MSNBC's Keith Olbermann Shows Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton And NAACP's Ben Jealous How It's Done!

Play That Funky Music White Boy!

Does the civil rights movement have a new spokesman? After the break, watch Keith Olbermann of MSNBC show the brothers how to speak to issues of race, fairness and equity.

America's Court With Judge Ross - Who Really Sets The Bar?

By Kevin Ross

Curtis and I have always had one of those strange friendships.

We met in high school my junior year. He was a sophomore. Seems like whatever I did, Curtis was always able to do it better.

Much, much better!

I had pretty good grades. Curtis was a solid 'A' student. I became very active in student council and was school president by my senior year. So was he.

We both drove Toyota vehicles. Of course his Celica was much nicer than my Corolla.

On top of that, Curtis was a jock. Basketball.

The only thing that matched his height, was the width of his big smile.

After high school I decided Morehouse College was the best place for me.

Curtis was a UCLA economics major. I BARELY passed economics!

We pledged rival fraternities (I became a Kappa man, Curtis went Alpha Phi Alpha) and had completely different experiences. While I traveled the U.S. during that time, he traveled the world.

I was so excited when, after months of waiting, I finally got accepted into a local law school. Sixteen days after he applied, Curtis was accepted into Stanford University.

How do I know this? Curtis made it a point to tell me.

He would also finish a year before I did!

Although Curtis and I lost contact over the years, our paths crossed again and we began seeing each other daily. That’s because we both ended up studying for the California bar exam at the same place at the exact same time.

Older and less competitive, Curtis and I connected in ways that we hadn’t before. Sure it was still strange being around someone so similar. But here we were, supporting one another, determined to reach the goals in life God intended us to achieve.

Ultimately, I passed the bar. Curtis? Well, he struggled a few more times before overcoming that obstacle. This humbled him in a way that really humanized Curtis. It was definitely a turning point in his life. Something that many of us can relate to.

In the meantime, this man met an incredible woman and proposed to her. You know it had to be in Paris, France. They had a beautiful wedding and bought a lovely home in a very desirable neighborhood in Los Angeles.

I was still renting, living with two roommates. I was, however, working as a Los Angeles County prosecutor. Curtis, ironically, also ended up working for the county doing civil litigation work. No matter what, I couldn’t escape him!

This guy was cut from the same clothe as Barack Obama. His future, unlimited.

But just as he was preparing for trial on his very first case, Curtis suddenly fell ill.

And he never recovered.

On May 7, 1994, Curtis Eugene Lipkins Jr. died of complications related to Sickle Cell. He was just two months shy of turning 30.

Today (July 13, 2010) is his birthday!

As I prepare to embark on this "America’s Court with Judge Ross" journey, Curtis is right here – constantly reminding me that he really would be better at this.

Much, much better!

But I’m going to give it my best, and hopefully you’ll like the show when it launches this fall.

In case you haven’t seen the promo, check it out!

Here’s to the people, past and present, who propel us forward in our lives.

To God be the glory, the one who truly sets the bar!

All Rise!

Boss Ross

(Don't forget to join our Facebook group, and follow us on Twitter .)

300,000 Dead Haitians Later, Billions Have Been Pledged But Little Spent In Haiti Recovery Effort

Young Haitian Girls, Trying To Maintain Normalcy
(photo by Leslie Alessandro)

Three months after donors at a U.S.-sponsored conference pledged more than $5.3 billion to rebuild Haiti, just a small fraction of the money has been disbursed and a special reconstruction commission has barely started to function, according to U.N. and aid officials.

U.S. lawmakers and international aid officials have expressed mounting concern about the slow recovery in the hemisphere's poorest country, where about 230,000 people died (Associated Press puts the number at around 300,000) and about 2 million were displaced in January's earthquake.

Despite ambitious plans to "build back better," as U.N. and American officials have promised, the reconstruction has been hobbled by a lack of coordination and cash and a virtually incapacitated Haitian government, officials and experts say.

The United States has not yet disbursed a penny of the roughly $900 million it pledged for reconstruction this year, according to the U.N. Web site www.haitispecialenvoy.org. Although the U.S. government has spent hundreds of millions on short-term emergency aid, the rest of the funds are in a supplemental budget bill that has been held up in Congress by an unrelated dispute over state aid.

