THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY: February 2011

Slave Catcher of the Week: Alan Keyes, Life Always, & Conservatives Who've Co-Opted Blackness on Abortion & Gay Marriage

Monday, February 28, 2011

Since we're down to our last day of Black History Month here in our third year of post-racial bliss. What would yet an unnecessary month of recognizing Black achievement be without heralding a couple slave catchers among us. I mean, why recognize the brother who invented the Super Soaker and leave out fellow Black people, who are bent on holding up progress; and, who would possibly go as far as to say that slavery never happened, and the Middle Passage and all that went with it is a lie, much like the people who deny the Jewish Holocaust.

So, apparently things have gotten pretty dangerous and, "The Safest Place For African Americans is in the Womb." I don't know just how it got that way all of sudden; and just why we were never given this information before now. I mean, this information could have come in handy just before the slave-ships landed on the African coast, you know? But at any rate, though many several centuries late, the important thing is that we now know:

Now I have to be honest: when I first read the above story I automatically assumed the people behind the ad were your typical white right-wing group. I figured since we're all post racial now, and white conservatives now care about the well being of Black folks, that the strategic use of it in Black History Month was genius. Shit, they had me so convinced that I was looking for a vagina to dive into, and curl up like a fetus in a Black womb just to be safe. Shit, forget Black on Black crime, HIV/AIDS, and bad credit, son; I wanted to be safe.

Lil Wayne Tubman: Freeing the Mentally Enslaved

I'm pretty sure someone's gonna be mad after watching the following video. I mean, how dare they desecrate the memory and sanctity that was Black womanhood in the struggle, right? Of course some people were born without funny bones, and yes every civil rights icon from back in the day never smiled, laughed, or had fun. I mean what would the civil rights movement be sans the struggle face if Negroes were happy like the women on The Real Housewives of Atlanta? We'd be still picking cotton for free like they did in the 50s I'm sure.

Pay Day Loans Come at a High Price

by Joanna

I am sure everyone has seen advertisements for "pay day loans". They are advertised as being available to anyone who has a bank account and a source of income, regardless of credit. They are touted as the solution for making ends meet when you come up just a little bit short on paying your bills.

Of course, those ads never mention that pay day loan companies KNOW that they can prey on the poor and get them caught up in a never ending cycle, in which they are forced to take out loan after loan at exorbitant interest rates.

Pay day loan companies often specifically target the elderly and disabled, individuals who rely on Social Security benefits. These loan companies know that this is a very lucrative market for their loans. After all, an individual on Social Security has a guaranteed source of income, so the loan company knows they will be able to receive some sort of payment. AND, the income of people on social security is low enough that they are often forced to take out multiple loans, one after another.

But some industry critics say fixed-income borrowers are not only more reliable, they are also more lucrative. Often elderly or disabled, they are typically dependent on smaller fixed incomes and are rarely able to pay off their loans quickly. "It's not like they can work more hours," says David Rothstein, an analyst at Policy Matters Ohio, an economic research group in Cleveland. "They're trapped."

Source

Same pay day loan companies convince the elderly and disabled people who take out a loan to turn over their social security benefits to the company, and then provide them with a small allowance from each check. They specifically target individuals who are under educated, elderly, perhaps confused, and convince them that a small loan is the solution to their problems.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

You know, I've never been to Canada; but, it being one of the fifty states in America, when it comes to rape, like everywhere else, the victim gets blamed in the court of public opinion. A woman gets raped and the automatic assumption is that, well, she was asking for it. Yeah, you know, she should have known better than to walk down a dark alley at 2am with her breasts exposed stopping every ten paces to bend over and spread her butt-cheeks. Yep, Canada like every other state is the same when it comes to rape - blaming the victim is expected:

A convicted rapist will not go to jail because a Manitoba judge says the victim sent signals that "sex was in the air" through her suggestive attire and flirtatious conduct on the night of the attack.

Kenneth Rhodes was given a two-year conditional sentence last week which allows him to remain free in the community, in a decision likely to trigger strong debate. The Crown wanted at least three years behind bars.

Queen's Bench Justice Robert Dewar called Rhodes a "clumsy Don Juan" who may have misunderstood what the victim wanted when he forced intercourse along a darkened highway outside Thompson in 2006.

Rhodes and a friend met the 26-year-old woman and her girlfriend earlier that night outside a bar under what the judge called "inviting circumstances." Dewar specifically noted the women were wearing tube tops with no bra, high heels and plenty of makeup.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Um, so yeah; I'm sure you're wondering if that's her in the pic, right? Well, I hate to break it to you, but yes it is. I mean, not every woman can look like Halle Berry, wear as occasional wig, or even those horrible lace-fronts, right? Of course not. And yes I know that what she did was sick and how she looks doesn't matter. But dammit I can't help it; shit, I'm a man and I have questions. Hell, I was sixteen and horny once; but, having sex with an older woman with a part in her head the size of the Red Sea wasn't a fantasy:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A 40-year old woman is facing rape charges after being caught naked inside a closet with a 16-year old teen.

In Brief:

Mary Magdalene Collier was caught naked inside 16-year old boy’s closet.

Both Collier and 16-year old admitted to sexual relationship.

16-year old's mother found them inside closet and filed complaint.
According to an affidavit, 40-year old Mary Magdalene Collier was arrested for aggravated statutory rape after the teen’s mother discovered they were having a sexual relationship.

Both the 16-year old and Collier admitted to having an on going sexual relationship since January of 2011.

The teen’s mother called police after unexpectedly returning home and finding her son partial naked and Collier completely naked inside her son’s closet.

Collier is still behind bars at Shelby County's Jail East and currently has a $50,000 bond. Her next court date is March 3rd. (source)

Ok, OK, Ok... aside from looking like the love child of Mike Tyson and "Uncle Phil" from The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire, what's kind of ironic, is that her friggin name is Mary Magdelene. You know, the chick who was rumored to be an ex-prostitute turned lover of Jesus Christ in the Bible? Yeah, that Mary; not the virgin one. Which if you really think about it, maybe she was "witnessing" to the kid and trynna get some peen on the sneak tip, like some preachers do.

But then again, maybe she's doing an R. Kelly remix...

QUESTION: How do you see this "relationship" coming about?

The Scott Sisters Too Unhealthy For Kidney Transplant: Would They Go Back To Prison?

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

My man African American Pundit has a very interesting story involving the Scott Sisters and how they may have assisted an alleged rapist go free (check it out here). Not too sure about all of that, but the following news about the sisters, Gladys, and Jamie, is a serious cause for concern. The irony of this development, is that I raised a very important question concerning the condition of their release that I think everyone has pretty much ignored:

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Two sisters released from a Mississippi prison early on the condition that one donate a kidney to the other must lose at least 160 pounds between them and one must quit smoking before the operation.

