Vanessa F. Church: Rantings From the Heart of a Half-Century of Life

Rev Sylvester Williams becomes 58th Bishop of CME Church

2010-07-01T03:10:00.003-05:00

My former pastor, Dr. Sylvester Williams, Sr., has now become a Bishop in the Christian Methodist Episcopal. I am extremely happy and proud. For the past eight years he has served as Senior Pastor of Carter Temple C.M.E. Church. He will now serve the churches in the 2nd Episcopal as Presiding Prelate.

Dr.Williams is uniquely qualified to be bishop, much like President Obama is uniquely qualified to be President--both men have spent their entire adult lives preparing for the tasks at hand.

Congratulations, Dr. Williams!

Unsafe Thrifty Bargains...

2010-06-13T13:53:00.005-05:00

Her Royal Highness prides herself on being a 'Thrift-store' Queen, who believes there is hardly anything she wouldn't purchase used however, USA Today recently published a list of 20items that shouldn't be purchased used. Here are the items:

1. Cribs and children's furniture

2. Car seats

3. Bicycle helmets

4. Tires

5. Laptops

6. Software

7. Plasma and HD TVs

8. DVD players

9. Digital and video cameras

10. Speakers and microphones

11. Camera lenses

12. Photo light bulbs

13. Mattresses and bedding

14. Swimsuits and undergarments

15. Wet suits

16. Shoes

17. Hats

18. Makeup

19. Pet supplies

20. Vacuum cleaners

Third Annual "Role/Roll" Like Marcus Harley-Davidson Memorial Ride for Peace and Officer Thomas Wortham, IV

2010-05-24T11:48:00.005-05:00

Chicago, IL - More than 200 motorcycle enthusiast are expected to rev their engines down south Halsted Street from 115th Street to Union Park on Randolph Street on Sunday morning, May 30, 2010, in honor of Marcus Hendricks and fallen police officer Thomas Wortham, IV, both killed by senseless gun violence. This event is sponsored by the Marcus Hendricks Memorial Foundation. The participants will ride for peace and community unity and to promote mentoring as a solution to violence.
The first Roll Like Marcus event was held on May 4, 2008, just two weeks after Marcus Hendricks was fatally shot while in the office of his plumbing business in the Sheldon Heights neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. An avid Harley-Davidson enthusiast, Marcus' friends from the biker community joined together for a ride to commemorate Marcus - a father, a husband, a business man and a community supporter on what would have been his 35th birthday.
Since Marcus' death his family has created the Marcus Hendricks Memorial Foundation to promote the tenets of his life: hard-work, family and commitment to community. As a plumber Marcus created his own successful plumbing and sewer business. He supported the community by employing individuals whom he felt deserved a second chance and an opportunity to become self-sufficient and provide for their families.
Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV was murdered on Wednesday, May 19, 2010, and the ride this year will pay tribute to Officer Wortham. Cynthia Flowers of the Marcus Hendricks Memorial Foundation says, "Officer Wortham's death should spark outrage from the community. Like my brother he was doing everything right. My heart is bleeding for this family and for this dad who had to go to war against domestic terrorists to defend his son's life!"

The Marcus Hendricks Memorial Foundation is asking motorcycle officers from the Chicago Police Department and the Illinois State Police to lead the parade this year. Additionally, Black Bikers of Chicago, the Chicago biker community and bikers from Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana are invited to participate in this event. The Black Bikers of Chicago and the biker community on the whole represents professionals, businessmen, members of law enforcement and a vast array of resources and talent that can be shared within our communities.
Just as men and women are being asked to Roll (r-o-l-l) like Marcus, they are also being encouraged to "role (r-o-l-e)" like Marcus by making hard-work, family and community development a way of life. Participants on this ride will have the opportunity to sign-up as mentors in local schools. This ride is also meant to link community advocacy groups who are actively working within Chicago neighborhoods to the bike clubs and individual mentors to help develop a partnership to impact positive changes in our communities.
Since Marcus' murder his sister Cynthia Flowers has committed herself to working towards improving education, family integrity and community unity. Flowers states, "When the youth speak about the reasons violence occurs they often refer to adults who don't care. Through our ride we want to show those youth that there are plenty of adults and organizations that do care. We want to show them that members of the biking community, to which my brother belonged, not only say they care but many of them have programs that give back directly to the community."

Important New Book: The New Jim Crow

2010-05-24T11:35:00.002-05:00

How the War on Drugs Gave Birth to a Permanent American Undercaste

by Michelle Alexander

Ever since Barack Obama lifted his right hand and took his oath of office, pledging to serve the United States as its 44th president, ordinary people and their leaders around the globe have been celebrating our nation's "triumph over race." Obama's election has been touted as the final nail in the coffin of Jim Crow, the bookend placed on the history of racial caste in America.

Obama's mere presence in the Oval Office is offered as proof that "the land of the free" has finally made good on its promise of equality. There's an implicit yet undeniable message embedded in his appearance on the world stage: this is what freedom looks like; this is what democracy can do for you. If you are poor, marginalized, or relegated to an inferior caste, there is hope for you. Trust us. Trust our rules, laws, customs, and wars. You, too, can get to the promised land.

Perhaps greater lies have been told in the past century, but they can be counted on one hand. Racial caste is alive and well in America.

Most people don't like it when I say this. It makes them angry. In the "era of colorblindness" there's a nearly fanatical desire to cling to the myth that we as a nation have "moved beyond" race. Here are a few facts that run counter to that triumphant racial narrative:

*There are more African Americans under correctional control today -- in prison or jail, on probation or parole -- than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War began.

*As of 2004, more African American men were disenfranchised (due to felon disenfranchisement laws) than in 1870, the year the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified, prohibiting laws that explicitly deny the right to vote on the basis of race.

* A black child born today is less likely to be raised by both parents than a black child born during slavery. The recent disintegration of the African American family is due in large part to the mass imprisonment of black fathers.

*If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas have been labeled felons for life. (In the Chicago area, the figure is nearly 80%.) These men are part of a growing undercaste -- not class, caste -- permanently relegated, by law, to a second-class status. They can be denied the right to vote, automatically excluded from juries, and legally discriminated against in employment, housing, access to education, and public benefits, much as their grandparents and great-grandparents were during the Jim Crow era.

Excuses for the Lockdown

There is, of course, a colorblind explanation for all this: crime rates. Our prison population has exploded from about 300,000 to more than 2 million in a few short decades, it is said, because of rampant crime. We're told that the reason so many black and brown men find themselves behind bars and ushered into a permanent, second-class status is because they happen to be the bad guys.

The uncomfortable truth, however, is that crime rates do not explain the sudden and dramatic mass incarceration of African Americans during the past 30 years. Crime rates have fluctuated over the last few decades -- they are currently are at historical lows -- but imprisonment rates have consistently soared. Quintupled, in fact. And the vast majority of that increase is due to the War on Drugs. Drug offenses alone account for about two-thirds of the increase in the federal inmate population, and more than half of the increase in the state prison population.

The drug war has been brutal -- complete with SWAT teams, tanks, bazookas, grenade launchers, and sweeps of entire neighborhoods -- but those who live in white communities have little clue to the devastation wrought. This war has been waged almost exclusively in poor communities of color, even though studies consistently show that people of all colors use and sell illegal drugs at remarkably similar rates. In fact, some studies indicate that white youth are significantly more likely to engage in illegal drug dealing than black youth. Any notion that drug use among African Americans is more severe or dangerous is belied by the data. White youth, for example, have about three times the number of drug-related visits to the emergency room as their African American counterparts.

That is not what you would guess, though, when entering our nation's prisons and jails, overflowing as they are with black and brown drug offenders. In some states, African Americans comprise 80%-90% of all drug offenders sent to prison.

This is the point at which I am typically interrupted and reminded that black men have higher rates of violent crime. That's why the drug war is waged in poor communities of color and not middle-class suburbs. Drug warriors are trying to get rid of those drug kingpins and violent offenders who make ghetto communities a living hell. It has nothing to do with race; it's all about violent crime.

Again, not so. President Ronald Reagan officially declared the current drug war in 1982, when drug crime was declining, not rising. From the outset, the war had little to do with drug crime and nearly everything to do with racial politics. The drug war was part of a grand and highly successful Republican Party strategy of using racially coded political appeals on issues of crime and welfare to attract poor and working class white voters who were resentful of, and threatened by, desegregation, busing, and affirmative action. In the words of H.R. Haldeman, President Richard Nixon's White House Chief of Staff: "[T]he whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to."

A few years after the drug war was announced, crack cocaine hit the streets of inner-city communities. The Reagan administration seized on this development with glee, hiring staff who were to be responsible for publicizing inner-city crack babies, crack mothers, crack whores, and drug-related violence. The goal was to make inner-city crack abuse and violence a media sensation, bolstering public support for the drug war which, it was hoped, would lead Congress to devote millions of dollars in additional funding to it.

The plan worked like a charm. For more than a decade, black drug dealers and users would be regulars in newspaper stories and would saturate the evening TV news. Congress and state legislatures nationwide would devote billions of dollars to the drug war and pass harsh mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes -- sentences longer than murderers receive in many countries.

Democrats began competing with Republicans to prove that they could be even tougher on the dark-skinned pariahs. In President Bill Clinton's boastful words, "I can be nicked a lot, but no one can say I'm soft on crime." The facts bear him out. Clinton's "tough on crime" policies resulted in the largest increase in federal and state prison inmates of any president in American history. But Clinton was not satisfied with exploding prison populations. He and the "New Democrats" championed legislation banning drug felons from public housing (no matter how minor the offense) and denying them basic public benefits, including food stamps, for life. Discrimination in virtually every aspect of political, economic, and social life is now perfectly legal, if you've been labeled a felon.

Facing Facts

But what about all those violent criminals and drug kingpins? Isn't the drug war waged in ghetto communities because that's where the violent offenders can be found? The answer is yes... in made-for-TV movies. In real life, the answer is no.

The drug war has never been focused on rooting out drug kingpins or violent offenders. Federal funding flows to those agencies that increase dramatically the volume of drug arrests, not the agencies most successful in bringing down the bosses. What gets rewarded in this war is sheer numbers of drug arrests. To make matters worse, federal drug forfeiture laws allow state and local law enforcement agencies to keep for their own use 80% of the cash, cars, and homes seized from drug suspects, thus granting law enforcement a direct monetary interest in the profitability of the drug market.

The results have been predictable: people of color rounded up en masse for relatively minor, non-violent drug offenses. In 2005, four out of five drug arrests were for possession, only one out of five for sales. Most people in state prison have no history of violence or even of significant selling activity. In fact, during the 1990s -- the period of the most dramatic expansion of the drug war -- nearly 80% of the increase in drug arrests was for marijuana possession, a drug generally considered less harmful than alcohol or tobacco and at least as prevalent in middle-class white communities as in the inner city.

In this way, a new racial undercaste has been created in an astonishingly short period of time -- a new Jim Crow system. Millions of people of color are now saddled with criminal records and legally denied the very rights that their parents and grandparents fought for and, in some cases, died for.

Affirmative action, though, has put a happy face on this racial reality. Seeing black people graduate from Harvard and Yale and become CEOs or corporate lawyers -- not to mention president of the United States -- causes us all to marvel at what a long way we've come.
Recent data shows, though, that much of black progress is a myth. In many respects, African Americans are doing no better than they were when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated and uprisings swept inner cities across America. Nearly a quarter of African Americans live below the poverty line today, approximately the same percentage as in 1968. The black child poverty rate is actually higher now than it was then.

Unemployment rates in black communities rival those in Third World countries. And that's with affirmative action!

When we pull back the curtain and take a look at what our "colorblind" society creates without affirmative action, we see a familiar social, political, and economic structure -- the structure of racial caste. The entrance into this new caste system can be found at the prison gate.

This is not Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream. This is not the promised land. The cyclical rebirth of caste in America is a recurring racial nightmare.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------T

What Do These Beautiful Women All have in Common?

2010-03-10T07:03:00.009-06:00

Today is National Women and Girls HIV and AIDS Awareness Day

Annette Fields, Rae Lewis Thornton, Pernessa Seele, and Princess Kasune Zulu are educators, activists and prayer warriors for the healing of HIV and AIDS. They believe in the power of prayer and the coming together of all people of faith to unite with purpose, compassion and hope. Through the power of God's love they hope to educate every American about HIV prevention facts; encourage and support HIV testing; advocate for the availability of compassionate care and treatment for all those living with the disease in every community in America; and love unconditionally all persons living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.

During this National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS, Sunday, March 7 through Saturday, March 13, 2010, every church, mosque, synagogue, temple and home is encouraged to join in prayer, education, advocacy, and service for the healing of AIDS in the United States and the World.
"Today, let our hearts be broken by the things that break the heart of God."

Hey Michael Jordan! Happy Birthday to the Greatest Player in NBA history

2010-02-17T09:58:00.005-06:00

Today, February 17th, marks the 26th anniversary of Michael Jordan's 21st birthday--that makes him 47 years old, fine as frog's hair, and still getting paid as a result of an outstanding basketball career and business saavy.
Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player that has ever played the game--in my book. I'd never heard of him while he was a college baller, but I remember when I first saw him play as a rookie Chicago Bull, I said to myself, "Self, he's got the longest tongue I've ever seen." I'll bet quite a few women thought that...
And he never missed an opportunity to let folks see it hanging out as he sailed through the air over opponents and slammed backboards left and right. In fact, most of the action shots and posters show him gliding through the air--tongue hanging out with an air of victory boldly displayed in his body language and on his face. I like Michael Jordan cuz he laughed alot while he played and it was obvious that he loved the game of basketball.

I am impressed with everything about Michael Jordan's sports career, including the fact that he went to play professional baseball mid-career, and that he is currently attempting to purchase the Charlotte Bobcats basketball franchise.

There is a site called, The Evolution of Michael Jordan and there I found a list of
"10 things I bet you didn't know about Michael Jordan"
1.) He won 6 championships in his basketball career.
2.) He was 5 times voted regular season Most Valuable Player
3.) His career scoring average is 30.1
4.) He played in 172 games and scored more than 40 points in each
5.) He scored 50 or more points in 39 games
6.) He earned 10 scoring titles
7.) He retired 3 times
8.) He was awarded 2 Olympic Gold medals
9.) He scored 32,292 regular season points
10) He is listed as #1 of the 50 Greatest players in NBA history
Will there ever be another NBA player as great as Michael Jordan? No.

