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[18 Jan 2010 | Comments | ]
Donate Blood to Help Haiti

Yes, the tragedy in Haiti is epic and the suffering is immeasurable.

A need that no one seems to be addressing is the inevitable and immediate need for blood and blood plasma. This is one humanitarian gesture that requires a little more than a text message or a checkbook. It will take 20 min of your time and the use of your arm to save lives. The tragic H.I.V. epidemic in Haiti only exacerbates the problem thus making the need for individual sacrifice of critical importance.
If you …

Featured, Fighting Racism, Fixing the Problems, Global, Headline, History, International, Slavery, They said what??, Waking Up »

[14 Jan 2010 | Comments | ]
Pat Robertson’s Repugnant Comments about Haiti

Displaying more dignity and grace than most anyone else could have mustered under the circumstances, Haiti’s Ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, offered a precise explanation of history to address the odious comments Pat Robertson made yesterday while men, women and children lay trapped in agony.

I am absolutely sick of people defending hate filled oratory.
Trent Lott’s comments “weren’t said with malice”.
Rush Limbaugh’s “just trying to rile people up”.
Both words and deeds count.
Think about it.

Featured, Fixing the Problems, Global, Headline, International, Take Action! »

[13 Jan 2010 | Comments | ]
Help Haiti

People.
There’s trouble in our ‘hood.

Our neighbors are bleeding.
Our neighbors need our help.

Please do whatever you can.
Here’s what you can do:
Salvation Army – Haiti Earthquake Relief

American Red Cross – Haiti Earthquake – Red Cross Sends Aid and is seeking volunteers to go. Can you do it?
Via blackperspective.net:
Yobachi Boswell writes: “Food For The Poor is the organization I donated through in 2008, and I was happy with them.” At Yobachi’s urging I, too, donated to Food for the Poor in 2008 and the follow-up was very good.
Yele Haiti is Wyclef Jean’s …

Featured, Fixing the Problems, Headline, Pet Peeves, Point of Interest, Politics, They said what?? »

[11 Jan 2010 | Comments | ]
Harry Reid said “Negro”

Please, can you explain to me why the word “Negro” is still being used in casual discussion in 2010? (…2008 to be precise…)

Most importantly, please explain to me, after so much interracial dialogue, why some white people cannot distinguish between racial ignorance and racial hatred?
Trent Lott’s comments on longing for a segregated America = Racial Hatred
Harry Reid’s word choice in his description of Barack Obama’s acceptability to white voters = Racial Ignorance
Disturbing racial ignorance, but not surprising. [Added 5:45a]
I watched racially stunted and ever-stubborn Joe Scarborough refuse …

Featured, Humor »

[23 Dec 2009 | Comments | ]
Christmas Canceled

Amalgamated North Pole Industries. L.L.C.
100 Candy Cane lane
North Pole, Arctic Circle
10001
To Whom it May Concern,
The management of A.N.P.I. would like to take this opportunity to offer a public statement regarding the recent alleged incidents in Florida involving two of our employees. Let me assure the citizens of this community that the elves in question have been reprimanded and placed on administrative leave pending resolution of all legal matters.
Three days ago, a pair of elven sled mechanics had been hitting the eggnog a little too heavy at the …

Appearance, Check these out, Featured, Headline, Pet Peeves, Point of Interest, Technology »

[21 Dec 2009 | Comments | ]
HP Whites Only Face-Tracking Webcam

So it turns out that HP’s face tracking webcams only work with white folks. Bwahahahaha. “Technology is colorblind” in your face. Check it out via Current.com:

Make sure you watch until near the end. Turns out “Black Desi” has a surprise for his wife to boot.
HP responds:
“We are working with our partners to learn more. The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe that the camera might have difficulty “seeing” …

Crime, Featured, Fixing the Problems, Headline, The Topsoil, They said what?? »

[15 Dec 2009 | Comments | ]
Statistic

By Andrew Padula
A couple of days after the election last year, I attended a foreign policy seminar in downtown D.C. I had really been looking forward to this opportunity to rub elbows with international political and business leaders while enjoying one heck of a free lunch buffet. Unfortunately, the most memorable part of this day was my commute on the pride of our nation’s rail system, the Washington Metro. Three or four stops had passed by on my trip home. I was sitting quietly by myself …

Check these out, Featured, Headline, Interracial Romance, Media, Point of Interest »

[7 Dec 2009 | Comments | ]
Tiger, Tiger Burning …oh well you know

For the most part, my reaction to the Tiger trouser snake scandal has been a ‘Kanye shrug’. I certainly wouldn’t want the absolute worst moments of my marriage all over the tabloids. On the other hand, I conduct myself in such a way that even the worst moments wouldn’t be particularly interesting or considered outrageous by anyone other than my hubby.
I am perplexed as to why Gatorade hasn’t dropped Tiger Woods endorsement deal yet. But then again, it is an energy drink. I guess it all makes then since at …

