Also in the early 2000s, the Gordons introduced a second record label imprint, Sequoia Groove, specializing in chill-out music compilations, including the Buddha-Lounge series that charted in Billboard in 2004,[11] Cafe de Luna, Hotel Tara, and others; and world music influenced electronica artists including Tya, and Achillea (featuring Jens Gad of Enigma).[12]New recordings by the Gordon brothers in the chillout genre were included in several of these compilations, and in 2008 they released their first album of downtempo electronic music, Yoga Planet, followed by their second album of chillout music in 2009, Nirvana Groove.
https://twitter.com/roysj/status/556264071297634304/photo/1
HA!
https://twitter.com/yusufyuie/status/556095658763882496/photo/1
https://twitter.com/TheRoot/status/554622954966122497/photo/1
https://twitter.com/NewYorker/status/556159589339893760/photo/1
https://twitter.com/bdoulaoblongata/status/556147937047486464/photo/1
https://twitter.com/PrettyFootWoman/status/555870635646124034/photo/1
Susan Fales-Hill @susanfaleshill
Follow
Saw Selma yesterday at Loews on Broadway, the gaggle of schoolchildren were brought to respectful silence and awe as the story unfolded.
10:10 AM – 16 Jan 2015
Talib Kweli Greene ✔ @TalibKweli
Follow
When people of color talk oppression we are not bluffing. It’s never been a game. There is no race card.
12:10 PM – 16 Jan 2015
https://twitter.com/callmedollar/status/556260874256928768/photo/1
Why does it feel like McConnell and Boehner are setting hog castrater Joni Ernst up to be clowned, to trip her up and to de-claw her. Nip her and any fancy pig-farming ideas of importance she has in the bud. Quickly cut her down to size before she gets any wrong ideas about her importance in the national republican party and on the national scene.
Y’all deserve a treat. Big Bill Broonzy sitting on the porch, playing the blues. I saw recordings from this day in 1957 years ago, only recently found some on YouTube.
Thanks for this, Liza.
YVW, SG2. I knew you would like it.
Wow!
He plays with such talent and feeling! Love this!
Thanks Liza!
5-4 with Kennedy as vote #5.
Gays will be able to marry in all 50 states by July 1, 2015.
………………..
Supreme Court to Decide Whether Gays Nationwide Can Marry
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether all 50 states must allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. The court’s announcement made it likely that it would resolve one of the great civil rights questions of the age before its current term ends in June.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/17/us/supreme-court-to-decide-whether-gays-nationwide-can-marry.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
whatever happens in Kansas..
PHUCK THEM.
sorry, but they didn’t correct it when they had the chance.
…………………..
Defiant Sam Brownback vows to move toward zero income tax — and make Kansas even more unequal
His supply side economic experiment has been an utter disaster, but Brownback can’t be bothered
by Luke Brinker
Here’s what Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s supply side economic experiment has wrought: The Republican’s massive tax cuts for the wealthy and businesses will cost the state a projected $5 billion in revenue over seven years; by this summer, legislators must address a $278 million revenue shortfall, which Brownback is looking to fill in part by slashing vital infrastructure spending and reducing contributions to the state’s already underfunded pension plan. Meanwhile, the tax cuts haven’t delivered the economic “shot of adrenaline” Brownback promised. Kansas’ GDP growth lags behind that of other states in the region, its rate of job growth is slower than that of the nation as a whole, and the state’s per-capita income ranking hasn’t changed since the tax cuts were enacted in 2012. Kansas is ascending the national rankings on one measure, however: Last year, it ranked seventh in the nation among states residents left.
Surely this dismal state of affairs has Brownback considering a major course correction — right?
Fat chance. In his State of the State address last night, the newly reinaugurated governor was at once determined, defiant, and delusional, vowing that he would continue to move the state toward zero income tax, indicating that despite some post-election speculation, Brownback has no intention of reversing course on his signature economic policy
http://www.salon.com/2015/01/16/defiant_sam_brownback_vows_to_move_toward_zero_income_tax_and_make_kansas_even_more_unequal/
Kansans went into this eyes wide open. They had options, yet they kept him. So..
If the Midterms Were Held Today, Gas Prices Might Have Saved the Democrats’ Skin
By Brian Beutler @brianbeutler
On November 4 of last year, the day of the midterm election, President Obama’s approval rating was near its nadir: 41 percent, with 53 percent of Gallup respondents saying they disapproved of the way he handled his job.
Two years earlier, by contrast, Obama was above water, 49-44. That election went a little better for him than the midterms.
