Sweet Honey in the Rock is an internationally renowned all-woman, African-American a cappella ensemble. They are an American Grammy Award-winning (and many times nominated) troupe who express their history as women of color through song, while entertaining their audience. They have together worked from four women to the difficult five-part harmony with a sixth member translating with sign language. Although the members have changed over 3 decades, they continue to sing and have helped to produce several children’s records as well as those intended for adults.
Here are the real stars of dance
Dancing With Dad More than 40 fathers and their daughters connect for a fundraiser. 04/04/2011
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/dancing-dad-13293945?&clipId=13293945&playlistId=-1&cid=siteplayer
Serious Questions
by BooMan
Sun Apr 3rd, 2011 at 01:29:34 PM EST
Is Ari Shavit right about this?
The writing is on the wall: 2011 is going to be a diplomatic 1973. In September and October the UN General Assembly will decide whether to establish a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders. The international community will recognize a Palestinian state.
At that moment, every Israeli apartment in Jerusalem’s French Hill neighborhood will become illegal. Every military base in the West Bank will be contravening the sovereignty of an independent UN member state. The Palestinians will not be obligated to accept demilitarization and peace and to recognize the occupation.
Ethan Bronner thinks so. And, because the recognition vote will take place in the UN General Assembly and not in the Security Council, the United States cannot exercise a veto to protect Israel.
There are a lot of questions to answer about this. It would seem an inopportune time to recognize a Palestinian state. It would be nice if the governance of the territories were not split between Fatah and Hamas, for example. And what about those 1967 borders? I suppose that’s the default. After all, anything else would require some negotiation. Right?
And then there is trying to figure out what it would all mean.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2011/4/3/132934/0804
It’s a nice thought but is more or less meaningless. If it happened, which I doubt, does anyone think for one minute that settlement building would cease?
Would water rights would be shared equally or would Jewish-only roads would stop being built? Even during the so-called negotiations the Israeli negotiators were making it clear that any “Palestinian State” would be one in name only. Israel would retain control over who could enter and leave. Israel would determine which weapons such a “state” could have and how large its military could be. Israel would maintain overfly rights. The Palestinian negotiators accepted a long list of Israeli of demands that no self-respecting independent state could accept. And that still wasn’t enough.
I think a two-state solution has been dead for quite some time.
The only thing which would change the Israeli thinking is either an equal and opposing force, which the Palestinians don’t have and have never had, or a shutoff or harsh reduction in US military , economic and diplomatic support, which is equally unlikely.
Snuffing Out Our America
by BooMan
Sun Apr 3rd, 2011 at 10:54:54 AM EST
Here’s a good point:
“This pulls the mask back a little bit on the Tea Party movement,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland. “Adding riders against Planned Parenthood and gutting the environmental laws indicate that the Tea Party is focused on imposing a right-wing ideological agenda on the country and using the budget as a vehicle.”
But here’s an even better one:
Like Boehner, who complained that Democratic leaders were “snuffing out the America that I grew up in,” some Tea Partiers are jumping in a time machine. They can’t stop themselves from linking social issues to the budget.
Democratic leaders aren’t really snuffing out John Boehner’s America, Simple demographic change is doing it for them.
Last week’s release of national totals from the 2010 census showed that the minority share of the population increased over the past decade in every state, reaching levels higher than demographers anticipated almost everywhere, and in the nation as a whole.
It’s not fair to reduce these changes to simple racial diversification. For Republicans, the problem is how these brown people are going to vote. We’ve been through this before. The modern Democratic Party in the North was built on the support of Irish and Italian immigrants and their urban political machines. What did an Italian bricklayer in Newark have in common with a Nashville banker? About as much as a modern-day Tuscaloosan insurance salesman has with major New York Metropolitan Opera donor Charles Koch.
Many immigrants come from a culturally conservative background. This is certainly true of Latinos brought up in the Catholic faith and of Muslims. We might expect them to gravitate to the so-called pro-family agenda of the Republican Party. In time, this may happen, as it did with a good portion of the Irish and Italian communities. But Democrats welcome these immigrants while Republicans are in a near-panic about them. This suggests that neither side is being entirely rational about what this demographic change might mean for their electoral prospects. On the one hand, in the long-term we might discover that the country has become more culturally conservative, but we also might find that it has become more economically populist:
The increasingly nonwhite tilt of the youth population has profound implications for American politics into the distant horizon. The young, increasingly minority population is likely to view public investment in schools, health care, and infrastructure as critical to its economic prospects, while the predominantly white senior population might be increasingly reluctant to fund such services through taxes. The trends could portend a lasting structural conflict. (See “The Gray and the Brown: The Generational Mismatch,” NJ, 7/24/10, p.14.)
