Chaka Khan (born Yvette Marie Stevens, March 23, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter whose career has spanned four decades, beginning in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. Often dubbed the “Queen of Funk”, Khan has won ten Grammys and has sold an estimated 70 million records worldwide.
Chaka Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23, 1953 into an artistic, bohemian household in Chicago, Illinois. She was the eldest of five children to Charles Stevens and Sandra Coleman, and has described her father Charles as a beatnik and her mother as ‘able to do anything’. Raised in the Hyde Park area, ‘an island in the middle of the madness’ of Chicago’s rough South Side housing projects.[2] Her sister Yvonne later became a successful musician in her own right under the name Taka Boom. Her only brother, Mark, who formed the funk group Aurra, also became a successful musician. She has two other sisters, Zaheva Stevens and Tammy McCrary, the latter of whom is her current manager.
Chaka Khan was raised as a Catholic. She attributed her love of music to her grandmother, who introduced her to jazz as a child. Khan became a fan of rhythm and blues music as a pre-teen and at eleven formed her first all-female singing group the Crystalettes, which included her sister Taka. In the late 1960s, Khan attended several civil rights rallies with her father’s second wife, Connie, a strong supporter of the movement, and joined the Black Panther Party after befriending fellow member, activist and Chicago native Fred Hampton in 1967.
https://twitter.com/guardian/status/624535536385032193
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/624691954224365568
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/624644963104505856
https://youtu.be/7vtZl8A4Okg
https://twitter.com/mashable/status/624710433883181056/photo/1
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/624697653712949248/photo/1
Loving Chaka today…
Beautiful Chaka!
See, the thing is…
NOT ONE of the GOPers has condemned Trump for his insults towards Latinos.
You don’t think they see the SILENCE from the other GOP Candidates?
Is it just me?
…………………………..
Morning Plum: How Donald Trump could end up helping Republicans
By Greg Sargent July 24 at 9:20 AM
Let’s get started with the read of the morning: This piece by Ed O’Keefe documenting the Hispanic media’s treatment of Donald Trump. The coverage is being seen as a sign of how Trump is damaging the GOP. But I think this actually presents Republicans with an opportunity.
I’ll just quote from it:
Donald Trump’s visit to the U.S.-Mexico border dominated the airwaves on Thursday — in English and Spanish.
While the national newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC covered Trump’s visit to Laredo, Tex., coverage of the GOP presidential candidate dominated the national news broadcasts on Univision and Telemundo. Republicans fearful of how Trump is hurting the party’s image with the nation’s fast-growing Latino voting population need only play back Thursday night’s broadcasts as proof….
“The magnate said that the United States needs a wall that divides it from Mexico,” co-anchor Jorge Ramos told viewers at the top of his “Noticiero Univision,” the more popular of the two newscasts…
Jose Diaz-Balart, the co-anchor of “Noticiero Telemundo,” anchored his newscast live from Laredo and told viewers that “Trump declared to the press that he’s certain of the Latino vote and insisted that he hasn’t insulted anyone.”…
During one of the two news conferences Trump held in Texas, Diaz-Balart reminded the candidate that 53,000 Hispanics turn 18 each month and that many are offended by his suggestion that Mexicans crossing the border are rapists or criminals.
That demographic reality is pretty daunting, and the projected growth of the Latino vote share over time has some Republicans calling on the party to change course and get serious about broadening its appeal.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/07/24/morning-plum-how-donald-trump-could-end-up-helping-republicans/
Why Scott Walker is so dangerous
By Dana Milbank Opinion writer July 23 at 10:19 PM
SAN DIEGO — “First off,” Scott Walker proclaimed, “we took on the unions, and we won. We won!”
Taking on the unions is usually first off for Walker, the Wisconsin governor and Republican presidential candidate. It is the very rationale for his candidacy. And on Thursday, he took a detour from the campaign trail to appear here before the annual meeting of the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, a group of state legislators dedicated in large part to defeating unions.
ALEC, which inspired many of Walker’s anti-labor efforts in Wisconsin, drew several hundred union protesters as legislators arrived here this week for its annual conference — and this delighted Walker. “I understand you had a few protesters yesterday,” he told the conservative legislators. “For us, that’s just getting warmed up. That’s nothing. We got 100,000 protesters.”
Walker then went on to celebrate his triumphs over the demonstrators who objected to his dismantling of Wisconsin’s public-sector unions, portraying the pro-union forces as violent thugs. “Those big government interests — they believe they can win by intimidating elected officials,” he said. “There were amazing things they did to try to intimidate us. The good news is we didn’t back down. We remembered the reason we were elected was not to serve the few in our state capitol, but to serve the masses.”
This is the essence of Walker’s appeal — and why he is so dangerous. He is not as outrageous as Donald Trump and Sen.Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), but his technique of scapegoating unions for the nation’s ills is no less demagogic. Sixty-five years ago, another man from Wisconsin made himself a national reputation by frightening the country about the menace of communists, though the actual danger they represented was negligible. Scott Walker is not Joe McCarthy, but his technique is similar: He suggests that the nation’s ills can be cured by fighting labor unions (foremost among the “big government special interests” hurting America), even though unions represent just 11 percent of the American workforce and have been at a low ebb.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-scott-walker-is-so-dangerous/2015/07/23/8b462bea-3182-11e5-97ae-30a30cca95d7_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop_b
Oh..I was mistaken. Jeb doesn’t want to do away with Medicare…he just wants to turn it into a VOUCHER PROGRAM. Silly me for not understanding THAT brilliant idea.
…………………….
