Everic White

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Dear Tucker Carlson



I always find it sad when political 'pundits' weigh in on certain issues, especially ones dealing with race, crime, the President and facets of culture unfamiliar to them. They speak so freely about such issues, usually with misinformation and hateful dialogue, but blast anyone with a slightly different opinion. They come out saying things, that if the people they were criticizing said, the entire world would grab pitchforks and ready the gallows. Your rhetoric is right up that alley, Tucker. I usually don't like commenting on anything you do, simply because it's as useless picking an intellectual argument with a 1st grader. Even if what you're saying makes little sense, you're still going to pull out the 'But you've got cooties/you're stupid/you're a booger-face' argument. That said, I can't let these comments pass.

Tucker, first of all, where in tarnation do you get off saying that Michael Vick should be executed for his dog-fighting incident? You said you're a Christian, and 'believe fervently in second chances', so what gives? Let the man live! You say he's some 'creepy, rich, overpaid football player'. The last time I checked, you weren't rubbing pennies together to heat your house, were you? Your friends (who usually are just as dumb as you) are right. My reservations and about the severity of his acts aside, Vick paid his debt to society and is constantly reminded of what he did every time he has to show his face at some PETA event to save face. Execution for dog-fighting? Come on, Tucker... You own dress shoes and belts, and eat meat. Do you feel any ill-sentiment about that? Maybe you should be executed for driving a car with leather seats, or wearing wool sweaters. You eat chewing gum or Jello? We should put you in the electric chair, then. Tucker, my point is that we use products from animals every day. That Vick got into it with dogs pales in comparison to the cruelty that livestock and other animals used for production face. We don't execute the guys who kill bears that attack people. Should we really still be vilifying Vick?

Second off, since when is it wrong for the President to have an opinion on things? For God's sakes, if our President can't have a stance on an issue, then who can? Barack is a football fan, so he's got to have something to say about the whole Michael Vick saga. Why are you allowed to have a section on your show completely dedicated to thrashing the name of anyone you disagree with, but President Obama can't laud the efforts of the Philadelphia Eagles to give someone a second chance? If you can spread hate, misinformation and right-wing agenda like they're popsicles, why can't the President spread love and admiration for a man who laid not a finger to another human being?

Thirdly, is it just me, or do political pundits like yourself catch erections from seeing a public figure (most of the time, black) lost in the criminal justice system? Seriously, Tucker. I guarantee if John Doe from Anytown, USA was caught doing the same thing, his punishment would be little, if any compared to Vick's. Americans have a nasty habit of holding celebrities and athletes to higher standards than themselves. We can cheat, lie, steal, fornicate, kill, and do every other crime under the sun, but if a public figure does it, the entire world turns against them. I'm sick of the American media making celebrities of people and then tearing them down when they inevitably make lapses of judgment. Why do a celebrity's illicit acts hold more gravity than that of every other man? Do we really have to invest that much into what someone in the public eye does? I know this is a media-based society, but sheesh! Tucker, it's clear you're the type of personality that thrives on sensationalism when dealing with anything you don't agree with. It's as if you're a controversy-sniffing dog (pun intended). Tell you one thing... I wouldn't mind if Vick had put your fear-mongering behind down. *hides from PETA backlash*

Dear Pentagon

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PROLOGUE (if you can call it that): Before you get into the letter, make sure to check out 'The War Logs', a series of previously-classified military documents outlining many inconsistencies in what the government has told us, and what is really going on in Afghanistan and Iraq. - via The New York Times

Wait, wait, wait, wait.... Let me get this straight. We've been at war in Afghanistan for almost 10 years now, fighting off not only Al-Quaeda and the Taliban, thinking that the $1 billion in aid we sent to Pakistan was to help us against militants. Now, we find out that the Pakistani government has been underhandedly helping out those same insurgents we were trying to fight??? C'mon son... Something about this war has seemed fishier than Neffe's nether regions. I've thought that since 2001, and the leaks from Wikileaks proved my suspicions right.

