Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Debrief (with video!): February 26 Democratic Debate

Last night’s debate was a study in desperation. A desperate candidate (Clinton) trying every thing in her power make Obama loose his cool, but yet again, he maintains his composure. I’ve heard some of the press about this debate and it seems some feel that the moderators were harder on Clinton than on Obama. Well, I don’t know about that. But I will share with you my uncensored play-by-play thoughts that I typed as this thang they call a debate flowed on (not ALL my thoughts on EVERYTHING, because I can't type that fast!). If you saw it live, more the better, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If not, guess what!? I included video of the whole debate for you!!!!! (Thank me later...)



- Wow! The moderators got right into it, bringing up Clinton’s change in tone, from seemingly civil in the last debate, so a raving harpy at rallies and public forums just before this debate.

- You know, as she talks, all calm now, I know that what she’s been trying to do is start a lot of -ish outside the debate room, in order to try and get him riled up and on the defensive when he comes into the debate on television. So if he simply defends himself, he looks crazy and she sit backs and looks cool and presidential.

- Classy: Obama says he takes Clinton at her word (about all the mess she’s been talking in the media lately) and moves on. “I’d like to move on to health care,” he says. Power move! As if to say “You will not transfer your negative shit to me, bitch!” He doesn’t go to her level because he knows he can’t win DOWN THERE!



- See how he talks about the difference in their healthcare plans without making personal attacks or threats towards her?

- And he says: he’s gotten a lot of negative attacks without “wining about it”, he just figures it’s politics.

- Look at her juvenile debate tactic: She blabs on forever, Obama responds, moderators wanna be fair and move on, but she says, “No, this is too important” and just makes up her own rules and keeps talking (still re: healthcare).



- Now NAFTA…
- What????? Snidely complaining about always getting the first question asked of her (and simultaneously NOT addressing the issue)???? Referring to a “Saturday Night Live” sketch and saying maybe we should ask Mr. Obama if he’d like a pillow, basically dissing the moderators in the process???? Now ya’ll heard the grumbles and boos from the audience, no? This bitch has lost her dang mind, don’t give a shit what she says, how it sounds, who it offends, because she knows her times is up. What’s Obama gonna say?....
- Hey-o! He goes right to the issues and ignores her nasty baiting.
- By the way, if you the chic with the most experience and the one “ready on day one,” why can’t you be ready to answer these questions first??? Just a thought.
- His response? Classy and FLAWLESS.
- Look at Tim Russert. He ain’t no joke. Ya’ll see the 5 million Billary quotes he pulled proving her supporting NAFTA in the past, and now she’s switching it up? You go Tim!
- Tim’s not letting her bulldoze! She’s trying to switch it to being Obama’s stance on NAFTA, but Tim’s steady saying, Naw! We talking about YOU!!!! Stick to explaining what YOU said.
- And Obama just sitting back in the cut calm letting this witch make herself look bad and sweat it out.



- Tim to Clinton: As a NY senator, you pledged 200,000 new jobs, but there’s been a net loss of 30,000 jobs in NY. Tim does it again with the zingers. Oh snap!
- Look at her response: She says she thought someone else was gonna be in the White House. That’s her excuse for breaking her promise. Gimme a break! How you gonna talk about being ready to be Commander and Chief if your major plans and promises are based on such contingencies. So then what you gonna say if you’re president and you don’t get the senators or congressmen in that you want. You gonna use that excuse and blame them when we’re all still itching and scratching to see the doctor because your health care plans didn’t come through?



- So glad that he addressed her continuing references to his opposition to the war as simply “a speech.”
- He is just an inspiration to those who are trying to succeed in a field with fresh or different ideas yet being put down.

- THE "BUS IN THE DITCH" ANALOGY. On point!



- Uh oh this “Will you re-invade if things fall apart in Iraq?” is a toughy. I hope Obama has a good come-back….
- Response: If there is a threat to the us there, then yes I reserve the right to defend us. Okay, that’s reasonable.
- BREAK



- Moderators show video clip (mistakenly) of Billary’s mocking of Obama, talking sarcastically about “unity” and “the sky will open and light come down” blah blah…
- Surprised that Obama’s response is simply taking it in stride as just an attempt at humor on her part.
- Glad he still made a point of saying that he’s not all words, he’s made visible change in people’s lives.



