Politics & Crime Politickin’ With John Brown: Sarah Palin’s Most Rogue Moments

Visit John Brown’s new website and check back each Thursday for a new “Politickin With John Brown” post.

Ever since John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his Hail Mary running mate, she’s been a treasure chest of entertainment inspiration, comedic relief and controversy. When their ride to the White House crashed, she stuck to her personal maverickness—burning bridges and blazing her own path in the pursuit of attention. Her new ghostwritten bestseller, Going Rogue, digs its literary nails into all her perceived enemies like an insecure disgraced cheerleader enraged at her ex-teammates.

Surely, most politicians possess a level of egotistical self-importance, but Palin displays a unique disregard for public service, her family and former colleagues. Her willingness to blurt out whatever talking point is politically advantageous shades any minuscule shred of credibility she retained following the election. She’s just trying to get paid. To zero in on her leadership style, here’s some of her most rogue moments…  

Politics & Crime Politickin’ With John Brown: Rush Limbaugh’s Biggest L’s

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It’s been an embarrassing month for Rush Limbaugh: rejected by the NFL; humiliated for running with a false story about President Obama’s “thesis”; even clowned by Dr. Dre. And I’m sure there’s more to come. Limbaugh’s multi-million dollar ascent is proof that hate-mongering is a lucrative business. As a rapper once said, “f*ck livin’ positive, cause negativity spreads faster” . But with Racist Rush’s profile as high as ever, it’s only a matter of time before his stumbles make him fall off into the world of disregarded crackpots. To get up to speed, here’s some of Limbaugh’s biggest L’s…

Politics & Crime Politickin’ With John Brown: When First Ladies Embarrass Their Spouse

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When seeking public office, there’s always the potential of screw-ups that result in grueling embarrassment for the entire family. It comes with the territory. While I’ve touched on the subject of male politicians who engage in extra-curricular smashing, I’ve yet to explore the other side of the coin: embarrassments by the wife. While few and far between, there is a history of First Ladies— most recently Maria Shriver who was caught talking on her cellphone while driving twice in California this week—who have made their governing husbands blush. Although Shriver is the latest, here’s a few more examples of when first ladies embarrass their politician spouses…

Politics & Crime Politickin’ With John Brown: A Closer Look At G20 Protests

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In 2006, the elite members-only economic club decided to expand their group from 8 leaders to 20. Basically, it’s no longer 8 countries that are selling all the records, and the new indie contenders want a seat at the VMAs, so to speak. To date, the G20 has had four meetings and it’s not entirely clear what gets accomplished considering that the globe now faces its worst recession since World War II. Their most recent gathering occurred in Pittsburgh last week and the only concrete results seemed to be: keep an eye on bank bonuses, avoid “protectionism” and have a photo shoot.

Interestingly, they refused to set salary caps on financial players, unlike the NBA. Great. But public anger is growing and spilling into the streets. Despite having various agendas and beliefs, all protesters have one common goal—get attention. Like their bureaucratic targets, it’s also not entirely clear what gets accomplished with these protests, other than a whole lot of confrontation. In case you missed what’s been going down, here’s some clips…

Politics & Crime Politickin’ With John Brown: A History Of Inflammatory UN Speeches

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Anytime you convene the bosses of the world’s nations, there’s gonna be sparks. Whether it was Yasser Arafat supposedly bringing a gun to his debut speech or Slobodan Milosevic referring to the UN Court as a “retarded child“, it’s been a hotbed for hotheads. Clearly the UN has considerable flaws and at times has dropped the ball when it needed to stop genocide or prevent unnecessary wars. But at the end of the day, it’s probably safer to have a body where leaders can try to verbally air out their differences rather than see each other on the battlefield.

However, let’s face it: the UN tends to favor Western nations and its allies. I’m not going to get into the specifics, but it’s not coincidental that when certain world leaders give inflammatory speeches, they tend to be from countries that the West deems suspicious. Alas, a look back…

Politics & Crime Politickin’ With John Brown: Glenn Beck’s Craziest Moments

Visit John Brown’s new website and check back each Thursday for a new “Politickin With John Brown” post.

