Friday Ruminations 12/12/2008

Well of COURSE our hosting service would go down one day after What About Our Daughters was mentioned by ESSENCE magazine editor on Cnn.com.

I am wondering if the site didn't go down because the auto bailout "failed" and the universe didn't want me to talk about it.

Today the Down Jones Industrial Average will likely throw a temper tantrum because the bailout failed. I don't care, let it drop. It will come back. To everyone asking "What About Retirees?" My response is that no retired person should have growth stocks as any substantial portion of their portfolio. That's not advice, that's my opinion.

What About Our Daughters.com is DOWN :(

Hey folks, if all the tampering I did early this morning worked, thosw of you who type in WhatAboutOurDaughters.com should be directed back to our old stomping grounds over here on blogger. Our hosting provider is having "issues" hopefully these issues will be resolved today, otherwise we'll be over here until they resolve. THIS is why you should follow GEM2001 on Twitter. To keep up with what's going on with this blog go to www.twitter.com/gem2001

Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention

As you know, I am currently at the Democratic National Convention. Last night I watched Michelle Obama's speech from the floor of the Pepsi Center. You can find all of our comprehensive convention coverage at WhatAboutOurDaughters.com our new home.
What About Our Daughters has received credentials to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention. .

We're moving to WhatAboutOurDaughters.com

Oh my goodness. I am not ready yet, but it has to be done. W're moving to our own domain Y'all!!!! WhatAboutOurDaughters.com. There may be some hiccups and stumbling blocks as we move from blogspot, but our time ha come. We have to do some serious upgrades for the Democratic National Convention later this month and this is the first of what will likely be many. I think I might cry, but I won't

So join us at www.whataboutourdaughters.com


What About Our Daughters has received credentials to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention. We are asking for your support in making sure that the voices, stories, and perspectives of African American women and girls are woven into the fabric of this historic event!Please consider donating by clicking our donate button in the sidebar.

Bernie Mac Dies: MSNBC Reporting

Last week Sandra Rose reported that Bernie Mac was in very critical condition, but Mac's publicist said otherwise. Well, MSNBC just put up a headline that comedian Bernie Mac has died. He was only 50 years old.

Folks stop waiting around to find some peace in your life. Tomorrow or even the next hour isn't promised to us.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Black Love: Tamela and David Mann Edition

We take a temporary pause from all the mayhem and foolishness to put some Black Love on display. I know CNN wants y'all to believe that we have the suckiest lives on planet Earth, but there are some folk sout there who managed to snatch happiness fromthe jaws of despair. Soledad Obrien must have overlooked these two. Another blogger wrote a side-splittingly funny post about one of the actors who frequently appear in Tyler Perry theatrical productions and got me to thinking about one of my favorite singers, Tamela Mann so I YouTubed her and found this clip of Tamela and her husband David talking about the first time they met and what is like to work together. They made me smile. I see couples like this everywhere EXCEPT Television.


For all you ESSENCE.com readers who voted repeatedly in that dadgum "Do Right Man- Gurl Get Cho Ring Befo' Spring" Competition, Black love tends not to be baby oiled down,hairless, and airbrushed within an inch of its life. It looks something like this--Two people who enjoy each other's company.
What About Our Daughters has received credentials to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention. We are asking for your support in making sure that the voices, stories, and perspectives of African American women and girls are woven into the fabric of this historic event!Please consider donating by clicking our donate button in the sidebar.

Kwame Kilpatrick Jail House Vigil Open Thread

I really don't have anything to say. The man is in jail. I don't believe in kicking folks while they are down and it doesn't get more down than being locked up. So feel free to comment and leave links to interesting posts about Kwame Kilpatrick. This is all very sad. Sad for the city. Sad for the family, and yes, even sad for him. All that talent and all those gifts SQUANDERED!

I have offered some of my pasts comments in chronological order ( that's beginning to end y'all)

Previous Posts:
Wagging Finger of Shame to Kwame and Christine (6 Months Ago)
The Apology/ Non Apology Video
Elliot Spitzer vs. Kwame Kil Patrick- Why Wives Should Get Hazard Pay
Kwame Charged
Detroit: A Love Story- My Interpretation of 18 Pages of TXT MSGs
Kwame K is Career Kryptonite

ESSENCE "Do Right Men" Want to Give us All Diabetes!-Mr. WAOD???

