E’s song of the day

Another day grinding, another evening feeling exhausted and sore.  I gotta find a new job.  I’m so out of it that at first I thought I had missed yesterday’s jam, and had to go back to check on it.  Thankfully I had hooked it up, so I won’t need to pull two songs off of my list for you today.  I heard this little gem on the radio in the car driving home from working out in Antioch.  It took me back to 1998 when the jam came out.  I was a senior in high school (in the fall of ’98) and my vault of musical knowledge wasn’t nearly as deep as it is now, but I distinctly recall bumping this jam (and rightfully so).  I still even remembered most of the words and was, hence, able to sing along in my whip (which you know I love to do).  Enough of this idle chit-chat.  Today’s jam: Next – Too Close.  Enjoy..

“You won’t believe what Tia told me…Officer Ricky..!!!!” Rick Ross is a cheap bastard

How and more importantly why did this chick get with Officer Ricky?

This is how you get your hustle on.

We all know that 50 KILLED Rick Ross.  There is only Officer Ricky now.  Tia Kemp, his babys mama begins to spill the dirt on William Roberts.  The truth comes about about Officer Ricky and his pettiness.

I looked at my watch, it was 4:30pm on January 21, 2009, the day I had been waiting to come for eight months. It was the day of the deposition in the child support case I had filed against the father of my third son, William Leonard Roberts Jr. also known as the big-time rapper (not the notorious drug dealer, don’t get them confused) Rick Ross.

Here is the story of the “Real” Rick Ross.  William, I would be ready to make a deal with Ricky Ross for stealing his life story.  Just because you call yourself something, doesn’t make it true.  Countless times here at Too Old, we tell you, “Gloss is to be earned, you don’t get to make it up yourself….” A nickname is something that someone else bestows on you, you don’t get to make one up and hope it sticks, which is what William did. Wiki breaks it down…

I wouldn't want to fuck with this man. Even now, I do not doubt he could have me or you killed with a phone call

Ricky Donnell Ross (born May 3, 1960), also known as “Freeway” Ricky Ross , is a drug trafficker best known for the “drug empire” that he presided over in Los Angeles, in the early 1980s.^[1] The nickname “Freeway” came from Ross owning several properties along the Harbor Freeway.^[2] During the height of his drug dealing, Ross claims to have made “2-3 million dollars a week”.

In 1996, Ross was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of trying to purchase more than 100 kilograms of cocaine from a federal agent. Ross became the subject of controversy later that year when a series of articles by journalist Gary Webb in the San Jose Mercury News brought to light a connection between one of Ross’s cocaine sources, Danilo Blandon, and the CIA as part of the Iran-Contra scandal.^[3] The decision in Ross’s case was brought to a federal court of appeals where his sentence was reduced to 20 years. His sentence has since been reduced further for being a model prisoner and he is currently scheduled to be moved to a halfway house in California in March 2009,^{[citation needed]} and to be released on September 29, 2009.^[4]

You better be ready…someone is getting out and you might have to answer to higher ups about your “theft…”

AllHipHop.com: You’ve mentioned having spoken to Rick Ross a few times before, what were the conversations about and what did you take from them, as far as his character? Did you ever implicitly say you were not okay with him using your name?

Freeway Ricky Ross: The conversation was basically about him using my name. The first couple of times he talked real cool. I really couldn’t talk to him the way I wanted to because all my phone calls are monitored and I was under investigation at the time. But I told him it would be best that we have a sit down. He [explained] to me how he picked my name and that he definitely owed me. He said that the first thing he did was mention my name on a record. And when he did that people’s ears perked.No I never told him it was ok to use my name. I told him I wasn’t trippin but we needed to sit down and talk. Cause I would never be involved with a Millie Vanilli. I built this name to what it is today to where I can go to any prison in this country and get saluted.

Here is where William really goes sideways and cements the fact that he has a death wish. He goes and calls the REAL Rick Ross a snitch…lol…

AllHipHop.com: You also mentioned the artist Rick Ross going as far as calling you a snitch. Did you see that coming?

Freeway Ricky Ross: Yeah he did an article in the Ozone Magazine. No I never thought he would call me a snitch. That’s a serious jacket to put on somebody. And from what I did,150 soldiers got out of prison. It was cops that was planting drugs on innocent people and I had no problem taking them down. But I can understand why he don’t like cops to go down. (emphasis added by me…because Freeway Ricky Ross made a tight, slick joke…) You can read the rest of this interview here

Now, we are ready to hear the story that Tia is going to tell.  She has provided some excerpts of her book about the biggest boss correctional officer in the rap game.

