First things first. It must be noted that Young Thug was not wearing a dress when the crowd sang line for like with him from his verse on T.I.'s “If ain't about the money.” from at Newport January 23rd.

If you're not familiar with Young Thug; he is from Atlanta and often referenced by the fact he is a Blood that boasts Rich Gang Affiliations as well as your usual Waka/Gucci overlaps.

He has a stream of consciousness, sing-songy cadence that is post-Lil Wayne/Future in terms skating with melody and sometimes not discernible.

Rappers like Thug, Rich Homie Quan and Migos are developing a nuanced version of Weezy.

Why do I mention him wearing a dress? Because dudes who rock the same circuit as Kevin Gates and Plies with the word Thug in their name don't usually wear dresses. Sort of. 

Young Thug does.

 I could go through several theories on why gender fluidity exists in Blood Branded rappers compared to similar organizations. My guess it boils down to the people involved, molly commerce, prison culture, New Orleans Sissy Bounce and perhaps just the entertainment industry.

Last winter's Agent Carter mini-series – a spin-off of Marvel's Captain America movies and a prequel of sorts to the Agents of SHIELD TV series – managed in its too-short eight episodes to be one of the best shows of the year. Airing during SHIELD's mid-season break, Agent Carter outshone the longer-running show with its post-WWII style, charming cast, and much more cohesive plot.

Fortunately, ABC saw fit to give the world another Agent Carter mini-series, this time with 10 episodes. But can it live up to the first one? Two episodes in, all signs point to Yes.

I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that the Academy Awards’ nominations for “best actress” haven’t raised as much controversy as nominations in other categories.

It’s a good thing that there haven’t been any obvious snubs—nothing on a par with Will Smith (Concussion) or Michael B. Jordan (Creed) in the “best actor” category. But it’s a bad thing that the likely reason there are no obvious snubs is that minority women were given few opportunities to tackle attention-getting roles in 2015.

If there’s one silver lining to this dark cloud, it’s that the “best actress” nominees are as generationally diverse as they are racially homogenous. Though Jennifer Lawrence (Joy), Brie Larson (Room) and Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) are all 20-somethings, Cate Blanchett (Carol) is 46. And Charlotte Rampling will turn 70 on Friday (Feb. 5), which, coincidentally, is the same day 45 Years opens in Columbus.

How do we make sense of the current battles within the Democratic Party? Hillary vs. Bernie – and grassroots progressives vs. Boss Bill Anthony, Franklin County Democratic Party Chair, and the corrupt one-party machine in Columbus?

In the case of Sanders, we’re witnessing a critical juncture in U.S. history. Sanders and his followers are single-handedly destroying “American Exceptionalism” – the fact that there is no mass socialist/labor movement defending the rights of working people. The U.S. is now ruled by a corporate capitalist kleptocracy (rule by thieves). Sanders and his activist cohorts are out to stop the looting. Hillary is running as the “realist” candidate who will negotiate with her corporate donors to steal less.

Columbus mirrors the battleover corruption in the national Democratic Party. As Jon Beard, currently running for the Franklin County Democratic Central Committee, puts it: “This Columbus area corruption is like an onion: keep peeling the layers back and it gets more and more stinky. This is what happens when a small group of people sees political power as “theirs” for the exploiting, and not the people’s for serving.”

March 15, 2016 is the Ohio Primary Election and time for the people of certain districts to vote for their House Representative. One of those districts is the 25th district, a “whistle blower” is running for that spot, and her name is Bernadine Kent.
 

Kent has been a teacher and vice principal for the Columbus City Schools and runs the nonprofit advocacy group PASS – Parent Advocates for Students in School. Kent was responsible for blowing the whistle on the Columbus City Schools for theft and fraud in No Child Left Behind (NCLB) funds. When the Columbus Police Department didn’t listen to her, or shall I say, follow up with her complaint, Kent didn’t just say “OK, I tried to tell them what’s going on” and then give up. No, she blew her whistle even louder and in the direction of the FBI, which in turn sparked their investigation into the situation and found that the Columbus School’s tutoring program was not functioning as it should and in fact, fraud had been committed. Kent also helped expose the data