Haitian-American Utah's 1st Black Woman Mayor

2010-02-15T14:56:00.008-06:00

While taxes, growth and quality of life were issues in Saratoga,
Utah's 2009 mayoral campaign, Mia B. Love's race was not. Nor is it with her.
The 33 year old wife and mother of three was recently sworn in as mayor--the first Black woman to do so in Utah's history.
She volunteers in her children's school and serves as legislative vice president in the PTA, as well as having served on the City Council for the past six years. Love explains that her family, Haitian immigrants who settled in Connecticut, instilled in her the need to give back to the community.

The 33-year-old Republican mayor has gone on record as saying she's never experienced racism while living in Utah, first in Salt Lake County, then in American Fork before moving to Saratoga Springs in 2001. Love's husband, Jason is Caucasian. Mayor Love and her family are Mormon.

"It is a physical feature," Love said, sitting in the dining room of her home in the Sunrise Meadows neighborhood. "I am proud to be a member of this community."

2010-02-14T10:46:00.007-06:00

As a native of the great State of Illinois aka "Land of Lincoln," it was very apparent on the anniversary of what would have been his 201st birthday that Georgians as a group do not celebrate President Lincoln or his legacy. As I shopped for groceries , walking all through the supermarket and in other retail outlets in Covington, Georgia not one person that I encountered wished me a Happy Lincoln's birthday. I was simply appalled.
The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln's birthday was marked on Friday, February 12th by an aggressive snowfall over Georgia. There were no parties, galas or even barbeques scheduled, although the schools in Newton County were closed, not in honor of President Lincoln, but because the snow was coming.
Although I've only lived in Georgia for one year, I have yet to run across a park or a street named 'Lincoln'.

In lieu of our nation's difficult times, President Obama is calling us to be like Lincoln in working together across party lines.
" If we are going to get through this tough economic time, we are going to have to do it as one nation, as one people,"President Obama is quoted as saying.

Like Lincoln during the Civil War, Obama understands what it is like to be a president elected that many Americans do not agree with. I never really agreed with Bush on many of his conservative views. I didn't vote for President George W. Bush, but I never wanted to see him fail and drag our country down with him. I do not dislike the Republicans--even though they totally disrespected President Obama as a group during the State of the Union Address.
Obama supporters do not continue to harp on the fact that President Obama inherited this mess our country is in under the immediate past Bush administration. Can we come together as Americans and support our President--the people's choice for leadership?

Happy 201st Birthday Mr.President!

2010-02-14T10:13:00.009-06:00

My friend, journalist Stephanie Gadlin and several FB friends posted this pic of President Lincoln and the following quote that is attributed to him prior to his signing the Emancipation Proclamation which freed Southern slaves on January 1, 1865. There were many comments blasting President Lincoln for the many statements made prior to him drafting this document. I love and applaud President Lincoln because even though he was relunctant to do the right thing for the right reason--good came out of it and I was born in Chicago, Illinois--a free child. Had history been different, I shudder to think of what my experiences could have been.
Happy Birthday Mr. President! Rest in Peace.

HONEST ABE DAY: "I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied everything."

Lady Gaga & Cyndi Lauper new Voices for MAC Viva Glam Lipstick to Support HIV Initiative

2010-02-13T19:02:00.005-06:00

Pop divas Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper are the faces of From Our Lips, which is M·A·C Cosmetics’ Viva Glam campaign honoring women living with HIV/AIDS and those working to prevent new infections. All proceeds from sales of Viva Glam Cyndi (a light coral red lipstick) and Viva Glam Gaga (a light blue-pink lipstick) will benefit the M·A·C AIDS Fund. To date, the fund has raised more than $150 million to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS and improve the lives of HIV-positive people worldwide.

“I’ve been familiar with the campaign and have been wearing M·A·C since I was 10 years old,” Gaga said in a statement. “To be joining the likes of iconic former Viva Glam spokespeople is an honor. My new Viva Glam lipstick color is amazing. It’s very me—a bluish pink, great for everyday, a little bit ’80s. I hope that women buy this lipstick, and honor themselves and honor the cause.”
In conjunction with the launch of From Our Lips, the M·A·C AIDS Fund released data from nationwide surveys on women and HIV. According to the M·A·C survey results, nearly three in five American women (55 percent) say they’ve never been tested for HIV, and 78 percent say they’ve had sexual intercourse without a condom. In addition, the average woman was last tested for HIV three years ago, compared to two years for the average man.

Princess Zulu: Sentenced to Death

2010-02-13T18:19:00.006-06:00

Twelve years ago when Dr Tembo gave me the news that I was HIV positive, he gave me only six months to live. While Time magazine’s Man of the Year—Dr. David Ho—had created a cocktail of drugs that could suppress HIV, it would be years before treatment made its way to the poor hospital in Luanshya, Zambia where I lived.

Even five years later, only eight thousand people in Africa had access to these drugs—but millions had died. At the time, few people knew or admitted what had claimed their lives. We called the disease “Slim” or “Kalawe Noko,” which means ‘go and say goodbye to your mother.’ It had no respect of person—it took the young and the strong, leaving behind the weak and the frail.

Proudly today, I have witnessed a great increase in the number of people accessing treatment. Given the “perfect storm” of conditions that allowed AIDS to march across Africa, the fact that the tide is now turning is both remarkable and inspirational. Millions of deaths have been averted. Children can now sleep at night with their parents watching over them.

But I caution to add—our task is far from over. In 2008, for every two people who started taking antiretroviral drugs, another five become newly infected. Access to treatment is a long way from being universal.

We need to maintain the pressure on our elected leaders, our places of worship and our broader communities to march forward.

Twelve years ago, I was given six months to live. I am still fighting, and God willing, I will continue to do so. I will continue to fight until all who require treatment, regardless of where we were born and how we contracted the virus, have access not only to HIV/AIDS treatment, but to all health services. That to me is universal access—and that is a basic human right.

-Princess Kasune Zulu

Ignorance is No Excuse for lack of Cross-Cultural Mission Training

2010-02-11T15:50:00.009-06:00

Haitian Judge Bernard Saint Vil made his recommendation a day after questioning the detained Americans, most from an Idaho Baptist group, were charged last week with child kidnapping and criminal association after being arrested Jan. 29 while trying to take 33 children, ages 2 to 12, across the border to an orphanage they were trying to set up in the Dominican Republic.
Group leader Laura Silsby of Meridian, Idaho, explained that the children were obtained either from orphanages or from distant relatives. She said only children who were found not to have living parents or relatives who could care for them might be put up for adoption. However, at least 20 of the children are from a single village and have living parents. Some of the parents explained that they willingly turned over their children to the missionaries on the promise the Americans would educate them and let relatives visit.
This incident would have been less likely to occur had this group been properly trained prior to stepping their foot onto a plane and flying to Haiti. Church missions groups have hearts of gold and good intentions, but cross-cultural training is needed prior to engaging in humanitarian relief in other countries. Upon arrival, the group needed to have been once again briefed on acceptable practice. This group is in jail because left to their own devices Americans will always sidestep what they view as 'red tape' or 'hassle'. In many countries avoiding proper parctice is against the law--apparently in Haiti it an offense serious enough for jail time.

John Mayer's Playboy Interview...A Lesson in Getting Too Comfortable

2010-02-11T14:55:00.007-06:00

John, John, John! What were you thinking, John? Did you forget the first rule of dealing with reporters? The rule that states that anything you say can and will be held against you in a publication? Did you forget you held a 'trump' card that's called 'off the record'?
John, I like you, John. So I'm gonna try to explain this as gently as possible using this example: Just because you stand in a garage doesn't make you a car; and just because you love Jazz and the Blues doen't give you license to use the N-word in an interview to be published in an international publication. Again I ask, what were you thinkn?
Because I like your music so much I find it hard to absorb some of the info you gave during the interview--namely describing the sexual prowess of your ex-lovers. At the time it may have seemed like a great idea discussing them as though they were simply sex toys and as though they were not daughters and sisters and nieces and cousins. Did you forget about how their families may have felt about this info leaking out? Did you consider how this could embarrass your own family?
John, John, John--You definitely need to go back to media training and next time you feel like u want to be cozy and familiar with a journalist--make sure it's one that you have alerted that some comments are "off the record". And for goodness sake, stay alert and don't get too comfortable. haven't you heard that "loose lips sink ships?"

Is Sarah Palin an "Effen" Retard?

2010-02-09T19:20:00.006-06:00

Sarah Palin's address at the Tea Party convention in Nashville vividly demonstrates why this woman is unlikely to ever become president of the United States: she's too forgetful-she writes notes to herself in the palm of her hand. When we did this in school it was considered a form of cheating. Is Sarah Palin an effen retard? The woman is paid $100K per speech and she writes her notes in her hand? Give me a break! She is getting publicity and attention that should be saved for someone who has something significant to say or a real author, and not an attention seeking former beauty queen with a ghostwritten book and too much time on her hands.

Happy Birthday, Robert Towsend...

2010-02-09T03:59:00.011-06:00

In my ever-changing, hectic life as the next Pulitzer Prize winning news journalist from Chicago now residing in Georgia, I sometimes get so bogged down that I forget stuff I really want to remember. For example--birthdays. If I get up early enough and I'm not having hot flashes or some other kinda 'senior moment', I can remember when people I love are born.
Yesterday, February 8th was Robert Townsend's 53rd birthday!
Robert is one of the funniest comedians, one of the most dynamic actors, one of the most talented directors and writers and just an all around great guy. Please take a moment to check out his website. He's got clips on his newest project--The History of Black Comedy: Why We Laugh.
http://www.roberttownsend.com/home.html Also, did I happen to mention that he is from Chicago's West Side although he resides in L.A. (I ain't mad atcha, I hate snow, too) lol.
Hey Robert, I hope your birthday was just like you are--da bomb!

President Obama Addresses the Power of Prayer

2010-02-07T13:28:00.005-06:00

"While prayer can stiffen our spines to surmount an obstacle...prayer can also do something else. It can touch our hearts with humility. It can fill us with a spirit of brotherhood. It can remind us that each of us are children of an awesome and living GOD."
-- President Barack H. Obama
Thursday, February 4, 2010
National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C.

Caressa Cameron--Miss Virginia Crowned Miss America in Las Vegas

2010-02-01T03:18:00.003-06:00

Congratulations are in order for Caressa Cameron, a 22 year old from Fredericksburg, VA who was crowned the 2010 Miss America pageant winner. Miss Cameron is a Communications major who aspires to become a newscaster.

Happy Birthday Oprah!

2010-01-30T11:04:00.003-06:00

Oprah--girl, please forgive me. I just realized that I forgot to call and wish you birthday greetings yesterday on Friday, January 29th. I know you were staring at your cell and saying to yourself, "Self, did Vanessa forget my birthday?" No, girlfriend I did not forget your birthday--how could I? You're the most celebrated friend I have.
I am however, still kinda annoyed at not receiving an invitation to your 50th birthday party. So much so til I practiced passive resistance and planned to call you at the last possible minute.
You will be happy to know that Renee and I went out and celebrated in your honor. We laughed til we cried and I then went home and crashed.
I hope you had a wonderful day and I pray that you are blessed with many more birthdays!
Your BFF
Vanessa--The Churchy One

The VChurch 2010 Bad "B" Award Winners

2010-01-30T09:31:00.008-06:00

I have always wanted to develop and sponsor my own gala awards show. Until now I played with the idea of honoring the funniest comedians, outstanding humanitarians, most creative early childhood professionals, unsung ordinary people and the Stripper of the Year (we've all got a dark side). They are all excellent ideas for public tributes and I was just so undecided until today when I came up with The 2010 "Bad B" Awards; to be bestowed upon women who go above and beyond in their areas of expertise in motherhood. To qualify, a woman has to be a mother who has achieved or set a precedence that causes her extreme notoriety and one for which she has become famous or infamous, as you will. There will be a Winner and a First Runner Up.

This year, I don't need a prestigious panel of judges to help me decide the winner because I'm pretty clear on who the two baddest b's in the entire United States are...drumroll please.

The winner of the VChurch 2010 Bad "B" Award goes to Nadiya Suleman aka Octomom; This woman is no Punk! She is a single mother of 14 children all conceived artificially by the same frozen sperm donor; birthing 8 children at one time by Caesarian section; losing 150 lbs one year post-pregnancy; currently has eight one-year-olds in diapers--eight toddlers; subjecting herself and her children to public ridicule and scorn to capture fame and notoriety as a reality TV star, all while feeding her children on food stamps and Social Security. I'm sure you will agree--she is a 'Bad B'.

The First Runner Up VChurch 2010 Bad "B" Award goes to : Kate Gosselin aka Mega-Mom; reality tv show star and mother of twins and sextuplets; all conceived artificially--8 children total. Publicly humiliated into single mom status by a deadbeat husband.

Many of you know a woman who should be nominated for the VChurch 2011 Bad B Awards. Feel free to nominate her in the comments. Be sure to include WHY you feel this woman is a "Bad B."
The Churchy One

"Q" Re-records "We Are the World" for Haiti relief

2010-01-30T09:15:00.004-06:00

Master musician, Quincy Jones, 76 year-old music legend says musicians are gathering in L.A. to record the 2010 version of "We Are the World." The proceeds will benefit Yele--a not-for-profit headed by Wyclef Jean, to help in Haitian earthquake survivor relief.
How fitting to re-release the Grammy Award winning song which was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson 25 years later to benefit earthquake survivors. I hope some of the original artists perform in the recording.
Attaboy, Q!

My Friends are Grandparents and with that--Title Changes

2010-01-30T06:49:00.011-06:00

I just found out that my friends, Horace and Susan Smith are officially grandparents. Hooray! Welcome to the club. You have just been elevated and you didn't even have to campaign. Ain't that wonderful?

