What Is Linkin Park Doing With Busta Rhymes? Making Some Pretty Good Music!

Hey Barack, Get Back To Bashing Bush!

By Isidra Person-Lynn

I am reading the headlines that presidential hopeful Barack Obama is again distancing himself from his now famous Pastor Jeremiah Wright.

Now that you have said that, Senator, please go back to your stunning offense and hammer away the message that the country President Bush is leaving you to lead is a mess and it is largely because of HIS POLITICS, not his pastor's.

Every day another industry is raiding prices, another company is going under. Circuit City? Have you been to a store lately to see how much wheat and other foods have become? Forget the earthquake food you should be saving. You might as well stock up on Depression food ow while you can.

The Bush administration has sold this country out from underneath us, have allowed the oil companies to put us in a headlock, and have left many children behind. THIS is why you were so popular and this is why white racism is rearing its ugly head against you. How are Pastor Wright's comments worse than the lies Hillary has told or the fact that Hillary's husband is conducting business totally opposite of what she is proclaiming? Had you done either of these things or if you were at the helm when the country was a mess, you would have been thrown under the buss.

This is what you must do: When they ask you about Wright, start talking about Bush. You've already answered them, so YOU move on. Keep your eyes focused, do not feel you have to answer every question. Keep providing us with your thoughtful solutions, and don't let up. In this case the best defense is a strong offense. Hillary is not the enemy. You have beaten her by my count. Instead, keep Bush and the Republican party in front of your sight because THAT is what we all want relief from. That is why we want you in there.

The American media is using the Hack a Barack...over and over again. It slows the game and turns the voters off. Take a page out of Kobe's book: It's the 4th quarter. Just take over the game.

Yes, my metaphors are mixed but I hope my message is clear. It ain't over.

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White Girls Gone Wild Are Intent On Taking Back The White House

Hillary Clinton fans on that hip hop tip are bringing it with this hilarious video. Check it out, then tell us what you think!

Buying Into All The Grand Theft Auto Hype? Get In Line!

If you have a PlayStation addiction like me, this story is definitely for you.

Confirmed reports today have laid two additional issues at the feet of the PlayStation 3 version of Grand Theft Auto IV. These issues include inaccessible online play and a less-than-true-HD 640p resolution.

Sony is aware of the online problems, read a post over at Kotaku, but Rockstar so far has not responded to their inquiries. The GTA IV servers are hosted by Gamespy.

As for the resolution issue, several outlets have confirmed the PS3 version runs at 640p, compared to the Xbox 360's HD 720p. Before you go stringing up Sony and Rockstar for the gaff, however, remember that Halo 3 experienced the same un-HD treatment when it launched in 2007.

It should also be noted that neither version runs at 1080p, the resolution most touted by both Microsoft and Sony in the run up to the "next generation console war." Maybe GTA IV could come out for Wii after all?

Wednesday Sexy, Courtesy Of No Cream No Sugar

Need a break from all the serious political talk?

Well ladies, will this do? FYI -- They're Twins!

Dolphins President Parcells Tells Twinkle Toes Jason Taylor, Get Your Butt In Camp

This is A Hot One.. NFL Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor

This One Is Even Hotter...

Taylor and his Partner Edyta Sliwinska On TV's Dancing With The Stars

But This One is the Hottest...

New Miami Dolphin Operations President Bill Parcells, Who Thinks Jason Needs To Stop This Dance Crap And Get His Butt Back To Work In Dolphins Camp

CITING IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES, BARACK ASKS REV. WRIGHT FOR A DIVORCE!!!

"Whatever relationship I had with Reverend Wright, that relationship will not be the same."

Presidential candidate Barack Obama was dissed and put out on front by his pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright and now the fit has hit the shan. Antithetical to his 2008 presidential bid, Obama characterized Wright's comments as contradictory to who he is, his wife and his campaign. Denouncing Wright clearly and unequivocally by couching the controversial African American minister's positions as "ridiculous propositions and rants", this spectacle has erupted to a fever pitch.

Not only has it caused Obama's relationship with his church to be strained, perhaps permanently, it's painful to watch the biracial brotha from Illinois speak of not vetting the man who officiated his marriage to Michelle and baptised his two daughters.

Whenever you call your own pastor a "caricature of himself" you know it's on!

Clearly the gauntlet has been slammed down and this is historic in the implications that Obama's news conference will have on this country. (Read Entire Transcript)

Great damage now exists between these two Black men, as the Illinois senator stated that he was "appalled, outraged and angry" over comments that "contradict everything he and his campaign stands for." Obama has now built a moat between he and the good reverend, denouncing all the comments the former Trinity Church leader made.

The anguish is palpable. But the truth is, both men are pandering to their respective audiences, like Black rival gang leaders of the Crips and the Bloods.

Why did Wright have to go three straight days to "defend not himself, but the Black church?" This is a mess, with African Americans and the country as a whole completely in the middle of what would otherwise be a moment of pride and inspiration. Whatever relationship they once had is now clearly severed, but can you really blame Barack?

Supreme Court "Messing With" The 2008 Election: Obama Supporters Excluded From Indiana Primary

The US Supreme Court has ruled in the State of Indiana, that it is legal for state governments to demand a valid photo I.D. before being allowed to vote. A great majority of recently registered Obama supporters are young and/or have never voted in their lives.

