Amel Larrieux (born March 8, 1973) is an American soul and R&B
singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Larrieux rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a
founding member of the duo Groove Theory along with Bryce Wilson.
After leaving the group in 1999, she released her debut solo album ”Infinite Possibilities”
the following year on Epic Records.
In late 2003, Larrieux founded her own
independent label, Blisslife Records, on which she has released three albums so
far. Larrieux cites Ella Fitzgerald, Prince, Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Wonder,
Shawn Colvin, Chaka Khan, John Lennon, Patrice Rushen, Jimi Hendrix, and Joni
Mitchell as her musical influences.
Hey Chicas! Get your Kleenex ready. Tear jerker alert!
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1927628-airman-returns-home-to-surprise-her-13-year-old-son-at-his-basketball-game?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national
Lt. Col. Cotina Jenkins-Sellers hadn’t seen her son in eight months. She missed his football games and even the holidays while being deployed in Kuwait.
On Thursday, she returned home to San Antonio and surprised her 13-year-old son Derrick during his basketball game at Legacy Middle School
Concerns Raised Over Christie Administration’s Bridge Lawyers
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Already Represents the Port Authority in a Toll Increase Suit
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303465004579326661524816096?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_newyork
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to raise concerns Friday about Gov. Chris Christie’s selection of a global law firm to represent his administration in the George Washington Bridge scandal, because the same firm has represented the authority in lingering disputes over 2011 toll increases, people familiar with the authority’s concerns said.
Mr. Christie said this week that attorney Randy Mastro and the firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP would represent him amid multiple investigations of his administration’s involvement in the closing of lanes leading to the bridge in Fort Lee, N.J., allegedly for political reasons. The reduced access caused traffic snarls for five straight days in September.
Gibson Dunn has billed for $4 million for representing the Port Authority since the 2011 toll increases, officials said, in response to a lawsuit by a motorists’ interest group and a legislative subpoena for records on the toll hikes.
The toll records subpoena was issued by the same lawmaker leading the primary probe of the bridge scandal, New Jersey state Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski.
The authority’s lawyers will contend that Mr. Mastro’s representation of the Christie administration in the bridge scandal would be a conflict, given his continuing work for the authority in the investigation of the toll increases, a person familiar with the authority’s concerns said.
Wonderful clips…..just a suggestion for posting.
Clip 1
Michelle Obama shares her college struggles
The first lady and President Obama joined college sophomore Troy Simon in D.C. to talk about the importance of helping every student thrive in college. Lawrence O’Donnell talks to Troy Simon, Joy Reid and Harvard sophomore Justin Porter.
http://on.msnbc.com/1dVQ3rd
They continue the conversation:
http://on.msnbc.com/1dVQfXr
The First Lady’s Remarks at the White House. This is why they hate the First Lady, because she keeps it real, and is honest and inspirational.
http://youtu.be/XsF9Vs6RE-g
OMG!
lowdown, no good muthafuckas
Quaker Oats Barbara, says stay outta da BUSHES!
Such a ding bat.
Lol, definitely a resemblance.
Why Brian Schweitzer Has Already Lost
Positioning yourself against President Obama is a good way to alienate the most important constituency in the Democratic Party.
Over at MSNBC, Benjy Sarlin has a profile of former Montana governor Brian Schweitzer that’s worth a read. Schweitzer has clear presidential ambitions, and he’s not just positioning himself as an alternative to Hillary Clinton, but he wants to run as a liberal repudiation of Obama. Here’s more:
Schweitzer is best described as a left-libertarian or “liberaltarian”; he’s skeptical of the NSA, pro-single payer and pro-marriage equality, but he opposes strict gun control and denounces the Affordable Care Act as “corporatist,” borrowing an attack that’s popular on the Right. Indeed, he seems designed to bridge the oft-discussed “wine track”/“beer track” divide in the Democratic Party, with positions that appeal to educated elites and working-class whites.
But the Democratic divide has as much to do with race as it does with class, and that’s where Schweitzer runs into problems. I think the “wine track”/“beer track” divide in the Democratic Party is overstated, but insofar that it exists, it turns on the allegiance of working-class African Americans. Sizable support from black voters is key to winning a Democratic presidential primary, and if there’s a long-standing weakness to left or left-leading candidates, it’s that they’ve never had that appeal.
