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TheGoodDoctor

Ghetto Geekin’

The Center for Emerging Media

Please excuse the “Obama is our Savior” reference but I couldn’t resist.

Recently, my wife and I sat down to watch Chris Rock’s Head of State movie. For a while I’ve been thinking about the ironies of that movie and Barack Obama’s current and future campaign footsteps. You know…the opposition campaigning on the platforms of political and military experience without a true campaign foundation, White people in California storming the streets to vote to prevent a Black president, envisioning winning the election only to immediately experience an assassination attempt. Still, the movie amazingly hits more truer cords than that. Rock’s character Mays Gilliam actually raises real issues such as health care, childcare, underemployment, and war. Even more poignantly, Mays Gilliam calls out his competitor on his catch phrase, “God bless America…and no place else”. Mays flips the script to, “God bless America! God bless Africa! God bless Jamaica! And not the beach Jamaica. I’m talking bout real Jamaica. You know…stabbing Jamaica.”

I don’t know if Chris Rock knows something the rest of us don’t or if he coincidentally made a below average movie that just happens to hit at the heart of a presidential campaign 5 years after his film was released. Either way, Chris Rock may’ve been inadvertently setting us up mentally for something no one could’ve known would be so close to coming true now.

As high as tensions have stretched over the past months this clip helped me realize that sometimes we all have to take a step back and realize that we’re all people of the same country seeking many of the same things. The divisiveness and dilutedness of the political process drives frustration and animosity that belongs no where near deciding who should be the next person WE give the power to make key decisions for our country. When we fight amongst ourselves is when we are at our weakest. Unfortunately, so many of us are so used to losing we’re too blind to see how we can win.

Users who clicked on the “FULL STORY” link in the message were redirected to a fake CNN site, where they were told they needed to download an update to Flash Player, Adobe System Inc.’s popular Internet media player, to view a video clip from CNN.

Websense also said it had spotted traces of the campaign in blog spam.

If users agreed to download the bogus Flash update, they were trapped in an endless loop, where clicking “Cancel” in the initial dialog produced a second pop-up. Clicking “Cancel” there returned the user to the first pop-up. The only options at that point were for users to shut down the browser or give in and install the malware.

I might not have clicked the link, but if it were in my inbox I probably would have opened it. I tend to get a lot of emails from news sources. The Internet is a dangerous place. Be careful out there.

Fake-CNN spam mutates as attacks continue

Warning from CNN.com

This is the type of stuff that pisses me off. I have no problem with people being proud of who God made them to be. Hell, I’m black and I’m proud to be black. But what’s the deal with this whole losing power talk. Obama’s race for the White House is not about power (although political conservative talk show hosts would have you thinking otherwise). Do white people really feel like they are “losing power”? I’d be curious to hear from someone who did. Obama from the beginning tried to not make his running about race, but as we all know race matters. When you live in a melting pot of immigrants, the topic is bound to be discussed sooner or later.

While we’re on the topic of race, I was bothered by the group who got up and heckled Obama about what he’d do for black communities. If Obama wins the presidency, he’s not going to be the saviour for all black people and communities. That’s not the job of a President. His job is to do what’s best for America as a whole. If that includes getting more jobs or funding for lower income communities, then so be it. But it’s going to take the black people in and out of those communities to come together to make a difference. The Civil Rights Act didn’t become law because a group of politicians thought it was the right thing to do. It became a law because black people got fed up.

White supremacists hope Obama win prompts backlash

White Supremacists Back Obama’s Bid (Video)

Are we fearful of losing money or is it that we don’t know how to get started? The stock market can be an intimidating place with all the terms and analysts throwing out numbers on those financial talk shows, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you aren’t interested in doing it yourself, there are a number of places you can go to get someone to manage your portfolio. Over the next couple of months, I’m going to get mention some of the services I’ve used and share the experiences I’ve had in the process. I’m no financial planner, so this isn’t advice. It’s just my personal testimony on what did and didn’t work for me.

I invested in Radio One (ROIAK) because I believe in the company as a whole. Their financial numbers aren’t the best right now, but I like the direction they’re going. According to the conference call, the radio industry is suffering and the revenue in ad placement isn’t what it used to be. They realize this and talked about their internet strategy which they hope will bring them additional revenue in the next couple of years. I like the fact that they have interests in TV One and I’m of the belief that you should invest in what you like.