Today, just two months after Democrats lost the Senate, Obama’s recovered more than half the ground he lost. His supporters like to attribute that to the resilience and defiance he has shown since the midterms—he announced executive actions to defer the deportation of millions of immigrants and normalize relations with Cuba, he has adopted a campaign-like mindset, and it stands to reason that if the blizzard of a late-stage presidential campaign could pull his approval into net positive territory, his recent actions might be responsible for getting him close to even. Perhaps if he’d been more of a presence on the campaign trail, Democrats wouldn’t have lost so badly.
But there’s another, better explanation, and it’s a crucial, real-time reminder that for all the effort that goes into running and understanding campaigns, political fortunes are exceptionally vulnerable to the vicissitudes of external forces.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120784/obama-approval-gas-prices-wouldve-swung-midterm-election
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Her “sex presence” is driving them crazy.
Conservatives, like the rest of us normal people, have obsessions as well. Lately their attention has been focused on a very attractive singer/dancer/actress/ from Houston, Texas, who happens to be linked up with a famous rapper.
I wish I knew why old white conservative men love Beyoncé so much. But I think we would all need a psychiatrist to sit us down and explain that one to us. I suspect that if this was 1815 and not 2015, Beyoncé would be pushing out little mixed babies while stashed away on a plantation down South somewhere.
“Future GOP candidate for president, Mike Huckabee, claims that the Obamas are bad parents because the let their kids listen to Beyoncé. Mr. Huckabee calls Beyoncé’s music, “sex music” .
“… not only do they let Malia (16) and Sasha (13) listen to Beyonce, they let them go to Beyoncé concerts and be in her sex presence.”
Well their father has been in her “sex presence” (????) himself a few times, but how is that exactly a bad thing? I bet that Mike wouldn’t mind being in her “sex presence” himself.
http://field-negro.blogspot.com/2015/01/her-sex-presence-is-driving-them-crazy.html
Oh but yes! I know that the Huckster fantasizes over Beyoncé.
White Texans Complain Their Voting Rights Are Being Trampled
by Kira Lerner Posted on January 16, 2015 at 12:44 pm
Dallas County has been hit with a lawsuit alleging that a recent redistricting map violates the voting rights of a local minority group. The allegations might sound like nothing new in Texas — until you look at the group claiming discrimination.
The suit is the first case seeking protection for a white minority under the Voting Rights Act.
White voters currently make up 48 percent of the county’s voting age population. The lawsuit alleges that the influence of those white voters, who overwhelmingly vote for Republicans, has been diminished on the five-person Commissioners Court because there are currently four Democrats and only one Republican serving as commissioner. After the redistricting, one Republican seat was replaced by a Democrat.
The complaint says the redistricting authority is “cramming” whites into a single district in order to “intentionally deny the racial minority a chance to fairly participate in the electoral process.” But the Commissioners Court actually has a white majority, with three white commissioners, one Hispanic and one African American.
The Dallas-based Equal Voting Rights Institute filed the suit on behalf of five white Dallas County residents under the Voting Rights Act, calling it the “first in the nation to seek these same protections for an Anglo minority sliced and diced between districts.”
“Dallas carved up a local minority’s vote with a map allowing almost half the population the chance to compete for no more than a fifth of the seats. That’s just wrong,” Dan Morenoff, the group’s executive director, said in a statement. “The Voting Rights Act prevents that kind of disenfranchisement of an out-of-favor race, regardless of what race it is.”
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/01/16/3612476/white-dallas-voting-rights-lawsuit/
https://twitter.com/DwayneDavidPaul/status/555872350135021568/photo/1
https://twitter.com/JRehling/status/556103044383768577/photo/1
Yup..
now, folks..
WHAT IF THEY WERE BLACK???
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/555943671007559680/photo/1
These 2 will likely be captured ALIVE.
Holder limits seized-asset sharing process that split billions with local, state police
By Robert O’Harrow Jr., Sari Horwitz and Steven Rich
January 16 at 2:15 PM
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Friday barred local and state police from using federal law to seize cash, cars and other property without evidence that a crime occurred.
Holder’s action represents the most sweeping check on police power to confiscate personal property since the seizures began three decades ago as part of the war on drugs.
Since 2008, thousands of local and state police agencies have made more than 55,000 seizures of cash and property worth $3 billion under a civil asset forfeiture program at the Justice Department called Equitable Sharing.
The program has enabled local and state police to make seizures and then have them “adopted” by federal agencies, which share in the proceeds. The program allowed police departments and drug task forces to keep up to 80 percent of the proceeds of the adopted seizures, with the rest going to federal agencies.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/holder-ends-seized-asset-sharing-process-that-split-billions-with-local-state-police/2015/01/16/0e7ca058-99d4-11e4-bcfb-059ec7a93ddc_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost
NBC Developing Underground Railroad Miniseries and Musical With Stevie Wonder
9:05 AM PST 1/16/2015 by Michael O’Connell
Tentatively titled “Freedom Run,” the project follows several couples trying to escape slavery.
