The threat of "libel tourism"

In recent news (Feb. 16, 2010), the Senate is looking to hold a hearing on Feb. 23
to examine something called "libel tourism." The world
"tourism" suggests crossing national borders, and that is exactly
what this libel issue is about. The question of the hearing amounts to
"Are foreign libel lawsuits threatening Americans' First Amendment rights?"

Rachel Ehhrenfeld, who wrote a book about funded terrorism, found the answer to this
question first-hand when she was sued in British courts by a Saudi businessman.
It is good that this hearing is taking place, for the issue of First Amendment
isn't something that just resides in America alone. We cannot be simply
complacent with just First Amendment guarantees within our borders, for this is
a global world. In some other countries, the First Amendment is more of just
"a guideline." In some countries, it doesn't exist at all. In such
instances, what happens when American journalism is met an audience that don't
value the ideas of First Amendment like we do? Well, the result can be what
Ehrenfeld experienced: prosecution.

Journalism and the First Amendment go hand in hand. If we are dissuaded from journalism
based on the threat of foreign lawsuits, then our First Amendment rights are
threatened just the same. We have to keep in mind that "libel" to a
politician in North Korea is not the same as how we think of "libel"
in America. What is happening now is that lawsuits are being fought in the
"playing field" of whoever feels offended--in other words, it's
abroad.

This is simply nonsensical. A piece of journalism written by someone in one's country
should be subject to the same journalistic standards of that person's country.
It shouldn't be judged in the hands of whoever's offended, and by that
country's laws, as it threatens our First Amendment right to free speech and
practicing journalism freely.
-SL

The Ethics of Journalism

by Belle Kim

During the last issue of Fused, I wrote a feature story covering the budget cuts that are taking place in the MCCSC. Aside from writing 2300 words on the topic, I also wished to include a section listing the names of teachers who had teaching experiences of five years or less at North, as they could potentially be affected by the change. To have access to the teachers’ seniority list, all I had to do was to fill out a form requesting to see public records and do with the information as I wish. Though many high school newspapers suffer from censorship and prior review, Bloomington High School North respects the First Amendment. Because the teacher’s seniority list was public information, I could just publish it in the newspaper.

I didn’t take that course of action at the advice of my newspaper adviser. The issue was a sensitive one involving the livelihood of others and deserved to be handled with care. If I just published the information without speaking to these teachers first, students and teachers alike may focus on whether or not I should have printed it instead of focusing on what the article was actually about. I thus went around the school for several hours to speak to teachers with 5 years or less experience, and asked permission to print their name, picture, and certification area. Some said yes, some said no. I respected their choices.

Through this experience, I learned that though the First Amendment does guarantee journalists rights from anything that abridges the freedom of press, we must also consider the ethics of journalism. When writing on an issue that involves the life of others, we must be extremely sensitive and recognize that just as we have the rights to present accurate information without persecution from the government, people have rights to privacy and safety. The goal of a journalist should be to pursue the truth in order to inform readers and help create positive change. Through this experience, I realized that creating controversy that involves the lives of real people is unnecessary and unethical.

Weekend Jam - Cadillac Music

Today, I could go back or stay within the current times called today.

……Ahhh Screw it. I need a Sunday drive.

Speaking of driving, My favorite automobile is a Cadillac car (Sorry, Escalade don’t spell p-i-m-p-i-n-g to me). They say that your favorite car describe your personality. I guess mine is simple because Lac are simple. They are cruising car when you floating from point A to B. I am going to put out my favorite tunes to ride to.

Outkast – Players Ball (Reprise) or Player’s Ball (Remix)

Yeah I like the original, but the reprise is so cool like myself. Put Sleepy Brown with some words and you have a classic when you are riding. Oh, did I mention that the short piano riff goes hard.

Ann Peebles – I Can’t Stand the Rain

I know what she is talking about, but just hear that cool beat is enough for me.

Al Green- Love and Hapiness

What more can I say. Classic on all levels.

Issac Hayes – Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic

I have a head nod effect whenever the late Issac Hayes sings. He know how to hit all the spots whenever I am driving.

Out There – Willie Hutch

This song brings out that inner pimp-parade stroll. You know, lay way in your seat driving 2 miles a hour so everybody see you.

Bonus – Ludacris – Southern Fried

I know it is the sample of “Walk on By” by Mr. Hayes, but I have been hooked on this song since I heard it the first time.

These are more but these are my top five and a bonus. What songs you like to ride to in your automobile?