Check these out, Featured, Fixing the Problems, Headline, Pet Peeves, Point of Interest, Police »

[4 Dec 2009 | Comments | ]
Taser Facebook Pages: Well-Scrubbed Parallel Reality

If you only got your information about Taser from it’s several Facebook pages or blog, you would think that there was universal enthusiasm for this 50,000 volt forced compliance weapon. The glowing praise expressed in chatty accolades would be appropriate to discussions of the latest iphone iteration or Droid functionality.
Lingering on Taser Facebook pages, you’d think that it wasn’t very often that Taser related deaths related occur. And when they do happen? You could be persuaded that it’s always the fault of some drug addicted or genetically challenged skell whose …

AOL Black Voices/BlackSpin, Featured, Headline, Pet Peeves, Politics, They said what?? »

[2 Dec 2009 | Comments | ]
Black Newspaper Publishes Racist Cartoon of Black Legislator

We have Nina Turner, a black politician, being caricatured as Aunt Jemima in a black newspaper, the Call & Post. Why? Because she disagreed with them on some legislation. Unacceptable in my opinion and the good news is, I think, most black folks are fed up with this kind of silencing tactic as well.

Read my full article over at Aol’s BlackSpin. Here’s an excerpt:
The decision by Call & Post, owned by Don King, to call-out Nina Turner by portraying her as the subservient, smiling, always-white-people pleasing Aunt Jemima, because she …

Barack Obama, Featured, Headline, Media, Television »

[30 Nov 2009 | Comments | ]
White House Party Crashers: Exhibit A Against Racial Profiling

Blond, white and beaming, Tareq And Michaele Salahi breezed into the first White House State Dinner of the Obama presidency. The Salahis hadn’t made it onto on any guest lists, hadn’t gone through any of the usual background checks beforehand and apparently didn’t even pretend to have done these things. Instead, they were just smiley, dressed “appropriately” for the festive occasion and walked right in.
When I heard “White House party crashers” story for the first time, I wondered two things:
1. What if the Salahis are terrorists and have …

Crime, Featured, Headline, Police »

[30 Nov 2009 | Comments | ]
Maurice Clemmons: “Watch the News.”

Maurice Clemmons, alleged assassin, child rapist and repeatedly convicted felon is still on the loose as of now. Clemmons ambush murder of four police officers starting the day at a coffee shop, is one of those street level crimes that tears at the thin fabric of human decency in which most of us seek comfort. Maurice Clemmons apparently went hunting for police officers to kill. And Clemmons is alleged to have told acquaintances as much. He reportedly said to them, “Watch the the news tomorrow. I’m going to kill some …

Check these out, Featured, Fighting Racism, Fixing the Problems, Hate Crimes, Headline »

[24 Nov 2009 | Comments | ]
Anti-Black Hate Crime Rises 8% in 2008

The FBI released its 2008 Hate Crime Statistics report yesterday. Overall Hate crimes were up 2%. That’s bad and it gets worse. In the wake of President Obama’s election, hate crimes against blacks rose 8%.
Hate incidents related to the election occurred in all parts of the country. An interracial couple in Apolacan Township, Pa., who supported Obama, found the remains of a burnt cross in their garden. In Madison County, Idaho, elementary school children allegedly chanted “assassinate Obama” on a school bus. In Mount Desert Island, Maine, black effigies …

Featured, Headline, Media, Pet Peeves, They said what?? »

[23 Nov 2009 | Comments | ]
Glenn Beck announces a ‘March on Washington’ on Anniversary of MLK Speech

You have to hand it to Glenn Beck. He is a wizard at whipping up controversy and, therefore, publicity. Beck’s latest dangling shiny object comes in the form of an announcement that in order to support the sales of his upcoming book which will outline a 100 year plan for America, he is organizing a gathering on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The date is August 28, 2010; the 47th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.
At [a] rally and in a letter on his …

Featured, Fixing the Problems, Headline, Language, Point of Interest, Politics, They said what?? »

[20 Nov 2009 | Comments | ]
Mike Huckabee on Obama ‘Give Credit Where Credit is Due’: When Ordinary Becomes Exceptional

Mike Huckabee has done something reasonable and, in these divided times, that makes it newsworthy and admirable. In a talk at the Hudson Union Society, where he discussed his forthcoming book, “A Simple Christmas”, Huckabee pushed back against the conservatives who criticized President Obama’s visit to Dover Air Force base. Via Huffington Post:
When he [Barack Obama] was at Dover the other day, and went there to pay respect for soldiers, I heard a lot of people on the Right say “Aw, that’s just a cheap photo-op.” No, I think it …