OK, this is a bit off topic. On the way to school today my son put in a cd with rap. Now, I like music, all music, even rap. But, and I know I'm but a candle in a 1000 watt debate, I cannot handle the swearing, genital grabbing, bad ass lyrics proliferating in the genre. Ultimately, I see this as a compensatory reaction to feelings of inadaquacy and powerlessness among America's black youth. If I understand Bill Cosby, he's saying the same thing.

Yet, the rappers are making tons of money - check out the bling. So, are they powerless? Or is this just more exploitation by power hungry punks preying on the frustrations of Black youth? I vote for exploitation.

So, to all you bad ass punk rappers, take your bling and spend it on raising the self esteem of the audience you are so aptly exploiting. Enough already with the poor ghetto stereotyping - use your position for good - thats the real bling.