If we’re concerned about a future America resembling the America we grew up in, both sides have reason to worry. The big difference between the two parties is that Democratic areas of the country are already used to racial and religious diversity. A bit more of it isn’t troubling to most Democrats. The modern Republican Party, on the other hand, has been carved out of racial anxiety, starting with the riots of the 1960’s and the ensuing White Flight from the cities. But even this old surety of American politics is beginning to break down, as we saw the traditionally Republican suburbs of places like Philadelphia and Detroit turn against the GOP in the latter years of the George W. Bush administration. These suburbs are increasingly diversified and moderate on social issues. And, while the Republicans made big gains in these districts in the 2010 midterms, they won’t be able to win them consistently as long as they continue to pursue a racially polarized Southern Strategy while threatening women’s rights.
In the short-term, the Republicans are more interested in disenfranchising minority voters than in attracting their interest in their party platform. There’s a small, closing window still available where Republicans can win by taking advantage of the white-majority status of most states and districts. Pushing white racial-anxiety serves their purpose and did wonders for them in the last election. But there is plenty of reason to doubt it can work for them in 2012, and certainly not far beyond that.
For conservative strategists, this means that they need to know when to take their foot off the racial-angst gas pedal and pivot. They will certainly make the effort, maybe no later than once the Republicans have decided on their presidential nominee. But, in the meantime, they’re creating a monster that they cannot fully control. For starters, they have had to mask the racial component of their appeal by wrapping it in religious and patriotic rhetoric bound together by strange original-intent ideology. So, we get stuff like the Tenther Movement that sees no role for the Federal Government outside of what was expressly provided in the original Constitution, including its first nine amendments. All amendments passed after the Tenth are illegitimate or suspect in some way. So, birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, as is the direct election of U.S. Senators.
It’s a strange spectacle, but it becomes understandable when you think about John Boehner’s statement that Democrats are trying to snuff out the America he grew up in. I hear Boehner say that and I think to myself that Boehner grew up in FDR and LBJ’s America, not Ronald Reagan’s. But he’s not talking about that. He’s talking about the white working-class bar his father ran. They were Democrats because the Democrats looked out for the working-class back then. But then the Civil Rights Movement came and the Democrats started looking out for the brown-side of the underclass. Then the country liberalized its immigration policy. And suddenly it didn’t look like the Democrats were interested in preserving the America that Boehner took for granted.
Race is still central to the political battles we’re having in this country, and it’s no surprise that a lot of white people are behaving very irrationally about having a black president. But there are a lot more reasons for people to feel anxious than the browning of America. Income inequality hasn’t been this extreme since before the Great Depression…before the New Deal…before the Civil Rights Movement. Economically, our country currently resembles the America of the 1890’s or 1920’s more than it does the country that we all grew up in. That’s what’s worrying Democrats. We feel like our America is being snuffed out, too…by people like John Boehner.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2011/4/3/105454/2628
Booman knocked this one out of the park.
Hot damn! It’s game on now, Baybee!
OH YEAH! :-))
This video was tight!!!!
I love that rendition of, “If I was your girlfriend”. Nice.
Thank you, Dannie! His swagger is off the charts! I Love it!
Obama 2012 Campaign Announcement Expected Monday
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/03/barack-obama-2012-campaig_n_844053.html
President Barack Obama is expected to announce that he will run for reelection in 2012 on Monday, CNN reports.
Democratic sources tell the network that the president will alert supporters of his plans in a video sent via email or text message.
Mike Allen wrote in Saturday morning’s Politico Playbook that Obama would likely make his plans known on Monday; however, officials would not confirm a specific date “in case some transcendent event in the world would overshadow the kickoff.”
Obama aides want to tell their supporters first, and so are not encouraging preview stories by the press. The president’s announcement will be transmitted directly to supporters through text messages, e-mail and social media, not with an appearance by Obama, the sources said.
The AP reported on Saturday:
Democratic officials familiar with the president’s plans said Saturday that Obama intends to file papers as early as this coming week with the Federal Election Commission to launch his 2012 re-election campaign.
…
The officials asked not to be identified in order to speak before the papers are filed.
That widely anticipated but formal step of registering with the FEC will free Obama to start raising money for the re-election effort, which, like his 2008 campaign, will be run from Chicago.
FIRED UP & READY TO GO!!!!!!
OBAMA-BIDEN 2012!
New Hampshire protests union-busting, punitive budget
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/01/962140/-New-Hampshire-protests-union-busting,-punitive-budget
New Hampshire is already 48th out of 50 in per capita state spending. Today Yesterday, 5,000 people rallied against a disastrous budget that would make huge cuts and remove collective bargaining rights from public workers.
Remember that New Hampshire is small—just 1.3 million people in 2009. A protest of 5,000 people is massive given the size of the state; in fact, the partisan Republican Union Leader said it was:
the largest at the State House in several decades, rivaling rallies against Seabrook and for former President Ronald Reagan — included former lawmakers, clergy, law enforcement and emergency responders, social service providers and their clients, organized labor, arts organizations and artists, and activists from about 140 state organizations.
Where is the Media? Why aren’t they reporting on this?
