INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Since the first day after the 2004 presidential inauguration, the major television news mavens and mavenettes have been determined to foist Hillary Rodham Clinton down the throats of the American voting public as the de facto Democratic nominee for the presidency in 2008. Even the likely Democratic candidates vying for the nomination had publicly conceded that the unannounced Mrs. Rodham Clinton is the party front runner for the nomination. Based on what - a disastrous 12 year old health policy and an incomplete carpet-bagged rookie season in the Senate? Apparently it is name recognition, and not the experience of running anything worthwhile, unless you want to count helping run the Rose Law Firm into the ground, that is the pollsters and potential candidates' reason for her ascension. Heck, my name is synonymous with a great professional running back but it does not make me fit to run the NFL.

Some of the opinions and reviews that appear here were previously published in METRO EXCHANGE, a small, low circulation newspaper that served black communities in New York City. With the aid of the conscientious editor, I was able to attract a small but loyal following of my byline. Much of what you read will be well written, thought provoking and often humorous insights that were rejected by the major players in the print media with their usual, "no space," "it was covered by our other columnists," " no longer on that topic," etc. But don't despair. Now is your chance to read the thoughts and ranting of an obscure free-lance writer and occasionally pissed off American that you should have read years ago. Because much of what you will read was rejected, some great lines may reoccur. It was because certain lines that I wrote were so good that it was necessary to try to get it in somehow, somewhere. 9 Percenters will cause you to laugh, ponder, reread and rethink - but never bore you.

Also, some of what you read was my cure for bouts of insomnia. When I am seriously bugged about something, usually political and/or news topical, sleep becomes an elusive commodity. When I finally break the bonds of procrastination, I get it off my chest and on to paper. At which point sleep becomes my reward for a job well done.

This blog will be a culmination of the encouragement of friends and colleagues, some who agree with me and some who don't. They believe that my competence as a writer is as good or better than some of the columnists that they read on the pages of those publications that rejected me. In my own humble opinion, which I value quite highly, I agree. So read and enjoy 9Percenters - The Op-Ed Alternative.