ATTENTION LADIES ( and some gentlemen- we don't discriminate 'round here), today is your VERY LAST DAY to vote in ESSENCE Magazine's "Do Right Man of the YEAR" Competition.

Since it is almost over, it is now safe to post about ESSENCE's semi-annual attempt to prey upon the paranoia of single professional Black women. Its the semi annual "Sistahs I don't know Why Y'all All Still Single Because there are Plenty of Good Black Men Out Here, y'all just too picky!" psychological warfare.

Y'all know all we unmarried professional Black women are all going to die old and alone and be eaten alive by nine cats! MEOW! I told y'all not to get all high and mighty and go out and get a degree and whatnot--we're all unmarriagable now. Oh and you went out and purchased a home as well? Oh well just pull out the Friskies cat food right now! Tis OVA! All is lost! Sistas run for your LIIIIVES!

For about a month, I have been getting email blasts from ESSENCE.com about this"Do Right Man" competition. My dear friend and I had a hoot when I spotted a few folks she has dated and more than a few of these "Do Right" men are NOTmay not be single( according to her). But anyway, we had a good laugh about it going through the list to see if there was anybody else that we know. Tis a very . small. world.

But while perusing this list of "Do Right" men I noticed something VERY WRONG....almost every single DO-Right man's most "romantic" gesture involves food:

“I once serenaded a special someone with a song on a yacht dinner
cruise.” The Lawyer

Maree says he once sent an anonymous letter to a woman that he really liked
and asked her to meet him at a four-star restaurant on the
beach. Quite a risk but Charles says, “The evening went very well.” The
Fireman

No seriously, they all mention food. Even the "medical professionals" who should know better:

After she had a hard day at work, “I cooked my girlfriend’s
favorite meal and drew bathwater for her. With Luther Vandross
playing in the background, I washed and rubbed her feet.” Doctor

Here is another doctor:

“A young woman I went to college with was frustrated about not having been
voted homecoming queen. So I compiled [a collage] with several photos of her on
the homecoming court and bought her a cake that read ‘You Are
My Homecoming Queen.’ ” Doctor

I ain't gon' lie, the arts and crafts collage idea was kinda tight.. minus the sugary sweet diabetes inducing cake. No wonder we all got issues with "sugar" and high blood pressure. Oh wait, here is one that didn't talk about food:

“When a woman I was seeing was venting to me about something, I just
listened until she was through. I believe that is the most romantic thing a
man can do. Sometimes a woman just needs to know you’re there.” Dooooctoooor

Too bad at 48 he is just over my 15-year cut off. Tis a shame. Gosh darnit' and there I was picking out a china pattern and bridesmaids dresses. Oh well. Here is another one that wants to clog our precious arteries:

I once surprised a special lady by preparing a romantic,
home-cooked, four-course, candlelit dinner.” Real
Estate MOGUL

Don't you feel your blood sugar spiking right about now. What's with the four and five course meals. Appetizer, entree, dessert. That's it. And it keeps going. R&B "Crooner" Jaheim wants to kill us all too:

Jaheim also likes treating you to some home-cooked comfort
food. Jaheim

Even the athletes want to fatten us up:

“He’ll trade his playbook for a cookbook and work hard to captivate with five
courses. Baby-oiled Down NFL player.

Is he counting the salad and rolls as a course???Now you mean to tell me not ONE person has noticed this pattern? Can a sister get a sonnet? A PO-EM? Nope, but we'll give her some scampi with a side of spare ribs.

If sipping fine champagne on a secluded beach, enjoying mellow music, and sampling delectable nibbles is your idea of a great date,
Ferguson is the guy for you. Another NFL Player I Ain't Ever Heard of

Delectable NIBBLES? Why not just say his idea of a romantic evening is hooking a sister up to a feeding tube? ESSENCE is trying to kill us all one biscuit at a time!!! Run for your lives SISTAS!!! RUN LIKE THE HOUNDS OF HELL AND NIPPING Nibbling AT YOUR ANKLES! With a side of fava beans and potato salad and raspberry tea.

