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Vile-mouthed rapper Gucci Mane isn't coming to Greensboro tomorrow after all.

It's likely O.J. da Juice Man and seven other acts will fill the void with their own brand of diss-functional entertainment.

But somehow Gucci Mane's inability to leave his home state of Georgia -- by law,  no less,. seems like poetic justice.

This week's column:

If you’re a Baby Boomer who has a hankering every now and then for old-school Top 40 radio, you probably know the song.

It’s called “Something in the Air” and it’s so smooth and mid-tempo you could practically slow dance to it at the prom.

The song still pops up every so often on wholesome oldies stations. Among the lyrics: “Hand out the arms and ammo/We’re going to blast our way through here/We got to get together sooner or later/ because the revolution’s here/And you know it’s right.”

Yup, an oldie but goodie about armed revolution that some of us probably hummed on the way to Boy Scout meetings.

And you know I’m right.

The song, recorded by a group called Thunderclap Newman, surged to No. 1 in the U.K. in the summer of 1969 and has been covered by artists ranging from Tom Petty to Patti LaBelle (not to mention its use as a soundtrack for British Airways and Coca-Cola commercials).

The oldie but goodie is proof positive that some grandparents and parents may blanch at the crude bravado of rap songs or the suggestive words and images in much of what passes as music today.

But we’ve got a few skeletons in our own closets — songs drenched in sexual innuendo or stuffed with references to drugs or violence. And we’re not just talking about the ’60s, either.

Some of the songs were stoked by the fires of protest. Some were stoked by the fires of funny cigarettes (Rick James’ “Mary Jane,” 1978).

Some were just plain lewd and even juvenile (Chuck Berry’s “My Ding-a-Ling,” 1972).

Remember, those parental advisory stickers on CD cases weren’t prompted by rap lyrics. They were inspired by a Prince song about a promiscuous woman, “Darling Nikki,” more than 25 years ago.

These songs, some of which still may be stowed away in dusty attics and musty basements by today’s parents and grandparents, point out how we grayheads can be just a smidgen, well, hypocritical.

Yes, much of today’s music is crude and violent. Witness the recent dustup over the performance of rapper Gucci Mane at what had been billed as N.C. A&T’s student homecoming concert on Oct. 31.

The rapper, whose lyrics glorify drugs and killing, and who boasts of gang ties, will perform as planned, but A&T has removed its name from the concert and any related promotions and advertising.

But even A&T Chancellor Harold Martin may remember some of the stuff we listened to back in the day.

There’s not enough room in this newspaper to list all of the hard-drug references in 1960s music, not to mention all the memories of drug-addled performances by the likes of Sly Stone. In Greensboro.

As for A&T homecoming concerts, I went to my share as a college student. Even though I attended UNC-Chapel Hill I rarely missed the all-night “predawn” concerts in A&T’s Moore Gymnasium.

One predawn favorite was a group called Funkadelic, whose members were known to perform in diapers and many of whose song titles and lyrics still can’t be repeated here.

Funkadelic rightly has been hailed over the years for its inventiveness and musicianship. But it also could be playfully crude and profane and its album covers were often sexually explicit. Of course, that didn’t prevent you from buying ’em at the Friendly Center Record Bar, no questions asked.

Among other golden oldies that might well have been packaged in brown paper bags was “Brown Sugar” by the Rolling Stones, which references rape, heroin and sadomasochism, among other things, to a killer beat and sax solo.

Does this in any way defend Gucci Mane’s performance at the Greensboro Coliseum? Not one iota. And certainly not with a state university’s name attached.

Many of the artists mentioned above may have delved at times into the bluest themes and lyrics, but even many of the hardest-core rappers flirt with guilt, fear and remorse in some of their songs. Some even sprinkled an uplifting song or two about their children or their mothers in their music amid all the preening and misogyny (Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur).

Not Gucci Mane, who is irredeemably coarse in every title, tune and lyric. He stakes no claim to a higher calling of a cultural revolution, a la Thunderclap Newman in 1969. Or to threads of protest and social consciousness, a la Funkadelic in the 1970s.

A&T did the right thing in kicking Gucci Mane to the curb, even if, as expected, it did nothing to curb ticket sales. (As of late last week, they had climbed to 10,000.)

I’m just warning the rest of us not to get too holier than thou.

I know what’s lurking in your basement.

The news this week that auto-addicted Greensboro is among cities honored for its friendliness to bicyclists was greeted with disbelief, if not outright ridicule, by some folks.

"Does anyone else think this is hysterical?" one commenter to our news story said.

"I'm terrified to ride my bike in any of our bike lanes as most drivers just think they are for passing on the right while cars wait to turn left."

Wrote another: "this has got to be a joke. this city is INCREDIBLY dangerous for bikers and people are very unfriendly to bicyclists.

But it was no joke.

