If you have a Facebook account, then you already know about the latest social networking craze - “25 Random Things About Me.” The chain-letter style list has annoyed some (The Washington Post and Time) and has been defended by others (The Huffington Post). Slate is trying to track down the origins (no one, including Facebook, knows how it got started). And California Attorney General Jerry Brown's list (yes, he's on Facebook) reveals the following: “I was a cheerleader at St. Ignatius High School.”
As you can imagine, since each list requires the writer to tag 25 people who then make lists and tag 25 other people, the “random” list is “spreading like wildfire.” And it all coincides rather neatly with Facebook's five-year anniversary. Hmmmm …
I recently stopped by a Los Angeles restaurant for more than grub. I went to Homegirl Café to chat with the staff about the work they are doing in the community. The staff is made up of young women who have left or are struggling to leave a gang. The downtown restaurant gives the women a safe haven and teaches them how to cook and run a restaurant. The cafe/bakery is part of Homeboy Industries, an organization run by Fr. Greg Boyle to help former gang members and at-risk youth learn job skills and get work.
Embattled Illinois Senator Roland Burris faces tough pressure from fellow lawmakers to resign.
Roland Burris, the newly appointed U.S. Senator from Illinois, is in the headlines again.
Reporters are inquiring if Burris fully disclosed information regarding contact with former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's office during the appointment of the senate seat.
When the question of whether or not Burris had any contact with Blagojevich arose, Burris was quiet.
While Burris did answer questions about certain individuals he was in contact with, he did not disclose the additional names of individuals he spoke with that had ties to Blagojevich. One such individual was the governor's brother Rod Blagojevich.
Reports indicate that Burris had contact with the former governor's brother on three separate occasions, a former Blagojevich chief of staff and several other individuals with close ties to the governor.
To mitigate any potential damage concerning the issue, Burris held a press conference to essentially state that he had not been fully transparent in his previous communications. His hopes were to stave off reports that somehow he was hiding something. The damage however may already be done.
What's at stake here is the political future of a man who came to the U .S .Senate with a pretty significant cloud of suspicion, yet again, over his head. It now looks as if that cloud has grown into a perfect storm.
As a candidate for the U.S. Senate, Mr. Burris' résumé and background were undoubtedly impressive. However, the cloud of suspicion he's created for himself doesn't help to reflect that.
To have this sort of scandal and suspicion surrounding him doesn't help the people of Illinois, the U.S. Senate, nor the realm of public service with respect to politics as a whole.
Our politics are only as good as the values of the men and women who are chosen to serve. If that's the case, what are we learning now about Sen. Burris?
Was Burris' omission of information an honest mistake or something more?
With all the Obama talk of recent days, it's been all too easy to forget about the other star of the 2008 elections, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. And while that's exactly what most of us would like to do, she lingers in our pop-consciousness with a tenaciousness wholly unbecoming of a one-hit wonder.
For instance, CNN's Political Ticker recently reported a story about former domestic terrorist and McCain bogeyman Bill Ayers. According to Ayers, he pitched an idea for a TV show to Palin after the election. “I suggested that we have a talk show together called ‘Pallin' Around with Sarah and Bill,'” he said, “I haven't heard back.”
Elsewhere, March's Esquire magazine features Palin in its recurring “What I've Learned” feature, reliably the most compelling single page in the magazine from month to month. A series of verbatim quotes taken from a larger interview, “What I've Learned,” paints an unusually candid portrait of the people it profiles. Palin is no exception.
There are several memorable quotes to be found there, including one about her favorite recipe for chili, “The secret to chili is you gotta have good mooseburger in there.” It goes on in much the same vein, with Palin commenting on hunting, daily exercise, and the fact that you really can see Russia from Alaska. Amazingly, she still seems to miss the point there.
While it's easy to laugh about Sarah Palin and her small-town moose-eating ways, there's something else there, too. It's a quiet confidence and self-assuredness that bodes extremely poorly for the rest of us come 2012. That and she blames her failure as a candidate on John McCain.
What is it about her that makes her so resilient? It is her folksiness? All that venison and fresh country air? The clarification about what Russia looks like (albeit from across an ocean) aside, she is quite obviously horrifically under qualified to hold the highest office in the land, and yet…it seems pretty much assured that she'll take another shot at it.
