Kevin Powell To Congressman Ed Towns, Brooklyn, and Black Leaders - by Davey D

This open letter may open up a can of worms but its necessary. Kevin Powell who many people know from the first season of MTV's Real World raises some compelling points when it comes to the issue of Black leadership. He feels that too many folks are stuck in era where there was one or two voices who set the pace vs a collective body of people chiming in..In 2010 that leadership model has resulted in what he coins 'Ghetto Dictatorships'..is this a trait you recognize?

-Davey D-

Kevin Powell: 

I first want to say thank you to God for giving me an incredible opportunity to run as a Democrat for Congress in 2010. I am so profoundly in love with Brooklyn, New York, with the residents of Brooklyn, because I truly believe in one Brooklyn, and I believe that Brooklyn is America with its great diversity and creativity and magic. Be it Russians in Starrett City, or Chinese immigrants or Puerto Ricans in Williamsburg, or African Americans and West Indians in Canarsie, or my Jewish sisters and brothers in Boerum Hill, I cannot begin to tell you how spiritually and emotionally uplifting this 2010 journey has been for me as a human being and as a man. Thank you, Brooklyn, thank you.

Indeed, I am so glad to have run for Congress, as I believe deeply in public service, in helping people, all people, to help themselves. We did not win the election but we did win in the hearts and minds of many Brooklynites and New Yorkers in general, and folks across America. There has been such a great outpouring of positive and affirming messages via phone, email, Twitter, and Facebook, that it is very very humbling, to say the least. I am invigorated by this love and support from everyday Americans. For we know that together we can make our country the land of opportunity and access for all.

Second, I want to thank my campaign staff, paid and unpaid, the ones who stuck with us to the very end, did not quit or make excuses, did their work and beyond, because they too believe in the power and nobility of public service. And because they really believed in our Congressional campaign from start to finish. I love each and every one of you, and I know I would not have made it across the finish line without your individual and collective strength and determination.

Next, I must say thank you very much to all the donors, voters, and supporters (both public ones and the silent, invisible ones) who helped us along the way. Suffice to say you were godsends to our Congressional campaign. Thank you for believing in me, and for having the courage to invest in a new kind of leadership for Brooklyn, and for America. A leadership that is honest, transparent, about practical solutions, and that puts people first, always.

Additionally, I must say this to my opponent, Congressman Ed Towns, his team, and his supporters: You may have won this time but it is so clear to so many that the days of your reign here in Brooklyn are very close to over. You’ve never had to work so hard to hold on to your seat, you’ve never had your nearly three decades of lazy leadership exposed so much and to so many, and you can no longer be invisible, silent, or otherwise missing in action to the people of Brooklyn’s 10th Congressional district, nor to the American people.

Mr. Towns, we expect you to earn the salary and great benefits our taxpayer dollars cover, and we expect you to think very seriously about your legacy as a Congressman in these final years of your Congressional life. When you and I crossed paths Tuesday night, election night, at that polling site near Starrett City, it was the first and only time we’ve ever had a one-on-one conversation, and I have lived in this community, in your district, for 20 years. You avoided debating me in 2008 (as you have avoided debating all opponents since you were first elected in 1982), and you avoided debating me again this year. And that is fine. It is clear you do not really believe in the very democracy that many sacrificed their lives for to achieve, including those in places like North Carolina where you were born and where some of the great battles of the Civil Rights Movement occurred.

But what was most telling about our conversation, Mr. Towns, is that all you could say is that you had not attacked me as I attacked you, and that you did not know me. First, let me correct you, sir: your team was relentless in attacking me personally, in the media, in the social networks, including many times very disrespectfully coming on to my Facebook page with the personal insults. We never did that a single time to you or your team or family. Never. What we did do was talk about your record. I never stepped into your personal life the way you did mine, although I could have, as there is much there to discuss. But we decided to be bigger than that, to talk about ideas and what we can do to help Brooklyn. Not once during this campaign did you offer any real vision for the future of Brooklyn, sir.