Pentagon, can you FINALLY admit, that this 'War on Terrorism' isn't working?
SIDENOTE: Anyone notice that when America goes to war against something that isn't a specific country or entity of countries, it doesn't work?? (see: war on drugs, war on terrorism, Prohibition)
Since 2001, after the September 11th attacks, over $3 TRILLION have been spent on defense and military intelligence, operations and planning. That's right: over $3,000,000,000,000 for these specific purposes (if my knowledge and research is correct):

1) To find weapons of mass destruction.
2) To find Osama bin Laden, his weapons of mass destruction, and figure out his role in 9/11.
3) To completely destroy the infrastructure and governments of Afghanistan and Iraq under the facade of democracy building, while embarking on a monumental oil rush.
4) To finish George H.W. Bush's beef with Saddam Hussein.

Okay, so 3 and 4 get scratched because that's not what 'good' Americans do, and because a federal agent would snipe me in my apartment window otherwise. Pentagon, what does that leave as our goals from this decade-long endeavor? To find WMD's and Osama bin Laden. Hmmmmm... The last time I checked, we still haven't found as much as a tommy-gun we didn't know about in Afghanistan or Iraq. In fact, most of the weapons in those countries, we brought in. Also, the last I checked, bin Laden was still shacked up, chilling, in some region we don't know exists. The last guy who got close to him wasn't even with you guys, and you arrested him! What do those facts, along with the recent unearthing of these 'secret' military reports tell me, Pentagon? They tell me that the administrative systems in place to regulate our military spending SUCK. They tell me that military spending in general is too great compared to the returns. They tell me that our troops are over in the Middle East fighting for things that might not exist, and to find people who can't be found. They tell me that George Dubya had his head up his ass when he was planning this with his people. But most of all, they show ridiculous inefficiency and huge divides in our military systems, including the Armed Forces and CIA.

Why is it that our military was so naive entering this war? I mean, did you really think you'd be able to simply storm these countries, take down their leaders, convince their people that your way was best, convert them to democracy, and then everything be peachy? I can tell you one thing: no country is going to embrace your ideals, much less if you're killing civilians and causing complete social upheaval. You're like the dumb bear who smacks up the beehive hoping to get honey, not realizing those bees aren't just going to fall asleep and let you get your fill, Winnie. This isn't the playground, where you can pick on the little guy and not expect repercussions on your side. This is war... and a severely underestimated one, at that. That we're finding out about so many inaccuracies on your side isn't as much a surprise as the biggest one: the whole Pakistani spies aiding insurgents thing. That's just sad... $9 billion worth of sadness. And to think, we've been in a recession this whole time. So much for war profiteering helping the nation stabilize. Word to the Great Depression and World War II...

300-Foot Sinkhole in Guatemala City



via CNN:
The death toll from Tropical Storm Agatha continued to grow Tuesday, with 152 reported killed in Guatemala, 16 in Honduras and nine in El Salvador. One-hundred people are missing in Guatemala and another 87 are injured, the nation's emergency agency reported Tuesday. In addition, nearly 125,000 people have been evacuated and 74,000 are living in shelters, said emergency official David de Leon.

The previously reported toll for Guatemala was 123 deaths, 90 people missing and 69 injured.
Guatemala also is feeling the effect of the Pacaya volcano, which erupted Thursday night and continued to spew ash Tuesday. Three people were killed when they were crushed by rocks strewn by the volcano. La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, the nation's capital, has been closed since Friday because of falling ash but was expected to open later Tuesday. Pacaya is located about 18 miles (30 kilometers) south of Guatemala City.

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared a 15-day state of calamity after the volcano eruption. Damage from Tropical Storm Agatha added to the devastation. Destruction from the storm has been widespread throughout the nation, with mudslides destroying homes and buildings and burying some victims. At least nine rivers had dramatically higher levels and 13 bridges collapsed, the emergency services agency said. In the northern part of Guatemala City, the downpour created a sinkhole the size of a street intersection. Residents told CNN that a three-story building and a house fell into the hole.