“Can we put aside the racism debate for a moment to discuss the fact that the cartoon is way too inappropriate to even be remotely funny?”
When I lived in New York I avoided The New York Post. I respect journalism after all, and there were much better sources for news. So it does not surprise me that the daily tabloid-style newspaper would publish a controversial stimulus-bill cartoon* in which police shoot a monkey and say, “They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.”
Although The New York Post says the monkey in question is really a reference to Washington's attempt to repair the economy, some people think the cartoon is racist. Their arguments are girded in the fact that many people (rightly or wrongly) consider the stimulus bill to be synonymous with President Obama. And, historically, racist attackers often equated African-Americans with monkeys. And since President Obama is the nation's first African American president, well …
But can we put aside the racism debate for a moment to discuss the fact that the cartoon is way too inappropriate to even be remotely funny? Have you listened to the (Note: very graphic) 911 call that the chimp's owner made during the attack?
And, as I type, a woman is lying in a hospital having undergone hours upon hours of surgery just to stabilize her condition. Where is the humor in that?
* I purposely did not link to The New York Post or to the cartoon.
“I want my business to be for everyone and not have people think it's only an African cafe.”
Canadians have an ongoing fascination with their neighbors to the south. Particularly, they are continually amazed by regular Americans' lack of knowledge about Canada. It's a perennial source of amusement for many, so much so that Canadian comedian and pundit Rick Mercer created a TV show devoted expressly to making fun of Americans' lack of knowledge about their largest neighbor and trading partner. While Talking to Americans was an hilarious and often slightly devious sendup, Obama's reception there last week shows that there are no hard feelings.
The Christian Science Monitor described Canadians' mood at the time of the visit as “euphoric,” before going on to laud the stable and healthy Canadian financial system. The Canadian Press, however, seemed to be a little disappointed by some other coverage from around the country, particularly with reporters who had never seen a Mountie before and referred to the prime minister as the “premier.” Tempering the smugness somewhat was a reference to Wonkette's scathing response to Canada's breathless enthusiasm.
Nonetheless, a recent story in Canada's National Post paints a much better picture of Canadians and their very sincere appreciation of the new Commander-in-Chief. In an interview with Emmanuel DeBaas, a Toronto entrepreneur who recently opened a coffee shop called “Obama Café,” some very real sentiments come to light.
DeBaas is an Ethiopian immigrant who arrived in Canada in 1985, and his restaurant is situated in a largely working-class African and Middle Eastern neighborhood. “I think Obama's success is now an opportunity for all black people to stand up and take responsibility for themselves,” he says in the interview. “People who would otherwise sit at home and wait to win the lottery or cry discrimination will now see that it's up to them to make something of themselves. And it is definitely possible.”
When asked why he named the café after Obama, he had this to say: “Well, he's a good listener, and he never focused on his race. He's inclusive. I want my business to be for everyone and not have people think it's only an African cafe.” A straightforward, business-minded response, perhaps, but also an indication of the inspiration that Obama has brought to people everywhere.
On March 5, the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the three lawsuits challenging Proposition 8, a ballot initiative passed by California voters in November 2008 which states that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”
We caught up with Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, well known figures in the gay rights community, who are petitioners in one of those Prop 8 lawsuits, for their recent re-commitment ceremony at the Beverly Hills Courthouse in honor of the 12th Annual Freedom to Marry Week.
Tyler and Olson were joined by their attorney Gloria Allred and other gay and lesbian couples who applied for marriage licenses with the county. The marriage license requests were denied.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made a speech this month at the Dept. of Justice African American History Month Program. In his speech, Holder remarked that the United States is, in effect, a nation of cowards when it comes to addressing the issue of race in America.
His comments came the same day The New York Post made the dismal mistake of drawing an editorial many believe was a reference to the current U.S. president.
Now may be a pretty good time to address the issue of race in America.
Mr. Holder served as deputy attorney general under Janet Reno during the Clinton administration. Prior to that appointment, The New York Timesreports, Mr. Holder worked for over a decade in the Justice Department's Public Integrity section. He then went on to be nominated by then President-elect Obama to become U.S. Attorney General.
Mr. Holder's comments set off a firestorm of commentary and news coverage across the country. Some criticized his remarks as being racially provocative, while others praised him for being forthright and honest.