I had started this battle against William 17 months earlier after our tumultuous four-year relationship filled with passion and pain. My lawyer Ileana M. Almeida had spent the last eight months trying to get Will’s lawyer Allan Zamren to make Will do the deposition for the case. They’d canceled two times already so I was surprised that William had finally showed up and was glad we were gonna to get things going. Ever since he’d become a celebrity, Will had been a different person. That mixed with his touring and promotions schedule and the life of a rap star is what made it so hard for anything in the child support case to move forward. His attitude also made things difficult.

William, why you got attitude now? You “make” so much money from dealing weight, how are you not going to break off your kid?

It was a long and frustrating day. From the beginning Will was nervous and uncomfortable and so was I. For over six hours with a short lunch break in between, Ileana drilled Will and she covered a lot of ground. As the day went on the cagier he got. His partial financial records we had been given made no sense and as Ileana asked him to explain certain items, Will would refuse to elaborate. He claimed in his financial affidavit he spent $50 a month on clothing total yet I knew Will was a clothing and sneaker freak, always buying himself and Lil’ Will the newest gear. The baby had new Gucci sneakers every month. Ileana had a list of Will’s charges at the Gucci store, and other clothing stores and brand name chains for thousands of dollars at a time and William would explain that it was his mother and sister using his card to shop, not him. When Ileana asked him about the expense of his custom diamond chains, pieces and jewelry, Will swerved around the questions saying he didn’t buy anything, it was either his boy Gun Play’s jewelry or it was promotional stuff he got from jewelers, that he would swap out. Even the custom diamond piece of his actual face. Who would want to swap that? He wouldn’t say what he paid for one piece of jewelry. The affidavit said Will spent $200 a month on food. I know how that man ate, $200 wasn’t gonna make a dent no matter how much McDonalds he said he ate.

The book sounds like cross-examination 101.  She seemingly got you on the ropes.  Unless your moms wears XXXXL, then those Gucci purchases are yours.  She also kills him on the Mickey D’s line.  How is 200 dollars going to get it done?  Maybe if you were talking that is what you spend in one session at McD’s.  Even if you are one of these…

You still will not be able to come in under 200 a month.  So, you just look like a liar, which you are…shame, shame…This is the reason to limit McD’s trips

I bet they are Officer Ricky fans…

I wont actually cop the book, but I will read the hell outta it when I go to a Barnes and Noble…

“Kiss me through the phone” and other songs that dispense advice we should follow

I can’t say that I am a huge Soulja Boy fan, but I am smart enough to understand when advice is given that works, you should follow it.

Explicit lyrics…careful playing at work!  They use the F word….

We are taking over the Too Old radio station!  I have been listening to a rapper by the name of Drake.  This dude is a Canadian actor, who was on the American equivalent of  90210. This is the beginning of  his Wiki page

Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian actor, rapper and singer. He is known for playing Jimmy Brooks, the physically disabled character on Degrassi: The Next Generation. As a rapper, Graham uses the stage name Drake, and is often billed as the new version of The Fresh Prince.^[1] After rumors of signing with Young Money Entertainment, it was later confirmed that Drake is only affiliated with the label, and has officially signed with Interscope Records. He is managed by Hip Hop Since 1978.

I have liked him for a minute, since I heard him on the Little Brother/DJ Wristpect mixtape (click to download this mixtape)

Drake is on a song with Little Brother and Dwele that I play a lot because the beat is bananas and the lyrics form clever wordplays and tells a story that a lot of people know and live.

This song, coupled with Ronin’s well written post yesterday got me to thinking about matters of the heart.  How do you deal with them?  He opines that he is led by the penis and it does seem to have a mind of its own.  How do you find the one that you are supposed to be with?  If I had the answer to that question, I would be rich, since I could write the self-help book.  The issue for most of us is that we are great at analyzing other people’s problems, but we are terrible at the art of self reflection.  Let me give you an example from this morning.

damnit! I am still a baby! When will I ever grow up?

In my class, we are studying about Communism and the Russian Revolution.  I broke them into three groups and each group was responsible for one piece of the puzzle.  One group did an outline of Russian Communism and what that means for a country, people and governmental organization.  One group did the advantages of Communism and the other group did the disadvantages.  Whenever we do group work, I make the students grade the other members of the group, as well as a self reflection about the role they played in the group. One student proclaimed difficultly with the assignment, claiming,”I can’t DO a self reflection…what should I write down?”