How many of these people can get a "Valid picture" I.D. before next weeks Indiana Democratic Primary? In the 1950's and 1960's the Supreme Court was a friend to those who were refused the right to vote or discouraged with fake "intelligence test" to qualify to vote. Now the Supreme Court is part of the problem and...


has learned nothing of their passed mistakes? Unless... their tampering and becoming the decision maker in the 2000 Presidential election was not a mistake. Has this "right' leaning court decided to make it it's purpose to dictate and greatly influence all future presidential elections.This rule was backed by Republicans and assailed by Democrats.

There were two opinions in the six-three majority, each signed by three justices, and the "lead opinion" written by John Paul Stevens and joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy acknowledged the state presented "no evidence" that some Indianans were voting under others' names, but that neither was there "any concrete evidence of the burden imposed on voters who now lack photo identification," as the New York Times reports.

The Stevens opinion also said that while "all of the state's Republican legislators, and none of the Democrats, voted for the law in 2005," such "partisan motivation doesn't invalidate a law," Legal Times adds, especially when it has a valid goal like the reduction of voter fraud. The second majority opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, supported the Indiana law more emphatically, saying it was justified as "a generally applicable, nondiscriminatory voting regulation." A

nd the third, dissenting opinion, written by Justice David Souter, criticized the law for placing what he called a "serious" and "deterring" burden on poorer or older voters who might be less likely to have the required ID.


Since Indiana's is one of the U.S.'s strictest voter-ID laws, the decision "is likely to end pending challenges to similar laws elsewhere, including Ohio and other states up for grabs in this year's general elections" and "could encourage other states to enact similar rules," The Wall Street Journal notes.

But the most immediate consequences will likely come a week from today, when Indiana holds a primary vote that, according to the Indianapolis Star, is "expected to set a record for turnout fueled by the Democratic contest between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama." And it could pose problems for Mr. Obama, The Hill says, since the law's Democratic and civil rights-advocating critics have argued it will disproportionately affect the black and young first-time voters who have thus far made up two of his most important constituencies.

Thanks JOSEPH SCHUMAN for updating us on this story

Are You Trying To Pull-Up To Chili's Bumper?

Former TLC shorty Chili, aka Ronzonda Thomas, covers the latest issue of Rolling Out Magazine looking quite tasty. No Cream No Sugar has a few more pics for your salivating pleasure.

Black Men Ain't Working, Stat!!!!

Is unemployment among groups of African American males approaching the crisis level? Duh!

New York Senator Charles Schumer opined on the recent finding that 72 percent of Black men who dropped out of high school are unemployed.


Schumer detailed several plans of his own to address the problem and challenged the presidential candidates to take up the issue and discuss it openly as they continue they bids for the White House. Just so we're clear, Schumer is a staunch Hillary Clinton Supporter who knows that somebody on Team Hillary better start doing damage control with Black folks.

Among Schumer’s proposals is an expansion of the earned income tax credit to single men so that “work really pays if you don’t have children you are living with but you are still paying your child support.”

Oh yeah, that will do the trick.

Thanks George. You-da-man!

Rev. Jeremiah Wright Ain't Shuckin' Or Jivin Fo Nobody, God Damn Barack Historic Bid

For Obama, More Wright Means More Problems

Vowing to fight back against attacks on the Black church in America from those who know nothing of its history and traditions, Rev. Jeremiah Wright strode defiantly into the belly of the beast with both barrels blazing.

His theatrical performance at the National Press Club, in he which he was at times flippant, at other times confrontational, the 66-year-old pastor virtually guaranteed more problems for the Democratic presidential bid of Barack Obama, just as the Illinois senator is redoubling efforts to win the support of blue-collar workers in the white heartland of the Midwest.

While claiming to safeguard the honour of his church, Wright seemed bent on personal redemption, at any cost to Obama, his parishioner for 20 years. He didn't back away from any of his comments that many found offensive, including the role of American foreign policy in the 2001 terror attacks in the U.S.

While complaining that his preachings have been reduced to sound bites and taken out of context, he provided new fodder for Obama's opponents.

It was his third public appearance in four days, effectively rekindling a controversy Obama has struggled to put behind him for more than a month.

The controversy, Wright said, might force Americans to understand the teachings of African-American churches. "Maybe that religious tradition will be understood, celebrated, and even embraced by a nation that seems not to have noticed why 11 o'clock on Sunday morning has been called the most segregated hour in America," he said.



This as Hillary Rodham Clinton now leads John McCain by nine points in a head-to-head presidential matchup, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll that bolsters her argument that she is more electable. Barack Obama and McCain are running about even.



Helped by independents, young people and seniors, Clinton gained ground this month taking a 50% to 41% over McCain. Obama bests McCain 46% to 44%.

Meanwhile, his calls for racial reconciliation and a staunch defence of the deeds of his Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago were swamped by his more controversial and glib statements, all met with enthusiastic applause by black church leaders in the audience.

When asked whether "the chickens had come home to roost" with the 2001 terror attacks, he said: "Jesus said, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,'

"You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Those are biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright bombastic, divisive principles." Wright, who is retiring from his post, presided at Obama's wedding and the baptisms of Obama's daughters.

Obama has credited his words as the inspiration for the title of his best-selling book, The Audacity of Hope.

