Fall 2011: The Return of No Warning Shots Fired !

It's been a long hot summer but the fall is gonna be even hotter. (Yeah, I know it's a worn out cliche but it works!)

The No Warning Shots Fired column will return and the No Warning Shots Fired lecture tour will be coming to a town near you.

For more information on the column or to book a lecture tour stop contact:

info@nowarningshotsfired.com or (919) 451-8283

Runnin' Blast Out of the Hood

Min. Paul Scott aka THE TRUTH Minista runs the Blast by Colt 45 Malt Liquor truck out of Durham NC.

Move Over Tea Party. Here Comes the Malt Liquor Party

Move Over Tea Party. Here comes the "Malt Liquor Party."

Although, Michelle Bachman recently announced that she is reppin' the Tea Party in the next election, a NC activist is starting the "Malt Liquor Party."

Tired of the negative images of African Americans in the media, Paul Scott aka the "TRUTH Minista" is calling for a "Malt Liquor Party" to fight back.

The reason Scott chose the name "Malt Liquor Party" is because next to watermelon and fried chicken, malt liquor is most used to stereotype Blacks.

Not only have 40 ounces of malt liquor been the main staple at the racist college theme parties where Frat boys put on blackface and mimic black stereotypes but recently Fox News commentator, Eric Bolling caused quite a stir when he accused President Obama of "chuggin' 40's" instead of taking care of business on the domestic front.

Scott has also accused Snoop Dogg of being Pabst's "Blue Ribbon Pimp" for promoting the new Kool Aid flavored, Colt 45 malt liquor called "Blast."

Scott says that the Malt Liquor Party will attack the negative stereotypes of African Americans in Hip Hop and the media and, also, educate black youth about the dangers of substance abuse.


For more information contact (919) 451-8283 or email info@nowarningshotsfired.com website: http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com

As a Dogg Returneth: Colt 45's Controversial Comeback

As a Dogg Returneth...
Colt 45's Controversial Comeback

Min. Paul Scott





Many African Americans of my generation have fond (or not so fond) memories of getting up on Saturday mornings to watch our favorite Hip Hop video show, only to be scared out our wits by the sight of an angry, giant blue Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull bustin' through our tv sets. Even today, if you ride through any 'hood and yell out the window the familiar '90's ST Ides Malt Liquor jingle, "just hit the corner store, you know what I'm lookin' for..." I guarantee that some wino in the alley is gonna yell back, " ST IDES!!!!" There was even an evil scientist who came up with the diabolical formula to mix malt liquor with gen-sing, call it Phat Boy and pour it into giant bottles with graffiti on the label. However, thanks to the tireless and thankless work of grassroots activists, for a decade, the blatant advertising of cheap, high powered malt liquor to the "Hip Hop generation" virtually, disappeared.

Fast forward to 2011, as the folks at Pabst Brewing Company are amped up to send another generation on a one way trip to Alcoholics Anonymous.

The company has launched its latest monster piece, "Colt 45 Blast," a 12% high octane malt liquor that comes in a variety of fruity flavors that would put the makers of Kool Aid to shame. The marketing scheme that Pabst is using is pretty much the same that the malt meisters of the past have used; grab a rapper with questionable morals and a bunch of video babes and, bingo, a match made in heaven (or some other place.)

Pabst has launched a major marketing campaign staring the Doggfather, himself, Snoop Dogg. Ironically, it was Snoop who was one of the first rappers to appear in liquor commercials almost two decades ago. He has a history of getting people to join him in the game of "get to' up 'till you throw up" . So, to borrow from the scriptures, in 2011," the dog has returned to his vomit."

Unlike the marketing schemes of the early 90's, in the 21st century, liquor companies have gone high tech. There are Colt 45 Blast Youtube, Facebook and Twitter pages set up that will deliver the latest booze news straight to your child's smart phone.

One may ask how, in the wake of the Four Loko controversy, can a company come out with a product that so blatantly, targets underage drinkers. The answer is quite simple.

Nobody cares.

Quiet as kept, when dealing with black youth issues, many people follow the sage wisdom from "The Godfather," "they're animals anyway, so let them lose their souls." And if you can make a profit in the process, so be it.