All Eyes Are On You

Lucy Farmer

The school system has a duty to protect its students from physical and emotional harm. They are responsible for monitoring student’s behavior in order to protect other students. Parents drop their children off at school knowing that their child will be safe while under the administration’s watch. But there is a fine line between basic protection and the infringement of the student’s first amendment rights.
In Philadelphia, Lower Merion School District officials are spying on their students inside their homes with the web cameras installed in the personal laptops issued to every high school student. One particular student, Blake J. Robbins, has filed a lawsuit against the district after his principal accused him of doing inappropriate things in his home. The principal used the photographic evidence from the web cam as proof. The administration claimed that the laptops were issued in order for the students to have 24/7 access to school sites. But in reality, they wanted 24/7 access to the student’s private lives.
It is unnerving and disturbing to know that any school official could see into a student’s bedroom at any given moment. There is a level of privacy that everyone should be ensured. It is ridiculous for a presumptuous school administration to assume that they had the right to peer into young adults’ lives, let alone without any warning or notification. Many high school students are not legally adults, but this does not give any adult the permission to monitor students’ every move at the click of a button.
Basic privacy is a gift that everyone takes for granted. No one goes home expecting someone to be looking through their curtains or watching from across the street with binoculars. No authority has the right to invade our privacy. With new technological advances everyday, this right is slipping away.

Placing a fake 911 Call

In HARTWOOD, Va the student newspaper at a public university in Virginia is seeking legal matters after open records for a mock "emergency" phone call made by the university's president were denied. At a campus safety walk University of Mary Washington President Judy Hample made a phone call from an emergency phone which was loctaed on campus claiming she was being mugged by an assailant with a gun.However the president was not bing mugged, she was trying to test the university police reaction time,seeing how long it would take for them to get to her location. Jessica Masulli editor-in-chief of the university's school paper said,"It put people in danger because the police did not know it was a test and took it very seriously." ther president was never charged for placing the fake 911 call.

Ok for one i think that was a poor choice on Hample part, you don't just make a fake 911 call to test their reacation time. That could of cost someone their life or got someone hurt really bad. The police had no idea it was a fake, what if they were trying to get there as fast as possible and hit someone? Or what if they saw someone that looked like they had a gun? There are two many things that could go wrong and thats why you simple just dont do that.

When Masulli requested the audio recording, the university denied their request in a letter saying "evidence related to a criminal investigation are exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act." "The recording was part of, and in fact the reason for a criminal investigation; albeit an investigation that took place in the past," wrote George Farrar, the associate vice president of university relations, in a letter to Masulli.

I think they have a good reason for not giveing them the audio but i think they should of this one time because she was'nt charged with anything and this happened at their school they have the right to let people know whats going on. They have a right to know to. I think if it would of been a kid at the school who made that fake 911 call they would of charged them, becasue they are kid. They should of charged her,all she had to do was let the police know and they could of came like any normal call.
-Lindsay McKnight

A Point of Contention

INDIANA-Michael Majchrowicz, editor-in-chief of Lake Central High School’s newspaper, The Scout, addressed the school board in regards to issues that have recently been forcibly removed from newsstands.
Majchrowicz requested that the papers be returned by Tuesday February 16, that date has since passed and the issues remain in control of the administration.
The article raising controversy is an editorial by Majchrowicz encouraging the football coach, Bill Melby’s resignation. Majchrowicz expressed his agreement with the administration’s desire for change after three consecutive losing seasons.
Lake Central’s The Scout is subject to prior review by the high school’s principal, Sandie Platt.
When the issue came back “the editorial was literally unmarked,” Majchrowicz said.
Assistant Principal Doug McCallister removed the papers after receiving several complaints from students.
The Scout is under prior review, and was approved to be made public. The ensuing controversy prompted the removal of the issue. The Lake Central administration acted very unpredictably and did not stick to their original decision.
This brings up an important issue regarding First Amendment rights and student publication rights. The issue was censored due to the controversy it created not due to its content. This poses a problem for future issues of The Scout. Censorship could become an issue if administrators perceive controversy will occur if the issue is published. This discrimination is abstract and the paper will now be subject to administrative subjectivity. Censorship based on content is much more predictable than censorship based on future conflict. This decision regarding Lake Central High School’s student newspaper sets a precedent that future issues are at the whim of administrative control.
"I think the school paper should try to do things that unite students and bring the school together, and promote what the school purpose is," Lake Central Superintendent Larry Veracco said.
The “school’s purpose” is one, no doubt, laid down by administrators. Future articles in The Scout may be cut in the future simply because they disagree with the arbitrary mission of the school.
Where would we be without the right to dissent?
BY: MIKE MOATES

High school journalists ordered to print administration-approved newspaper Administrators at Stevenson High School require student newspaper to distri

