Inauguration 2009: Hope Is Free, Change Needs Hard Work

So here we are. Our 44th President will be installed into office today.

A black man from Hawaii who trekked through Harvard and settled in Chicago will be residing in Washington, D.C. at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

America has come full circle and finally grown up. Well, most Americans have grown up.

Today is Barack Obama’s day…as it should be.

However, my message today is directed towards the 10 percent of you ideologues on the far right and the far left.

My message to you…Suck it up and get the hell over it.

To those of you on the way out right, Obama is not Satan.

He is not a Manchurian Candidate manufactured by Al Qaida that will bring our nation to its knees.

President Obama is not a lapdog for Arabs, blacks, or domestic terrorists. He will not try to convert your children to Islam.

He's not going to try to revoke the Second Amendment and take away your Smith and Wesson dick extension.

Well, to you I say...

In between watching re-runs of Dukes of Hazzard, waiting for the reincarnation of Jefferson Davis, and sucking back some Budweisers…

Why don’t you get off your ass, love your children, and when you go to praise Jeebus on Sundays remember what Martin Luther King, Jr. once said:

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"”

Let go of your prejudices Mr. and Mrs. Jughead, and start thinking outside of your double-wide trailor that is full of six kids in diapers and 3,000 conspiracy theories.

Getting this country out of the doldrums of our economic plight will require more than Obama. Obama is a smart and decent guy, but he needs the help of all of us.

Nuff’ said to you guys…And now to you out there on the far left. I proudly call myself a Liberal, but I share something with Barack Obama…

Much like the O-Man himself, I am first and foremost, realistic…thoughtful…pragmatic.

Don’t expect Obama to part the Mississippi River and deliver us all to the Promised Land.

Three months into his term, mortgages will not be paid, jobs won’t miraculously appear, and he will not change the name of fish to, Sea Kittens.

And, as I told the far right, he's not going to, nor should he, take everyone's gun away. Deal with it.

And, our troops? Due to the the sheer logistics of things, they will still be in Iraq for a couple of years to come.

You want our troops home; Obama wants our troops home, but unless Captain Kirk shows up with the USS Enterprise, it’s going to take some time.

I know that you want it your way or no way, but now is the time to give a little here and there on some issues.

Keep in mind what Lady Astor once said:

"The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything or nothing."

I have every confidence that Obama will work his damndest to make us a better nation and try to perfect this union, but one man is, but one man.

You too, like your brothers and sisters that are diametrically opposed to you, need to put away the hankies and think about the nation as a whole.

With that being said, I would like to leave you all with a couple of inaugural themed pictures…

Yo, Jill Biden...I know your hubby is a heartbeat away from the Presidency, but when he's off attending the funerals of third world dictators...

How about meeting me in my bedroom and being a heartbeat away from the Matt-Man? Purrrrrr...



Oh yeah, I'm diggin' this. Buh-Bye, Dubya!!


Good Luck, President Obama. I'm gonna make fun of you, but I'm wishing you the best of luck. Godspeed, my good man.

Cheers!!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: The Torch Is Passed, But Is It Still Burning?

Today is of course the day that our country observes Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.

Tomorrow, our nation will inaugurate the first black man, Barack Obama, to the office of President of the United States.

King was a courageous and unwavering advocate for the black community.

More so, he sought social and economic justice for all men and women regardless of race.

Barack Obama, I believe, can be seen on some level as the embodiment of the continuation of King’s dream.

But my friends, in those forty years in between the MLK assassination and Obama’s election, many an African-American has promulgated the dream of King and others.

I think today is a good time to acknowledge some of those of African-American heritage that moved King’s vision forward to where we are today with the inauguration of Barack Obama.


Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth…Rev. Shuttlesworth will be 87 this year. He was a close associate of MLK, and was instrumental in the Civil Rights movement in Alabama.

He was a survivor of three assassination attempts in the late 50’s. In the 60’s, he started a church and civil rights network in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I had the honor to act as his assistant for a church service back in 1998.

I was at his side the entire time, as well as having breakfast with him prior to the service.

It was both exciting and humbling to be standing next to, and talking with and assisting such a giant.

There are quite few other notables as well who promulgated the King dream.

Sammy Davis, Jr…He proved to every African-American kid that being a black, short, one-eyed Jew, doesn’t have to prevent you from headlining in Vegas.

Jimmie J.J. Walker…He made housing project life tolerable for many a black family during the 70’s. His cutting edge…um…comedy, was infectious. I guess it helped that he looked like an Ethiopian.

Maya Angelou…A beacon of hope to young, less than talented black women everywhere.

Angelou has demonstrated that if a black woman speaks in a halting, professorial style while reading her incredibly bad poetry, white folks will still pay good money to listen to her painfully bad prose.

Al Sharpton…Are you an alleged rape victim? Is the man keeping you down?

Call Brother Al, he’ll get the media to cover your plight in a minute. Fame and money are guaranteed; the truth is optional.

Eh, I guess I’m just in a pissy mood on this day that honors a great man such as Martin Luther King, Jr.

There are to me, no more Kings, Shuttlesworths, Patrick Henrys, or Ben Franklins in the world. There is no greatness.

Of course, every generation probably has said and will say the same thing, but I think we as a society, have learned to settle for mediocrity.

Time will tell the level of greatness in Obama, and for him, I hope nothing but the best. But man…

When are we going to step up and demand more from our leaders, and more from ourselves? When are we going to demand a little King from all of us?

It better be soon, because our country really needs that type of vision and that type of courage.

Have a great MLK Day, all.

Cheers!!