Moreover, Congressman Towns, it is a two-way street: you have to begin to respect and acknowledge the leadership that is not just your son, or your daughter, or your daughter-in-law, or someone you’ve handpicked to be in your Brooklyn circle. As I have stated before, what is most troubling for me and many others in Brooklyn is that within Black Brooklyn (as is the case throughout Black America) we have something I call “ghetto dictatorships.” In other words, you may have had good intentions when you first got into office, Mr. Towns, for I do believe you are, at your core, a good and decent man. But somewhere along the way you lost your way and your Congressional seat has become more about power and influence for yourself than about everyday people. This is particularly disturbing when we look at the poorest and most underdeveloped parts of Brooklyn’s 10th Congressional district: for example, huge sections of East New York and Bedford-Stuyvesant (especially inside the many housing projects in the district). These people need jobs, affordable and decent housing, afterschool programs, quality schools, senior centers,, and they need it now, Congressman Towns. Your job, as an elected official with access to federal dollars and a network you’ve created with nearly three decades in Congress, is to figure out basic solutions for the most vulnerable in the district by all available means. Earn your salary, Congressman Towns, and create a legacy, for it is not too late to do so, if you really care and if you really try. If you do not, I and many others, locally and nationally, are going to very publicly hold you accountable every single time you fail to be a loud voice for the people of this district. I guarantee that.

So I end this statement by saying that I challenge you, Congressman Towns, and all Black elected officials in Brooklyn and across America, to cease participating in these ghetto dictatorships, to really look yourselves in the mirror and answer the question I asked you, Mr. Towns, which you could not answer on Tuesday night: What is your legacy going to be, what have you really done for the people of your district, not just for a handful of people lucky enough to have gotten a job or favor from you? That is the true mark of leadership, to touch as many lives as possible, to help as many people as possible to become self-empowered, with or without legislation, and in as many creative ways as possible. Anything less means we’ve done a grave disservice to whatever God we claim to believe in, a grave disservice to the history and the people that came before us, and a grave disservice to that sacred space we call public service.

Kevin Powell is an activist, writer, and an author of 10 books based in Brooklyn, NY. His email is kevin@kevinpowell.net

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Oakland Raiders Start Of Bruce Gradkowski Hue Jackson's Good Error

(First posted at Zennie62.com)

Bruce Gradkowski is the Oakland Raiders new starting quarterback, and naming him was a good mistake on the part of Oakland Raiders Offensive Coordinator Hue Jackson. Why Jackson and not Head Coach Tom Cable? Why a "good mistake?" Because it was Jackson who made it known to the Oakland Tribune that it was his decision, then he went to Coach Cable with the demand.

But to watch KPIX Channel Five, you'd think it was Tom Cable's decision:



That revalation, well explained by Cam Inman at the Trib, along with Hue Jackson's summer press conference where he talked about the conversations he had with Oakland Raiders Manager Of The General Partnership Al Davis, shows the real problem with the Raiders.

The Oakland Raiders internal organization is known for one thing: rise by backstabbing. In this blogger's 17 year association with the Raiders, example after example of employee character assassination by another employee leading to firings, ousters, or just plain confusion have come forward in an unending stream.

There's the Raiders Legend to claimed he had an office at the team's Alameda headquarters, but when one called for that person, was told he wasn't there and questions about "his office" were laughed at. When that was told to the Raiders Legend, he said "I have to talk to them." The Raiders Legend thinks he has power because of his access to Al. That's the one constant in all of the examples I know of.

And that was a tame example, but not to digress. Hue Jackson and Bruce Gradkowski are the latest in a broken, arguably non-existent chain of command that has come to define the Oakland Raiders.

It has been said that Bruce Gradkowski lobbied for the starting job, the implication being that not everyone in the Raiders locker room was in favor of his behavior. Now, because of Jackson's intervention, Gradkowski gets the start. Was it a good move? Technically, yes. Politically, no - from that perspective it was a disaster.

