Saturday Open Thread | LTD & Jeffrey Osborne Week

Posted on February 21, 2015 by rikyrah

Enjoy your weekend with family and friends.

Jeffrey Osborne interviews

LTD Classic

This entry was posted in Current Events, Media, Music, News, Open Thread, Politics and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

73 Responses to Saturday Open Thread | LTD & Jeffrey Osborne Week

  1. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 10:26 pm

    Emelia @EmeliaSam
    Visibility matters. It’s not just an awards show. It’s life-affirming. #BWIH #BlackWomenInHollywood @essencemag @OWNTV

    Lauren Yvonne @LaurenYvonneTX
    “@EmeliaSam: Visibility matters. It’s not just an awards show. It’s life-affirming. #BWIH #BlackWomenInHollywood @essencemag @OWNTV”
    9:38 PM – 21 Feb 2015

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      February 22, 2015 at 10:54 am

      There are other awards besides the Oscars and maybe it’s time the Oscars were not perceived as being the most important. They get it wrong so much of the time, in my opinion, but they sure as hell know how to manage perceptions.

      Reply
  6. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 9:10 pm

    YouTube Is About To Delete Independent Artists From Its Site
    Comment Now Follow Comments

    In only “a matter of days,” some of your favorite videos on YouTube could be gone, possibly for good.

    YouTube is preparing to radically change the site, adding a subscription service that is intended to help them compete in the streaming music industry. The Google GOOGL -0.87%-owned video site has already signed new licensing deals with all of the major labels, but many independents are refusing to take part. Apparently, not only are smaller, indie labels not being offered the same deals as the majors, but the contracts that Google is putting in front of them are less than fair.

    In order to show their muscle, Google has stated that any label—meaning smaller, independent ones—that does not sign a deal with them will not only be left off the new service, but will have their content taken down from the original, free YouTube. Vice President and Global Head of Business at YouTube Robert Kyncl recently claimed that they already had deals with 90% of the industry, and that they had no choice but to move forward.

    “While we wish that we had 100% success rate, we understand that is not likely an achievable goal and therefore it is our responsibility to our users and the industry to launch the enhanced music experience,” he stated.

    Rumored to be called YouTube Music Pass, the new service is intended to change the way people use YouTube and stream music, paying a premium to skip ads. In addition, people will be able to download music directly from Music Pass, not just listen. While the field is already crowded with popular programs like Spotify, Beats Music, iTunes Radio, Samsung’s Milk and recently-added Amazon Prime Music, YouTube is easily one of the most used platforms by people to consume music, and can expect initial adoption to be much higher than a new product from a firm just joining the game.

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2014/06/18/youtube-is-about-to-delete-independent-artists-from-its-site/

    Reply
  8. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 7:36 pm

    Only4RM @Only4RM
    Don’t get it twisted people. Disgusting Giuliani’s racist dog-whistle attacks on POTUS are part of the GOP’s #NetanYAHOO advance work.

    Reply
  9. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 7:35 pm

    Media Alert:

    Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards

    Tonight..on OWN, 10 pm EST

    Reply
  11. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 7:33 pm

    Michael Hargrove @MichaelHargrov1
    If this was Pres. Hillary Clinton under attack, @TheDemocrats and especially Congressional Black Caucus would be foaming at the mouth.

    Reply
  12. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 7:23 pm

    Only4RM @Only4RM
    #GOPPlaybook ahead of #NetanYAHOO’s visit: The secret-Muslim (maybe even secret Jihadi) POTUS who doesn’t love America vs US-lovin’ “Bibi”.

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      February 21, 2015 at 7:24 pm

      Only4RM @Only4RM
      .@GoBrooklyn @EWErickson It’s like they forgot those lies didn’t work in 2008 OR 2012 and that he’s NOT running in 2016. #PleaseProceedRWNJs

      Reply
  15. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 7:03 pm

    Michael Hargrove @MichaelHargrov1
    Follow
    Remember how you couldn’t get @TheDemocrats off the news shows when GOP was attacking Clinton in the 90s. Skin color really matters.

    Reply
  18. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 6:56 pm

    Republicans discover that it isn’t easy running Congress

    By Dana Milbank Opinion writer January 27

    “Yes, there have been a couple of stumbles,” John Boehner acknowledged Tuesday.

    The House speaker had spoken with dry understatement.

    What has happened since Republicans took full control of Congress three weeks ago has been less a stumble than a pratfall involving the legislative equivalent of a banana peel, flailing arms, an upended bookcase, torn drapes and a slide across a laden banquet table into a wedding cake.