Jamie and Gladys Scott had served 16 years of their life sentences for a robbery when they were released Jan. 7. They moved to Pensacola, Fla.

Jamie Scott suffers from kidney failure.

Gov. Haley Barbour set a condition of release that Gladys Scott give her sister a kidney. She had volunteered to do so.

Jamie Scott said Wednesday she wants an operation to lose weight and her sister must stop smoking.

Barbour hasn't said whether he'll send the sisters back to prison if the transplant doesn't happen. (source)

It would be a shame should they have to return to prison if unable to hold up their end of the bargain. That would be a kidney transplant that the potential donor, Gladys Scott, was not proven to be a match prior to release. It was already determined by medical ethicists that the condition of their release was unethical, and illegal. So, don't be surprised should they have to return to prison if Gladys doesn't get on The Biggest Loser, or have gastric bypass surgery.

After all, this is America; when it comes to justice, people of color are often on the losing end of the battle. They'll wrongfully lock you up and refuse to compensate you for their mistake. Don't believe me? Just ask Ashton Graves. Yep, you know how it goes, folks. In America, freedom damn sure ain't free.

Did You Know Clinical Depression Can Make You Racist? Professor Mark Wattier of Murray State Says it Does, & Resigns

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Arlene Johnson

by Joanna (JuJuBe)

Did you hear the news? Depression is now an excuse for being a racist pig! Who woulda thunk it?? I mean damn, I know depression brings out the inner bitch in me, but it has never turned me into a rabid racist! Yup, clinical depression is the excuse Murray State University Professor Mark Wattier is using for the racist remarks he made to student Arlene Johnson last semester.

Freshman Arlene Johnson said even though she was early for professor Mark Wattier's class last semester, a film was already playing and class was well under way.She asked him why. His alleged answer?

"I always start my films 10 to 15 minutes before class," Johnson says.

Johnson said that was not in the syllabus, so she was not aware.She said it was what Wattier said next that astounded her.

"Then he said, 'That's okay. I'd expect it from you guys."

She asked what he meant by that. He allegedly said "Slaves never showed up on time for their owners and were often lashed for it. I just don't have that right."

Johnson said she couldn't get that statement out of her head.

"After that, I felt really unwelcomed for a while," she said.

So she filed a complaint with the university, a complaint that led to Wattier's suspension without pay and benefits this semester.Wattier has fired back, appealing his suspension and saying the university violated due process, He included a letter from his doctor stating he met the criteria for depression, including contemplating his own death.

Arlene said she doesn't know exactly what was going on inside of her professor that day. She just wishes he would have kept it to himself. She said she wants an apology from the professor in person. Source

Ok, I have got a question.... is this Professor claiming he made the racist remarks due to his depression, or is he simply depressed because he doesn't "have that right" to lash his Black student for being ON TIME to class??

Last week the PR people for a new show on one of my favorite channels, Discovery ID (Investigative Discovery, sent me an email. They wanted to know if I'd be interested in an early screening of their new show Injustice Files. The show has since premiered, and it airs on Friday nights at 9PM EST. The show centers on unsolved civil rights-era crimes against people of color; a Cold Case Files for Negroes if you will. And, can you imagine how many such cases exist?

(Pasadena, CA) - In February 2007, the FBI officially launched a new investigative effort called the Civil Rights-Era Cold Case Initiative, which was tasked with taking a fresh look at racially-motivated homicide investigations that occurred prior to 1970. Since then, over 100 cold cases have been identified for this initiative as the FBI partnered with local and state authorities, the NAACP, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Urban League to help investigate these aging unsolved cases and bring justice to the victims' families. In an effort to bring attention to these important investigations, Investigation Discovery teamed with critically-acclaimed documentary filmmaker Keith Beauchamp, producer of The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, and CBS EYE Productions to showcase three cases included in the FBI's Civil Rights-Era Cold Case Initiative. In commemoration of Black History Month, Investigation Discovery launches THE INJUSTICE FILES... (source)

Ironically, my man Field Negro reached out to me over the weekend with info on a civil rights-era case that is still unsolved involving 90-year-old Recy Taylor. Taylor was a victim of a crime that many Black women were victims to then, that is never talked about. Of course this being Black History Month, if we're gonna talk about the advances and laud accomplishments of many who came before us. In my opinion, it's only right that we never forget the women permanently scarred like Ms. Taylor; women who were victims of rape:

ATLANTA (AP) -- Years before Rosa Parks fought for justice from her seat on a Montgomery bus, she fought for Recy Taylor.

Parks was an NAACP activist crisscrossing Alabama in 1944 when she came across the case of Taylor, a 24-year-old wife and mother who was brutally gang raped and dumped on the side of a rural road. Taylor survived only to watch two all-white, all-male grand juries decline to indict the six white men who admitted to authorities that they assaulted her.

Taylor was one of many black women attacked by white men during an era in which sexual assault was used to informally enforce Jim Crow segregation. Their pain galvanized an anti-rape crusade that ultimately took a back seat to the push to dismantle officially sanctioned separation of the races, and slowly faded from the headlines.

Monday, February 21, 2011

What do you do when your 15-year-old has a 1.22 grade point average, doesn't give a damn about school, and is dangerously on the verge of becoming yet another Black man caught up in an already overcrowded prison population should he continue his behavior? Aside from asking if his ass even goes to school, or is he slightly retarded, what do you do? I tell you what you don't do; you don't sit around Waiting for "Superman". Like 33-year-old, Ronda Holder, you take matters into your own hands and send a message, like this:

TAMPA — Head hanging low, he stood near an East Tampa street corner for nearly four hours Wednesday afternoon.

James Mond III, 15, wore a sign around his neck with a message:

"I did 4 questions on my FCAT and said I wasn't going to do it … GPA 1.22 … honk if I need (an) education."

People honked. Lots of people.

This was his mother's idea. Ronda Holder, 33, a Tampa hair stylist, said she wanted James to realize the importance of an education, afraid he will otherwise wind up on the street.

"I don't want any of my kids to stand by the side of the road asking for change," said Holder, the niece of a former Tampa police chief.

By Thursday, her plan had a life of its own. A local TV crew turned James' punishment into evening news. Franklin Middle School enrolled the teen in after-school tutoring. The Department of Children and Families came to Holder's home to interview James.

DCF spokesman Terry Field said the punishment might legally be considered bizarre, a form of maltreatment.