But now that you have First Grandbaby Lillian, that does pose a slight dilemma--what are your new official titles to add to your ever-burgeoning arsenal of titles?
Horace, you have so many titles, that when I first met you I asked you which one should I use? You replied that "Pastor" would suffice, so I call you pastor but refer to you affectionately as 'Bishop' (hey, do I owe you tithes for that?) lol. Susan--I call Susan but refer to her affectionately as 'Sister Smith'.
But there are many others titles. For instance, Dr. Smith, Professor, Doc, Pastor, Bishop, Presiding Bishop, Diocesan Bishop, Presiding Prelate, Daddy, Horatio (Susan, I betcha thought I'd forgotten), Dr. Horace E. Smith, II, M.D., Rev. Dr, Nephew, Uncle, Cousin, Brother, and Son--just to name a few. And not to be outdone, Susan also has quite a few titles of her own: Susan Davenport Smith, Pharmacist; Sister Smith, First Lady Susan, First Lady of the 14th District, First Lady of the P.A.of W., Niece, Auntie, Sister, Daughter, Wife, and Mommy--are some that easily come to mind.

So after years of encouraging, kissing, hugging and loving on practically every child in the near vacinity of the two of them, both personally and professionally; baptizing kids, and dedicating babies; and praying for and laying hands on children made vulnerable by poverty both nationally and internationally, Jesus has blessed them with a lovely granddaughter--First Grandbaby Lillian. Her mother is First Daughter, Lauren Smith Elrod.
Herein lies the dilemma of the new titles. Will the good doctor become 'PaPa', 'PawPaw', Grandpa, or Granddaddy? Will Lady Susan be referred to as Nana, Granny, Grandma, Grandmother, or G.G. aka Gorgeous Granny?
A Rose by any other name would smell just as sweet and grandparents--whatever they are called by adorable grandchildren would be just as blessed.
Congratulations!
The Churchy One

Happy Birthday, Dr. King

2010-01-15T11:38:00.005-06:00

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr would be celebrating his 81st birthday today if he were alive.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies
hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction....The chain reaction of evil--hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars--must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of
annihilation."
Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963.

We are so fortunate that his ideals and his words have lived on.
Happy Birthday, Dr. King!

Happy Birthday, First Lady Michelle Obama

2010-01-14T03:09:00.006-06:00

Sunday, January 17, 2010 is First lady Michelle Obama's birthday. She will be 46 years old. Last year, on January 20th her husband, the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, Jr., Presented her with the White House as her principal residence as a belated birthday gift. He even let her mama move in with them.
This year, how will the President top last year's gift? I'm sure whatever he buys or does will be spectacular.
Happy Birthday First Lady--you go girl! I ain't mad atcha.

Michelle Obama 1st year Reflections

2010-01-14T02:33:00.005-06:00

Looking back on her first year as First Lady, which included more than 200 events at her new home along with visits to 14 states and eight countries, Mrs. Obama declared success.

Mrs. Obama plans to spend 2010 focused more heavily on the issue of healthy living. She’ll speak on the issue of childhood obesity, and said if it would help, she’d even be willing to head to the hill to help pass legislation overseeing federal-funded school lunch program, which up for renewal this year.

I am proud of Michelle Obama. She has represented us as FLOTUS to the highest degree of excellence.

Let's NOT Make Haiti the 'Cause du Jour'

2010-01-13T11:27:00.008-06:00

Haiti needs many things but false benevolence is not one of them.

There are many of us here in the United States who are learning about Haiti for the very first time. There is really no excuse for this ignorance, but I think of it simply as the privilege of arrogance and global indifference that comes with being a natural American citizen. We only focus on developing countries on a need to know basis--do they have something that the U.S. wants or needs? Then, we need to know them. If a country has nothing we need or want, why should we know them--especially if they're poor?
Haiti has experienced an earthquake of catastrophic proportions resulting in thousands of lost lives, unaccounted for loved ones, and demolition of buildings--including really important ones like hospitals. We have learned that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The earthquake did not cause their abject poverty. There are many non-governmental organizations who advocate and fund raise on behalf of the citizens and causes of Haiti--year in and year out. This is not vogue or chic.
Won't you search your hearts as you decide to get involved in immediate disaster response for Haiti? Are you giving donations or soliciting funds on behalf of Haiti because your heart tells you to intervene or has the media presented a compelling reason why you should give? Are you giving because you want feel to superior to the people of Haiti (to whom much is given much required--yeah, right) or do you share in their pain? And finally, are you giving because you want others to know how generous you can be? Don't do the right thing for the wrong reason.

Remember, when the cameras leave the island, the people of Haiti will still live in the poorest of nations. Is what you are deciding to contribute to this cause going to help propel them into a life of eventual self-sufficiency? Or do you want to simply apply a bandage to a wound that needs major surgery. Don't let Haiti be a 'cause du jour'--that is, the chic thing to do at the moment.

Reid and Obama Squash Beef...

2010-01-13T01:17:00.005-06:00

President Obama does not major in minors. And he knew how to squash a potential silly beef before it started with one of his Democratic colleagues.
U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid apologized on Saturday, January 8th for saying the race of Barack Obama – whom he described as a “light skinned” African-American “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one” – would help rather than hurt his eventual presidential bid.

President Obama accepted Senator Reid's apology--period.

This statement was revealed in a just released book, "Game Change" by Mark Halperin. It is a look at the nuances of the 2008 presidential campaign.

What could have caused a stir, was a few revelations in the book that described statements by Hillary Clinton and her husband, Bill Clinton--both currently employed by the Obama administration in key positions. One statement that I was particularly perturbed by was the following:

– Former president Bill Clinton's efforts to persuade Senator Edward M. Kennedy to endorse his wife's presidential bid fell flat when Mr. Clinton told the Democratic lawmaker that "just a few years ago, Mr. Obama would have been serving the pair coffee." What did President Clinton mean by this? I'll bet if I sought the wisdom of President Jimmy Carter he'd be able to tell me.

Ringo Starr turns 70 in 2010

2010-01-13T01:15:00.005-06:00

Seems like only yesterday it was 1964 and I was a six year old singing along with everybody else in America, "She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah". I had full fledged Beatlemania and a huge crush on the band's drummer, Ringo Starr. Today I am 52 and Ringo Starr is 70!

Ringo, whose birthday is July 7, plans to mark it by flashing a two-fingered peace sign at noon and playing an evening gig at Radio City Music Hall as part of a summer tour with his latest All-Starr band. Currently, he is on a promotional tour for his 15th solo album, Y Not.

Starr, a longtime vegetarian looks to be in his late 50s, dresses sharp and still has his great sense of humor. Let me be the first to say, Happy Birthday, Ringo!

Atlanta Accepts Federal $$$ earmarked for Homelessness Prevention

2010-01-10T02:12:00.006-06:00

The Atlanta City Council approved the acceptance of $3.4 million in federal dollars that will be used to fund community-based projects aimed at preventing homelessness under the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). (Legislative Reference No. 09-O-1121) HPRP funds provide financial assistance and services to prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless and help those who are experiencing homelessness to be quickly re-housed and stabilized.

The funds provide for a variety of assistance, including: short-term or medium-term rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services, including such activities as mediation, credit counseling, security or utility deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance, and case management.

Funding for the homelessness prevention fund ($1.5 billion) was made possible through the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was signed into law on February 17,

2009 by President Barack Obama.

Council President Lisa M Borders is committed to ending homelessness in Atlanta in 10 years.

The Princess and the Frog Rakes in $25 Million

2009-12-18T08:31:00.005-06:00

Black women and girls can be princesses, queens and empresses and the American public proved this weekend they would pay to see a Disney family movie that depicts such a character.
Princess Tiana and her story about the frog prince topped this past weekend's box office receipts at $25 million.
I personally liked the look of the movie as I accompanied a group of 3 & 4 year olds on a field trip to see this Disney civil rights milestone. I waited 51 years to see an animated black princess. The storyline is kinda 'dark' with voodoo as the cause of many of the mishaps and occurances. Overall, I gave it a B+ and kudos for the effort. Princess Tiana is beautiful.

Bengals' Chris Henry Dead at 26

2009-12-18T08:24:00.002-06:00

Cinncinnati Bengals wide receiver, Chris Henry died in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 17, 2009 from injuries he sustained from a fall from the bed of the pick-up truck driven by his fiance', Loleini Tonga. The couple were engaged to be married in March 2010 and were the parents of three children.

Charlie Murphy's Wife, Tisha Dies

2009-12-18T07:03:00.004-06:00

Condolences go out to the family of comedian and actor Charlie Murphy whose wife, Tisha Taylor Murphy lost her 2-year battle with cancer on December 13, 2009 in New Jersey. The couple were married for 12 years and have two children, Eva and Xavier.

Funnyman D'Lai Returns from Iraq Comedy Tour

2009-12-18T05:18:00.005-06:00

Comedian D'Lai has just returned from an unforgettable 10-day experience of entertaining U.S. troops in Iraq and wants to talk about it.
"Man, they loved us (the troops), and they do so much for us while over there. They were just so happy to see us."
Also on the tour was comic David Raibon and actress Elise Perry (Everybody Hates Chris). The group entertained troops on five military bases in Iraq and one base in Kuwait.
"I've got so many stories to tell, we take so many of our simple freedoms for granted."
D'Lai most recently appeared as a grand finalist on season four of Bill Bellamy's "Who's got Jokes" airing on TV-One.

Televangelist Oral Roberts Passes

2009-12-16T07:08:00.005-06:00

God is merciful and good. Televangelist Oral Roberts died on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 from complications related to pneumonia and a fall he sustained in his home last weekend. He was 91 years old. When I first read that he'd passed this morning on Facebook, I started thinking about my personal memories of having met him.

I had the privilege and honor of meeting he and his wife in person in 2005, while on a speaking tour in Southern California along with Princess Zulu. We were introduced by a mutual friend, Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, CA.
Rev. Roberts honored us by saying he'd come to church that day to hear Princess Zulu speak and share her incredible story. He had a marvelous sense of humor and we took a picture with him.

I also recall visiting his namesake university in Tulsa, Okla., the first Pentecostal university in the world, ironically built by a man who never finished college. As I was driving down the road at nightime in Tulsa, I remember how frightened I was when I approached Oral Roberts University campus and the 60 foot bronze statue of praying hands lit up by a series of flood lights. I wasn't sure what they were at first, but I drove back during the daytime and was so awestruck by the structure's grandeur and the peaceful way I felt walking on the campus.

Rest in peace, Oral Roberts. You led a full life and touched many lives in the Name of Jesus.

Comedienne Mo'Nique receives Supporting Actress Honors

2009-12-15T10:04:00.007-06:00

Who woulda thunk it?
Comedienne Mo'Nique has garnered several highly prestigious honors associated with her performance in the movie "Precious."

She has been named best supporting actress of 2009 by: The Boston Society of Film Critics; The African-American Film Critics; and the Los Angeles Film Critics which all made their announcements this week.
The late night talk show host has also been nominated for a Golden Globe Award--Best Supporting Actress.

Pundits are predicting that Mo'Nique will be an unstoppable force in the Oscars.

I guess the public really goes for over the top mothers ala "Mommie Dearest."
Congratulations Mo'Nique!

Other Golfers Stand to benefit from Tiger's Saga

2009-12-12T04:39:00.005-06:00

Okay. I tried not to say anything, but I just can't help myself from jumping in on the media frenzy of the "Tiger Woods Saga of 2009", my title for this historical trivia on events in his personal life.
His bowing out of professional golf indefinitely to concentrate on family, finally gives a way for other marginally talented professional golfers to shine from under his shadow. Tiger Woods is already the greatest golfer ever to play the sport.
Since Tiger removed himself from the competition, the mediocrity of the other players can look like awesome talents. With Tiger Woods in the game, everyone--no matter what skill level, looked amateurish.
Society would have Tiger believe that he needs public forgiveness--he really doesn't, but it is politically incorrect not to display some sort of remorse for being publicly exposed for marital infidelity. He has asked for privacy--he won't get it because his story is hot right now and sells ads in all media outlets.
There have been many men to be publicly humiliated by the press for bad choices...somehow very few have remained in the news indefinitely. Tiger won't either. Stop hating, you haters!

Don't be a Human Punching Bag for Anyone--Ever!

2009-11-09T08:21:00.005-06:00

This morning I was looking back over my life and reflecting on the myriad of events and experiences I have survived in my half century of life. It is hard to believe that I got through some of the things--but I did. After thinking about those things I started thinking about my legacy as a woman, mother and grandmother. If I have one universal caution for women and men (I have both sons & daughters) it would be: Don't be a human punching bag for anyone--ever! I'm just talkn bout what I'm talkn bout.

Oprah Winfrey uninvited a famous Gospel singer because his ex-wife alerted her that he was pending charges of domestic violence. The famous talk show host also recently featured Rhianna talking about the violence in her relationship. The pity is that there are thousands of incidents daily, but it is cloaked in secrecy. Nobody wants to talk about domestic violence.

Domestic violence and emotional abuse are behaviors used by one person in a relationship to control the other. Partners may be married or not married; heterosexual, gay, or lesbian; living together, separated or dating.

Examples of abuse include:

name-calling or putdowns
keeping a partner from contacting their family or friends
withholding money
stopping a partner from getting or keeping a job
actual or threatened physical harm
sexual assault
stalking
intimidation

Violence can be criminal and includes physical assault (hitting, pushing, shoving, etc.), sexual abuse (unwanted or forced sexual activity), and stalking. Although emotional, psychological and financial abuse are not criminal behaviors, they are forms of abuse and can lead to criminal violence.

The violence takes many forms and can happen all the time or once in a while. An important step to help yourself or someone you know in preventing or stopping violence is recognizing the warning signs listed on the "Violence Wheel."

ANYONE CAN BE A VICTIM! Victims can be of any age, sex, race, culture, religion, education, employment or marital status. Although both men and women can be abused, most victims are women. Children in homes where there is domestic violence are more likely to be abused and/or neglected. Most children in these homes know about the violence. Even if a child is not physically harmed, they may have emotional and behavior problems.

If you are being abused, REMEMBER

You are not alone
It is not your fault
Help is available

Baby, I'm Back!!!

2009-11-09T07:44:00.002-06:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged since July. So much has happened in the world that I definitely had opinion on over the past months, but I just was not motivated to pen my heart. But all that's changed and I'm back. Look out for my observations and rantings!
The Churchlady

Sears Tower by any other Name...

