Dear John (Meyer),

You, sir, are an idiot. No, not for the whole 'N' word thing, because let us all be honest for a moment, most men under the age of 40 have at one time or another called a buddy by that, regardless of race.

Sorry, rap music, you commercialized it, and in so doing, desensitized most of us of the age to have listened to you back when you were, you know, relevant. So, white, black, Asian, Aleutian, you name it, guys of a certain age and social standing (ie, not running for an office, nor working for a police/fire department) have used the 'N' word.

Strangely enough (now, apologies to the Black Caucus, the inestimable Revs. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, etc), now it's a term of collegial respect. Most white guys I know have as much if not more respect for black guys who are as hard working and successful as they. And here's where I'm going to be classist, not racist. The main reason they have that respect? Because, well, you see, how do I put this? Brothers are cooler.

Not because successful brothers have overcome more to get to where they are. (Thanks Cosby Show! You totally screwed my opinion of the "Black Plight.") Really, it's because black guys are cooler. They get away with more in fashion, are most often better natural athletes, and dance better than white guys. Granted, these are sweeping stereotypes, but when I get labeled an obvious Italian because I'm a good cook, passionate individual, and like nice shoes, I take the stereotype in a complimentary fashion.

So, black guys, take note: The white folk think you all are damn cool.

No, my John Meyer note is this:

John, you were dating Jennifer Aniston and ended it. You, sir, are obviously an idiot.

Headlines 2/9/10

Some really quick thoughts from the news, world of entertainment, sports, and business:

People need to treat Palin like a non-terminal STD. Just accept she's here to stay, rub some salve on her, and she'll fade away. At least for a while.

The global warming folks are looking worse and worse:

• The Indian government is no longer buying in on their claims and openly challenging their statements.
• The Danish are pissed at the IPCC (the UN's panel on climate change) for saying the country is more than 50% below sea level. It's actually 20%.
• The claims that the glaciers are going to be gone in 25 years is based a popular UK magazine article with no scientific basis whatsoever. Even worse, the claim in the article was for the glaciers to be gone by 2350, not 2035. WTF???
• The survey stations in the US used to collect data to determine greenhouse gas emissions and temperature increases are supposed to be tightly regulated in their placement. And independent review has found that only 11% of the existing stations fall into those regulations. The rest are close to heat sources, exhaust vents, or cooling areas. Not exactly unbiased science.

Michael Jackson's father claiming that his son was 'murdered' is fairly accurate in his claim. He effectively killed his son almost 50 years ago and created a golem instead.

LaToya's insistence to get to the bottom of Michael's murder and the claim that there were more involved in the 'plot' to kill her brother than just the nefarious doctor is ludicrous. Most obviously, what would having Michael die on his watch do for the doctor??? Will people be lining up to be seen by the guy who inadvertently killed MJ?

How much more does Nancy Kerrigan have to endure? The poor girl deserves some peace and privacy, and it appears to be further away than ever.

While Fox News is open about its rightist agenda and bias, CNN makes one laugh with the attempts to be nonpartisan. Just checking the way many of their polls are phrased, the bias is apparent.

No one has yet had the ability to explain how government spending MORE money cuts back on deficits and spurs the economy. Isn't the money the government spends really just MY money? Taken by the government?

While no Bush apologist, it has to be pointed out that none of the big media players have ridden Obama for calling Corps men "corpsemen" not once, or twice, but three times during a recent breakfast. Had it been Bush, it would have been Leno's leading joke and Jon Stewart's running gag for a month. Maybe a commander-in-chief with zero military experience is not necessarily a good thing. And maybe there IS a big blind spot in the media.

The California Legislature is moving from ineffective to laughable in the recent round of efforts to reign in spending and pension-related problems. This in addition to the multitude of problems regarding prisons, water management, and budget shortfalls to last well into the foreseeable decade.

The Dow is currently surging. Do not believe the hype. This too shall pass. What is more, until the government adjusts the Nanny state mentality of entitlements just for surviving to a particular age, the economy will stagnate at an increasing pace.

China spends almost the same percentage of their GDP on educating their youth as the US does on taking care of its elderly. Start studying Mandarin now.

Google is taking on Facebook. Good luck to Facebook. Get ready to be MySpaced.