Experts cautioned that the punishment was extreme and likely ineffective.

Oh yeah, there's always some expert willing to talk out of his or her ass about effective parenting. And there's always some prick suddenly concerned about the actions of single black mothers enough so to call the man on them. Yep, these are the same idiots who wouldn't have said jack if this kid was white. Or who would be quick to question the whereabouts of his parents had his black ass got arrested doing dumb shit as some do? Oh how judgmental, are we?

It was the mother's latest attempt to get her son to take his schoolwork seriously. Neither she nor the boy's father, James Mond Jr., finished high school.

by JuJuBe (Joanna)

The following story is about man who, under Texas State law SHOULD BE receiving monetary compensation for his time spent is prison after a wrongful conviction. Supposedly a "courtroom technicality" has caused him to be ineligible for compensation. I believe that this was no mere "technicality", that this was a deliberate attempt on the part of the (in)justice system to deny this man the money he is due.

A courtroom technicality has cost a wrongly convicted Texas man the compensation that would otherwise be due him for the 18 years he'd served in Texas prison--14 of which he spent on Death Row.

Anthony Graves would have received $1.4 million in compensation if only the words "actual innocence" had been included in the judge's order that secured Graves's release from prison. The Comptroller's office decided the omission means Graves gets zero dollars, writes Harvey Rice at the Houston Chronicle, even though the prosecutor, judge, and defense all agreed at trial he is innocent.

So how did this happen? Cory Session, a Texas Innocence Project policy director and one of the architects of the 2009 Tim Cole compensation law for exonerated prisoners, tells The Lookout that the Brenham prosecutor's office decided to dismiss the murder charges they originally filed against Graves, instead of retrying him all over again and finding him innocent. The compensation law provides $80,000 per year in prison only to claimants explicitly found innocent in a retrial or who are granted a pardon. Neither status now applies to Graves.

Session says he has no idea why the Brenham prosectors neglected to explicitly say in the court order that Graves was innocent. By simply dropping the charges, prosecutors could always retry Graves for the same crime if new evidence surfaced. Double Jeopardy rules would not apply, because the original charges against him have effectively disappeared. Source

I do not believe that the prosecutor was unaware of the consequences for Mr. Graves of his decision to simply drop the charges against this man instead of finding him innocent in court. This was a convoluted way of punishing Mr. Graves for being the victim of injustice. It is a way of extending his punishment EVEN AFTER he has been found innocent.

Friday, February 18, 2011

We did not -- repeat, did not -- trade weapons or anything else for hostages, nor will we.-- Ronald Reagan to a televised national audience

Hopefully, you have read some good posts (here and here) separating the man from the myth. What follows is my own documentation of the failures and most egregious crimes of Reagan. But before that, I want to contextualize the so-called “Reagan Era.” I was a young man when Reagan and the “new” right ascended into power, forever changing America for the worst. Some of the consequences of Reagan’s policies (such as the Savings and Loan debacle) still haunt us. Most of all, Reagan was the ultimate inheritor of the “southern strategy,” the strategy to bring together disaffected (mostly southern) whites who wanted to blame minorities and civil rights gains for what they perceived as their losses.

Reagan was good at using the newer, coded, but no less racist language that attracted whites in large numbers. For example, Reagan never mentioned race overtly, but his discredited bullshit story of the “Welfare Queen” who drove a Cadillac didn’t have to mention skin color -- his base filled in the blanks. Similarly, when Reagan was asked to speak at the site of murdered civil rights workers, he invoked the right-wing meme of “states rights.” Many saw this as support for segregationist sentiments (who to this day still use the same “states rights” racial code). In fact, Reagan is on record as describing the Voting Rights Act as, “humiliating to the South.”

Ultimately, the greatest harm committed by Reagan, was his validation of the redefinition of “freedom” as corporate freedom. Government was the enemy and Reagan and his henchmen wanted to shrink it enough to drown it in a bathtub. Our current economic fractures have their root in Reagan’s misguided policies. But as fucked and cruel and vacuous as he was (his mind was most likely corroded by disease for at least one third of his two-term administration), he’s soft compared to his current day descendants -- all of whom are now trying to rewrite Reagan’s legacy...

Thursday, February 17, 2011

"That's All The Tears I'mo Get, Kobe?"

I get a lot of tips to stories in my inbox from readers daily; some of them I post, and some of them I don't. Some of them are pretty serious stuff, and some of them like the following gossip makes me laugh so hard I have to share. According to the sports blog TerezOwens.com, everybody's favorite accused rapist and dirty-butt-white-girl fucker, Kobe Bryant, was served paternity papers just after a game with the Orlando Magic a few nights ago.

Now to some of you this isn't funny. But, that's because you probably bought the Laker Snuggiue; you named your kid Hobe; and, right now you're wearing a Kobe Bryant onesie Yep, for you especially, this would be a hard pill to swallow. But I'm not a fan of the guy, and I can't pass up the irony.

On the heels of the Orlando Magic’s Gilbert Arenas being served at halftime with child support and custody papers, comes another NBA player being handed a mysterious package..My sources are telling me Kobe was handed paternity papers …Here’s what we’re being told, “Right around the time Tiger Woods was involved in his whole affair mess , a girl Kobe was mixed up with earlier in the year gave birth to his ‘alleged’ child…Kobe paid for her to live in Italy for the last year..She’s returned to the states and is now seeking legal rights.” This sounds plausible, Kobe has cheated on his wife Vanessa in the past…Haven’t these guys learned to keep their hands by their sides when exiting the court. (source)

Now I don't do gossip; well, not that much. But any whichaways, should this be true, I think it's gonna take more than a Gazillion dollar diamond ring and some public tears to satisfy Mrs. Kobe Bryant. But then again, maybe she already knows about this and it doesn't matter. However, should this be true, I find it quite ironic especially coming from the dude who snitched on Shaquille O'Neal when he was caught up in his fuckery. If true, for the sake of Laker fans, here's to hoping the new baby momma doesn't work at a Colorado hotel.

Watch ya back Lamar O'dom.

Obama's Austerity Budget Means More Unemployment [VIDEO]

Insightful and informative as usual, from The Real News Network:

BIO: Dean Baker is co-director of The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). He is the author of several books including, The United States Since 1980; Social Security: The Phony Crisis (with Mark Weisbrot); and The Benefits of Full Employment (with Jared Bernstein). He appears frequently on TV and radio programs, including CNN, CBS News, PBS NewsHour, and National Public Radio.