2009-07-16T08:32:00.007-05:00

When I first found out I shook all over. I just kept shaking my head from side to side in shock and utter disbelief. Finally, I rubbed my eyes to see if i were hallucinating or simply lacking comprehension of what I was reading. But alas, reliable news sources from the Chi-town, confiormed the devastating news--The Sears Tower is history. Gone. Kaput.L
Last Thursday, the tallest building in the United States, Chicago's Sears Tower disappeared from existance. Well, sorta. Willis Tower was introduced to Chicago by Mayor Richard M. Daley and others during a public renaming ceremony hosted by Willis Group Holdings, a British Company.
"It's always going to be the Sears Tower to me. I watched it being built from the ground up. I remember the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach the very first time I rode the elevator to the observation deck."
The 110-story skyscraper has been known as Sears Tower since it opened in 1973. Sears Roebuck and Co., moved out in 1992 but the name stayed.
The only way I could foresee calling this iconic landmark "Willis Tower" is it were named after my childhood friend, Jocelyn Willis or one of my favorite actors, Bruce Willis. In that case "Willis Tower" would be cool. Named after some anonymous British company makes the name change lame. hey, that rhymes!

Lee's Resolution for King of Pop thumbs down by Pelosi

2009-07-10T08:49:00.009-05:00

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went thumbs down on Thursday to a resolution honoring Michael Jackson because the symbolic measure could raise "contrary views" about the pop star's life. Michael Jackson was acquitted in 2005 of charges that he molested a 13 year old boy. Those allegations along with the admission that children slept in his bed at his home but nothing sexual occurred, have led some members not to support the resolution.

Lawmakers are free to use House speeches "to express their sympathy or their praise any time that they wish," said Pelosi, D-Calif. "I don't think it's necessary for us to have a resolution."

A resolution sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, cites some of the singer's charitable acts and proclaims him an American legend, musical icon and world humanitarian.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who posted a video on YouTube calling Michael Jackson a "pervert" and a "pedophile," has pledged to do all he could to block the resolution.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus held a moment of silence in the House after Jackson died June 25, some lawmakers walked out of the chamber.

Jackson Lee has pledged that the resolution, now before the House Foreign Affairs Committee where she is a member, would come to the full House for debate. Jackson Lee's resolution only had one co-sponsor, Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., and was not endorsed by other black caucus members.

From the stage at Jackson's memorial Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Jackson Lee hoisted a framed copy of the resolution.

Cynthia McKinney released from jail in Israel

2009-07-06T10:05:00.007-05:00

Cynthia McKinney, a former congressman from the state of Georgia, was scheduled to return from Tel Aviv on a flight that landed in New York at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. No stranger to controversey and arrest, McKinney was detained last week by the Israeli Navy while trying to deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza along with a group of about twenty friends and volunteers.

Pastor Rick Warren reaches out to Muslims in U.S.

2009-07-06T09:50:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite authors, Pastor Rick Warren recently told several thousand American Muslims that "the two largest faiths on the planet" must work together to combat stereotypes and solve global problems. I was very happy to see him extend an olive branch towards a population of people who have been basically despised primarily because of their home countries' political agendas, and not because of the religion itself. Both Muslims and Christians are decendants of Abraham, a prophet found in the Old Testament.

"Some problems are so big you have to team tackle them," evangelical megachurch pastor Rick Warren addressed the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America.
Warren said Muslims and Christians should be partners in working to end what he calls "the five global giants" of war, poverty, corruption, disease and illiteracy.

Warren is the founder of Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, California and the author of "The Purpose Driven Life." His willingness to show support for U.S. Muslims is a huge gain for the community, which has endured intense scrutiny since 9/11.
"It's easier to be an extremist of any kind because then you only have one group of people mad at you," he said. "But if you actually try to build relationships — like invite an evangelical pastor to your gathering — you'll get criticized for it. So will I."

London Chimp supporters of MJ protest over Memorial ticket lottery results

2009-07-06T09:40:00.003-05:00

A zoo was evacuated on Sunday after about 30 chimpanzees escaped from their enclosure after news that none of them had received tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service scheduled for Tuesday, July 7th in Los Angeles.
The animals escaped from 'Chimp Island' and found their way into a keeper area where their food is prepared, the zoo said.
More than 5,000 visitors were asked to leave Chester Zoo, near Liverpool, shortly after the break-out as keepers rounded up the chimps.
"We have never seen the chimps react with such public disregard and abandonment. Some of them were personal friends of Bubbles, the chimpanzee who was a longtime companion to Michael Jackson. Many of the chimps had planned to attend the London premier of the Michael Jackson concert as special guests.
"In the interests of public safety Chester Zoo was evacuated today, Sunday 5th July, as a precautionary measure," the zoo said.
In a prepared statement, the chimps apologized for the disappointment caused to guests and offered to provide a refund or free future visit to the zoo. The zoo has more than 7,000 animals.

Independence Day: A Cause of Celebration?

2009-07-03T16:17:00.002-05:00

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all me are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

--Taken from the Pre-amble to the Declaration of Independence"

The Pledge of Allegiance

2009-07-03T16:08:00.002-05:00

"I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands,one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Mommyhood and Grand-Mommyhood Triumphs in Alaska

2009-07-03T15:57:00.004-05:00

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday she is resigning from office at the end of the month, raising speculation that she would focus on a run for the White House in the 2012 race.
The former Republican vice presidential candidate made the surprise announcement from her home in suburban Wasilla on Friday morning. She said she would step down July 26 but didn't announce her plans.
"Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional Lame Duck status in this particular climate would just be another dose of politics as usual, something I campaigned against and will always oppose," Palin said in a statement released by her office. "With that in mind, my family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things, so that this administration, with its positive agenda, its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future, can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success," she said.
With childcare costs looming, I am convinced that her new grandson was sooo adorable and her own underaged minor children needed her presence in the home to a greater degree, til Gov. Palin had no choice but to do the logical thing--resign from her job. You go, Sarah!

Elton John Dedicates song to Michael Jackson

2009-06-28T14:42:00.008-05:00

British singer, Sir Elton John sang a special tribute song to honor the late Michael Jackson during his 10th Annual "White Tie and Tiara Ball" in England Thursday. John learned of Jackson's death in the middle of his concert gala to raise money for the Elton John Aids Foundation. He dedicated the song "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" to the pop king. Liz Hurley, Hugh Grant and Lily Allen were among the attendees at the benefit event but many guests left after hearing the news of Jackson's death.

I can't light no more of your darkness

All my pictures seem to fade to black and white

I'm growing tired and time stands still before me

Frozen here on the ladder of my life

Too late to save myself from falling

I took a chance and changed your way of life

But you misread my meaning when I met you

Closed the door and left me blinded by the light

Don't let the sun go down on me

Although I search myself, it's always someone else I see

I'd just allow a fragment of your life to wander free

But losing everything is like the sun going down on me

I can't find, oh the right romantic line

But see me once and see the way I feel

Don't discard me just because you think I mean you harm

But these cuts I have they need love to help them heal

Elton John is one of my very favorite singer/songwriters and although Candle in the Wind came to mind. Don't Let the Sun go down on me" is even more appropriate.

25 Years Ago: When Prince was King

2009-06-28T14:29:00.005-05:00

"There are many kings -- King Henry VIII, King Solomon, King Tut, King James, King Kong and the three kings. But there is only one Prince."--Alicia Keys

Prince’s Purple Rain, turns 25 this summer. In the summer and fall of 1984, Prince was King. “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy” were everywhere. The title track was also quite popular. And then of course there was “Darling Nikki,” a celebration of sex and seduction that spurred Tipper Gore to form the Parents Resource Music Center. So the farcical hearings, the parental advisory stickers, all of that goes back to a single track on Purple Rain. If that’s not cultural importance, what is?
Today, Prince reportedly needs a double hip replacement surgery. He is said to be in chronic pain, and using a diamond encrusted walking stick and lotsa pain killers rather than submit to surgery. Prince is a practicing Jehovah's Witness and does not believe in the use of blood transfusions that a surgical procedure might necessitate.
The 25th Anniversary of the album Purple Rain was June 25th, the same day MJ died and the news got caught up in the sensationalism of this event. Diehard Prince fans remember and the movie debuted in July 1984.

Michael Jackson: A Candle in the Wind...

2009-06-28T14:03:00.006-05:00

" ...and it seems to me, you lived your life like a candle in the wind; never knowing who to cling to when the the rain set in. And i would have liked to have known you, but I was just a kid. Your candle burned out long before your legend ever did."
--Sir Elton John

Michael Jackson is dead. The world is in a state of shock, grief and disbelief. I am having mixed emotions. Mostly I'm sad because we never hooked up as adults.
I wanted to do a feature story on him to show his real persona--in order to clear up any fantasy or misconception on who the world thought he was.

I wanted to be his wife when I was 12. I wanted to be a friend. I wanted to be more than just a screaming fan on the 22nd row who saw him as the "King of Pop." I had high hopes and dreams for Michael Jackson. I prayed that one day he would grow to love the "man in the mirror." I prayed that he would see himself as the world viewed him--someone who was already perfect just the way he was. I wanted to find out his world views and how he felt about Barack Obama's presidency. I wanted to know how fatherhood was treating him. I wanted him to turn 51 years old in August just as I hope to do.

Good bye Michael Jackson, tho I never knew you at all you had the grace to hold yourself while those around you fall. Even when you died the press still hounded you--and it seems to me, you lived your life like a candle in the wind...

American Writers sentenced to 12 years hard labor in North Korea

2009-06-08T07:04:00.003-05:00

North Korea convicted two American journalists and sentenced them Monday to 12 years of hard labor. Laura Ling and Euna Lee, reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's San Francisco-based Current TV media venture, were found guilty of committing a "grave crime" against North Korea and of illegally entering the country, state-run media said.The ruling came nearly three months after their arrest. North Korea's penal code calls for transferring them to prison within 10 days.
The United States, which does not have diplomatic ties with Pyongyang, was "deeply concerned" about the reported verdict. North Korean guards arrested Ling and Lee near the China-North Korean border on March 17. The two were reporting about the trafficking of North Korean women at the time of their arrest, and it's unclear if they strayed into the North or were grabbed by aggressive border guards who crossed into China. A cameraman and their local guide escaped.
Lisa Ling, sister to Laura Ling in a blog entry described "the feeling of utter isolation" she experienced during a 2005 trip to North Korea, had pleaded for leniency. She said neither journalist intended to cross into North Korea and her younger sister suffered from an ulcer requiring medical treatment, while Lee was the mother of a 4-year-old, Hannah.
The sentence is "a terrible shock for all those who have repeatedly insisted on their innocence," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement, noting that North Korea is ranked as Asia's worst country for press freedom.
As a journalist and American citizen, I am deeply saddened by this development in this unjust case of two American journalists. What is most disheartening is the fact that our country has strained diplomatic ties with North Korea thus almost guaranteeing that this situation was not handled fairly based on the individuals' criminal intent, but rather as a slap in the face to Pres. Obama and the U.S. government. I fear if they had not been writing about a subject matter that showed the atrocities women and girls face all over the world, the outcomes would have been different. It is high time for the media to rally around these reporters, but even more importantly, the issue of female trafficking for sex and slavery needs to stay in the forefront where it belongs.

Obama Committed to working on World Peace

2009-06-04T08:39:00.003-05:00

I'm proud to be an American today because we have a President who loves people and respects cultures and religious differences. At this moment President Obama is visiting Cairo, Egypt and addressing Muslim students at a University there. He just delivered a most powerful and heartfelt speech. Our President is a human being with compassion.
He began his speech with the greeting of peace--As Salaam Alaikum. He referenced the fact that the United States and Muslim countries have a history of working together since President John Adams. He made reference from the Quran, the Torah and The Bible.
It is apparent that our President is committed to peace--I am convinced of this. For your convenience I've included the ending text of his speech which shows that all of us are aiming for the same target--Muslims, Christians and Jews alike--we all want peace.

"This truth transcends nations and peoples, a belief that isn't new, that isn't black or white or brown, that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people. And it's what brought me here today.
We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written. The Holy Quran tells us, Mankind, we have created you male and a female. And we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.
The Talmud tells us, The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.
The Holy Bible tells us, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth.
Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you."

Sitting on Opinions...

2009-06-03T06:37:00.004-05:00

It's been a minute since I voiced any of my thoughts. Not sure why--might be a phase I'm traveling through. I'm tryna get reacquainted with myself, I guess. At any rate I can't blame it on writer's block because Im not convinced that's a real ailment...lol

Sometimes I crack myself up!

The Nation's New "Top Dog" Bo Obama

2009-04-16T02:17:00.005-05:00

"Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House." --Barack Obama, Election Night Speech

Well, what an adorable pooch! Some animals have all the luck. It seems that the newest addition to the Obama family is Bo Obama, a six month old Portuguese water dog who was actually a gift to the First family from Sen Edward Kennedy. It seems Sen Kennedy owns several of the same breed and found this pet for Sasha and Malia.

What a loving and appropriate gesture. And in keeping with the Obama tradition he is both "black and white" and gay friendly as demonstrated by his rainbow adornment.

Bo is also economy friendly as he has both contributed to the new worldwide popularity and public demand for this formerly obscure breed of dog; and has singlehandedly created a new media position called "puppy paparazzi" --cameramen and photographers whose primary job is to follow this dog around. Damn. Wish I had thought of that.

Chris Brown and Rhianna--Don't grow up and act like Adults

2009-02-14T16:29:00.005-06:00

Chris Brown and Rhianna please do not grow up and become the adults that you've witnessed in your homes and on television.

Public fighting, arguing and jealousy related to text messaging are great fodder for episodes of The Game, and Cops--but not for accomplished, goodlookn, rich, and famous young adults who care about each other.

Now because your fight has gone public you will both appear to be idiots if you make up--even if thats what you both want. Chris you are making it very difficult for the people who made you to continue to sell you as the "clean cut boy next door." Rhianna, you are making it hard for people to believe you to be an innocent victim. Somewhere you both learned that violence was a way to solve relational issues. You are both wrong. Perhaps this can be fixed. This might be even too big for the most talented publicists to play down.

NAACP 2009 Image Awards—or Why I Hate Award Shows

2009-02-14T16:19:00.002-06:00

The NAACP Image Awards were supposedly designed as an annual event celebrating the achievements and performances of people of color in the arts as well as those individuals and groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors. Bravo for an outstanding mission statement.

Can anybody explain to me how that has anything to do with placing 5 or 6 artists in a category—usually friends or folks who have a great deal of regard and respect for each others’ talents in the same industry; and deciding that one of them is the winner over the others? I’m sorry folks—but this awards process sucks which is why I hate award shows.