Jeb Bush now says he wouldn’t ‘phase out’ Medicare. What he would do is just as wrong
By Paul Waldman July 24 at 12:24 PM
It had to happen sooner or later: a Republican presidential candidate says something suggesting he’d destroy Medicare, the Democrats jump all over him, and he backtracks, saying that’s not what he meant and in fact he only wants to strengthen it. This time it’s Jeb Bush, who said the other day that though we can keep Medicare around for the people who are currently on it, “we need to figure out a way to phase out this program for others and move to a new system that allows them to have something – because they’re not going to have anything.”
This is an old argument from Republicans, one they also use to justify attacks on Social Security: the program is doomed anyway, so we should go ahead and privatize it. The argument is completely wrong with regard to Social Security, and the truth about Medicare is that the program’s future is looking brighter and brighter — in no small part because of the Affordable Care Act. The argument Bush is making is ten years out of date.
Bush did try to walk back his statement a bit, saying the “phase out” part was taken out of context and he’s only talking about how we “reform our entitlement system.” Here’s his follow-up, which doesn’t change the essence of what he was arguing:
……………….
Bush hasn’t yet released his plan to phase out/reform Medicare, but given these comments it seems likely he’ll embrace something like what Paul Ryan has been advocating for years. It involves changing Medicare from a guaranteed single-payer government insurance plan into a voucher plan, in which the government gives senior citizens a set amount of money with which they can go out and get private health insurance. It saves money by limiting the value of that voucher, so if it’s less than what coverage actually costs, well, tough luck. In that way, it eliminates the central promise of Medicare, which is that every American senior citizen will have health coverage.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/07/24/jeb-bush-now-says-he-wouldnt-phase-out-medicare-what-he-would-do-is-just-as-wrong/
Jeb Bush now says he wouldn’t ‘phase out’ Medicare. What he would do is just as wrong
By Paul Waldman July 24 at 12:24 PM
It had to happen sooner or later: a Republican presidential candidate says something suggesting he’d destroy Medicare, the Democrats jump all over him, and he backtracks, saying that’s not what he meant and in fact he only wants to strengthen it. This time it’s Jeb Bush, who said the other day that though we can keep Medicare around for the people who are currently on it, “we need to figure out a way to phase out this program for others and move to a new system that allows them to have something – because they’re not going to have anything.”
This is an old argument from Republicans, one they also use to justify attacks on Social Security: the program is doomed anyway, so we should go ahead and privatize it. The argument is completely wrong with regard to Social Security, and the truth about Medicare is that the program’s future is looking brighter and brighter — in no small part because of the Affordable Care Act. The argument Bush is making is ten years out of date.
Bush did try to walk back his statement a bit, saying the “phase out” part was taken out of context and he’s only talking about how we “reform our entitlement system.” Here’s his follow-up, which doesn’t change the essence of what he was arguing:
……………….
Bush hasn’t yet released his plan to phase out/reform Medicare, but given these comments it seems likely he’ll embrace something like what Paul Ryan has been advocating for years. It involves changing Medicare from a guaranteed single-payer government insurance plan into a voucher plan, in which the government gives senior citizens a set amount of money with which they can go out and get private health insurance. It saves money by limiting the value of that voucher, so if it’s less than what coverage actually costs, well, tough luck. In that way, it eliminates the central promise of Medicare, which is that every American senior citizen will have health coverage.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/07/24/jeb-bush-now-says-he-wouldnt-phase-out-medicare-what-he-would-do-is-just-as-wrong/
This rich bastard meant what he said. He doesn’t care if Medicare or Social Security remains viable, or not, because he’ll never need these programs. He’s also a stupid SOB. His big brother tried to “reform” Social Security when he was in office, received so many negative responses that he abandoned the plan.
This MOFO right here. George W. Bush, your brother took us to war, and ran up the NATIONAL DEBT, that we’re still paying for. GTFOH
https://twitter.com/newsone/status/624662877304033281/photo/1
https://twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/status/624667166722420736
zizi2 @zizii2
Small World #AumaObama picked #BarackObama up in her VW beetle in1987. 2day she rides the Beast w/ him #ObamainKenya https://twitter.com/nkosi_milton/status/624631348821667840 …
https://twitter.com/BBCAfrica/status/624661691641434112
https://twitter.com/jeffmason1/status/624653343281934336
https://twitter.com/KinyanBoy/status/624599616462327808
How cool!
https://twitter.com/NationFMKe/status/624622855070724096
Again, how cool!
https://twitter.com/NationFMKe/status/624637983019372544
https://twitter.com/NationFMKe/status/624647172487819264
https://twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/status/624638993909551104
[caption id="attachment_64356" align="alignnone" width="660"]
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, right, watches as President Barack Obama, center, hugs his half-sister, Auma Obama, after he arrived at Kenyatta International Airport, on Friday, July 24, 2015, in Nairobi, Kenya. Obama is traveling on a two-nation African tour where he will become the the first sitting U.S. president to visit Kenya and Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)[/caption]
Ah shit! The look: DON’T START NONE, WON’T BE NONE!
She looks like she is all about protecting my President.
https://twitter.com/dailynation/status/624638904927416320
Poll shows public souring on GOP after 2014 gains
07/24/15 09:20 AM
By Steve Benen
There’s no denying the electoral successes Republican candidates had in the 2014 midterms. Arguably the most significant change came in the Senate, where the GOP took control of the chamber for the first time since 2006, but up and down the ballot, Republicans won big.
With this in mind, as 2015 got underway, the conservative party had the wind at its back and was eager to show the American public that voters chose wisely in the elections. How’s that working out so far? New polling from the Pew Research Center has to be discouraging.