By the owners of Pabst own admission, Colt 45 has been known, primarily, a 'hood drink and as long as they keep it ghetto, they do not have to worry about those underage drinking crusader organizations throwing a monkey wrench in their program. Most of these organizations only seem to get MADD (pardon the pun) when alcohol abuse starts affecting middle class white kids at college frat parties.

I can remember on more than one occasion, going to an anti-teen drinking event and loudly proclaiming with a 40 oz bottle raised in a gesture of moral indignation , " In the name of the 'hood, I have come to warn thee of the plague that is about to come upon thy children" only to receive the classic "deer in headlights" look from a crowd who saw nothing wrong with a rapper bragging about malt liquor giving him super sexual prowess but thought some darn talking Budweiser bullfrogs signaled the coming of the Apocalypse.

Only when Bifffy and Buffy, start passing out in the middle of English Lit 101 will it become a problem. Which brings us to the proverbial question "if black kids start falling out in the 'hood do they make a sound?"

I think you know the answer.

What is, also, problematic is the liquor industry's uncanny ability to buy off voices of dissent within the African American community. Any time you start cutting checks to Hip Hop radio stations, Hip Hop magazines and start sponsoring (Black) cultural festivals, you can almost guarantee that your favorite Civil Rights leaders won't say a mumblin' word.

So, where does that leave the community activists who are going to be the ones picking up the pieces when the Colt 45 Tsunami floods the hood with alcohol? What can be done?

Community activists must demand that the neighborhood stores where their children go every morning, before school, to pick up honey buns and orange juice for lunch not stock the product in their establishments. We must also ask our local Hip Hop radio stations not to take the blood money that will have our children dancing down the road of destruction all summer long. Also, black organizations must not accept the 30 pieces of silver to have a malt liquor company sponsor "cultural" events that are supposed to be promoting the health and the well being of the community.

Finally, Hip Hop fans must stand up and tell Snoop Dogg and the legion of other rappers who will come behind him not to be "Pabst Blue Ribbon Pimps" putting poison in the 'hood.

We must not look for politicians nor underage drinking organizations to solve this problem. No one is going to save us but us .

As former malt liquor promoter, Ice Cube, once said in a classic line from a popular gangsta flick.

Either they don't know, don't show or don't care what's goin' on in the 'hood."



Paul Scott is a minister, activist and lecturer based in Durham NC. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com Website http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com

Why I'm Mad at MADD

Why I'm Mad at MADD:


Min. Paul Scott



It's been over 100 days since that faithful March morning when I called the reporter at the Wall Street Journal to tell him about a nefarious plot that I stumbled upon to push high powered malt liquor to our children. Yet, more than three months later, most anti-teen drinking groups have continued to ignore the two ton drunk elephant with a flower pot on his head blasted in the living room. There has been no real outcry about Blast by Colt 45 Malt Liquor.

When I say outcry, I'm not talking about polite little letters" kindly asking that the good, wholesome, community oriented folks at Pabst Brewing Company to kindly remove Blast from store shelves or else we are going to write you another letter." No, I'm talking about letters that convey moral outrage, not a minor irritation.

Most of the dialogue outside of the usual thorn- in- the- side grassroots activists has gone like this:

"Gee, kind sir. If it does not bother you too much, will you stop putting Blast in our neighborhoods."

"NO!!!!"

"Okay sorry to have bothered you...."

See, so far Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the rest of these groups have done just enough so, when some kid OD's off of Blast they can say, "hey, we gave it a shot. "

We have also heard next to nothing from the habitual "grant grabbers" who do just enough to serve as resume material for the next time they have to apply to their friendly philanthropic foundation for another hand out. It has been my experience that many of these nonprofits won't even pick up a telephone unless Mr. Grant is on the other end.

This is especially problematic in North Carolina....

Don't believe me? Google "North Carolina against Blast by Colt 45" and see what organization's name pops up.

I'll wait.........

OK. I rest my case.

See for these types of groups, the joy (and money) is in the hunt.

I wish I had a dollar for everyone of these heroes for hire who have told me stuff like:

"See, we don't actually fight against the targeting of our kids by the liquor companies...We put on big elaborate conferences to discuss what the companies are doing..."

