The day after Christmas.

post from field negro on 26 December 2012 09:00:11 PM. © field negro

Still getting over my Christmas Day hangover. No drama in the field's life. Other than my sister- in- law crying over Michael Ealy's new marital status, the fam is all good and enjoying the season.

So a few stories have me shaking my head as we bring 2012 to a close.

The first one is this dude in Western New York who killed two firefighters and his sister after setting his house on fire.

Now here is the thing, dude was back on the streets after killing his grandmother with a hammer back in the day. Let me repeat that: He killed his grandmother with a hammer! How do you kill your grandma with a hammer and not get life without parole? And now we are finding out that my man used the same type of rifle that was used in the Newtown, Connecticut massacre.

"A convicted killer, who shot dead two firefighters with a Bushmaster assault rifle after leading them into an ambush when they responded to a house fire he set in Western New York, left behind a typewritten note saying he wanted to "do what I like doing best, killing people," police said.

William Spengler, 62, set his home and a car on fire early Monday morning with the intention of setting a trap to kill firefighters and to see "how much of the neighborhood I can burn down," according to the note he wrote and which police found at the scene. The note did not give a reason for his actions." [Source]

Then there was Dr. Cornel West saying that "politicians only talk gun control when vanilla people get shot". Now that's a conversation starter for your ass.

  Dr. Cornel West, who has long been a vocal critic of the plutocrats and oligarchs controlling the beltway, has never shied away from being politically incorrect, and he didn?t start with the tragic massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Speaking candidly on the Smiley & West Show, which he co-hosts with his close friend and adviser, Tavis Smiley, West said that though he?s glad that celebrities and politicians are finally beginning to call urgent attention to the national issue of gun control, it?s a shame that horror had to affect the ?vanilla side of town? for it to happen:

?We can?t just shed tears for those on the vanilla side of town,? West said, ?they are precious, but they are no less or more precious than our poor brothers and sisters on Indian reservations (who are killing each other) or be they black or brown or what have you.?

?But it?s a good thing that we now have a discussion on gun control. We need one on drone control,? he continued, ?not a peep, not a mumbling word when black folk get shot. But now, Newtown, Connecticut, vanilla side ? low and behold we got a major conversation. That?s wonderful. Each life is precious but it just upsets me when we?re so deferential.?

This is not the first time that West has made mention of the melanin-lite side of the tracks.

Speaking on the murder of 18-year-old Ramarley Graham, who was chased by NYPD officers to his grandmother?s home, where they kicked in her door and gunned him down in an upstairs bathroom, West said that the ?cowardly? President Barack Obama would not dare be silent on that kind of tragedy in the White community.

If the same thing happened on the vanilla side of town, among the upper-middle class white brothers and sisters, there would be a major outrage and in fact we?d probably get some comment from the White House, we?d get comments from the governor. We?d get comments not just from the mayor, but from a whole wave of people who for the most part are silent about these things. And it?s just sad and ridiculous that we have to deal with this kind of double standard.

As previously reported by NewsOne, Dr. West made waves earlier this year when he called Obama a ?Rockefeller Republican in Blackface.?
President Obama immediately held a solemn press conference, during which he seemed on the verge of tears, following the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza, shot his mother in the head while she slept in her bed in the wealthy enclave, drove her car to Sandy Hook Elementary School, slaughtered 20 children and 6 adults at close range, and then killed himself as law enforcement closed in on him.

First Lady Michele Obama penned an open letter to the victims? families." [Source]

Yes Dr. West, we all understand the "pecking order" here in America when it comes to lives. But honestly, if this tragic incident is what it takes to start a serious conversation about gun control in this country, I am not going to trip over the double standard.

Finally, some of you are upset about Spike Lee calling out the new movie, "Django Unchained" for being "disrespectful" to our ancestors.

"Director Spike Lee, who has had a Black woman play a crackhead, a Black man get drunk and kill his wife and a Black teenager have a threesome with White women, says that he won?t be watching the Quentin Tarantino film ?Django Unchained? because it?s disrespectful to his ancestors, reports Essence.com."

This is interesting. But I haven't seen the movie, so I will withhold judgement until then.

Finally, let this be a lesson to all you news anchors who want to get all cute and try to use visuals to make a point.

"WASHINGTON (AP) ? District of Columbia police say they are investigating an incident in which NBC News journalist David Gregory displayed what he described as a high-capacity ammunition magazine on "Meet the Press."Gun laws in the nation's capital generally restrict the possession of high-capacity magazines, regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm. Gregory held up the magazine as a prop for Sunday's segment, apparently to make a point during an interview, even though D.C. police say NBC had already been advised not to use it in the show.

"NBC contacted (the Metropolitan Police Department) inquiring if they could utilize a high capacity magazine for their segment. NBC was informed that possession of a high capacity magazine is not permissible and their request was denied. This matter is currently being investigated," police spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said in a written statement. She declined to comment further.

While interviewing National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre for Sunday's program, Gregory held up an object that he said was a magazine that could hold 30 rounds." [Source]

Oh lawd! I sure hope that the District police won't throw David Gregory in the slammer. That dude couldn't last one night in there. If they do lock him up, maybe we will get lucky and they will keep him all day Sunday. I am getting tired of these Sunday talk shows.