The Republican Party’s image has grown more negative over the first half of this year. Currently, 32% have a favorable impression of the Republican Party, while 60% have an unfavorable view. Favorable views of the GOP have fallen nine percentage points since January. The Democratic Party continues to have mixed ratings (48% favorable, 47% unfavorable).
The Democratic Party has often held an edge over the GOP in favorability in recent years, but its advantage had narrowed following the Republicans’ midterm victory last fall. Today, the gap is as wide as it has been in more than two years.
The problem for Republicans isn’t just the gap between the GOP and Democrats. The more pressing issue is the direction of public attitudes – in early 2015, Republicans had a respectable-but-underwhelming 41% favorable rating. With GOP officials in control of Congress, most state legislatures, and most governors’ offices, that same figure has dropped sharply to 32%.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/poll-shows-public-souring-gop-after-2014-gains
whether here or overseas….Black folks wear what they want and DARE YOU to tell them that they’re not stylin’….LOL
https://twitter.com/edwinobuya1/status/624604318402920451
love this
https://twitter.com/DavidAkalimon/status/624633981842141184
https://twitter.com/xtiandela/status/624603008068775937
President Obama in Kenya. NTV Kenya Live coverage.
https://twitter.com/AfricanCelebSpy/status/624570408860172289
https://twitter.com/citizentvkenya/status/624589721684025344
POTUS took The Beast to Kenya!!
https://twitter.com/KenyaAirports/status/624580976799318016
LOL Don’t mess with the BEAST or POTUS.
Larry Wilmore on Sandra Bland: Black people have to act like the Dowager Countess to avoid police brutality
Travis Gettys
24 Jul 2015 at 07:46 ET
Larry Wilmore tackled the baffling death of Sandra Bland — who Texas police say hung herself in jail three days after she was arrested during a traffic stop for a minor violation.
The host of Comedy Central’s “Nightly Show” said the state trooper continually escalated the situation, first by sarcastically asking if she was finished complaining after he asked whether she was irritated, and then asking her to put out the cigarette she was lawfully smoking in her car.
‘Are you done’ isn’t how you finish something — ‘are you done’ is how you start something,” Wilmore said.
He then played a lengthy portion of the dashcam video, which shows the state trooper become increasingly aggressive after Bland refuses to put out thee cigarette and then asks why she is being ordered out of her vehicle.
“Here’s what I saw: I saw a woman who was very irritated and probably having a bad day, most likely because she was pulled over, smoking a cigarette to calm down, complying with everything the officer asked for,” Wilmore said. “Then it got confusing because he told her to put out her cigarette but then offered to light her up by pointing a Taser at her head. To me and most reasonable people, it’s clear that this officer was wrong.”
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/larry-wilmore-on-sandra-bland-black-people-have-to-act-like-the-dowager-countess-to-avoid-police-brutality/#.VbJLm2wYIzM.twitter
https://twitter.com/NoShock/status/624587042748506112
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/624603967666847744
White MALES are killing at ALARMING RATES! Massacres, serial killings, yet the local yokels always ask about black on black shootings.
It’s sickening to see that the white man has always been a savage killer, rapist, land-stealing, massacring, beast. HISTORY FOLKS! this is why these cop killing low-lifes and mass-killings continue. It has become imbedded in our 21st Society and accepted as an ugly fact that these men killings are normal.
Sandra Bland’s voicemail from jail was ‘haunting,’ says the friend who released it
July 23, 2015
It had been days since LaVaughn Mosley had been told his friend, Sandra Bland, died in her Texas jail cell. He looked at his phone — two missed calls, and a voicemail buried in the dozens he keeps on his phone.
“I’m still just at a loss for words honestly at this whole process,” Mosley heard Bland say. “How did switching lanes with no signal turn into all of this, I don’t even know.”
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-sandra-bland-voicemail-friend-20150723-story.html
Because America is in DESPERATE need of a ‘GREAT, WHITE, ROPE-A-DOPE
Jake Gyllenhaal transforms in the boxing drama ‘Southpaw’
http://link.washingtonpost.com/548289943b35d072688b4aaa2v2c8.15ww/VbEOD8PolcmKjlGgA25bb
https://twitter.com/msnbc/status/624355584272306176
https://twitter.com/cmpnwtr/status/624481302436122624
CNN describes KILLER John Russell Houser as a ‘THEATER PATRON’
https://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/2307/2278/original.jpg
Which of These 3 Emmett Till Projects Will Be Made First? Will Smith & Jay-Z Have Gotten Behind One of Them
Photo of Tambay A. Obenson
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
July 23, 2015 at 9:25PM
August 28, 1955, Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago, is abducted from his uncle’s home in Money, Mississippi. Two white men – Roy Bryant Jr. and J. W. Milam – seize Till after he supposedly whistled at a white woman, and days later, he’s found brutally murdered, his body mutilated. An all-white jury would eventually acquit the two men of the crime. Although they would later confess in a paid interview with journalist William Bradford Huie, for Look magazine.
Exactly 8 years later, August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. (who called Till’s murder “one of the most brutal and inhuman crimes of the twentieth century”), led The March on Washington – one of the largest political rallies for human rights in United States history, calling for civil and economic rights for African Americans. It took place in Washington, D.C., where, standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, King delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech, advocating racial harmony.
Three months and three days after Emmett Till’s body was pulled from the Tallahatchie, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began.
On film, 3 years ago, directors Aravind Ragupathi and Rob Underhill, joined playwright/actor Mike Wiley, to produce a film reenacting the conversation between journalist William Bradford Huie and the white two men acquitted for the boy’s murder.
Wiley, who’s black by the way, convincingly plays all 3 characters (in fact he plays every character in the film, regardless of race) in an acting tour de force.