Hey, John Boehner: GOP Spending Cuts Treat the Poor Like Wet Food Stamps

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

I have a lil' something to say about the Obama Administration's proposed 2012 budget released a couple of days ago. But that's gonna be in an upcoming post shortly so stay tuned. However, I've heard it said that Obama's proposal plays heavily as a political move to ensure re-election. Supposedly it's designed to pull in independent voters, who as I'm told, are more concerned about this country's budget deficit than the jobs crisis. Who needs to work in a recession, right?

Of course this sounds ass-backwards to me, but then again, I'm not a fence-straddling independent voter. I'm just an asshole with a blog who just so happens to believe, that "we the people" (yes, even the unemployed lazy ones too tired to look for work as said by Conservatives) are what makes America great. Having said that, lets take a listen to what one professed independent voter calling in to C-SPAN's Washington Journal thinks.

The subject of the show being the GOP's proposed budget cuts. Viewers were asked, "What if any programs would you like to see cut from the federal budget?" The real irony here is the fact that the following response to the question comes from an Ohio resident who just so happens to live in John Boehner's district. You know, the same Boehner who said "so be it" should the GOP spending cuts create job losses? Yes folks, Boehner will be here all week.

You gotta watch this:

Now I'm not the smartest person in the world, but even I can see a problem with this callers asinine proposal. Much like the proposed GOP spending cuts (and some of the White House's) the idea to cut Food Stamps is an assault on the already working poor, and newly poor. But I suppose nothing is more motivational as saying, "put down the Beluga Caviar and get a job you lazy bum," than proposing to cut food stamps; that'll learn them teat suckers.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Pearl Beck, 92, and her 51 year old son, Gregory are bigots. And they are going to have to pay for it to the tune of $25,500, the amount of restitution a federal court determined they owe college student Ranesha Halliburton for refusing to rent her a home because of her race. Gregory Beck pulled out the old “I am married to an American Indian” card to deny the racism inherent in his actions, and claims that he and his mother have gay, Mexican and Indian tenants, but have never rented to Black tenants because "We don't see that many around here. ... They don't want to come up here because it's too cold,"

The court found that the Becks violated the Fair Housing Act by denying Halliburton the rental property in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota that she was applying for in 2007. Although Halliburton was told that the property was no longer available, a month after she was turned down , it was rented to a white man. Gregory Beck claims that he and his mother never discriminated against Halliburton, and that the government “was lied to” and that officials “want to believe the minority because that is what they represent.”

Halliburton says she is not surprised that Gregory Beck denies mistreating her. She also says that despite her poor treatment by the Becks, she was determined to make her home in Detroit Lakes, and has since found a home with a “wonderful landlord”. She is working as a nurse’s assistant and attending college nearby. She has not let the Becks dissuade her from creating a life for herself in the town she has chosen to settle in.

But Halliburton was not about to let the Becks get away with their discriminatory behavior. She filed a report alleging discrimination, and will now receive compensation for her ordeal.

[Editor's Note: I asked my man Reggie to come through and drop some words of wisdom. I've known this brother for the better part of the last 5yrs, and had the pleasure to finally meet him last year. He blogs over at Reggie's Rantings, and I highly advise you to definitely check him out and bookmark his site, will you?]

by Reggiw

A great man once said that “the true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity”.For better or worse, Hosni Mubarak has exited stage left. He’s not the first leader in the Middle East to be ousted by a populist movement to form a democratically elected government and he probably won’t be the last.

How can any patriotic American look at what’s going on in Egypt now and not feel good about it? When you look at the mass of humanity throughout Egypt that is currently celebrating its apparent victory in its grassroots movement to depose their dictator, what American can’t feel good about this? We’re talking about a dictator that had been raping that country of its riches and natural resources for the last 30 years, aren’t all Americans rejoicing? Isn’t democracy around the world what all Americans should want?

Democracy is a political form of government in which governing power is derived from the people, by consensus, by direct referendum, or by means of elected representatives of the people. You know, kinda like what we got going on here in these United States of America.

In the past, our leaders have preached democracy to every nook and cranny and corner of the world. Our leaders have claimed to have gone to war just so we could bring our form of Democracy around the world. To make the world free, like we are... supposedly.So one would think that since we live in a democratic country, that our leaders would want to see free democratic elections in Egypt...right?!?

Wrong.

Monday, February 14, 2011

First, let me wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day. So what if it’s a totally conjured, purely commercial “holiday” and that you’re single and you’ll prolly end up eating some good cheese cake while watching House reruns. Just think that you have a whole year to fuck up the next (or current) relationship! Besides, if you really think the “other side” is that happy, think again, Virginia. Today, when she (whoever she happens to be now) gets on my nerves, I can feign an excuse and go home alone. Try that with your husband/ wife/ lover/ current parasitic degenerate. Oh! before I forget! Go read my take on love at Subversify (click here). It won’t get you closer to The One, but at least you’ll know why.

Speaking of flower grams and what have you, Andrew Breitbart, the owner of several conservative Web sites (and a certified Koch-sucker), was served at the [CPAC] conference on Saturday with a lawsuit (click here) filed by Shirley Sherrod, the former Agriculture Department employee who lost her job last year over a video-smear that Mr. Brietbart posted at his site.

::cue world's smallest violins::

Mr. Breitbart said in a statement that he “categorically rejects the transparent effort to chill his constitutionally protected free speech.”

What's this country coming to?!! How is creating a highly edited video of somebody’s words, taken out of context in order to deliberately and expressly defame and destroy them in the eye of the public is not a Constitutional right? This is not my America!

Don't you just love it when a conservative coward hides behind a “right” that doesn't exist?

(h/t FireDogLake)

My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery from civilization

Yesha Callahan on Rep Chris Lee-Craigslist Scandal: Owning My Shit

Saturday, February 12, 2011

[Editor's Note: The following is an official response from my longtime friend, Yesha Callahan to the media and public at large on the subsequent backlash from the Rep. Chris Lee Craigslist shirtless photo scandal.]

Since all anonymity is lost, and I’m the “bad” guy, might as well say my piece on my own site. Sure, I received photos, yes I sent them to Gawker. It’s nothing that I haven’t said to Gawker, The Loop 21 or The Washington Post, whom apparently received an anonymous tip from someone that gave them my name. So no, I didn’t reach out to The Washington Post to “give” them my story. They were the first to find my name and the reporter actually was pretty easy going about it. Thank you Lonnae.

Sure, I’m the bad woman.

Some even say I enticed former Congressman Chris Lee into sending me the shirtless photo. Excuse me for not realizing asking “Do you have something that doesn’t look like a JCPenney Ad” is considered enticing nowadays. Maybe I’ll use it more often. Maybe it’ll keep me off of Craigslist. Maybe it’ll yield me a financially & emotionally stable man. I mean anything is possible right?