- Thank you! He’s finally addressing the fact that she keeps including her experience of first lady in her total experience. He says: you can’t take credit for all the good things that happened during his administration and not take responsibility for the ideas that are crappy.
- Obama says that what he wants to do as president won’t be hope alone. He wants to (not a verbatim quote) “mobilize the American people so that they start paying attention to what their country is doing. And that is not silly!” Excellent point Obama! Clinton is not a unifier. She can’t cooperate with the senate/congress in past, so how is she gonna get stuff moving now or in the future.
- Tim to Billary: Why ain’t you showing us where the money comes from?
- Wow. Her response that she can’t “get it together” now and not explaining why, and not explaining why she has to wait till she’s the nominee….weak.



- Moderator to Obama: Louis Farrakhan backs Obama for president. Wow! This is meant to be the H-Bomb, the thing that shakes Obama up. Bringing up anti-Semitic remarks, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, etc…..
- Obama says: This support was not solicited, he can’t stop somebody from saying that they think he’s a good guy. But before moderators can even barrage him with Farrakhan quotes, he cuts them off and states how he has already shown that he’s denounce some things the man has said in the past….Although Barack seemed thrown off for a second at first, as always, he still kept his composure and responded confidently in the end.
- So now, because Obama doesn't seem to reject his support outright, Clinton sees her opportunity to come in and show herself as the one who WOULD reject (using example from rejecting support of anti-semetic independent supporters in NYC), and I guess in her mind, makes her better than him.
- Now she’s making an issue of his choice of words. But look at his response! Cool again, like “Look chic, ‘reject’ or ‘denounce,’ whatever. The minister hasn't given me any formal or material offer of support to 'reject' in the first place. But fine, I'll say denounce, you ignoramous. You still not gonna get me tripped up on this one.” And check how the audience is feeling him on this one, on how silly she looks taking issue over the wording. Puh-lease! You can’t faze him Billary!!!! (Ya'll know this thing had me busting out my thesaurus? For the record "reject" is indeed a synonym for "denounce.")
- BREAK



(Around this time I started getting sleepy, was too sleepy to type alot)

- Did she mess up the name of the potential new Russian leader, saying something like "whatever" his name is??? O-kay.......



- Some closing remarks, but I gots to go to bed…..ZZZZZZZZZZZ

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Debate: Tonight on MSNBC at 9pm (EST)

When have you ever felt electricity like this? I look forward to the Democratic Debates the way people anticipate the Superbowl or boxing matches. Let's get ready to RUMBLE!!!!!!.........

FYI, I just want to help clarify that tonight's debate will be on MSNBC at 9pm (eastern standard time), and NOT on CNN.

I've already gotten calls and messages asking "Where's the debate? I can't find it!!!!" While the last few have been on CNN, tonight it's MSNBC's turn.

Don't have MSNBC? Watch it streamed live on the internet on MSNBC.com.

Okay, it's 15 minutes till the debate, so I gotta get my popcorn and drinks ready. I might be too enthralled to check in with ya'll as things go along, but I promise for a debrief tonight or tomorrow.

What Becomes of A Beautiful Man



Thanks, Desert Rose! I liked the part with the poster of Dr. King, Mandela...and Barack! Yes it was beautiful.

This may seem totally random, but something happened at work today that made me reflect on how when someone is shining, or seems special, confident, blessed, or simply liked, that this will always make insecure people uncomfortable to the point that rather than concentrate on bettering themselves or learning from that person, they try to bring them down in some way, and discredit them to others. It could be through words, sabotage, or distraction.

Obama shines. He is special. He is confident. He is blessed. And gosh darn it, people like him! This is enough to make insecure people (Billary) uncomfortable (jealous) enough to use nasty words, agents of sabotage (Bill, Bob Johnson), and irrelevant distractions (pictures of him in traditional African garb) in order to bring him down and discredit him to current and potential supporters. Yet it would be so much more constructive to learn from the man, strive to touch people's hearts and minds, not for the purpose of self-aggrandisement, but to inspire the public to actually participate in their own liberation, as he has done.