"There are worrisome signs that the rebuilding process in Haiti has stalled," said a recent report issued by Sen. John F. Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Indeed, about 180 million square feet of rubble is still piled where it sat after the Jan. 12 quake, according to U.N. estimates; only 5,000 of the 125,000 temporary shelters promised by the international community have been built.

To be sure, there have been some successes: the provision of thousands of tents, as well as clean water, food and medical care for more than 1 million people. There have been no widespread outbreaks of disease.

U.S. officials point out that even a successful reconstruction after a disaster can take years. They noted that it took about eight months to set up an international reconstruction commission in the Indonesian region of Aceh after the 2004 tsunami. But Indonesia's government had far more money and expertise, and its capital wasn't destroyed, experts say.

"The Haitian government is not really capable of providing the kind of leadership that is required here, unlike the Indonesian government," said Robert Perito, a Haiti specialist at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Already weak before the quake, the Haitian government lost 30 percent of its public employees in the disaster, as well as many of its buildings and sources of tax revenue, officials say.

The March 31 donors' conference at the United Nations was supposed to launch Haiti on the path to recovery. Its president, Rene Preval, unveiled an ambitious plan to rebuild infrastructure and decentralize jobs and homes away from the overcrowded capital.

A centerpiece of the plan was to be the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, which would coordinate donor aid with the Haitian government's plans and monitor for fraud. U.S. officials saw the commission, which was to be co-chaired by former President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and staffed with technical experts, as a sort of stand-in for the shattered government.

But Preval was slow to warm to the commission, U.S. officials say, and it took weeks to get Haitian government approval and assemble a staff. The commission's board has held only one meeting, on June 17, at which it approved $31 million in projects.

Continue...

Beautiful '70s Era Actress Vonetta McGee Dead at 65

Vonetta McGee was no fan of the “blaxploitation” label that was attached to many of the films featuring black casts in the ’70s. The vivacious African American actress said the label was used “like racism, so you don’t have to think of the individual elements, just the whole. If you study propaganda, you understand how this works.”

McGee, a talent whose big-screen heyday during the blaxploitation era of the 1970s included leading roles in the horror film "Blacula" died at a hospital July 9 in Berkeley after experiencing cardiac arrest and being on life support for two days, said family spokeswoman Kelley Nayo.

Although McGee had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 17, Nayo said, her death was not related to the disease.

McGee was described as "one of the busiest and most beautiful black actresses" by Times movie reviewer Kevin Thomas in 1972, the year she appeared opposite Fred Williamson in the black action movie "Hammer," and had a starring role as the sexy femme fatale opposite Calvin Lockhart in the 1972 crime-drama "Melinda."

She went on to star with Richard Roundtree in "Shaft in Africa," (1973), and co-starred with actor and film producer Max Julian in "Thomasine & Bushrod" (1974). Julian and McGee actually dated for a number of years. In fact during that era, they were quite the Black Hollywood power couple.



McGee also appeared with Clint Eastwood in the 1975 action-thriller "The Eiger Sanction," prompting The Times' Thomas to write in his review: "Her parrying with Eastwood, verbally and otherwise, is enough to scorch the screen."

"I was pleased to see her get a role with Clint Eastwood," said Williamson, who knew McGee before they made "Hammer." "Not many black actors had that opportunity to be in a movie where color doesn't matter.

"Vonetta McGee was like a lot of actors and actresses at that time, like myself, Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree, Billy Dee Williams and Pam Grier, in that we had more talent than we were allowed to show because everything was perceived as a black project. Once they categorize you, your marketability becomes limited."

Although The Times reported that McGee "calls herself one of the lucky graduates of the black-film genre," she pointed out that there was a difference between someone like Diana Ross and other potentially marketable black actresses.

"She has had the luxury of a studio behind her," McGee said. "This is where a lot of us fell short. We all needed a certain amount of protection. But we were on our own."

Among McGee's other film credits are "The Lost Man," "Detroit 9000," "Brothers" (in which she played an activist based on Angela Davis), "Repo Man" and "To Sleep with Anger."



A ringer for current "it" actress Taraji P. Henson, McGee's career turned primarily to television in the 80's.