The League of American Bicyclists has designated the city a bronze-level “Bicycle Friendly Community” for the steps it has taken to increase bike safety.

And somebody who ought to know agrees.

UNCG professor Mark Schulz, a cycling advocate who was nearly killed while riding his bike last year when he was struck by a text­ing motorist, said Greensboro has made significant strides.

“Greensboro is getting better, definitely,” he said iin ain interview on Sept. 30, weeks before the award was announced. “In some ways, I would say that Greensboro is better than suburban Orange County.”

Schulz added: “In fact, the only city I would say is better (in North Carolina) is Carrboro.”

Greensboro won the award on the basis of its greenway plans, bike safety Web site, expanded bike lanes and other initiatives.

There’s still room for improvement, certainly, but it hardly sounds like a fluke to me.

Thursday's night's UNC  loss to Florida State was cruel and unusual punishment: frustrating, demoralizing, the lowest low in a disappointing season that was supposed to bring such high hopes.

At least I thought the new special-occasion Tar Heel uniforms were nice.

My colleague and fellow UNC alum,, Doug Clark, wasn't so sure.

He called the the Navy blue duds Duke uniforms.

"And they played like Duke," he said, not smiling.

In a conference call with reporters today, Sen. Kay Hagan officially announced that she will file a bill calling for a $1 dollar coin that commemorates the Greensboro sit-ins.

She said she hopes the bill would become law in time for the 50th anniversary of the sit-ins and the opening of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum that honors the sit-ins in downtown Greensboro on Feb. 1, 2010.

Hagan, a Democrat, said the bill should receive bipartisan support. Rep. Howard Coble, a Republican from Greensboro, is sponsoring a similar bill in the House.

When asked if she envisioned any opposition to the bill, Hagan said no. “For the life of me, I can’t see any resistance, “she said. “Unless some other senator is pushing a coin.”

Hagan said she hadn’t spoken yet with her GOP colleague, Richard Burr, about the sit-in coin, but “You better believe I will.”

Eddie Bridges, the local outdoorsman who hatched the idea, must be feeling pretty good right now.

The coin could become an important fund-raiser for the museum.

Beyond that, it’s a well-deserved national honor for the Greensboro Four.

Update and correction: Hagan's office called to correct an earlier statement from  the senator. Democrat Brad Miller is sponsoring the House bill, not Republican Howard Coble, because the museum is located in Miller's distirct. Coble does, however, support the idea.

Here’s the irony of the Balloon Boy fiasco:

The whole episode, which turned out to be a hoax, still delivered its desired result.

The gaping goobers who covered the story got big ratings.

And for all intents and purposes, Richard Heene still has a reality show, only it’s playing out for now on news channels. For free (although some media may actually have paid him already).

It will continue to play out up until, and after, he and his wife are arrested for concocting the story, which TV latched onto like read meat, few questions asked.

Even more ironic: After all of this plays out, I wouldn’t be surprised if the family still gets a series.

Remember, dysfunction sells. Nobody tunes in to these shows to watch well-adjusted people do reasonable stuff.

This just in: Rod Blagojevich will appear "The Celebrity Apprentice" on NBC.

Here’s the irony of the Balloon Boy fiasco:

The whole episode, which apparently has turned out to be a hoax, still delivered its desired result: big ratings for the gaping goobers who covered it.

And for all intents and purposes, Richard Heene still has a reality show, only it’s playing out for now on news channels. For free

(although some media actually may have paid him for the story.)

It will continue to play out up until, and after, he is arrested for concocting the story, which TV latched onto like read meat, few questions asked.

Even more ironic: After all of this plays out, I wouldn’t be surprised if the family still gets a series.

Remember, dysfunction sells. Nobody tunes in to these shows to watch well-adjusted people do reasonable stuff.

This just in: Rob Blagojevich will appear on "The Celebrity Apprentice" on NBC,

This week's newspaper column.

If President Barack Obama comes to Greensboro next February for the opening of the downtown International Civil Rights Center and Museum, it would be a crowning achievement for the project, which has at times struggled mightily to keep hope alive over the years.

But as Eddie Bridges sees it, why stop there?

Bridges, 76, whose main claim to local fame is as an outdoorsman and wildlife advocate, has hatched an idea that he believes would raise operating funds for the museum and honor the four A&T students who staged the historic sit-ins at the old Woolworth five-and-dime.

And it wouldn’t cost taxpayers one penny.

Bridges got to thinking a few months ago that a commemorative 50-cent coin would pay appropriate homage to both the museum and the wave of sit-ins inspired by David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and Ezell Blair Jr. (now known as Jibreel Khazan) when they took seats at the store’s segregated lunch counter and politely demanded to be served.

The coins would cost the government no more than it already costs to mint any 50-cent piece. But Bridges sees it quickly becoming a keepsake and a collector’s item whose value would escalate over time.