But YouTube clips of his sermons, including one in which he railed against a government that discriminates against blacks then asks them to sing "God Bless America" – "No, no, no, God damn America," he says on one – have tainted Obama by association.

In mid-March, Obama tried to deal with Wright's comments in a widely praised speech on race in America. Wright defended himself against claims he is being unpatriotic by citing his military service.

"I served six years in the military. Does that make me patriotic? How many years did (U.S. Vice-President Dick) Cheney serve?" he asked.

Regardless of whether Obama is elected president, Wright said he will still be a pastor and he is accountable to a different person. "Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls, Huffington (a popular political website), whoever's doing the polls," he said.

"I am not running for office." Then he deadpanned: "I am open to be vice-president."

He said Obama had to distance himself from his remarks because of the way the media reported them. "I said to Barack Obama, last year, 'If you get elected ... I'm coming after you, because you'll be representing a government whose policies grind under people," Wright said.

He also defended his association with Louis Farrakhan, the founder of the Chicago-based Church of Islam, who Obama has condemned as anti-Semitic.

"Louis Farrakhan is not my enemy," Wright said. "He did not put me in chains, he did not put me in slavery, and he didn't make me this colour." After Wright's latest comments, Obama said, "None of the voters I talk to ask about it.

"There may be people who are troubled by it and are polite and not asking about it. It's not what I hear," he told The Associated Press in North Carolina.

"I have said before and I will say again that some of the comments Rev. Wright has made offend me and I understand why they have offended the American people. Certainly what the last three days indicates is we're not co-ordinating with him."

Most analysts saw further damage ahead for Obama. "If this man cares one whit about electing an African-American to the highest office of the land, he should get off the national stage," David Gergen, a political analyst at Harvard University, told CNN. "He should go away. Go back to the pulpit."

In a spirited defence of his church, Wright said his congregation took a stand against South African apartheid when the U.S. government was supporting the racist regime in Pretoria, and was feeding the homeless and needy while Washington was spending billions fighting an unjust war in Iraq. His congregation has sent members to fight the war in Vietnam, the first Gulf War and the two ongoing wars, he said.

"Those who call me unpatriotic have used their positions of privilege to avoid military service, while sending more than 4,000 American boys and girls of every race to die over a lie," he said.

If Barack Doesn't Survive, Will Black Folks Return To Hill & Bubba's Party?

GOP: There's No Place Like Home?

It started in the 1960 campaign, when Martin was jailed for protesting segregation and Jack Kennedy picked up the phone and reached out to Coretta.

Martin Luther King, Sr., a lifelong Republican (as many African Americans were at the time) was so touched by the Kennedys involvement that he threw his support to Kennedy. African Americans were also touched, and noticed the disrespect shown by the Republican, Richard Nixon. Historians largely credit that with moving enough African American votes to the Democratic column to propel Kennedy to a razor-thin victory in 1960. And, since then, African Americans have largely not returned to the GOP.

It's a story I recalled this morning when I saw Sunday's Rasmussen Poll that showed Hillary Clinton getting just 59 percent of the African American vote if she is the nominee in November. (By the way, McCain beats Clinton and Barack Obama equally among white voters, in the poll)

For a few days now, I've been examining the growing "African American problem" that the Clintons have, and what it could mean in November. It's somewhat uncomfortable, as a white guy, but no one else seemed to be doing it. The long and short of it is not surprising -- if African Americans don't turn out for Clinton, or vote against her, to any degree less than the last few presidential contests, she will lose.

Almost every swing state depends on urban areas as bastions of Democratic turnout, if it's to turn blue. And, those urban areas are predominantly African American. So, it's pretty near impossible to win Michigan if Detroit doesn't turn out, or Ohio if Cleveland doesn't turn out, and so on.

When you listen to African American leaders like Rep. James Clyburn, the plummeting support for Senator Clinton in the African American community isn't surprising. Nor is it surprising when you read the absolute anger towards the Clintons growing every day on websites that focus on African American interests, like Jack and Jill Politics or TheRoot.com.

The longer this race continues, the more attitudes will begin to solidify, on all sides. And, should Senator Clinton secure the nomination as the result of a floor fight at the convention (which her campaign admits is her only path to the nomination), that will only further promote the perception that this nomination is being stolen from America's first African American candidate with a real shot. If it goes that far, to the convention, there is only two months to repair the breach. A daunting task, indeed.

Everyone I've discussed this with who is white basically says the same thing -- wounds will heal, African Americans will come back.

When Senator Ted Kennedy spoke at Coretta Scott King's funeral, he recalled 1960. The Los Angeles Times reported:

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) drew roars of approval when he invoked the 1960 phone call placed by his brother, then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, to Coretta King to pledge his help in freeing her husband from jail. Kennedy also mentioned the call placed by another brother, Robert F. Kennedy, JFK's campaign manager, to a local judge to inquire why Martin Luther King Jr. could not post bond. He was freed the next morning.

The sanctuary burst into applause when Sen. Kennedy said: "Robert called the judge."

Forty-five years and one Southern-Strategy later, an entire generation of African Americans has not forgotten which candidate of which party took the time to make a couple of phone calls, to the point where just recounting it caused two of the largest applause lines at a Memorial Service.