The film, titled, “DAR HE: The Lynching of Emmett Till,” traveled the film festival circuit successfully. It’s on home video now (visit its Facebook page for more info).
Another film that was in the works in 2012, from DeShaun Davis, titled “55 Till Now,” was to center on Till’s 1955 murder – specifically, as the title suggests, its aftermath.
The independent docudrama was to star Jonah Lampkin as Till, but since we first profiled the project, when it was still in production, there has been no news of any progress. Out last post says that it was set for release in November 2012, but it doesn’t look like that happened. Both its Facebook and Twitter pages haven’t been updated since late 2012. If I learn anything about its whereabouts from the filmmaker, I’ll update this post.
Past films on Till’s story that are currently available for you to watch right now are: “The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till,” a 2005 documentary directed by Keith Beauchamp; and “The Murder of Emmett Till,” produced and directed by award-winning documentarian Stanley Nelson, which aired on PBS in 2003, and won numerous awards.
Currently there are 3 new Emmett Till films in the works to add to the above – all 3 will be scripted, not documentaries; The first, announced in early May of this year, will be produced by the late Roger Ebert’s wife Chaz Ebert, which will be based on the book, “Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America,” co-written by Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley (who passed away in 2003), and journalist Christopher Benson.
It’s still early in development, and there’s no director, writer or cast attached to the project yet; although shooting is scheduled to start next year in the Mississippi Delta area, and Illinois.
The second Till feature film, announced in late May at the Cannes Film Festival, will be based on the play, “The Face of Emmett Till.”
Skyland Pictures and FireRock Bay Pictures are behind the project, which James Moll (“The Last Days”) is attached to direct, from a script penned by David Barr III and David Scott Hay, who are also co-producing. And just like the Chaz Ebert project, which will be based on a book co-written by Emmett Till’s mother, the play that this film will be based on, was also co-written by Till’s mother, the late Mamie Till-Mobley, along with David Barr III.
“The Face of Emmett Till” is a true-to-life dramatization of the death of Till and the aftermath. The film adaptation is set for an early 2016 shoot in Chicago and Mississippi.
And finally, a third project, announced this evening, has been set up at HBO as a miniseries, from a producing team that includes Will Smith, Jay-Z and Aaron Kaplan. Currently in active development, according to Deadline, the series is described as “an immersive and in depth exploration of the Emmett Till story.”
A writer is being sought to script what is expected to be a 6-hour miniseries for HBO. No other details are available at this time.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/which-of-these-3-emmett-till-projects-will-be-made-first-will-smith-jay-z-get-behind-one-of-them-20150723
Lay your chip on THIS: Gunman in La. theater kills 2, wounds 9, takes own life
By Sarah Kaplan, Ashley Cusick
LAFAYETTE, LA. — A gunman opened fire on a movie theater in Lafayette, La. Thursday night, killing at least two people and injuring nine others before killing himself, police said.Police Chief Jim Craft said at a news conference that police received reports of a shooting at the Grand Theatre 16 around 7:30 p.m. Within a couple minutes of the start of shooting, officers entered the theater to confront the shooter; they found him dead of a self inflicted gunshot wound. Two other people have been confirmed dead.
http://link.washingtonpost.com/548289943b35d072688b4aaa2v5pc.7pbh/VbGl-8Poj7TZEMC7A7131
Add “THEATER PATRON”‘ to the BINGO TERROR CARD ALSO TOO, ‘CAUSE CNN…..
Why Donald Trump Truly Terrifies Republicans
It’s not just the threat of a third-party challenge
By Brian Beutler @brianbeutler
For almost three years now, Republican strategic thought has been roughly divided between two schools. One, represented by Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and to a lesser extent Rand Paul, accepts the notion that the party must improve its performance with minority voters, without sacrificing its command of the white vote, in order to remain competitive in presidential elections. The other, represented by Ted Cruz and Scott Walker, rejects this premise.
These Republicans hew to the theory, expressed numerically by RealClearPolitics analyst Sean Trende, that making inroads with minorities is not important. The key to winning, they believe, lies with activating a large block of the white electorate that has stood on the sidelines, but would find a natural home in a Republican party if it were led by someone who could channel the political mood of the white working class.
Donald Trump is currently performing the hugely important political task of adjudicating this intra-GOP debate. Running as a Republican, Trump has made both factions’ goals—and the overarching goal of winning the presidency—more elusive. But by stitching together all the performative qualities Republicans have nurtured on the right over the years—pomp and property worship, xenophobia and anti-establishmentarianism—he’s also showing us what it takes to stir the passions of these missing white voters. Most Republicans, quite sensibly, are horrified by what they see.
In years past, Republicans didn’t think of Trumpism as a liability so long as Trump was outside the tent pissing further out. When Trump was busily whipping up reactionary sentiment, indulging birther conspiracies, Republicans didn’t see a “jackass”—they saw an opportunity. They recognized his appeal to a segment of white voters, and concluded it could be put to good use, so long as he marshaled his followers into the Republican electorate. They didn’t call him a media creation back then—they sought his endorsement.
Trump is now inside the tent, pissing everywhere. He threatens to neutralize the potential of these voters, or train them as a weapon against their own natural party, while bulldozing inroads to minorities. By placing xenophobic immigration politics at the center of the campaign, he’s made it practically impossible for Republicans to convince minorities that there’s a softer side of the GOP. And by condemning him so vocally, his Republican critics are reminding Trump’s supporters of everything they don’t like about the Republican party.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122350/why-donald-trump-terrifies-republicans?utm_content=buffercfcc0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Watch 5 Clips From TV One Original Movie ‘Runaway Island’ – Premieres This Saturday, July 25
Photo of Tambay A. Obenson
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
July 23, 2015 at 12:50PM
Another TV One original movie to add to your calendar – all part of the network’s plans revealed earlier this year, for a fresh original programming lineup that includes 8 new series and specials, 16 original movies, as well as new production relationships with new partners.