Scott Hoover

November 25, 2009

Joanna Brenner, SPLC staff write, reported that the staff of the student newspaper at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill were told that their next newspaper had to be composed of administration approved content. The issue will be made-up of absent stories that were initially supposed to be in the Nov. 20 issue but where removed do to the administration.
The administration threatened the student, telling them that their grades were dependent on the issue’s distribution. The staff looks to remove their byline from the published stories as a sign of protest and to include an editors’ note explaining the circumstances under which authority the newspaper was published. However, the administration denied the students of both requests.
The administration refused the newspaper to print the Nov. 20 issue do to their objection over content. Editor-in-Chief Pamela Selman submitted the issue for prior review that included a front-page article discussing the school's substance-abuse contracts, for which the reporter and editor granted sources anonymously.

Selman said that the number of student leaders who have broken the contract -- meaning they have used drugs or alcohol -- appears to have greatly increased, making it a newsworthy topic, but also a topic students would be hesitant to speak about unless they remained nameless. According to the students, the head of the Communications Arts program at Stevenson told newspaper staff members if they laid out the paper with the story, administrators would remove it during prior review and require staff members to reveal the names of the anonymous sources.

"We are dealing with a school administration that is completely out of control and is clearly willing to stoop to anything to shut down independent journalism," said Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center.

LoMonte later stated that the administrators' actions show a willingness to jeopardize the students' chances to attend college.

The frustration factor that surrounds this subject is overwhelming and sickening. Student publications face these difficult problems everyday. Fortunately, the publication I am apart of doesn’t consider the topic about “will this upset the administration” rather we focus on content, newsworthy events and modern subjects that are relevant to our school. Prominent contemporary articles, even if controversial, is newsworthy content.
The administration, though the governing body of the school, doesn’t have complete control of its students. Lomonte said that this is nothing but a power game of administrators trying to 'show the kids whose boss. But what they are about to learn is that they don't own this school, the public does, and the public will not tolerate the government telling people what they can and can't say.
It’s a shame to realize that the administration is censoring a newsworthy event, a good paper and regulating their student’s freedom of speech. High school publications are important to the chemistry of the school. Keeping relevance to student’s daily lives, through the text of the paper, gives order to the administration.

High School Officials Misuse Laptop Technology

By Caitlin McCoy

At two high schools in a suburban Philadelphia district, there have been accusations that the school officials spied on families through laptops. Firstly, all of these laptops are issued by the school and have webcams. They can be activated from the school if they have been lost or stolen. However, the officials have been accused of not using the webcams specifically for this purpose. They are being accused for illegal electronic wire tapping.
Officials have spied on kids to make sure they are not misbehaving at home. By watching families they have given families no privacy. There is evidence that this is true from the photograph taken from the webcam in an official’s personal computer. Also, an assistant principal at one of the high schools was told by an official that her son had engaged in improper behavior at home. They have no reason or license by any means to do such a thing; it is not their responsibility to watch them. In fact, not even police can walk into a house without an invitation or warrant.
Obviously, the webcams have all been deactivated now and if they are to be reactivated, a written letter will be sent to all of the parents. However, this is in no way justifiable and I suspect the students will be much more apprehensive as to where they place their laptops. What the officials’ motives were behind this are somewhat unclear because they will not disclose the whole truth, but it does not seem to be in their favor whatsoever.

The Senate Renews Patriot Act

W.L. -


For those who don't know what the Patriot Act entails: it means that our government, the U.S. government, has the right to authorize court-approved wire taps, to obtain court-approved seizure of records, and the right to permit surveillance against a so-called "lone wolf", a non-U.S. citizen suspected of being involved in a terrorist organization.

Here's the problem: when investigating firms request permissions to do things like this, they're on the basis of speculation. The key word is speculation. That means they're not really sure if anybody broke any laws, or if anybody really did anything wrong, yet they revoke the rights of whoever they're breaching anyways.

What happened to the first amendment? It's a question of ethics, and the renewing of the Patriot Act is really pushing it. People have lives, and to impair their ability to live because of some speculation is nothing short of unethical.

To put it into perspective, think of it this way: what if they wire tapped you? You'd be shocked. You'd feel violated. You'd be angry. Think about it, out of pure speculation, the government essentially goes ahead and says: "No more privacy for you." That's not fair, is it? No, it's not. And the problem is that this stuff actually happens to people every year.

Now of course, what about the people who actually are a threat to national security? Well they still are. There's no questioning that. But the fact of the matter is that doesn't warrant the right to take away our own privacy. It appears if we're to stuck on the idea of national security and safety, that we've completely ignored the foundation of morality and ethics.