That included playing Sister Indigo on Robert Blake's short-lived 1985 dramatic series "Hell Town" and playing a social worker who takes a con man played by Jimmie Walker into her home in the syndicated 1987-88 sitcom "Bustin' Loose."

Often confused with Lonetta McKee, both of them having similar sounding first and last names and both being light-skinned black women, McGee also played a recurring role on "L.A. Law" and appeared in several episodes of "Cagney & Lacey" as the wife of detective Mark Petrie (played by Carl Lumbly).

With a penchant for dating the men she worked with, McGee and Lumbly were married in 1986 in real life and had a son, Brandon, in 1988.

Born Lawrence Vonetta McGee in San Francisco on Jan. 14, 1945, she was attending what is now San Francisco State when she got involved with a local acting group.

She launched her film career in 1968 in Italy, where she appeared in the spaghetti western "The Great Silence" and played the title role in the comedy "Faustina."

In addition to her husband and son, she is survived by her mother, Alma McGee; three brothers, Donald, Richard and Ronald McGee; and a sister, Alma McGee.

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Facebook Movie "The Social Network" Feels Like It's Going To Be Hot!

Despite Shawn Chapman Holley's Best Legal Efforts, Lindsay Lohan's Gets 90 Days in The Slammer

3 Hots And A Cot For Troubled Mean Girls Star

Actress Lindsay Lohan was just sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating her probation in her DUI case, followed by a 90-day inpatient rehab program.

Judge Marsha Revel laid down the law to the troubled young starlet after deputy district attorney, Danette Meyers, told the judge that Lohan, 24, has been thumbing her nose at the court.

BREAKING NEWS: HOLLEY RESIGNS AS LOHAN'S LAWYER!

Besides both Meyers and Lohan's lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley being African American women, there are some other behind the scene things going on that you should be aware of.

(Go Ahead - Click The Picture)

While Holley is a former deputy public defender who then went on to become a partner at the Law Offices of Johnny Cochran, Meyers is a respected career prosecutor.

Here's an up close and personal interview with Holley:



What the mainstream media doesn't know, however, is that Meyers is rumored to be the first black and female candidate that will actually have a shot at becoming the District Attorney of Los Angeles should current DA Steve Cooley become successful in his effort to win the election for California Attorney General.

Cooley is currently running against San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, who is trying to make history herself as the first African American and female to hold the statewide office.

The last time a black and a woman ran was in the 70's, when former Congresswoman and LA County Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke was unsuccessful in her quest against former Republican governor George Deukemejian.

(Meyers, center, as President of LACBA)

Could it be a coincidence that Meyers, a felony prosecutor, high ranking member of Cooley's inner circle, and past president of the L.A. County Bar Association, was assigned to this relatively simple misdemeanor case? Especially since all indicators are that Cooley will paint Harris as being soft on crime - particularly in light of her position on the death penalty?

But we digress!

The evidence was loud and clear today -- Lindsay violated probation by failing to attend her alcohol ed classes based on the schedule set by the judge. There were lots of excuses, but ultimately they didn't fly.

The judge said there was a pattern of violations since Lindsay was placed on probation in 2007 following her plea bargain in her DUI case.

Lindsay broke down as she addressed the court, telling the judge, "I did the best I could."

Lindsay dissolved into tears when the judge imposed the sentence.

Lohan must surrender on July 20 in Judge Revel's court. Now whether she'll actually serve 90 days is another story. Everyone familiar with the legal system in California knows that for an offense such as this, defendants are serving maybe 10-20 days, if that. Here's Holley explaining how the system works:



Will the court make an example of Lohan the same way the court tried to do with Holley's former high profile clients Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, or treat her like every other person???

Stay tuned!

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QUICKIE: Toe Nails Are Cool, But This Is Just... Ewww!

Sure Baller Athletes Are Going Broke, But Why Are People So Happy About It?

The Hateration Nation

From President Obama to the white hot Betty White, the entire world waits with baited breadth over superstar Lebron James' decision to stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers or go somewhere else like, say New York or Chicago.

While we could be looking at the first billionaire basketball player, most of these guys will end up looking like idiots when it's time to hang it up and retire.

The stats and Miss Betty, after the jump.