Technically Gradkowski operates the play-action passes Hue Jackson installed and calls with the proper single-hitch-step to throw, whereas QB Jason Campbell takes a half-beat longer. The difference between a completion and an interception. It's also an example of Jason Campbell's need for more reps in the system. But the bottom line is, at this stage, Bruce Gradkowski is better at executing that aspect of the Raiders Offense.

But in downfield throws Jason Campbell has the obviously stronger arm. Gradkowski's downfield coverage recognition and reaction can improve here - he has to learn to look-off the defense. There's not much difference between them, which is why when taking political issues into account, changing quarterbacks at this stage was a mistake.

Now, the Oakland Raiders have a divided team. If Gradkowski fails in his first start in the 2010 NFL Season, it will only get worse. And with Hue Jackson not shy about making himself look like the Raiders defacto head coach, it's going to make for a long season.

For Hue Jackson, who's ready to coach a team somewhere, he needs to stick to the role assigned within the job he took: Oakland Raiders Offensive Coordinator. Meanwhile, the real HC, Tom Cable, needs to give credit where credit is due and tell the media it was Hue Jackson's idea.

Meanwhile, the pressure's on Gradkowski to perform well against the Arizona Cardinals. This corner thinks he will.

ESPN Plans To Bug LeBron James 24-7 At Miami Heat Training Camp

LeBron James be warned: ESPN is coming.

Not one to shy away from any attempt to dominate sports coverage, even to the point of trying to kick some sports writers out of press boxes (no kidding), ESPN's announcing plans to plant the flag outside Miami Heat Training Camp.

This in the wake of LeBron James departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers and to enjoy a modern dream team with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade

The idea is to give viewers LeBron James information all day and night during Miami Heat Training Camp. USA Today Columnist Michael Hiestand writes that ESPN will drop in " analysts Jalen Rose, Josh Elliott and Jon Barry and reporters including Rachel Nichols for continuous surveillance across ESPN platforms," which means ESPN Plans to bug LeBron James 24-7.

In fact, if you think ESPN's coverage of Green Bay Packers Quarterback Brett Favre was over-the-top, just wait until the Miami Heat Training Camp starts.

What does LeBron think of all this? Not known. But it's a fair bet he gives it all a thumbs-up.

Meg Whitman Says Fresno Is Awful Like Detroit, Fears Oakland Too

(First on Zennie62.com)

Meg Whitman, the California gubernatorial candidate and former eBay CEO, already loathed in this space for her passive-agressive Oakland campaign headquarters, is under fire now for a statement she made about Fresno, California, saying "It's awful..it looks like Detroit."

The comment was ill-considered in several ways: First, she made it before the Editorial Board of The San Jose Mercury News. Second, she insulted a not one but two cities: Fresno and Detroit. Third, it's the second time she's dissed a California city in some way.

The first time was in Oakland, when Whitman's staffers set up an office on Lakeshore that looks like a fortress and at one point had signs that reported 24-hour surveillance, but with the word misspelled! Here's the video:



Jerry Brown Fails To Capitalize

Meg Whitman's many shortcomings and history of issues have not been drilled into the collective conscious of Californians. The one person who can do this is her California gubernatorial challenger Jerry Brown. But Brown has failed to do this while being hammered by her ads attacking his character. When Brown finally came out with his own ads, they weren't about Meg Whitman, but about Jerry Brown.

So because Jerry can't get away from the view that it's all about him, he's trapped by Meg Whitman's strategy. He is answering her ads, thus going on the defensive. Everything he's done has been defense, not offense. He waited to answer her ads, which is like playing "rope-a-dope," then when he did, didn't even try to throw a political punch.

Yes, people want to know what you're going to do for California, but the explanation on TV is from a policy wonk. Not me. Whoever came up with that one didn't do Jerry any favors.

Jerry, here's Meg Whitman, teetering. What are you going to do?