NBC is looking to expand its event programming with another miniseries. Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt announced plans for Freedom Run on Friday morning, a limited series about the Underground Railroad.
Not just looking for a TV home for the diversity push, Greenblatt also said that plans for the project included a Broadway musical. The second part is less surprising when you look at who’s executive producing the miniseries: Stevie Wonder. Greenblatt added that it was his hope, at this early stage, that Wonder would also score the music for the production
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nbc-developing-underground-railroad-miniseries-764340
PBS Releases Black History Month Programming Lineup & Online Content Offerings
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
January 16, 2015 at 11:57AM
It’s that time of the year again…
Here’s PBS’ Black History Month lineup of programming lineup and online content offerings.
– Beginning in February, “Antiques Roadshow” premieres “Celebrating Black Americana,” where, among other items, participants bring, for appraisal, an 1821 citizenship certificate for a free man of color and an African American beauty book written by entrepreneur Madame C.J. Walker, the first American female millionaire. On “Genealogy Roadshow,” where professional genealogists use history and science to uncover fascinating family secrets, participants in New Orleans explore family links to the Civil War and connections to the famous New Orleans Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau.
– INDEPENDENT LENS will air 2 new documentaries: “Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People” tells the story of pioneering African American photographers who have recorded the lives and aspirations of generations of people, from slavery to present; and “American Denial,” which uses the story of Gunnar Myrdal’s 1944 investigation of Jim Crow racism as a springboard to explore the power of unconscious biases and how the ideals of liberty, equality and justice still affect notions of race and class today.
– AMERICAN MASTERS premieres “August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand,” which examines the legacy of August Wilson, whom some call America’s Shakespeare, in honor of the 70th anniversary of his birth and 10th anniversary of his death. Directed by Sam Pollard, film and theater luminaries such as James Earl Jones, Viola Davis, Phylicia Rashad, Laurence Fishburne, Charles Dutton and others share their stories of the career and life experience of bringing Wilson’s rich theatrical voice to the stage.
– Also airing in February is “Shakespeare Uncovered,” with programs that combine history, biography, iconic performances, new analysis and the personal passion of its celebrated hosts, including Morgan Freeman and David Harewood, to tell the stories behind the stories of Shakespeare’s greatest plays
.
“PBS strives to create a Black History Month lineup that provides our audience with insight on a wide range of topics and events that helped shaped our nation,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming for PBS. “We’re always looking for ways to delve deep into the stories of notable people and historical topics as only PBS can, telling stories of a diverse America not only during Black History Month, but all year round.”
In addition to on-air programs, the PBS Black Culture Connection (BCC), an extension of PBS.org, featuring black films, stories and discussion across PBS, will debut several new “Top 10” lists, with recommendations for must-see documentaries and must-read authors, as well as little-known black history facts.
The full Black History Month programming lineup is listed below (check local listings) and will also be available for online streaming on the BCC after premiere:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/pbs-releases-black-history-month-programming-lineup-online-content-offerings-20150116
Paul Ryan forcefully rejects bipartisan highway fix
01/16/15 10:30 AM—UPDATED 01/16/15 10:42 AM
By Steve Benen
It’s a straightforward problem: the Highway Trust Fund, which plays a central role in financing U.S. infrastructure projects, is short on money. The fund is financed through a federal gas tax, which hasn’t been raised in over 20 years, pushing American investment in infrastructure to its lowest point in nearly 70 years.
Fortunately, there’s a straightforward solution: raise the federal gas tax. Better yet, it’s a bipartisan solution – Democrats support an increase, as do plenty of notable Republicans, including Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), and even Charles Krauthammer.
Now, there’s disagreement about how much to raise the gas tax, and what other policies should be included in the change, but the general point is the same: raising the tax would bolster the Highway Trust Fund, boost investments, and help both the economy and our infrastructure, which even Republicans concede is currently “on life support.”
And yet, it’s apparently a non-starter in the Republican-led House.
A gas tax increase ain’t happening. No way, no how. That was the message from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to reporters on Thursday at the congressional Republican retreat in this small Pennsylvania town.
“No,” he said. “I don’t see us passing – we won’t pass a gas tax increase.”
This comes just a few days after House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) said, in no uncertain terms, “The Speaker doesn’t support a gas tax hike. Period.”
Of course, Boehner also said this week, “We’ve got to find a way to deal with America’s crumbling infrastructure.” That’s true; we do. But Boehner, Ryan, and House Republicans continue to argue that the obvious, effective, and bipartisan remedy will not be considered.