So I’m sure folks are asking themselves, “then why watch them if you hate them?” Good question. I’m not sure I understand why I do; suffice to say I am a glutton for self-inflicted pain. I believe also that it is a habit that I emotionally find hard to break since I am a closet actress and recording artist. I did manage to break my beauty pageant addiction when after my sixth child I stopped viewing myself as a possible audience winner. Movie stars, stage actors, TV stars and recording artists awards shows still draw me in—sucker that I am, hoping for the best but knowing that at the end I’m going to be disappointed and annoyed at the results in most categories.

Sure enough I tuned in to watch the NAACP Image Awards show and I started to get annoyed right away. Why was Jennifer Hudson given the award for Outstanding New Artist? Am I the only one who’s noticed that she is an Oscar winning actress and Grammy award winning professional singer for at least 2 years? I was under the impression that a new artist was just that—new. Also, why did she have to win three Image Awards in the same show? Why does anyone have to win two?

Three time heavy-weight champion, Muhammad Ali received the President’s Award. His song The Greatest Love of All recorded by Whitney Houston would have been an appropriate choice to dedicate to him instead of the song chosen for J-Hud to sing (which I can’t even remember the title). And to top off the segment, his wife rambled on and on about nothing of significance regarding him while his daughters looked pained in the audience watching this spectacle. I thought putting him in a big over-sized chair in the middle of a huge stage brought attention to the deterioration that is happening to him as a result of his medical affliction; and made him look old and feeble instead of like “the greatest.” The same love could have been accomplished with him sitting in the audience being serenaded or saluted instead of exploited like I feel he was. Everything that appears to be a good idea isn’t--period. I thought that segment was in very poor taste.

As far a the program hosts—Tyler Perry and Halle Berry (their names rhymed and that was cool) I thought they did okay but had no chemistry or magic between each other. That used to be the point of pairing people up, wasn’t it? Or it could be me just thinking there was ever a point in creating a duo to host a TV show or awards program? At any rate, I thought they lent nothing to the program together as hosts. By the way, I did like all five of the dresses Halle modeled. And his black on black ensemble was pretty nice too.

My favorite part of the show was the presentation of the Vanguard Award to music and business mogul, Russell Simmons. He was upstaged by his two precocious daughters. I laughed my head off at how distracting they were—especially the little one. It was sorta like how President Obama is regularly upstaged in formal and informal settings by the adorability of his two daughters, especially the little one. And I also like the poetry presentation. That segment was the highlight of the entire NAACP Image Awards show.

Before I start to appear to be a hater of the highest magnitude I’d like to explain my position and offer a simple solution to the “suckiness” of awards shows as they are currently formatted and segmented.

Since a group of people form a committee to decide who have been the top performers in every category, why can’t every artist, director, or writer who was in the top five receive an award? This would eliminate the award winning performances of the category losers having to clap extra hard and smile extra wide to fake happiness over the winner of the category. Come on people—who can be that happy that someone beat them out for an award?

Another solution would be just to gather together annually at an awards show to acknowledge excellence to specific artists in the same kinds of categories without having to insinuate that they were better than their peers or friends and colleagues who were working on totally different projects. Wouldn’t it be just as awesome a celebration of achievement without the air of competition injected in to it? The implied competition is what makes the whole process suck, in my opinion. I believe as an artist that I would derive just as much pleasure receiving recognition for my unique art or talent in a performance without having to be told that I was better than another artist who couldn’t possibly be a better me than I am, therefore should not be compared to me.

Perhaps by 2010 the NAACP Image Awards and all award shows will abandon this totally antiquated method of talent recognition so that award show fans like me will not feel nauseated and cheated to the max when the award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series does not go to one of my two personal favorite comedy writers James Hannah or Ali LeRoi, but to some lesser known comedy writers whose shows aren’t funny and that I don’t even watch!

Suspension of Michael Phelps and other Hypocritical acts...

2009-02-05T20:50:00.003-06:00

Am I the only one who has a problem with Michael Phelp's 3-month suspension from swim competition because a photo of him smoking pot at a party in South Carolina surfaced?

I am not trying to say that his use of marijuana should go unaddressed but are we delving just a wee bit too far into everybody's lives? This wasn't steroids--it was pot, people.
Many young adults and old heads too, smoke it occasionally or regularly--or used to.
Why did he need to be suspended from swimming for this indescretion?
Society and the media created this squeaky clean image of Phelps. We have no clue just how long he's been smoking pot. Isn't he the same World Champ?

Who exactly is Illinois' Governor Pat Quinn?

2009-02-05T20:44:00.003-06:00

Do we really know who has replaced the former "man of the hour" as Governor of the State of Illinois? How do we know that he is the better fit? Was he loyal to former Governor Blagojevich for the past six years? Did he have his back? There is a saying that holds true that a great leader is a great follower too. Was he a comrade or a renegade? I have noticed that he is great friends with Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley. Is he a part of "the machine?"

Inquiring minds want to know...

How 'bout those Steelers...!

2009-02-04T14:15:00.005-06:00

Is it okay to defect from a state with a losing football squad to a state that has six recent Super Bowl rings, including the 2009 one? Would a person who did this be considered a "fair weather" fan or an astute individual who loves winners? I love world champs. Even President Obama backed the Steelers.

The Pittsburg Steelers stole the Super Bowl away from the Phoenix Cardinals who thought they'd nailed it. Is that why they call them steelers?

Anyway, I just realized that I got some connects in Steeler Country and perhaps one of them could give me the hookup on a new career in a town with a winning squad...

In fact, I think I'd look good in Black and Gold....hmmmmm--something to consider.

Blagojevich on the Late Show...What was He Thinking?

2009-02-04T11:30:00.006-06:00

Is it me or is Rod Blagojevich exhibiting signs of sociopathic or simply pathetic public behavior? When I heard that Illinois' former governor was to appear on the David Letterman Show last night I tuned in out of curiosity. The first red flag was when Letterman stated he had absolutely no idea why he was on the show--i knew there would be embarassment to follow...

When Rod Blagojevich sat in the chair and declared that he had always wanted to be on the show in "the worst way," Letterman responded in kind by stating that he was on indeed in the "worst way." He told Letterman that he keeps thinking he'll wake up and people will realize "this is just one big misunderstanding."

During the interviewLetterman began to read off names of other former Illinois governors who served time in prison including Gov. George Ryan who is currently incarcerated because of past political office abuse. He then joked to Blagojevich by asking whether jail time was some part of the oath of office that Illinois governors take. Blagojevich replied, "Unlike those, I'll be vindicated. I did nothing wrong," he said. "

Letterman then asked Blagojevich what he planned to do with his time leading up to the trial.
"Well, I'm looking for work," Blagojevich replied. "Are you hiring?"

Last week, the Illinois Senate convicted Blagojevich of abuse of power. He was removed from office and replaced by Pat Quinn. Blagojevich also faces federal charges that he tried to profit from selling President Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat.

My question is, "what was he thinking?" Why was he on the David Letterman show?

A bigger question is, "What was I thinking to vote for him not once--but twice?

Happy Birthday to Our New First Lady!

2009-01-17T15:24:00.002-06:00

Happy 45th Birthday, Michelle!

May you be blessed with many more...

Happy 80th Birthday, Dr. King!

2009-01-13T17:57:00.002-06:00

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's 80th birthday is January 15, 2009. It's hard to believe that he's not alive to witness Barack Obama become the 44th President of the United States, especially since he said that he'd traveled to the mountaintop and looked over into the Promised Land.

Carter Temple used to celebrate Dr. King's birthday with an event called the Dream Keeper's Workshop which taught children and kids his 10 Principles of Non-Violent Social Change.

The night before he died I remember seeing the news story of how Dr. King had delivered his “Mountain Top” speech. I have later memories of seeing him deliver the speech in its entirety in a documentary as well as reading the words. It was a very powerful speech and I encourage every young person to read what he had to say on the day before he died. After reading this speech I'm sure you will agree that Dr. King can never really die because he lives on in his words.

On April 3, 1968, Dr. King told a crowd at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ:
“It really doesn’t matter what happens now…some began to talk of threats that were out—what would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers…Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place, but I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. And so I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

Happy Birthday, Dr. King!

Israel versus Palestine:Could they Both be 'dead right?'

2008-12-29T19:36:00.004-06:00

My heart is grieved by the recent air strike by Israel on the Hamas in Gaza which resulted in over 300 deaths and over 800 people wounded. The Wall Street Journal reports that President George W. Bush and the White House supports this attack.

Why does America have to? Do we truly believe as a nation that everyone who is an enemy to Israel is our nation's enemy? Will war ever cease? Will Israel ever be found in the wrong against these people?

We must pray for the wisdom of President-elect Barack Obama. These pre-existing wars are a very precarious situation for him to be stepping into.

Gov. Sarah Palin is a Grandmama--That's a Tripp!

2008-12-29T19:12:00.006-06:00

Shhhhh--Don't tell anyone but, Governor Sarah Palin is a young "GG"(that's Gorgeous Granny).

I just heard the news: Bristol Palin, the unmarried 18-year-old daughter of former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has given birth in Alaska to a son.

Even though People magazine reports that Bristol Palin gave birth to Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston on Sunday, you shouldn't go around telling people because according to the governor's office "this birth is a private family matter."

Little Tripp weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces. The father is high school dropout Levi Johnston, a former hockey player at Alaska's Wasilla High School. He has said he and Bristol plan to marry--perhaps when one of them becomes a high school graduate?

As the grandmother of six--soon to be seven grandchildren I understand Governor Palin's excitement over the prospect of becoming a young "GG." But Governor, with all due respect--you did announce Bristol's pregnancy to the world. At that point it was no longer private. Now that the inevitable has happened--the birth, and now you want this matter private? Even after People Magazine and Yahoo wrote about it? What's the point of achieving celebrity status if little things like the Governor becoming a grandmama shouldn't be news?

Eartha Kitt: "The Most Exciting Woman in the World"

2008-12-27T13:08:00.004-06:00

What a Marvelous Lady--Eartha Kitt
I heard Eartha Kitt's distinctive voice doing an interview as the radio played in the taxi while I rode home on Christmas night 2008.

"That's Eartha Kitt's voice." I said. "Please turn that up so I can hear her." The cab driver turned up the volume, but added that Ms. Kitt had died that morning of colon cancer--she was 81. I was stunned.

I had always loved and admired Eartha Kitt from the first time I saw her purring and slinking and dancing around Gotham City as the villainous "Cat Woman" on the Bat Man tv series. She was so sexy and sophisticated and bad. She was also very pretty with an amazing and distinctive voice. I was mesmerized by her and captivated. She became one of the women I would later try to pattern my prowess around. Even going so far as to learn to purrrr.

I had the privilege of seeing her perform live in a musical here in Chicago in about 2005, although I can't remember which one. Afterwards, I met her briefly and told her of my devotion and admiration of her talent. She hugged me like a diva and the star that she was. It was also a warm hug like a sistah-friend who appreciated me for appreciating her. Our exchange lasted only 2 minutes or less, yet she had a profound effect on me. I was so honored to have met her and I told her so. She replied that she was honored to meet me. She was a class act.

A few years ago, may 20 or so I read an autobiography she had written where she chronicled her early life and how hard it was being from the south and being bi-racial and what she termed as unwanted. She was born Eartha Mae Keith on January 27, 1927 in Columbia, SC.

She was able to sing in 10 different languages and performed in over 100 countries. In fact, she could sing, dance, act and do voice overs--she was versatile and multi-talented to say the least. When she was a young woman she danced in the famed Katherin Dunham Dance Company. Katherine Dunham was one of my favorite performers as well. It's amazing to know that theyknew each other when they were younger.

Orson Welles described Eartha Kitt as "The most exciting woman in the world!" I agree with him--"Eartha, you were the bomb! And everybody knew it." Rest in Peace, my friend.

Christmas Wishes...Happy Birthday, Jesus!

2008-12-27T12:57:00.002-06:00

It's been 2 days since the official birthday of Jesus Christ of Nazereth. This was really the very first year that I didn't take hard earned money earmarked for bills and other stuff--and spend it on others for Jesus' birthday.

I truly have the Christmas Spirit this year. I saw my three grandchildren, Anthony, Antoine and Candace who live in Illinois on the 25th. I spoke with my first-born son, Ali. My 5th born son, Curtiss gave me a set of 3 books by Dr. Suess--first time he bought a gift un-coerced. I love him for his thoughtfulness and his own love for books. My 2nd born-son gave me a lovely card. I cried when I read the sentiments. My grandson, Jaheim sent me a great card from Florida.

I spoke with my mother who informed me that my daughter was pregnant. What a wonderful surprise gift. I wish my daughter had told me.

I saw my friend Terri and her wonderful family--and I ate like a queen at her mom's house.

Thank you Jesus. This was a season of firsts and reunions. This is the reason for the season.

President-elect, Are you sure about Arne Duncan?

2008-12-15T18:45:00.002-06:00

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Chicago Public Schools Chief Arne Duncan to join his cabinet as Secretary of Education.Obama is expected to make the announcement Tuesday.

Duncan visited the Education Department in Washington, D.C. earlier this month, but insisted the call was a purely social one. CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports Duncan frequently plays basketball with the Obama. And Obama said previously he might name him to the cabinet as education secretary. Duncan told reporters in D.C. Dec. 4 he had no idea who Obama will pick for the job. But he praised his basketball buddy, saying Obama "has an unbelievably thoughtful, comprehensive [education] plan, and there's a real opportunity to do something special going forward." Duncan was among a handful of names mentioned as likely candidates for the education post.

President-elect Obama, I beg your pardon, but did you really mean to use CPS' Arne Duncan as the National Education Secretary?
I believe the jury is still out on whether he has single-handedly brought Chicago Public Schools to ruins--not to mention the fact that he may be considered part of Chicago's gangster regime. I can see that you are loyal to your friends--but, Arne Duncan? Surely, you jest.

O.J. given 9 years to reflect in Las Vegas as VIP guest of Nevada

2008-12-11T11:40:00.004-06:00

Clark District Court Judge Jackie Glass was crystal clear as she sentenced former football star, O.J. Simpson to serve at least 9 years in the Nevada prison system. He was recently found gulty on 12 counts that included gunpoint robbery and kidnapping of two sports memorabilia dealers in a LasVegas hotel.
His argument was that the materials that the men were trying to sell to him belonged to him and were stolen from him. He basically was simply trying to get his own property back.