What made Barack Obama unique, after all, was his ability to combine heavy African American support with “wine track” constituencies to form a majority coalition, whereas—previous contests—blacks were more likely to support the establishment choice.
If Schweitzer is an unlikely choice for the Democratic nomination, it has less to do with his low national profile, and everything to do with his pronounced Obama-skepticism. Black voters have their concerns with the Obama administration, but the president is held in high esteem. Which is to say that, if you’re going to distance yourself from the administration, you have to do so without without attacking Obama as a figure. Otherwise, you’ve alienated African Americans and crippled your bid for the nomination.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/15/why-brian-schweitzer-has-already-lost-2016.html
January 15, 2014 4:07 PM
Schweitzer as the Anti-Obama
By Ed Kilgore
There’s a lot of buzz today about an interview that MSNBC’s Benjy Sarlin secured with former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who has been making noises about running for president. Here are the money graphs:
Unless this was some sort of screwed-up revival of Teddy Kennedy’s famously disastrous Roger Mudd interview in 1980, Schweitzer’s sure taking an unorthodox route to a Democratic presidential candidacy. Yes, his complaints about Obama’s record are shared by quite a few progressive folk. But generally trashing Obama—or for that matter, trashing HRC—is not the way to build a base for a presidential campaign. According to the latest Gallup numbers, Obama’s job approval rating among self-identified liberal Democrats stands at 84%. That is rather high. Among African-Americans, who play a huge role in many Democratic presidential primaries, it’s at 86% (it’s only 58% among Hispanics, but that includes a decent number of Republicans).
As I’ve observed on more than one occasion, left-bent Democratic presidential nominating candidacies have failed again and again because of poor support from minority voters. There’s virtually nothing about Brian Schweitzer that gives him a natural connection to these voters (unless you count his reported proficiency in Arabic as appealing to Muslims). Making common cause with Republicans in Obama-bashing isn’t going to help.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_01/schweitzer_as_the_antiobama048648.php
Because Schweitzer can do it ALL so much better than that Negro in the WH.
By Whiskey colburn!
Sen. Tom Coburn to Resign at the End of This Congress
by Josh Feldman
Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn has announced he will retire from Congress at the end of its current term instead of serving out his full six-year term to 2016.
Read More » http://www.mediaite.com/newsletter/redirect.php?id=1brp5og:1reqghs&post=sen-tom-coburn-to-resign-at-the-end-of-this-congress
Watch President Obama’s NSA speech live at 11 a.m. ET
In a speech at the Justice Department, President Obama is set to call for significant changes to the way the National Security Agency collects and uses telephone records of U.S. citizens.
Watch Obama’s address live at 11 a.m. ET and follow our live blog for the latest news and analysis.
Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics-live/liveblog/live-updates-obamas-nsa-reforms/
*sigh* Damn shame all this type of so-called NSA spying and what not has been going on for ions, and now this administration has to basically inform Americans of this FACT, and as expected the POTUS gets blamed for violating our civil liberties, when we provide corporations and other buisnesses our personal data ALL THE TIME.
Good Morning, Everyone. :-)
Good morning!
How are you this morning? Feel better?
Hi SG2. Yes; sleeping better with less pain. Thanks for asking and holding it down. <3 YOU!
God is good! Back pain is no freaking joke. It will make a person cry.
Just learning of your back pain, Ametia.
I am glad you are feeling better.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRKhwHItd5MIw3G0o7l_m0K8bIre6J53oe2AeajXcavV5wZMPcx
“Judge spikes photo ID requirement for Pa. voters”
Good! Was the state of PA going to FREELY ISSUE PHOTO ID to all it’s resisents?
NO….Then GTFOH
I keep thinking it is “Go To” and then have to remind myself it is “Get The” :) Otherwise the “O” doesn’t work.
Senate Democrats Can’t Win Without Black Votes
The turnout for African Americans will be the pivotal difference in keeping a Democratic majority in 2014’s midterm election.
