The Hip Hop Anthropologist

We consume too much in this country while recycling too little. It is one reason why we only constitute 5% of the world's population, but consume 24% of the world's energy. The average American creates 1,600 pounds of trash each year. I decided to reduce my carbon footprint by stop buying so much; recycling or repurposing what I have, or obtaining what I want free from either Craigslist www.craigslist.org/ or Freecycle www.freecycle.org/ But I was unable to accomplish that modest objective because site administrators, owners, moderators and, more importantly members on these two websites erroneously believe a member offering a free item has the right to pick and choose who to give it to. It is not true, though, under the ancient premise of "first dibs," which states "there are a number of occasions where the first person to claim ownership or interest in something actually gets it. Such is the case with the term “first dibs,” or in some cases simply “dibs.” ...

When former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), speaking to a group of voters in Janesville, Wisconsin on Wednesday, March 27, 2012 was caught on television about to call President Obama a "Nig..." http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=nzyvo8SKa0M#t=2065s while still on the stump, the Reverend Dr. Alfred "I-Speak-For-Every-Negro-On-Earth-But-Cannot-Talk-Or-More-Importantly-Pronounce-Anything-Clearly" Sharpton immediately picked it up on his widely listened to radio show, "Keepin It Real," which is nationally syndicated by Syndication One, an African American owned Radio One affiliate. Sharpton  hit it hard for all of one day, never mentioned it one time on the even more influential MSNBC "Politicsnation," where Santorum's unbelievable flub promptly withered on the vine. So, yes, the Fourth Estate has been deeply vested in shaping popular culture and, concomitantly, our collective perception of the...

All we ever hear from Republican pundits, conservative talking heads, and the legions of sycophants and apologists - most notably the “tea baggers” - who slavishly follow and greedily consume this drivel in 24 hour new [read that: propaganda] cycles fueled primarily by FOX is that all our current social and economic woes can be attributed to the skinny black guy in the white house. It’s all President Obama's fault. It was this kind of simplistic, silly even, mindset that brought us 8 years of a disastrous Bush presidency; one where deregulation started in the Carter administration, ramped up by both Regan, Bush 41, and Clinton, took steroids in Dubya's administration. The stated rationale for deregulation is often that fewer and simpler regulations will lead to a raised level of competitiveness, therefore higher productivity, more efficiency and lower prices overall. Opposition usually involves apprehension regarding environmental pollution, quality standards (such as the re...