Method Man faces 5 years for tax evasion

You know I almost feel bad for Method Man (Clifford Smith). He has been arrested for not paying taxes. To be exact, he didn't pay taxes from 2004 - 2007.

Now if I were around Method Man I would remind him of one case - Wesley Snipes. For those that do not recall I followed that case from beginning to end. The beginning was very public. With accusations of avoiding authorities and speculation on whether Snipes was a criminal mastermind of a plot to not pay taxes for a group of people.

The truth was far less sensational than what the major media made it out to be. Snipes was evading nothing, as he was in Africa filming a movie at the time of the news came out. He made arrangements to come home, and the media turned that into a scene from a movie as if he was amazingly caught by police when arriving home.

The farce got worse as the Government alleged that Snipes, and not his accountants, was responsible for a dozen people not paying their taxes. They also claimed that Snipes was the one who arranged for the filing of a 100% refund of taxes he had filed via his accountants. They hit Snipes with a dozen charges and he faced 16+ years in prison as I recall.

The major media got quiet after this point, but the facts were that Snipes fought all the charges. He made it clear that the argument the Government made was false and illogical. And he proved almost every fact as well. In the end, he went from a dozen federal counts (which he defeated) to 3 misdemeanors. Of course an embarrassed Government did not take that well. Instead of the minor probation that the 3 offenses should have garnered, Snipes was hit with 3 years in jail. It was a shocking abuse of power by the Government - sour grapes indeed.

So if Clifford Smith is paying attention, keep this in mind. Already he is ahead of Snipes in that he has not been attacked by the media in this case. He only owes $33,000, not the reported $14 million they placed against Snipes. But somehow I don't think this will end up like Willie Nelson, who walked away from owing millions ($35 million to be exact) with probation and a minor fine - without much fanfare from the media.

Smith (Method Man) is facing 5 years. Given the nature of the Government on the similar case above, I'd plea bargain quickly. If all goes well he might only get 6 months in jail. It would still be too much and insanely harsh, but considering the Snipes case it will be a cake walk.

Wesley Snipes vs IRS - I owe how much?

Ah the lovely major news media. Rarely has there been a more jaded and fickle industry, exceeded by perhaps the Hollywood machine only. Once again they have proven why I dislike their actions.

Wesley Snipes won another major blow against the Government and it’s silly case about tax evasion. The major news media acted in its usual biased and obtuse form. They avoided the story.

The major news media wasted neither time nor space in alleging that Wesley Snipes was hiding from the Government when this case first became public. They were like flies around feces when they manipulated the perceptions of Snipes previously agreed upon surrender to authorities – once he got news of problems in America while he was filming in remote areas in Africa. And Snipes stood his ground, claiming his innocence as the Government tried to allege that he was a mastermind behind 42 people evading taxes – which included his accountants that filed the taxes for him.

In the end Wesley Snipes faced a potential sentence of 16 years in Federal prison. A jury found him innocent of all charges except 3 misdemeanors. It was a slap in the face of the Government, and the media that was pounding away with pundits claiming his absolute guilt. But the Government fought back, giving Snipes an over-the-top and unprecedented (for anyone that wasn’t Black) sentence of 3 years and a fine.

Today the fine was announced, $217,000. Wesley Snipes trial claimed that he owed in excess of $14 million. That all that Wesley Snipes owes the IRS.

So in retrospect it seems that the Government, and the major news media, lied to the American public. Since the same reaction never occurred from Willie Nelson (who owed and lost a case for $35 million in taxes he evaded) and others, I am left with the thought that race and stardom were the driving factors of this farce. And rather than face criticism or have the general public realize what they’ve done, they buried this latest piece of news, just as they buried the fact that every serious and important charge against Wesley Snipes was found to be wrongly charged against Wesley Snipes.

Snipes is currently appealing the incredibly, and potentially racially driven, overreaching punishment. The fine is sure to be added to that appeal. A realistic penalty for what he did get found guilty for, given to most Americans – and definitely White Entertainers that the media likes, is 6 months of probation. Think about it, entertainers have been caught with excessive amounts of drugs, intoxicated while driving, and/or armed with illegal weapons and walked away with less time. What reason can you think of for this penalty?

I’ve followed this case from the beginning, and I continue to do so. The major news media may have a bias and care nothing about truthful reporting, but I do.

Snoop Dogg in Country Music: a bad experiment

Oh my… I have seen everything now. Snoop Dogg has made a country music song, and a video to go with it.

Now as your shock subsides I will present the video to you



This video was dedicated to Johnny Cash. Somehow I don’t think he would be pleased with the song itself. Perhaps the idea would have made him smile though.

I have no problem with an artist crossing over to a different genre. Many of the greatest have done it and quite well. Ray Charles is perhaps one of the best known for his ability to convey emotion while introducing a new style of music to his listeners. Johnny Cash notably did so with his powerful rendition of Hurt by Nine Inch Nails.

But Snoop Dogg?

Well in listening to the song I can say there are several positives. Sadly there are several negatives that are what has made Snoop Dogg popular.

The music is fine if not a bit simplistic. It’s catchy in an older style of country music flavor (which is more my favored style). The vocals include a large helping of Willie Nelson, thankfully crowding out the fact that Snoop Dogg cannot sing. But the combination mostly works throughout most of the song. And that’s all the positives I found.

Now if you actually listen to the song, it’s not really country music to me. It’s basically a drug dealer talking about pimping his girl to get high. I’m not overly-familiar with country music today, but I’m not familiar with any entertainer that promotes such a thought in their music. It is what I would expect from Snoop Dogg though, and I don’t think it’s what Johnny Cash would have like.