By: Charles D. Ellison
Posted: Jan. 16 2014 7:30 AM
If you are unaware of a congressional midterm election this year, you may very well wake up the morning of Nov. 5 and slam “WTF” into your Twitter feed. Also sad will be the quizzical looks of other black voters upon learning that they were crucial to the nation’s electoral fate. The exit polling will inevitably show that it was the black vote (or lack thereof) that determined whether Democrats kept the Senate in 2014.
Folks, this isn’t your typical, get-out-the-vote public service announcement. It’s not a smoke-blowing jingle from your friendly neighborhood NAACP chapter.
In 2014, it’s real. Stakes are high. Black voters will be the definitive difference between the government-shutdown gridlock we’ve had to tolerate and the epically disastrous, can’t-get-anything-done gridlock we will have with Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress. Despite all the hype about Latino voters and the snarky pundits snorting at black-electorate value, the numbers show that black-voter turnout can save Democrats in 2014.
The math is quite simple: There is a total of 13 Senate seats that are either very tight or somewhat competitive in 2014. Eight out of those 13 states have black populations at 4 percent or more, according to 2012 U.S. Census Bureau estimates—including four at 15 percent or more. They include Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia and Kentucky.
Even though six of those eight states with significant pockets of black populations broke for Mitt Romney in 2012, congressional midterm Senate races could be a completely different ball game, considering that voter turnout is generally low during the dreaded “off cycles.” But turnouts are usually lowest for Democrats. Thus, the candidate able to fill a margin with voters who are unlikely to vote during a midterm is that much closer to the finish line.
http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/01/black_voters_will_be_the_difference_in_2014.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content&mc_cid=e84fff1305&mc_eid=1e0cf17cc4
Black Americans votes have ALWAYS mattered. And thus the attemts of VOTER SUPPRESSION by the GOP. And the dems had better get a quick clue too. *looking@youhillary.*
The pictures accompanying this article just make you go ‘sigh’…’damn, she can wear anything.’
……………………………………………..
Lupita Is Fabulous. But You Already Knew That
She woke up like this.
By: The Root Staff
Posted: Jan. 16 2014 7:30 AM
Lupita Nyong’o has been nominated for several awards, including an Oscar, for her performance as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave and is quickly becoming a fashion icon. Here is a list of more of her fabulousness:
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/01/_lupita_nyong_o_10_fabulous_facts.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content&mc_cid=e84fff1305&mc_eid=1e0cf17cc4
Deaf Man Allegedly Beaten by Police for Not Obeying Orders He Couldn’t Hear
The 64-year-old, whom the affidavit says resisted two troopers and didn’t respond to multiple orders, says he was hit in the face before he could show his ID card.
By: Breanna Edwards
Posted: Jan. 16 2014 1:35 PM
An Oklahoma City resident is claiming that Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers beat him for disobeying their orders. The only problem is that 64-year-old Pearl Pearson is deaf—a fact that he says a sign in his car indicates.
According to Fox 4 News, Pearson allegedly fled the scene of a car accident before being pulled over by the Highway Patrol officers on Jan. 3. According to the affidavit, Pearson resisted the two officers and didn’t respond to the commands (that he couldn’t hear). This resulted in a seven-minute scuffle during which Pearson says he was hit in the face before he could show is ID. There’s no reference in the affidavit as to whether the troopers knew the 64-year-old could not hear, but he was arrested and then later slapped with charges for leaving the scene of an accident and resisting arrest.
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/01/deaf_man_allegedly_beaten_by_police_for_not_obeying_orders_he_couldn_t_hear.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content&mc_cid=e84fff1305&mc_eid=1e0cf17cc4
Breaking Politics @breakingpol 10m
State judge strikes down photo identification requirement for voting in Pennsylvania – @AP
12 Years a Slave Sweeps Up 9 Oscar Nominations
The critically acclaimed black film received a hefty number of nominations.
By: Breanna Edwards
Posted: Jan. 16 2014 9:59 AM
The Oscar nominations were announced today, and while Hollywood favorites American Hustle and Gravity dominated the field with 10 nominations each, including best picture and best director, 12 Years a Slave was running right on their heels with nine nominations.
