On with the same theme as Thursday I wanted to discuss the topic of the executive office/politics, but this time lets put ourselves in the drivers seat……

What I mean by this is what would you do if you were president? How would things be different? How would you have done things or be doing things now? This topic came up Thursday when a rather eccentric fellow blogger and I were having a conversation about if he was president…..well lets just say his behavior would be along these lines

Me personally, well some would say that I’d be just as bad as him even though I don’t believe that i’m nearly as bad….but then again i’d be much more frank then probably most of the presidents in recent memory have been. I’d like to think i’d be a cross between Dave Kovic (Dave) and Tom Dobbs (Man of the Year) with of course a twist of blackness.

So lets get to it, and since this is my topic that I feel pretty passionate about i’ll start. But please feel free to answer in whatever way you like, however long, short, detailed, or for whatever topic you might choose.

1. Would you continue in this war until Iraq is a stable democracy?

Yes. Plain and simple. We are already there, if we pull out now then the country, it’s government, infrastructure, economic engine will all completely and utterly fail. The country will fall into the hands of extremists and terrorists, the lives of 4000+ would’ve been given for nothing. And even though it’s a mess, and I don’t agree with our reasons for being there I’d deal with it and try to turn what was one of the biggest mistakes made in the 21st century.

2. What would be your first act as President and why?

I would first and foremost address the American people….Not with this “My fellow American’s garbage” But with a “Look….I’m not your average President, i’m sure you all are aware of that because you elected me. I wont be having a bunch of press conferences telling you what’s going on, why things are such and such. No, that’s what my press secretary is for, my cabinet heads are for. I have more important things to do like run the country. You’re paying me $400, 000 per year to do this not including expenses, camp david, Marine and Air Force one, and exclusive access to the most powerful military in the world. America should be modern day rome, and in roman times she was feared by her enemies and respected by her allies, the next 4yrs I will be getting us back to that statue. As for the media, yeah my personal life is non of your business and if you think it is, just test me. Youve got ten minutes for questions, after that you’ll see me at the state of the union.”

3. Would efforts to combat global warming be increased under your administration?

Meh……For the most part yes, although some measure’s would be scrapped immediately, as well as more research to be conducted in how many other times in the history of the globe has this taken place and if this whole global warming thing has been over hyped. We’d be sure it isn’t just a cycle from/of nature that has been happening since time and we are just now only able to record it’s effects on our society/way of life.

4. Before the social security system runs out of money, should increase social security taxes to maintain benefits, if not then what?

I would honestly have no immediate answer to this question, it’s something that I would have to set up an non-partizan indenpendant task force to research what the to three solutions be. Then perhaps poll the American people between the ages of 18-40 (the ones who are going to be effected by this) to get their opinions and then go from there. I mean this is America….for the people, by the people?

5. Should America should take stronger and more consistent measures against the presence of illegal immigrants in the United States?

That’s a tough question. I would say that my first goal would be to ensure the security and protection of our borders. Doing this would require more deployment of manpower, technology, and intelligence as it relates to border crossings. Honestly, building a fence is a bit extreme, however there does need to be some type of control of the influx and access points to get in across the border. So far as the people that are here, honestly as long as they don’t have a felony criminal record in their country or origin, venereal diseases, or are a host of some unknown strain of bacteria I would push for them to stay once they crossed the border.

So those are my answers, i look forward to seeing you all’s. Again, feel free to alter or add the questions.

B.Price

Alright folks, so as much as I’ve attempted to avoid this I really just can’t anymore. I’m not drawing a line and picking a candidate yet because…..well frankly the guy that I liked didn’t get in, so right now i’m still riding the fence for eh, the next 30days or so. However, when i see absolute stupidity/incompetency or where I might notice things that literally and utterly confound and perplex me I just can’t sit on and act like they don’t exist.

1st) I’ve been reading over a lot of really interesting blogs lately trying to broaden my perspective on this bailout i’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that this bailout for the most part is garbage. What they (the government) are doing is basically rescuing all of the companies and organizations that made terrible, and risky decisions way back when the housing market was booming. You know what that is? It’s me asking everyone in my building complex (it’s about 1000 of us) to give me $1,000 so I can clear out my debit after i’ve gone out and financed a $150,000 classic car that I was going to restore and turn around to sell for $200k……well I couldn’t sell that car because the market for it dried up and now I cannot afford the note……what do you think those people’s responses would be?