The film, titled “Runaway Island,” directed by Dianne Houston, is slated to premiere this Saturday, July 25 at 8 PM.
Lorraine Toussaint, Thomas Q. Jones and Aisha Hinds headline the original movie, which is written by Christopher Brandt – the 2014 American Black Film Festival screenplay competition winner. “Runaway Island” tells a story about a group of troubled strangers looking to escape their woes, who end up sharing a transformational experience on an island – Isle du Soleil, a secluded 1700s Gullah Sea Island resort – steeped in African American heritage and culture.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/new-trailer-for-tv-one-original-movie-runaway-island-premieres-this-saturday-july-25-20150723
MSNBC Is Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place with Rev. Al (Demote Him or Let Him Go?)
Shadow and Act
By Sergio | Shadow and Act
July 22, 2015 at 7:56PM
First to go could very well be Ed Schultz’s “The Ed Show,” which had been dumped by the network once before, and then brought back for some mysterious reason. The other is “All In with Chris Hayes,” which has been on the network for over two years now, and has yet to make any kind of dent in terms of ratings.
His show has two major problems: one being the fact that it goes up against “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox. The second is Hayes’ hyper, persnickety, aggressively nerdy “I’m smarter than you and I always want you to know it” attitude, which I suspect turns a lot of people off. He reminds me of that really annoying, smartass brat in high school who always got his ass kicked.
So that leaves us with the third problem show on MSNBC – and that is “Politics Nation with the Rev. Al Sharpton.” And this is where the network has a problem.
Basically Rev Al’s show has been a ratings disaster from the beginning, and normally would have been cancelled a long time ago, but the network has kept it on. It’s not like it’s such a great show. Rev Al ‘s hectoring, shouting way of speaking, as if the viewers are in the next room, as well as his still not being able to figure out how to read a teleprompter, don’t help matters.
Yet his show keeps keeping on. Why? One theory is that the network is afraid to incur Rev. Al’s wrath, worried that they would get hounded with protests from angry viewers. But if the ratings are so low, who’s watching it to even raise a protest?
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/msnbc-caught-between-the-rock-and-the-hard-place-with-rev-al-demote-him-or-let-him-go-20150722
MSNBC only put Rev Al on to placate the negroes! We saw them a mile coming. Rev Al can put his head between his legs and kiss his ass goodbye, very soon, and definitely after PBO’s out of office.
Another white male shooter being described as a ‘LONER…a DRIFTER…..
Far-Right Shooter Kills 2 Inside Theater
Police have identified the shooter in Thursday night’s attack inside a Louisiana movie theater as 58-year-old John Russel Houser. Authorities say the man is from Alabama and had been staying at a local hotel recently. They described him as a “drifter” who had disguises in his car. They say he appears to have been armed only with a .40-caliber handgun, and that his car was parked outside an emergency exit door—indicating that he planned to get away.
Officials say they know little about the shooter, and are requesting that people with information about him contact local authorities. A Google search for the name reveals a Tea Party Nation page registered to a person with that name. Authorities have not confirmed whether the page, registered in June 2013, belonged to the shooter. The owner of the Tea Party Nation page identifies his hometown as Phenix, Alabama. He seems to have called himself Rusty Houser on another forum in which he describes himself as “very conservative” and asks how to find white-power groups.
http://www.katc.com/story/29621479/reports-shooting-at-the-grand-on-johnston-several-injures#.VbGR8HlT7_Y.twitter
Exactly HOW MUCH do I love this?
…………….
Bessie Coleman Takes Flight via Audra McDonald in Tomorrow’s ‘Doc McStuffins’ Episode
Photo of Tambay A. Obenson
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
July 22, 2015 at 4:58PM
Parents will probably be familiar with “Doc McStuffins,’ the hit animated children’s television series that’s been airing since 2012 on the Disney Channel and Disney Junior.
……………………………………………
Kiara Muhammad voices the lead character, Doc McStuffins, and she’s joined by Lara Jill Miller as Lambie, Robbie Rist as Stuffy, Loretta Devine as Hallie, Jess Harnell as Chilly, Kimberly Brooks as Dr. Myiesha McStuffins (mother to Doc McStuffins) and Gary Anthony Williams as Marcus McStuffins (Doc McStuffins’ father).
Worth noting, the series also counts several African American writers and animators working on the show, which is a rarity even still today.
Tomorrow night’s episode, titled “Itty Bitty Bess Takes Flight,” airing July 23 at 9 AM ET/PT, sees Doc and the toys help a tiny tin airplane pilot named Bess – a historical toy created in the likeness of the famous African American woman pilot, Bessie Coleman – get back into shape after her joints become rusty.
Audra McDonald guest stars as Bess, and, as you’d expect, will sing a tune or two as Coleman.
http://youtu.be/TrY9xy-9ngA
http://youtu.be/OmJ62Mp4SeY
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/bessie-coleman-takes-flight-via-audra-mcdonald-in-tomorrows-doc-mcstuffins-episode-20150722
LOVE THIS! Let me also count the ways…. Riky my grandson adores Mcstuffins.
Check Out the Official Theatrical Trailer for Stanley Nelson’s ‘The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution’
Photo of Tambay A. Obenson
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
July 21, 2015 at 12:52PM
Stanley Nelson’s acclaimed new documentary, “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution,” will open at Film Forum on September 2, with a national roll-out to follow, this fall.
The film will also be broadcast as part of PBS’ independent film series “INDEPENDENT LENS” in winter of 2016.