It's stuff like this that makes me realize that our planet is slowly, yet surely fighting back against us. Okay, maybe it's not 'fighting back', but more reacting to centuries of having it's landscape altered for human use. That said, can we really be surprised at natural phenomena like the recent rash of earthquakes, the ash cloud over Europe, or this, a sinkhole in Guatemala? For those of you who aren't familiar, let's define sinkhole:

sinkhole - a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water (via Wikipedia)

That essentially means that wherever that sinkhole is located, there was a loose deposit of soil/bedrock that was disrupted by aquatic movement. In this case, the movement stemmed from Tropical Storm Agatha, which had the rest of the country up to its neck in torrential rain and mudslides. By the time that wave reached Guatemala City, the earth underneath the city was so screwed that a portion of it just caved in, causing a 300-foot sinkhole in the middle of downtown. The hole swallowed a 3-story building and everyone inside. Lord knows where the remains of that structure are. Like I said before, our planet has been trying to tell us something for a minute now. Alternative energy initiatives and 'green' living obviously haven't helped calm Mother Earth down, but I guess we can keep dreaming. Anyone else think the 2012 rumors are getting a little more eerie with stuff like this happening? Check out some more pictures of the sinkhole and chime in with the comments section below...

P.S.: Yes, I cited Wikipedia for that definition... Sue me.

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Dear Mainstream News Outlets

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No, that's not the set of a Jason Statham movie.. That's the Gulf of Mexico getting a 600-mile helping of crude oil

I've never been one to turn to the television for my breaking news. Not only is the TV biased based on a number of factors (what channel, who's sponsoring, what the news is), commercials and fluff news just tend to get into the way of what I think the 'news' should be. Instead, I go online for my news. You can read infinite versions of the same story, get different spins and different understandings of the goings on of our fair planet that way. Also, I get right down to the story rather than having to wait through 20 minutes of shit I don't care about. That said, I've come to a harrowing realization over the past two weeks or so: You guys, the mainstream news outlets, don't show much ACTUAL news nowadays.

No those aren't special effects. That is downtown Nashville, TN under 8 feet of water...
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Take, for instance, the ridiculous amount of flooding in Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi this week. Until I saw a press release online, I'd heard not a thing about it! Imagine that! Three states have entire counties under a layer of water, and if I had rested on my own laurels, I probably still wouldn't know about it. Look at the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (above). Our prices for gas are probably going to skyrocket in the next few months, and people probably won't be able to put two and two together. Maybe that's because rather than, you know, covering the story, you guys talk about celebrity gossip and muckraking politics...

I think I'd much rather hear about the impending darkness over Europe than some fluff story...
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Take the volcanic ash clouds that covered half of mainland Europe last month. The ash, from Scandinavia, disrupted airway travel for over a week, essentially shutting down airports from London to Berlin to Paris and back. Thoughts of impending apocalypse (we know it wasn't that serious, now) flooded the minds of those stranded, while we in America playfully went about our Easters. Mainstream news, it's unbelievable that in this day and age people are still uninformed about what is going on around them. You guys downplay the good in the world and drum up drama when you see fit, rather than simply report. What's crazy is that all of these stories are natural disasters, meaning they have some bearing on us attempting to function on Earth. You'd think that you guys would take an active interest in letting people know what is going on. I guess pushing Glenn Beck's idiotic comments for ratings are more important...

The word 'news' isn't even an actual word. It's actually an acronym for North, East, West & South. By that virtue, you as news outlets should be reporting the happenings from all four corners, not putting your (liberal or conservative) spin on it, withholding information, or putting fallacious information out. I suppose that this was a largely undirected and unfocused letter, by my standards. However, I will not stand to answer another question about a news story that happened a few days ago. I understand it's a bit unfair to blame you for the lack of interest in world issues, considering how apathetic Americans have become in my lifetime. However, it has to start somewhere. And it has to start with the people designating what becomes an issue. Maybe this was too much of a rant to be a letter. Even so, it needed to be said, and was heavy on my mind. Hopefully you guys quit grab-assing over spot quotation journalism and report what matters...

Dear Lil' Wayne (re: Jail Time)


Wisdom can take more forms than you think...

Okay Wayne, this was about to be the funniest, most cynical, most indirectly disparaging letter EVER, until last week when I watched your 'The Carter' documentary with AKZionz and Devin. The documentary gave me a much more clear perspective on your ways, your musical approach and your outlook on life. While I can't agree with the content of much of your lifestyle, the documentary put your unbelievable work ethic and general wisdom in plain view. I must say I'm impressed. That said, I still think it's hilarious that you're going to jail. In fact, I think it's hilarious that most of Young Money is saying things like 'this shit is wack' or 'how can they take his freedom.' It's not like you were caught with automatic guns and hefty amounts of mary jane... TWICE. Even in lieu of that I can't even be mad...

via MTV.com:
Video director David Rousseau said he and the Cash Money team might need to check the Guinness Book of World Records: He and his company Creativeseen may be the new record-holders for most music videos shot in 48 hours. Lil' Wayne was expected to begin serving his one-year sentence on a weapons-possession charge on Tuesday (February 9), and while that sentencing was postponed until March 2, the MC has spent recent weeks manically recording music and videos — and over the past weekend, he hit the latter with a vengeance.

