First lady bemoans culture of African Americans aspiring to be ‘a baller or a rapper’

Why do the Obamas use a lecturing tone when addressing African American audiences? Today First Lady Obama addressed Bowie State University and the headline above is how Politico saw her visit. Sure she congratulated the graduates on their accomplishments but that gets lost in the sauce. Why highlight the negative at a time of celebration. If she was addressing Princeton, Harvard or Brown would she bemoan the baller mentality? Don’t get me wrong there are young people who view being a baller as their only ticket out of the hood, but they were not the ones that were sitting before her in caps and gowns they simply desrve our applause.

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/05/first-lady-bemoans-culture-of-african-americans-aspiring-164266.html

Abercrombie and Fitch Clothing for the Homeless

Watch the clip and share your thoughts.

Why isn’t the New Orleans Mother’s Day Shooting a national tragedy?

Interesting article. Share your thoughts.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/15/new-orleans-shooting-not-national-news

DOJ battles Associated Press, IRS battles Conservatives and there are more questions about Benghazi…when did the Obama administration go off the rails?

I am a supporter of President Obama, but I am not blind and there is something wrong in the White House. There are too many things going wrong and even his most ardent supporters should be asking questions. The Republicans have politicized the Benghazi tragedy from day one, but there are some valid questions that need to be answered. It is not enough to say that the tragedy has become a political football. While that might be true it does not preclude the need to answer valid questions associated with the incident. The IRS has been targeting conservative groups for additional scrutiny when they were seeking tax exempt status. The president has denounced their actions, but that is really not enough. The fact is who told them to do it? There has to be some kind of electronic paper trail and that needs to be investigated. This is not some kind of low level shenaningans. Some officials higher up the food chain need to be held accountable. The latest is the DOJ going after the Associated Press. C’mon man. The government investigating the press. This is simply wrong and it is not less wrong because we like the occuppant in the White House it is wrong on its face, but how did the administration get so far off the rails, and how will they get back on the rails? First thing they have to do is be accountable and not just look to shift blame to the Bush administration, the conservatives or whoever else might be convenient. Democrats have to move away from a defensive posture to an assertive posture. They need to be asking the tough questions too. The fact is we know that the Republicans take delight in all of these calamitous events coming to a head at once, but that can not be a reason not to address the issues. The president’s supporters can not put on blinders or put our heads in the sand. We have to hold the president accountable. We have to hold him up to the standards he set. We can not let him off the hook because we admire him because he is the first black president and we simply are still enthralled by that narrative. We had no problem when we criticized other administrations but we have been timid in calling out wrong with this one. I still support the president and it is early in this second and last term. We should not abandon the promise but if we want the promise to turn into a productive and fruitful second term we have got to make it happen, and that is not going to be comfortable for anyone.

Why did Wayne Brady say he will “kick Bill Maher’s ass in public”?

Bill Maher is a raving liberal with an attitude. He is known for making outrageous remarks. He has often questioned the way the president acts and he has said when he voted for a black president he expected one. Maher’s fanatasy black man is a “gangsta” foul mouthed type who refuses to take any stuff off “whitey”. So the President does not fit his stereotype and apparently Wayne Brady does not fit it either. Yesterday while appearing on HuffPost Live Wayne Brady responded to Maher and let him know he is not the baromenter of blackness. Maher does get a pass because he is a liberal. If he was not no one would let him pigeonhole the black experience into his own self delusional box.

OJ Simpson is back in court today, but he will still probably die in prison

OJ Simpson was aquitted of the murders of his ex wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. He was not found innocent, but the jury felt the evidence did not support a murder conviction. We are not going to argue the merits of the jury’s findings, but when Simpson committed an armed robbery a few years ago the court threw the book at him. Now Simpson is seeking a new trial or an overturning of the verdict because he does not feel his attorney gave him competent representation. Simpson appears much heavier and much grayer and he came to court in a prison jumpsuit. Simpson never fully realized the disdain the public had for him after his first trial. They saw Simpson as a man that got away with murder and if he had fully grasped the hatred he would have drifted off into the sunset and lived the rest of his days out of the public eye. He didn’t do that he chose to live out loud and he still felt the sense of entitlement afforded to NFL loyalty, but that ship had sailed and Simpson still thought he had a ticket. Now Simpson is simply an inmate and he is eligible for parole in 2017, and if he does survive he will be 70, and America will still be mad at him, and he will probably die behind bars.

Was the shooting at the New Orleans Mother’s Day parade an act of terrorism?

How do we define terrorism? Must the act be done by Islamic extremists? The Boston Bombers set off bombs at the Boston marathon and they were immediately branded as terrorists. They targeted a public event and they killed and maimed many of the people in attendance. Yesterday 3 young men targeted a Mother’s Day parade and shot over 12 people. Should this also be defined as terrorism and if not why not?

If you saw Charles Ramsey would you run toward him or away from Him?

Charles Ramsey showed he has the ability to tell a story. His account of the rescue of Amanda Berry has garnered him instant fame, but why? Why do people find his account fascinating? Is it the way he told the story? Is the the way he looks? Is it the fact that normally he would dwell among the invisible? Who are the invisible? They are people who live in a neighborhood often urban and they rarely venture out of it. I am not pretending to know Ramsey or his schedule, but I do know people like him. Their world is small and they are rarely called upon to talk to anyone that does not look like or talk like them. When he said it was odd for a little white girl to run into a black man’s arms he was not lying. Cleveland ranks in the 10 of segregated cities. I lived in Cleveland years ago and I chose to live on the west side because it was close to where I worked and once I started working there I was told I should have chosen the east side because more people of color lived on the east side. It is just interesting to see the reaction to Ramsey. He is seen as oh so different, but on his block he is the norm. Sadly, the reporters and the cameras don’t frequent his block unless a trio of deranged kidnappers are holding 3 women and children in their home for a decade, and how often does that happen? http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/05/07/181982154/are-we-laughing-with-charles-ramsey?sc=tw

Is Charles Ramsey a hero?

Charles Ramsey helped free 3 women who had been held captive in a cleveland home for years. Will he be hailed as a hero? I ask the question because today as I read coverage of the story on the web some seemed to mock his speech, his hair and his overall appearnce, but will that matter? Do you have to look the part or his a heroic act enough? Share your thoughts.

Fox News Andrea Tantaros takes a shot at Malia Obama…there is nothing like a grown woman attacking a child

Below you will find what Fox News analyst, Andrea Tantaros, had to say about the President’s daughter, Malia. whatever happened to simply discussing politics. when did it take this turn toward the personal. I know the answer it happened in January 2009.

TANTAROS: I mean look, if the president is going to talk about his daughters, typically I would not talk about the daughters, unless, of course, they go to the Bahamas on spring break and we have to pay for it and I think it’s wrong, which I do. But they’re not grown women. So I’m just wondering, at 15 years old, is the Obama daughter, Malia, going to go on birth control? Are they gonna put her on birth control? Because he’s very concerned with the contraceptives and pharmaceuticals that are going in the mouths of everybody else’s 15-year old daughter.
But it’s definitely collectivism, right? “It takes a village.” Do you hear it, everybody? “It takes a village to raise your kids.” President Obama is now the parent-in-chief. Kathleen Sebelius is raising your kids. Joe Biden is raising your kids. Oh not even, it doesn’t stop there. It’s not kids. They consider 15-year olds to be women. They want to tell grown women what to do. They know how grown women feel. They have no idea how women feel. They should stop talking about it, because they have no clue.
Share your thoughts.