MR WAOD?

So all this has gotten me to thinking, should have our own competition? I don't want to wound the sensibilities of my culinary- challenged male readership. Because here at WAOD, we try not to discriminate based on gender or cooking ability. Do y'all think we should have a MR. WAOD Competition like ESSENCE.com?

We can have men submit videotapes of themselves performing essential functions like:

1. Cooking on something other than a grill,
2. Changing a tire/ using a tire gauge PROPERLY!!
3. Opening a jar of pickles,
4. Putting down the toilet seat,
5. Sitting outside the women's dressing room holding some shopping bags and a purse
6. Assembling some furniture from IKEA (using all the parts that came in the box- No "Black engineering" allowed!)
7. Other miscellaneous tasks.

We could culminate it with a phone interview on a podcast. Or would that objectify Black men too much?

Brother's let us know, did you feel objectified by ESSENCE.com's "Do Right Man" competition? Was it fair to have regla' brothers go up against baby oiled-down NFL players? Is this REVERSE SEXISM? Can you compete with brothers who are cooking their women "a meal of shrimp and scallop pasta and served on the beach"? (I can just feel the sand grinding away at my tooth enamel as I try to eat sauce laden pasta on a beach.) Can you compete with a brother who bakes oatmeal cookies? Can you perform a tropical fruit-scented massage?

“The delicious feel of a head-to-toe, nice-and-slow massage. The invigorating
scent of warmed botanical oils. The tantalizing taste of ripe tropical fruit...”

Is this fair brothers? I say IS IT FAIR? Can you compete with fresh baked bread and gourmet cheese? And granted more than a few of us are holding it down for the CGU, but really do Black men really think romance = food? No, am serious. Is Black love all about the DRANKS and VITTLES in 2008??

I say we all vote for this guy because he is the only finalist old enough to rent a car at a major US airport.

Y'allz Boy Kwame Kilpatrick Career Kryptonite for Black Women--- ALMOST Brings Down His Mama

"Pull us from the water when it is clear we are drowning and then after you are sure we've recovered taking us back down to the river and tossing us in and saying "Um don't you think its about time you learned how to swim on your own because I'm not always gone be here to rescue you!" *splash*" Gina on a Mother's Love

First there was Carlita, then Christine, now add Carolyn to the list of Black women who've been singed by the uncontrollable lustful urges of Detroit Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick.


Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, a seven-term incumbent, found herself fighting for her political life. Why? Because of the uncontrollable lustful desires of her fully grown son:

Early results Tuesday showed the six-term congresswoman trailing both her opponents, but as the night wore on and more Detroit numbers came in, she pulled even and then slightly ahead of former state Rep. Mary Waters at around midnight.

With all precincts reporting, Kilpatrick had 20,888 votes, or 39.1% and Waters had 19,183 votes, or 36%. State Sen. Martha Scott was in third place with 13,280 votes, or 24.9%, according to the Associated Press. FREEP

In a three way race yesterday, she won by 1,700 votes in a race that should not have even been close for a seven term incumbent. Mama K had over a half a million dollars, her closest challenger had $10,000 and if this had not been a three way race, it would have been lights out.

I had an occasion to meet Mama Kilpatrick at an event I was asked to speak at. It was an event with a bunch of rich Black women, many of whom were not all that warm and cuddly towards the fire breathing blogtavist, but Mama Kilpatrick was one of the nicest people I met that weekend. No strike that, she was the nicest. And no, it wasn't the politician thing because I sat at a table with another Black Congresswoman and she wasn't warm and fuzzy at all. AT. ALL. If it wasn't for enabling her fully grown son and his massive lapses in ethical behavior and judgement, I really don't have a bad thing to say about the woman. I don't live in her district.

So far Kwame has taken out Christine Beatty. Now his Mama barely holds on to her job, and yet he still keeps his job despite new allegations that he shoved sheriff's deputies who were attempting to serve a subpoena on one of his friends.