It is unmistakably apparent that in this country the issue of race and other hot button topics are subjects that we Americans simply don't want to address.
I argue that there is a real need to have individuals who are willing to step up and address the issues facing our country. We should all be more willing to adopt a spirit of dialogue to understand one another in this country. Real leadership requires it.
Were the attorney general's comments on race accurate or simply out of line?
Bill Maher brought up a few good points on the show last week. Some of the left-wing pundit's statements were more on the money than others; but, as ever, he did a stellar job, facilitated by Tavis, of creating a meaningful and thought-provoking dialogue.
His comments about Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal were just as apt. Whether or not Jindal participated in an exorcism (it kind of seems like he did, read the full story here), Maher is absolutely right about the Republican Party's weak attempt to make themselves appealing to post-racial voters. From the show transcript: “I had heard a lot about Bobby Jindal. I hadn't seen him talk that much, but I heard this is the great brown hope of the Republican Party—they're so clueless. That's what they think, the Democrats and Hillary, it's like, 'Oh, we got someone with breasts.' (Laughter) Are you kidding? We can play this game. We got—yeah. And now it's like Obama? Oh, yeah? Well, we got a guy looks kind of like that. (Laughter)” It's hard to rebut this kind of razor-witted accusation, given the events of the last year or so.
As usual, however, Maher goes too far on a couple of points. On terrorism and the possibility of another attack on America, he proposes President Obama preemptively addressing the nation on the subject, and warning them not to panic if we are attacked again. Unfortunately, we do not live in an America where that kind of brutal honesty and pragmatism would be well-received. In fact, it would likely have the opposite effect. As he says, “We're a nation of panickers.” Indeed.
There was also a spirited exchange over religion, spurred by a discussion of Maher's controversial new film, Religulous. When Tavis asked Maher to qualify his assertion that religion is “dangerous and silly,” Maher's response to the latter was less than convincing: “Talking snake? There's a talking snake in the Garden of Eden. A man lived inside of a whale. Guys walking on water. I mean, come on.” While anyone who takes the Bible word for word literally is certainly missing the point, it seems foolhardy to write off religious practice entirely just because of its parables. While Maher's assertion that it's easy enough to confuse one myth with another (say, Jack and the Beanstalk for Jonah and the whale) has some merit, he seems to be missing the larger issue here.
This kind of discussion is exactly what Tavis does best: intelligent, forward-thinking, and never devolving into the kind of shouting match all too common on television. To anyone who missed it on Wednesday, I highly recommend watching it on our new video player.
Now that Obama is in the White House and there's no use for all of those countdown clocks, a couple of meters have popped up.
1) The Change-o-Meter, run by Slate, assigns a daily score to President Obama based on how much his “administration is changing Washington.” Highest score so far is 60. Slate gave Obama that score on the day that he signed orders to ban torture and close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
2) The Obameter, run by the St. Petersburg Times' PolitiFact.com, keeps track of about 500 promises that Obama made during his campaign. He already broke a promise, according to PolitiFact, when he signed his first bill into law without “giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House Website for five days.”
“Despite the losses our country may face over the next few years, the loss of life due to rough economic times shouldn't be one of them”
The economy and environment we have in the U.S. right now is intense. Many are facing difficulties they never thought they would. Add to that the idea of losing possessions from your own front yard and you have the makings of a very tumultuous situation.
A man was killed recently when he tried to stop men who were trying to take his car in Alabama. His car was being repossessed at 2:30 a.m., and he didn't know what was going on at the time. All he knew was that someone was taking his vehicle. An exchange of gunfire took place and resulted in the loss of a man's life.
I think this is a pretty sad, yet significant sign of the times. I think most people will agree that, whatever the reason might be, no one likes having their possessions taken away from them. That's especially the case at a time when most people don't know how they're going to pay their next bill.
The loss of a man's life over the issue of money is out of the question. I understand that creditors and agencies have a responsibility to do their jobs. They also have a responsibility however to do their jobs both respectfully and responsibly.
Speaking honestly, things may very well get worse before they get better in the U.S. In the meantime, we're going to have to take the extra steps necessary to make sure we remain civil and clear-headed in order to get through this storm. Despite the losses our country may face over the next few years, the loss of life due to rough economic times shouldn't be one of them.
It's time we started living by better principles in our society.