The critically acclaimed historical film was nominated in five of the major categories: best picture, best leading actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), best director (Steve McQueen), best adapted screenplay (John Ridley), best supporting actress (Lupita Nyong’o) and best supporting actor (Michael Fassbender).
However, nominations don’t always lead to wins, as the Golden Globes demonstrated, when 12 Years a Slave won only one out of its seven nominations. None of its actors walked away with a Golden Globes award, even though many critics considered Ejiofor and Nyong’o shoo-ins in their respective categories.
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/01/_12_years_a_slave_sweeps_up_5_major_nominations_for_oscars.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content&mc_cid=e84fff1305&mc_eid=1e0cf17cc4
Director Steve McQueen gave a loud shoutout to Brad Pitt, during his acceptance.
I guess IF the actual slaves in the movie could have been played by a white actor, they would have won a GG for acting? /snark
Sundance 2014: 16 Black Movies That Matter
The annual showcase for independent films will feature stories from across the Diaspora. Plus, Hoop Dreams, which debuted at the festival in 1994, gets a special screening.
Will we see another Fruitvale Station or Beasts of the Southern Wild coming out of the Sundance Film Festival this year? When it comes to the annual showcase for independent films in Park City, Utah—now in its 30th year—all bets are off for predicting which film will generate the most buzz.
Of the more than 120 feature-length films, several should interest those who care about the African Diaspora. There is already quite a bit of buzz for Dear White People, a satirical film by director Justin Simien, who talked to The Root about it in 2012. There are documentaries about the civil rights movement, baseball player Dock Ellis and Nigerian activist and Afrobeat star Fela Kuti. There are feature films about Somali pirates, Albinos in Tanzania and homeboys on the streets of Los Angeles.
The festival, which takes place Jan. 16-26, has also dug into its archives to bring back Hoop Dreams. In 1994 the documentary took the festival by storm and went on to award-winning and box office success. Now, 20 years later, a screening of the newly restored film will feature a Q&A with the filmmakers and cast.
http://www.theroot.com/photos/2014/01/sundance_2014_16_black_films_that_matter.html
Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint fifteen individuals to the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. This Commission is charged with strengthening the nation by improving educational outcomes for African Americans to ensure that all African Americans receive an education that prepares them for college, productive careers, and satisfying lives. This mission is part of the Administration’s broader mandate to restore the country to its role as the global leader in education. These members will advise the President and the Secretary of Education on ways to advance federal programs that improve educational opportunities for African Americans, increase participation of the African American community in federal agency programs, and engage stakeholders in a national dialogue on the mission.
President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to the President’s Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/01/16/president-obama-announces-his-intent-appoint-fifteen-individuals-preside
Obama to Nominate His 1st Black Lesbian Federal Judge
President Barack Obama, who has nominated more black and LGBT judges than any president ever, is now adding to the list his first black LGBT federal judge nomination.
By: Breanna Edwards
Posted: Jan. 16 2014 3:04 PM
President Barack Obama is slated to appoint his first-ever African-American openly LGBT federal judge on Thursday, once again showing his commitment to diversifying the judicial system, Politico reports.
Staci Michelle Yandle, who is currently practicing privately, is the woman President Obama wants to place in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, the president’s home state. If Yandle is confirmed, she will be the first African-American judge to sit in the court, and also the first “out” judge in the 7th Circuit, covering Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
But Obama won’t be done there. He’s also nominating the first Latino judge—Salvador Mendoza Jr., a county Superior Court judge in Washington state—for the Eastern District of Illinois.
Politico points out that diversity on the bench is a top priority for the nation’s first African-American president, and his picks are expected to be easily confirmed in Congress, since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) changed the filibuster rules to require only a simple majority.
Other nominations were Stephen Bough, to sit in the Western District of Missouri, and Richard Franklin Boulware II for Nevada. Boulware would not be the first African American to sit in Nevada, but Politico notes he will be the 57th African American Obama has nominated
http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/01/obama_to_nominate_first_black_lesbian_judge.html?wpisrc=newstories
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Good Morning, Everyone :)
rikyrah, you created an amazing birthday greeting to our First Lady! I love ALL of the photos you posted!
Great job!!! *applause!*