Interesting thread. Yes, Obama can carry the torch of generational change very effectively in 2008 and beyond, and he will if he wins this election. I'm not so sure yet that he will win it, but I think he might.

I couldn't agree more, Fantasma, with your comments about the "hip hop crap that is hateful, misogynist, and greed based" and that "pop culture hip hop isn't getting these kids anywhere beyond feeling more deprived of material goods, of decent parenting, etc. and fuels the vicious cycle of status quo poverty".

Dead right!!! It's awful stuff. I've detested both Rap and Hip Hop as general categories of music ever since they were first foisted on us all by the mainstream music business...mostly via MTV. It's standard cynical mass marketing. They couldn't care less what damage they do to society and to people's lives as long as the money rolls in.

And yeah, everybody's a "playa" here. LOL! And how. The thing people most love is to see their own words appear in print onscreen and then imagine the effect that their devastatingly clever and brilliant comments are having on those they are directed to. They smirk knowingly or grimly as they hit the "Submit Message" key. It's also a splendid little dumping ground for all those pent-up hostilities and hatreds to be vented, for excess self-righteousness to be bled off, for deep-seated longstanding resentments, bitterness, and feelings of persecution to be expiated, all that kind of thing. You don't have to kick the dog anymore or torture the goldfish or play those vicious little domineering mind games with your spouse and kids when you've got a fulltime audience on the Internet to fight with and abuse, right?

Nobody here but us "playas". ;-) You can tell how bad the emotional addiction is by how often the playa posts, how long they ramble on, and how nasty and personal they get when they are posting.

Now I shall smile grimly as I hit "Submit Message".........


(By the way, I'm trying to break the addiction. You note that I am posting a lot less lately, specially on political threads? Wish me luck with that. There is still hope of redemption, I think, for all of us.)