and black people who are struggling to get food,
clothes and shelter in the hood are so concerned with that,
that philosophising about freedom and socialist democracy is
usually unfortunately beyond their rationale.
They don't realize that America can't exist without separating them
from their identity, because if we had some sense of who we really are,
there's no way in hell we'd allow this country to push it's genocidal
consensus on our homelands.
This ignorance exists, but it can be destroyed.

Niggas talk about change and working within the system to achieve that.
The problem with always being a conformist is that when you try to change
the system from within, it's not you who changes the system;
it's the system that will eventually change you.
There is usually nothing wrong with compromise in a situation,
but compromising yourself in a situation is another story completely,
and I have seen this happen long enough in the few years that
I've been alive to know that it's a serious problem.
Latino America is a huge colony of countries whose presidents are
cowards in the face of economic imperialism.
You see, third world countries are rich places,
abundant in resources, and many of these countries have
the capacity to feed their starving people and the children
we always see digging for food in trash on commercials.
But putocracies, in other words a government run by the rich such
as this one and traditionally oppressive European states,
force the third world into buying overpriced, unnecessary goods
while exporting huge portions of their natural resources.

I'm quite sure that people will look upon my attitude and sentiments
and look for hypocrisy and hatred in my words.
My revolution is born out of love for my people,
not hatred for others.

You see, most of Latinos are here because of the great inflation
that was caused by American companies in Latin America.
Aside from that, many are seeking a life away from the puppet
democracies that were funded by the United States;
places like El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua,
Ecuador and Republica Dominicana, and not just Spanish-speaking
countries either, but Haiti and Jamaica as well.

As different as we have been taught to look at each other by colonial
society, we are in the same struggle and until we realize that,
we'll be fighting for scraps from the table of a system that has
kept us subservient instead of being self-determined.
And that's why we have no control over when the embargo
will stop in Cuba, or when the bombs will stop dropping in Vieques.

But you see, here in America the attitude that is fed to us is that
outside of America there live lesser people.
"Fuck them, let them fend for themselves."
No, Fuck you, they are you.
No matter how much you want to dye your hair blonde
and put fake eyes in, or follow an anorexic standard of beauty,
or no matter how many diamonds you buy from people who
exploit your own brutally to get them, no matter what kind
of car you drive or what kind of fancy clothes you put on,
you will never be them. They're always gonna look at you as
nothing but a little monkey. I'd rather be proud of what I am,
rather than desperately trying to be something I'm really not,
just to fit in. And whether we want to accept it or not,
that's what this culture or lack of culture is feeding us.

I want a better life for my family and for my children,
but it doesn't have to be at the expense of millions of lives in my
homeland. We're given the idea that if we didn't have these people
to exploit then America wouldn't be rich enough to let us have these
little petty material things in our lives and basic standards of living.
No, that's wrong. It's the business giants and the government officials
who make all the real money. We have whatever they kick down to us.
My enemy is not the average white man,
it's not the kid down the block or the kids I see on the street;
my enemy is the white man I don't see:
the people in the white house, the corporate monopoly owners,
fake liberal politicians those are my enemies.
The generals of the armies that are mostly conservatives those
are the real motherfuckers that I need to bring it to,
not the poor, broke country-ass soldier that's too stupid to
know shit about the way things are set up.

In fact, I have more in common with most working and middle-class
white people than I do with most rich black and Latino people.
As much as racism bleeds America, we need to understand that
classism is the real issue. Many of us are in the same boat and it's
sinking, while these bougie motherfuckers ride on a luxury liner,
and as long as we keep fighting over kicking people out of the
little boat we're all in, we're gonna miss an opportunity to gain a
better standard of living as a whole.

In other words, I don't want to escape the plantation
I want to come back, free all my people, hang the motherfuckers
that kept me there and burn the house to the goddamn ground.
I want to take over the encomienda and give it back to the people
who work the land.

You cannot change the past but you can make the future,
and anyone who tells you different is a fucking lethargic devil.
I don't look at a few token Latinos and black people in the public
eye as some type of achievement for my people as a whole.
Most of those successful individuals are sell-outs and house Negros.

But, I don't consider brothers a sell-out if they move out of the ghetto.
Poverty has nothing to do with our people.
It's not in our culture to be poor.
That's only been the last 500 years of our history;
look at the last 2000 years of our existence and what we brought
to the world in terms of science, mathematics,
agriculture and forms of government.
You know the idea of a confederation of provinces where
one federal government controls the states?
The Europeans who came to this country stole that idea from the
Iroquois lead. The idea of impeaching a ruler comes from an
Aztec tradition. That's why Montezuma was stoned to
death by his own people 'cause he represented the agenda of
white Spaniards once he was captured, not the
Aztec people who would become Mexicans.

So in conclusion, I'm not gonna vote for anybody just 'cause they
black or Latino they have to truly represent the community and
represent what's good for all of us proletariat.

Porque si no entonces te mando pal' carajo cabron,
gusano hijo de puta, seremos libre pronto.

Viva la revolucion!

Bienvenidos

2006-06-26T22:56:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the dark, scary, perverted place that is the Mind of BruGz®.

First things first, the name of the blog. Obviously the "Mind of" part I bit from Carlos Mencia. BruGz is a name I kinda gave myself. Started out as "brugal con pepsi." For those of you who don't know, Brugal is a brand of Dominican rum. Pepsi over Coke cuz Coke is too sweet for me to mix with alcohol. From "brugal con pepsi" (originally just an AOL screenname) came many nicknames: brugal, pepsi, brugz, brugalerz, brugalz, pepz, brugi, among others. BruGz kinda stuck on me (pronounced BROOGZ), and I use it anywhere it's appropriate.

Thas it for now; see ya next time my mind wanderz.

BruGz..

iz..

out..

1...