This all bogs down to the idea of basic human rights. We all have a right to our own privacy. Nobody has the right to take that away from us under any circumstances. Nobody has a greater say, period. When the government says that they have the right to breach your own privacy, they've crossed the line. Formalizing it, and putting it into the law books doesn't make the case any different.

Waterboarding In The Schools?

What goes better than teachers getting fired?

…………….How about assistant teachers doing waterboarding on students.

The father of a Smith Elementary School student has filed a simple assault charge against a teacher accusing her of holding his 8-year-old daughter’s head underwater.

Hold up, this gets better. Here is what little Kaylan Owen said what happened.

“I turned on the water to wash my hands and my assistant teacher, Ms. Levy said, ‘Girl, you getting on my nerves.’ She started to put my head under the water and the water kept getting higher and higher. I couldn't breathe and I started coughing and then she held my head up from under the water and she slammed me into the file cabinet and I felt really sad,” Kaylan said.

Betty Levy apologized to Mr. Owen, but what person will dunk a little kid’s head underwater in school for getting out of her seat without permission. Now that is reason people can tag butts in school let alone let your teacher tag your butt. Because of Betty Levy, discipline will never fly in school.

Thanks, Ms. Levy for now letting kids run over teachers. Because of your pure emotions, you just put the school in a bad situation and you are filed a simple assault charges.

Who let these people work for your school?

How do you feel about this?

Dad Says Teacher Held Girl's Head Underwater

Those Who Can't Teach Gets Fired.

I believe the children of our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way

-Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All"

I grew up from a village of teachers. My mother is a teacher and my father was a teacher. I have numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins that are or was teachers. I lived in the school 24/7. I was there when teacher made an impact on children's lives. Now I can tell you I am more of a teacher than some of these teachers. In the town I live in and many others, it is a separation between how you taught and your upbringing. In rich active schools they have boosters, tutors, after school programs, and anything that has a resource while in poor schools they have torn up ceiling, thermostat broke, no computers or computer that are barely running, and little resource to garnish them a sense of them having a higher education. Today, there are people who use teacher as scapegoats to get a paycheck. Everybody should know those types of people; the kinds that do not teach your children anything, and when they get out in the world, they are lost when people outsmart them from.

…….So where am I getting at?

Check this out from Rhode Island and what they did since their teacher are not improving the students.

Seventy-four Rhode Island teachers have been fired from Central Falls High School, as well as 19 staff members, including the principal, USA Today reports.

The elimination of the 93 school employees was validated by the Central Falls High School school board, when it voted 5-2 last night to fire all teachers from the under-performing school.

But that was not all. Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, said this.

Arne Duncan, President Obama's Secretary of Education, says replacing the teachers is "doing the right thing for kids,'' according to Greg Toppo in USA Today. Duncan will soon release a list of the country's 5,000 lowest performing schools.

Well for people who think getting an education degree and just going to a school to get a paycheck is easy, you better wake up. The reason is that sooner than later this is going to be a trend and teachers are going to have to earn their pay like any other worker. Teachers are supposing to mode the minds of young children. The children are the future and teachers are the one who sharpens the skills of the future generation. I can’t side of who is right and who is wrong because like I said “We all know teachers who are there just to get a paycheck.” Remember the movie “Lean on Me,” with Morgan Freeman based on a true story about Joe Clark. I do. I still remember he lit a fire and replaced people in position they were doing for a while just to get a paycheck. I still do remember when the football coach (Mr. Darnell) was fired as coach not for losing games but for allowing academically ineligible students to play. So to all the teachers, I was going to do a C.Y.N.I.C.A.L viewpoint on this, but the situation that happened here explains it all and should be a wakeup call for many.

Do you think that this is fair? Would this be a wake-up call for teachers’ performance? Do you know teachers like that?

Rhode Island Teachers FIRED: Central Falls High School Officially Fires All Teachers

Termination letters sent to Central Falls teaching staff

My Right or Yours?