Friday, February 11, 2011

We Both Have Funny Sounding Names

I really haven't been following the events as they've unfolded in Egypt. But whatever's been happening, I do know that somebody scored a major victory today as Hosni Mubarak has decided to resign. Of course it took him a while and he was quite defiant. But now I'm wondering just what it took to break him? Could it be those images of Negroes from New Orleans and Los Angeles shipped in specifically to loot in Egypt? Could it have been one too many renditions of Barack Obama invoking his inner Jesse Lee Brooks as he sung "Go Down Moses" in Mubarak's ear? Or could it be that somebody finally exposed his Craigslist shirtless camera-pic? I'm gonna say that this is all Obama; he can do anything, but don't tell that to the Israelis. Who cares what a republican focus group in Iowa says; if this doesn't prove Obama to be a Christian and not Muslim, nothing will. After all, Jesus was Black, no?

What's The Tea on Black Love?

I always seem to find myself in the center of a debate on love. Love is at the core of my existence, even when I'm surprised to find myself suffering from a lack of it. I'm learning to live in the contradictions of life, especially as they relate to love. Some days you'll find my Twitter feed in support or defense of interracial love; other days I may go hard supporting Black love. It is important to understand what's at stake in love.

Love is a political act, whether we like it or not. Who you desire, who you choose to share your life with, who you love--all of these are informed by your upbringing and how you have grown as an individual. Having grown up in a racist, sexist, homophobic (and moreover, xenophobic) society, Americans have learned to embrace a one-model rule--thinking there is only one model of love, one "perfect" suitor, etc. But I can't help but wonder where the racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. find their way in...

While I realize it may come as a shock to some that Black beauty has been completely denigrated and devalued, it becomes an extremely pertinent conversation when comments like, "I'm not attracted to Black men" are perpetuated and celebrated within many communities. Now, people of all shapes, sizes, hues, etc. suffer from internalized racism and color complexes.

As a gay man, my exposure to it has been mostly within gay male communities. Visit any online dating site and you are guaranteed to find any number of profiles that read, "No Black men." Thus, Blackness becomes a barometer of the social climate, given all other persons can be examined against their distance from or relation to Blackness.

Being mindful I am operating within a binary of Black/white, this does not escape an examination of all other persons outside that binary. Race has been constructed in such a way that the closer to "white" you get, the more social power you are given. The closer to "Black" you get, the less. While it appears to exist in a binary, in fact we are operating on a continuum. Comments like, "Sorry dudes, not attracted to Black" highlight the pervasive affects of a society ignoring the beauty of Blackness.

Some will argue against their own racism with comments like, "My best friend is Black." Okay? The fact of the matter is, we are all operating with some element of racism within us. We live in a racist society. Consciousness becomes key.

The Friday Sex Blog [Opening the Flower of Your Heart]

You can outrun that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you.
-- Rwandan proverb

A long time ago, the man in charge of ringing the bells at a nearby church for years would play the opening notes to My Cherie Amor ("la la laaa, la la laa... ") every Sunday. I once tracked the man down and asked him why. He explained he played it because it was the song he dedicated to his now deceased wife when they first met. After returning after being away for many years, the bells no longer rang and when I investigated, I discovered that the man had passed away and no one else knew how to ring the bells...

* * *

For real change to come about there has to be a how. There has to be a set of actual exercises we can implement that can bring about a change in our mental software. People, we follow scripts, some of which were written generations ago, and they often cause much pain. So today I'm going to offer you an exercise. I try to offer experiential exercises because people think too fuckin' much! In fact, most of you are tyrannized by thinking most of the time. So I try to offer basic exercises you have to experience in order to begin moving you away from thinking.

See?!! You're already thinking! Sheeesh! Shut up!

Okay... Breathe! Ready?

Pretend you are going to kill the next person you see. I want you to try to feel this in your body. Imagine that you are really going to kill this person. How does this make you feel (not think) inside?

Now, imagine that you are going to have sex with the next person you see. Again, how do you feel inside?

Bear with me: Now pretend you are going to save the life of the next person you see, but in doing so your own life will end. Imagine you are going to die as a result of saving this person's life. How does this make you feel inside?

Now... answer this question: which imagined action -- killing, having sex, or saving while dying -- most feels like liberation, freedom, and unbound love?

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Chris Lee is Down with OPP

So I'm sitting at home talking to my wife about this crazy snow storm rolling through the city of Memphis, and I get a call from one of my very good friends. I answer the phone and she nervously says, "Hey, what are you doing?" I tell her that we're watching this snow and hoping it doesn't get to 9 inches as it did in Little Rock, Ark. Knowing that she's been sick for a while, I asked if she was at home instead of at the office. To which she replied,"Yes."

Still somewhat nervous, she asked if I was near my PC, and suggested if I wasn't I should go to it. Still nervous, she said that she had something to show me, and that she wanted me to be the first person to see this. I get to my PC, go to Gawker.com as instructed, and this is the lead story I see:

Rep. Christopher Lee is a married Republican congressman serving the 26th District of New York. But when he trolls Craigslist's "Women Seeking Men" forum, he's Christopher Lee, "divorced" "lobbyist" and "fit fun classy guy." One object of his flirtation told us her story.

On the morning of Friday, January 14, a single 34-year-old woman put an ad in the "Women for Men" section of Craigslist personals. "Will someone prove to me not all CL men look like toads?" she asked, inviting "financially & emotionally secure" men to reply.

That afternoon, a man named Christopher Lee replied. He used a Gmail account that Rep. Christopher Lee has since confirmed to be his own. (It's the same Gmail account that was associated with Lee's personal Facebook account, which the Congressman deleted when we started asking questions.)

By email, Lee identified himself as a 39-year-old divorced lobbyist and sent a PG picture to the woman from the ad. (In fact, Lee is married and has one son with his wife. He's also 46.)
(Read More)

OK, so now at this point I'm literally in tears with fits of uncontrollable laughter as I sat at my PC. Not because of the fact that yet another Republican champion of family and moral values gets caught out there, and exposed as a hypocrite. But because the woman in the story is actually on the other end of my phone-call. You see, I've known this woman for a number of years, and one thing we've always laughed about, is the way she would enact her "justice" on lying, cheating, and downright trifling men.

Let's just say that this was the ultimate payback.

