Sorry, Only One Turkey Gets Pardoned by Palin
Filed under: Blog Entries, Laughable, Politics, Society & Culture
While President Bush is pardoning people before his term in office ends, Sarah Palin gets the opportunity to pardon an Alaskan turkey. I’m sure the turkey appreciates that has he watches his boys get slaughtered on camera during an interview with Palin. While I’d like to leave Palin alone, she really needs to stop giving us material to go after. I wonder if Saturday Night Live will do a skit about this interview.
Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your turkey dinner. I know I will (what can I say, I’m carnivorous).
Steve & Barry’s Closing US Stores
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Entertainment & Sports, Personal Finance
I never would have thought I would see the day when a Steve & Barry’s would go out of business. That was one of the few stores where I could get some decent clothes and shoes for an affordable price. I’m no fashionista nor do I need to have a pair of shoes that are marked up 1000% in cost, so S&B was a favorite of mine. Where else will I be able to get a pair of Marbury’s for $15? It just goes to show how much in the dumps this economy is in. I guess this will push the unemployment rate up a little higher next year.
I was walking through the mall last week and almost every store had a sale going on. Everyone is having to discount their inventory to get people in the door. It’s kind of hard to not be pessimistic about the future, but the reality is that things are going to be tough for a while. While it may not help the economy, budget and save for hard times. While you can expect to see some good deals this Black Friday, don’t get too caught up in a spending frenzy. If you can’t handle it, stay at home like me. The last thing I need to see is a good deal on a HDTV.
President-Elect Obama Weekly Address – 11/21/08
Filed under: Blog Entries, Obama, Personal Finance, Politics
President-elect Barack Obama announces he has directed his economic team to assemble an Economic Recovery Plan that will save or create 2.5 million more jobs by January of 2011. For more information, visit http://www.change.gov.
Who Is Dondria? Ask So So Def Records.
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Entertainment & Sports, Music Reviews, Society & Culture, Technology
If you’re a regular to the podcast, you know every show I try to highlight a music artist. I wanted to wait until the next show to highlight this artist, but I thought why not share her story with you in it’s own post. Dondria a.k.a “phatfffat” is a local artist from Sachse, Texas who was discovered by So So Def Records on youtube. The video below shares the whole story and is a reminder of how hard work and ingenuity can help you reach your dreams. The opportunities are out there. You just have to go after them.
You can watch video of Dondria’s quest to stardom on her Youtube page and while you’re there, show her some love by purchasing her single “Can’t Stop” on iTunes and Amazon. She has a great voice in and out the studio. I’ll keep you posted on any news I hear and as always I want to know what you think.
Purchase “Can’t Stop” at iTunes
Purchase “Can’t Stop” at amazon.com
www.youtube.com/phatfffat
Why The Racial Divide Remains Large
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Society & Culture
Even though most of us never thought it could be possible, here we are awaiting the inauguration of the first Black president in America. For many of us among all races, it’s almost unfathomable that America has progressed to such an encouraging feat where any natural born citizen can become the leader of our nation. Still, what is even more unfathomable is that there exists such stark contrasts depending on which side of the racial divide you fall on. As of 2003, Blacks earned 65% of the income earned by their White counterparts. The divide becomes even more disparaging when it becomes digitized. Only 11% of Black households with incomes below $15K reported using the Internet vs. 23% among Whites earning the same income. When you consider that an alarming 25% of Black families live at or near the poverty line compared to 17% of Whites you begin to understand why more outreach programs to bring resources to people outside of just internet access at their local library is necessary.
Interestingly, the was a topic for the thesis of first lady-elect Michelle Obama while she was at Princeton. She even quoted James Conyers and Walter Wallace who spoke of the “problems which face…black [elected] officials who must persuade the white community that they are above issues of race and that they are representing all people and not just black people,” as opposed to creating “two separate social structures.” This was part of the foundation Barack Obama would build his presidential platform on some 23 years later.
Within the constructs of defining race, MIT’s Committee on Campus Race Relations had a seminar that stated race is “a powerful idea. It makes many of us behave as if race exists.” In a respect, they’re more than correct. Over 99% of all our human DNA is the same regardless of race. When you combine that fact with attempting to define exactly WHO is “Black” or “White” or any other race for that matter…categorizing someone simply by the color of their skin is nearly impossible. Even on a cultural level, what’s considered intrinsic to one group or sub-culture can be very regional, extremely fluid, and often changes by the year.
Still, pervasive issues such as race and racial interactions are too complex to be whisked away by anthropology professors and pundits. Take, for example, a study by Juan Gonzalez posted on commondreams.org. He researched the divide within the ranks of the military and came up with some of what you might expect. Primarily, youth from low-income areas are far more likely to end up in the military. What is more surprising, however, is that the whole story is not solely based on economics. New York’s upper West Side, known to be a highly affluent section of Manhattan, had a total of 12 people enlist in any of the armed forces in 2004. Only 3 of those recruits were White. Alternatively, the working class community of Carnasie in Brooklyn had 56 recruits enlist. Of those, 96% were Black with the other 4% being Asian. Not a single white resident of Carnasie enlisted in all of 2004.