See, I teach History and the post is about relationships....awh...forget it and just laugh...

That is the problem most people have in relationships.  They cannot adequately evaluate their actions in the relationship.

This fear keeps them in unhealthy relationships, or drives them to relationships that don't work

Reading Ronin’s post, I didn’t think that his solutions were out of line.  In fact, we should embrace and adopt more of them.  I live in a world that would be a lot easier if people adopted this mentality.

In slightly different (not really, since it caused me to blog it out) direction, so absolutely hilarious stuff happened to me yesterday.  I was sitting around with the crew complaining about the state of TV and basketball, when we started talking about relationships.  One member of the crew is smashing out someone (I will not use gender to protect the down right guilty…I will say that it is not me though…) most of the crew knows.  There is nothing wrong with this behavior; it’s like a return to college or high school times, which were wonderful.  Here is the “have you ever…” part of the conversation. ” Have you ever been intimate with someone and then they left the area ending smash time?”  Well, who hasn’t been in that situation?  Most of us have been there and when faced with that, you go out and try to give it your best performance, to leave things on a high note.  Well, someone in the crew wasn’t able to accomplish that and had a case of “shoulda, woulda, coulda, I wish it would of happened…” going on, bringing down the vibe of the room.

and yes, we used to collect comics...what of it? Are you reading this blog with gloves? I don't want any creases in this blog post...You will bring the value down

This is why timing is everything.  Without missing a beat, Ronin threw out the quip, without missing a beat that had the room in tears.  In his normal pseudo caring, kind of cavalier/shoot from the hip he said “You better kiss them through the phone…” and then started singing.

I couldn’t stop laughing all the way into my room and into bed because of that.  Then, in some sort of continuation of that moment, when I was listening to the radio, I heard another song about the same situation, but a slightly different tack.

So, yesterday and today, Ronin and I have hijacked E’s contribution to the blog.  Sometimes, I question his music choices, so we are going to play DJ, especially since that helped me get through college.

88.1 the BEAT! DJ Dark Knight bringing the heat on (pick one, since I had both shows) the Hip-Hop Show (Friday Nights) or the Late Night Creep (Saturday Nights)

We are obviously all music driven here.  Music can soothe the savage beast and can always set the mood.  I was listening to Shade 45 yesterday during lunch and on my commute home.  One of the topics that were discussed during my listening time was interesting places you have gotten your freak on.  The DJ was talking about having dinner with a bunch of white people and they got slightly disturbed by his conversations at the end of dinner.  One of the topics revolved around the fact that he had smashed it at work, when he was in high school at McDonalds.  It was hilarious, because he also talked about dealing out the window and selling weed.

So, my last thought on the subject of “Smashtime” is have you hit it at work or even gotten a little frisky/flirtatious with someone and how far did it go?  If that is not your cup of tea, feel free to answer about the things you do at work that you shouldn’t be doing…

E’s song of the day

Didn’t think I’d leave youn hanging did you?  The day has been long, and I’m almost ready to call it a night, but I’ve gotta come correct for you before I hit the sheets.  Another jam from the dark recesses of my “song of the day ideas” list.  In the spirit of my boy Ronin’s post today about love, I’ve selected an appropriate tune from a great pool of candidates.  Today’s jam:  THe Psychedelic Furs – Love My Way.  Enjoy….

breathe, reflect, and give your heart a kiss

I don’t know what I’m doing sometimes.

I know what I like and don’t like. I know what makes me laugh or cry (been a while since I’ve done that, maybe just sad) or just plain happy. But what if I took the plain out of it. What makes me really happy. (That is besides gunning a GT3 through the Nurburgring.) This is where I’m stuck. I don’t know. But I know it has something to do with the heart.
The heart in all it’s importance and pressure escapes me. Sure I’ve felt it’s beauty before. Oh, I have. In all it’s power and glory I’m a witness. But I’ve also felt when it’s empty. But most of the time it’s just there waiting to be touched. This is where I find myself today.