Fine. What’s the House GOP’s alternate solution? At this point, there isn’t one, short of the Speaker emphasizing the need to “find a way.” No one, including Boehner himself, has been willing to say what that “way” might be.
It’s a familiar dynamic, isn’t it? Many on the left start with a premise: “Let’s solve the problem.” Many on the right start with a different promise: “Let’s solve the problem after agreeing that no one’s taxes will ever go up by any amount at any time.”
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/paul-ryan-forcefully-rejects-bipartisan-highway-fix
Red states continue to move towards Medicaid expansion
01/16/15 11:37 AM—UPDATED 01/16/15 11:39 AM
By Steve Benen
It came as a bit of a surprise a couple of months ago when Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) expressed an interest in adopting Medicaid expansion through the Affordable Care Act. Wyoming is one of the most conservative states in the nation; Mead is hardly a moderate; and resistance to “Obamacare” is the norm in this ruby-red state.
But Mead wasn’t kidding. In fact, as Dylan Scott reports, the GOP governor has moved beyond just expressing an interest – he’s practically demanding his state move forward on Medicaid expansion.
“We have fought the fight against the (Affordable Care Act),” he said at the statehouse, according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. “We’ve done our best to find a fit for Wyoming. We are out of timeouts, and we need to address Medicaid expansion this session.”
Mead, as the conservative governor of a thoroughly Republican state, is emblematic of the conservative thawing on Medicaid expansion. He began negotiating with the Obama administration in July, and his office released an expansion plan in November. Under the plan, enrollees would have to make small co-payments and those above the poverty line would have monthly premiums.
In an unexpected move for any Republican governor, Mead has even told lawmakers that the Affordable Care Act provision is necessary to create jobs in Wyoming.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/red-states-continue-move-towards-medicaid-expansion
Peggy Noonan sobered up enough to write this about Willard, and it is true:
http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/16/explaining-romneyism/
They totally set Romney up. They flattered him and used those phony polls to tell him he was the man, and like a fool, he took the bait. And even before he’s stepped out the door, they’re so clowning him. The same thing they’ve done to that embarrassment known as Dr. Ben Carson.
Oh, what a massive ego and flattery will do to supposedly smart men.
Imo, Romney and his wife are extremely vain and selfish people. They seem to think that if there’s anything they want, they can have. Romney was roundly, and soundly, rejected in 2012. If he thinks he can win in 2016, just because he says he has changed and is now a ‘man of the people,’ he’s delusional. His innate insincerity will emerge, just as it did in 2012. He’s like a fish out of water, flip flopping on every issue in an attempt to appease whichever group he’s talking to at a particular time.
They sure are! It only took his declaring that he *wants* to be president, and all those reels of footage of him telling untruths, acting all entitled and brattish and bumbling all over the place in 2012 came tumbling out. Reminding everyone why he lost last time around, and why he’ll never be president.
Moms Mabley’s Only Feature Film – ‘Amazing Grace’ – Coming to Blu-Ray on Jan. 27
By Sergio | Shadow and Act
January 15, 2015 at 1:05PM
The main problem I have with the term ‘Blaxploitation’ film is that it’s used as a lazy and convenient handle that doesn’t adequately express the range of black films that came out during the early to mid 70’s – as if all of them were cheap action movies.
The reality is that, they were quite diverse – ranging from action to horror to dramas to westerns and even comedies, many of them forgotten over the decades.
One of them was the 1974 United Artists film, “Amazing Grace,” directed by Stan Lathan, with Moses Gunn and Rosalind Cash, but is notable for being the only lead film role for legendary comedian Moms Mabley.
The subject of Whoopi Goldberg’s documentary two years ago, “I’ve Got Something to Tell You,” Mabley was genuinely one of the great pioneers of black comedy (and of comedy period), and there isn’t a black comic today who doesn’t owe a huge debt to her.
She was a regular fixture on TV, back during the late 60’s to early 70’s, basically when she was discovered by the white public, but for decades before that, she was without question, one of most popular and beloved comedians in black entertainment.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/moms-mableys-only-feature-film-amazing-grace-coming-out-on-blu-ray-dvd-jan-27-20150115
This episode of “Blackish” was hilarious and on point
Black-ish: “Martin Luther Skiing Day”
A family skip trip and a black history lesson rolled into one
http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/black-ish-martin-luther-skiing-day-213859
Ted Cruz’s NASA oversight sparks criticism
01/16/15 09:00 AM—UPDATED 01/16/15 09:18 AM
By Steve Benen
The White House’s “We The People” petition feature has long been a favorite of mine. For those unfamiliar with the initiative, regular ol’ Americans can submit questions and/or ideas online; the public can vote on its favorites; and if enough people endorse the petition, the Obama administration will offer an official response. It occasionally leads to actual policy changes.