    On Monday, a rebellion by House conservatives forced Boehner to scuttle plans to pass border-security legislation — a topic on which Republicans had supposedly been unified.

    Last week, a rebellion by Republican women caused Boehner to pull from the House floor a bill that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks. More than one House Republican has since complained about the “females” in the caucus.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-republicans-discover-that-it-isnt-easy-running-congress/2015/01/27/cdacca1e-a66a-11e4-a06b-9df2002b86a0_story.html?utm_content=bufferdd3c9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

    Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 6:35 pm

    what a disgrace.

    the MUTE on the Supreme Court

    ……………………

    Jeffrey Toobin ✔ @JeffreyToobinFollow

    Happy anniversary, Justice Thomas! 2/22/15 marks 9 years since he last asked a question at #scotus.

    4:34 PM – 21 Feb 2015

    Reply
  26. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 6:33 pm

    Last Night on Jeopardy No One Wanted to Answer Qs About Black History
    Lindy West
    \
    2/18/14 7:00pm

    Happy Black History Month, everyone, courtesy of last night’s all-white College Jeopardy panel! In the second round of play, the contestants sailed through five of the categories—including “International Cinema Showcase,” “Weather Verbs,” and “Kiwi Fauna”—but avoided the sixth like the, ahem, black plague. That category was “African-American History.”

    In other words, these kids were more confident in their knowledge of weird animals in New Zealand than black human beings in America.

    LOLOLLLOLLOLLOOOOLOLOLOL [cry].

    http://jezebel.com/last-night-on-jeopardy-no-one-wanted-to-answer-qs-about-1525439303

    Reply
  33. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 6:25 pm

    Wesley Lowery ✔ @WesleyLowery
    WaPo’s staff-written obit for “articulate, able and dynamic orator…” Malcolm X ran on A3 pic.twitter.com/i6WBt9xL5k

    Wesley Lowery ✔ @WesleyLowery
    Striking here is that obit keeps referring to the Nation of Islam as a “black Muslim cult.”
    9:50 AM – 21 Feb 2015

    Reply
  37. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 6:23 pm

    Wesley Lowery ✔ @WesleyLowery
    “Malcolm, a slim, reddish-haired six-footer with a gift for bitter eloquence against what he considered white exploitation of Negroes”

    Wesley Lowery ✔ @WesleyLowery
    So basically, the day after Malcolm is killed the NYT writes: “he was an angry black man who could talk good”
    9:16 AM – 21 Feb 2015

    Reply
  38. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 5:27 pm

    Why Does Barack Obama Love America?
    While most Republicans are either keeping mum on Rudy Giuliani’s remarks about President Obama or are doing their best to distance themselves from them, Kevin Williamson at the National Review goes all-in on defending him with an article titled: Rudy is Right.

    In reading Williamson, I got stuck on this paragraph:

    Does Barack Obama like America? The people around him certainly seem to have their reservations. Michelle Obama said — twice, at separate campaign events — that her husband’s ascending to the presidency meant that “for the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country.” She was in her mid 40s at the time, her “adult lifetime” having spanned decades during which she could not be “really proud” of her country. Barack Obama spent years in the Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s church as the churchman fulminated: “God Damn America!” The Reverend Wright’s infamous “God Damn America!” sermon charges the country with a litany of abuses: slavery, mistreatment of the Indians, “treating citizens as less than human,” etc. A less raving version of the same indictment can be found in the president’s own speeches and books.

    What grabbed me was to wonder what about this country would make a black woman who’s ancestors were slaves and had to flee the south due to Jim Crow proud. And why the history Rev. Wright describes would lead a black/brown person to say anything other than “God Damn America!” Perhaps the racism of people like Giuliani and Williamson is actually rooted in exactly that kind of unconscious projection. They know how horribly this country has treated people of color and can’t imagine themselves being patriotic under those circumstances.

    …………………………………….

    For those whose equality was guaranteed at this country’s birth rather than through subsequent struggles, the commitment to continue the process of perfecting our union is something that can only be grasped via empathy. Those who lack that skill can’t understand what makes a man like Barack Obama love America.

    http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2015/02/why-does-barack-obama-love-america.html

    Reply
  42. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 5:16 pm

    Gus @Gus_802
    “Walker says he is unaware whether Obama is a Christian”

    What the hell is going on here?

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 5:11 pm

    because this never fails to crack me up

    http://youtu.be/kga2soqvMF0

    Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 4:26 pm

    11 Years Later… A 3rd ‘Barbershop’ Movie Is Moving Forward, With Malcolm D. Lee in Talks to Direct
    By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
    February 19, 2015 at 9:39PM

    Frankly, I really could do without a 3rd “Barbershop” movie, but it looks like the stars have aligned in favor of one, as MGM is indeed pushing forward with a 3rd film in the franchise, 11 years after the second film, which was released 2 years after the first.