Don’t get me wrong I’m fully aware that this is indeed a bailout of the American economy. And that If banks continue to feel the pressure that that are currently have/do then they will continue to pull back on lending, the economy will become extremely stagnant and the ripple effect from that will be enormous. But it still doesn’t make me feel any better that i’ll be carrying on my back the price tag for their bad decisions.

Michael DeVault said it best

This meltdown has already inflicted its damage. If you have a decent credit score and your 20 percent downpayment, you’ll still get your new mortgage. If you have a good pay history on your credit cards and a job, you’ll still be able to get your ultra-HD Big Screen T.V. on 180-days Same As Cash at your friendly neighborhood Best Buy.

If, however, you’re a meth-addicted crack whore working a minimum wage job at McDonald’s with a 325 credit rating (and let’s face it, if you have a pulse, you score a 300), then guess what: no, sweetheart, you will not be able to buy your $450,000 McMansion in Tuscan Hills Estates.

2nd) That debate tonight……a small child would’ve been able to identify not only who was in control but who got butchered who wasn’t, and who came out the clear victor. Although, why in the heck did this get so much press?? I honestly couldn’t care less about what the vice presidents views are, no matter how powerful that office is it is subordinate to the west wing.

B.Price

Prior to the events of my previous post I was in the process of venting about what was turning out to be somewhat of a phenomenon taking place in my life.  In the course of six months (although I found out within the time frame of 7days) twelve different friends of mine (close, as well as associates) have either gotten engaged, or married. TWELVE DIFFERENT PEOPLE!!!

This completely shocked and disturbed me, not that i’m “against” marriage or the joining of man and woman or anything, i hope to get married myself one day. But the fact that at 25 (i’m 26 now, but at the time of the phenomena i was 25) more then half of the people I associate with are on or that path, or getting ready to blaze the path of DINK (not enough of you all are DEWK for statistical representation) and most being within 4yrs of my age range is hard for me to accept all in one sitting.

So I seriously start to think perhaps i’ve missed some brief, memo, ABP, or maybe just maybe I haven’t had the time to sit back and realize i’m not in that “position” in my life where I thought i would be oh some 8-9yrs ago……..Ok, so I had to kill that thought real quick. I’m not in a race here. There’s no measure of “who gets there first”, or me trying to keep up with anyone. However it’s easy to get caught up in those thoughts when you get bombarded with the reality of people….I guess….moving on, it makes you think crazy things.

Being completely honest with myself, I am for all intensive purposes in “that position” to get married if I so choose to. According to the measures by which society would hold me to i’ve already pre-qualified for marriage. I have the house, the car, a career, capitol (well…not so much now), etc…However I believe that you have to be in a different frame of mind in order to open your life up and share it with someone…..FOREVER that is.

Marriage should be:

• Holding the value of your mate’s thoughts and interests at a level equal to your own, even if you don’t share them
• Having a commitment…a long term commitment encompasses all of our attitudes of respect for marriage covenants, including relationship skills to deal with whatever challenge
• Displaying integrity…..integrity is the force behind the commitment that gives it lasting value. Without honor, vows become meaningless. That’s probably why the divorce rate is so high.

There are a great many other things that make up what a marriage should be, to discuss that would make this very long and somewhat preachy post, so hopefully you get the gist of what i’m saying. I do know that when it’s my time i’ll be calling the rest of you single folks, broadcasting my marital status, and sending you all of my information for where me and the future Mrs. are registered. But for now I guess i’l ljust have to get ready for all of those ceremonies and receptions…I suppose i’ll have to buy a few gifts for yall too, eh?

B.Price

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Living and growing up in the DC area my whole life has granted me the opportunity to take advantage of a great many things that people travel many miles to get a glimps of or to be apart of. However there are times where living in the DC metro have it’s down sides (traffic @ 5pm for instance) and today is one of those days.

It’s the 7yr anniversary of 9/11.

I still remember where i was, and what I was doing on that day. I was at home getting ready to go to school and straighten out my fall schedule, my sister calls down and tells me that something is going on. By the time i got downstairs building 1 had been hit….moments later I witnessed building 2 get hit, and just remember the unreal feeling that I had, the sickness in my stomach about how many people were in the building….on the memory is still very fresh in my mind till this very day, it’s not something you eaisly forget by any means.

Please take a moment and reflect on what you’ve been blessed with, the people in your life, the fact that you woke up today, and say a prayer for those passed and those that sit on that all trying to keep something like this from happening again.

B.Price

So I haven’t been around for awhile, posting or reading blogs.  However this time I have a good reason.

Keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers doing this time, God has brought my sister a very long way since this initially started. And even though she’s got a minimum of six months left in the hospital things are looking very positive for her.