Jungle Fever: Halle Berry, Interracial Dating & the Politics of Blackness

The media is running rampant with the custody battle over the daughter of Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry, Nahla. Instead of focusing on the future of this darling child, the conversation has been framed within allegations of racism and hostility between the parents. The controversy has some fans wondering if the "Losing Isaiah" beauty is actually losing her mind after losing her relationship.

Method acting, the process whereby an actor takes on the life of their character outside of filming, is not new to Ms. Berry. Her first on-screen performance in 1989's "Living Dolls" sparked rumors that Halle was getting a little too into her character, playing her parts even after the camera had stopped rolling. Given her most recent tendency to focus on psychological dramas, perhaps her method acting is re-surfacing?

Mental illness is not something to be taken lightly (especially given the social stigma attached to it). So, the speculation around Ms. Berry's mental health needs to be analyzed carefully not only for her sake but also for her daughter's (should Halle win full custody).

The Berry/Aubry racism show-down brought the one-drop rule back into national dialogue (it never left for some of us). While America rides this "multi-racial" bandwagon, which for some has become the neo-liberal agenda of promoting colorblindness or an erasure of racial distinctions, Halle raises an interesting point by claiming her daughter as Blackn and asserting her own Blackness. What is Black?

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

No, Seriously, I Love Black People!

The following investigative report was done by MSNBC's Morning Joe host, Mika Brzezinski's husband, Jim Hoffer. The irony of this report is that it's centered on an unemployed single black woman on welfare who lives in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Nothing really ironic about this, as I'm sure given the economy there are countless numbers of unemployed single black mothers all across the country. No, the real irony is that something like this would never be discussed on Morning Joe as they fellate frequent guest, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The wannabe Mafia Don media-savvy governor just happens to be one of their favorites, and a 2012 presidential hopeful.

On February 11th 2010, Christie signed Executive Order No. 14, which declared a "fiscal state of emergency" for the state of New Jersey in the face of a then projected $2.2 billion budget deficit. Most notably, after cutting $475 million in state aid to more than 500 school districts, he lost out on $400 million in federal Race To The Top education grants due to a clerical error. He also suspended funds and asked for the elimination of the Department of the Public Advocate, a department responsible to make government "more accountable and responsive to the needs of New Jersey residents" through legal advocacy, policy research and reform and community and legislative outreach. Of course from the above report, things are just fine.

Now of course the societal scourge of the single black mother on welfare, well existed before Christie and even president Ronald Reagan. However, while this may be true, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention just how public policy exacerbates the struggle of single poor working mothers all across the country. As a matter of fact, current proposed GOP spending cuts will have a greater negative effect on minorities than anyone else in the country. But somehow I can hear some of you saying the extending tax cuts for the wealthy was the way to go.

Oh, did I mention that Christie loves Black people?

Recovered Black History: Arturo Schomburg

As a young boy, I encountered an issue I’m sure many other Latin@s, other people of color, and marginalized groups encounter. One day I asked a teacher why she didn’t teach the history of my people and her response was that my people didn’t have a history. When I reported this exchange to my father, he told me that was a lie and thus began my instruction on Puerto Rican Studies. One of the first figures my father taught me about was the Puerto Rican scholar, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg.

You see, while Schomburg was in grade school, one of his teachers similarly claimed that blacks had no history, heroes or accomplishments. This exchange inspired Schomburg to prove the teacher wrong, and he dedicated his life to finding and documenting the accomplishments of Africans on their own continent and in the diaspora, including Afro-Latinos and led him to a life-long quest for Africana Knowledge. Schomburg would also become deeply allied with the African American experience and was one of the main figures of the Harlem Renaissance. He was also among the earliest advocates for Black Studies. Given his immense educational contribution to knowledge about the Black world, which continued to include a special interest in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Spain, Schomburg may be considered the most memorable of Afro-Latin@s in the United States. Schomburg’s life on the color line, his direct knowledge, and experience of racism in the Caribbean and the Untied States, and his kinship with other Afro-Caribbeans and African Americans served as a model for Afro-Latin@s through the first half of the 20^th century. Almost one-hundred years after Arturo Schomburg called for the study of “Negro History,” he continues to serve as a symbol of diasporic unity and as an inspiration for Afro-Latin@s seeking knowledge about their African roots. Today, arguably the world’s largest repository of Africana, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, bears his name.

The following is an excerpt I found in my files. Take note that what Schomburg is proposing here is extremely radical for its time. He’s not merely proposing Black Studies, he’s also making a case for a pedagogy outside the Eurocentric paradigm. Furthermore, he’s inclusive of women, an unpopular and controversial notion at the time of its writing.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

So here I was, just sitting and enjoying yet another day of Black History Month as I basked in the glow of post-racialness of the Obama era. And then my buddy @BenJoBubble just had to ruin the ambiance of it all by introducing me to the fuckery that follows involving Halle Berry and her ex; yup, the white boy:

A simple split has become a nasty race war, and now, it's going back to the ugliest time in American history.

Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry, battling for custody of their daughter Nahla, have both thrown some mud, but after word about Aubry's alleged racism got out, Berry is firing back.

In a new interview with EBONY Magazine, Berry says (via TMZ), "I feel she's Black. I'm Black and I'm her mother, and I believe in the one-drop theory."

That goes against the wishes of Aubry, who, allegedly, doesn't like when people call Nahla black. That's inconvenient for Berry, who, according to sources, told Aubry he was only good for one thing -- sperm of a different genetic makeup than her own.

Berry's people have also leaked out that Nahla is supposedly afraid to go near Aubry, though the truth seems far too elusive to grab at this point. (source)

First off, lemme just say that both of these parents should be chopped in the throat for this mess. Yes I know divorce isn't always amicable, but the nerve of these clowns bringing the kid into the mix. And about race, too? OK, yeah, it's alleged that Gabriel called Halle a "nigger". But isn't something like the race of any potential kids something that should've been established in the pre-nup?

A Hanging Noose at Work: Just a Fun Example of "Workplace Hijinks"?? (Or, is it the FDNY or the KKK)

by Joanna (JuJuBe)

Gregory Seabrook, an electrician for almost 20 years with the FDNY found a nasty surprise waiting for him at his work locker last week - a three foot long noose. It seems like some of his racist co-workers were perturbed by a discrimination complaint Seabrook filed in December. And of course, nothing disproves a discrimination complaint like a good ole fashioned noose, right??

"There's an ominous message behind it," lawyer Stephen Jackson said of the nearly 3-foot-long noose, which he plans to display at a press conference today and then hand over to authorities.

The noose is "elaborately constructed" and tied in a "monkey knot," Seabrook's lawyers say.

"That was a type of weapon used as a flogging knot to beat slaves," Jackson said. "It's very thick and very hard and it's designed to cause injuries."

