Souls of Mischief is an alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective, Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1993 and is composed of emcees A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai. (continue reading)

Deep Forest is a musical group consisting of two French musicians, Michel Sanchez and Eric Mouquet. They compose a new kind of world music, sometimes called ethnic electronica, mixing ethnic with electronic sounds and dance beats or chillout beats. Their sound has been described as an “ethno-introspective ambient world music”^[1]. They were nominated for a Grammy Award in 1993 for Best World Music Album^[2], and in 1996 they won the Award for the album Boheme. The group also became World Music Awards Winner – French group with the highest 1995 world sales. Their albums have sold over 10 million copies.

Look . . . this isn’t a post about politics, it’s just one of the funniest music videos I’ve ever seen. If you’re some dude who got disced by a woman recently, you’ll feel 100% after watching this one.

Enjoy.

Will I Am does a post-election yes we did video. Not as good as the original, but hey still pretty damn good.

That is what Obama has done to perfection. Took a page from Muhammad Ali.

Now we just need that knockout.

Fugees and A Tribe Called Quest accompanying music video:

I love this track.

It’s kind of amazing how watching Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation, and reading the lyrics, makes you think of the Obama campaign message

Watch the video, get motivated, and join Obama’s rhythm nation of hope.

Janet reminds us that hope can be sexy.

With music by our side
To break the color lines
Lets work together
To improve our way of life
Join voices in protest
To social injustice
A generation full of courage
Come forth with me
People of the world today
Are we looking for a better way of life
We are a part of the rhythm nation
People of the world unite
Strength in numbers we can get it right
One time
We are a part of the rhythm nation

This is the test
No struggle no progress
Lend a hand to help
Your brother do his best
Things are getting worse
We have to make them better
Its time to give a damn
Lets work together come on

People of the world today
Are we looking for a better way of life
We are a part of the rhythm nation
People of the world unite
Strength in numbers we can get it right

One time
We are a part of the rhythm nation

(link)

LOL.

Never understood how two gay people getting married, somehow makes straight people’s marriages go haywire.

As an aside, and I hesitate to make the comparison, but the beginning of this response/question remindsme of the discussion of Obama’s message of hope, i.e the attack that it is hogwash to invoke.

Bloggers whose views I often admire from all over the blogosphere are ripping into Powell and writing off the man as, it almost feels like, some sort of useless hack.

Look people, Colin Powell gave a dishonest speech before the United Nations that was disgusting, and helped make the case for a pointless war in Iraq. Here it is again for good measure, so that it can even be fresh in your minds:

I lost respect for the man during that UN speech. But, some members of the progressive blogosphere are taking it too far for several reasons:

1) Colin Powell Made A Subtle Effort To Stop The War

It just so happens that during the lead up to the invasion of Iraq, I was living off my parents while working part-time as a bartender and for-little-profit-entry-level-employee. I also had like three friends still living in my old neighborhood. The point being that during my many leisurely hours I watched CNN and other news stations. Throw in a little Discovery Channel and History Channel, and that’s basically all that I did. During that time it was crystal clear to me that Colin Powell was furthering a subversive public campaign to throw up the red flag of caution. If you watched what Powell said, and then watched the Dick, or Bush, it was as if it was two administrations. Now Powell would ultimately agree with Bush, but from what he also said, and the way he said it, it was clear that he was a man with reservations who was trying to get them across.

2) Once the President Made Up His Mind Powell Played The Good Soldier

And yet, at one point, Powell pulled a 180. It was like night and day. After the President said we were going in Powell was lock step behind him. Many on the left believe he should have resigned. But that’s not what soldiers have been trained their entire life to do. Soldiers follow orders, especially from the commander in chief. Sso long as they are not committing war crimes (the act of going to war was not a war crime). If they don’t, they get court marshaled. Now Powell could have just resigned, but my point is that the backdrop to doing so was his experience in the military, and that experience made it a more complicated decision.

3) For Those Of You Falling All Over Yourselves To Condemn Powell . . . Take A Break

Do you really believe that Powell, had he been President at the time, would have gone into Iraq? This is the guy whose entire military doctrine is grounded in making sure you have an exit strategy from a conflict. If you think Powell is smart, or have the same sense of the man as I feel I do, you don’t actually think that he woudl have done it if he was running the sow. So why did he give that speech? The fact is that it was is job to do. The alternative, and some may think this a trivial burden, was to as the first African-American Secretary of State, simply throw the administration that appointed you under the bus. That’s what it would have meant, and the precedent it would have set, fair or not, is a pretty big business.

4) Powell Said What I Have Heard Few Public Figures Say in Recent Months

If you still have the grudge about the UN Speech that it was his job to give, I understand your point of view. But before you throw Powell under the bus, you should pause a moment to consider this statement during his Meet the Press endorsement of Obama:

I’m also troubled by, not what Sen. McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said, such things as, “Well, you that know Mr. Obama is a Muslim.” Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is: What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, “He’s a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists.” This is not the way we should be doing it in America

If there are other well know public figures going on national shows and saying that, they aren’t getting their message across, or they just don’t exist.

In Conclusion

I don’t forgive Powell for what he did, and I can’t forget what he did. However, Colin Powell is still a man that America would benefit from listening to.

If America had done so before (albeit by way of subtle statements undermining his commander in chief ) we would not be in Iraq right now.

Lets’ not make the same mistake twice because Powell made a mistake in carrying out orders, that he was duty bound to carry out, that he would not have given.