Jim Thomas, the mayor’s lawyer, said Kilpatrick merely told a process server that Ferguson was not there and asked him to leave.“He gently took him by the arm and escorted him off the porch,” Thomas said, adding that Ayanna is married to Ferguson’s cousin, Daniel Ferguson.Thomas said he did not know why Kilpatrick did not ask his police bodyguards, who were with him, to handle the matter. FREEP

In WHAT world do you lay hands on a uniformed peace officer and escort them anywhere? Somebody reminded me that both Kwame Kilpatrick and Barack Obama gave speeches at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Wow how quickly their paths diverged.

Ladies remember this, don't sacrifice your marriage, your life, or your career for an untrustworthy, undisciplined man or you will end up like all of the women in Kwame Kilpatick's life--- Left OUT THERE while he is chillaxin in the Mayor's mansion.

I know about a Mother's love and whatnot, the fact that no matter what you do in life, you'll always have your Mama, but part of being a parent is letting your kids go through the fire on their own. At a certain point, its not your job to keep us from getting burned, only to help bandage a few wounds. Or better yet, pull us from the water when it is clear we are drowning and then after you are sure we've recovered taking us back down to the river and tossing us in and saying "Um don't you think its about time you learned how to swim on your own because I'm not always gone be here to rescue you!" *splash*

On a side note, I about fell out when I read this:

11:15pm, Mary Waters has joined her supporters at Fuddruckers on East Jefferson Avenue. Her supporters are wearing their Mary Waters for Congress t-shirts and keeping a close eye on the results. WXYZ

So that's how y'all roll Detroit? Fuddruckers on East Jefferson is the spot. What? Y'all didn't have any hotel ballrooms available? Did she at least pick up the fries?

PS, Y'alls is spelled Y'all's or Y'allz not "Yaws" its "Y'all's Boy" not "Yaw's"

Ain't She Grand? Michelle Obama Covers Ebony Magazine

Michelle Obama is covering this month's Ebony magazine. She looks FAB! It is so nice to see a Black women on the cover of a magazine without her g-string clad rear in the air. The issue is out August 12th. here are some quotes from the article .



Michelle on campaigning and the American people…

“It has been a blessing for us to have this opportunity to spend this year traveling the country,” she tells Ebony magazine. “We’ve been in almost every state in this nation—in people’s homes, in their kitchens, in their community centers, and just having the opportunity to be reminded of how decent the American people are and how our values are so closely linked, that gives me hope.”

Michelle on her style…

“I do think what you wear is a reflection of who you are. I love to look glamorous when there’s a wonderful, purposeful event that is appropriate. But when I’m in Iowa campaigning with the girls, I am in Gap shorts and a T-shirt.”

Michelle on being a mom…

“My first job in all honesty is going to continue to be mom-in-chief,” she says, “making sure that in this transition, which will be even more of a transition for the girls…that they are settled and that they know they will continue to be the center of our universe.”

Michelle on being married to Barack…

“Barack and I – as partners, as friends and as lovers– we accessorize each other in many ways,” she said. “The best thing I love having on me is Barack on my arm and vice versa, whether it’s having him standing there smiling at me, or watching him mesmerize a crowd or talk to some seniors in a senior center.”

BARACK OBAMA-On Michelle balancing work and family…

“Michelle believes deeply in the American Dream – because she’s lived it. And as a mother of our two young daughters, she understands firsthand the challenge of balancing work and family. That ability to empathize and understand the struggles that so many hardworking families are going through will be valuable to have as a first lady.”

MARIAN JOHNSON(Michelle’s mom)-On Michelle being driven

“She always wanted to do her best, and I don’t think it had anything to do with outdoing someone else. It’s within her.”

Robin Givhan-On Michelle’s style

“People associate her with Jackie Kennedy because that’s the last time there was a first lady with a trademark style.”

Man, BUMP that Jackie Kennedy comparison. Ever hear of Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King? Lena Horne? Come on! We've always had style.

Looking For Graphic Artist/ Cartoonist

Finalizing site redesign for Democratic convention and need an illustration. Pretty simple, but beyond my limited abilities. Hit up the gmail in the right sidebar if you are interested. Thanks a bunch!

AIDS is NOT a "Black Disease" and Those Promoting That Foolishness (CNN) have a VERY. SHORT. MEMORY!