And, yet, the white pundits I've talked to maintain that in just months, African Americans will come back to the Clintons after the frontrunner, Barack Obama, was bloodied up by their "Bubba Strategy," pitting white working-class voters against African Americans?

Don't wait by the phone.

By Eric Schmeltzer of Huffington Post

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Can Wesley Snipes' Career Survive Prison?

The Educated Guesswork of Estimating Darfur Deaths
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Bush Renews US Commitment to Fight Malaria in Africa

Jeremiah Wright At Detroit NAACP Is NOT Seeking Different Educational Standards For Blacks

DON'T GET HIS WORDS TWISTED!!

Jeremiah Wright spoke at the NAACP National Conference in Detroit Michigan. And once again, he told it like it is. He told the truth, but everyone you will hear this week can't handle the truth. But check out how these intellegent Black folks set Geraldo Rivera straight



Commentary By: Montel and Geraldo Rivera, Dr. Benajmin Chavis & Rev. Myron Cloyd

Miley Cyrus Apologies, Disney Executives Gag... Over Scandalous Pictures

Not since a 5 year old "cash cow" named Shirley Temple, lost one of her teeth in the middle of filming has there been a collective "OH NO!" from a studios film executives... In this case we are talking about Disney execs. who got the news that Miley Cyrus a.k.a Hanna Montana had scandalous pictures circulating the web. She now apologises.

The singer, 15, tells PEOPLE: "My goal in my music and my acting is always to make people happy. For Vanity Fair, I was so honored and thrilled to work with Annie [Leibovitz]. I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed."

A source close to the singer tells PEOPLE that Cyrus is clothed but shown by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz in such a way that that the teen appears to be topless.

In the photos that circulated on the Internet, Cyrus, her midriff exposed, is shown draped over the lap of her then-boyfriend, her producer's son. In another image, a hint of a green bra is evident.

source: PEOPLE ON LINE

Beautiful Southern California Weather... Brings Dangerous Fires and Destruction

Southern California is blessed with great weather nearly year round. And this weekend came with great anticipation as predictions for the weekend reached 90 degree temperatures. Unfortunately this is desert country. The dried woods and hill sides overgrown with grass have brought back the dangerous wild fires.


The early season wildfire slowly chewed its way through dense brush near Los Angeles on Sunday, forcing more than 1,000 people from homes in the foothills.

More than 400 firefighters attacked the 350-acre fire, aided by two helicopters and water-dropping air tankers, said Elisa Weaver of the Arcadia Fire Department. Residents evacuated at least 550 homes Saturday night and Sunday, but none had burned.

"This is pretty serious," Weaver said. "Some of these areas have not burned in over 40 years."

Smoke and fire billowed near neighborhoods on the outskirts of Sierra Madre near Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park. The fire moved slowly as it fed on brush and was estimated to be 5 to 10 percent contained. It is expected to continue burning for another two or three days.

Winds were calm early Sunday, boosting firefighter efforts, Weaver said.

Helicopters made water drops Sunday morning on a steep ridge above Sierra Madre, about 15 miles northeast of Los Angeles and just east of Pasadena. A fixed-wing water tanker also made at least one drop of flame retardant.

The blaze also stranded 50 guests from a wedding party at the Chantry Flats ranger's station on Saturday until they were airlifted out Sunday afternoon, Weaver said. It took five helicopter trips from the ranger's station to the parking area where the wedding party's cars were. The party then was escorted out by road.

The fire was first reported Saturday afternoon in a wooded area a few miles northeast of Pasadena.

For more, read AP writer JOHN ANTCZAK

The Mis-Education Of Jeremiah Wright

Earl Ofari Hutchinson Breaks It Down

The much discussed, much defended, and much reviled pastor Jeremiah Wright can't be blamed for his gross naiveté on politics.

After all, he's a preacher, and as he told Bill Moyers in an interview on PBS that he only talks "about the things of God." That's the way it should be for men of the faith.

But that's not the way it is when one of your flock is a politician who's at the top of the heap in the dash for the White House.

It doesn't do much good as countless Wright defenders have shouted that he is being held to the old racial double standard when much of the media and the public dump on him and call him a racist, hatemonger, and anti-American for his racially inflammatory remarks, but do not pound on white preachers who rail against abortion, gay marriage, and make borderline gender and racially offensive statements. The issue in that case is not the color of the preacher or the notoriety of the member of the flock that hears the preacher's message; it's the timing of the message.

Whether Wright's statements were taken out of context, deliberately mangled and twisted, and packaged to make him look bad is irrelevant. In fact, his remarks weren't even blown up necessarily to make Obama look like a closet radical and racial panderer. Wright's words in context or not were sensational, shocking, and made in heaven news soundbits. Since Obama is a member of his church flock that made them ripe for a political spin.

But Wright should have known that. He's no babe in the wood when it comes to controversy. Sooner or later his words would be fodder for a You Tube loop and for a media whose antenna is sky high for even the slightest bit of campaign titillation. There were just too many hints of that. The early rap of his Southside Chicago church, his fiery preaching style, and his outspoken afro-centric activism on racial and social issues, were plums for the news and political pickings. Early on in the Obama campaign Wright purportedly warned him that his church membership might eventually be made an issue. He even wrote a letter to a New York Times writer lambasting her for allegedly doing a hatchet job on the church and his preachments a year before the storm broke.