It’s not easy for a petition to succeed – the minimum threshold is 100,000 endorsements – but even when an entry doesn’t make it all the way, it’s interesting to see which petitions generate interest, if for no other reason because it offers a peek into what’s on some Americans’ minds.
This week, for example, a petition was submitted with this headline: “Remove Ted Cruz from position for NASA oversight of the Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness.” The rest of the text reads:
Ted Cruz is not qualified to hold position to oversee NASA or any other Science based Committee. He is scientifically illiterate, and constantly shows bias against scientific proof and facts against his own personally held religion and beliefs.
This is not conducive for the strengthening of scientific research or discoveries. If he stays in this position he will most assuredly aid in cutting funding for programs for which will help the United States and the world in furthering technology for the benefit of mankind.
We the people demand a person worthy of the position and who will work towards optimizing NASA for scientific discoveries be placed in this position in Ted Cruz’s stead.
This was submitted on Monday, Aug. 12. As I type, it’s up to nearly 30,000 signatures.
The problem is not with the sentiment; I’m not thrilled with Cruz’s new role, either. Rather, this caught my eye because it’s a good example of well-intentioned people getting confused about civics and institutional constraints.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/ted-cruzs-nasa-oversight-sparks-criticism
Obama and Senator Robert Menendez Spar on How to Handle Iran
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
JAN. 15, 2015
…………………..
Their face-off occurred behind closed doors at the Hilton in Baltimore, where the two-day Senate Democratic Issues Conference was taking place. The president spoke to the senators for nearly two hours, and several people said he was well received by members of his party as he vowed to remain on the political offensive during the final two years of his presidency.
His exchange with Mr. Menendez occurred near the end of a question-and-answer session after Senator Angus King of Maine — an independent who caucuses with the Democrats — asked for an update to the [Iranian] nuclear talks.
According to one of the senators and another person who was present, the president urged lawmakers to stop pursuing sanctions, saying such a move would undermine his authority and could derail the talks. Mr. Obama also said that such a provocative action could lead international observers to blame the Americans, rather than the Iranians, if the talks collapsed before the June 30 deadline.
The president said he understood the pressures that senators face from donors and others, but he urged the lawmakers to take the long view rather than make a move for short-term political gain, according to the senator. Mr. Menendez, who was seated at a table in front of the podium, stood up and said he took “personal offense.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/us/politics/obama-and-senator-robert-menendez-spar-on-how-to-handle-iran.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1
Mendez don’t want none of PBO. Go sit your ass down somewhere Bobby Mendez!
Bob Mendez is notorious for being disingenuous and dancing hard for his supper – even when it’s on behalf of a dishonest cause. Whoever pays Bob, owns Bob.
Christie: New Jersey reporters are like ‘children’
By HADAS GOLD | 1/15/15 8:26 PM EST
Gov. Chris Christie called local New Jersey reporters “children” on Thursday for writing about being barred from an off the record meeting Christie had with national reporters ahead of his state of the state address.
“Could you find a group of more self-consumed people, that on a day like that they’re writing about themselves? Do you think the public cares a wit whether they got into a private meeting? By the way the other private meetings they’ve had with me, which they’ve had within the last month, they didn’t report on that did they?” Christie said on the “Ask the Governor” radio program on NJ 101.5.” “They didn’t did they because that would be fair. And god knows we wouldn’t want to be that. So listen, if they want to act like children let them act like children. That’s the way it goes.”
Ahead of his State of the State address on Tuesday Christie held an off-the-record meetingwith national media, including ABC, NBC, CNN, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. But local media were not invited or even told of the meeting.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2015/01/christie-nj-reporters-like-children-201162.html
Listening to Howard Morgan right now.
Shot 21 times.
21 PHUCKING TIMES.
Checked him into the hospital as JOHN DOE
knew who he was and TOOK HIS ID.
Morgan was coming from work…he was a block from home.
And people wonder why Black folks distrust the POLICE.
Uh Huh
UH UH UH Who shoots someone 21 times a block from home?
D.C. area bishop’s bid to lead racial unity effort draws fire from black pastors
By Hamil R. Harris January 15 at 3:57 PM
…..
The forum was the vision of Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md. Jackson, who after years of preaching against same-sex marriage ballot initiatives, has made a “paradigm shift” to push for racial reconciliation between black and white pastors. He said he had a change of heart after the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.