Just because you are mad at your people doesn't mean you stand by and watch as someone, even one of our own, selfishly attempts to throw them over a cliff. We ALL don't deserve what CNN has been doing to us for two weeks and counting.

The fact that Black people are complicit in racism does not make it any less morally repugnant. So I was all fired up and ready to blast an angry letter to CNN when I read another one of their sensational headlines that they have been dropping to promote their propaganda called "Black in America", you know, the show where CNN, with the help of Soledad O'Brien, takes every negative stereotype you can find about Black people and applies it to the entire race and beams it to the world.

Last week CNN's headline writer declared that Black women were an endangered species. Then today I read a CNN headline that asked "Is AIDS an 'Black Disease?". Of course not you ninnies! Then I got to the meat of the article and the blame, for once, does not lie with the high schoolers responsible for the content of CNN.com, but from a Black AIDS activist:

"AIDS in America today is a black disease," says Phill Wilson, founder and CEO of the institute and himself HIV-positive for 20 years. "2006 CDC data tell us that about half of the just over 1 million Americans living with HIV or AIDS are black."CNN.com

I get his point, but I question his marketing methods and that's what he is doing, marketing his message. We live in a country where "separate is inherently unequal." So have these activists thought of the long term implications of labeling ANY disease as a "Black disease"? You can hear the sound of funding drying up as we speak. Drug research. POOF! Compassion- POOF!. Telethons-POOF! Let's get real.

Doesn't anybody remember how much time, energy and money were spent to shatter the myth that AIDs was the exclusive province of White gay men? We had songs, telethons and Oprah shows! Now we are intentionally trying to undo the lesson that no one is immune from this disease. Oh wait, somebody else remembers the 80s and 90s too:

This reminds me of the lies that were told about HIV/AIDS and are still being told. Remember the lie that HIV/AIDS is a gay disease, and that only gay people get it? WRONG!! Remember the lie that you could contract HIV/AIDS from kissing someone with the disease? WRONG!! Remember the lie that you could contract HIV/AIDS by shaking hands with someone who has the disease? WRONG!! Remember the lie that you could contract HIV/AIDS by using the same dishes and silverware that someone with the disease used? WRONG!! Ooh, and the biggest lie of all is told by the Catholic Church, particularly in Africa. They tell people that condoms are laced with AIDS. WRONG!! Condoms can help prevent diseases!! Now we're asking if AIDS is a Black disease? Are you kidding me?The bottom line is, ANYONE AND EVERYONE CAN CONTRACT HIV. It doesn't matter if you're black, white, hispanic, asian, native american, or anything else. You can get the disease.

I'm really sick and tired of hearing that it's this group or that group's disease. It's a disease that anybody can get, PERIOD!!I Wish I Were in Paris

THANK YOU!! How Quickly people forget!

In addition, CNN, as the arbiter of all things Black has followed up with a report that says that Black people are genetically predisposed to developing HIV. They are saying genes increase the likelihood of developing an HIV infection by 40%.

Silence Kills. So raising awareness and public education are necessary, but I question the wisdom of labeling any disease in this country as a "Black disease". When was the last time somebody held a telethon for sickle cell anemia? Y'all let me know when the "high blood pressure" ribbon campaign begins.

I admire what they are attempting to accomplish, but labeling AIDS as a "Black disease" is WRONG and short-sighted. Your temporary headlines on CNN and a possible up tick in funding are nothing compared to the damage that will likely follow if people are able to write off AIDS as a problem for "that other group of people" I thought we already fought this battle. Anybody can contract this disease.

Furthermore, if you are going to label any disease as a "Black"disease, then you have a moral obligation to go beyond getting some temporary news clipping for your cause and providing us an explanation as to WHY.

My frustration with this series is the constant presentation of statistics with little or no time spent addressing how those numbers got so high (or in some cases, low). The question “How did we get to such a place?” should be towards the top of this post, not in the last paragraph. Answer those questions first then let’s engage in conversation about changing the course.Cherisa from CNN.com comments.

EXACTLY CHERISA! Is it because there is something inherent about our BLACKness that makes us susceptible? Or is it poor access to care, a lack of education, gender dynamics, misogyny, poverty, culture, music? Give me something other than this sensational headline to justify trying to turn back the clock 20 years.