O.J., you have been watching too much t.v to believe that rounding up a group of thuggish, ruggish types and attempting to take something at gunpoint would go unnoticed. You are a high profile celebrity. Everything you do is newsworthy.

Wasn't it enough to get off scott-free for a murder conviction that most folks thought you committed? Why have you pressed your luck with these folks? So, now you will have plenty of time to pen your heartfelt 'born-again' testimony.

This time however, I hope you will have a real change of heart.

Gov. Blagojevich Arrested:Gangsterville, USA...No Place To Play

2008-12-10T14:38:00.007-06:00

Yesterday, was Governor Rod Blagojevich's 52nd birthday. As a historical gift, President-elect Barack Obama joined others calling for the 'birthday boy' to resign."The president-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. (Pat) Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois," said Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs. Governor Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday at his Chicago home, accused of seeking money or other lucrative favors to influence his choice in picking Obama's replacement.

Chicago and Illinois politics are like none other I have ever known or even read about. But for those of us who affectionately call Chicago home, this kind of shenanigans is business as usual. For people of Illinois to express shock at the latest revelation--our Governor allegedly trying to auction off the U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, they are being very hypocritical or at best--very unrealistic.

This is politics--'gangster style', folks. Don't blame the player--blame the game. Winner takes all and WIIFM (Whats in it for me?) is the order of the day in the Chi-town and the Land of Lincoln. Sadly, I am dismayed that Gov. Blagojevich was not given the dignity of going to jail after the fact like so many governors before him. U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald said that Illinois just might be the most corrupt state in the United States. You think?

Why are we breaking a tried and true tradition and now deciding to do things right? Aren't we taking Barack's "change" theme a little too seriously? Surely we cannot believe that this governor is the inventor of "pay to play" politics. And although he's never professed to be the brightest bulb in the Christmas decorations--at least he wasn't stupid enough to consider giving up the seat vacated by President-elect Obama to the most qualified representative in Illinois for a mere 'Coke and a smile'. Especially when he could use it for financial or political leverage for himself. What did they take him for--foolish? Happy Birthday, Governor! I'm glad to see your mama didn't raise no fool. And you can count on me to put a few dollars on your commissary books in the future.

Greed Wal-Mart Style: Save money. Live Better & Lose Your Life.

2008-11-28T15:05:00.005-06:00

A Wal-Mart employee from a temporary agency was killed on Black Friday after an "out of control" throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains broke down the doors at a Long Island, New York store and knocked him to the ground, police said.

Nassau police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store doors at the mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man to the ground as he opened the doors. The 34 year old man was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead at 6 AM.

Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said as the man lay injured on the ground, shoppers continued to go into the store, simply stepping over him. Shoppers were described as acting like "savages." "When customers were told they had to leave, that an employee had gotten killed, people were yelling 'I've been on line since yesterday morning,'" she said. "They just kept shopping."

Police said criminal charges were possible in the case, but Fleming said it would be difficult to identify individual shoppers. "The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," said Dan Fogleman, a company spokesman.

In my opinion, Wal-Mart and its intense greed is purely to blame for this tragedy. There is no reason this retailer should have had to open at 4 AM in the morning because it is common knowledge that this retailer is operating in the black already. Greed is the basis for creating a buying frenzy of these unsuspecting consumers and costing this youg man his life.

Chittlin' Hunting Chicago-style

2008-11-24T08:18:00.002-06:00

I am on the hunt for a serious plate of chittlins to round out my Thanksgiving meal. I can't cook them because my sense of smell won't allow it. However, I would travel near or far for this delicacy. It seems these days you can't find nobody willing to separate with a plate. It's just ridiculous.

Folks used to call each other and brag about how many pounds they was cleaning and invite you over. Nowadays, folks is eating chittlins on the DL and ain't tellin nobody. Howabout it? Can a sistah get an invite for some chittlins on Thanksgiving? Holla atcha girl!
Vanessa

Happy Birthday, Naimah!

2008-11-14T15:05:00.003-06:00

I wish we could do what they do in Katroo.

They sure know how to say

Happy Birthday to You!

In Katroo every year,

on the day you were born,

They start the day right in the

bright early morn.

When the birthday Honk Honker

honks high up Mt. Zion,

And lets loose a big blast on the Big Birthday Horn.

And the voice of the horn calls out loud and it plays,

Wake Up! for today is YOUR day of all days!

Happy Birthday Na'Imah

love,

Dr. Suess--your friend to the end!

Happy Birthday: Roland Martin, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, and Prince Charles

2008-11-14T07:50:00.004-06:00

An outstanding Secretary of State, British Royalty and a prolific U.S. journalist. What do they have in common--all Scorpios. Tell me you guys, Is it true what they say about y'all?

Happy Birthday to each of you.

Happy Birthday Rev. Run!

2008-11-14T07:40:00.004-06:00

Run DMC was one of my favorite rap groups of all times. I saw them live twice. Today, Joseph Simmons is 44 years old. He is accomplished, kind and God-fearing. His family calls him, "blessed." Isn't that all that matters--at the end of the day?

"May your spirit keep the freedom of a butterfly in spring,

and may your heart be filled alwayswith the joys of simple things.

May your essence claim the freshnessof the new laid morning dew. All of this... and more...is my Birthday wish for you.

Jennifer Hudson is Mourning in Luxury...

2008-11-13T13:01:00.003-06:00

This is the lobby of Trump International Hotel and Tower, the tallest condominium and hotel building in Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by real-estate mogul Donald Trump. It is on prime Chicago real estate and has some of the the most breathtaking views of the city. It is a long way from Chicago's Englewood community.
Only the most exclusive clientele can afford to stay here or to purchase a condo here.
It has been reported by People Magazine that actress Jennifer Hudson and some of her relatives have been staying here free of charge since her mother, brother and nephew were slain. She is mourning the loss of her loved ones in a very exclusive manner. She is reported to be protected and very safe in these accommodations according to Donald Trump.
There is great irony in all of this tragedy, and God will naturally get the Glory--however, isn't it amazing how rich people can be accommodated for free in luxury situations that they can surely afford to pay for--but in many instances a person without money and in dire need under the same circumstances would not have this privilege? It is great to find favor with the rich & famous. Even mourning can be done in elegant style.

Governor Palin--May I call you, Sarah?

2008-11-12T19:33:00.006-06:00

While 'chillaxin' in Wasilla, Alaska, (a place most of the world had never heard of until someone discovered it hiding under a rock this past August) Governor Sarah Palin says she wouldn't hesitate to run for the presidency in 2012--if (and only if) it's God's will.

Palin also said that she resents rumors that were spread about she and her family during the campaigns by staff of Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain.

She has said that she thinks that the economic collapse had "a heck of a lot more to do with the Republican campaign collapse than me personally."

"I'm like, Okay, God, if there's an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray--don't let me miss the open door."

Governor Palin--May I call you Sarah? Can I be real with you--woman to woman?

The fact that you are back in Alaska, chillin' instead of planning a move to Washington, D.C. could be seen as a sign from God to you--Stay home, Sarah.

I do not believe that you will be prepared to run the United States in 2012 or 2016 or as long as you have underage children. As a Christian and a Mom, I took exception at your even wasting the citizens of the United States' time when it was obvious that your family plate and the responsibilities as governor were all that you could handle.

At the moment you have an unwed teenage daughter, a young daughter and a special needs child. God gave you these responsibilities. This is your open door. Take this opportunity to walk through it and appreciate your job as a mother.

I, for one are happy to see you go home. God works in mysterious ways.

Barack's election night pics

2008-11-12T07:27:00.002-06:00

Greetings from "Obamaville"!

These personal Election nite pics were sent to me and they are real cool. Enjoy!

Vanessa

http://flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/sets/72157608716313371/show/

How Cool is the Idea of an Obama White House?

2008-11-11T07:41:00.001-06:00

America, Look at this picture. This is a perfectly balanced photograph. It is equal in all ways--including the status' of the two men who are in the picture.
Hold Up--wait a minute. I am reacting in a very curious manner I am totally interested in everything about this White House power transition as if somehow I have a personal stake in its success. And why don't I hate Michelle Obama? I have never been a 'hater' historically--but if I were going to become one now, it would be understandable wouldn't it, America?

Look at these two World Leaders--Bush and Obama.

What are they talking about? It is reported that President Elect Obama commented that the Oval Office was "nice". And what about the 'bat-phone'--aka the Presidential hotline? If it rings at 3 AM in the Oval Office, how will the president hear it? Is that why Sen. Hillary kept referring to the 3AM call? Did she know from experience that President Elect Obama could never hear it ringing because her hubby, President Bill Clinton couldn't either?

America, Isn't this a cool group shot? Doesn't Michelle look stunning in that red dress and heels? Don't the Bushs look elated? Could it be that they are ready to get the hell outta Dodge?

Look at how comfortable Michelle Obama looks 'cold chillin' in this room. Aren't you glad that the Obamas already have lived in a mansion and won't have to feel as though they're movin on up like 'George and Weezy'? What are these two women discussing? What if living at the White House were optional and not mandatory?

Wouldn't it be cool if at the end of the day Michelle was telling Laura Bush that she felt that this house was just way too big and museum-like (55,000 sq ft) and that the furnishngs were just too old and antiquated (needing about $5 or $6 million in rehab) just to come up to MTV's Cribs status; therefore she wasn't feeling it?

What if Michelle wanted the option of having a new White House built altogether in a different more exclusive neighborhood? What if she were appalled and taken aback by all the indigent and homeless people that camp around the White House in the parks and benches near there?

Wouldn't it be cool if all of the richest people they know donated money to have this new White House built for them as a tribute to Pres. Obama's Change legacy? And what if everyone who voted for him gave $5 towards new furniture? Now how unique and sharp would the interior of that house be? And if it were built for the Obamas specifically with private money they would never have to move--even after 8 years, right? Wouldn't that be cool?

President Bush and President-Elect Barack Obama take a brisk stroll down the Collunade to the West Wing of the White House where the Oval Office is located. As I watched the two men strolling I couldn't help but notice Barack's 'ball-playa' swagger. That man put the 'C' in confident, class and the'C' in cool. He's so in tune with how he should play his role as the Leader of the 'Free World' (will someone tell me why America is called that?) that he is wearing the customary power blue tie. Men, take note--President Barack Hussein Obama is a trendsetter who is bringing Change and sexy back to the White House.

I love this guy!

Senator Obama Goes to Washington--Next on Cribs...

2008-11-10T13:45:00.004-06:00

After taking his daughters to school and a morning workout, President-elect Barack Obama headed to O'Hare International Airport this morning for a trip Washington to meet President Bush at the White House.
How normal of a morning is that? he is excited because he has never been to the White House. I haven't either, but my girlfriend, Princess Zulu has.

Last night, me and two of my girlfriends decided to drive to the Hyde Park neighborhood where he lives just so we could see what the changes are.
Beginning two blocks north of his home on a quiet residential street, there were news trucks lining both sides. For this neighborhood--that's not normal. As we inched closer to where he lives the headlights began to reflect the barricades that block entrance to his block. men dressed in black approached each vehicle. I had my girlfriend turn off the street so we wouldn't have to go thru the search procedures. They are serious about protecting President-elect Obama and his family--I'm glad about that.
Vanessa

Pinch Me...Am I still in the United States of America?

2008-11-09T08:40:00.004-06:00

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control and I think I like it! --The Pointer Sisters lyrics

This morning I awoke and felt like jumping up and down with glee! Someone who is my real choice for President of the USA has actually won. A regular ordinary person who will go on to do extraordinary things. He still needs our support and prayers. I will gladly do my share.

I'm so euphoric and elated!

Am I dreaming or what? If this is a dream--please don't wake me.

Do ya feel me?

Obama Headlines Across the World

2008-11-06T17:46:00.004-06:00

People love Obama. Please pray for him daily. That he uses wisdom in his governing of the United States and that he does not become intoxicated nor over-dose on 'power'.

You Go Condi! First and Foremost You're a Sistah!

2008-11-05T17:58:00.006-06:00

Dr. Condaleeza Rice is a 'bad mammajamma' She is the most powerful woman on the planet. She is currently the Secretary of State--appointed by President George W. Bush. She hails from Birmingham, Alabama (same as my pastor) and she is an African American. Her political affiliation is Republican--and she is the best at what she does. I am so proud of her. I took special delight in reading the press briefing from the Secretary of State's Office which I receive each morning from her office, where she congratulates President-elect Barack Obama and pledges her support. She will go down in history as one of the greatest statesman to ever serve the United States. World Leaders call her a 'black queen'. She is stylish, classy, and would never look into a camera and wink--while on official duty. Did I mention she's a lady, too?
I have included her official statement on Obama's win. Atta girl, Dr. Rice!

An emotional Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reveled Wednesday in Barack Obama's election, calling it an "extraordinary step forward" for the nation.
A child of the segregated deep South who became the highest-ranking African-American woman ever in American government and was once considered a potential Republican presidential nominee, Rice called the Democratic president-elect "inspirational" and said his victory was proof of America's promise.
"This was an exercise in American democracy of which Americans across the political spectrum are justifiably proud," she said.
"As an African-American, I'm especially proud," said Rice, her eyes glistening with emotion, "because this is a country that's been through a long journey, in terms of overcoming wounds and making race" less of a factor in life. "That work is not done, but yesterday was obviously an extraordinary step forward."
"One of the great things about representing this country is that it continues to surprise," she told reporters at the State Department at a hastily arranged briefing just hours before leaving Washington for the Middle East on a peacemaking trip. "It continues to renew itself. It continues to beat all odds and expectations."
Born and raised in Birmingham, Ala., at the height of the civil rights struggle, Rice herself overcame numerous obstacles and stereotypical low expectations. She speaks frequently about how improbable her rise to the corridors of power may seem. But she also notes that she succeeded the first black secretary of state, Colin Powell, and the first female to hold the job, Madeleine Albright.
"You just know that Americans are not going to be satisfied until they really do form that perfect union," she said, referring to the preamble of the Constitution, which begins: "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union ..."
"And while the perfect union may never be in sight, we just keep working at it and trying," Rice said.
Aides said Rice would likely call Obama, as well as vanquished Republican presidential nominee John McCain, later Wednesday.
She said McCain had been "gracious" in defeat and called him "a great patriot."
"I want to note that President-elect Obama was inspirational and I'm certain he will continue to be," Rice said.
She never said who she planned to vote for, but had hinted broadly that she would support McCain by repeatedly stressing that she is a Republican.