Seabrook, who is black, and four other minority electricians filed complaints with the New York State Division of Human Rights, charging the Fire Department overlooks minority electricians for overtime opportunities and promotions.

Four electricians filed complaints in October, while Seabrook filed in December, the lawyers say.

An FDNY spokesperson said he had no knowledge of the noose incident or the discrimination complaints, which he said are kept private while under investigation.

Source

Seriously, what kind of idiots believe that threatening a man with a symbol of their racism is an effective method of getting a discrimination lawsuit dropped? Did they really think that Mr. Seabrook would see the noose and decide that his discrimination complaint was not worth pursuing? After almost twenty years, this man finally decided to speak up and seek compensation for the discrimination he has been experiencing on the job, a move that, despite its correctness, is bound to make him less popular with his co-workers. That shows bravery. So, did these bigots really think they could threaten him into silence?

Of course, as expected, the comments that follow the original article give us a glimpse into the racist mindset of the average American. The accusations that this man planted the noose himself came right on cue. He is called a crybaby. One commenter basically said that people "play around" at work, and that "hijinks occur", as if a noose is just a fun joke. And of course, there were the comments about how Mr. Seabrook "played the race card" by filing his suit against the FDNY. Oh, and the pièce de résistance... one enlightened soul wrote "HE IS LUCKY HE WASN'T IN THE NOOSE !!"

Monday, February 7, 2011

So this past weekend Republicans celebrated the 100-year-old birthday of former president Ronald Reagan. What was disappointing to me about this was the absence of the African American narrative as it relates to his politics. Even worse, is the fact that black folks themselves didn't celebrate as "certain people" did the life of this great man. I mean everybody knows that other than any white man named Abraham Lincoln, Reagan has done the most for blacks and minorities in America. But yet Negro hypocrisy was the order of the weekend. Yep, Reagan got no love from Black folks even though unlike Obama, he created jobs for them. Yes, Reaganomics was the sperm that impregnated the mother of invention known as necessity, that birthed the entrepreneural spirit of poor people in urban communities - shout out to the 80s crack era, son!

One thing Black people didn't fail to notice were the events of Super Bowl XLV featuring the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. And of course as tribal as colored folks are, they wanted the Black coach to win, hence their support of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Personally you'd think that "my people" would embrace our post-racialness and like me, throw out all racial frames and subplots to the the game. I mean, how dare the Super Bowl be an event where race is infused? So what there are no black owners; the majority of the players are Black, no? See, unlike you folks, I'm a glass is half full sorta guy.

Black people also didn't fail to notice this Super Bowl commercial:

Now of course what I saw was a pretty hilarious commercial. But of course my people didn't find it as humorous as I did. Today, this commercial and it's obvious stereotypically racist undertones are the talk of the town all across the inna'nets. MSNBC owned, The Grio is touting the commercial as perpetuating the 'Angry Black Woman' stereotype. Which might be true to an extent, but don't we celebrate these images ourselves when we patronize NAACP Image Award nominated shows like, oh... The Real Housewives of Atlanta?

Saturday, February 5, 2011

by JuJuBe (Joanna)

Yet another case of a white woman blaming a phantom Black man for a crime that never happened is making the rounds on the internet this week. This time it involves a nun from Brooklyn who made rape accusations against a non-existent Black man to cover up a sexual affair she had with a man who worked at a local store.

A Brooklyn nun from a fringe Christian sect has confessed to an unholy lie: telling cops she was sexually attacked and left unconscious in a snowbank, sources said Monday.

After a police search for a hulking black man was launched, the 26-year-old white woman from the Apostles of Infinite Love convent in East Flatbush recanted, the sources said.

She told cops she made up the story in an attempt to cover up a consensual sex romp with a bodega worker inside the Glenwood Ave. residence.

A woman in religious garb who answered the door at the convent said the nun, identified as Mary Turcotte, suffered an "emotional break" and made everything up - even her excuse.

"Nothing happened, none of it," said the woman, who declined to give her name.

"It was all proven to be false. It wasn't her fault. She is going to move out and we are going to get her some help."

The convent appears to be linked to a Canadian-based religious order founded in the 1960s by a defrocked Catholic priest who ordained himself Pope.

Police Sketch of said Rapist

Turcotte claimed she was headed there the night of Jan. 22 when a thug ambushed her, choked her until she passed out and dragged her - in her habit - eight blocks.

She said she awoke in the snow with her underwear down and her breasts exposed. She said she was treated at a hospital and sought counsel from her Mother Superior.

Police were informed of the rape last Thursday, and put out an alert asking for the public's help in finding a suspect - described as black, 40 to 50 years old, 6-feet-4 and up to 250 pounds.

Cops released a sketch, but they were skeptical someone could have dragged or carried a woman in nun's gear through the streets without drawing notice.

When a penitent Turcotte recanted, her excuse was that she needed a story to cover up a real sexual encounter: bedding a shop worker she sneaked into the convent through the back door, sources said. Police have not charged her with any crime. (source)

Now, aside from the fact that this was yet another baseless accusation against a Black man by a white woman, there is something I notice immediately about this article. Notice the words used to describe the Black suspect WHO DOES NOT EXIST as opposed to those used to describe the REAL criminal, the woman who made these false accusations.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Memphis Baptist Ministers Association attending Shelby County School Board Meeting

[Editor's Note: With all the talk of inequitable school funding brought about by Kelley Williams-Bolar's case. Today, my man Shady Grady tackling the issue centered around the battle over funding here in Memphis.]

by Shady Grady

How important is integration? Are you more focused on desegregation-the removal of formalized legal barriers that prevented black people from living in certain neighborhoods, marrying non-black people, attending certain schools, working in certain jobs, or doing anything that a white person could do.

That distinction is important to some people. Black conservatives and nationalists (and those with a foot in both camps like the Nation of Islam) weren’t altogether satisfied with the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that put the de jure segregation system on its death bed.

Few thought that segregation was a good thing but instead argued:

Thursday, February 3, 2011

There's no doubt that being a teacher is a tough job. For most, though taking a most noble position in society, being a teacher is somewhat like wiping the asses of elderly folks for $4.50 per hour. Coming from a family of educators, it has long been my belief that teachers should not only be paid more, but should also be respected and revered as the national treasure they most certainly are..

Remember the movie Falling Down? Well check out this clip of a black male teacher as he tries to breakup a fight in his classroom. Yeah, the brotha practically fell down and went smooth tha f@#k off on this kid:

It's safe to say that this brotha was having a bad day, and in his frustration said some things I personally believe any teacher should say to a kid. You may think I'm wrong and seek to justify the teachers words. But think about it: did anything he said to the kid make the situation any better?