Unless things start going terribly wrong, this is a long-term investment for me. Sure there’s risk and the potential to lose money, but this is just one way we can support black businesses. It’s easy to do and it doesn’t hurt that the stock price is in a place where I can get a good number of shares at one time. I’m always looking other publicly traded black-owned businesses because I think there are a lot of opportunities out there to support them and make some money.

To purchase stocks I use Zecco.com. They have low commission rates at $4.50/trade and if you have over $2500 in your account you get 10 free trades a month (end commercial). There are other services to use, but Zecco has really worked for me. If you are interested in checking them out, use my referral code because I get a little change if you sign up (a brotha needs all he can get). If you decide to sign up, let me know and I’ll email you my username so you’ll know who I am in the forums. It’s all about finding ways to build wealth.

Once again, this post is not financial advice and you can lose money when investing. If you’re not comfortable with it, consult a professional. Always do your homework on a company. If you’re interested in learning more about Radio One, listen to the Conference Call to learn more about them before making any decisions.

If you have any good investments you’d like to share feel free to leave a comment.

Radio One Website
Radio One 2008 Q2 Conference Call (Audio Archives)
Radio One Stock Ticker (ROIAK)
My Zecco Referral Link

Less than four years later, the family could potentially lose their free home to foreclosure. After fifteen months the family put their home up as collateral for a $450,000 loan to invest in a construction business. On August 5th, the home is set to go on auction on the steps of the Clayton County Courthouse. Mrs. Harper says they worked out a deal with the bank to keep the house, but has plans to move because the family is being harassed. Understandably, the community is upset at what is taking place. Wouldn’t you be?

My question is, why in this economy would they put in jeopardy the one thing that was guaranteed? People came together to build them a beautiful FREE home in six days. All they had to do was cover the property taxes, maintenance and utilities. The kids even got scholarships to go to school! You can’t blame the banks on this one. If the community and local businesses hadn’t come together to help this family, then this wouldn’t be a story. We have to do better. I know too many poor people with no equity in their homes struggling to keep what they have. Getting your $450,000 hustle on at someone else’s expense is not cool. The Harper’s should be ashamed of themselves. I’d like to hear more of what they have to say about the situation they’ve placed themselves in.

Here’s a video of what the Harper’s stand to lose. This video is of the story on a local Georgia news station.

This is the official photo for the Blogging While Brown Conference. For it being the first year, the conference was well-planned I’m glad I had the opportunity to attend. I got in to blogging as a way to share information and viewpoints that I thought people would be interested in reading. That’s usually how most people get in to it.

The best thing about blogging is that your blog can be about anything you want. I use mine to write about what’s on my mind, while others may use it for business purposes. It really doesn’t matter. If you have something to say, a blog is a great way to get your message to the masses. It takes time and dedication, but it’s worth it (more personal satisfaction than anything). I’ve had some decent discussions on this blog and that’s what it’s all about.

If you weren’t able to attend, I’ve posted some photos on Flickr in my Blogging While Brown set.

I have mixed feelings on the ordinance. In my younger days, I had to get a hardship license and there were times when I drove around without insurance. I was very careful and knew the consequences if I got pulled over, but we were placed in a financial place where insurance wasn’t the priority and the money was needed elsewhere. While I don’t think the city council is targeting blacks and hispanics, I can definitely see how their communities will be affected the most.

On the other hand, I’ve had a car totaled by an uninsured motorist. As I staggered out of the car the person said “no insurance” and drove away (I was able to get a license number). It sucked because the car totaled was paid for and we ended up having to purchase another one, which added an unexpected expense to our budget. We had insurance, but only received enough from them to put a down payment for the other car. You can bet I was pissed about the whole situation, so part of me agrees with the council on their position.

Just note the uninsured motorist ordinance won’t go into effect until Jan. 1, 2009, so if you’re driving dirty you have time to get insured. Also note that while formal towing guidelines are being developed, the officer will have limited discretion on whether or not towing is necessary.

So I’m in search for any minority-owned businesses that you’ve used before. If you are the owner, let me know and leave a way for people to contact your business. You can leave a link with a description in the comments area, email me at podcast @ theotalks.net or submit them via the Contact Form. Every other week, I’ll submit the ones I receive. It’s all about showing these businesses some love. I figure it’s the least I could do as a fellow entrepreneur.

Please note, while I understand good money can be made from multi-level marketing businesses, multiple submissions from different people will be ignored. If you’re the CEO of one, holla at me.