The comments at CNN basically prove my point. The LAST thing Black folks need to do is to try to turn AIDS into "OUR" disease. Nobody owns a monopoly on AIDS. ASIA has suffered from its own AIDS epidemics.

Y'all know that if FOX NEWS ran this mess, we would be marching right now. I am so seriously sick of CNN right about now. I mean those ratings must really be worth it to them.

And to all of you who say "Well people need to know the TRUTH!" This ain't the truth.Stop using the fact that Black folks have problems to welcome slander and abuse from internal or external forces. Stop letting the fact that we aren't perfect excuse being brutalized by ourselves and others. Stop letting the fact that you are disgusted by the behavior of some Black people allow you to pardon someone engaging in behavior that has longterm negative consequences for all of us. Just because you are mad at your people doesn't mean you stand by and watch as someone, even one of our own, selfishly attempts to throw them over a cliff. We ALL don't deserve what CNN has been doing to us for two weeks and counting.

This latest example is one man's opinion and mainstream media, with CNN and the front of the pack has run with it. There has to be another way. I remember the 80s and 90s-it wasn't pretty and for the life of me I can't figure out why someone who claims to be an activist would intentionally engage in turning back the clock to the days when people really did think that if they didn't belong to a certain "group" they were immune from the disease. That just isn't true. No one is immune. No one is immune. No. One. Is. Immune.

Black Woman, LaKecious Edwards , Wins Lawsuit Against AT&T

Hat tip to MTO

Well what are you supposed to do when your coworkers who have less experience and mared disciplinary records get promoted over you and your Black coworkers repeatedly? Well, you certainly don't wait for the statute of limitations to run out your discrimination lawsuit.

AT&T, named one of the 40 "best diversified" companies by Black Enterprise magazine, has been ordered to pay $411,339 to a Fort Worth woman who was one of three African-American employees to file suit accusing the company of racial discrimination at its Arlington call center.LaKecious Edwards received the award from a Dallas jury this week, her lawyer said Friday. FT Worth Star Telegram

Go Lakecious! The reason given for being denied a promotion:

One manager said in a deposition that Edwards was not promoted because she spoke so fast that men couldn’t understand her and because she was too emotional. SOURCE

AAAh yes, "too emotional."

But this was the kicker for me:

"Six other mi- nority employees with simi- lar complaints could not file lawsuits because the statute of limitations ran out while they waited for responses from AT&T’s legal department to internally lodged grievances." SOURCE

LaKecious, please put that money in the bank and live off of the interest.

Black Women "Emotionally Labor" At Work? - "Keep Your 'N' in Check" Study

We have another "revelatory" study on Black women. At least it isn't declaring how diseased we are like the last few rounds. This one is supposed to have findings that I do believe Dubois pointed out about a kazillion years ago. But anyway, PhDs gotta earn a living. Apparently Black women feel extra special stress at work trying to conform.

Black professionals make extra efforts in the workplace to fulfill what they believe are the expectations of their white colleagues, according to research to be presented today at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

Sociologists Marlese Durr of Wright State University and her co-author Adia Harvey Wingfield of Georgia State University argue that black professionals engage in two types of "emotional performance" in the workplace: General etiquette and racialized emotion maintenance.

"Our analysis of these aspects of workplace behavior reveals that women and men co-mingle etiquette and emotion maintenance to be accepted in the workplace and to fit white expectations," said Durr. "This emotional overtime in the workplace strengthens race/ethnic group solidarity."

Whether it's stressful, inauthentic or downright draining, Durr claims that emotional labor is "a crucial part of black women's self-presentation in work and social public spaces." These efforts to fit in can, in effect, make African American women feel isolated, alienated, and frustrated. SOURCE

Oh, and they couldn't have found a more "professional" way to state the following in their press release

Durr and Wingfield illustrate emotional labor as performance with a quote from an African American woman who says of her workplace peers, "They…are careful to remember…'that's not professional. Remember they got the s[hit] that'll get you bit! Keep your Negro in check! Don't let it jump up and show anger, disapproval, or difference of opinion. They have to like you and think that you are as close to them as possible in thought, ideas, dress and behavior.'" SOURCE

Is it lost on anyone that a study about professionalism at work is entitled "Keep Your N in Check"?? Anybody else see an irony or paradox or whatever? This is stereotyping I don't care what y'all say in the comments. We aren't some our of control beasts who don't know how to behave. That isn't where the stress comes from.