“In Ferguson, I really saw how extensive the racial problem was. The churches are doing a lot of good work in the region but it’s not multicultural and it is not multi-racial,” Jackson said. “The hopelessness and despair is because people feel trapped. It is not just about police brutality; there is a racial divide in this country in terms of economics.”
Attendees include former ambassador Andrew Young; King’s daughter, the Rev. Bernice King; and Bishop Vashti McKenzie. Among the prominent white ministers in attendance are televangelists like John Hagee, James Robinson and Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family. Also in attendance are prominent black evangelicals such as A.R. Bernard, senior pastor of the Christian Cultural Center in New York, and Tony Evans, pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas and host of the nationally syndicated show “The Urban Alternative.”
Jackson, Jakes and more than 80 pastors met behind closed doors Thursday, which would have been King’s 86th birthday. Jackson said the goal is to build “Bridges of Peace” in four areas: education, criminal justice, economic development and civic involvement.
But there was criticism of the event before it got underway. The Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Street Baptist Church in San Francisco, said many traditional civil rights leaders were not invited to take part in the conference, and he questions Jackson’s sincerity in now wanting to bring people together.
“As one of the eight students that Dr. King taught at Morehouse, we learned every person is deserving of respect and dignity, and I feel that it is contradiction of Dr. King’ dream,” Brown said. “For Mr. Jackson to be leading a reconciliation conference on race when he has been engaged in politics to demean persons because they are different is preposterous.”
…
The Rev. Delman Coates, pastor of Mount Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Md,. and president of the Black Church Center for Justice and Equality, said: “We have to be careful about those who would distort Dr. King’s legacy. His life work was a commitment to social justice and can’t be reduced to a kumbaya moment.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/01/15/d-c-area-bishops-bid-to-lead-racial-unity-effort-draws-fire-from-black-pastors/
Obama to Senate Dems: ‘I’m going to play offense’
The president said he’s prepared to veto hostile legislation, including an Iran sanctions package.
MANU RAJU 1/15/15 7:09 PM EST
President Barack Obama made clear Thursday in a closed-door session with Senate Democrats that he’s prepared to veto hostile legislation from the GOP-controlled Congress, including an Iran sanctions package on the front-burner of Capitol Hill.
According to several sources at the Thursday summit in Baltimore, Obama vowed to defend his agenda against Republicans in Congress, promised to stand firm against GOP efforts to dismantle his agenda and called on his Democratic colleagues to help sustain his expected vetoes. The president also was explicit over his administration’s opposition to an Iran sanctions bill, promising to veto legislation with his administration in the midst of multilateral nuclear negotiations
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/obama-to-senate-dems-im-going-to-play-offense-114307.html#ixzz3OzyF7fxi
https://twitter.com/TheRoot/status/556073498154524672/photo/1
Selma: Where Did Its Oscar Campaign Go Wrong?
By Kyle Buchanan
The biggest story on Oscar morning has nothing to do with front-runners Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Boyhood: Instead, everybody’s talking about Selma, Paramount’s exquisitely reviewed Martin Luther King Jr. drama, which missed out on some of the key nominations its supporters were hoping for. The movie did manage a Best Picture nod, which is an awfully big honor — and one that’s practically been overlooked today, amid all the outrage and recriminations — but nevertheless, two of its snubs really stung: Selma director Ava DuVernay was left off the Best Director short list, and the film’s lead actor, David Oyelowo, couldn’t crack his jam-packed category, either. What went wrong?
I don’t think there’s a single right answer to that question, though many have been tempted to ascribe Selma’s two major snubs to its subpar screener situation. While it’s ideal to watch an awards-season contender on the big screen, busy voters often rely on screener DVDs to help them catch up on the movies they may have missed. Sometimes, those screeners can make all the difference: Crash’s Best Picture win in 2005 was attributed to the then-novel decision to blanket the Screen Actors Guild membership with DVDs (since actors constitute the Academy’s largest voting body), and after A Better Life was the first “for your consideration” screener sent out in 2011, the film’s very on-the-bubble Demian Bichir went on to land a Best Actor nomination.
By contrast, Selma was among the last screeners to arrive in voter mailboxes — when it was sent out at all. DuVernay wrapped production on Selma this past summer and first debuted her film at the AFI Film Festival in early November, and although that version looked pretty damn complete, further tweaks and polishes continued for over a month. When Paramount got a final cut of the film in mid-December, studio decision-makers had a tough quandary to ponder: Should they sink money into a raft of screeners for voting bodies like SAG, the Directors Guild, and the Producers Guild — even though weeks-long screener-manufacturing times ensured that most voting periods would be all but over by the time Selma discs were sent out — or should they focus only on sending screeners to the Academy and BAFTA, while scheduling theatrical screenings to serve every other voting group?