Almost 80 percent of National Football League players are flirting with bankruptcy two years after they retire, according to Sports Illustrated. NBA players aren’t faring much better. 60 percent of former National Basketball Association players end up broke within five years of retirement. Athletes squander millions of dollars due to bad decisions, lavish spending and poor financial planning.

Here's an article that details why so many African Americans are unfazed about many of these guys hitting rock bottom after the rise.

By Ricardo Hazell

This fact has been peppered throughout the media as of late with the trials and tribulations of these one-time millionaires: Kenny Anderson, Antoine Walker, Latrell Sprewell, Derrick Coleman and Scottie Pippen.

Each of the aforementioned players were dominant at one point, commanded double-teams and All-Star accolades, and were given long term contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. And, sadly, each of them is a black man who came from humble beginnings and has returned to those “roots” all too unceremoniously.

Not that any of this matters to NBA fans who all have something to say.



This subject matter may be something to grin and smile about for some who are reading this article. But prior to the modern predominance of the phenomenon of the “Hateration Nation” in which we currently live … black athletes were looked up to, idolized and seen as something to aspire to.

We looked to take some of their attributes and embed them in ourselves. We wanted to be tenacious; never quite play (or work) injured; show leadership skills and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Today athletes are looked up to, to a point, but what we’re really waiting for is the calamitous fall. We’re looking for him/her to go broke so we can feel better about our miserable little lives.

So now you no longer have to speak negatively about the millionaire black man – with the white wife, who used to date your sister or who you used to be better than in high school or who you beat up in high school – making it out the hood.

Why is that you ask? Because he’ll be back any day now and you can feel better about your measly little ant-like existence.

But for me it’s a little bit sad, not depressing, but sad. I always believed the more black millionaires there were, then the better off black people were in general. From a pseudo Black Nationalist perspective that may be true, but in reality it matters very little to the common man. Prior to president Obama’s election black athletes were what many in the community admired and aspired to be.

Admittedly, I am also vulnerable to the effects of the Hateration Nation, but this line of thinking is in part due to me succumbing to stereotypical ideas of the black athlete and the visceral poison aimed at black athletes from the black community in many instances. Growing up in a subtle racist society, in a community that secretly hates itself, means one has to constantly un-brainwash oneself.

So, I decided to do some research and found some not too surprising facts that say not only are black athletes going broke, but athletes of all races and creeds.


But when black athletes go broke it is highly publicized. Here’s a Sports Illustrated article that listed the myriad of ways athletes lose money.

It’s one thing to invest in a criminal scheme, but athletes are losing money on legal ventures like hot-cakes at a lumberjack convention. In May 2007 former quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer and five other NFL retirees invested at least $100,000 apiece in a now-defunct start-up called Pay By Touch-which touted “biometric authentication” technology that would help replace credit cards with fingerprints-even as the company was wracked by lawsuits and internal dissent.

There’s also the phenomenon in which people portray themselves in a false light to gain an athlete’s trust. Luigi DiFonzo — a former felon who claimed he was an Italian count defrauded players such as Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson before committing suicide in August 2000; William (Tank) Black, a disgraced agent who built a pyramid scheme that took a total of about $15 million from at least a dozen players, including Patriots running back Fred Taylor; Kirk Wright, a hedge fund manager, was convicted on 47 counts of fraud and money laundering in a scheme involving more than $150 million.

His client list included at least eight NFL players. Wright committed suicide in prison.

An article in the New York Times ran down some reasons why there is such a high divorce rate among athletes in general and NFL players in particular. Athletes are seen as walking dollar signs and are seen as marks more often than not.

The article mentions the reasons why NFL and other pro sports marriages fail: “rampant infidelity, women who target athletes, trophy wives, lifestyles not conducive to marriage and players being surrounded by entourages, which can discourage intimacy.”

In 1994, when NBA center Dikembe Mutombo was engaged to Michelle Roberts, a med student, Roberts refused to sign a premarital contract the day before the wedding. Five hundred guests-including a large party from Mutombo’s native Democratic Republic of Congo-had begun flying in to Washington. “[Roberts] never signed,” David Falk (his agent) says, “and Mutombo never married the girl.” Calling off the nuptials reportedly cost him $250,000. But it was better to pay a little then than a lot later on.

Everybody thinks they’re smarter than they actually are. Except for Magic Johnson, he knew he was smarter than everyone thought he was. The success of his businesses is a testament to that. But pro-athletes who run their own business are rarely successful.