This study implies that we inherently don't know how to act in the workplace and it is extra taxing on us. It fails to acknowledge that we often can engage in the same behavior and conduct as their coworkers and have that behavior viewed through a completely different lens.

Next week I am going to do a study to see if Black women spend entirely too much time in the beauty salon or some other revelatory investigation.

Obama Heckled. Acolytes Slipping?? OH MY!

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? So I was about to shut down the blogging for the weekend I was watching a feisty Debate between Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and two other sisters in Detroit. I love the big D they never fail to disappoint.

Kilpatrick, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said she has brought in $500 million for Michigan and asked Waters and Scott what they know about Congress's budget process.

"How many appropriations committees are there in Congress? How many departments are there in the federal government? What department has the largest bill before the appropriations committee?" she asked.

Waters said, "Anybody who goes to Congress can bring home the dollars."

Kilpatrick replied, "You can't even carry my bra." Detroit News

I Don't care what anybody says, you gotta love "Mama K" because "You can't even carry my bra!!!" has to be the best political sound byte EVER! Only in De-twoi. Somebody get me that t-shirt!

But anyway, So while I am being entertained by Carolyn, Martha Scott and Mary Waters, I see that Obama got heckled.

Now previous I have written that this election cycle Black folks have been forbidden to do anything other than vote. By whom? Well the Obama Accolytes.

There are Obama supporters. There are Obama "stans" ( stalker fans). Then, there are the Obama Acolytes as we fondly refer to them here. The Obama Acolytes are like a paramilitary mercenary force. They work independent of the campaign and take orders from no one in particular. They won't even listen to their candidate. They are friends, relatives, and coworkers. Ordinary, generally well loving people except for one occasional problem, they view anyone and anything that might in anyway get in the way of Barack Obama making it to 1600 Avenue as the ENEMY that must be destroyed at all costs. WAOD July 12, 2008

Those over zealous family and friends that won't let you question so much as Obama's tie color.

So low and behold these Black hecklers from some group I ain't ever heard of and probably never will again, got up and cut up. The acolytes already have an APB out on those three brothers for violating the 11th Commandment. Um did ole boy said "in the face of nunumus attacks?" Y'all know Bernie Mac sent these guys.




Huffington Post provided a transcript of a question to Obama that followed the dust up:

QUESTION: "In the face of the numerous attacks that are made against the African community or the black community, by the same U.S. government that you aspire to lead. We are talking about attacks like the sub-prime mortgage... that was a phenomenon that started in the African American and Latino community, attacks like the killing of Sean Bell... and the Jena Six... and on and on... in the face of all these attacks, why is it that you have not had the ability to speak to the interest and the behalf of the oppressed and exploited African-American community in this country?"


OBAMA: "I think you are misinformed ... Every issue you talk of I did speak out about. I have been talking about predatory lending for the last two years in the U.S. Senate and worked to pass legislation to prevent it when I was in the state legislature. I have repeatedly said that many of the predatory loans that were made in the mortgage system did target the African American and Latino communities.

"Jena Six, I was the first candidate to get out there and say this is wrong, that an injustice what had been done... When Sean Bell got shot I put out a statement saying immediately this is a problem...

"Don't start shouting back, I'm just answering your question. On each of these issues I have spoken out. I may not have spoken out the way you have wanted me to speak out. Which is fine. I understand. On each of these issues you have mentioned I have spoken out and I have spoken out forcefully. Listen, I was a civil rights lawyer. I passed the first racial profiling legislation in Illinois. I passed some of the toughest death penalty reform legislation in Illinois. Huffington Post.