Cash told stories of life, and mistaken choices that often involved abuses of alcohol and/or drugs. He was anti-drugs, and his music tried to uplift the spirit. I’m not saying he was the most cheerful of entertainers, but he was meaningful. Snoop’s My Medicine is not.

Looking at the visual presentation, perhaps the worst aspect is watching Snoop Dogg try to hold a guitar. He looks lost. He makes it quite apparent that he has virtually no musical ability, unless playing Guitar Hero counts. Slightly less unappealing is his country-esque clothing. The cowboy hat is ok, but some of the outfits just don’t work. He looks as silly as the song deserves to be considered.

My ultimate problem is the wording. Snoop Dogg seems to be trying to bring country music to the same guttural level that rap music has fallen to. His reference to his girlfriend being less important than the money for his drugs disturbs me. It’s not presented as a person with a serious problem, but as a fact of life that is enjoyed. I have a problem with that.

This is a fluff song. There is nothing to it, besides the hope of the promoters and music company executives of gaining higher sales for their respective artists and music genres. I don’t think Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash or country music are in any form of desperation for listeners. Thus this was an experiment.

On levels this experiment works, on many others it fails. Hopefully there will be others that can pick up this idea and make it really work. Blending country music and rap makes sense. Both depict stories of life and lessons learned. Both are grounded in life today. But gangsta rap is an exaggerated aberration of the reality that exists, and country music has no equivalent. If it never gains such an extreme I think it will be the better for it.

Otherwise the CMT Music Awards can expect to be giving out awards to entertainers starring in videos of women in Daisy Dukes - that the women of Hazzard wouldn’t go outdoors in – riding a horse while villainous black hats shoot down lawmen while singing/rapping the glory of selling drugs.

Think it can’t happen? Let this video catch on and music execs will do to country music what happened to all other forms of rap except gangsta rap.

But what do you think of the video?

Wesley Snipes unfairly sentanced to 3 years, Willie Nelson free

So I was wrong. Not by a lot, but wrong all the same. Wesley Snipes was sentenced today to 3 years of prison by a judge in Florida today. I had expected him to receive no jail time and probation.

“Mr. Snipes was found guilty of 3 counts of not filing a tax return. Those were misdemeanor counts. He was up for 16 years in prison, that pundits were sure he would be convicted for, and based on the misdemeanors he will almost assuredly spend no time in prison.”

Given that the various pundits were nearly demanding his incarceration I found it interesting that he was found innocent by a jury, and that it was not publicized. There was massive media in convicting Snipes before the trial ever started as I have written. Now that he has been unfairly penalized, the media is all over this in a manner they have avoided on the positive news of this case.

Mind you that before the sentancing many entertainers offered letters defending his character. Some of those included Denzel Washington, Woody Harrelson, and Judge Greg Mathis. At least in the case of Judge Mathis, the hope was not in obtaining leniency but in ensuring a fair sentancing. That obviously did not happen.

Unlike Willie Nelson who lost a case with the IRS, owing $32 million, and received no jail time or probation Snipes was placed in jail. This reminds me of the various cases where crack dealers receive severely harsher penalties while those convicted for cocaine receive lesser punishment. In these examples of what is known to occur commonly, we see that being Black virtually ensures the longest jail sentances.

Remember that in this case we have Snipes with no prior criminal record, this is a non-violent crime, it’s a misdemeanor, and he’s a celebrity (which usually helps). Add to that that the IRS paid Wesleyt Snipes a full $7 million dollar refund, and waited 5 years for the red flags to go up.

At what point is this not the Government picking on a Black man? They used tax loss even for years in which Snipes was acquitted of failing to file a return. And the fact is criminal tax prosecutions are relatively rare. The judge in this case wanted to make a point and hurt Mr. Snipes, not unlike the courts and juries that went after OJ Simpson after he too was found innocent. They just couldn’t let the African American man walk away when they knew (in their minds), and wanted him to be found guilty and suffer in jail. Again, if you think I am wrong just refer to Willie Nelson and his freedom though he was found guilty for $32 million.

And I have to ask, why must the media play up the negatives of this case. From day one they framed this, in 30 second soundbites, to enhance the presumed and pre-convicted guilt of Mr. Snipes. Similar in the way that 35 years of sermons of Rev. Wright were summarized into five 10 second polispeak soundbites to be used against him and Senator Obama.

The media seems to take great joy in promoting any image or story that presumes guilt of African Americans. Yet they are remiss in dealing with obvious events of Whites commiting atrocities and repugnant racial attacks. Just look at all the news coverage given to Megan Williams as compared to Bobbie Cutts or the manner in which the death of Sean Taylor was covered, or the brief coverage of Michael Richards, or the unabashed and unrelenting proclamation of innocence of the Duke Lacrosse team, or the 3 month long coverage of Anna Nicole Smith as opposed to the virtual fleeting coverage of James Brown’s death. And I can go on.

With this kind of media coverage, is there any question why Senator Obama gets such strong polling, and yet reflectively few White votes? Or that Wesley Snipes is now going to serve 3 years in jail for something a comparable White entertainer didn’t spend 5 minutes in jail for?

Hell, Paris Hilton had petitions and multiple pundits proclaiming she was unfairly sentenced – though she flaunted the law and was a menance to the lives of the public on roads. Yet I’ve heard only Judge Mathis on the news media saying the same thing (the sentancing) for Wesley Snipes.

What a world we live in. And what major media we have telling us about it. Keep your eyes open because the America they are selling us isn’t the Friends they want us to believe in, but a more colorful and diverse reality. Until they get a chance to spin the polispeak against us.