Planet Gibbous - The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Jools Holland Show

Jason Carter Should Redirect Campaign

State Senator Jason Carter,  the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia,  should fight his Republican opponent on the economy and the Affordable Care Act and focus less on education. Thousands of Georgians,  especially in rural areas,  still don't have jobs.  Republican Governor Nathan Deal has improved the job picture in metro Atlanta but not in the rest of the state,  which must be pointed out. The unemployed lack health insurance and should be enrolled in Medicaid as authorized by the new healthcare law,  which Nathan Deal outright opposes.  Virginia's Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe built his 2013 campaign around such issues and won the election by not being intimidated by Republicans.  Yes,  education remains high among voters in Georgia's 2014 governor's race, but not as much as employment and access to decent medical care.

No to Nathan Deal

Republican Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia recently kicked off his 2014 reelection campaign.  As usual,  he's deceiving voters on the issues.  He claims that since taking office in 2011, he has created more than 150,000 jobs in the state despite an unemployment rate of nearly eight percent,  one of the highest in the country.  Only a handful of counties north of Atlanta have experienced job growth during his tenure,  leaving the rest of Georgia to suffer.  He also purported to have made the Peach State one of the friendliest places in the nation to do business by cutting taxes on investors.  If such were the case, why is Southwest Georgia considered one of the poorest regions in America?  Few companies have relocated there in years.

Instead of making Georgia an attractive place to do business or for companies to relocate,  Governor Nathan Deal has done the opposite.  For instance,  he failed to get a much-needed referendum passed to upgrade roads,  bridges, and mass transit in the highly congested Atlanta area.  The governor also could not convince voters to back a measure that would have increased the number of trauma hospitals in Georgia,  especially in hard-hit rural areas.  Moreover, like most Southern governors,  he has refused to expand Medicaid for the poorest of his constituents as authorized by the Affordable Care Act.  But worst of all,  Mr. Deal has cut vital funding to public education in the wake of a high school dropout rate hovering around fifty percent.

Aside from the economy,  the governor mishandled the January snowstorm that crippled the state.  Governor Deal postponed the evacuation of businesses and schools even after an advanced warning that the blizzard was about to hit.  As a result,  thousands of metro Atlanta workers and students were left stranded on interstates and highways for hours. Students were also forced to remain on campus after facilities had closed.

State Senator Jason Carter,  the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia, must fact-check Nathan Deal on his record.  If not,  he will cruise to reelection like Republican Sonny Perdue before him, who misled the voters as they slept.

Rescue Rap Music

Those of us who attended school in the 1980s can recall the humble beginnings of Rap and debated its future.  At the time,  Rap was basically a protest against the inequities of society,  especially in the black community.  Its goal was to raise awareness of the ills of drugs and crime in urban America and to ignite neighborhood pride. Today, its mission has undergone a severe metamorphosis in the form of materialistic artists who exaggerate sex and violence in their lyrics instead of hope and prosperity. Like the crumbling neighborhoods where it got its start,  Rap needs rescuing.

It needs saving from artists who downplay its legacy of public service and spit rhymes that glorify life in the fast lane.  Such vocals entice youth or young adults by promoting drug culture, for instance, rather than addressing the high school dropout crisis affecting rural and urban teens,  many of whom view rapping as a way out. 

Rappers who advocate violence and destruction could take a valuable lesson from pioneers in their field like  The Sugar Hill Gang,  De La Soul,  Poor Righteous Teachers,  Queen Latifah,  MC Lyte,  Big Daddy Kane,  Public Enemy,  D-Nice and hundreds of other Hip-Hop legends who not only preached tolerance in their raps but saw it as a unique vehicle for self-expression,  while having fun doing it.  Their music has likewise withstood the test of time in a turbulent industry.

However, not all new school rappers should be blamed for Rap's downfall.  Newcomers like Kid Cudi,  Lupe Fiasco,  and Field Mob, for instance, have mostly shied away from Gangster Rap,  and have big record sales and huge followings on social media.  It serves as a crucial blueprint for future entertainers.

Many rappers cite the booming record industry for their hardcore image.  For example,  New York-based rapper Jadakiss and other contemporaries have admitted that music executives and the general public expect a degree of toughness in their Hip-Hop performers compared to less aggressive R-N-B singers.  It supposedly boosts much-needed record sales and promotes a cherished sense of manhood,  especially in the nation's hard-hit cities,  where life can be a constant struggle for African-American males.  Anything less, they argue, may not get the full backing of company heavyweights.

Rap saved black music in the 1980s.  R-N-B was caught off guard by Disco and the second British invasion.  Today, it needs rescuing as one of America's cherished inventions.

Southern Backlash to the Affordable Care Act

When the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public education in 1954,  Southern states fought it tooth and nail like the Affordable Care Act of today.  They claim it would expand the size of government, but the real reason may be rooted in race or class.

Republicans control most state legislatures in the South. Within those states are those who would benefit the greatest from the new healthcare law, minorities, and the poor who tend to vote Democratic. Republican Governors have refused to expand Medicaid as authorized by the Affordable Care Act,  which could aid the unemployed or low-wage earners,  despite widespread support for it.  In Georgia, for instance,  at least 60 percent of respondents in a recent poll back such a move, but the governor refuses as in other states.  In most instances,  Southern governors, with the full backing of Republican-controlled legislatures, have opted out of any part of the recently passed healthcare bill,  causing the federal government to intervene, like during school desegregation in the 1950s and '60s.

Other Southern states headed by Republicans tend to oppose the Affordable Care Act simply because it's the president's or a Democratic plan.  Republicans mostly backed Mitt Romney's version of the law while he was the governor of Massachusetts.  The conservative Heritage Foundation even threw its support behind such a measure in the 1980s to ease the healthcare burden in the United States.  However,  as soon as Obama proposed the idea,  the G.O.P. bolted for the hills.

However,  not all states in the South have backed away from or circumvented the Affordable Care Act.  Those states with Democratic governors, such as Kentucky and Arkansas, have fully embraced the newly added social program with expanded Medicaid for its needy citizens.