His oblique dig at Obama in the Moyers interview for as he put it doing what politicians do showed he knew something about the penchant of politicians to do and say anything to win. Presumably what Wright meant in Obama's case, was that he had to do racial damage control and distance himself from his views.

Wright also learned that in politics timing is everything. The quotes that he screams were skewed and taken out of context are from older sermons and talks. There was no need to make an issue of them then because Obama was still an unknown on the national scene. Even after he tossed his hat in the presidential rink in February, 2007 it still took many months of debates, hard campaigning, and then spectacular wins in a slew of Democratic primaries and caucuses before Democratic Party top guns, much of the media, and public and that included the majority of blacks, not to mention the GOP watchdogs, really believed that he had a real shot at the presidency. There was simply no need to fasten Wright as a political albatross around Obama's neck at that point.

Wright also relearned another lesson about race and politics. It's still a touchy, volatile, and always polarizing issue that politicians step gingerly around whenever they can. That's especially true for Obama. Though he's done everything humanly possible to sell himself and his candidacy as the incarnation of inclusiveness, race neutrality, and unity, there are still the whispers and worries that a racial intent lurks just under the surface in his agenda.

For the Obama doubters and those downright suspicious of him, Wright confirmed their suspicions. There is no hard evidence that Wright did much to contribute to Obama's Pennsylvania primary loss. But the gaping racial rift between white Democrats and black Democrats in the vote there on Clinton and Obama is an inferential sign that Wright may have been on the minds of more than a few white voters.

There's no inference or guesswork that he's on the minds of North Carolina state GOP leaders. Their hit ad that welded Obama at the hip with Wright was splattered all over the state. Though John McCain quickly denounced it and demanded that it be yanked, party leaders there essentially told their man to take a hike.

Wright has retired from the pulpit at Trinity United. However, his alleged out of context and distorted remarks won't be retired. They're too much of a political goldmine and that's something that Wright got a fresh education on.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House (Middle Passage Press, February 2008).

QUICKIE: EXHIBIT A ON HOW POLITICS IS BRINGING SEXY BACK

Barack and Michelle's marriage exploding. Hillary's gay scandal. A secret love child that Laura and George Bush are hiding. Has it all come down to this???

Onetime Black Panther Leader Elaine Brown Ain't Feelin' This ‘New Age’ Of Racism!

Elaine Brown, one no-nonsense sistah who spent three of her 10 years with the Black Panthers as party chairperson of the mostly male organization, recently spoke at the annual Thurgood Marshall Lecture on Law and Human Rights, benefiting UCLA’s Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.

Boy did this former afro-wearing, gun carrying firebrand have a lot to get off her chest!

As a UCLA student herself in 1969, Brown was present at the infamous Campbell Hall shootings, which erupted out of a meeting to negotiate the leadership and direction of what would become the school’s African American Studies department.

“I continually hear that we’re in a post-racial period,” said Brown, who also edited the famed Black militant organization’s official newspaper and co-established its free legal aid program. “We’re told that there’s no more debt to pay. Yet, we have the highest poverty rates and lowest employment. There are two million people in prison, 50 percent of them Black men.”

Brown says these types of inequality are just a few examples of the modern assault on African-Americans and she was not convinced 'that we're in a post-racial period.'

Now based in Atlanta, the 65-year-old Brown has in recent years focused her activist work on criminal justice reform. In 1998, she formed a local grassroots movement, Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice, and founded a legal defense committee in support of a new trial for Michael Lewis. Also known as “Little B,” Lewis was 13 years-old when he was sentenced to life in prison in 1977.

In an early highlight of her remarks, Brown recalled arguing with another African-American on an Atlanta street, as the two debated whether America had moved on from its ugly racial past: “I told him I’m trying to fight for our community, while you’re just trying to get a job on the plantation.”

Later, the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Bill Clinton, Clarence Thomas and Bill Cosby, came under heavy rhetorical fire. In a sweeping historical treatise that condemned slavery, the Jim Crow era and the failings of the modern public school system, Brown attacked what she called “the New Age of racism.”

“This New Age racism completely disregards American history and says that our present condition is all to do with personal choice,” explained Brown. “We have the highest infant mortality rates, Black women and children make up 65 percent of AIDS cases and perhaps the most damning stat, less than one percent of U.S. revenues come from Black businesses. We’re still not free and we’re living in the house of our oppressor.” [Wave Newspaper]

2008 NBA Playoffs Schedule For The Weekend

Sports Ilustrated Has It All

Girls That Rock: Venus And Serena Work It On And Off The Court

(From Chris in Detroit)

Who do you think Rocks? Send us a name and we'll post the picture.

Maya Angelou Says Hillary Is My President... So Take A Second Look

Dear Friend: I am writing to tell you about my friend, Hillary Clinton, and why I am standing with her in her campaign for the presidency. I know the kind of president Hillary Clinton will be because I know the person she is.

I am inspired by her courage and her honesty. She is a reliable and trustworthy person. She is someone I not only admire but one for whom I have profound affection.


Hillary does not waver in standing up for those who need a champion. She has always been a passionate protector of families. As a child, she was taught that all God's children are equal, and as a mother, she understood that her child wasn't safe unless all children were safe. As I wrote about Hillary recently in a praise song: "She is the prayer of every woman, and every man who longs for fair play, healthy families, good schools and a balanced economy."