It’s hard to believe that the psychologically unstable, Glenn Beck, was solely responsible for this week’s resignation of Van “Green Jobs” Jones. It’s because he wasn’t. In actuality, Beck was merely the talking-head propagandist for big oil companies, fearful that Jones might actually succeed at creating jobs with an alternative energy strategy.

But Beck played his position. Smearing progressives to the point of retreat is essentially FOX News’ mission statement. But has Beck transitioned from douche bag to dangerous? Pretty much. Here’s a look at some of his most unhinged moments that have surprisingly impacted Washington…

Politics & Crime Politickin’ With John Brown: Ted Kennedy’s Proudest Moments

When Ted Kennedy passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 77, the American people lost one of its greatest proponents. With a Senate career spanning 46 years—the 3rd longest run in U.S. History—Kennedy was a master of bipartisan diplomacy and fought for liberal causes in the face of tremendous adversity. In short, he was that dude. Sure he was a bit of a womanizing lush who, at times, found himself embroiled in some controversial episodes. But through all of the personal tragedies, embarrassments and outright screw-ups, Kennedy was a once-in-a-lifetime rider for the people. While it would be overwhelming to highlight all of his achievements, it’s important to remember some of his proudest moments. Here’s a look back…

Politics & Crime Politickin’ With John Brown: The Dark World Of Blackwater

As we approach the ninth year of America’s illegal wars overseas, more details are emerging about the crimes committed by the sinister American mercenary company, formerly known as “Blackwater USA“. Basically, racist homicidal rednecks gone wild. Whether it’s helping the CIA assassinate “insurgents” or carrying out their own brand of warped vigilante warfare, North Carolina-based Blackwater has been embroiled in so much controversy that it recently changed its name to “Xe Services” for PR purposes.

However, their disturbing acts aren’t easily forgotten. Blackwater’s owner, Erik Prince, is a politically connected ex-Navy Seal who has been described by former employees as a Christian supremacist who viewed the Iraq war as a crusade against Islam. Well, that’s lovely. While Bush is hiding comfortably in his new Dallas mansion, his mercenary network is slowly feeling their power-binge hangover. To understand the magnitude of their behavior, here’s a rundown of the war crimes they have been accused of committing. Operation freedom, eh?

Politics & Crime John Brown: A Brief History Of Prison Riots

As they say, one can judge a society by the way it treats its prisoners. If we use that criterion to analyze our nation, we might be given the death penalty. Last Saturday, inmates at a Southern California prison rioted for 11 hours straight—leaving 250 people injured and 30 hospitalized. The frequency of prison riots has only escalated over the years as inmate populations swell and conditions deteriorate.

The myth of incarceration is that it rehabilitates, that it removes societal menaces for the general public’s well-being, and that it is a humane and effective approach to dealing with crime. It is not. America’s entire prison industry borders on cruel and unusual punishment. But the U.S. is not alone in its addiction to lock-down. Prison riots occur often throughout the world, sometimes with even more devastating outcomes. Here’s a look at some of the biggest prison riots in world history…

Politics & Crime Politickin’ With John Brown: Obama’s Drinking Game

In his weekly column, rapper John Brown—the self-proclaimed “King Of Da Burbz”—will be offering his insight into politics and current events to the Complex readers. Check out “Politickin With John Brown” every Thursday.

Today, President Obama hosts the unprecedented White House Beer Summit, with the hope that alcohol can disinfect any open political wounds still stinging from last week’s controversial arrest . This awkward political chess move is as genius as it is shallow – giving a whole new meaning to the term “drinking games”. The goal is vague but the symbology is stark: Nothin in ‘Merica can’t be fixed over a good ‘ol cold one. So what could happen at Barry’s keg party? Here are some possibilities…