By Naama Levy

The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment secures the Declaration of Independence’s notion that “all men are created equal”. Throughout history, this phrase held many different meanings. In the beginning “all men” indicated white male property owners. After years of struggle, “all men” became people of both genders and later of all races and national backgrounds. The most recent struggle to bring these two words to their full and pure meaning has concerned gays and lesbians, the victims of much discrimination today. One of many examples of this is a Christian student group in California refusing to admit gays and lesbians.
After being denied from several federal courts, the Christian Legal Society recently appealed to the Supreme Court, trying to force the University of California’s Hastings College of Law to provide them with funding and other benefits. The school has been reluctant to fund the group because it excludes membership to gays, lesbians, and nonbelievers.
The CLS claims that allowing membership to gays and lesbians to their group would be against their beliefs and thus violate their speech and religion freedoms. However, the federal courts have so far disagreed.
People tend to use the First Amendment as an excuse to discriminate. The attitude is “I’m entitled to express my religious opinion” meaning “I can hurt and exclude people if that’s what my religion tells me to do”. But our nation’s laws prohibit discrimination of any sort unless it’s for the interest of the government. The state didn’t forbid CLS to exclude gays and lesbians (that’s a whole other issue); they simply denied them funding because of their selectiveness in members, which is completely fair. If the group chooses not to accept specific minorities, they should be ready to bear the consequences and realize they won’t be treated like any other group.
However, the matter is controversial for a reason. One could ask why gay students would even be interested in joining a group such as the CLS, which is known for its conservatism. Considering the obviously different views involved about the definition of Christianity, wouldn’t a gay student just be asking for conflict by trying to join such a group? Couldn’t they found their own gay Christian group?
But the first amendment gives us the right to choose, the right to be treated equally. Although the law has done many good things for our country, we must sometimes separate ideals from reality and not go by the book. At the same time, we must remember to keep fighting for the minorities who still have to battle for their equality.

How Can You Apologize To A Mistress?

The answer is you can’t.

I saw the Tiger Woods apology like everybody else; and just like the majority of men, I believe that he just need to apologize to his wife. That is my personal view. The thing that got me baffle is that Joslyn James (also known as Veronica Siwik Daniels) wants Tiger to apologize to her.

Tiger Woods mistresses just want to stay in the spotlight! Even after Tiger Woods publicly apologized on Friday LIVE! That wasn't enough!

Now Joslyn James (also known as Veronica Siwik Daniels) was with attorney Gloria Allred. She gave up the Adult Film business because of Tiger.. for three years.

She knew he was married and still carried on the affair!

She apparently became pregnant twice during her fling with Tiger and told the world that one sadly ended up in miscarriage and the other one she had aborted one pregnancy to protect Woods' rep.

“I never wanted to cause Elin, Sam or Charlie any pain. But I’m not the sole cause. Tiger pursued me and over time I fell in love with him. And he told me he loved me too,” she said before crying.

Veronica said she couldn't help but fall in love with Woods.

"You can't help who you love. I just wish I was told the truth and then I would have made other choices. Tiger, however, hid many things from many people."

All I have to say is………………”What?” or “Huh?”

This woman knew Tiger was married, so why do he need to apologize to a person that knew what he has? This is like “I shot a person in posterior, and he should apologize because I did not want to shoot him.” This woman was a serious jump-off. She thought that he was going to come to her and divorce his wife for an Adult Entertainer. That is like dumping a college grad for some chick at the Waffle House that he met at the club. Tiger apology is not the moment I was caring for, this mistress jump-off wanted an apology from Tiger when she knew his scenario is the moments that people blog about.

Do you think that Tiger should apologize to his jump-offs mistresses? My answer is no, but what is everybody’s opinion on this?

Tiger Woods’ Mistresses Want Apologies Too

A New "Rolle" Model for African American Children.

Sometimes in the daytime, I have to read everything from programs to popular things that are happening on the news. After all, I like reading articles, keeps you in post of what going on in the world. So after hearing about every football player, rapper, and politician acting a fool, it just makes me think.

“Are there any African American Role Models?”

“Answer: Yeah!”

“Question: How come children are still narrowed –minded about things? Is it single-parent housing, bad environment, or just not being raised right?”

“Answer: Neither! Kids do not pick good role models until they feel comfortable with the choices that they have made.”

I am a sole product of bad role models and I lived in a double parent household. I didn’t want to be like my mother and father. Instead I wanted to be like Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, and Jose Canseco (I actually had an authentic Jose Canseco Jersey. Wish I could find that bad boy?). You know how that ended up (In respective order: drunk, crack, and steroids). So when I read a piece today. I will bet a nickel on how many kids know him. His name is Myron Rolle.

Let me understate Cornell West when he told Myron that “He is the future of Black America.” He is not. He is the future of “All-Americans.” I mean an All-American football star at the prestigious Florida State under legendary coach Bobby Bowden is one plus, earning a 3.75 GPA in exercise science is another, plus he can act, sing, and play an instrument is enough to say “That guy is pretty smart.” What validates him from other (including African Americans like Robert Smith, who in my mind was the perfect student athlete in the game) is that he is a Rhodes Scholar. That is enough to change not only Black America, but Americans in general. He is a feel good story in and outside the life of sports and reality. Mr. Rolle does it well, but you would not believe that no African-American child can tell you about him. They can tell you the Ne-Yo’s, the Souljah Boi’s, the Lebrons, and the Kobes, but they can never tell you about the Robert Smiths, Tony Dungys, Alan Pages, and Myron Rolles of this world. The reason is that the parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles never tell them about those people. So today, to the young African American men, get to know Myron Rolle, because you will see him for many years to come in Black History.