Well, OK....huh?

Well while these groups are working on next year's conference on the beach, grassroots activists have been working their butts off trying to keep this poison out of the hands of our children.

What is really ironic is that while MADD and the rest of the groups that oppose drunk driving have been twiddlin' their thumbs, Pabst has sent a pimped out, Skittles colored, Blast Truck (no doubt pumpin' Snoop Dogg songs) on a cross country tour to promote the liquor.

(If there's any justice in the universe that Blast truck will get totalled by a drunk driver with an empty can of Raspberry Watermelon Blast in the passenger seat....)

Surely, these groups see the irony in that...Or maybe not.

As the saying goes, " none are as blind as those who refuse to see. "

Min. Paul Scott can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com

Winter in America: Rest In Peace Gil-Scott Heron

Winter in America:
Of Black Heroes and Black Homicides

Min. Paul Scott






Back in 1974, Gil Scott-Heron recorded a song called "Winter in America." No, he wasn't talking about the weather. He was mourning the death of activism after the Civil Rights/Black Power Era.

I thought about those lyrics during a lecture that I recently gave in front of a group of black male teens regarding black leadership. I had almost finished discussing the assassinations of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr when I was interrupted by one of the young men.

"You guys are always telling us to be leaders but all the black leaders get killed ," he said. "How can we be strong black leaders and still survive?"

Good question.

Being a black leader has been the hardest job in America for the past 300 years. The earliest black leaders in this country were those who led slave revolts such as Nat Turner , Denmark Vessey and Gabriel Prosser. The leaders of those rebellions and their co-conspirators were rewarded with hangman's nooses. One must also not forget writers such as David Walker, whose "Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World' resulted in a $10,000 bounty being placed on his head. In 1830, Walker was found dead in the doorway of his shop.

Lerone Bennett in his book, "Before the Mayflower" wrote that during the Reconstruction Period of the late 1800's , "at least 5,000 Negroes died for their political beliefs."

Beginning in the early 20th century J. Edgar Hoover's Bureau of Investigation (later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation) targeted black leaders such as Marcus Garvey, Paul Robeson and WEB Du Bois. Later, under its Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) many black leaders, such as Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, were targeted by massive disinformation campaigns to "prevent the rise of a black messiah who could unify and electrify the militant black nationalist movement," according to Kenneth O'Reilly in his book, "Black America: The FBI Files." COINTELPRO and its affiliate programs contributed to the deaths of many young African American leaders like Bobby Hutton of the Black Panther Party, barely 18 years old when was murdered by Oakland, CA police.

This led into the Richard Nixon Era, as his "get tough on crime" policies finished off what was left of groups like the Panthers.

Although, the COINTELPRO program had been "officially" over for more than a decade, during the the early stages of the Hip Hop movement of the late 80's and early 90's, rap artists like the members of Public Enemy, Sister Souljah and Ice T were targeted for their outspoken political stances.

Although, some would like to write off the late Hip Hop artist , Tupac Shakur as just some common street thug, author John Potash makes some pretty convincing arguments in his book "The FBI War on Tupac and Black Leaders" that Shakur was not targeted by law enforcement for being a "gangsta rapper" but because of the possibility that he would follow in the footsteps of his mother, Afeni Shakur and extended family members Mutulu and Assata Shakur, who were members of the Black Liberation Army.

This is why many of the rap artists of today find it safer to rap about gangs, guns and girls instead of black empowerment.

Although, many folks (especially Conservatives) are quick to blame the various pathologies facing black youth on Hip Hop, unwed mothers and absentee fathers, they refuse to acknowledge the calculated societal factors that turned revolutionaries to gangsta rappers.

As much as people like to talk about Freedom of Speech, for black men and women speech has been anything but free as, even today, there are still consequences for daring to speak truth to power.

Whether it be sacrificing that six figure dream job with the great retirement plan or knowing that your uncompromising style of writing will never get you a Pulitzer or even that coveted columnist job at the daily paper, the price of Freedom has been too much for most to be willing to pay.

Only a choice few have been willing to put the needs of future generations above their own. Their only rewards being the possibility of pictures on postage stamps or streets in the hood named after them long after they are dead and gone.