Saints all-time leading rusher Deuce McAllister, who filed for bankruptcy protection for the Jackson, Miss., car dealership he owns and Panthers receiver Muhsin Muhammad, who put his Charlotte mansion on eBay a month after news broke that his entertainment company was being sued by Wachovia Bank for overdue credit-card payments.

Former MLB All-Star Lenny Dykstra had been sleeping in his car after his magazine, Players Club, failed and he reportedly owes creditors between $10 to 50 million.

The aforementioned financial pains pro athletes encounter are racially neutral, but brothers’ seem to have the market corner on senseless stupidity: Michael Vick, dog-fighting, New York Giant Plaxico Burress, accidentally shooting himself at a New York City nightclub last November — right after signing a five-year, $35 million contract. NFL first-round pick Adam “Pacman” Jones has twice been suspended by the NFL for off-field incidents.

Jones had signed a four-year contract with the Cowboys worth $13.3 million and is currently looking for work. And oh yeah, he’s not black, but we’ve gotta mention Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps who was caught smoking a bong; he lost his Kellogg’s endorsement deal, as well as financial support from USA swimming.

Imagine walking in the dark minding your own business when, suddenly, a huge spotlight swung your way illuminating all of your financial and personal affairs like runner Marion Jones?

Would you be able to handle that? Of course no one in the “Hateration Nation” will show any love or understand to a recently broke athlete, especially not a black athlete. Most people believe it’s the fast cars, big mansions and mink coats that are breaking these men.

No, it’s the hangers on, the leeches, and their own egos that’s causing their lucrative fortunes to disappear and, much to the chagrin of the haters, the list of those going broke is divided evenly along racial lines.

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Designs To Infinity CEO Lore Ross Adds Personalized Sports Quilts To Her Collection

Don't throw away your kids' old sports shirts and game jerseys! Even they are capable of having a second life. Don't believe us? Take a look!

Here's a great way to capture those memories and give them functionality!

Handbag company Designs To Infinity created this one of a kind, handmade quilt for a young man who has played sports his entire childhood, and is now heading to college to continue to play sports.

It was done for a mom of three very active boys who wanted to create a keepsake for her oldest who has played sports for most of his life, and is now heading off to college to play baseball.

She presented the quilt to him at a graduation party she gave him a few weeks ago, where she invited family and friends.

Unlike the traditional wall hanging quilt, this was made to be used! After the individual jerseys were cut out and sewn together, the quilt was backed with a soft microfleece fabric.

It's now a comfortable "guy" blanket for taking to the park, the beach, or to put on your bed!

Hello Ladies: 'Old Spice' Brother Isaiah Mustafa Is Back, Big Time!

QUICKIE: In 1999, British Petroleum Had A Vision Of What Was To Come!

This is an actual advertising campaign from over ten years ago.

Truer Words Were Never Spoken

Thanks BP. For Nothing!

Once A Proud Beacon Post the 1992 Civil Unrest, Magic Johnson Theatres In Los Angeles Closes Its Doors!

Magic Johnson last month announced that his Magic Johnson theatre on Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles will be shut down. What’s more interesting, however, is the fact that Mr. Johnson no longer owns the theater, having sold it to AMC a few years back.

The closing will certainly be bad news for teen employment in the area but I’m not so sure that many residents will be so sad to see it go. In a city where state-of-the-art theaters are popping up consistently, I think it’s fair to say that many neighbors venture out of the area for their movie experiences.

Still, the theater has become a landmark in the South Los Angeles landscape and it will be interesting to see what replaces it.

More importantly, what does this failed business venture say for all the talk of rebuilding Los Angeles after the riots that broke out in 1992 after the Rodney King verdict?

Here are Magic’s words on the matter:

“I am deeply saddened to learn of AMC’s decision to close the Magic Johnson Theatre at Crenshaw Baldwin Hills Mall. AMC purchased the Magic Johnson Theatres several years ago. This was my first theatre, so a piece of me will definitely close with it. I want to thank the community for their support and loyalty over the years. The theatre has truly been the heartbeat of that community. Magic Johnson Enterprises will continue to bring high quality entertainment, products and services to those communities we serve every day.”