Helen Folasade Bids "Adu" to Collabs (AKA-Sade Says No to Collabs)

I can say this without a blink of an eye.

“I love me some Sade and so do many people.”

There is a reason why I love her besides making slow jams that have conceived many children under our generation. Admit it, Helen Folasade Adu aka Sade is to kids in their teens and early 20s, is like Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye is to us older generation. Sade can serenade us into the Atlantic Ocean and lure us into the Gulf of Mexico. She is that good. The other thing I like about her is that she is an original. No remakes, remixes, collabos, or any other. All her songs are from her and thought of by her. So when Sade cranked up another one, you knew everybody had to add this to your collection of “bought” CDs. Now we have cocky artist who want to do something with Sade. Read what Kanye West said on his blog

"THIS IS WHY I STILL HAVE A BLOG...," "TO BE A PART OF MOMENTS LIKE THIS... NEW SADE... HOW MUCH BETTER THIS THAN THAN EVERYTHING ELSE?" (Kanye West's Blog)

So you know where that is going with Ye’. Now read Drake’s quote talking about his intent of a Sade collaboration on his debut album, “Thank Me Later.”

"I really, really wanna do a joint with Sade," he revealed in an interview. "I really wanna get Andre 3000 on the record. And I really wanna do a song with Kings of Leon. Yeah, slowly, but surely [I'm trying to get the guest features]. We'll see." (Rap-Up)

Okay it seems whether not they are trying to say it, people want Sade to collaborate with Kanye or Drake. Here is what Sade said to National Post about the collaboration rumors.

On the collaboration rumours with Kanye West and Drake: I don't think they have contacted me. I've never collaborated because I've always avoided working outside my safety zone -- I can be exactly who I am and can fail or success within the moment. I feel safe working like I do. I wouldn't want to work in a situation where I am expected to deliver because I think I wouldn't deliver.

I know maybe Kanye may felt a lil salty, but Drake…..

“There is something on the floor you need to pick. That’s your face and clean up the dirt marks from it cause she just step all over it barefoot.”

Like I said Sade is the female original. All she needs is her band and that is it. To be honest, I have never seen Sade collaborate with no one and that also includes the late great Michael Jackson. So if you think she is going to get on one of your songs that easy, BOY STOPPPP. This is one singer that can do it with the people she has been with for nearly 20 years. Drake you may have been conceived by her, but you won’t get on her level.

SA

How do you feel about her no collaborating with any of these new artist? What is your favorite Sade song? Have you ever had a "Sade Moment?"

Sade on Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, Raekwon and the music industry

SADE ON NOT COLLABORATING W/ KANYE WEST & DRAKE, "I'VE ALWAYS AVOIDED WORKING OUTSIDE MY SAFETY ZONE"

WTF Moment - Teacher vs Police

What did the five fingers say to the face?

The New CBC: Cheating Black Crooks.

Looks like Angela McGlowan run for Congress will do harm that help for the Congressional Black Caucus.

…..but her running will give a wake up call to the CBC who are mostly made up of Congressmen and women in mostly poor areas in the United States of America that Black Americans is not going to take crap from anybody. NOT EVEN OUR OWN.

With that being, here is what the Congressional Black Caucus is doing with our time spent of telling them what we need to try to better our community.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation — a charity dedicated to internships, public policy research and healthy living among African Americans — spends more on its special events than it does on scholarships, internships and its health and education programs, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Money is donated to finance the Annual Legislative Conference by corporations and labor unions that often also turn to the members of the black caucus for support on their issues in Congress. But the donations to the foundation are not subject to limits, like contributions to political campaigns are.

Are you serious? I don’t know if they are know that jobs are leaving their district, situations are getting far worse than expected and they are out here with our funding sipping Mai Tai’s and Apple Martini’s, golfing and playing tennis like they are the next Tiger Woods or Venus Williams, and eating lobster and shrimp while we are working 9 to 5 just to really make ends meet (or least try to get them to connect). I guess there are more Dollar Bill Jefferson than Edward Brookes.

The CBC needs to be held accountable for their mishandling of funding also by the citizens they represent.

…..But I hate to be an Uncle Ruckus about this so here it the what the other side of me is saying.

“Black America is not going to hold them accountable, because they are our kind. They are going to pitch us an excuse and we are going to believe it. Why? Because they can. This cycle of black politicians screwing us over will be going on for years to come. Why do you think that most of the CBC has been there for 20 plus years? Because they pitch us a line and we are going to believe because that is all we know. Sometimes, the majority of Black Americans can be single-minded on politics and that is why they stay in office until some major scandal breaks out.”