David Letterman Wants $1 Million From Joaquin Phoenix For Pub Stunt

David Letterman, obviously smarting from being used as part of what turned out to be Actor Joaquin Phoenix's publicity stunt / meltdown interview of February 12th, 2009, asked for $1 million in compensation for the use of the interview in Phoenix's new film I'm Still Here.

The problem is that the now famous (or infamous depending on how you see it) interview where Joaquin Phoenix came out in dark glasses, a lot of hair, and saying very little of substance, was read by many as the start of Phoenix's personal problems. Here's the interview:



In reality, it was actually part of the documentary / mockumentary produced and directed by Casey Affleck. While it was reported that David Letterman was "in on it," by his monologue writer Bill Scheft, Letterman said that was not the case on Wednesday's The Late Show With David Letterman. Before we continue, this is what Scheft said to Nuvo.net:

NUVO: Tell me what it was like backstage after the Joaquin Phoenix appearance.

Scheft: First of all, that was all an act.

NUVO: Even Dave's part of it?

Scheft:: Yeah. Think Andy Kaufman without shaving. That's what he was doing. And Dave knew about it and Dave loved it because he could play along. He could do whatever he wanted with it. And he did, and it was great television. But I will take credit for the line, "I think I owe Farrah Fawcett an apology." That line was mine. I gave that to him during the break.

Dave loves that. He had a ball. He likes anything that's good television, and he knew that's good television.

I've told people that (everyone was in on the joke), and not only don't people believe me, they tell me that I'm wrong and that (Phoenix) is a schizophrenic and he needs help and he's going to end up like his brother. I said no. I saw the segment notes. It's an act. I saw Ben Affleck's brother taping the whole thing from offstage.

In on it or not, David Letterman tore a new one on Joaquin Phoenix about it and his take was hilarious.

Letterman made Phoenix squirm in his chair, saying he hasn't seen the movie, reminding him of "the incident" and finally landing the haymaker: asking for $1 million as a video licensing fee. Why? Because Letterman claimed he didn't know it was a stunt. Yeah, he figured Joaquin Phoenix was acting, but he didn't know it was for a movie.

Now, Letterman wants bucks.

"But David," Joaquin said, "I don't have a million dollars." Letterman was unfazed, saying "Oh. You'll find it somewhere."

While Wednesday's Letterman show was such that it may have been the continuation of the joke, I'm not sure David was entirely kidding about the million bucks. But it's fair to assume all of that was worked out before the release of I'm Still Here, there's always that bit of doubt that maybe not all the bases were covered.

Classic Television

Whatever the case, Wednesday's The Late Show With David Letterman was classic television: funny, provocative, and unforgettable. If I'm Still Here is as funny as that segment with Letterman, Phoenix and Affleck may have a cult film on their hands.

Obama Terror Attack Quote Shows Stupidity Of The Right-Wing

(Post originally at Zennie62.com)

Obama Terror Attack Quote: the definition of "absorb" - keep that in mind.

The Internet's ablaze with news, blog, and soon video and audio chatter about President Barack Obama's quote in Bob Woodward's new book Obama's Wars. The Right Wing of the blogsphere's especially excited over the so-called statement by the President that America "could absorb" a Terrorist attack.

The right, looking for whatever edge it can get politically, is prone to great leaps in misjudgement. Want an example? Look no further than Senator John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. Not to digress, the problem of Couch Potato Conservatives rests in their lack of desire to think. Thus, failing to ask one simple question: what's the definition of "absorb."

Here are all of the possible definitions:

1. To take (something) in through or as through pores or interstices.
2. To occupy the full attention, interest, or time of; engross. See Synonyms at monopolize.
3. To retain (radiation or sound, for example) wholly, without reflection or transmission.
4. To take in; assimilate: immigrants who were absorbed into the social mainstream.
5. To learn; acquire: "Matisse absorbed the lesson and added to it a new language of color" (Peter Plagen).
6. To receive (an impulse) without echo or recoil: a fabric that absorbs sound; a bumper that absorbs impact.
7. To assume or pay for (a cost or costs).
8. To endure; accommodate: couldn't absorb the additional hardships.
9. To use up; consume: The project has absorbed all of our department's resources.