The museum could buy coins in bulk and resell them. The revenues could fund an endowment that would help cover operating expenses. “There would be people to buy those coins just because they want to help,” he said.

He even has a design in mind: Heads, the four A&T students; tails, the facade of the museum building.

The coins should have national appeal, Bridges said, because they would honor not just Greensboro but the 50th anniversary of the Feb. 1, 1960, event, which sparked a national movement and whose influence was felt well beyond the city, and the state.

As Bridges sees it, there is no downside to his idea: no controversy, no exorbitant cost, no political trap doors.

“If you can give me a good reason why this wouldn’t work,” he said, “I want you to tell me about it.”

Before we go any further, there are some things you need to know about Eddie. Foremost, he is no idle dreamer.

He conceived the idea and convinced the state to successfully launch the North Carolina Wildlife Endowment Fund through the selling of lifetime hunting and fishing licenses. Thus far, the fund has generated more than $125 million to help fund the state Wildlife Resources Commission.

Bridges also is founder and executive director of the N.C. Wildlife Habitat Foundation, which acquires and preserves open spaces for wildlife in the state and supports conservation education. Thus far it has raised more than $2 million.

As an alumnus and former football player at what is now Elon University, he has created two scholarships for his alma mater, one that honors the former Major League Baseball manager Jack McKeon, and has spearheaded efforts to raise seed money for each.

That’s hardly all Eddie’s been up to, but you get the idea.

As for his latest notion, Eddie met with U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, a Republican, last week and was pleased with the outcome. “I felt he was very receptive,” Bridges said. “I told him we might even get (House Republican Leader) John Boehner to vote for the coin.”

Coble, who knows Bridges well, but has dealt with him previously on wildlife issues, pretty much echoed Eddie’s mantra: He couldn’t see any good reason why it shouldn’t work. “We didn’t go into great detail,” Coble said, “but on the surface it seems like a win-win.

“I’ve always thought the museum should be funded by voluntary contributions. And for the most part it has been.”

As Coble sees it, a commemorative coin is merely another way to achieve that.

Fellow U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, a Democrat in whose district the museum sits, agrees. “I have never tried to get a commemorative coin through,” he said, “but the (museum and the sit-in anniversary) are something we should celebrate.”

Sen. Kay Hagan, also a Democrat, has gone a step further, confirming in a written statement that she plans to introduce a bill for the coin as soon as this week and “will be working with my colleagues to get it to the president.”

And the moral of the story as Bridges sees it, is you never know when a door might open if you don’t knock. And he’ll keep right on knocking.

“Look,” he said, “I just turned 76 and I don’t need glasses and don’t use a walker.

“This is just one more thing I’d like to see accomplished before my time runs out.”

I am on a message list for UNC-Chapel Hill Air Force ROTC alums.

An invitation to an AFROTC gathering at homecoming evoked this response:

Greetings fellow UNC ROTC alum,

UNC has become a hostile environment for conservatives and panders to the enemies of Western Civilization. While I was at UNC in 1980, I clearly remember protesting the islamic revolution takeover of our emabassy in Tehran, on the steps of Lenoir hall. Just a few years ago, students were run over in the pit by an islamic extremist, just feet from where I spoke. The students and falculty of UNC overwhelmingly voted for the current President of the United States, who sends an advisor to the UK to endorse Sharia law . UNC falculty rountinely colaborate with and are praised by countries acting against Western interests, including Iran.

While not conventional, I felt my conservative views were heard and tolerated while I attended 1979-1983. Now, the environment is openly hostile to those views. This year, former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo was not allowed to speak by a hostile crowd of protesters on campus. After an investigation, no action was taken against the students involved. Since I share many of the views of Mr. Tancredo, I'm certain I would not feel welcome either.

I seperated from the Air Force in 1994 as a regular officer, but my passion to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic, is inseperable from me. According to the current Department of Homeland Security, that apparently makes me a Right Wing Extremist.

Tom Schaefer
Class of 1983

The man who has given a new meaning to the words “Rushing offense” may be out as an NFL owner.

After considerable blowback from some team owners, players and other critics, group bidding to buy the St. Louis Rams says it is prepared to do so without Limbaugh as one of the investors, ESPN reports.

Limbaugh is expected to be dropped as a minority member (no pun intended) of the ownership group.

Any sale to the group would have to be approved by three-quarters of the NFL’s 32 teams.

Fat chance with Limbaugh on the roster.

Limbaugh still isn’t ready to sing “Turn Out the Lights.”

“I am not even thinking of exiting,” ESPN quotes Limbaugh as saying. “I am not a caver.”

He likely won’t be an owner, either, primarily because of his own reckless and insensitive comments.

“I couldn’t even consider voting for him,” Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, said this week.

Among other choice quotes, Limbaugh once said: “The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons.”

Update: Here is Rush's explanation of the above comments.