As soon as she’s out of the woods i’ll be back on here doing my thing like i normally do, until then you can keep up with how things are going via that link.

Thanks and God Bless

B.Price

So this popped up on my screen this morning, I guess I must have clicked on it by mistake but in the spirit of the pic I’m just going to throw some random thoughts out that I’m having here today…..

• I’m in love with neo-soul, and most soulful music in general

• I’m tired of the smoke and mirrors show that’s been put on at work in hopes to stop attrition and program the new sheep inform the new employees about the great things the company is doing and what potential we having in the coming months/years

• I want will own this car, and turn it into this one by Dec ‘09

• I need to get some photography from here for my place, especially some of his stuff

• I’m terrible at remembering people’s names

• I’m better at doing what I do than I ever was at doing anything else

• Love, LOVE this song

• I’m a people person

• I’m very analytical in just about all things that I encounter or deal with

• LL Cool J will not be able to rebound his music career and be the artist he was in the 90’s

• I hate it when this happens

• I can influence most people I build/have relationships with to do things that they either normally wouldn’t do, or would hesitate on doing

• I grow tired of waiting for BLACKsummers’night to drop

/post

Ok, so it’s been a hot minute since i’ve been to the movies or even had time to sit down in front of the newly fresh 42′ Plasma (1080p - 30,000:1 contrast ratio) and dive into two or three blu rays back to back. Well over the holiday I did just that, breaking out of work after doing nothing for 3.5hrs, I just chilled on Thursday not planning a single thing for the weekend other then the goal of snapping open my netflix dvd’s, and seeing Hancock.

Well…I ended up watching the following

• Dan in Real Life
• Be Kind Rewind
• Hancock
• 27 Dresses (WITH A WOMAN)
• Jumper
• Mr. Brooks
• Get Smart
• Boondocks Season 1 (Already saw it, but a special someone hadn’t — I’m still pulling your black card for that one)

Dan In Real Life - Very cute movie, on the lines of Juno just with a little more mush to it. Nice to see Steve Carell in a role outside of his norm, the movie did seem long at times, but it keeps your attention and makes you wish you had a family like theirs.

Be Kind Rewind - Starts off really slow, i must warn you. However after about 25min it takes off and is a very creative and fun movie. Haven’t seen one like it in a long time, like in most of his moives prior to this one Mos Def shines, his acting skills are really sharp and it’s always good to see a young black entertainer diversify like he is with the movies he’s done.

Hancock - Might be the best movie i’ve seen this year, right in behind Iron Man just because of the technology that went in behind it, accuracy of not only the dramatic pieces (military, technologies, etc) but even the story line….changed slightly but right on par with the original just updated for the times. So ummm yeah, so back to Hancock. Very good movie, not at all what i thought it was going to be, with a few surprises and even though so part were predictable the movie (at least for me) left me thirsty for a sequel much like Iron Man did.

27 Dresses - Since i was forced to watch this I wont comment on it other then to say I know someone who’s just like the leading actress in the movie, it was 100% chick flick, and I wont be seeing it again….ever.

Jumper - Nothing like watching this in Blu Ray. Hence the only reason why i was anxious/happy to see it. The storyline wasn’t enough to really give much time here to, the acting wasn’t much better honestly, but the overall concept and Sam Jacksons performance alone was worth giving the 90+min of my life to.

Mr. Brooks - Best performance of Kevin Costners career…Hands down. His murder-and-mayhem-loving alter ego was writing at it’s best, a must see for anyone that can stomach random and graphic violence.

Get Smart - Again, this was not my choice of movie either. And in such it was what i thought it was, a cute little action/comedy spy movie that I expected to be a cross between Mr. Bean and Naked Gun…It ended up having a little bit of everything in it, but more so it was structured, smart, well defined, and cute. But really not my type of movie in the least.

Boondocks - What can I say about probably one of the best shows on cable tv? Nothing, other then most people who aren’t black will probably find it highly offensive, while the majority of blacks will find it to be on the razors edge of sharp when it comes to comedy and the social-political issues addressed in each episode.

The rest of the weekend was spent catching up with my boy, and my best friend (sleep). No fireworks because the weather was terrible and weren’t visible from my building with the fog. Best part was waking up on Monday morning at 0930 without havinh to worry about stepping foot into the office….Glorious feeling that was.