Ultimately, Paramount execs felt that the latter strategy was their best option, though the groups that hadn’t received screeners continued to snub Selma in the meantime, stalling the film’s momentum. Then again, BAFTA failed to nominate Selma, too, and they were one of the rare organizations that did get those discs. Was the studio counting on a want-to-see factor that simply wasn’t as enthusiastic as they’d hoped? After all, the Academy’s official Selma screening in December only attracted half the members who went to Into the Woods later that night.
Selma also got screwed just a few days into its release, when it was hit by high-profile inaccuracy charges that it had trouble batting back. Historians and confidantes of Lyndon B. Johnson accused DuVernay of devaluing the president’s role in passing the Voting Rights Act, and while the director promptly batted those claims back on Twitter, anti-Selma editorials kept coming. Biopics and historical dramas often have to contend with this sort of thing, but though other contenders like The Imitation Game and American Sniper play fast and loose with their source material, Selma was hit the hardest. The campaign for Selma should have been about making history; instead, the film was forced to re-litigate it.
http://www.vulture.com/2015/01/selma-where-did-its-oscar-campaign-go-wrong.html
Mellody Hobson and friends pay for 10,000 teens to see ‘Selma’
Jan 15, 2015
Mellody Hobson and George Lucas and some of their business friends are paying for 10,000 teens to see “Selma,” the biopic about Martin Luther King Jr. that’s backed by Oprah Winfrey and just secured an Academy Award nomination for best picture.
“What took place 50 years ago in Selma is key to understanding much about the civil rights movement, race, equality and democracy,” Hobson, president of Chicago-based Ariel Investments and chair of After School Matters, said in a statement.
After School Matters is coordinating efforts to get teens in the nonprofit program to see the movie.
I hear she, her film-producer husband and a few others raised $100,000 in 72 hours for the effort.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150115/BLOGS03/150119896/mellody-hobson-and-friends-pay-for-10-000-teens-to-see-selma
https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/555752372807675904/photo/1
House Democrat denounces ‘harmful’ slams on Muslim lawmaker
Rep. André Carson’s appointment to the House intelligence panel has prompted a ‘shocking amount of comments’ attacking his religion, House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Joe Crowley writes.
By Lauren French
1/15/15 5:32 PM EST
Updated 1/15/15 5:39 PM EST
A top House Democrat is urging his colleagues to defend Rep. André Carson against faith-based attacks following this week’s announcement that the Indiana Democrat would be the first Muslim to serve on the House’s Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Rep. Joe Crowley of New York, the vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, wrote to Republican and Democratic lawmakers Thursday expressing his disgust at the slurs that online commenters are levying against Carson because of his Islamic faith.
“It has … come to my attention that there have been a shocking amount of comments made in conservative publications and on social media to the effect that Rep. Carson’s integrity is somehow in question as a result of his religion,” Crowley wrote. “These comments deeply offend me, as I’m sure they offend all of you, which is why I hope all of us will take every opportunity to renounce these kinds of comments and discourage this kind of harmful talk.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/house-democrat-denounces-harmful-slams-on-muslim-lawmaker-114299.html#ixzz3Ozlkh7XH
Obama to Host ‘Selma’ Screening at White House
The movie “Selma” may have scored only two Oscar nominations, but on Friday it will attain a special distinction as it is screened at the White House in an event hosted by President Obama.
“Selma” will become the latest in a line of Oscar contenders such as last year’s “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” and 2012’s “Lincoln” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” to be shown in the White House.
Cast and crew from the movie “Selma” are expected to attend.
http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/president-obama-to-host-screening-of-selma-white-house-1201406620/#
I’m so here for this invite to the White House.
Spike Lee Blasts ‘Selma’ Oscar Snubs: ‘You Know What? F*ck ’Em’
On the day the Oscar nominations were announced, The Daily Beast hung out with Spike Lee at his Brooklyn office to discuss awards politics and how Selma was overlooked.
A few hours after the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards were announced, I took a pre-planned trip to the Brooklyn office of Spike Lee to profile the Oscar-nominated filmmaker for his latest Kickstarter-funded movie, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, which is now available online on Vimeo on Demand and will be released theatrically February 13.
The coincidence wasn’t lost on either of us. Lee’s films have been on the receiving end of several egregious Academy snubs, from his 1989 classic Do the Right Thing failing to receive a Best Picture nod—the racially problematic Driving Miss Daisy ended up winning that year—to Lee not receiving any nominations for his ambitious biopic Malcolm X, though it later landed on both Roger Ebert’s and Martin Scorsese’s lists of the best movies of the ’90s.