A definitive portrait of the Black Panther Party – its rise and fall – acclaimed veteran director Stanley Nelson aims to paint a complete and accurate account of the revolutionary black nationalist organization, a film that should act as a reminder, as well as an education (especially for the uninitiated, unaware of those whose shoulders they stand on).
As Nelson himself states, the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party is a story “that hasn’t been told,” adding that, “the Panthers have been part of other films, or there have been stories about individual Panthers. But there’s never been a really great movie about the Black Panther Party.”
http://youtu.be/F56O3kZ9qr0
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/check-out-the-official-theatrical-trailer-of-stanley-nelsons-the-black-panthers-vanguard-of-the-revolution-20150721
Looking forward to seeing this movie.
https://twitter.com/lesleyclark/status/624558113321033728
Marco Rubio Blasts Obama: We Already Have a President With No Class
The Republican presidential candidate was discussing fellow contender Donald Trump when he took a swing at the president.
By: Breanna Edwards
Posted: July 22 2015 4:06 PM
It seems as if Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) thinks that President Barack Obama and fellow presidential contender Donald Trump are two peas in the same pod when it comes to class or a lack thereof.
The junior Florida senator took a shot at business mogul Trump during a Fox & Friends appearance, saying that while he agreed that illegal immigration was an issue, Trump wasn’t the man to address it.
“Here’s what’s so important to me: The presidency of the United States is not just the top government official. It is the leader of our people and our nation as well,” Rubio said.
“To conduct the presidency, it has to be done in a dignified way, with a level of class,” the presidential hopeful added. “I don’t think the way he’s behaved over the last few weeks is either dignified or worthy of [the] office he seeks.”
Then, Rubio turned on Obama, taking a dig at the sitting president.
“We already have a president now that has no class,” Rubio said. “I mean, we have a president now that does selfie-stick videos, that invites YouTube stars there, people who eat cereal out of a bathtub … he goes on comedy shows to talk about something as serious as Iran. The list goes on and on.”
http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/07/marco_rubio_blasts_obama_we_already_have_a_president_with_no_class.html
24 Tweets by Jesse Williams on Race and Police Explain Exactly What’s Wrong With Society and Law Enforcement
The actor-activist pointed out the double standards when it comes to race and police.
By: Yesha Callahan
Posted: July 23 2015 9:39 AM
Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams is anything but “just an actor.” Some people have called Williams the next Harry Belafonte. Williams’ activism goes beyond the keyboard, and he practices what he preaches offline through his work with the Advancement Project, an organization focused on civil rights.
On Wednesday evening, as Williams was still trying to make sense of what happened to Sandra Bland during and after that traffic stop in Texas, he tweeted about the unfairness of the justice system, especially in terms of race.
http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2015/07/_24_tweets_by_jesse_williams_on_race_and_police_explains_what_s_wrong_with.html?wpisrc=mostpopular
50 Cent: AT&T Is Racist Because It’s Dropping Urban-Friendly Channels Like Starz
The rapper is concerned that his hit cable show Power isn’t available to viewers who have AT&T as a cable provider. He thinks it’s about race.
By: Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele
Posted: July 21 2015 12:53 PM
50 Cent is probably overly concerned about every last one of his moneymaking endeavors now that a New York grand jury has ordered him to cough up $5 million in a civil suit. Not to mention the other financial hardships he said he’s experiencing in a recent bankruptcy filing.
So don’t go messing with his hit TV show Power.
The rapper is accusing AT&T of being racist in Twitter and Instagram posts because the cable-providing arm of the telecommunications company is not including the Starz network in its channel lineup. Power airs on the Starz network and has a predominantly black cast and black viewers.
50 Cents tweeted Sunday about how it sucks that approximately half a million people who wanted to watch Power couldn’t because they have AT&T as a cable provider and therefore don’t get the Starz network.
http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2015/07/_50_cent_says_at_t_is_racist_they_re_dropping_urban_friendly_networks.html
D.L. Hughley: Arthur Ashe Fought AIDS and Segregation; Caitlyn Jenner Put on a Dress. Their ‘Courage’ Is Not the Same Thing
The comedian argues that Jenner’s transformation does not compare to what Ashe had to endure as an African-American athlete in a predominantly white sport in the 1960s.
By: Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele
Posted: July 20 2015 2:10 PM
It’s a great point.
Caitlyn Jenner struggled for many years to live her truth publicly—that she was a woman trapped inside a man’s body—because of the backlash she anticipated she would receive if she were to live as a transgender woman. It was certainly very courageous of her to come forward to reveal her true self to the world, but that she was able to masquerade her gender identity in the first place is a privilege unto itself.
Meanwhile, Arthur Ashe—one of the first African-American tennis players to dominate the predominantly white sport—didn’t have the luxury of hiding behind his skin color. Ashe experienced a lot of racism as he climbed the tennis ranks in the 1960s, a time when much of the nation was still in the throes of Jim Crow.
Hughley has a beef with how the ESPYs gave Jenner the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at this year’s ceremony. He told a TMZ cameraman that he didn’t think their struggles are comparable.
“[Ashe] was a symbol of courage. He fought [the] segregated South [and in] a very segregated profession,” Hughley said. “He fought AIDS with dignity and honor, and Caitlyn Jenner put on a dress. I don’t think it’s the same thing.”
Hughley went on to suggest that he thinks Lauren Hill, a college basketball player who died from brain cancer, should have received the courage award.
If it were up to Hughley, Jenner would not have been up on that stage this year.