Not depressing enough? Then be sure to check out Newspaper Death Watch, a Web site that is “Chronicling the Decline of Newspapers and the Rebirth of Journalism.”
“Quite honestly I dont know if GM can last much longer. ”
President Obama stated in his address to Congress on Tuesday night that he is still committed to the auto industry. While he didn't call the company out by name, General Motors has been the company of concern these past few weeks. News reports indicate that GM shares actually went up after Obama gave his speech. However, it'll take more than an uptick in share prices to turn the American car industry around.
The deficits we're looking at in the next few years are going to be staggering. With Americans tightening their belts and losing their shirts in the stock market, it may be a tough sell to convince the country that saving the automobile industry is worth the dollars and cents.
Quite honestly, I don't know if GM can last much longer. The automaker just stated recently that it's actually looking for another bailout. This is taking place while many American homeowners and unemployed workers are asking where's their bailout.
Now we see workers from Main Street to Wall Street looking to the White House to see what the future holds for this once iconic and powerful company.
Question: With respect to jobs and the economy, do Americans still want GM to survive? Most importantly are they willing to pay for it?
Can you imagine searching for a place to land a plane with double engine failure? How about explaining that your plane will likely crash into the Hudson River at any moment?
Apparently, the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 has nerves of steel. The FAA released the audio tapes of Chesley Sullenberg III's conversation with New York air traffic control just before the plane landed in the Hudson River. Sullenberg says, "We may end up in the Hudson" as if his life (and that of the others on the plane) weren't in jeopardy. He was calm. New York air traffic control was calm. After listening to the audio, it's no surprise that everyone lived to tell the story.
In honor of Black History Month, we're teaming up with the social news site NewsTrust to find and promote journalism about the Black experience in America today. How has the election of Barack Obama changed the conversation, and the realities, for African Americans and other people of color?
Join us in reviewing news and opinion pieces that explore issues of social justice and empowerment and highlights the contributions of African Americans to the country's cultural landscape.
Amid rebuilding the party's national reach and image, RNC chairman Michael Steele misses a moment to address issue of race in America.
Last month, Michael Steele became the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. The vote signaled awareness towards the need to expand and rebuild a party that's arguably in real disarray.
What Michael Steele hopes to bring to the position of RNC chair is the ability to showcase the type of principled values some have argued is missing in the party platform.
The 2008 presidential election cycle gave real credence to this when we saw the types of non-diverse, sometimes agitated, crowds that Sen. McCain's rallies were bringing out. After some tough battles and seats lost in the Republican Party, Steele has a lot of work ahead of him.
As the nations first African American RNC chair, the need to do things a bit differently is not lost on him. He's making sure not to waste any time by following up on those needs with real action.
Last week, Steele announced that he was working on delivering a principled conservative message aimed at more “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”
Although Mr. Steele may have an aggressive agenda to reach new constituencies throughout the country, he missed a critical opportunity to capitalize on that vision. He failed to comment on Attorney General Eric Holder's remarks concerning race in America.
This would've been a perfect opportunity to share his personal thoughts on race in this country. Even if people didn't agree with what he had to say, they would have known where he stood.
Think about it. He's trying to take a party that seems to be culturally behind the eight ball and prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of a 21st century political landscape. Tackling the issue of race and cultural differences in our society would've been a golden opportunity to reach out to those who might have otherwise been skeptical of what Republicans have to say.
Here's how Steele could've addressed the issue in a speech:
“Are the social circles we find ourselves in simply a reflection of our social conditioning or a result of our shared complacency? Is it a matter of preference when we hold onto our biases and choose to ignore the issues that divide us on the issue of race? Or are we so caught up within ourselves that we don't take a moment to reflect on these things and never look to do anything about it?
Somewhere in these plausible explanations lies the truth. As a leader I want to see to it that we move past this divide and begin working to solve our problems, rather than just ignore them. “
See what I mean?
Mr. Steele, you don't want to miss out on opportunities to address real issues when people are paying attention. Please keep that in mind. The future of your party may very well depend on it.
Did Michael Steele miss a critical opportunity to have a frank and candid discussion on the issue of race in America?
Back in June, Tavis spoke to Ta-Nehisi Coates, along with his father, Paul, about Coates' forthcoming memoir, The Beautiful Struggle. Last week, NPR's Fresh Air picked up on the story with another highly enjoyable interview.