Change Has Come to America...Meet the new 'First Family' of the United States of America

2008-11-05T07:21:00.005-06:00

My options were many. I had three invitations to election night viewing/victory parties all in downtown Chicago. I'm leery of huge crowds even though the idea of being in the energy was inviting. I opted to stay at home and take a nap so that I could stay awake and see the results with my husband and 3 sons.
Four hours later when I awoke from what was supposed to be a 45 minute 'cat-nap', I tuned in to election coverage and was awed by what I saw. A peaceful, patriotic, sea of people in Grant park. This was more people in one place just standing still than I'd ever seen in my life. People of every size, shape, height, and ethnic heritage. Suburbanites and city-dwellers; old and young, men and women, boys and girls. Kids and babies were perched on top of the shoulders of their parents--given a joyful reprieve from going to bed early on a school-night.

When the polls closed on the West Coast and the election results were shown, Senator Barack Obama was declared the winner at about 10pm CST, with 280 electoral votes. The crowd erupted in a resounding roar and my spirit literally left my body briefly and soared through the air. I prayed to go high enough to see the face of God. When I landed I did see His face--in all the tearful faces involved in a giant flag-waving, celebratory hugfest
Senator Barack Obama had been elected President of the United States of America in a landslide victory. What a beautiful day to be alive. Change has come to America.
Here are a few lines from his powerful 16 minutes acceptance speech in Chicago, Illinois to a crowd of over 150,000 in Grant Park. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The moment was sacred.

OBAMA: If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.

Down to the Wire...Obama or McCain

2008-11-03T18:01:00.003-06:00

I'm so excited and happy to be alive today! This is the day that the Lord has made and I shall rejoice and be glad in it in its entirety. I am sitting at my desk and feeling free in deed. I am praying for the best man for the job to be elected on tomorrow. I am believing God that there be no election day 'shenanigans' that will change or hinder this outcome. I pray God's blessings on both these men and their families. And I'm thanking God in advance for no hurt, harm or danger to come to anyone as a result of this campaign and election day process.

We are down to the wire people--in Jesus' Name.

Barack Obama's Granny Transitions Just before Election

2008-11-03T16:42:00.006-06:00

The campaign just confirmed that Obama's ailing grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham, who helped raise him, died today. She was 86 and had been battling cancer. Last week, the candidate took time out from campaigning to fly home so that he could be by her bedside in Hawaii. The Obama campaign had hoped that she would live to see the outcome of the election.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, it took Obama a while to come down from the plane and the traveling press weren't sure why. Reporters now believe he had recently received the news.
Obama and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, released this joint statement about their grandmother: "She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure."
Tatsha

Denyce Graves is Outstanding as Margaret Garner

2008-11-02T11:28:00.006-06:00

Last night I attended the opening of "Margaret Garner" an Opera at Chicago's Auditorium Theater at Roosevelt University. It was awesome in a historical kinda way. What I thought was great was the diversity of the audience. This is a great time in Chicago--still one of the most segregated places in the United States. It is important that the history of slavery in the United States stop being treated like a four-letter word. We need to talk about it. We all need to learn about it and then the healing can begin--truly.
I highly encourage everyone to attend this performance because it is an excellenet production--complete with sir-titles for those of us who don't speak opera.

The Story--
The opera begins in darkness. A group of slaves, begging for deliverance from their suffering, gradually becomes visible.
The scene shifts to an auction being held in Kentucky in 1856. In the crowd is Edward Gaines, a native of the region but absent for twenty years. When Maplewood Plantation is brought to the block, he interrupts the proceedings, asserting that it cannot be sold as it belonged to his deceased brother. Gaines is dismayed to learn that the townsfolk don’t remember him, but no one disputes his claim, so he acquires Maplewood. As Gaines signs ownership papers, he is captivated by the singing of Margaret Garner, one of the slaves. He nostalgically recalls his childhood, and promises himself that this time the townsfolk will not forget him.
The slaves return from another day’s toil in the fields. Cilla, the mother of Margaret's husband, Robert, joins the couple for supper; their spirits are light-hearted until Casey, Maplewood's foreman, arrives with shocking news. Robert is being sent away that night to another plantation, but Margaret is to remain at Maplewood — where she will work, at the Master's request, in the main house.
Gaines hosts a lavish reception to celebrate his daughter Caroline's marriage. An argument erupts between Edward and his new son-in-law, George, about the nature of love; to break the tension, the newlyweds begin a waltz. After the dance, Caroline asks Margaret, now the house servant, for her views on love. The guests are outraged to hear her solicit a slave's opinion, and leave abruptly. Offended, Gaines lashes out at Caroline. Later, Gaines lingers, unseen, to watch Margaret clean the parlor. He accosts her, forcibly dragging her away.

ACT TWO
Anticipating a visit from Robert, Margaret goes to Cilla's cabin. She becomes agitated when she finds her packing and the children missing, until Cilla discloses that Robert plans an escape attempt that evening. Margaret is overwhelmed when he arrives and confirms the news, but disconcerted that Cilla refuses to join them. Casey suddenly storms into the cabin; a struggle ensues which ends with Robert strangling Casey to death.
Robert and Margaret escape from Maplewood, and are living in an underground shed in Ohio. Robert asserts that freedom and dignity are nearly theirs. But Gaines suddenly arrives to claim his property, and captures Robert. Margaret attempts to burn Gaines with fiery coals, and witnesses his men lynching Robert. Enraged, she murders her children so they will be spared slavery's horrors.
Darkness again envelops the stage briefly. With defiant grandeur, Margaret then embraces her life's circumstances.
Gaines transports Margaret back to Kentucky to stand trial for the “theft and destruction” of the children, considered his property. Caroline protests that Margaret should properly be charged with murder, for the children were human beings. The judges sentence Margaret to be executed for theft. When Caroline begs her father to seek clemency, Gaines realizes he must choose between the love of his radical daughter and a traditional way of life.
Great sorrow fills the air as the townsfolk await Margaret's execution. At dawn, she is led to the scaffold. Gaines runs in, waving a document — the judges have granted Margaret clemency! On the gallows, Margaret expresses her desire to live peacefully in a just world, and then seizes “freedom” by hanging herself. Edward realizes that peace never will be his. Although he made the "right" choice — to fight for Margaret's freedom — he did it for the wrong reason: he wanted to win his daughter's respect. The onlookers proclaim a need for repentance, and pray that Margaret's final journey home is a peaceful one.
— Mary Lou Humphrey

Mad Enough to Kill a Preacher...in the Name of Jesus

2008-11-02T08:20:00.005-06:00

People are very stressed out. I read this on the newswire this morning. What would make this brotha react by shooting the "Man of God?" Could he have discovered that there is a difference between speakin those things that be not as tho they were...and lying?

Yesterday, a gunman fatally shot a Cincinnati minister, Rev Donald Fairbanks, Sr. and wounded a church deacon, Dowdell Cobb just after the two men arrived at a northern Kentucky church to attend a funeral.
The gunman chased one of the men to a nearby park, where he shot Fairbanks a second time. Frederick L. Davis, was charged with murder, first degree assault, criminal mischief and violating an emergency protection order.
Fairbanks, pastor of Cincinnati's New St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, died later Saturday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center. In June 2007, Fairbanks filed a complaint accusing Davis of making threatening phone calls to his wife.

Teachers no longer role models--but stupid predators

2008-10-30T13:23:00.006-05:00

A former male Chicago Public School elementary teacher is being held on $400,000 bond Thursday after being charged with possession and dissemination of child pornography;

A female Chicago high school teacher is charged with sexual assault and abuse for alleged sexual encounters with three students of the South Side charter school where she worked.
One of the boys was 15, and the other two were 16.

Since when is it acceptable for people who are entrusted to teach our kids, to also decide to have sex with them? These are supposedly educated, intelligent people. How utterly stupid of both of them.

A Homosexual H.S. in Chicago?

2008-10-30T13:04:00.007-05:00

Recently I read the following blurb in a Chicago newspaper:
"On October 22, 2008, the Chicago Board of Education considered a controversial proposal that has been approved by Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan to “create a new high school campus to address the needs of the underserved population of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth and their allies.”
All public schools receive state funds, so it is not just Chicagoans who will be subsidizing the Social Justice High School-Pride Campus. If the Chicago Board of Education votes in favor of this school, all Illinois taxpayers are going to be forced to support a school whose curricula and policies subvert a proper and traditional understanding of sexuality."

What are the implications and significance of this decision? Is this the best that educated professionals could come up with to help teens cope with confusion about sexual identity?
Why do we keep these folks in leadership?

No racism during Next Tuesday's Election? McCain, Gimme a break!

2008-10-29T21:43:00.004-05:00

Republican presidential candidate John McCain says racism will play virtually no role when voters head to the polls next Tuesday because it will be trumped by the nation's economic problems.
In a transcript of an interview taped for broadcast Wednesday night on CNN's "Larry King Live,"

McCain said people will vote "for the best of reasons, not the worst of reasons." He said most people will vote based on who they want to lead the country.
Referring to people who might vote against Democrat Barack Obama because he is black, McCain added: "It would be a tiny, tiny, minority. Because people are hurting too much now. I mean, they're worried about staying in their homes, keeping their jobs."

Senator McCain, I respectfully ask you to "Gimme a Break," sir. Yes sir!

You don't really believe your statement yourself. During this election you did not campaign for the Black vote--period. Why did you feel it was okay not to? Were you worried about black people hanging onto their homes and jobs as well? I pray you don't think me presumptious but based on your immediate past actions, I surmise that you are a representative of those citizens just like you. Why do i say this? Cuz this is what your rallies reflect in the audience make-up. In actuality, your entire campaign strategy is built on the fear that many Americans have of change in leadership. Do not be dismayed, fearful or worried Senator--Black American people have never met together as a group to figure out how to pay Whites back for the things we've experienced in this country that have been less than ideal. Especially for slavery.

In light of this, please do not insult this country by not acknowledging that racism is alive and well--and headed to the polls.

Sarah's Glad Rags and All that Jazz. She Looks Good-- I Ain't No Hater

2008-10-27T14:09:00.003-05:00

Sarah Palin was born with natural good looks. This is apparent. I could justify hating her for many things but certainly not for looking good. She's had 4 or 5 kids and still looks great; plus holding down a full-time, high profile gig and running for VeeP of the United States. Plus she's a wife.

Which brings me to this latest issue of her $150K campaign wardrobe. We are a curious people here in the United States. Democrat or Republican. It seems we just love to major in minors. These are 'costumes' people. They go with the persona that her people are trying to impress upon us during this campaign. They are not real life for her. Who cares about this, anyhow? I will be impressed when I see an all night prayer vigil protesting the vulgarly large contracts that professional athletes and entertainers command while school teachers are scrounging around for peanuts compared to the level of responsibility that their jobs entail.

Both candidates have raised vulgarly large amounts of money to travel around talking trash about each other in front of large audiences. This is not being protested--why not?

Leave Govenor Palin alone while she catches up on studying for the job she is applying for.

Jahiem Is 7 Years old Today! Hooray! Hooray!

2008-10-27T13:59:00.001-05:00

My 3rd-born grandson, Jahiem Markel Williams is 7 years old today. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida with his mama, Renatta. He is a very smart and special little boy. Although we have spoken on the fone for 7 years, we have never met. Mainly because I live in Chicago.
I pray that he will have a wonderful birthday and be blessed with many more birthdays. I pray for his mother, Renatta, who has been an exemplary mommy for my grandson. And I pray for my first-born son, Ali-david, who is Jahiem's daddy.
I am so blessed.

Jennifer, I'm so sorry. Okay God, Where are you in This Mess?

2008-10-27T08:25:00.004-05:00

Last Friday, October 23, 2008 as I was leaving the Daily Planet (the newspaper where I work), my publisher, Mary asked if I'd heard about some killings at Jennifer Hudson's mama's house that afternoon. Since it was only 4pm and the bodies weren't discovered until 3 pm or so, I hadn't been aware of

this news account and hadn't rec'd a police alert from the Chicago Police Department media dept.

In the 20 minutes or so that it took for me to walk home, the tv news accounts reported that Jennifer's mama and brother had been murdered in their home. To add insult to injury her nephew was missing. My heart immediately sank down as I reflected on several things: The fact that I am a native of the Englewood community as is Jennifer and family; and that Jennifer had just been home on the previous Saturday to accept an award from the Chicago Film Festival on program with Sidney Poitier; and that she is starring in a film that is currently running in theatres all over the country. Until Friday, Jennifer was on top of the world. Never happier, and involved in a new love affair and a life that is an 'urban fairytale'. In fact, she even has a CD project thats sweeping the charts.

This morning as I was posting this blog, the Chicago police found a white SUV with the body of a little boy inside. This is awful! Jennifer, I'm so sorry.

I have just one question for the highest authority that I know: "Okay God, where are you in this mess?" This is a very real question and I ask in all my humaness. Cuz I can't make heads or tails out of how or why this occurred. I'm simply wondern...

Did God close one of His eyes and while he had His head turned this crazy thing happened?

Are YOU in any of the details of this? Are you there with Jennifer and her family? Will she need to love and forgive whoever did these things?

Why did YOU allow this, God? Whose fault is this? Is there someone else to blame for this?

Since YOU are all-wise and all-knowing, should this be considered a blessing, too?

I'm crying out hurt and confused for my sister and her family. Can you explain in terms that my heart and mind can grasp?

Your daughter,

Vanessa (the brown skinned fluffy one--with the big eyes).

