Hollywood speaks out to help insurance companies. Features Will Ferrell, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Masi Oka, Jordana Spiro, Linda Cardellini and Donald Faison

Anyone remember August of 2008? It seems like a distant memory, but there are certain times in your life you just don’t forget. One year ago the hip-hop generation was rallying together all over the country, taking the necessary steps to elect our first black President. Hip-Hop’s biggest names were doing free shows, recording songs showing support and getting outright serious about making a difference in the upcoming election. As we know, these efforts worked. We made enough t-shirts, talked up enough friends and bumped “My President is Black” enough times to make an unimaginable impact on the 2008 election.

Here we stand a year later and to the hip-hop generation, Barack Obama may as well not exist. In less than a year we’ve given up all the momentum we gained as a force in politics and have effectively left our boy to fend for himself rather than continue to influence the change our country desperately needs.

Recently, Obama, along with a number of other Democrats in Congress, have been the center of one of the most brutal right wing attacks we’ve ever witnessed. In the fight for health care reform we’ve seen mobs of leftovers from those creepy McCain town hall meetings come together in packs to try to convince the world that Obama’s proposed health care plan is going to turn our country into a Socialist nation. And we’re basically letting these people win.

The fight between the left and the right on the issue stems from Obama’s intention to make proper health care affordable to everyone in the Country.  It kind of sickens me to have to say that there is a debate on this issue at all. Forget all the numbers for a minute and just think of this based on moral principle. Why should the amount of money someone makes dictate their ability to receive health care? What kind of sick fucks would stand over someone and watch them die before they would give that person a few dollars to save their life?

This is why I question why the hip-hop generation is not doing more to support Obama’s policy. It’s no secret that hip-hop music has always had trouble with certain moral issues. At the same time, hip-hop artists have been some of the biggest trendsetters when it comes to philanthropic work. One would think that there are enough of these trendsetters in the hip-hop community who have seen the evils of America’s health care system to want to help the fight on this issue.

Paul Wall may have been on to something quite provocative when he uttered the line “No 401K for a hustler.” While it seems like a simple line, when looking at in context there’s some deep meaning to the concept. For many musicians, industry folks and other entrepreneurs there are no employment benefits. While many make enough money to (barely) survive, the job does not come with a retirement plan, paid vacations or health care coverage. It seems to me that quite a few of these people could really benefit from an affordable health care system. Why isn’t anyone stepping up for the “hustlers”, the entrepreneurs or even the people who work 40+ hours per week and still don’t have access to proper health care? Why is Jay-Z making songs about the Death of Autotune when he could be rapping about the Death of the HMO? I know it doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but the point is that the hip-hop community needs to stop sitting on the sidelines during this debate.

The legislation President Obama is trying to pass will benefit us and many future generations to come. When we rallied together to put Obama in office, we all supported the fundamental idea of change. This is exactly what Obama is trying to do and as we expected, the right wing and even members of the Democratic Party are not ready to accept the sort of changes we have asked for. It’s on us to make sure the right voices are heard and we don’t let this issue die as it did during the Clinton administration. Hip-Hop was still in its adolescence the last time the issue of Health Care Reform came around. Hip-Hop culture has since matured into a responsible and powerful adult. Let’s exercise that power and make a difference this time around.

I’m not really sure why this took place, but apparently Hurricane Chris has made such a big impact with his latest single, Halle Berry (She’s Fine), that it got him the floor at a recent Louisiana House of Representatives meeting. The video looks like it came straight from C-SPAN, which would have made this even more entertaining to witness.

I hear next week Gucci Mane will address Congress with his vision for a universal health care plan…

Spotted at RapRadar

Yes! Sarah Palin’s back! While she doesn’t actually call Letterman a “child molester”, she does allude to it. This is getting good.

PALIN IN 2012!!! Please run Sarah. Please.