We choose who we want to take a drink from our heart. But how do we choose???
Like most men, I’m cursed and blessed with a penis. What I mean is it’s a great general but a horrible scout. The penis rarely points in the right direction. It’s got radar for SHIT.  If it were a GPS it would always lead you to the city dump then proceed to empty your pockets and slap you in the face. “It ain’t ever been right.” But I keep looking to it for direction. Why are we as men so stupid???  And does it ever change.??? Do we ever take the hint and start making sound choices with our penis or are we just doomed to follow the path always taken? We have a problem or just a…

So this is where I’ve been. Leading with the magic stick and hoping the heart will follow.
I thought I had it all figured out. I was gonna separate the two. Unleash the penis and muzzle the heart. I would bask in the glory of the penis and ignore the heart. That is give the penis (with protection) but withhold my heart. This would surely solve everything. Right!? L.A. was the perfect place. The land of beautiful people and shallow hearts. And it was…

But something was wrong. I wasn’t full. Something was lacking. It must have been the city. So I left to tour the Bay Area. In the Bay, things must be different. It’s where I grew up and the Bay Area does pride itself on being about so much more. Right?.  Plus my family lives here.
Well, it wasn’t the location.  It was me.

It took a stranger with a big beautiful heart and a mutual understanding to make me realize what was smack dab in my face all the time…
We don’t have to LOOK. It’s already there. We have it inside of us. All of us. It’s called LOVE. And it’s not for HIRE nor for SALE. It’s ours and only ours. We can’t give it to anyone. And no one can take it from us.
LOVE IS WHAT WE GIVE OURSELVES!!!
It’s what we allow ourselves to feel. When we meet someone that gets our heart pounding we think an exchange of the heart must occur. We must give up ours in exchange for theirs. An arbitrage of the heart. But I say NO!!! Close the market. Hearts are at stake here. Instead just…

Breathe, reflect, and give your heart a big kiss. You did this not your mate. You are the magician of your heart. You work the magic. Others are too clumsy with things that don’t belong to them.  You allowed yourself to feel this way now take possession.
I’m not being heartless. On the contrary. I’m saying love yourself and never stop. Don’t look for approval or even mutual feelings. Just give it to yourself. Just give it to yourself, I say. That connection, that sensation, that  weightlessness, we all feel with our mate is so amazing that we think we must give up the very thing that allows us to feel so great. Well I say resist the urge. Your heart will thank you.

Some will think this is just a protectionist theory. That is, don’t let your heart get broken 101. But it’s not. It’s a right tool for the job theory. You can still give love and love someone. If fact,  I say give more.  As much as you want. The world needs more love not less. But understand that this act is something beautiful you gave yourself not someone else doing. The ultimate it’s ME not YOU. A selfish but positive act if you will that resulted in an emotion that made you feel good. Notice the “positive”. If negative acts make your heart pitter-pat than you are a monster and have no heart.
But if a beautiful sunset, a rainy morning, an innocent smile from a child, an intimate moment with your mate, or a song, really touches you…Then just breathe, reflect, and give your heart a kiss.

Like a beautiful piece of art….

(Francesco Clemente, Scissors and Butterflies)
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty like love is not universal. It exists because you witnessed it and gave it life. It’s yours, so protect and enjoy where its power exists.

Inside of you.

Your heart.

Blame it NOT on the rain, definitely NOT on the ah-ah-ah-alcohol, but on the refs: This was an intentional foul that cost the Bulls a chance of winning the game and the series against the Celtics

This is not the reason why the Bulls lost last night..

This COULD be the reason, but I don’t think so…

But this seemingly had a direct and proximate cause to the Bulls losing

Of course the REAL members of the Too Old crew (minus Ronin, who was out getting hammered and networking…not necessarily in that order) gathered around the 70 inch TV to watch this game.

Michael Douglas and Oliver Stone reunite for Wall Street 2: Art imitating Life yet again…

When looking over the Financial Times, (yeah, I read it, what of it?  Ronin is the residential financial guy, but I read to understand what little my 453B is earning) I couldn’t help but to notice what the stock market is doing.  Our “Friend” Jason has gotten into the financial game and he talks about earning money for people.  He loves to celebrate his accomplishments and brag about getting million dollar accounts for his brokerage firm. (We will not mention them because they do not need your business)

The problem is that this guy is like Bernie Madoff…

He took so many people to the cleaners, it isn’t funny.  But, Jason idolizes this guy.  He says that he wants to become bigger than Madoff.  That is why the inside investor tip of the day is “PASS”… Jason says it as a joke, but inside, you can see him scheming on getting your hard earned loot…

E’s song of the day

This jam really helped me wake up while driving into work this morning at about 4:30am.  Turns out classic rock radio isn’t that bad really early in the morning.  I can’t believe I watched the sun rise from behind a desk.  It and I have got to stop meeting like this..but I digress. This song is from one of the all-time greatest bands of our lives.  Hard to choose this one over the plethora of hits streaming through radio waves across America (“DoubleVision,” “Head Games,” “Cold as Ice,” “Urgent.” “Hot Blooded” just to name a few).  Today’s jam: Foreigner – Jukebox Hero. Rock out….