DreamGirl & Chicagoan Jennifer Hudson is experiencing a Nightmare

2008-10-27T08:05:00.006-05:00

Academy Award-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson is offering $100,000 for the safe return of her seven-year-old nephew, Julian King. The child remained missing as of Sunday, two days after the bodies of Jennifer’s mother and brother were found in the mother’s home on Chicago’s South Side.
Jennifer’s publicist Lisa Kasteler released a statement saying:
“Jennifer Hudson and her family are offering a reward of $100,000 for the safe return of her nephew Julian King who has been missing since Friday, October 24th. We ask that all inquiries be directed to the Chicago Police Department, Area 1 Detective Division at 312/747-8380. Jennifer and her family appreciate the enormous amount of love, support and prayers they have received while she and her family try to cope with this tragedy and continue the search for Julian."
The Chicago Sun-Times reports autopsies showed that Jennifer’s mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and brother, Julian, 29, died of gunshot wounds. Jennifer, 27, pictured here with her mother at the Governor's Ball following her Best Supporting Actress win at the 2007 Oscars, flew home when she heard the devastating news and identified the bodies, TMZ reports.
William Balfour, who is Julian’s stepfather and married to Jennifer’s sister Julia, is being held for parole violations and not for the double murders, according to the Sun-Times. The newspaper says that up until May William lived at the house where the murders occurred and that state records show that he was paroled in 2006 after convictions for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and receiving stolen property. He spent nearly seven years in prison, according to the Sun-Times. Reports quote William’s mother as saying her son and Julia, Jennifer’s sister, have been married around two years but are estranged.
Darnell watched Julian while Julia worked as a bus driver during the day. Julian had been at his grandmother's house on Friday and the two were, Julia said, "extremely close," People reports.
"I worked, so he was always with her, day in and day out," she said. "She did everything for him. She got him ready for school. She got him ready for bed."
Julia made a public plea for the return of her son on Saturday.
"I don't care who you are, just let the baby go," Julia, 31, accompanied by Julian’s father Greg King, said at a press conference at Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church on the South Side.”I just want my son. He don't deserve this."
Jennifer’s MySpace page was updated on Saturday with recent photos of Julian and this note:
Thank you all for your prayers and your calls. Please keep praying for our family and that we get Julian King back home safely. If anyone has any information about his whereabouts please contact the authorities immediately. Here is a picture of Julian and what he was last seen wearing. Once again thank you all for being there for us through this tough time.
Sincerely,The Hudson Family

Life in the Fastlane--Surely make You lose yo Mind...

2008-10-27T07:29:00.003-05:00

I'm baaaack! It's been a minute since I blogged but so much has been happenin' so quickly that I really haven't had an opportunity. Since I'm a news journalist and have definitely written my share of news--my blogs suffers. But because my thoughts have been so vast, I'm gonna post a bunch of reflections to bring you up to date with a sistah.
Hold onto your hats...

"It is the night, my body's weak; I'm on the run no time to sleep.
I've got to ride, ride like the wind to be free again.
And I've got such a long way to go--to make it to the borders of Mexico
So I'll ride like the wind--ride like the wind..."

Pastor Sylvester Williams: Portrait of a Spiritual Leader

2008-10-14T07:46:00.006-05:00

My pastor, Rev. Dr. Sylvester Williams, Sr., recently celebrated his "golden birthday." Offiially "he's grown now." (That's what I always say whenever anybody I love turns 50.)
A native of Alabama, he became my pastor 6 years ago, when my former pastor, Rev. Dr. Henry M. Williamson Sr. became Bishop and the Presiding Prelate of the 9th District, and moved away to California.

He's a cool person and is beloved by our congregation. He uses a very practical approach to ministry and preaches sermons that could be considered motivational. He's not into condemnation and eschews anything that might "bring a person down." He is humble and respectful. He is committed and faithful to our Methodist tradition. He treats children and seniors as the special citizens that they are.

He loves his family and his friends. he is a dutiful son, brother and uncle. He is a husband and father of two adult daughters and a son.
He loves to eat at good restaurants and appreciates unique atmospheres and service. He also loves home cooked foods and is an excellent cook. He loves music and is fond of the blues. He likes sports and doing regular guy stuff.
The church celebrated his birthday this past Sunday. His birthday was October 11th. I wasn't there--although I emailed him a birthday greeting. Even that didn't seem enough to me so I'm sending this sentiment to cyberspace for eternity.
Happy Birthday, Pastor Williams.

You have been a blessing in my life and I have grown under your spiritual leadership. You encourage me to live right--but not cause man is watching. May God bless you with the desires of your heart.

your sister in Christ Jesus,
The Churchlady

A Pig is still a Pig...

2008-09-12T08:53:00.004-05:00

Which of these two animals represents change? I guess Barack Obama was right, eh? A pig is still a pig--even with lipstick!

As Salaam Alaikum Imam Warith Deen Mohommed

2008-09-12T07:22:00.005-05:00

Imam Warith Deen Mohommed recently passed away at his home in Markham, Illinois. He was 74 years old. Ironically it was on the 9th day of Ramadan (9/9/08), one of the high holy days of the Islamic tradition. He was a spiritual leader to me and a dear friend to my parents, Naomi Salaam Sharif and her former husband, Imam Sidney Rahim Sharif.

The day I learned of his death was like every other day in the news game--busy and deadline oriented.

My girl, Patti (who always manages to find out everything faster than me), left me an email with a news clip about the death of Imam Mohommed. I was simply stunned. His older brother, Jabir Herbert Muhammad (former trainer to Muhammad Ali), had died about 2 weeks earlier on my birthday and the opening session of the Democratic National Convention--August 25, 2008. Both men were sons of the late Nation of Islam (NOI) leader, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

I remember my earliest recollection of hearing about Imam Mohommed was as a 12 year old girl when my mother joined the NOI and became Sister Naomi 2X. I became Sister Vanessa X and my siblings all had Xs too. X became our name of choice to replace our slave name--Sanders. Wallace Muhammad was really what I like to call a 'renegade.' He openly challenged some of the teachings of the NOI as prescribed by Master Fard Muhammad, a man that NOI followers regarded as God having appeared in his person. Sorta like Jesus being God as the Son of Man.

My spirit agreed with the teachings of the NOI for the most part as a pre-teen. I was a little big-eyed, brown-skinned girl growing up in the U.S. and I very rarely had my blackness celebrated. At Temple #2 in Chicago I was treated better than a princess--more like a 'little queen'. It was great for my self confidence to know that black people were the cream of the planet earth.

We learned many things about God/Allah and the Islamic tradition. We stopped eating pork and prayed 5xs daily. We heard Elijah Muhammad speak on Sundays and on Wednesdays other ministers taught us. My siblings attended the University of Islam and later Sister Clara Muhammad School. My mom was a school nurse. My step-dad, a Chicago police officer, was a minister and in the Fruit of Islam (FOI); my brother William was in the Jr-FOI. We were taught from the Holy Bible although we were not Christian. We considered ourselves muslim.

In February 1975, when I was 16, we found out at Savior's Day that 'the lamb'--the Honorable Elijah Muhammad has made his earthly transition and that his son Wallace would succeed his leadership. My family and I welcomed the change but many did not. We would go on to follow the teachings of Orthodox Islam, many learning to speak and pray in Arabic, learning to read the Quran and to memorize suras. Many would take the holy pilgrimage to Mecca--in fact, my parents made hajj twice. We would fast during Ramadan and pay zakat to the poor. Imam Mohommed changed his name to reflect who he felt he was; from Wallace to Warith. he completed by changing the spelling of his last name, although he maintained his pride in being the son of Elijah Muhammad.

Imam Warith Deen Mohommed was a humble and wonderful man. He was brilliant, loving and intelligent. Men and boys wanted to be like him. Women admired him and envied his wife. He wanted to be more like Prophet Mohommed and Christ. He taught us to love them both and all of the prophets and men God raised up. He taught us to love ourselves and mankind. he taught us that being a muslim was a way of life--not a religion and that it was not reflected in our attire but in our hearts. He taught us to become independent thinkers and to read the Quran and Bible for ourselves. he encouraged us to pray for wisdom and understanding. He encouraged us to fellowship with muslims of other ethnicities and he led by example. And above all, he taught against us being racist or thinking one race was superior over another. Later, at age 38 I converted to Christianity and became a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ. I still respect the muslims and the impact Islam had on my life for a season. I still love and respect Imam Warith Deen Mohommed.

He was not perfect. He made many mistakes. He was a bridge-builder and did not author confusion or controversy. He was a world class leader.

Thank you for exposing the world to love, Imam Mohommed.

As Salaam Alaikum- peace be unto you

"The View" from Chicago: An Informal Gabfest

2008-09-08T06:52:00.009-05:00

Women and talking go together like a hand in glove.
This past Saturday I ventured over to Malcom X College in Chicago to cover a story on an annual event produced by Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-7). In essence it was a Town Hall meeting held for constituents of the 7th Congressional District. various workshops were held on a myriad of topics of interest to district residents. There were vendors from area social services agencies, government agencies and private retail businesses. It was a good time.

As I was leaving, about 2PM I happened by a vendor I'd not seen and stopped to admire her original art. Her name is Marchel'le Barber. To my delight she is a fellow journalist and an entrepreneur I'd remembered reading about from the South suburbs. While we were chatting about a myriad of topics, browsers and potential customers wandered by to admire her artwork display, occasionally speaking. Suzanne Hanney, also a fellow writer was one who stopped to chat for a minute (how awesome is God?). Engaging and full of opinion, Suzanne made Marchel'le and I laugh out loud with her unique perspective on a slew of topics including the presidential race (on which we spent an enormous amount of time offering commentary and perspective).

Finally, we met our last 'gabfest panelist', Ms. Phyllis Powell, an IT specialist, a strong, opinionated woman who is "unashamedly" and "unapoligetically". For over 2 hours (my son says closer to 3), we chatted and laughed; offered rebuttals and agreed (seldom); and reiterated how wonderful it was to have met. At the end ( as security was threatening to lock us inside overnite) we offered huggs and exchanged contact info.
Three black women from totally different backgrounds and some similarities; together with one blonde from a different background, culture and some similarities; four women with respect for each others' differences in backgrounds, ideas, ideals, political views, sexual attitudes, gender attitudes, race relations and faith beliefs.

On the ride home I was left with two thoughts:
1). The magic of the "sisterhood" is that we (as women) are more alike than different.
2). That given a platform, indeed women will talk to each other until we've resolved all of this world's social ills.
My son later told me it reminded him of watching a live episode of "The View"-- only funnier. I hadn't thought of that, but maybe that's why that show works.

"Textual Intercourse" and Other Acts of Indescretion

2008-09-08T06:06:00.011-05:00

Mayor Kilpatrick, Former Mayoral Aide, Christine Beatty and Mrs. Kalita Kilpatrick

Technology is off the chain these days. And now, a simple thing like typing a series of private messages into his cell phone has cost the Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Malik Kilpatrick, political office, his mayoral pension, his law license, his historic legacy, his freedom to move about the country and the world, his societal status, and a cool $1M fine.

Last week I watched to my utter dismay, a young man, from a prominent family; who was raised right; who was college educated, be stripped of everything dear to him and given the promise of 120 days behind bars for lying under oath and poor decisions he made regarding an extra-marital affair, and his desire to cover the facts. In this instance his cell phone betrayed him. His text message history was brought forth and his own typed words to his affair partner, a former mayoral city worker and confidante, brought him down.

Would your own text message history convict you of adulterous behavior? Are you using test messaging for what you consider harmless flirting but which could easily turn into "textual intercourse" ( a phrase I borrowed from a brilliant friend and fellow blogger, Reverend Lutionary) with someone other than your spouse?" Could your text message history bring you down and shed light on your own indescretions?

When your girlfriend is a Princess: Royalty has its privledges

2008-09-04T18:16:00.007-05:00

Meet Princess Kasune Zulu, My friend from Zambia, Africa. I first met her in 2002. I realized at that time that she is the first-born daughter I never birthed.

Since the time of our first meeting up to today, I have enough to say about her that I could actually start a blog just about her and her exploits! Suffice to say that she is a queen among young women. She is smart, saavy and very special. She is a newlywed and a mommy. And there is absolutely no end to how God will use her to change this world.

Last week she was in St. Paul working with First Lady Laura Bush and Cindy McCain and addressing Republican delegates; the week before she was in Denver working with Michelle Obama and Mrs. Biden, and addressing the Democratic delegates.

Here she is shown accepting a kiss from the leader of the "free world," President George W. Bush in the Rose Garden of the White House in 2004. I remember asking her how it felt to meet privately with and talk to Pres Bush, General Colin Powell, and then Sec. of Health, Tommy Thompson in a closed door meeting at the White House to discuss HIV and AIDS appropriations for Africa.

She replied, "Why dahling (she's so British), what do you mean? Each day I speak directly to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords." Should I be overly impressed to speak to anyone after that?" I just shook my head at her answer--She's amazing.

"Governor Grandma" & Bristol

2008-09-02T18:21:00.005-05:00

Governor Palin, or Sarah 'Baracuda' Bulldog, let me get this straight. You expect the American public to buy this scenario as a happy time for you and your family...?
Scene 1: Your 17 year old is pregnant and unwed. You are thrilled beyond belief that she is, and look forward to being a young Grandma. Her unwed pregnancy is broadcast in media around the world and your daughter quickly becomes the most famous unwed mother outside of Mary--mother of Jesus.

Are you despondent? Are you disappointed? Embarrassed? You say, "None of the above."

You are jubilant and proud of your daughter because, after all, your daughter chose life. Since the time of Jesus' birth, unwed motherhood has been looked upon as a shame and a disgrace, yet you are Christian and proud of your daughter's shamefu predicament. You are a politician, yet unmoved by the idea of your family's image being tarnished. If so, you are an original and the very first politician in history of U.S. politics who is not family and image conscious.

Scene 2: You have taught and preached to your own daughter about abstaining from sex as a deterrent to a host of other life complications including HIV and AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Pregnancy--the ultimate result of unprotected sex. All to no avail--your own teenage, unwed daughter is pregnant. Yet, you advocate this kind of "abstinence program" versus sex education and prevention programs for all American daughters when it didn't even work for your own?

Scene 3: Here is your published statement to the press on September 1, 2008 when the news broke of your daughter's pregnancy:

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter, Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents."

As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support. "Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughterand Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

Governor, I ask you: Do you also share the pride and shame that could be felt by other American parents whose daughters see Bristol's situation as one they would love to mirror? Does your small town, Republican reformist mind finally understand how urban inner-city parents whose young daughters find themselves in a similar state of pregnancy feel by deciding to chose life, rather than abortion; when to do so could mean an addition to the state's burgeoning welfare rolls? Can you now identify with the American problems related to working mothers and high numbers of teenage pregnancies?

If this harsh reality of how easy it is for children to be taught the right things and still choose to do what they want regarding sex, drugs, and rock n roll has enlightened you and helped you relate to other Americans, then some good actually has come out of this shameful situation.