Like Danny Davis of Illinois and William Clay of Missouri. They are in urban cities that are losing jobs left and right and this is what he does.

Danny K. Davis, Democrat of Illinois. Mr. Davis, who had supported legislation in 2002 to impose tough restrictions on the industry, changed his position after the industry association met with him and offered to make donations in his name. Here is a video of a 2008 ceremony in which equipment was donated to a Chicago job training center named after Mr. Davis. The center has since been re-named.

…..and William Clay

The most important champion of the rent-to-own industry in the Congressional Black Caucus is Representative William L. Clay Jr., Democrat of Missouri. He sponsored the House version of the bill that is being pushed by the industry, which would protect it from the tougher measures proposed by consumer advocates. Mr. Clay, who also has had industry goods donated to causes in his district, is not shy about praising the industry and its leaders. Here are remarks he made at the 2008 industry convention, in his district in St. Louis, where Mr. Clay was treated like a hero.

…and here is the video

Note to self and everybody that is reading. If your congressman is part of the CBC, vote him out and put someone there fresh and new. I know I don’t want them spending my money on lobster while I am out here eating hog maws.

Share your story if you think you are being robbed by your CBC Congressman or Congresswoman.

The Congressional Black Caucus And Their Lobbyist-Funded Galas

Black Caucus Foundation Spent More on Catering than Scholarships

"Tackling" an Issue of Conflicting Rights

BY VICTORIA ISON

Without ever even mentioning the word “abortion,” the ad managed to create controversy. In the weeks prior to Super Bowl XLIV, CBS received plenty of feedback about its decision to allow a pro-life commercial to be aired during the game. The advertisement, sponsored by the conservative group Focus on the Family, featured football player Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam. When pregnant with Tim, Pam was advised to abort for health reasons. She chose not to; two decades later, Tim was a football hero.

Various organizations opposed the airing of the ad, and did so vocally. At first, their case seemed strong. In 2004, CBS had refused to air a church organization’s ad, considering it controversial because it discussed gay membership. However, the network explained in January 2010 that its policies toward controversial advertisements have evolved. Now, the network professes to “consider responsibly produced ads from all groups” equally.

Obviously, CBS is a private network. It must make money and in order to do so it has the right to limit certain programming if it feels the airing of such programming might impede profits. But, by airing the incredibly well-watched Super Bowl, CBS performs a very public act. Free speech is a right guaranteed to the American people by the First Amendment, not by CBS. Or rather, it is guaranteed to CBS, which, in exercising its free speech, is capable of squashing the free speech expectations of advertising organizations.

This issue raises a number of puzzling questions. First, is it fair for CBS to deny some organizations airtime when it accepts others? How public should the network make its advertising policies? Do organizations have the right to expect their ads be accepted? Perhaps the ultimate question is this: whose first amendment rights are more valuable: CBS’ or those of the advertising organizations? When one organization maintains its free speech only by quelling the free speech of another, is this First Amendment right really being enjoyed?

Why Some Things Should Just Be Left As An Original.

I remember in 1985, a slew full of singers (I would name them but that is too much, but you will here some of those names in this blog) made a song for Hunger for Africa. Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian produced it. 25 years later they did a remake. I listen to the song and I have to say………

……When you remake a song, make sure that it has an equal or greater value toward it.

See that is why I don’t like remake. While some people can do a great remake of a song (ie. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” circa 1993), some people really just put a rope to the song and let it hang. I thought the We Are The World 2010 was okay but I mean this was a classic in 85. First of all, Quincy should know rule number one:

You have to remember 85 was full of a who’s who of legendary singer. Half of them are either in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame, or some kind of Hall of Fame. Well if I was in there with Quincy, I would have Sweet Chinned him for autotune. Come on Q, Jay already told you that in the Blueprint 3 and you still didn’t get the memo. I would have love to hear Lil Wayne singing. I would have laugh for the first 5 months, but still he did come there. T-PAIN, Snoop, Busta Rhymes, and AKON, well could you have just replaced them with others singer like ………..mmmm I am guessing Rob Thomas (future Hall of Famer…hello!), India Arie, Anthony Hamilton, Joel Madden, or even Gladys Knights. They even had Hillary Duff, the group Heart and Shakira. How come out of all the singers there was nothing but one country singer. Did anybody forget about the Dixie Chicks, Big and Rich, Toby Keith (Hey, he partied with rappers before). Okay the last problem was that Q did with a comtemporay Christian producer and you could feel the Christian feeling. This one just felt like it could be nominated for best song collab by rap and R&B artists.

