Sunday Open Thread

Have a Blessed Sunday, EVeryone.

ICYMI

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 45th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, where the president spoke about the challenges facing black women, particularly in the areas of education, employment and criminal justice. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 45th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, where the president spoke about the challenges facing black women, particularly in the areas of education, employment and criminal justice. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 45th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, where the president spoke about the challenges facing black women, particularly in the areas of education, employment and criminal justice. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 45th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, where the president spoke about the challenges facing black women, particularly in the areas of education, employment and criminal justice. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton looks to President Barack Obama as he speaks on stage at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 45th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. The president spoke about black women's role in helping shape American democracy. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton looks to President Barack Obama as he speaks on stage at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 45th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. The president spoke about black women’s role in helping shape American democracy. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton attends the the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 45th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Washington Convention Center in Washington on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton attends the the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 45th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Washington Convention Center in Washington on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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103 Responses to Sunday Open Thread

  1. rikyrah says:

    Mychal Denzel Smith @mychalsmith
    Whew. That Viola Davis speech just gave me my entire black ass life. Just black-black-blackity-black.

  2. rikyrah says:

    Ghengis Kellz @KMJeezy
    Love that Viola said “black” too. Not that POC shit. Everybody always tryna hitch up to our shit then act brand new.

  3. rikyrah says:

    Kathryn Finney @KathrynFinney
    Three very brown complexion black women won acting awards for diverse, non servant roles.

  4. rikyrah says:

    Tracy is looking good. After him almost checking out permanently, good to see him.

  5. rikyrah says:

    TV Guide ✔ @TVGuide
    Viola Davis is the first black actress to win this award (she and Taraji P. Henson are the 6th and 7th to be nominated.) #Emmys

  6. rikyrah says:

    Taraji is clapping like she’s in church..LOL

  7. rikyrah says:

    CONGRATULATIONS, VIOLA!!

  8. rikyrah says:

    Watching the American Experience on Walt Disney, and Peanut asks me..
    Disney World is a real person?

  9. rikyrah says:

    September 19, 2015 12:30 PM
    Koch Zero
    By D.R. Tucker

    With big money in American politics remaining a clear and present threat, and the odds of adding a 28th amendment to the United States Constitution specifically stating that money is not speech and corporations are not people still a bit limited, it’s nice to see that there are still times when big money comes up a bit short, especially as it pertains to a certain wingnut from Wisconsin:

    A [recent] poll out of Iowa shows most of what we’ve been seeing in recent weeks with Donald Trump at the top of the pack followed by Ben Carson and none of the other candidates in double digits. The real headline out of the poll, though is the seeming collapse of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s Presidential campaign…

    It’s been quite a collapse for Walker over the past two months. Not only was he leading in Iowa and performing strongly in both nationally and in New Hampshire, but he was widely seen as a candidate that could appeal to both the conservative base of the Republican Party and the more moderate “establishment” and business wings. His rise to national prominence due to the showdown over public employee unions in Wisconsin, and his subsequent victories in not only getting his favored legislation passed but also pushing back against a recall effort that resulted from the union showdown and then wining re-election last years made him something of a national hero among Republicans and the calls for him to run for President began long before his re-election as Governor last November. Before the race for the Republican nomination really began, many analysts foresaw that Walker could be a strong competitor to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, especially if he managed to do as well in the Iowa Caucuses as the early polls were indicating.

    As time went on, though, it became clear that Walker was not as good a candidate as his Wisconsin experience and press clippings made it seem. Early on even before he got into the race, Walker got into hot water with conservatives over his hiring of Republican strategist Liz Mair to run his campaign’s social media operation because, among other things, Mair had made comments on Twitter before being hired that were critical of the Iowa Caucuses as well as her personal position on immigration reform. Mair ended up resigning, but it was Walker who ended up coming out of the whole incident looking like someone who would cave to pressure over something as silly as a couple inoffensive tweets. Immigration quickly became the source of another problem for Walker when, although he had once supported immigration reform that included some form of what conservatives call “amnesty” for illegal immigrants, he was caught flip-flopping on the issue when campaigning in Iowa. Later, it was reported that Walker had told high level donors in a private meeting that he actually still did support some form of “amnesty” as party of an immigration reform effort. Walker’s effort to get in the good graces of the hard right base of the party has extended to even making statements critical of legal immigration. More recently, he has been caught taking our different positions on the issue of birthright citizenship over the course of seven days in the wake of Donald Trump’s introduction of his immigration plan. All of this has led to the impression that Walker will say whatever he needs to whichever audience he is talking to, which is obviously a much harder thing to do in the era of the Internet and the ease with which someone can record a campaign appearance with their phone.