“I don’t know that [Jenner] would have been my choice, but obviously I’m not on the ESPY [committee]. I think Arthur Ashe and Caitlyn Jenner have very little in common.”
http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2015/07/comedian_d_l_hughley_says_that_arthur_ashe_s_courage_should_not_be_compared.html
Bernie Mac: A King of Comedy Who Wasn’t Afraid to Stay Unapologetically Black, Even if It Cost Him
The beloved comedian gets the star treatment in the new season of Unsung Hollywood.
By: Ronda Racha Penrice
Posted: July 22 2015 11:30 AM
“Bernie Mac is the guy you don’t wanna follow. Ever,” Chris Rock says at the beginning of a new episode of Unsung Hollywood featuring comedian Bernie Mac. The TV One series kicks off its second season Wednesday.
A titan among his peers, the Chicago comedian—born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough Oct. 5, 1957—is best-known today for his hit TV series The Bernie Mac Show and the historic Kings of Comedy tour, which was made into a film directed by Spike Lee. Mac’s rise to fame wasn’t all laughs, but his journey remained triumphant and inspirational, even as it reminds us of how selective stardom is in Hollywood.
“He was just our comedian,” Cedric the Entertainer explains. “He was just the black folks’ comedian and he was a secret.” An open secret. Mac’s talent—as his fellow funnymen; industry insiders; widow, Rhonda McCullough; and daughter, JeNiece, along with other family members and childhood friends, attest—was undeniable long before Hollywood paid any attention.
For years the married father of one worked various jobs, ranging from janitor to cook and moving man, to make ends meet while pursuing comedy stardom. Initially, his edgier brand of funny found a home in Chicago’s rougher South Side venues. His first big television break, on HBO’s game-changing Def Comedy Jam in 1992, helped make him a viable comedian, proving that, even in one’s 30s, dreams could come true. But his second performance changed contemporary urban comedy forever.
Standing before a hostile New York City crowd that had relentlessly booed the previous comedian despite rolling cameras, Mac famously let them know, “I ain’t scared of you muthaf–kas,” and right there, a comedy legend was born. After that, Mac was in demand all over the country.
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/07/tv_one_s_unsung_hollywood_bernie_mac_gets_the_star_treatment_in_new_season.html
Why African Americans Should Be 1st in Line to Cuba
As the U.S. Embassy opens in Havana for the first time in 54 years, we should learn the history that ties black Americans to the black population of the island.
By: DeWayne Wickham
Posted: July 20 2015 3:00 AM
Havana: On a small cut of land at the corner of 23rd Avenue and F Street in the Vedado section of this city stands a monument to two heroes of the Cuban people.
But the faces carved into the imposing marble-and-granite structure are not those of Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara, icons of the left-wing revolution that chased the right-wing dictator Fulgencio Batista from power and spawned a U.S. economic embargo of this Caribbean island nation that is older than most Americans.
On the side of the monument that looks out onto 23rd Avenue—a wide thoroughfare that stretches across this city from the Almendares River to the Bay of Havana—is the image of Martin Luther King Jr. On its other side, the monument bears the likeness of Malcolm X.
For over half a century, Cuba has been a forbidden fruit of American diplomacy. Banned from traveling here by a foreign policy that was deeply rooted in domestic politics, most Americans had limited access to—and little real knowledge of—this island nation that is just 90 miles off the tip of Florida. So, not surprisingly, the perception of Cuba that many “North Americans” had during this time was shaped largely by politicians in Washington, D.C.; political activists in South Florida; and a U.S. media that did more repeating than reporting on Cuba.
In announcing his decision earlier this month to loosen travel restrictions and renew diplomatic relations with Cuba, President Barack Obama opened up the possibility that many more Americans will make their way to Cuba. African Americans should be in the front ranks of this surge.
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/07/why_african_americans_should_be_first_in_line_to_cuba.html
so true.
so true.
………………………
Inequality Is the New Affirmative Action—for White People
It’s become the go-to populist term for white middle-class rage over the wealth gap, and another way for politicians to avoid difficult conversations about race.
By: Charles D. Ellison
Posted: July 23 2015 3:00 AM
With 2016 on the horizon, presidential candidates are all on the new policy-wonk flavor of the year: “inequality.”
And they’re using it in a heated bid to win as many white votes as they can get.
Interestingly enough, the cognoscenti once talked up the canyon-sized gaps between rich and poor as default markers for a broader conversation on the inequality we always knew: racism. Today “inequality” is an umbrella term for all sorts of unequal conditions that are in neatly constructed sociological silos: economic insecurity keeping its distance from racial inequality, even though, as policy expert Kathleen Geier correctly notes, “they are closely intertwined.”
Now it’s as if “inequality” has quickly evolved into the go-to populist expression of middle-class white voting rage—conveniently segregated from that uglier conversation on race. It’s what a largely white field of Democratic and Republican candidates now use to show authenticity when street cred is questioned.
On the left, Hillary Clinton feverishly embraces inequality when she’s viewed as too cozy with Wall Street; Bernie Sanders continues his love affair with inequality because, well, who doesn’t hate Wall Street? Even Republicans, from red-state firebrands like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum to the less Tea Party-aligned such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, are clumsily fashioning themselves as proponents of the poor.