This is one of my favorite verses out of one of my favorite books that i’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

Much like most of the members of my gender once we hit the ripe old age of 18 think we are men, or perhaps when we get out “feet” wet (this usually happens before our 18th birthday nowdays) for the first time we feel as though we now have some entitlement. Yeah, ummm no. I don’t believe that your transition from boy-man is so much based on what you’ve accomplished in life (i.e. graduating from college, moving out of the rents house, getting your first car) but rather it’s more suited in the responsibility you assume and the ownership you take over things relative to your life.

Examples

Relationships:

a boy - Will sleep with as many girls as time and nature will allow, not to get confused with him being a man-whore. No, not like that. But if he can have sex with one person, or more then one person on the regular then he will indeed do that and find little error in it. That is his “relationship focus”, or it factors highly into that. He will never turn it down, pump the brakes and get to know whats going on above the neck line unless it all but secures his probability to get below the waistline

a man - Will honor women for being more then just a source for his pleasure and quell to his burning hormonal “needs”. His focus isn’t on getting in a a woman’s pants as it is getting in her head, learning who she is, what she’s about, is she a potential mate candidate, is she worth putting in work/an application for.

Work:

a boy - Will gain employment for the purpose of putting in 8hrs, getting a paycheck and breaking out at 1700 hrs everyday. Professional gain is a foreign concept/phrase to him and unless it involves adding a few extra pennies to his salary, he’s not interested. He wants a better job, but isn’t putting in the effort to educate himself on a) how he can do this b) what opportunities are available to self improvement. Tack on the fact that he’s not qualified for his position, knows it, and doesn’t really care because again…as long as he’s pullin a paycheck that’s what matters.

a man - He doesn’t have a job, doesn’t know even what this word is other then it being a reference to what the 19yrold behind the register at BestBuy who is harassing him about a service plan for his new blu ray player does. He has a career, he’s pursuing a lifelong ambition or calling. He has an occupation or profession, something that he’s trained to do, something that takes a combination of skill, experience and education. He’s not caught up in titles, but qualifications and his ability to not only articulate his capabilities, to be able to execute those qualifications and put them into a business process is his perpetual goal.

He knows where he is going, what he wants to achieve, and where he can see himself in 20yrs, and most importantly he makes his own decisions so far as the direction of his career.

Capitol (Money)

a boy - Spends money like there is no tomorrow with literally, no thought for the future, no thought for anything other then what’s “now”. What pop culture says he needs at this moment or whatever the new hotness is out on the market is what his focus is on. Screw the future, you only get to live once, you only get one life so live it UP! Savings, investments, retirement are all foreign concepts to him, or things he’ll work about later when he gets a better job, or when he gets his record deal, contract with the Lakers, wins the lotto, or gets his stimulus check.

Discounts, coupons, sales, and clearances are all words that his wack parents used. And again, aren’t something that he’s interested in. That ribbed t-shirt from A/X for $35.99 will do just fine, and will go well with the $200 jeans from D&G he just copped.

a man - Lives off of the principle of getting what he needs, not what he wants. He isn’t living paycheck to paycheck, he’s got six months of salary saved up just in case he decides to take a break from that career and go visit/live in an Eastern European country for a few months. He owns, or is on the path to ownership of his possession/assets. Debt is his nemesis, credit is his best friend. Words such as Marshalls, Ross, Value City, Macy’s (1 day sale), Sears, sales, coupons, deals, discounts are some of his favorites.

I could go on and on but I think you get the point that i’m trying to make here. This difference also applies to women, but i thought i’d specify it for my gender seeing how I can relate and deliver better for what separates a man from a boy then what i can for what separates a girl from a woman. If you aren’t doing all the of things i listed in the man category, fret not, we aren’t perfect and as long as you are progressing to get from boy –> man then that’s what matters.

I’d like to hear my audience’s thought on this list as well, what do you all think? Accurate? Inaccurate?

31.6MPG by 2015…..

Let’s marinate on that for a second if you will.

Are we good?

Ok then, as some of you that already know me might already be aware of the fact that i’m a bit of a car enthusiast….a “bit” meaning that a gorgeous streamlined automobile can turn my head faster then a gorgeous half dressed woman can. It’s just how i’m wired, and who I am.

So first off….lets get down to what CAFE is.

C.A.F.E stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), it is a law setting minimum average fuel-consumption levels for cars and trucks sold in America. The law has been in effect since 1975, two years after the first U.S. fuel crisis. Since 1985, the law has required that an automaker’s line of cars average 27.5 mpg. The current truck standard of 22.2 mpg was raised 1.5 mpg over the past three years…….Where the problem now lies is in the congressional approval of a bill to raise the CAFE standards to 31.6mpg by 2015.