Of all nine choices, the one that most fits President Obama's statement is Number 6: "To receive (an impulse) without echo or recoil." That's not what America was able to do in the case of 9-11 and means that such an attack could happen and ultimately no one would be killed, certainly not the 3,000 lives lost on September 11, 2001.

Memories are short, and some Right-Wing blogger contemporaries show a weakness of cognitive thought that is the result of a poorly funded national educational system coupled with an inability to avoid the impulse for anti-intellectualism.

In other words, some of them are just being stupid. Note that "being stupid" is a temporary state of mind, not a permanent one, which means the problem can be repaired. Read on.

Before 9-11 we didn't have the Transportation Services Administration, The Department Of Homeland Security, or WiFi, smart phones, or any number of systems that help prevent or absorb possible terrorist attacks. Now we have those systems in place and they work.

Obama Not Inviting An Attack, But Read The Book

All of this is taken out of context because you and I don't know the full context of the book's prose. Some at the New York Times do, but only share their observations with us, not Bob Woodwards's book itself. Thus, we're left to guess at the context, at least for those of us thoughtful enough to realize we don't know it.

The Right should cool its jets, unless it wants to see an unearthing of every scary, stupid, and idiotic comment made from members of its brethren since September 11th 2001.  By using patient, thoughtful consideration of words, The Right Wing can avoid such displays of lack of intellect in the future.

Zennie Abraham Asks Did Jesse Jackson Jr. Have Giovana Huidobro As Mistress?

Zennie Abraham (Zennie62Media CEO and builder of ZENNIEREPORT.COM ZENNIEREPORT.COM) Asks Did Jesse Jackson Jr. Have Giovana Huidobro As Mistress?
Before we get to the whole Giovana Huidobro mistress thing, some Jesse Jackson Jr. house cleaning is in order.

If you recall that moment two years ago, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was on CNN to say he did not try to pay for the Illinois Senate seat held by now President Barack Obama.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, an Oak Brook businessman named Raghuveer Nayak told the FBI that he had a conversation with Jackson where allegedly Jackson said he would have Chicago's Indian community raise the $1 million for Governor Rod Blagojevich, and Jackson would raise another $5 million after he was in the Senate.

The question is why would Raghuveer Nayak wait so long to make his claim, rather than come out with it just as Jesse Jackson Jr. was on television two years ago? Whatever the reason, it places Jackson Jr. in a bad light because at trial Robert Blagojevich, Friends of Blagojevich chair specifically pointed to an episode where two Indian fund-raisers met him, offering money on behalf of Jesse Jackson Jr.

And Who Is Giovana Huidobro?

The FBI interviewed Giovana Huidobro as part of its Blagojevich corruption investigation. The FBI was trying to confirm Raghuveer Nayak's allegations regarding the Jackson Jr. offer to Blagojevich. Giovana Huidobro is a friend of Jesse Jackson Jr. - a social acquaintance as described by Nayak to the FBI.

Giovana Huidobro is also a former model and the hostess at Ozio, the cigar club and restaurant that's a lot like 1930 Shanghai, the San Francisco club that closed a year ago.

Jackson had Huidobro flown in for Chicago, and in his statements admits that he had an affair with her, but that was in the past:

"The reference to a social acquaintance is a private and personal matter between me and my wife that was handled some time ago. I ask that you respect our privacy.

"I know I have disappointed some supporters, and for that I am deeply sorry. But I remain committed to serving my constituents and fighting on their behalf."

Now that the information's out, is it of any value considering that it's old news? The FBI is more interested in Jackson Jr.'s attempt to buy the seat, it seems. But even then, there's no crime against talking about such a business deal if it never took place.

The question is why didn't it happen? If it was that the players figured it was not legal and backed off, why would the Federal Government prosecute anyone? That's what's confusing here.

But more on Ozio later.