It may be easy to view Hillary Clinton through the narrow lens of those who would write her off or grind her down. Hillary sees us as we are, black and brown and white and yellow and pink and relishes our differences knowing that fundamentally we are all more alike than we are unalike. She is able to look through complexion and see community.

She has endured great scrutiny, and still she dares greatly. Hillary Clinton will not give up on you, and all she asks is that you do not give up on her. She is a long-distance runner. I am honored to say I am with her for the long run.

The Insider Got This Scoop

Am I The Only One Worried That Blogging About Mine And Other People's Business Will Come Back To Haunt Me?

Before the word blogging was invented (it's kind of funny to think of words being invented but they are--every year), I published by email a regular little column for my friends and family that I dubbed "L.A. Diaries."

They were basically short essays, thoughts and stories about my experiences as a young fresh earnest screenwriter embarking on my career in Los Angeles.These days I'm still earnest, though perhaps not as fresh (or young!) as I once was (hopefully more knowledgeable and experienced though), and the blogsite has replaced the en masse emailing.

Though I love the technological benefits blogging gives me, I've lost something in the transition. Because of the public, aye, world-wide access posting anything on the web provides, I have found myself becoming very conscientious about mentioning particular names of people I interact with. I speak namely of the stars, those people who generate fifty-zillion Internet pages when they are googled (that's a recently invented verb).

It's not that I have anything damaging to say about any of these people (for the record, my relationships with all of them are good and those I really know are GREAT people), it's just that in a business whose daily decisions are so precariously perched on the pinnacle of public opinion that they can be swayed by a mere positive or negative breeze, I don't want to be the guy who's blowing the wrong winds. Are thousands of people reading my blog? Heck no. But it only takes one:

"Ya know this writer named Avery has told the world that he's frustrated at how slow things are moving with you."

So in trying to decide whether or not to write about this or that, I ultimately end up not writing at all. That's got to change.In fact, my whole approach to writing professionally needs to be fixed. What that entails will be the subject of my next post--unless, of course, I have a very important story meeting with Tom Hanks or Steven Spielberg to tell you about first.

I could only wish.

Avery O. Williams

ATTACK ON IRAN IMMANENT, HOW WILL THE NEW PRESIDENT HANDLE TWO WARS

Everyone thinks of ending their work career "with a flourish", "with a bang" but none is taking it more literally than our out-going president, George Bush. Because today he and the Pentagon announced that staff persons were, preparing and coming up with the battle plan for attacking Iran. And part of the plan, is not first ending conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. So Hillary, Barack, McCain... be careful for what you ask for it may come true!

The nation's top military officer said today that the Pentagon is planning for "potential military courses of action" against Iran, criticizing what he called the Tehran government's "increasingly lethal and malign influence" in Iraq.

In a speech Monday at West Point, Gates said Iran "is hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons." He said a war with Iran would be "disastrous on a number of levels. But the military option must be kept on the table given the destabilizing policies of the regime and the risks inherent in a future Iranian nuclear threat."

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, who was nominated this week to head all U.S. forces in the Middle East, is preparing a briefing soon to lay out detailed evidence of increased Iranian involvement in Iraq, Mullen said. The briefing will detail, for example, the discovery in Iraq of weapons that were very recently manufactured in Iran, he said.

"The Iranian government pledged to halt such activities some months ago. It's plainly obvious they have not. Indeed, they seem to have gone the other way," Mullen said.

He said recent unrest in the southern Iraqi city of Basra had highlighted a "level of involvement" by Iran that had not been understood by the U.S. military previously. "It became very, very visible in ways that we hadn't seen before," he said.

Washington Post.com has all the major players who are gearing up for the war.

Madea's Tyler Perry Wants All Of You To Vote... But Not For Obama!

Ok guys, I was reading the message board and someone brought to my attention whatwas in print under my picture in this TIME thing. Now, I didn’t notice it cause I don’t read stuff about me Good or Bad because most of the time it’s wrong and negative and because most of these “Mainstream” folks don’t get it.

So, what’s the point?

But after a board member left thismessage saying how upset she was, I read it and it says, “ You might notrecognize him out of his Granny Drag, and detractors dismiss his
movies.” That’s why I don’t read this stuff cause that annoyed me. It’s crazy to me
how you can have millions of people stand with you and appreciate you for what you do but if “MAINSTREAM” (and you know what I’m talking about)doesn’t recognize you then you’re somehow not valid to them. As well as if you do things outside of the system then you’re not credible. It’s just ridiculous.

I don’t need to be on this list to know that what I do matters to so many of you as well as myself. What I’ve tried to do with my life and my work is uplift a people that this world and MAINSTREAM doesn’t care anything about. They can say what they want as long as you know that my heart is into inspiring and motivating us all to be or want to be better human beings.

I also got a few emails saying that some people don’t understand how the vote works. Here’s how I think it works. It’s not about the vote. It’s about the influence. So, before you hit the button that says submit, right below my name there is a RED line that you need to move over, it starts at 50 but you can move it to 100 if you like and then press submit.

I’m not going to bother you with this foolishness again but I just got a little annoyed when I read that. People just don’t get it. Can you show them how many people know me? TYLER a 38 year old man, Outside of the “Granny DRAG.” Let me breathe....