Michelle Obama, Jill Bidento focus on vets’ families
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/4611243-418/michelle-obama-jill-bidento-focus-on-vets-families.html
WASHINGTON — First Lady Michelle Obama is going to step up her support for military families, launching a national drive on April 12 — along the lines of her “Let’s Move” anti-obesity campaign — to highlight her new initiative.
Mrs. Obama is partnering with Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden; the two women have been headlining military family events since the beginning of the Obama administration. While assisting military families has long been in Mrs. Obama’s portfolio, her speeches and events related to obesity have overshadowed her military work — being done at a time the nation has been in two wars, and now has a third, in Libya.
The anticipated high visibility roll-out, long in the planning, has been delayed a month. “We’ve got military families. We’ve been laying the foundation for that. You’re going to be watching a pretty big initiative in March,” Mrs. Obama told her beat reporters on Feb. 8.
In a statement, the White House said Mrs. Obama’s “initiative aims to educate, challenge, and spark action from all sectors of our society — citizens, communities, businesses, non-profits, faith-based institutions, philanthropic organizations, and government — to ensure military families have the support they have earned.
FLOTUS and Dr. Biden rock.
FLOTUS & Dr. Jill ABSOULUTELY ROCK!
Chris is hilarious!
indeed he is.
Butler & UCON make it in the finals of the NCAA, to play Monday night.
Syrian president appoints ex-minister to form govt
By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Zeina Karam,
Associated Press – 2 hrs 26 mins ago
BEIRUT – Syrian President Bashar Assad appointed a former agriculture minister Sunday to form a new government, part of a series of overtures toward reform as the country faces a wave of anti-government protests.
Hundreds of people were marching in Douma, a suburb of the capital Damascus, for funerals to mourn those killed in the latest round of protests, which started two weeks ago. At least 80 people have died in clashes with security forces.
Assad appointed Adel Safar, the former agriculture minister, to form the new Cabinet, Syria’s state-run television said. Safar is seen as a respectable figure in a government that many had criticized for corruption.
Assad sacked his government last week in answer to growing cries for reform in Syria, one of the most authoritarian regimes in the Middle East. On Thursday, he set up committees to look into the deaths of civilians during two weeks of unrest and replacing decades-old state of emergency laws.
Safar, 58, holds a doctorate in agricultural sciences from the French polytechnic center in France and was the dean of Damascus University’s agricultural faculty from 1997-2000. He also heads the Arab Center for Dry and Arid Areas.
The extraordinary wave of protests has proved the most serious challenge yet to the Assad family’s 40-year dynasty.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110403/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_syria;_ylt=Akh__y6mBpUa0HchQUqXVo6s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNjMTFuc3ZyBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNDAzL21sX3N5cmlhBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDNwRwb3MDNARwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX2hlYWRsaW5lX2xpc3QEc2xrA3N5cmlhbnBy?om_rid=DRaeQf&om_mid=_BNmHkSB8aAkHzd
Good Morning, 3 Chics, Friends & Lurkers!
Happy Sunday!
More Sunday Comments
Inspiration for today….
Good morning all!
Good Morning, Ladies. :-)
Hey everyone :)
Hi Rikyrah. I’ll bet Peanut’s excited about spring, huh?
Hey Ametia,
Well, I had Peanut for the weekend. A local department store had a celebration of flowers. It was a wonderful exhibit, flowers were everywhere. Peanut was so amazed..,.she had never seen so many different kinds of flowers in one place before. She loved it.
When we got home, she found this little heart-shaped pillow with ‘I love you’ written on it. I asked her what it said, and she made up her own story about what it said. She pushed it in my direction and said, ‘ this is your heart, Auntie’. I told her that she was wrong – that SHE was my heart. She thought about it and asked , ‘I am your heart?’, I nodded, and she gave me this big smile and came over and hugged me, and said, ‘ I love you, Auntie’. I nearly burst into tears.
I love spending time with her. I try and make sure that we have time without a tv on. I try to get her to tell me stories, with each question from me giving me more and more details. this weekend, she decided that she had a castle, and that she was going to give a ball, and I was invited. Of course, she was a Princess, and told me I could be a Princess too. Her dress would be pink and mine would be blue. When I asked what color would be my shoes, she told me, Princesses don’t wear shoes, they wear slippers, and that, of course, I would be wearing blue slippers and a matching blue tiara. For food, we’d be having pizza, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hot dogs, with juice to drink and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. She also decided that a green dragon was coming, because he wanted to dance with us, not because he wanted to burn the castle down. And so was a tractor character she loved from tv.
I just love seeing the world through her eyes.
OMG, you’re melting my heart with your ecperience with Peanut. I can tell she’s a precious one, and what a treasure of an Auntie you are!
Thanks for sharing the love and joy of your realationship with Peanut; it’s heart opening.
Oh, Peanut is too precious for words. So adorable. I can understand how it melted your heart when she said “I love you”. I know how I feel when my little sweeties say it to me.