Cash Money chiefs Ronald "Slim" Williams and his brother Brian (a.k.a. Baby, a.k.a. The Birdman) enlisted Rousseau to shoot nine videos for Lil' Wayne during Friday, Saturday and parts of Sunday. The director said he and his crew started setting up for the production around 9 a.m. Friday and the last camera stopped rolling at around 8 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday.

Reading that was like seeing the school bully at the cathedral praying after school. Wayne, people can and always will hate you. They'll say your music is ignorant and degrading and silly and stupid. They'll say you're a terrible role model (he really isn't a role model in the first place) and that you going to jail is exactly what you deserve. But at the end of the day, those same people are most likely the ones buying your albums and writing about your music and watching your videos. Now that you filmed 9 in the span of a weekend, the haters (I hate using that word) will have their hands full, especially now that you're not going in until March 2nd. Few people truly grind, and even fewer respect it. I suppose when you're as engrossed in repetition as you are, you don't see that....

Greetings From: College Station, TX

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via: khou.com
A fake $5 bill in which both sides apparently were copied and glued together led to the arrest of a teenager in College Station.

Police say the 17-year-old faces a misdemeanor forgery charge. He was arrested Saturday after allegedly trying to pass the crudely made currency at a drive-in restaurant.

College Station police say it appears the fake $5 was made with help from a computer scanner, then the bogus bill was trimmed and glued together. The front of the bill was longer than the back.

I'm bringing back the 'Greetings From' posts from last year. I think some of the funnier news out there needs to get the spotlight sometimes, so here goes...

Greetings from College Station, TX, where youth have gotten so desperate for cash, that they've resorted to 'making' their own money. Most people call it counterfeiting. A 17-year-old probably thought he was coming up with something new when he glued together two scanned pictures of a $5 bill, and tried to use it at a drive-thru. No offense to the boy, but wouldn't the people at the drive-thru have a fair idea of what a real bill looks like, considering they handle money all day? I guess that's a question every aspiring counterfeiter needs to ask himself before trying to pass a phony (with one side longer than the other) off. At least the kid was smart enough to use a color printer...

Anderson Cooper Saves a Child from Rioters



Anderson Cooper has always been one of my favorite news personalities. He's never afraid to jump into live action, and this video was no different. Mr. Cooper sees a bunch of looters in an earthquake-ravaged Haiti throwing rocks at onlookers, including a young boy. The boy gets pelted in the head with a rock and like the action hero he is, Anderson Cooper races to the scene, picks the little boy up amid the raucous, and carries him to safety. I wonder what would happen if Bill O'Reilly was in the same situation. 9 times out of 10, I think he'd be two blocks away on a roof filming it, and shaking his head at the 'crazy black people'...

Neighborhood Newletter (12/11)

Dear Black Youth



I thought we were past this but it seems like during my residence in Philadelphia, I've grown desensitized to violence. Black youth, is this really what we want our lives to be? A never-ending cycle of violence, mourning, short waves of activism and MORE violence? For the longest, it seemed like we were getting the picture. It seemed like the election of Barack Obama and the bringing of personal responsibility for students to the forefront were starting to take hold in our minds. It seemed like we were turning the corner that our forefathers had been working for decades to push us around. But alas, there's not much light that can be salvaged from this blight of darkness. Murder rates among black teens (aged 14-17) have risen almost 40% this decade alone, and with the grizzly murder of Derrion Albert, it doesn't look like this trend will tail off soon. To my peers, I have only one question: When will we stop? When will territorial vendettas and color wars become less important than our livelihood? How many more people have to die before we realize we are killing OURSELVES?!?! Okay, that was three questions, but all ones that needed to be asked. I'm sick of hearing about death. I know (or at least I hope) you are too. Be the change you want to see in yourself, people. It's an easy task for something with such difficult consequences...