Teresa Lewis to be first woman executed in US since 2005 By Nikky Raney

Photo of Teresa Lewis from SaveTeresaLewis.org

Teresa Lewis, 41, is scheduled to be executed on Thursday, September 23; she will be the first woman to be executed in the United States since 2005.

Tuesday, September 21, U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt Lewis' execution.

Teresa Lewis is the only person on death row in Virginia, and will be the first woman executed in Virginia since 1912 when a 17-year-old girl was put in an electric-chair. Lewis will also be the 12th person to die via federal edict since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976.

Lewis plead guilty in May 2003 to two counts of murder: she hired two men, Rodney Fuller and Matthew Shallenberger, to murder her husband and stepson in 2002. Both men were sentenced to life in prison (Shallenberger committed suicide in prison in 2006) while Lewis was given the death sentence since she was the "mastermind" behind the killings.

CBS News reported that Lewis used sex and money to persuade the two men to kill her husband and stepson - even including her teenaged daughter by offering her up for sex with one of the killers.

Two weeks ago Lewis' attorney, James Roap argued that her execution should be prevented due to claims that she is "borderline mentally retarded, with the intellectual ability of about a 13-year-old." He also argued that it is unfair for Lewis to be sentenced to death when the two men who fired the shots received life terms.

Many lengthy petitions were created in attempts to stop this from happening.

A web site created to save Lewis from the death sentence was created and includes this message to Governor McDonnell, who was apart of the decision to refuse reprieve:

"Governor McDonnell, your decision to deny clemency completely ignores the fact that Teresa Lewis is borderline mentally retarded and had a dependent personality disorder, and that a life sentence was given to the man who has repeatedly stated that HE was the mastermind and that “The only reason I had sex with [Teresa] was for the money [and] to get her to ‘fall in love’ with me so she would give me the insurance money. . . . She was exactly what I was looking for.” Killing Teresa now, when this man was allowed to live, is so unfair and unjust that it cannot be permitted."


The web site also lists Lewis' disabilities including documents from Dr. Costanzo, Professor of Psychology at Duke University, where he states Teresa did not "possess the intellectual capacity to calculate and plan these murders."

A piece of evidence that lawyers and supporters wanted the courts to consider was a letter that Shallenberger wrote before committing suicide in jail where he claims full responsibility for the murder plot and blames himself for pushing Lewis into it.

Lewis has been moved from Fluvanna Correction Center for women to Greensville Correction Center in Jaratt where Virgina's death chamber is located.

Fox News Source Jim Hoft Called Dumbest Man On The Internet

Wow. Liberals are really attacking Fox News Source Jim Hoft. The conservative blogger, called Gateway Pundit is also called now the Dumbest Man On The Internet by Media Matters. Why?

Media Matters claims:

Jim Hoft (aka Gateway Pundit) stands out as uniquely incompetent. Hoft runs with (or spawns) almost every inane story that bubbles up in the conservative blogosphere, has proven that he has absolutely no vetting process for the sources he cites, and apparently has a hard time with basic reading comprehension.

Hoft -- who has modeled for a John Deere catalogue and "played a cop on 'Unsolved Mysteries' twice" -- has "never had any training in politics or journalism," but now has the "#8 ranked political blog in the United States" that is "frequently mentioned on top national news shows."

Indeed, in spite of the fact that Hoft embarrasses himself on a near-daily basis and has shown time and again that he is either willfully dishonest or staggeringly inept, he has managed to carve out a role as one of the most-read, most respected writers in the conservative blogosphere. And his influence extends beyond the blogs. Hoft's stories are regularly featured on Fox News' Fox Nation website, and he has been cited as a source on-air by Fox News on multiple occasions.

Holt does stupid things like call Al Sharpton as giving a Nazi salut when it's clear Al Sharpton's just pointing his finger for emphasis. Awful. Just plain terrible.

Just thinking. If Fox News Source Jim Hoft is the Dumbest Man On The Internet, does that mean Fox News is the dumbest program on television?