As they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The biggest Oscar news Thursday was that the powerful Martin Luther King Jr. biopic Selma managed nominations only for Best Picture and Best Song while being snubbed in all the other major categories, most notably Best Director (Ava DuVernay) and Best Actor (David Oyelowo). Lee, who said Selma and Birdman were the two best films he saw last year, seemed annoyed but not surprised.
“If I saw Ava today I’d say, ‘You know what? Fuck ’em. You made a very good film, so feel good about that and start working on the next one.’”“Join the club!” Lee chuckled, before getting serious. “But that doesn’t diminish the film. Nobody’s talking about motherfuckin’ Driving Miss Daisy. That film is not being taught in film schools all across the world like Do the Right Thing is. Nobody’s discussing Driving Miss Motherfuckin’ Daisy. So if I saw Ava today I’d say, ‘You know what? Fuck ’em. You made a very good film, so feel good about that and start working on the next one.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/15/spike-lee-blasts-selma-oscar-snubs-you-know-what-f-ck-em.html?via=desktop&source=twitter
Is this why Selma was snubbed?
Gene Seymour is a film critic who has written about music, movies and culture for The New York Times, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.
(CNN)A best picture nomination is not exactly nothing. Many would argue that it’s just about everything.
Yet there was brush-fire-level rage on and off the Internet — see #OscarsSoWhite — following Thursday morning’s announcement of this year’s Academy Award nominations over the fact that “Selma,” the critically acclaimed drama about Martin Luther King Jr.’s epochal campaign for voting rights in the South, received only two Oscar nods, one of them for best picture. (The other was for best song: “Glory,” the Golden Globe-winning anthem co-written by Common and John Legend, which one can safely label the prohibitive early favorite its category.)
Much of the anger was tilted, especially, toward the omission of the film’s director, Ava DuVernay, whose nomination would have broken fresh ground as the first African American woman to compete for the best director Oscar.
David Oyelowo’s performance as King was likewise snubbed for a best actor slot while neither Paul Webb’s original screenplay nor Bradford Young’s cinematography, both deemed worthy competitors by movie critics, received the Academy’s acknowledgment in both their respective categories.
………………..
A depiction of African Americans in shameful, soul-depleting captivity is one thing; African Americans organized in open rebellion against their oppressors is very much another.
Movie history has many films with black slaves and black victims. It’s much harder to think of a Hollywood movie in which African Americans are depicted as the active agents of their own salvation. “Selma” is one of those movies. And its relative dearth of worthy nominations is viewed, fairly or not, as a collective snub of not just a movie, but of African Americans’ vision of their own empowerment.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/15/opinion/seymour-selma-oscars-race/
TRUTH.NOTHING.BUT.THE TRUTH
lamh has been telling all sorts of truths about those who are trying to criticize Selma without ever seeing it
.,………………
https://twitter.com/voxdotcom/status/555856981022752769/photo/1
Not according to the munchkins in the media!
Good. Because New Yorkers are paying the salaries of the city cops and their opinion really should matter. Those cops are public servants, someone should remind them of that and also inform them that their display of hatred for the elected mayor is unacceptable to those who pay them.
Media Alert:
For Folks who have been following the Howard Morgan Case in Chicago:
Howard Morgan will on the Perri Smalls radio show on WVON TODAY (1690 AM) at 9:00 AM CST.
http://www.wvon.com
The ‘perfect choice’ to serve as the voice of the 2015 GOP
01/15/15 03:36 PM—UPDATED 01/15/15 03:51 PM
By Steve Benen
Delivering an official response to a president’s State of the Union address is a difficult, thankless task, which often doesn’t go especially well (see Jindal, Bobby and Rubio, Marco). A president generally enjoys an august platform, interrupted repeatedly with standing ovations, while the response usually features a politician standing alone, struggling to read from a teleprompter while speaking to a lone camera.
With all of this in mind, Republicans have made their choice in advance of President Obama’s speech next week.
Newly elected Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst will deliver the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, Republicans announced Thursday. […]
Ernst, who beat Democrat Bruce Braley decisively in November, told reporters she is “humbled and honored” to have the opportunity to deliver the address. The announcement was made at a Republican legislative retreat in Hersey, Pennsylvania.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the right-wing Iowan, just one week into her congressional career, the “perfect choice.”
And at a certain level, it’s easy to understand why. Ernst is a telegenic speaker who just won a competitive U.S. Senate race in an important battleground state. Given that congressional Republican leaders are dominated by white men, it stands to reason that the party would prioritize diversity for this national address.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-perfect-choice-serve-the-voice-the-2015-gop
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Happy FRY-day, Everyone! :-)