Is this the way you resolve conflict? I mean, if this were a white cop in the streets talking this shit to a kid, would he be justified? Um, I seriously would like answers to these questions. Here are his quotables:

"I'm tired of your little fat ass around here running your mouth!"

"I'll bust yo' shit! Have your lip looking bigger than what it is!"

"That's what is wrong with niggas now!"

"I know punks like you. I kick their behinds every day!"

"You're trying to showoff in front of the girls, but I'm about to showoff on you!"

The Wall: Do You Know What Made Wall St?

Fact: Some beds at juvenile detention centers cost as much as $100,000-150,000 annually. Fact: Public officials resist increases in education spending. A fraction of what it costs to lock a child up. Fact: Overwhelmingly, incarcerated children are people of color.

As a young man, one summer I managed to get a messenger job at a small brokerage house on Wall St. One of my best friends, a darker-skinned Nuyorican, had been working there before me and he put in the good word. By the end of the summer, I had moved up (again, with the help of my friend) working in offices, balancing the sheets at the end of the end of the day. That was a promotion and a raise.

At the time I was in my early 20s and I wasn’t very responsible: I would miss days and I wasn’t all that motivated. Yet, when another promotion came up later that year, my friend was passed up and the promotion was offered to me. This was bullshit, and everybody knew it. My friend had been there longer than I had, had more experience, and was there at work every day. We both knew it was because I was light-skinned and he wasn’t. I was going to quit because I thought it was bullshit (and summer was fast approaching), but my friend insisted that I take the job. He said they would only give it to someone else.

Lesson learned? It pays to be/ look white! LOL!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

The other night I had a really good discussion with the brothers on Twitter about the situation involving the conviction of Kelley Williams-Bolar. The discussion was sparked by a somewhat controversially, not-so-popular op-ed, written by my man Jay Anderson aka AverageBro (read it here).

At the end of the discussion we all pretty much agreed, that though Kelley may have committed a "crime", her punishment was in fact egregious; and dare I add, just a tad bit racist considering the felony charges attached.

Blacks are less than half as likely to receive consideration by employers relative to their white counterparts, and black non-offenders fall behind even whites with prior felony convictions. The powerful effects of race thus continue to direct employment decisions in ways that contribute to persisting racial inequality. In light of these findings, current public opinion seems largely misinformed: According to a recent survey of residents in Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, and Atlanta, researchers found that just over a quarter of whites believe there to be "a lot" of discrimination against blacks, compared to nearly two-thirds of black respondents (Kluegel & Bobo 2001). Over the past decade, affirmative action has come under attack across the country based on the argument that direct racial discrimination is no longer a major barrier to opportunity. According to this study, however, employers, at least in Milwaukee, continue to use race as a major factor in their hiring decisions. When we combine the effects of race and criminal record, the problem grows more intense. Not only are blacks much more likely to be incarcerated than whites; based on the findings presented here, they may also be more strongly affected by the impact of a criminal record. Previous estimates of the aggregate consequences of incarceration may therefore underestimate the impact on racial disparities. (Source: Devah Pager - Northwest University)

I mean, LeBron James grew up, and is from Akron, Ohio just like Kelley and her kids. That said, could you see whatever school district or county prosecutor doing what they did to Kelley to LeBron's mom had she done the same thing?

Robert Hudson (right) with family members.

by Joanna (JuJuBe)

I heard this story about a week or so ago, but have not had the opportunity to address it yet. It is yet another example of egregious police misconduct, this time leading to the death of a 72 year old man. Of course, the police are disputing the accuracy of the events in question, but THEIR claims as to what actually happened, they are just patently ridiculous.

A Queens widow says her husband of 52 years died of a heart attack because two cops made him rush home in the cold to get her identification.

Robert and Doris Hudson, both 72, pulled up in their van in front of a Queens Village pharmacy on Jan. 14 so she could pick up her medicine. She had just taken her seat belt off when Officers Julio Orozco and Dominick Lettieri walked up and accused her of not wearing the belt.

The cops told Hudson she would be getting a summons, but she didn't have any identification with her.

The woman's lawyer, Bonita Zelman, said police refused to let the husband drive home to get the ID. Instead, he walked home about half a mile back and forth and returned to the pharmacy about 45 minutes later.

While the husband was away, the wife got her medicine and the cops wrote her a summons based on her name and address from the prescription.

The couple eventually got back in the car and drove off. About a block or so away, Robert Hudson collapsed behind the wheel and later died at Franklin Hospital.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Desiree Benton Ganked By Superfly Taxes

Welp, it's February. So you know what that means, right? Yep, screw December; this month kicks off the most wonderful time of the year. Oh and why is that you may ask? It's tax refund season and everyone is happy. Hell, did you think it was just mere coincidence that Black History Month fell in the shortest month of the year? I'm just sayin', like Christmas, there's a reason to the season.

This is the time of year you see a spike in drive-out tags in the rear windows of overpriced shitty cars, Cars that will be either repossessed in a few months time; or have their engine blocks lock up in rush hour traffic, while the freshly rented rims keep spinning as the system loudly pumps the latest garbage that passes for music. But be that as it may, it's still the one time of year one can achieve their hood dreams of vast wealth.

It's also the time of year that families are reunited. It's the time of year that wayward estranged "baby-daddies" decide to reconcile with the mothers of their children. It's the time of year when he decides a Happy Meal or two isn't a bad investment (unlike child support) as he seeks to gain that fresh pair of Jordan, or the aforementioned shitty overpriced car with rims taller than midgets, all sponsored by Earned Income Credit.

Thanks to the government, some will be even happier this year:

WASHINGTON -- Friday is the Treasury Department's Earned Income Tax Credit Appreciation Day, a celebration of what is arguably the U.S. government's largest antipoverty program. And consumer advocates say there is some reason to celebrate: Increased federal oversight, they say, should limit the share of those tax rebates that low-income taxpayers hand over to financial professionals.

[...] Low-income taxpayers frequently use tax-preparation services like Jackson Hewitt or H&R Block to help them file their taxes. On top of fees for that service, such companies frequently sell them loans known as Refund Anticipation Loans or set up Refund Anticipation Checks -- temporary bank accounts that allow taxpayers who do not have bank accounts to receive their tax refunds.

In exchange for receiving their refund check immediately, however, the consumer leaves a piece of their total refund in the bank's account, much like a payday loan. A week or two later, when the full refund arrives, the bank deposits it and pockets the difference.