Snap, crackle, and pop. Who went and liberated Black folks and whatnot? You mean we get to heckle just like all the other disgruntled group of people in this country? Wow! Say it ain't so! Today feels like Juneteenth or sumthin'

Baratunde over at Jack and Jill has another perspective:

I don’t think Obama’s above reproach or criticism, and I think he should be called to answer any question any citizen of the country he aspires to lead has. So, by all means, lay into him if you think he’s off base or plain wrong. However, anybody who can say with a straight face that Obama is somehow ignoring the problems of black America, is a liar or incredibly, shamefully, willfully lazy and simple-minded. Check out his Urban Policy Plan, his Poverty Plan, his Civil Rights Plan or any of his plans, and there can be no doubt that they offer solutions to the problems of black Americas specifically as well as all Americans generally. Jack and Jill Politics

So did the Slant Truth:

I really don’t get why some people think that if Obama doesn’t talk all black all the time and only about black issues, then he’s a sellout. His vote on FISA, now that was a sellout, but come on, the man was a civil rights lawyer for chrissakes. There are a lot of valid reasons to criticize Sen. Obama. This is not one of them. Slant Truth

Shay over at Booker Rising thinks this was helpful to the campaign:

Sen. Barack Obama getting heckled by a bunch of hardcore Marxists only helps his campaign. Booker Rising

I LOVE this headline from Black Voices "What the Heckler Happened to Obama?"Oh S.T.O.P! It!

This post pretty much encapsulates what most people think about Black folks this election cycle. You can vote, but don't you dare dissent ( publicly or privately). Just sit down and shut up.:

Even if those three dudes weren't Uncle Tom's and had an honest agenda to challenge Obama's positive yet at times vague rhetoric regarding our people, interrupting the man who has brought together the youth of this generation with optimism & hope was a bit out a line. Iced.com

He's calling some Marxists "Uncle Toms"?? UM wasn't the rap on Uncle Tom that he helped prop up the system- Tom wasn't radical? isn't that the complete opposite of what these rabble rousers are about. They ain't mainstream.

Wow. Is this America? Dissent is "out of line"? Oh well, Dr. King, who knew you were out of line. Rosa Parks head to the back of that bus, You are out of line. Lunch counter demonstrators, out of line. Linda Brown, out of line. Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, out of line. Harriet Tubman, out of line. Frederick Douglas, out of line. Sojourner Truth; out of line! Thank goodness for all the Black folks who occasionally got "out of line" He's not running to be dog catcher! He is running to be the most powerful man on the face of the planet. He will survive criticism form some random fringe element we will never hear from again.

Don't get me wrong. I don't agree with a thing the hecklers said, but dissent in an era of intolerance for dissent by Black people tis a beautiful thang! I agree, no president can be a panacea for all that ails the Black community. In fact, I think that our biggest problem may be expecting anything at all from a government that has a long history of not necessarily having our best interests at heart. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me over the course of 500 or so years, call me a a complete and total fool.

So I don't agree with this groups politics, but I continue to be disturbed by an environment where black people are told to basically be quiet until November. Nod Nod Wink Wink. As if it is "understood" that a "brotha' "has our back . He is running for President of the United States of America, it isn't his job to have Black folk's backs. Its our job to hold all politicians accountable and that's hard to do in an environment where the slightest sign of dissent gets people branded as race-traitors and Uncle Toms.

I wonder if all of these people swiftly moving to minimize these heckler's concerns would have the same opinion if these folks had heckled McCain. Who am I kidding, they wouldn't have gotten into a McCain event with a sign. If an elderly librarian can get ticketed and dragged off of public property for holding a sign saying Bush=McCain, these three wouldn't have gotten within on mile of the arena

How long y'all think it is going to take the acolytes to catch up with these three? Run fast. Run like the wind. That sound you hear in the distance is the Obama Acolyte woodshed door swinging open. They're coming for you in 5..4..3..2..1. Don't look back

Now let me go finish watching this debate between Kilpatrick, Scott and Waters,> its excellent weekend fluff! I needed this.

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First Black Disney Princess In Theaters Christmas 2009- Trailer

According to Young, Black and Fabulous, the Princess and the Frog the first Disney film featuring a Black princess will hit theatres in Christmas 2009. The film stars Anika Noni Rose Here is the trailer.



We are SOOOOO going to have a WAOD watch party!