    http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_09/koch_zero057688.php

  10. rikyrah says:

    September 20, 2015 8:45 AM
    Why 2016 is Different for the GOP: The Establishment is Divided, The Base is Mostly United
    By David Atkins

    Billions of pixels have been spilled about Trump, Fiorina, the radical extremism of the GOP base and the fecklessness of Republican establishment candidates. But while numerous ad hoc explanations exist for the bizarre way the GOP primary is playing out, the simplest story is often the most overlooked. Traditionally, hardcore movement conservatives find themselves split over who will be the anti-establishment candidate, while the establishment usually unifies early and rolls over the top of the divided opposition.

    In the 2012 campaign, establishment Republicans backed Mitt Romney early. Romney never had the backing of a clear majority of Republican voters. A number of anti-Romneys collectively had a majority of the vote against him, and even as they dwindled to just Gingrich and Santorum those two continued to outpoll Romney collectively. Had either stepped aside and delivered their voters to the other, it’s conceivable that Romney could have been defeated. But Romney limped forward to the finish line and the rest is history. A similar pattern elevated John McCain from a nearly defunct candidacy to the nomination in 2008, despite widespread opposition from the most conservative GOP voters.

    This year that pattern is reversed. The establishment is divided among a bevy uninspiring choices. The leading favorite until now has been Jeb Bush, but his unimpressive campaign performance has prevented him from coalescing support despite numerous advantages. The other GOP establishment picks from Rubio to Kasich to Walker have all had their challenges as well.

    Meanwhile, of course, the Tea Party right has mostly fallen in behind Donald Trump, with a side of support for Carson. Where once the far revanchist right was divided and the corporate right was unified, now the reverse is true.

    http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_09/why_2016_is_different_for_the057699.php

  11. rikyrah says:

    September 20, 2015 5:00 PM
    Scott Walker Should Be Leading The GOP Field. So Why Isn’t He?
    By David Atkins

    A few months ago I was adamant in my belief that Scott Walker would be the GOP nominee. Despite my consistent stance that political professionals underestimate Donald Trump, I’m also not inclined to believe he’ll be the nominee in the end. Republicans tend ultimately to gravitate back to an establishment figure after making flirtations with a number of less stodgy candidates. But in this year’s unusual environment where the establishment is divided while the base is mostly united, the question is who that establishment figure is likely to be.

    For a long time I was betting on Scott Walker. It made sense both on paper and terms of GOP establishment/base dynamics: Walker is a governor (usually better than a Senator) who survived withering liberal attacks to gain re-election. He’s an economic royalist above all, which should endear him to the billionaire class that wants all the money while impoverishing everyone else. He’s also nasty, vindictive and mean-spirited, willing to insult and attack teachers, college professors, women, minorities and just about anyone else on the “politically correct” hit list.

    But rather than converging support from both sides, Walker has now dropped to 0% in polls after holding the lead in Iowa prior to the first debate, and his campaign is on life support. So what happened?

    Andrew Prokop at Vox has a quick rundown. It’s partially that he annoyed the billionaire class by aping Trump’s anti-immigrant stance, but it’s mostly the fact that the debates have shown him to be utterly devoid of charisma:

    http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_09/scott_walker_should_be_leading057695.php

  12. rikyrah says:

    this is sickening.

    ……………..

    U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Afghan Allies’ Abuse of Boys

    By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN

    SEPT. 20, 2015

    KABUL, Afghanistan — In his last phone call home, Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley Jr. told his father what was troubling him: From his bunk in southern Afghanistan, he could hear Afghan police officers sexually abusing boys they had brought to the base.

