Related Content
More About
Thug Hate
Mikey despises himself: I couldn't help but see the hypocrisies in Michael Symonette's argument as described in Gus Garcia-Roberts's September 25 story "Black Against Obama." However, my main question is: How can Symonette call for blacks to unite when the majority of his argument is based on the differences among them? Unfortunately, he is still living in slavery days. He has a fixation on the color differences among African-Americans. Instead of gaining black support, he is perpetuating the rift among them. It was a well-known practice of slave owners to create unequal treatment among the slaves in order to prevent them from uniting and revolting.
In Symonette's case, the plantation must still be up and running, because throughout the article, Symonette refers to this antiquated "skin color rewards system" by calling Rev. Jesse Jackson a "house negro" and saying Obama "was in the house with the master." By the way, Senator Obama's ancestors were never slaves in America; therefore he wouldn't have been in anybody's "house"! If Symonette wants to gain black support for his controversial ideologies, he shouldn't continue his anti-black rants.
Danica Jones
Miami
Yahweh returns: I was delighted to see the piece about the Blacks Against Obama disruption at Obama's UM rally. I was distressed to see that the media hadn't followed up on this bogus event to see who these guys were. But of course the protest itself was the main thing TV news crews honed in on for coverage of the event. I looked up Blacks Against Obama on the web, never having heard of such a group, and I still think this was a deal ginned up by the Roger Stones of the world. I well remember the Yahweh era here in the Eighties. That group was a very scary bunch. So I am glad to see New Times once again doing what it does best: covering and pursuing events/issues that the traditional media doesn't bother with. Keep up the fight!
Nancy M. Smith
Miami
Free weekly's mediocre story choice: First Palin, now this. New Times features a guy who is a criminal and total loser trashing Obama. Why couldn't you find someone to who has an education, someone who doesn't have multiple identities, who hasn't been charged with murder, and who didn't get evicted from his home? Why can't this newspaper find someone the public can respect and actually listen to their opinion? This article written by Gus Roberts is garbage. Please, give us a break.
John Dudley
Miami Beach
Music Plus Guns
Tunes come from the barrel of a gun: Penn Bullock's September 25 story "Packing a Tune" astounds me on many, many levels. What kind of milieu did David Packouz grow up in that rubbing elbows with arms dealers was somehow ordinary? Why did the Pentagon go into business with someone with an eighth-grade education?
I feel bad for Packouz, though. He is plainly talented and doesn't seem like a bad guy — at least not in this story. I think he might have gotten in over his head. If that's the case, I hope he gets off lightly and that he can pursue a musical career.
Cory Roca-Mendel
North Miami Beach
David got soul: As a member in the music industry, the first thing I look for is whether the artist has an interesting background. And this guy has more of a story than 10 regular artists put together — even if it seems he can't yet tell the most interesting parts.
I have to disagree with the author that David's lyrics are "vaguely silly." There is nothing silly in writing songs from the heart. It's what appeals to most people. His songs are obviously very heartfelt and meaningful (and very well produced). Too often artists — especially those in rock and pop — nowadays hide themselves behind meaningless lyrics. It's nice to see someone who really opens his soul in his music.
Adam Shachar
Miami Beach