Now is the time for all of his supporters to prepare for the best case scenario - Obama as president. For his part, he has already done much, weathering a barrage of ridiculous attacks, and fighting back by re-focusing attention on the issues that concern us most. So will we have his back when he's in office? These insecure little people will not vaporize and go away once he's in office. They will keep plotting scheming to discredit the man. Will we let them sway us and join the chorus of "haters." When Obama tries to pass legislation, to clean house in the White House, to pass ethics reforms, will we keep the pressure on our elected officials, senators and congresspeople, to support him in these endeavors?

Sometimes, negroes are fickle. They like you one day, and if you blink wrong, they're against you the next. I, for one, am in it for the long haul. Contrary to what some believe, not every Obama supporter thinks he's a deity. Ultimately he's simply a human being, and he is bound to stumble from time to time. But it's his very humanity that's part of what makes him appealing in a nation that has been dehumanized by the actions of the current president. So as beautiful as we see him now, I hope that he remains beautiful in our eyes and appreciated through all the challenges to come.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Plagiarism? Another Stupid Billary Trick....

By now we've all heard about yet another desperate Billary tactic - accusing Obama of plagiarism. But I think Obama himself addressed this best when he said this at last Thursday's debate:

"The notion I had plagiarized from someone who is one of my national co-chairs who gave me the line and suggested I use it I think is silly. This is where we get into silly season in politics and people start getting discouraged about it."

In addition, Gov. Deval Patrick, the man Obama is accused of bitin' had this to say (thanks to "Desert Rose" for alerting me to this video. Hope you become a regular contributor!)....



"If your candidacy is based only on words, they should be your own words" - Billary.

To Billary:

Trick, please! The only one convinced Obama is all words is you, and that's because your disease of white racism (which actually is a mental illness) makes it so that you can't quite see or understand why your white skin hasn't afforded you the privilege of simply TAKING the nomination for yourself easily. This was not supposed to happen, and now your shook. Obama was not supposed to have a chance in heck in getting passed Iowa, let alone this far. And now he's won 10 PRIMARIES IN A ROW - so what's up now, huh? Are you trying to say that the whole dang country is totally caught up on "just words."

No, that ain't it. Obama is an excellent orator, and has a great friend in Deval Patrick (who to his credit, didn't let that she-devil on GMA trip him up), but that's not the reason he's beating her in these primaries. It's that he's presenting fresh, progressive ideas, in a clearer way than any other candidate, Black or white, has done in years. Billary, on the other hand, has no original ideas. True, she and Barack share similar policy views, but for whatever reason she presents in a way that NOBODY BELIEVES HER they way they do Barack.

I'll never forget when they interviewed this Hawaiian woman on the news and she said "We have something called the aloha spirit, and Obama has it." When they asked her if Billary had it, she just stared for a moment, then just said "no" and shook her head.

TO BILLARY: It's a wrap! Go out gracefully like a lady (if you can).

Fighting Words


Hmph! These some FIGHTING WORDS in my neighborhood. What do YOU think?.....

Billary: "Lifting whole passages is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox."

Billary: "I’ll see you in Ohio..."

Billary: "Enough of the speeches and the big rallies!"

Next this chic is gonna say some –ish like “Enough with the big words.” I mean, what is she thinking? Dude’s got big rallies because PEOPLE LIKE HIM!!! Billary, get a clue. You criticize (and most recently tried to scandalize) his speeches, but if you had anything CONVINCING and COMPELLING to say, you’d have big rallies, too. Don’t hate Obama because he can move the crowd. Your criticism emplies that he has nothing of substance to say on the issues. Well if that’s the case, then over half of the country has been swayed, which would mean that this guy is that good, or that you're that wack. Either way, it still leaves you behind.

Going negative ain't gonna help. Fact is, depite all your mud slinging and instigating, YOU CANNOT GET THIS MAN SHOOK. He has kept is composure in every forum and conducted himself with grace and dignity. I for one think that the American public is tapping into the fact that your increasingly nasty and inflammatory remarks are a sign of desperation. And girl, desperation is not a good look for you.