    So much time has passed between the last film, and this upcoming threequel, that it’s hard to say, at this point, if that fact will work in its favor, or against it.

    No word on plot yet.

    What we do know right now is that Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer are expected to reprise their roles, with Cube’s Cube Vision shingle producing.

    And, per Deadline, Malcolm Lee is in talks to direct the film.

    Collectively, the first 2 movies grossed $140 million domestically on comparitively low budgets, and were financial successes for the studio.

    Ice Cube is certainly keeping himself busy, with a sequel to the box office smash “Ride Along” on the way, and the N.W.A. biopic, “Straight Outta Compton,” set for release this summer.

    http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/a-3rd-barbershop-movie-is-moving-forward-with-malcolm-d-lee-in-talks-to-direct-20150219

    Reply
  45. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 3:51 pm

    Trailer Debut for ‘Hear No Evil’ – TV One’s Original “Edge-of-Your Seat Thriller” (Jill Marie Jones & Richard T. Jones Star)

    Photo of Tambay A. Obenson
    By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
    February 19, 2015 at 6:53PM

    Here’s the trailer for another offering from TV One’s announced expansion of its programming with the introduction of monthly original films, that will premiere throughout the year, beginning this month, February.

    It’s second of a first pair of 2 new original movies, following the Civil Rights-era set drama, “White Water,” which aired on Saturday, February 7th.

    Titled “Hear No Evil,” and set to premiere on Saturday, March 14, at 8PM/ET, the film is described by TV One as an “edge-of-your seat thriller,” which follows a 15-year-old hearing impaired student who, after a freak accident, is suddenly able to hear, and then begins hearing messages from God, which leads to her discovering that more than just her hearing was restored in the accident.

    Further… “Filled with chaos and confusion, Shelby struggles to cope with her newfound circumstances. She battles with what she should do with the knowledge of startling realities — including compromised health and well-being — facing the people around her. What initially seems to be a blessing on the surface could very well be a curse that unravels the bond between her dearest loved ones. Relationships are tested and secrets are revealed in this compelling story of family, faith and the resolve of a young girl.”

    http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/trailer-debut-for-hear-no-evil-tv-ones-edge-of-your-seat-thriller-jill-marie-jones-richard-t-jones-star-20150219

    Reply
  46. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 3:38 pm

    Now in Demand: Black Actors – Morris Chestnut Books Starring Role in Investigative Drama Pilot for Fox

    Photo of Tambay A. Obenson By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
    February 20, 2015 at 5:27PM

    Assuming most of the announced pilots with black actors in lead roles that are set for the 2015/2016 TV season (and there’ve been quite a few of them), make it to series, it’s going to be one heck of a year for us here at S&A HQ, because we’ll have a lot to watch and discuss. I’ll publish a complete round-up of all the pilot castings shortly.

    Here’s another potential 2015/2016 series candidate…

    Morris Chestnut has booked the lead role in an untitled Todd Harthan drama pilot for Fox, which centers on a Dr. Beaumont Rosewood, Jr. (to be played by Chestnut), a gifted, charismatic pathologist. It’s described by Fox as an investigative series that the follows the top private pathologist in all of Miami who, as owner of one of the most sophisticated, state-of-the-art independent labs in the country, finds the secrets in bodies that others usually miss. Despite being constantly surrounded by death Rosewood is obsessed with life and savors every moment. His eternal optimism frustrates the cynical female detective he often works with, but she can’t argue with the results that his unique perspective provides.

    The “cynical female detective” has yet to be cast.

    Chestnut’s casting comes after he recently inked a 3-picture deal with Sony’s Screen Gems, that will see him act in, as well as produce projects for the studio. The above project is with Fox, by the way, another studio.

    He’s already booked for the upcoming thriller “The Perfect Guy,” which he co-stars in with Sanaa Lathan and Michael Ealy, as well as a starring role in the psychological thriller “When the Bough Breaks,” joining Regina Hall.

    Meanwhile, Chestnut’s 3rd project under his 3-picture deal with Screen Gems, will be something called “The Syndicate,” from writer Cliff Dorfman (“Entourage”), which Chestnut is producing. No details on what that one’s about just yet

    http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/now-in-demand-black-actors-morris-chestnut-books-starring-role-in-investigative-drama-pilot-for-fox-20150220

    Reply
  48. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 2:49 pm

    Mr. NFTG @Kennymack1971
    I’ve seen “progressives” show more passion and effort defending Rand Paul and Sarah Palin than they’ve ever shown for the Obamas.