    “At night we can hear them screaming, but we’re not allowed to do anything about it,” the Marine’s father, Gregory Buckley Sr., recalled his son telling him before he was shot to death at the base in 2012. He urged his son to tell his superiors. “My son said that his officers told him to look the other way because it’s their culture.”

    Rampant sexual abuse of children has long been a problem in Afghanistan, particularly among armed commanders who dominate much of the rural landscape and can bully the population. The practice is called bacha bazi, literally “boy play,” and American soldiers and Marines have been instructed not to intervene — in some cases, not even when their Afghan allies have abused boys on military bases, according to interviews and court records.

    The policy has endured as American forces have recruited and organized Afghan militias to help hold territory against the Taliban. But soldiers and Marines have been increasingly troubled that instead of weeding out pedophiles, the American military was arming them in some cases and placing them as the commanders of villages — and doing little when they began abusing children.

    “The reason we were here is because we heard the terrible things the Taliban were doing to people, how they were taking away human rights,” said Dan Quinn, a former Special Forces captain who beat up an American-backed militia commander for keeping a boy chained to his bed as a sex slave. “But we were putting people into power who would do things that were worse than the Taliban did — that was something village elders voiced to me.”

    The policy of instructing soldiers to ignore child sexual abuse by their Afghan allies is coming under new scrutiny, particularly as it emerges that service members like Captain Quinn have faced discipline, even career ruin, for disobeying it.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/world/asia/us-soldiers-told-to-ignore-afghan-allies-abuse-of-boys.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

  13. rikyrah says:

    It was always about the GRIFT

    ………………………………….

    Sources are saying that Kim Davis, the Rowan County clerk who made headlines for refusing same-sex couples marriage licenses, has signed a seven figure book deal with Forever Faith publishing and her memoir I’m a Survivor will be released just in time for Christmas.

    http://usatoday.com.co/kim-davis-signs-with-christian-book-publisher-im-a-survivor-to-be-released-in-time-for-christmas/

    • Ametia says:

      LOL@”Uncle Tatoo” I dont’ know who is LAUGHING the hardest & LOUDEST, the white racists Carson is trying to impress or Black folks who know what day is.

  14. Ametia says:

    While the MSM is trying to Trumpify America with his hatefulness,

    Does the Sanders surge pose a serious threat to Hillary? Howard Dean weighs

    LUM LINE: There’s been a dispute among the Sanders campaign and the Hillary campaign over the debates. Where are you on this?

    DEAN: We were the ones that instituted six debates when I was chairman. The reason we did that was to protect the candidates…

    The only thing I would disagree with is that I have heard that there’s a rule that says, if you participate in an unsanctioned debate, then you can’t participate in a sanctioned debate. That I don’t agree with. It’s not right.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/09/08/does-the-sanders-surge-pose-a-serious-threat-to-hillary-howard-dean-weighs-in/

    • rikyrah says:

      While the MSM is trying to Trumpify America with his hatefulness,

      Say it over and over and over again.. You should patent this phrase, Ametia.

      it’s been a fascinating exercise, watch the MSM trying to explain away the pure, unadulterated hate, since they can’t hide behind dogwhistles.

      they show who they are. they show how pitiful they are. and, they show their hand.

  15. Liza says:

    So talented…

  16. rikyrah says:

    25 Types of Kisses Every Marriage Needs
    BY: Sheree Adams –

    Kisses are very important in a marriage. If you’re kissing, you’re not fighting. There are many things you can do to keep the fire going in your marriage but let’s focus on the kiss. Here are 25 types of kisses that every marriage needs. What types of kisses can you add to this list?

    https://blackandmarriedwithkids.com/2013/09/25-types-of-kisses-every-marriage-needs/

  17. rikyrah says:

    The State of Teacher Diversity in American Education

    Teacher Diversity in the U.S. is an area of concern. The teacher work force has gotten less ethnically and racially diverse and more female, a development which has had an adverse effect on students, particularly on males of color. It is an impediment to the broader goals of equity and social harmony. ASI is working to better understand teacher labor market trends and identify promising interventions aimed at increased teacher diversity in K-12 education.