This is ridiculous and absurd. Newer cars a burning less gas, cleaner, and emitting less pollution then they’ve been in the past 30 years. Cars can up 5-7,000 miles without oil changes, bio-degradable tires, synthetic oils, engines that are lasting 150,000+ miles without any major emission related issues, state and local annual emissions tests/standards and hybrids…..hybrids are everywhere. Not only that, but our government now is going to make what is already an extremely volatile market (all because the government wont take the same stand against the oil cartels like they will for “the environment”) for automakers even more difficult now that they have to scramble to cut models, scrap engines, destroy or cease making legendary brands that we’ve come to love and appreciate.

In addition our government is abolishing the stigmas of what makes us the American automotive consumer….that stigma being the SUV (as well as the pick up truck). No where on God’s green earth are these automobiles more popular then what they are in this great nation of ours. We already are in a recession and the price of gas is now at an all time high, so now somehow congress thinks that forcing the automobile companies to change their entire lineup to make cars burn less gas and ultimately abolish what drives the automotive economic engine in this county will help improve the environment…..Here’s some cold hard facts

• According to Automotive News the big three automakers in Detroit who combined make up more then 2/3’s of SUV’s on the road will pay about $30.6 billion — including $15 billion by General Motors alone — to bring their fleets inline with the new regulations. This on top of the combined 25.4% sales drop from their respective brand last month compared to the numbers from last year. (HUMMER alone dropped 61.7%)

• Honda passed Chrysler in U.S. sales for the first time…..EVER. What’s more, the Honda Civic beat out the Ford F Series pickup to become the nation’s best selling vehicle for the first time on record as well. The Toyota Camry also topped F Series sales in the month. Just to so there’s a clear understanding of how significant these numbers are….the best selling minivan in the history of automobiles in the Dodge Caravan with an astonishing 11 million cars sold The best single-month sales of any car ever goes the Ford F series back in July 2005 of 126,000 units.

High gas prices are not new. They have been creeping steadily higher for a decade. So I don’t want to lose focus and concentrate on that topic, gas isn’t what this post is about. This post is about the government crippling the automotive industry in order to “save the environment”, which is garbage. You know why? Because overseas governments aren’t in the least bit imposing the same crap that congress has and they output an enormous amount of pollution (not to mention gas prices are on average….AVERAGE 25% higher then what they are in the US).

You want to do something? Light a fire under some of these other nations to get in the ball with their pollution issues, do some actual good for a change. Put those billions (of people CHINA) to good use.

Some places that deserve an honorable mention:

1. The People’s Republic of China (Linfen) A superpower that has 16/20 of the most polluted cities on the planet
2. India (Ranipet)
3. Russia (Dzerzinsk, Norilsk, & Rudnaya Pristan)
4. Peru (La Oroya)

Oh and for the record, alternative fuels (at least the ones that are currently out there) aren’t the answer either. The main problem here is that producing alternate fuels and hybrid cars often requires CO2 emissions that offset or cancel the benefits of improve vehicular design. Take ethonal for instance - ethanol is made from corn, more than 75% of its energy value is spent on its production. Filling up one large vehicle fuel tank one time with 100% ethanol uses enough corn to feed one person for a year. So yeah, ethonal = not so good idea.

Electric cars? Ok, If an electric car is recharged with electricity produced by a fossil fuel burning generator, there will be little to no net benefit to the atmosphere. A real solution would reduce air pollution beginning at source materials and would continue through the use cycle of the vehicle.

My solution is biodesiel. Why you might ask? Because a biofuel should provide a net energy gain, have environmental benefits, be economically competitive, and be producible in large quantities without reducing food supplies.Biodisels do just that. Ethanol yields 25% more energy than the energy invested in its production, whereas biodiesel yields 93% more. Compared with ethanol, biodiesel releases just 1.0%, 8.3%, and 13% of the agricultural nitrogen, phosphorus, and pesticide pollutants, respectively, per net energy gain. Your precious greenhouse gas emissions are reduced 12% by the production and combustion of ethanol and 41% by biodiesel. Biodiesel also releases less air pollutants per net energy gain than ethanol. These advantages of biodiesel over ethanol come from lower agricultural inputs and more efficient conversion of feedstocks to fuel.

No solution is better than reduced vehicle use. Congress, get more money into public transportation!!!

So to me it’s a no brainer on what we should be focusing on as a country and as members of planet earth. Sorry for the long post, but I just had to get this stuff off of my chest.

-B.Price