Why go through all the hassle when it would be just as easy to look the other way and adopt "Don't Worry be Happy" as a personal mantra?

Maybe it's the voices of the ancestors that whisper to you in the still of the night, urging you to keep on, keepin' on. Or the sense of responsibility as you walk through neighborhoods filled with young men who will either wind up in jail or the grave before they are 21 years old unless some one intervenes.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown of thorns.

But how do you explain that to a 15 year old?

Perhaps Scott-Heron was right. Maybe "nobody's fighting because no one knows what to say."

As I started to wind down my lecture, the young man interrupted me, again.

"But you didn't give me an answer to my question!"

Truth is... I didn't have one.

Min.Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Dedicated to the memory of those who died so I may write.

40oz of Racism

40 ounces of Racism:
Bollings Boilermaker of a Statement

Paul Scott





Recently, Fox News' talking head, Eric Bolling complained about President Obama being in Ireland "chugging 40's" instead of TCB-ing (Taking Care of Business) on the home front in the wake of the tornado tragedy in Joplin. For those who aren't hip to the Hip Hop vernacular, a "40" is short for high octane, malt liquor, also known as "liquid crack" that comes in giant 40oz bottles.

The response from black folks?

Outrage!

The response from the right wingers ?

What?

Most Conservatives are at a lost as to why a comment about the Prez sippin' on a 40 would make black folks wanna give Bolling a back-alley beat down.

Let's look at the history of the marketing of malt liquor.

For over a generation, the image of malt liquor "drankin'" has been a negative stereotype of African Americans, taking its rightful place among other stereotypes such as tap dancing, watermelon eatin' and a love affair with Colonel Sanders' extra crispy fried chicken.

This is, mostly because ,over the years, alcoholic beverage companies have targeted the black community aka "urban neighborhoods" with high powered, cheap alcohol. During the 1980's, movie star and Colt 45 spokesman Billy Dee Williams inspired a nation of future alcoholics and wanna-be Casanovas with his motivational slogan "Works Every time," alleging that one sip of the drink would land you in bed with a supermodel. In the early 90's, ST. Ides Malt Liquor recruited such Hip Hop artists as Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube, to promote a drink that would not only get you high as the sky but also increase your sexual performance, making malt liquor the forerunner of Viagra.

These marketing schemes outraged black activists during that era who launched successful campaigns against malt liquors such as "Power Master" and "Phat Boy," which came packaged in a graffiti decorated can and was laced with gensing.

Despite the success of activists in the 90's, the marketing of malt liquor continues to be a major problem facing African Americans, as the liquor companies are now targeting an even younger demographic. Recently, Pabst Brewing Company, in an attempt to elevate the Colt 45 brand back to its former glory, pulled Snoop Dogg out of the malt liquor pimp retirement home to promote "Blast by Colt 45," a new Kool Aid flavored, 12% alcohol drink that comes in colorful soda pop-like cans. The company has also used Hip Hop magazines and social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to push the product. Blast has been nicknamed "genocide juice" because the company seems to be using malt liquor to exterminate a whole generation of African American youth.

That's not to say that white kids don't get blasted off of malt liquor. Over the last year, Four Loko malt liquor has come under fire because of college kids passing out during English Lit 101 after a night of getting Loko off the joy juice. Also, many homeboys in the vanilla suburbs like to, vicariously, experience life in Chocolate City by getting tipsy off a tall can of booze. Malt Liquor is also the featured attraction at the racist college theme parties where
frat boys put on black face and Afro wigs and boogie to old 2 Live Crew albums. However, malt liquor is still mostly marketed as a "hood drink;" the bulk of the liquor being sold in communities that suffer disproportionately, from poverty and unemployment.

So, yes, not only was Eric "Easy E" Bolling's joke tasteless and racist but the marketing of malt liquor to the black community, is racist, as well.

And if you can't see that, you need a sobriety test.



Paul Scott is a minister, activist and writer based in Durham NC. In 1997, he led a successful boycott against Phat Boy malt liquor and is currently part of a national campaign against "Blast by Colt 45" malt liquor. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com His blog is No Warning Shots Fired.com. http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com