    This report shows that nationally, progress toward greater diversity is being made, but it is quite modest compared to the need for more minority teachers. In the nine cities studied—Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.—the picture is much more bleak, and there are only a few pockets of progress, surrounded by serious setbacks.

    Share of black teachers in 9 urban school districts down hard between 2002-2011: NYC -15%, Philadelphia -19%, Chicago -39%, and, the champ, New Orleans – 62%

    http://www.shankerinstitute.org/resource/teacherdiversity

  18. rikyrah says:

    RIP Jackie Collins.

    I, and millions of others, spent hours reading your books. Thanks for the entertainment.

  19. rikyrah says:

    Michelle Obama to Present Fashion Challenge on ‘Project Runway Junior’
    Sep 20, 15 by Ny MaGee

    *There’s no doubt that First Lady Michelle Obama is a fashion icon with impeccable style and a classic sense of glamour, which we’re hoping will inspire the young designers of tomorrow on “Project Runway Junior,” the teenage spin-off of Lifetime’s hit fashion designer competition show.
    The new series features 12 fashionistas, ages 13 to 17, who will create designs based on weekly challenges, Variety reports. The winner will receive a full scholarship to California’s Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing, a complete sewing and crafting studio, a Seventeen Magazine feature and a $25,000 cash prize to assist in launching their clothing line.
    Mrs. Obama’s project will support her Let Girls Learn initiative for the 62 million girls worldwide who are not in school. Her challenge calls on contestants to create a design that will be used and sold on LandsEnd.com.
    The judging panel on the series includes Kelly Osbourne, “Project Runway” season 4 winner Christian Siriano and Cosmopolitan and Seventeen Magazine executive fashion editor Aya Kanai. Actress Bella Thorne will be a guest judge for the final challenge, which will air on Feb. 4.
    “Project Runway” favorite Tim Gunn serves as mentor and will co-host with supermodel Hannah Davis.
    “Project Runway Junior” premieres November 12 on Lifetime, with Michelle’s episode airing December 10.

    https://www.eurweb.com/2015/09/michelle-obama-to-present-fashion-challenge-on-project-runway-junior/

  20. Ametia says:

    I love Margaret & Helen Don’t fuck with the elderly, especially women!

    The Republicans are as likely to find Bigfoot as they are to find that fetus Carly referenced
    Posted by: Helen Philpot | September 17, 2015

    Margaret, all I can say is a clown car pulled up to the Reagan Library and a whole lot of stupid came tumbling out. And the one female representative on stage spent the evening lying while calling the front runner a liar. There were just too many asshats to talk about each of them, but here is my best attempt to talk about some of them…

    If Donald Trump really thinks Carly Fiorina has a pretty face, then my late husband really thought I had a skinny ass. Both are bad at lying. My point really being, who gives a crap? This isn’t one of Trump’s beauty pageants. These are the people who want to become the next President of the United States. Never in my life would I have believed that things could be worse than Sarah Palin.

    Donald, honey, Mexicans are not all bad any more than Americans are all good. Kim Davis, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, George Bush… need I say more? In life we have to take the good with the bad, but I would suggest that if you look for the good in people, you might actually find the good in people. Sometimes I should take my own advice, but this lot of candidates makes it very hard to see the good in the GOP.

    Love him or hate him, Donald is the front-runner because he embodies the beliefs of the current Republican Party. He’s quick to fight. He hates people who are not like him. He judges women by the way they look. He thinks a big wallet excuses all faults. Sound familiar? If the Republicans don’t want him as a front-runner, then maybe they should take another look at their party’s platform.

    Read on: http://margaretandhelen.com/2015/09/17/the-republicans-are-as-likely-to-find-bigfoot-as-they-are-to-find-that-fetus-carly-referenced/

  21. rikyrah says:

    NC News Anchor Advises Black Intern to Straighten Her Hair
    Sep 20, 15

    *The natural hair movement is in full effect throughout the country. Women of color are beginning to embrace their God-given roots (literally), and turning away from chemicals and other hair-straightening products.
    However, for some women, “natural hair” is perceived as a potential source of criticism in the workplace, making it a difficult decision to embrace.
    WNCT news anchor Angela Green posted a video on her Facebook page Monday discussing natural hair at work. Green said that WNCT’s intern, Madison, wears her hair natural. Green also pointed out that she wears straight hair because her bosses prefer it that way.
    From the video, you can see that Madison’s hair is curly and extremely voluminous. Green goes on to explain that Madison is preparing to start work on a production, but an issue came up with her hair.
    Madison was told that her hair was too big and “distracting.” Green explained that there are people out there with all different types of hair, and how it should be worn in the workplace depends on the market you’re in, as well as your bosses.
    “My advice is to straighten it out, just to please everybody,” Green stated as her advice to Madison.
    She asked people on Facebook what they would tell Madison, and needless to say, some people were upset with Green for giving what they thought was horrible advice.

    https://www.eurweb.com/2015/09/nc-news-anchor-advises-black-intern-to-straighten-her-hair/

  22. rikyrah says:

    Gaps in Earnings Stand Out in Release of College Data

    Colleges give prospective students very little information about how much money they can expect to earn in the job market. In part that’s because colleges may not want people to know, and in part it’s because such information is difficult and expensive to gather. Colleges are good at tracking down rich alumni to hit up for donations, but people who make little or no money are harder and less lucrative to find.

    On Saturday, the federal government solved that problem by releasing a huge new set of data in a website called College Scorecard, detailing the earnings of people who attended nearly every college and university in America. Although it abandoned efforts to rate the quality of colleges, the federal government matched data from the federal student financial aid system to federal tax returns. The Department of Education was thus able to calculate how much money people who enrolled in individual colleges in 2001 and 2002 were earning 10 years later.

    On the surface, the trends aren’t surprising — students who enroll in wealthy, elite colleges earn more than those who do not. But the deeper that you delve into the data, the more clear it becomes how perilous the higher education market can be for students making expensive, important choices that don’t always pay off.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/14/upshot/gaps-in-alumni-earnings-stand-out-in-release-of-college-data.html?_r=0

  23. rikyrah says:

    The Boston Globe ✔ @BostonGlobe
    BREAKING: US to accept 85,000 refugees in 2016, 100,000 in 2017, Kerry says http://bos.gl/7hPDkmc

  24. rikyrah says:

    this is why they liked Frank Luntz-approved language. they could pretend not to hear the dogwhistles.

    https://twitter.com/owillis/status/645602797522677760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    • Ametia says:

      VP Biden knows what’s up. It’s called “NIMBY’ White flight. There’s nowhere to run, folks. America is for all who want to live and work and raise familers.

      Those ” NIMBY= ‘NOT IN MY BACKYARD’ days are soon going into the dustbins of the past.

  25. rikyrah says:

    Good Afternoon, Everyone :)

  26. Ametia says:

    THIS BOOT-LICKIN’ NEGRO COONING, SKINNING, GRINNING, HANKY-HEADED SLAVE-CATCHER RIGHT HERE

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUJvUDdtp8w

    This negro likely doesn’t know the PREAMBLE of the Constitution, let alone the amendments to it.

  27. Ametia says:

    U.S. officials: Two Americans held in Yemen freed

    The American hostages who were detained for months in Yemen’s capital were freed Sunday with the assistance of the Oman government which helped negotiate a plan to fly them out of the country.

    Read more » http://link.washingtonpost.com/click/5180054.282254/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2FzaGluZ3RvbnBvc3QuY29tLz93cGlzcmM9YWxfYWxlcnQtbmF0aW9uYWw/548289943b35d072688b4aaaC0bee6c6d

  28. Ametia says:

    PBO gave MAJOR PROPS TO BLACK WOMEN @ CBC DINNER.

    I KNOW THAT’S RIGHT

  29. Liza says:

    The sight of FLOTUS in that gorgeous dress makes me dread the 2016 election even more than I already do, for some reason.

    • Ametia says:

      I’m feeling you, Liza.

      First Lady Michelle Obama’s teh REAL DEAL. Forward-thinking, and authentic.

      It will be a long time, if ever that we’ll have a 21st century FLOTUS like her in the WH.

  30. vitaminlover says:

    Happy Sunday, ladies. Also….Rolllllllll Tiiiide anyway! and Warrr Eeeagle anyway!

  31. vitaminlover says:

    I love the Obamas forever!

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