Kinda Like a Big Deal…Clipse Ex-Manager pushing Tony Montana type weight…

We here at Too Old love the music.  In fact, if you look on the side of the Blogroll, you can see that we have been repping the Clipse since the beginning of the blog.   It’s something about the lyrics that are hilarious and felt authentic, unlike Big Boy Officer Ricky and his fake drug rap.

In this story, art imitates life. With Rick Ross and his drug life, Deeper than Rap, to that I say Deeper than rap my ass.  The sad thing is Rick had a little flow to him, but his credibility is shot.  When you continually lie, people will develop hate for you. All you had to do is be honest.  The issue wasn’t that you had a real job and you “Hustled” as the CO.  But, when faced with the truth, he was embarrassed about where he came from, which ended any possibility of being taken seriously.

But, the Clipse had grimy settings and dudes that hung with the crew that you knew were involved in “things”…things that were not legal, but also the reason why they had a lot of money…

By Ismael AbduSalaam @ Allhiphop.com

Former Clipse manager and nightclub owner Anthony “Geezy” Gonzalez has been charged in U.S. District Court with running a $10 million a year drug ring.

Here is what a million dollars looks like.

According to federal documents, Gonzalez’s 6 year drug empire has allegedly moved 100 pounds of cocaine and over a ton of marijuana through Hampton Roads, Virginia since 2003.

this is about 66 lbs, so imigine about 1/3 more cocaine!

Authorities suspect Gonzalez imported the drugs from Panama Florida, California, and Arizona.

The 82-count indictment states that Gonzalez laundered drug money through several front businesses, including the Clipse’s booking agency Soul Providers Management.

The federal document elaborates that the defendants painted “themselves out as music producers, rappers, entrepreneurs, club owners, clothing designers and other legitimate occupations in order to conceal the true source of their income.”

In addition, Gonzalez is accused of making several kingpin transactions, such as purchasing 10 kilos cocaine for $200,000, and 625 pounds of marijuana for $540,000 in 2007.

Gonzalez’s Encore Lounge nightclub was allegedly purchased in 2007 for $80,000 and 40 pounds of marijuana.

Earlier this year, the Virginia Beach nightclub closed down after a reputed 100-plus incidents of violence and drug transactions in 2008.

Six other co-conspirators were named in the 60-page document, including a police officer who allegedly tipped Gonzalez off about the coming indictment.

To date, Anthony “Geezy” Gonzalez remains at large. At press time, the Clipse could not be reached for comment.

Well, this is good for the new CD.  They are in the news, and any news is good, when you are a rapper, especially when you rap about drugs and you are “keeping it real”  Peep Pusha and Malice hold it down with Kayne…  This story, just like the song, is Kinda Like a Big Deal…

That amount of weight and money will get you major time…

A Good kind of Turncoat: Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switching to the Democratic Party

I had an experience that caused me to become a turncoat…. and I am not embarrassed about it.

When I was a kid, I was a Philadelphia 76er fan. One big reason is that basketball was not really televised much.  Occasionally, you got a tape delayed game, or you got the game of the week.  Two major moments defined who I rooted for.  The first reason was this

Dr. J was beyond cool in this movie.  Plus, I am a Pisces as well, so there is some symbolism in the movie for me.  The second reason is the TV.  Lots of people are always up in arms about why I am a Laker fan.  It stems from the fact that I was a Sixer fan.

The Sixers were eliminated twice in the Eastern Conference Finals. In 1979, Larry Bird entered the league, reviving the Boston Celtics and the storied Celtics-76ers rivalry; these two teams faced each other in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1980, ’81, ’82, and ’85.

The Bird vs. Dr. J matchup became arguably the top personal rivalry in the sport (along with Bird vs. Magic Johnson), inspiring the early Electronic Arts video game Julius Erving-Larry Bird One-on-One.

The battle lines had been drawn.  I wore out the Commodore 64 playing this game on the green screen, then finally in color.