Score Card: Obama in the lead. Period.

One of the worse things about being away from you for so long was not sharing the excitement over what the faithful always knew would happen (provided that this election is run FAIRLY)...Obama is in the lead:

Obama: 1, 192 delegates

Clinton: 1, 036 delegates

[source]

Remember peeps, here at G-n-B you get it straight, no chaser. No SUPER-DELEGATE confusion. As of today, Obama is in the lead in terms of delegates ALLOTTED BY THE VOTES OF THE PEOPLE.

If Barack keeps on this winning streak and crushes the competition on March 4 in Texas and Ohio, it's basically a wrap.

UNLESS Billary tries to play one of her parlor tricks and cheat Obama out of the nomination by

1) Having the Florida and Michigan delegates counted (even though she knew DANG WELL that those states would be penalized for having their primaries early), AND/OR

2) Pulling strings with Super-Delegates to get them to vote for her, DESPITE THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.

You might be thinking, "Oh, no super delegate would vote for Billary if the majority of their constituents voted for Obama." Well, normally, the backlash from the voters would be enough to convince someone to go the path of the popular vote. However, one has to keep in mind that A LOT OF PEOPLE OWE BILLARY A FAVOR. Especially some of our well-established Negro politicians. Every time you see big business, so-called "gentrification," and other "improvements" in a Black neighborhood, you better believe there's some Negro politician somewhere who's sold his soul (and super delegate vote) to get it. Don't let them get away with it! If you know that one of your local politicians just happen to be a super delegate, WRITE TO THEM AND URGE THEM VOTE IN A WAY THAT REFLECTS THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.

Garden State Lady suggests this resource to help get your voice heard (click here). Thanks, GSL!

And....WE'RE BACK!!!!

After a not so brief pause, Grits-N-Butta is back!

And this time with a few folk who I hope will continue to weigh in with their own commentary on a regular basis. Even though we don't always agree, I think the different points of view will add balance and some spice.

And not for nothin', it makes it a heck of a lot easier to keep up you up to date with the latest breezy and greasy when you've got a little help. All the more better when it comes from AROUND THE COUNTRY. Thanks again to Black Utah Dude, Garden State Lady, and all the others who've encouraged me to keep the Grits-N-Butta cooking!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Obama's Clean Sweep / Billary Cleans House



Billary has had a tough weekend ya'll, so I ain't even gonna try to diss. I'll just state the facts....

After winning ALL of the democratic contests this weekend, including Maine just yesterday, the current DELEGATE (not super delegate) score is:

Obama: 943

Billary: 895

(Source)

After such a crushing defeat, it should come as no surprise that Billary decided to switch it up a bit, and gave her old campaign manager (Patti Solis Doyle) the boot, replacing her with some new woman (Maggie Williams). The word that her camp is putting out is that old girl left voluntarily, but we all know the deal......

The fact that Billary's trading a Latino (Solis Doyle is Mexican American) for an African-American might also be a sign that she finally sees that she can't take the Black vote for granted.....Then again, could it be that she thinks a Black woman would be the best one to turn to in order to take down a Black man??? I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Let's see what happens tomorrow with the Maryland, D.C., and Virginia primaries.

Oh Snap! Obama Wins A Grammy...Again!


Dang! This brotha just won't stop, won't quit.

While many of ya'll were focused on that crack-head Amy Winehouse, Obama took home the Grammy for Spoken Word for the audiobook "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream." I had no idea that he had also won in 2006 for the audio book of "Dreams From My Father." (By the way, if you haven't read "Dreams" yet, you're kinda wack-a-licious; I mean, as you can see, you don't even have to know how to READ, you could just listen to it. Geesh!!!)

Also, note who else was in the category with him:

Bill Clinton (former president and Hillary's baby daddy)
Jimmy Carter (former president)
Maya Angelou (world renown genius of the word)

I have to go out and get whatever Ms. Angelou was nominated for, because we know it must be brilliant regardless of her not taking home the Grammy. But aside from that, think about it. Obama is kicking Billary's butt in every forum - politics, spoken word, music videos..... Now if Barack partners with Kanye or something and comes out with a hit record, we know the presidency is a wrap (just kidding!)

