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Fox News is at it again.  Check out this still image from a broadcast on Fox News on Wednesday June 11, 2008:

Are you guys seriously telling me that he is fit to be President? I could probably name 5 more Republicans that could do a much better job…

Yo this lustful obsession with beauty and selling sex in America is absolutely unbelievable. I can’t turn my head in a grocery store or book store without seeing a woman damn near butt naked on magazines, DVD jackets, CD jewel boxes, waffle cartons, strawberry crates and yogurt cups. Even the sticker on the Valencia oranges has been replaced with a semi-nude model named Valencia. Okay, well maybe I exaggerated about that last one… and maybe a few others, but you get the point. We’re in a world where the women in music videos get more attention than the actual artists and creativity song, often leading to a grave neglect of the original intent of the video in favor of gratuitous nudity. Reality shows have just become a launching pad for any and everybody interesting in being a “model” or “actress”.

I was thinking about this because last week I was in Border’s book and I went to pick up some magazines and almost every black magazine had a woman on the cover with an enormous posterior standing back to front and bent over with a smile while the caption above her read something to the effect of “The Sex Issue”. I just don’t get it. We have so much to offer the world, yet we don’t do better. Are we merely mindless sex addicts that only shine when it comes to enticing lust? Can someone explain it to me??

If you’re wondering, hecks nah I’m not gay by any means, but traveling to different parts of the world and just simply having friends from other races opens my eyes to the perception of Black America by others. Many people are quick to argue that it’s the media’s fault because of the way they portray us, but I would like to offer that they couldn’t do it if we weren’t willing. I’m not trying to make this about women or “video chicks” but I just wanted to site this issue as one of the many ways we continue to do ourselves and our reputation a dis-service in the eyes of the world and in our own communities. What’s worst is that were setting a terrible example for our children and I’m sure this creates a ripple effect for the future.

We simply have to do better. Check out Goodie Mob’s “Beautiful Black Skin”…

Monique is at it again - in body paint. I don’t know the where or why of this pic, but uh, you make your own caption.

I read this article over at eurweb.com about the record setting pace of African American men being jailed. Here is an excerpt from the whole article published here:

Blacks and Hispanics are the primary people being jailed. Currently, Black men, who are roughly 6 and a-half percent of the nation’s total population, represented 37 percent of those behind bars.

African American males have an incarceration arte of 4.8 percent compared to 1.9 percent for Hispanics and 0.7 percent for whites. Amazingly, 11 percent of all Black males between 25 and 34 are in prison.

The primary culprits are the so-called war on drugs and tougher (some critics argue extreme) sentencing laws. The U.S. has more of its citizens in prison than any other nation in the world.

Communist-led China, for example, has a population nearly four times larger than that of the U.S. but has fewer people in prison. Some critics, such as the Drug War Chronicle - from Drug War Chronicle, Issue #492, 6/29/07 - are now blaming a “prison-industrial complex” which benefits and profits from the growing incarcerations..

Remember when the US was considered a model for countries all over the world? When are those days coming back?

Most people know that I love gadgets and tech stuff, but only when it’s a sensible idea. As for now, I’ve yet to be able to understand the hype around Apple new’s iPhone (by the way, the pic was jacked from apple.com). Is this phone truly the innovative technical phenomenon that everyone thinks it is? Or is the extreme interest in the phone due mostly to an aggressive advertising campaign that makes you feel like crap if you don’t have the latest and greatest multi-tasking phone? Well, a lot of everything in this world is merely just ad agencies doing what they do best… using psychology and sociology to beat you in the head and create the unnecessary desire have a bunch of crap we really don’t need.

I think the phone is overpriced hype mainly because none of the features are new, they’re just attractively packaged (with a extra $200-$300 price tag). In a world where the Treo already has a touch screen, the Blackberry is the standard of business communications because of its unparalleled email capabilities, micro-storage cards are getting bigger and more prevalent, and Motorola and LG have a huge stash of camera phones that play and download all kinds of music, video, internet sites and images, I just don’t see why the iPhone is as important a gadget as it is. I was watching 11Alive news this evening and the Consumer Reports segment gave the following information:

• The parts on the phone cost Apple about $265 to make.
• This includes a $15 chip board and $27 display
• On the price of a $600 phone, thats $335 profit.

This shows that over half of each sale goes to Apple. All I can say is that I’m extremely happy with my Blackberry Pearl (much cheaper and extremely efficient). I’m not knockin’ the hustle, but at the same time I’m not going to be hustled just to be cool. If you are interested in the phone, I suggest waiting until the price goes down and all the bugs are fixed. Just my thoughts on the whole situation.

Genarlow Wilson is still in Jail

Scooter Libby never went.

What’s the difference?  Can someone explain that to me?

PARIS GETS OUT OF JAIL ON TUESDAY JUNE 26TH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m having a Freedom Brunch in her honor.  Get at me for details!

Just wondering… How do you know?

How do you know the voice of God when he’s speaking?

How can you distinguish the voice of God from all of the other voices in your head fighting for your attention?

At any moment, a million thoughts can run through your head… the thought that you allow to dominate can instantly keep you on the correct path designed for your life or it can set you a couple of years behind.

God always speaks, but are we always listening?  Do we confuse our thoughts with his voice and make our own will the will of God?  It’s easy to convince yourself that you’ve heard from God when it’s about something you really want.

God says that “My sheep know my voice”.  How can you know the voice of God unless you spend time with him?

If you spent more time with him, you wouldn’t have to wonder if it’s his voice or not.

Ephesians 6:18 - And Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Just try prayer… It’s like quality time with the Father.  I know that it will really make the difference.

Short and simple… They mean so much, and they can change the hearts of so many people, but I’m not talking about “I Love You”. I’m talking about “Bitch”, “Ho” and “Nigger”. According to hip hop’s Ghandi, Russell Simmons, these words should be voluntarily banned from hip hop music because they are misogynistic and racially offensive. He also took the time to say that nothing should ever be implemented that takes away the first amendment right of free speech, but that free speech includes responsibility. With all of that in mind, this sets us up for another episode of the Emmy nominated series “Make Black People Respect Themselves”. Some “leader” has to step up and make Blacks respect themselves.

The argument of the rap community has been that use of these words were instrumental to artistic expression and that this was one of the reasons why they had the right to use the words while others didn’t. To me this form of censorship was just an easy response to public criticism of the culture of today’s rap lyrics. Censorship has never been a solution to a problem of inappropriate utterances. The true solution has been and will always be to change the hearts of the people that use these words. Censorship is nothing but a mere cover up while the artists continue to live a life of what’s true to their hearts and personalities. Blocking or beeping these words to an rap artist is just like saying to Hugh Hefner “Women are constantly treated like sex objects and because of the role your magazine plays in society we would like for you to voluntarily photograph all of your women fully clothed.” Do you think that’s going to happen? No! Why? Because the first amendment wasn’t written with provisions that made sure no one was offended or allowed that nothing detrimental to society could ever be done. Read the rest of this entry »