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      February 21, 2015 at 2:51 pm

      Mr. NFTG @Kennymack1971
      We get “progressives” debating what Guliani meant and saying it isn’t fair to tar the GOP with his comments…WTF? (5)

      Mr. NFTG @Kennymack1971
      And yet when this openly racist disrespect towards the President & his family happens we get *crickets* from “progressives” (4)

      Mr. NFTG @Kennymack1971
      You think we didn’t notice when things other Presidents did suddenly become “scandals” when PBO took office? (2)

      Mr. NFTG @Kennymack1971
      And why is that? Because for 6 years the RW pundit class & GOP have been “othering” PBO while the MSM treats it as normal discourse (3)

      Mr. NFTG @Kennymack1971
      It’s painfully obvious Guliani was trolling when he said PBO doesn’t love America. He knew that the RW/GOP base would eat it up. (2)

      Reply
  50. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 2:48 pm

    John Bridges @buddhafinger
    @Kennymack1971 @sherifffruitfly Every single Dem should be raining down buckets of scorn on Guliani–HRC’s silence hasn’t gone unnoticed.

    Mr. NFTG @Kennymack1971
    @TheToast2015 It’s going to be interesting watching the folks who zipped their lips for PBO cape hard for HRC.

    Reply
  52. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 2:47 pm

    Philly Inquirer ✔ @PhillyInquirer
    Swarthmore names Valerie Smith, a Princeton prof of African American studies, to be its first president.
    http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20150222_Swarthmore_names_Valerie_Smith_of_Princeton_to_be_president_of_the_Pa__college.html …

    Reply
  53. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 2:46 pm

    Bill Madden @activist360
    Rudy’s Racism Is Palpable: When Giuliani was mayor, unarmed black men were killed every 5 minutes http://bit.ly/1DEuI7y #ObamaLovesAmerica
    Retweeted by PragmaticObotsUnite

    Reply
  54. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 2:33 pm

    Public’s voice missing in Legislature’s rush to cut UW System budget
    Feb. 21, 2015 12:00 p.m

    In the few weeks since it became public, Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to cut $300 million from the University of Wisconsin System budget has produced three schools of thought within the state’s business community.

    School No. 1 — Perhaps the only way to get the UW System’s attention is to threaten to shut off its water.

    School No. 2 — Harming the state’s largest single source of talent and cutting-edge research is economically dangerous, especially over time.

    School No. 3 — There has to be a better way to conduct a major policy debate.

    In truth, most businesspeople are a blend of Schools 1, 2 and 3. They understand the politics of proposing a massive cut — about 13% of the UW’s total support from state government — as a shot across the bow.

    However, they fear the implications for Wisconsin’s economic growth if one of the nation’s premier academic systems is reduced to also-ran status and its high-quality brand suffers. As most businesspeople know, brands are built over time but can be lost overnight.

    Most of all, they wonder: Where was the public debate about the pros and cons of the UW System before Walker released his budget proposal?

    Yes, some of the failings of the UW have been highly publicized, such as the reserve fund mess two years ago. But has anyone sat back and analyzed the problems and offered solutions?

    The political response to that question might be: “Well, that’s what the state budget debate is all about. Walker has submitted his plan and the Legislature gets to decide.”

    http://www.jsonline.com/business/publics-voice-missing-in-legislatures-rush-to-cut-uw-system-budget-b99433632z1-293127121.html

    Reply
  55. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 2:31 pm

    Scott Walker says he’ll sign fast-tracked right-to-work bill

    Madison — After saying in his re-election bid that he wouldn’t push so-called right-to-work legislation, Gov. Scott Walker committed Friday to signing it, acting after GOP leaders fast-tracked the proposal for a Senate vote next week.

    Walker as a lawmaker sponsored the labor legislation two decades ago and as governor was careful never to say he would veto it, but as recently as September he said he wouldn’t be “supporting it in this session.” That changed Friday as Walker’s fellow Republicans in the Legislature made clear they would act on the issue at a time when the governor has won a second term and is spending more time outside the state pursuing the presidency.

    “I’ve never said that I didn’t think it was a good idea. I’ve just questioned the timing in the past and whether it was right at that time,” Walker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a Friday interview at a National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C.

    The governor’s potential White House run was made possible by his signature 2011 lawknown as Act 10 that repealed most collective bargaining for most public employees. Walker pushed the law through despite protests by tens of thousands of union supporters. That prompted a historic, unsuccessful attempt to recall him, helping Walker become a conservative icon.

    Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said he had the votes needed to pass the proposal and was hoping to avoid the chaos that surrounded the passage of Walker’s union law four years ago. Fitzgerald said he had spoken to Capitol Police and Walker aides about security at the statehouse.

    “My experience as leader is when you have the votes, you go to the floor,” said Fitzgerald, who used the abrupt action to pass Walker’s labor bill in 2011. “…I just have my fingers crossed as to whether something is going to happen like Act 10.”

    Right-to-work laws — in place in 24 states — bar businesses and unions from reaching labor deals that require workers to pay union fees. The Wisconsin measure, like those in 18 other states, would include criminal penalties for agreeing to a contract with a fee requirement.

    Supporters say right-to-work laws provide workers with free choice on whether to join unions. Opponents say unions and businesses should be free to structure labor deals as they see fit and all employees should pay for the work unions do.

    http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/gop-leaders-call-for-special-session-next-week-on-right-to-work-b99448708z1-292939361.html

    Reply
  56. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 2:27 pm

    Why Giuliani and Other Obama Critics Play the ‘American’ Card
    FEB. 21, 2015

    When Rudolph Giuliani said that he does “not believe that the president loves America,” he became the latest in a long line of public figures to question the loyalty or allegiance of the country’s first nonwhite president. While these criticisms are ostensibly directed at Barack Obama’s worldview, as Mr. Giuliani later said, they appear to reflect — or exploit — the tendency to associate being American with being white.

    Mr. Obama’s loyalty to the United States has been questioned in this way since he reached the national stage. Just as people wrongly doubted that the president was born here, many prominent figures in national politics havesmeared him as disloyal, often by suggesting that he is on the side of Islamic extremists (which plays on the related myth that he is Muslim rather than Christian).

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/21/upshot/why-giuliani-and-other-obama-critics-play-the-american-card.html?smid=tw-share&abt=0002&abg=0

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      February 21, 2015 at 2:50 pm

      “While these criticisms are ostensibly directed at Barack Obama’s worldview, as Mr. Giuliani later said, they appear to reflect — or exploit — the tendency to associate being American with being white.”

      Preach! A simple truth, beautifully stated. And everything else that these “critics” say stems from that one irrevocable truth. A LOT of white folks really don’t really believe that non-white people love this country. And, white people have treated non-white people so badly (what an understatement, huh?) throughout the history of this country and they fear the day when the tables are turned. They just assume that POC will want revenge because a LOT of white people are vindictive as our foreign policy attests to. White folks just assume that everyone is vindictive.

      Reply
  57. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    At New York Private Schools, Challenging White Privilege From the Inside
    By KYLE SPENCERFEB. 20, 2015

    On a recent morning, 20 or so high school students, most of them white, milled about the meetinghouse at Friends Seminary, a private school in Manhattan. They were trying to unload on their classmates slips of paper on which they had jotted down words related to the topic “Things I don’t want to be called.”

    Several girls tried get to rid of “ditsy.” A sophomore in jeans and a gray hoodie who identifies as Asian-American was seeking to unload “minority.” And several white students, including a long-limbed girl in a checkered lumberjack shirt, wanted to get rid of “privileged.” Under the rules of the exercise, no other student was obligated to accept it.

    “It’s just a very strong word to use,” the last girl said. “I don’t want to be identified with that just because my parents can afford things. I think it has a negative connotation.”

    A student gave a monologue this month during a performance in Cambridge, Mass., of the play “I, Too, Am Harvard,” in which he described being mistaken for a waiter at a formal university function.Students See Many Slights as Racial ‘Microaggressions’MARCH 21, 2014
    The workshop was part of a daylong speaker series known at Friends as the Day of Concern. Students gathered in small groups to discuss a variety of social justice issues and participate in workshops; there were also talks about gender and the environment. But the overarching theme of the day was identity, privilege and power. And it was part of a new wave of diversity efforts that some of the city’s most elite private schools are undertaking.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/nyregion/at-new-york-private-schools-challenging-white-privilege-from-the-inside.html?smid=tw-nytimes

    Reply
  58. SouthernGirl2 says:
    February 21, 2015 at 1:53 pm

    My youngest boy calls: Hi Mama, what you cooking? :)

    Me: *off to the kitchen to make a good old southern meal for my boy*

    Reply
  59. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    February 21, 2015 at 12:37 pm

    Rep. John Lewis was born on this day in 1940.

    http://youtu.be/IUnZV7KFjbo&rel=0

    Reply
  60. rikyrah says:
    February 21, 2015 at 9:17 am

    Good Morning, Everyone :)

    Off to swim and run errands.

    Reply

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