I was clearly rooting for Dr. J, just like I rooted for Magic and Michigan St against Larry and Indiana St in the finals of the NCAA tournament as a kid.  It would continue later, in a different form.

The Dr. J, Bobby Jones, Moses Malone, Mo Cheeks and Andrew Toney team was the reason that I played basketball.  With other personalities like Darryl Dawkins and Marc Ivaroni, this team was ready to roll.

Philadelphia finally had its missing ingredient. Malone’s physical presence and tireless rebounding took the pressure off the rest of the 76ers, and the team jelled as never before. Malone was MVP for the second year in a row, becoming the only man to win the award in consecutive years for different teams. He averaged a team-high 24.5 ppg and a league-leading 15.3 rpg, and also gave Philadelphia a last resort: Whenever the offense broke down or got stuck, the Sixers would simply dump the ball in to Malone, who would wheel to the basket and either score or get fouled (Malone would make 600 of 788 free throw attempts, both league highs).

Meanwhile, Julius Erving averaged 21.4 ppg and was spectacular at one forward, joining Malone on the All-NBA First Team. Marc Iavaroni was the silent banger at the other forward spot, with All-NBA Defensive First Team selection and fast-break finisher Bobby Jones coming off the bench. Andrew Toney, a deadly shooter whose proficiency against the hated Celtics earned him the nickname. “The Boston Strangler,” averaged 19.7 ppg and teamed with playmaker Maurice Cheeks (6.9 apg, 184 steals) in a classic backcourt. Clint Richardson and Clemon Johnson were other key reserves for Head Coach Billy Cunningham, who was emerging as a strong NBA bench leader with the able support of assistant Chuck Daly.

The Sixers raced through the regular season, finishing with a league-best 65-17 record. Heading into the Finals, Malone was asked for his prediction and responded with the classic “Fo’, fo’ fo’.” Philadelphia came close to living up to Malone’s prediction of an unblemished playoff record, sweeping New York, beating Milwaukee 4-1 and then sweeping a Los Angeles Lakers team weakened by injuries to Norm Nixon and Bob McAdoo in the NBA Finals. Philadelphia’s 12-1 playoff record is the best in NBA history, and an amended version of Malone’s prediction was engraved on the players’ championship rings: “Fo’, five, fo’.”

That 82-83 team was the only one to break through the wall of green known as the Celtics.  I hated watching them beat my team in seven games most years.  As soon as the Eastern Conference Finals were over, I was ready to root for the West.  Almost every year, it would be the Lakers playing the Celtics.

That, coupled with the Video Games, I finally decided that I rooted for the Lakers.  They have been the only team I root for since 86.  Its funny that my friends get so up in arms that I root for the Lakers. It makes me laugh because its only an issue when they are doing well.  I wasn’t hearing this when Magic retired and I was rooting for Ced Ceballos, who quit to go hang out at Lake Havasu one year.  I supported the local team, the Warriors, until the one player I really liked, Mitch Richmond, was dealt on opening night, with me in the stands.  I stopped rooting and supporting  for the local team, except when they play my team, or its the playoffs, since playoff basketball has a special feel to it.

Plus, they forget that I lived in LA as a kid for awhile and I worked at LMU, where the Lakers routinely held practice and summer scrimmages, but there is not ever a need to remind them, since they are just pissed about the fates of their own teams.

Another person has seen the light and has decided to change affiliations.

Specter To Switch Parties

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning.

Specter’s decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Senate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next Senator from Minnesota. (Former Sen. Norm Coleman is appealing Franken’s victory in the state Supreme Court.)

“I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary,” said Specter in a statement. “I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and have my candidacy for re-election determined in a general election.”

He added: “Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.”

Specter as a Democrat would also fundamentally alter the 2010 calculus in Pennsylvania as he was expected to face a difficult primary challenge next year from former Rep. Pat Toomey. The only announced Democrat in the race is former National Constitution Center head Joe Torsella although several other candidates are looking at the race.

This is a weapon that Obama has to use.  This is what Democrats were hoping for in the election, the 60 person majority that can block filibuster attempts that could prevent measures from getting past.  This is a powerful tool Presidents can use to drive their agenda.

This does not mean that Obama can rest.  It is always possible to lose members of your party on the more controversial issues that can drive the proverbial wedge between supporters.  But, with numbers like this, you can force  Republicans to the drawing table, where negotiations on issues can take place.