Until now, the key reason why the racial divide has remained a staple of our global community is that there hasn’t been a reason to change. We tolerate, particularly in America, a duality of thought that allows one to believe both: a) I am a Christian or someone who lives a life fueled by following Christian ideals, and b) anyone who is in poverty is just lazy and doesn’t deserve any charity or welfare from me. Our culture is one intolerant of patience or caring for anyone other than “me”. This intolerance of others’ needs is the reason hundreds of children are being abandoned in Nebraska, why no initiatives to recharge the economy so far have worked, and why the racial divide will continue to widen.
Podcast: President Barack Obama – #40 – 11/16/08
Show Notes – Episode 40 – President Barack Obama
What I’m Talkin’ About
Future Presidents
Photos From Friendship West Election Watch Party
Now That Obama Has Won What Next for Black America
Blogging While Brown 2009
Black History Hero
Shirley Chisolm
(Notice the similarities between Chisolm and Obama)
Independent Music Showcase
Benny Powell
“Free to Be Me” (mp3)
from “Nextep”
(Origin Records)
Buy at Napster
Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
Buy at Puretracks
Buy at GroupieTunes
More On This Album
Announcements
Special thanks to The Prospector for checking up on me regarding the podcast.
I’m a member of a new social networking site at www.cre8buzz.com. I need to build up the black population, so come join me. It’s open to the public. Come see me at cre8Buzz > People > African American community
I had to get a new voicemail phone number – 972.535.THEO (8436)
Spread the word about this podcast
Contact Information
Feel free to leave comments on the website or call the voicemail line at 972.535.THEO (8436)
Intro & Background Music
The intro & closing music clip was written and performed by PsykoSoul Music
“Family Affair” by PsykoSoul Music featuring CB Harris and Calvin
Post-Election KLIF Interview with Dallas South Blog
Filed under: Black Blogger Postings, Blog Entries, Community, Politics, Society & Culture
Shawn Williams of Dallas South Blog had an interview with KLIF 570AM host Jeff Bolton the morning after the election. I missed it, but the show producers were kind enough to give him a copy of the interview. Shawn posted it here on the blog for his readers to hear.
I thought it was a good interview. Jeff asked some interesting questions and Shawn answered them in the way they should have been answered. I really would have liked to hear what the callers had to say, but it wasn’t that kind of interview. They talked about the election watch party the night before and the reaction of those in attendance. It was an amazing night when the announcement was made that Obama had won and it was a night that I’ll never forget. I posted some photos here of the crowd that night.
I really happy to see Shawn get his point across about the black church. I just hope those listening were paying attention. Rev. Wright might have been the first black preacher some had ever heard and I think a lot of misconceptions may have arisen from a 10 second clip. If you’re reading this and you’ve never been to a black church, I’d like to invite you to mine also. If you don’t think you’d feel comfortable you can check us out on the PromiseLand Television Network or watch the Sunday Services online live at 10:30am. The doors are always open to all who wish to worship.
Blogging While Brown 2009 Registration Open
Filed under: Black Blogger Postings, Blog Entries, Community, Education, Technology
Registration is now open for the 2nd annual Blogging While Brown Conference. The conference will be held at the University Center in Chicago, Illinois on June 19-20, 2009.
I attended the first conference earlier this year in Atlanta and was very impressed with how well it went. I had the opportunity to meet some great people and even had the chance to meet some of my favorite bloggers in person. One of the best things about the conference was the discussions that went on throughout the day. I enjoyed hearing what others thought about various topics and you can believe everyone had something to share. It was a lot of fun.
If you are interested in learning more about blogging, this year there will be a Pre-Conference Blogging Bootcamp where you can get training on the technical aspects of blogging. The only skills that are required to participate are the ability to use a computer, any word processing program, and experience using email.
If you weren’t able to attend last year, then add it to your calendar for ’09. I plan on being there and hope to see you there also. And I’m not going to call any names, but I know one Chicago blogger who I’d like to see make it this year. Here are some pictures from the first conference.
Early bird registration ends February 1, 2009. For more conference information, visit www.bloggingwhilebrown.com.
President Obama’s First Day by Ted Rall
Filed under: Blog Entries, Entertainment & Sports, Laughable, Politics
The man hasn’t even been sworn in yet and the political cartoons about is first day are already coming. With any president you’re going to have critics, but let’s give him a chance! Remember, GW still has until January 20th to reek more havoc on America.
While I may not agree with the overall message, I thought the cartoon was funny. It reminded me of something I’d see on South Park and the old school Batman scene really cracked me up. Whether you agree with Obama’s policy or not, he was the best man for the job. No one thinks he’ll fix all the problems we face as a country over night. It took eight years to screw it up, so I think it’ll take a little longer to fix it. Change is scary for a lot of people (me included), but in the end we tend to see it wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be.
In all fairness, here’s a cartoon they made about Sarah Palin. Job well done Ted.
Something Just Changed
I received this in an email. Every time I look at it I just bust out laughing. It just doesn’t look right. I guess it won’t sink in for me until inauguration.
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