So, if you haven’t voted or even if you have it’s pretty quick and easy.

Click here to vote......

Thanks! I’m done with this.

Yo Boy,

T.P.

Alicia Key's Video "Teenage Love Affair" Does A Hat Tip To Spike Lee, But Is That A Good Thing?

What Ever Happened To Orginality?

By Avery O Williams

There is a wonderful sense of nostalgia invoked by Alicia Keys new video "Teenage Love Affair" mainly because it is modeled off of "School Daze", a movie that echoes with visions of my experience at Morehouse in the late '80's. Trust me. It's decent. No booty shakin' or platinum grill teeth flashin' at ya. In fact, very similar to this:


However, there is also something disconcerting about director Chris Robinson's video
too.

Instead of pulling from a fictional film I would loved it more if he had pulled from his own vision, his own scenes, his own take on the black college experience. As it is now, he's made a copy of a copy.

50 Cent Says F**k Alicia Keys

I'm concerned when we lean on learning of our history from others and not going to the source. And lawd knows, there are plenty of sources who attended Morehouse, Spelman, Clark, Hampton, Howard and other HBC's to gather insight from--even if Chris didn't attend one himself.

Mystery Illness Forces Keys To Cancel More Concerts

The black college experience is so rich, so vibrant, so visual to mine from, that he could have created his own homage to the past if he had done a little work. Maybe he and Alicia didn't want to. Did they love "School Daze" that much? Has it become a "classic" already?

Or was Chris perhaps a bit, um, lazy? This video is really an homage to Spike Lee and the black college experience that was seen through the prism of HIS artistic vision, and not Chris or Alicia's. The issue (and hence the reason for this post) is to express my concern when artists rely upon other art as their sole inspiration instead of life itself. They lean on the learning of history or life from another's work without deriving that knowledge from the source.

Of course, especially as it regards old knowledge, you can't talk with anybody who has lived in ancient Rome or fought in the Civil War, so you've got to pull from third parties, books, archival films and whatnot. I'm a fan of Alicia Keys and I do like Chris Robinson's work.

He has a fine narrative sensibility in many of his videos, but lawd knows, there are plenty of people who attended Morehouse, Spelman, Clark, Hampton, Howard and other HBC's to gather insight from--even if Chris didn't attend one himself.

Heck, they could have called me.

Here's Alicia on The The Today Show with Matt Lauer, the Blender Magazine "gangsta rap" controversy and her new video:



Others had this to say about the "As I Am" girl, whose 3rd album released in November has already sold 1 million units:

moresickaMC says...
Can't wait to see that video. Y'all kids need to get on your black film history & watch School Daze. "lift your torches to the heavensss!"Alicia's AK-47 killa swag is crazy right now!!!

Playboy says...

LMAO I love how Alicia plugged that documentary, thats how you do it. The video looks to be her best yet and I'm lovin her swag, her body, As I Am... just HER. Alicia is the hottest chick in the game with NO re-release or fake hype.

Looks Like It's A Wrap On Rap, As Folks Stop Co-Signing On Foolishness!

Atlanta Schools Ban T.I. from Speaking

Ne-Yo to Appear on 'All My Children'
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Tennessee Freedom Riders Denied Degrees
Prosecutor to Appeal Ruling Keeping Judge on Kilpatrick Case
US Says Opposition Won Zimbabwe Presidential Vote
Pastors Accuse Planned Parenthood for 'Genocide' on Blacks
Cosby, Judge Who Expelled Whites Team Up

Global Food Shortages, Time To Start Stockpiling?

BREAKING NEWS: NOT GUILTY VERDICT IN THE SEAN BELL CASE CAUSES NEW YORK TO BRACE FOR THE WORSE!!!

Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman, 74, has just ruled that there was insufficient evidence to find three New York police officers accused in the Sean Bell shooting murder trial.

More pictures, video and details under the hood...

Prior convictions by the victims and his boys, credibility and demeanor issues with the prosecution witnesses, and a reasonable fear for the officer's safety where all the factors that the court stated was the basis for its decision. The reaction was strong, immediate, and combative, with Nicole Bell bolting out the courtroom saying "I've got to get outta here!!!"

A no-nonsense jurist who once threatened to eject a rape victim from his courtroom for crying too loudly, Cooperman decided that the three plain-clothes, undercover detectives accused in the slaying of Bell, shot in a hail of 50 bullets on Nov. 25, 2006 in Jamaica, were not guilty on ALL COUNTS!

Sean died the day the day of his wedding to Nicole Bell, who legally changed her name after his death and who is now raising her deceased fiance's two little girls by herself.

Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora were facing up to 25 years in the slammer for manslaughter. Marc Cooper was charged with reckless endangerment and faced up to a year. Two of the three officers are Black.

One of the most important bench-trial verdicts in the city's history, Cooperman is no stranger to cop trials.

In 1986, he presided over the trial of NYPD Sgt. Richard Pike and Officer Jeffrey Gilbert, convicted of torturing two teens with stun guns.

He denied a request to throw out the jury's verdict, calling it an "affront" to "honest and honorable police officers."

WATCH VIDEO OF THE CROWD REACTING

Not that today's verdict has been rendered, will Bell supporters who previously promised peace be able to contain others who are outraged?