Oh and one more thing. Funny that Dancehall and Reggae one up you with there own tribute to Haiti. R&B artists, here is a note. Start contributing for causes with originals, not remakes.

The Ace Seeing Lots of White Flakes

Yeah, we were thinking in Mississippi, "We are not going to get any snow."

We were wrong.

It's Bad When Your Own Know You Are Wrong.

I had to say that I am a pretty centric person. My parents always taught me that “There are always two sides of a coin; but once you flip the coin, you will know the odds. Many of the bloggers that I have been reading along with myself has been on a rift about Sarah Palin attending a Tea Party meeting when Tom Tancredo invoking the insidious specter of literacy tests and poll taxes, used in the segregated deep South for nearly 100 hundred years to deny African Americans the right to vote. Even Sarah doing a turn the other cheek at Rush Limbuagh but slams Rahm Emmanuel on the word “retard.” The word Emmanuel apologized for saying but Rush let it rolls off the tip of his tongue when it come to Democrats and namely the president. Palin and this Tea Party thing have too many questionable motives and I nor any left wing person have notice. So When Meghan McCain, daughter of Senator John McCain and a Republican, said what she said on the view. I was like, “Here is a Republican that know that the Tea Party may be more of an altercation that could set us back and not forward.”

Meghan McCain believes Sarah Palin's double standard for Rahm Emanuel and Rush Limbaugh is "what's wrong with politics today."

McCain weighed in on Palin's hypocrisy on Monday when she appeared as a guest host on "The View."

In addition to Palin's contradictory standards on the use of the word "retard," McCain also disagreed with the former Alaska governor's suggestion that Obama should declare war with Iran to win re-election.

…but she did not stop there.

On Monday, Meghan McCain fired back.

"People were saying that this is the new movement in the Republican Party," McCain said during an appearance on 'The View.' "I did not want to go [to last week's convention]. I have (a) very much different, ideological differences with them."

And she described Tancredo's comments as "innate racism."

"And I think it's why young people are turned off by this movement. And I'm sorry [but] revolutions start with young people. Not with 65-year-old people talking about literacy tests and people who can't say the word 'vote' in English. It's ridiculous."

Meghan McCain also decried the divisiveness and partisanship in American politics and the growing populist rage that has powered the Tea Party movement.

"Maya Angelou says we have more in common than we do apart," she said. "We need to use this message in politics more."

Meghan McCain added, "This rhetoric will continue to turn off young voters and anybody that says different is smoking something. Period."

I know Meghan McCain is just maybe a small fish in the GOP pond, but you would not believe who else has called out the Tea Party movement on their M.O.

……Mr. Conservative himself Bill O’Reily. That is the person I would never think would say anything against the Tea Party

Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly is better known for picking fights with liberals, but on Monday he turned his combative drive toward an unsuspecting crowd: teabaggers.

"Some of these tea parties are nuts," O'Reilly told Fox News anchor Brit Hume. "They're crazy."

Hume was silent, and O'Reilly added that Fox News' Jesse Waters, who attended the high-profile Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, "puts the number at about 10 percent, that are just loons, out of their minds."

O'Reilly's words came in response to Hume's suggestion that there are "very few really favorable stories about the tea partiers."

His remarks are doubly surprising not only because O'Reilly seldom takes on conservative groups or causes so explicitly manner, but also because the network that has made his career is a vigorous supporter of the tea party movement.

Dont believe me, see for yourself.

Now just like that Divde We Fail Organization, we might not agree on everything, but there are people that know when you are blowing smoke or messing with something that can alter the aspects of the United States. I know I am not the first one that is saying this and maybe not the last. If your own party members can see something that you are doing is wrong or setting double standards, you will get called out. It is like the movie American History X when Derek Vinyard (played by Edward Norton) who was a white supremacist, saw a disillusion when his white supremacist friends’ friendly dealing with a Mexican prison gang, which is contrary to supremacist beliefs. Vinyard voice his opinion but his collegues was ignoring him, leading him to a beat down and rape by the people he once stood by.

Meghan I toast you for standing your ground on that and Bill O really shocked me. I am having a WTF moment just putting Bill O'Reilly, nuts, and Tea Party in the same sentence.

Do you think Meghan and Bill was right about what both said about the Tea Party Movement and Sarah Palin? Do you believe that the Republican Party is going “far to right?” Express your views. And P.S. Is Angela McGlowan in over her head going to these Tea Parties? Seems like she is the “token black girl.”

McCain's daughter questions Tea Party movements

McCain disagrees with Palin's double standard on "retard."

O’Reilly: ‘Some tea partiers nuts, crazy, loons, out of their minds’