So long as you don’t mention the underserved people of color whom inequality hits the hardest. These days, “inequality” discourse has gone the way of hip-hop: co-opted. Once an exclusive narrative of black plight, anti-oppressor themes are watered down so that white electorates can feel less guilty and fearful. It’s then, for example, better to say that everyone is unequal rather than to admit #BlackLivesMatter.
http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2015/07/inequality_is_the_new_affirmative_action_for_white_people.html
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/23/15
Trump is Republican frontrunner, third party threats aside
Rachel Maddow debunks the myth that Ross Perot drew votes away from George H.W. Bush in 1992, and points out that Donald Trump is still running (and front-running) as a Republican, so the GOP should focus on that instead of vague third party threats
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/face-it-gop–trump-is-republican-frontrunner-490587203574
Jeb Bush doubles down on far-right Medicare ‘reform’
07/24/15 08:40 AM
By Steve Benen
Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush caused a stir Wednesday night, telling a Koch-backed political group that he wants to “phase out” Medicare entirely. At a town-hall event in New Hampshire yesterday, an unhappy voter asked for an explanation. Here’s what the former Florida governor said in response:
“To my point last night, here’s what I said. I said, first and foremost, whenever you get into a conversation about reforming entitlements, the first thing that you can be guaranteed of is that the left will attack you and demonize you. It took about six hours for that to happen [on Wednesday night]. I woke up in the morning and words taken out of context – exactly what I predicted would happen.
“I told the story of Paul Ryan who had a plan to deal with this over the long haul. The first thing I saw, that happened to him was, a guy looking like Paul Ryan was in a TV ad attacking him, wearing a red tie and a suit, throwing granny off the cliff.
“This is, we’ve got to get beyond this, because this is not a sustainable system. We need to protect it for people that have it, and we need to make sure that we reform it for people that are expecting it.”
He then transitioned to talking about the latest report from the Medicare trustees, which was released this week, and which Bush seems to believe bolsters his argument.
I didn’t really intend to return to the subject – here’s yesterday’s piece if you missed it – but so long as the GOP candidate is doubling down on a poor argument, it’s probably worth clarifying further why Bush is mistaken.
Bush is concerned, for example, about being “attacked” and “demonized.” I don’t imagine it’s fun being a candidate facing irate voters, but when those seeking public office talk about giving tax cuts to millionaires while taking health benefits away from seniors on a fixed income, they shouldn’t be too surprised when there’s pushback.
He also believes his comments from Wednesday were “taken out of context.” For what it’s worth, I published the entire context and linked to a video of Bush’s comments. Unfortunately for the candidate, there’s nothing in the context that makes the argument any stronger.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/jeb-bush-doubles-down-far-right-medicare-reform
Ron Johnson flubs another test
07/23/15 04:06 PM—UPDATED 07/23/15 05:20 PM
By Steve Benen
Perhaps no congressional Republican is quite as vulnerable as Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson. Given the tough rematch he’ll face with former Sen. Russ Feingold (D), one might assume the far-right incumbent would be going out of his way to be as impressive as possible.
If that’s the plan, it’s not going well. Just in recent months, Johnson has been caught up in an odd fight over the “Lego Movie”; his ridiculous anti-Obamacare lawsuit was laughed out of court; and his defense for signing onto a letter intended to sabotage American foreign policy wasn’t especially coherent.
Today, however, seemed to reach a new low. Max Fisher reported, for example, on today’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Top administration officials are at Congress today for a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the Iran nuclear deal, a subject that has always brought out the crazy in American politicians.
No one expected this hearing to be anything other than a circus: The deal is politically contentious, and Republicans are trying to out-hawk one another for the coming presidential primaries. Congress did not disappoint.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/ron-johnson-flubs-another-test
Angelina Jolie to direct war drama for Netflix
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Angelina Jolie is teaming up with Netflix to direct an adaptation of “First they Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers.”
The online streaming service announced the news Thursday.
The film will be based on Loung Ung’s memoir of her experiences during the Khmer Rouge regime as a child. It’s expected to be available on Netflix in late 2016.
Jolie co-adapted the script with Ung. The actress and director says the memoir deepened her understanding of how children experience war. It also helped reinforce her connection to Cambodia, where her son Maddox was born.
Jolie recently directed the Louis Zamperini biopic “Unbroken” and is in post-production on the drama “By the Sea,” in which she also acts alongside her husband, Brad Pitt
http://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/angelina-jolie-to-direct-war-drama-for-netflix/ar-AAdpmBP?ocid=HPCDHP
Africa’s Progress Is Good for America
In an exclusive for The Root, President Barack Obama writes of the deeply personal significance, as well as the strategic goals, of his upcoming trip to Kenya and Ethiopia.
By: President Barack Obama
Posted: July 23 2015 12:20 PM
Tonight I begin my fourth visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office, the most of any U.S. president. I’ll also become the first sitting American president to visit Kenya, Ethiopia and the headquarters of the African Union. My visit to Kenya, where my father was born, obviously holds deep personal meaning for me, and my visit will be a chance to reaffirm the ties of family and friendship that bind us as Americans and Africans.
The focus of my trip, however, reflects my approach to Africa since taking office—that it’s in our national interest to deepen our partnerships with the nations and people of Africa who are leading their continent’s remarkable progress. Despite its many challenges, Africa is a diverse region of incredible dynamism and opportunity and the world’s youngest continent—a place of unlimited potential.
On this trip, I’ll focus on three areas: strengthening our economic ties, combating common threats to our security, and reinforcing strong democratic institutions and human rights.
Africa is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, and it’s in our economic interest to make sure we deepen our trade relationship. Since I took office, we’ve boosted U.S. exports to Africa, which last year supported 280,000 American jobs. We’ve joined with Africans to launch historic initiatives to promote health, agricultural development and food security. With our Power Africa initiative, we aim to bring electricity to 60 million African homes and businesses.
http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2015/07/president_obama_writes_that_africa_s_progress_is_good_for_america.html
Karibu Kenya – Welcome to Kenya, President Obama!
https://youtu.be/tEHnW0CSL54
Siaya grannies learn English ahead of Obama’s visit
https://youtu.be/GH5RSHPio9k
TGIF Beautiful People! :-)
Good Morning, Ametia and Everyone at 3CHICS!