Coates was one of seven children raised by a formidable father in 1980s Baltimore. His siblings came from four mothers, and his father, a Vietnam vet and former Black Panther, held the family together with his emphasis on education and liberated thought. Coates' book tells of his upbringing in this unconventional family and offers much insight on the tribulations of coming of age as a black man in America.
Both of Coates' interviews are great, and well worth watching and listening to, but his book is even better. A former Time and Village Voice writer, now frequent contributor to The Atlantic magazine, Coates writes with all the flair and poetry of Kerouac mixed with generous doses of Langston Hughes. His story is remarkable, significant, and completely timely.
Of course you don't speak Kashaya. That's because the dying language found on the California coast near the mouth of the Russian River is one of nearly 2,500 worldwide languages that UNESCO has classified as endangered or extinct (out of more than 6,000 total world languages).
Emmanuel Jal is now a world-famous recording artist, but he has been through more to get there than most could endure. Born in Sudan to a middle-class family, when civil war tore his country apart in the early 1980s, Jal soon found himself separated from his family in a huge, crowded refugee camp, surrounded by death, hunger and disease. Later he would become a child soldier, wielding a gun taller than he was, fighting in a war he barely understood.
The details of Jal's upbringing in the ranks of Sudan's child soldiers, before becoming one of the country's "lost boys" are now available in Jal's memoir, War Child, which came out this month. The book is candid, touching and surprisingly frank, a vivid account of war seen through a child's eyes.
Wars raging in Africa are no longer surprising to us, and often barely register in western media, but seeing these all-too-familiar events unfold from a child's point of view makes them seem so much more real.
Apart from being a glimpse into his inner life for Emmanuel Jal's fans, this book is for anyone who's ever wondered just how a child can go from living a relatively normal life to fighting in a civil war. This transformation, as it turns out, is as frighteningly quick as it is undramatic, one of the many brutal realities Jal learned to accept in his early years.
While the civil war in which Jal fought has since ended, it has been replaced with another war that still rages in the Sudan. The refugee camps are still packed and many Sudanese are still suffering every day. If nothing else, the book serves as a glimpse into their lives.
Through this book, but also through his music and a documentary feature made about his life, Jal's stated purpose is "to bring peace to Sudan and education to the children of Africa." Jal's first studio album, "Warchild," came out in 2008. The documentary about his life, also called War Child, is currently available on DVD.
The Recovery.gov site will be functional after the bill is passed, and the site promises that an “oversight board” will update the site “as part of an unprecedented effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government.”
The dire situation in Zimbabwe has been commented upon here before, as the southern African nation slipped further towards the brink of total devastation. Now, with an unemployment rate of 90%, a worthless currency, a cholera epidemic that has killed thousands, and most of its skilled workers having fled to South Africa and beyond, Zimbabwe seems to be about as close to rock bottom as a country with an elected government can get.
Today, however, the first beacon of hope in a long, long time was ignited. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister, in a landmark power-sharing agreement with long-ruling president Robert Mugabe.
The details of the power-sharing agreement are complex, and far from ideal. Despite winning more seats in Zimbabwe's parliament in an election last March, Tsvangirai's party will still hold a minority position in government, secondary to Mugabe's Zanu-PF. Additionally, the president retains power over the armed forces and the ability to sack Tsangvirai, should he see fit.
The whole thing reeks of the same kind of sham politics that have dominated the country for decades and run one of Africa's strongest economies into the ground. At 84, Mugabe seems to have little to gain from changing his ways at such a late juncture, and everything to lose. Nonetheless, an opposition leader in government is better than no opposition at all.
According to reports from the area, feeling among Zimbabweans ranges from skepticism to cautious optimism. While change is certainly in the air recently, they might be excused for doubting that it has come to their country this week.
You might have also noticed that Chairman Barney Frank said that Jackson wanted to enter a document from the RainbowPUSH Coalition into the public record.
I didn't expect to see Rev. Jackson at the TARP hearing, so I contacted RainbowPUSH to find out what Jackson was up to.
What Jackson delivered is the RainbowPUSH Coalition's call for Congress to ensure that “TARP and future economic stimulus programs” serve the “least of these,” including student loan borrowers, minority and women business owners and minority auto industry dealers and suppliers. (See full statement here).
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