Vince Cable And Elizabeth Warren Protect Consumers Interests

U.K. Business Secretary Vince Cable is on record as saying he will "shine a harsh light into the murky world of corporate behavior." Elizabeth Warren, Assistant To President Obama and Advisor to The Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said "consumers need good information so that they can make good decisions." Both are working in the interests of consumers on both sides of the Atlantic, and at an unusual time.

Worldwide economic performance is still poor. The traditional market economies of America and Britain, which have lived off an overcommitted credit system for almost a decade, have seen jobs go to newly industrialized countries at such a rapid rate that basic manufacturing industry has shrank, taking many service jobs along with it.

Over that time, banks and financial institutions have developed systems to move money where it's cheapest, including derivatives schemes that permit an investor to bet against their own investments in risky financial situations. Such an activity has reduced the incentive to invest in plant and equipment in American and Britain. Additionally, the same institutions have developed new transactions fees and practices that harm the consumer.

All of this has created the climate for Vince Cable and Elizabeth Warren. The fact that they're needed at all should be of concern to any observer of the International economic condition. The needed component is complete government-aided industrial reconstruction and protectionism.

Having Vince Cable And Elizabeth Warren in power positions watching business is a great step, but only part of the whole. A complete plan for business that does for the private sector what the U.S. Economic Stimulus Package does for the public sector is needed.

Yes, America and Britain need a system of targeted subsidies to key industries that help businesses pay for labor costs, thus increasing the need for labor and upping production.

Kenny Mckinley: Denver Broncos WR Suicide Telegraphed, Who Listened?

The news of Denver Broncos Wide Receiver Kenny Mckinley's death by suicide Tuesday was both sad and shocking. Sad because a life was ended way before it was time. Shocking, because Kenny Mckinley was described by everyone who's talked about him as a very happy, almost perpetually happy, person. Now, in the wake of this tragic news, we're all left wondering why he did it.

Well, according to a sad article at The Denver Post website, Kenny Mckinley reportedly telegraphed his intentions while playing dominoes with friends, saying that he "should just kill himself." He did.

What's bothersome is that no one took his statement, made because Mckinley had his second knee injury in as many seasons, seriously. By contrast, when a friend of this blogger said she was going to kill herself years ago, the first action was to step in and talk to her. It worked.

When a person makes a statement like the one Kenny Mckinley made, friends should have the courage to step in and ask what the problem is.

The bet here is Kenny Mckinley felt no one cared. That's really sad. It's too late; we can't bring him back now.

I wish we could.

Paris Hilton - @ParisHilton Twitter: Leaving Japan Over Drug Charge

Just two minutes ago as of this writing, Paris Hilton issued this tweet on her Twitter account @ParisHilton:

About to take off. Going home now. So dissappointed to miss my fans in Asia. I promise to come back soon. I love you all! Love Paris xoxo

2 minutes ago via ÜberTwitter

That's the latest news in a story that started like this.

Paris Hilton flew to Japan on business with her sister Nikky Hilton 21 hours ago. As soon as she stepped off the plane Paris, who pled guilty to a charge of cocaine possession in Las Vegas, was questioned by Japanese immigration authorities.

According to TMZ.com, Paris Hilton's representative said the socialite, actress, and business woman has obligations to her brand partners in Asia which called for the trip, planned months ago.

Japan is reportedly and now obviously very strict about letting foreigners with drug convictions into the country. But Paris could be allowed to go beyond the hotel she's reportedly "trapped" in as these matters are determined on a case-by-case basis.

Well, the Japanese did not decide this case in Paris Hilton's favor. But it's a good wake up call for Paris. She now understands, one hopes, the full extent of the consequences of not following the law.

Someone of her friends and associates should have checked into the matter of her ability to travel to Japan if only to avoid the embarrassment that Ms. Hilton's facing.

But it could have been much worse.  Suppose Japan had a policy of jailing those convicted of drug crimes just for trying to enter the country?    Paris could have been behind bars yet again.   Thankfully that's not the case this time.

Hopefully, this is the last time she's in this kind of trouble.