"Let us be the purveyors of peace so the oppressors will not rob of us our most vital resource, our young people," Father Darryl James said last night at Community Church of Christ, where the groom-to-be's funeral had been held. Pictured above after the verdict, William and Valerie Bell, Sean's parents.

Meanwhile, the Kalua strip club, where Bell, 23, had been celebrating his bachelor party, has already planned to shut down today now that the cops will go free. "The boss is worried that people will bum rush the place," a bouncer told The New York Post.

Court officials said other cases were postponed until after the verdict. [NY Post]

Bubba Gets Slammed For Clearly Forgetting Who's Had His Back!

Respected Black Leader in House Denounces Bill Clinton’s Remarks

Who would have thought that The Clintons would be the sole cause of a mass migration of Black people returning to the Republican Party.

While pundits continue to ask "What Can't Obama Close The Deal", they are overlooking an extremely important issue. Hillary "I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar" Clinton can not win without African Americans and right now, her and Bill are definitely persona non grata.

The third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives and one of the country’s most influential African-American leaders sharply criticized former President Bill Clinton for his “bizarre” conduct during the Democratic primary campaign.

South Carolina Representative James E. Clyburn, a superdelegate serving as the Democratic whip in the House, said that “black people are incensed over all of this,” referring to statements that Mr. Clinton had made in the course of the heated race between his wife, and the biracial senator from Illinois.

Mr. Clinton was widely criticized by Black leaders after he equated the eventual victory of Barack Obama in South Carolina in January to that of the Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1988 – a parallel that many took as an attempt to diminish Mr. Obama’s success in the campaign. In a radio interview in Philadelphia on Monday, Mr. Clinton defended his remarks and said the Obama campaign had “played the race card on me” by making an issue of those comments.

Clyburn said Mr. Clinton’s conduct in this campaign had caused what might be an irreparable breach between Mr. Clinton and a loyal constituency that once revered him.

“When he was going through his impeachment problems, it was the black community that bellied up to the bar,” Mr. Clyburn said. “I think black folks feel strongly that that this is a strange way for President Clinton to show his appreciation.”

Still officially uncommitted with no immediate plans to endorse either candidate, Clyburn added that there appeared to be nonetheless an almost “unanimous” view among African-Americans that Mr. and Mrs. Clinton were “committed to doing everything they possibly can to damage Obama to a point that he could never win.”

At one point before the South Carolina primary, Mr. Clyburn publicly urged Mr. Clinton to “chill a little bit.” He obviously didn't follow that advice.

“Look, President Clinton has an impeccable record on race, civil rights and issues that matter to the African-American community, the strongest of any president in our time,” Clinton campaign spokesman Jay Carson said. He added that in making his radio remarks on Monday, the former president was “simply reacting to a deeply offensive accusation that runs counter to principles he’s held and worked for his entire life." [NY Times]

Reverend Jeremiah Wright Speaks For Himself Outside A Quick Youtube Clip

His Prayers Unanswered, Wesley Snipes Gets 3 Years In Prison

The Black superstar who has been working at his craft for over 30 years was just ordered to serve three years on lockdown for the multiple misdemeanor tax charges he was found guilty of by a jury of his peers.

It's unfortunate anytime someone has to be locked up, and this is clearly no exception.

CNN announced the decision by U.S. District Judge William Hodges in Ocala, Florida. Clearly the maximum penalty was meant to demonstrate that refusal to pay income taxes will cause you to be on lockdown, with three hots and a cot.

Snipes was convicted of three misdemeanor charges for not filing his taxes, the maximum sentence allowed, in addition to a fine up to $5 million dollars. The father of three was surrounded by his defense team earlier today arguing that he should not have to go to prison.

Snipes, who has starred in movies such as "New Jack City", "Jungle Fever", "Blade," "Major League", "Murder at 1600" and HBO's "Disappearing Acts" had been charged with felony conspiracy counts for participating in a scheme that rejects the legal foundation of the tax system. However, a jury accepted his argument that he was innocently duped by errant tax advisers and acquitted him on the most serious charges.

"The fact that Snipes was acquitted on two felony charges and convicted 'only' on three misdemeanor counts has been portrayed in the mainstream media as a 'victory' for Snipes," the government document says.

"The troubling implication of such coverage for the millions of average citizens who are aware of this case is that the rich and famous Wesley Snipes has 'gotten away with it.' In the end, the criminal conduct of Snipes must not be seen in such a light."

Despite several character witness letters written tv judges and celebrity buddies like Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington, the probation department indicated in their pre sentencing report that Snipes’ conduct could be construed as trying to obstruct the investigation. The report said that could be grounds to increase Snipes’ jail time.

"In the defendant Wesley Snipes, the court is presented with a wealthy, famous and inveterate tax scofflaw. If ever a tax offender was deserving of being held accountable to the maximum extent for his criminal wrongdoing, Snipes is that defendant," it says.

"For nearly a decade, Snipes has engaged in a campaign of criminal tax conduct combining brazen defiance with insidious concealment," the prosecutors say. "By these means, Snipes has escaped paying more than $15 million in income tax to the IRS and has pursued an intended fraudulent harm to the United States Treasury of more than $41 million."

The document says Snipes shipped millions of dollars to accounts in Switzerland, Antigua and the Isle of Man to avoid taxes.

The IRS is also seeking repayment of all taxes and interest through civil court proceedings.