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Feb. 9 - Obama SLAUGHTERS the Competition!!!

Oh snap! Washington, Nebraska, Louisiana, and The Virgin Islands - All for Obama. And with some HUGE margins!!!!

East, West, North, South, even in the Caribbean, HE WON'T STOP, WON'T QUIT. And just to be clear.....

OBAMA IS STILL AHEAD IN PLEDGED DELEGATES.

Bump the speculation on what the super delegates are gonna do, we're talking about the ones that Obama has gained due to proportional allocations based on the Democratic primaries and caucuses.

Let's all stay tuned to get the exact total once all the precincts report.

Cash-Money-Candidates

Wow! Check out this article from Money Magazine about the net worth of the leading presidential candidates (keep in mind, this was written before Romney, Edwards, and others dropped out). Before you click on the link, make a prediction - Who do you think has the highest net worth?...Now take a look:

CANDIDATES' NET WORTH

In light of recent attention to who's got money, who's lending money, and who's begging /borrowing/or stealing money to continue in this campaign, it's incredibly interesting.

Billary: $34.9 million (This couple doesn't represent the wealthiest candidate, but with Bill's books and speaking engagements, Hillary's corporate sponsors, and their shady real estate deals, they make an incredible team.)

Edwards:
$54.7 ($20 million of that is cash and fixed income. Dang, the mill worker's son made good! I ain't mad at John, you've come a long way. Too bad you couldn't have stayed in the game a bit longer....)

Gool-i-ani: $52.2 million (most likely profits from posing as an incredibly realistic hob-goblin for annual Halloween parties)

McCain: $40.4 million (Hey Soulja Boy, we know the military don't hit you off like THAT. Lucky for you, wifey's raking in the dough pushing 40 ounces. And what's up with most of your assets being in your WIFE's name? Hmmmmm....)

Obama: $1.3 million (Yo! I knew he wasn't rolling in dough, but I ain't know brotha man was THAT hard up compared to everybody else. I mean, next to the rest of these folks he look like he need to be standing on the cheese and butter line....By the way, I don't care what nobody say, that government cheese was GOOD back in the day!)

Rommey:
$202 million (Now this is a dang shame. Mitt, you out the game now, but how you have like 4 times as much as your competitors couldn't even PAY to win a nomination. Maybe that goes to show that you were just plain WACK.)

Thompson:
$8.1 million (My man from "Law and Order"!!!! Well, you're out too, but maybe if you had did a few more cameos on the small screen you could have put your face out there more and raised some duckets at the same time.)

Tyson says "What Happened to the Black Models"???



Dang! Ya'll are quick. Thanks so much for the link to this article about diversity issues within the modeling industry:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gnesvFrDA25GvRNukFO6EjkKg09gD8UMGSG81

I feel you, Tyson. I remember the days when Iman, Tyra, Naomi, Veronica and a host of others were all up in the scene, representing.

Despite this, big-up to TRACE magazine for consistently putting out it's "Black Girls Rule" issue annually, featuring up and coming sista models.

Diddy's All Black Casting Call


You may recall a past post about how Naomi Campbell was boycotting NYC Fashion Week because of the consistently appalling lack of Black models featured in the shows. Then, wonder of all wonders, we come to find out that Sean "Diddy" Combs of all people was taking a stand by planning an all Black fashion show of his own to re-introduce himself to the show-going public after 5 years of being absent from that scene.

Lots of folk (including myself) weren't sure if we could believe the rumor. But here is video of the "Only-Black-Folk-Need-Apply" open casting call he had just a few days ago.

Some thoughts....

1. Did you catch what "Lamar" said? So these designers think it's okay to keep us all behind the scenes modeling in the showroom, but we can't show our face in the light of day in their shows!? Makes me think of that Langston Hughes poem..."I am the darker brother...They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes..."

2. I love "Adora's" hair! Natural and lovely.

3. Do you really think those twins are gonna stick together if Diddy only calls one of them?

4. Bethann Hardison (legendary model; model manager; and mom of Kadeem Hardison, "Dwayne Wayne" from A Different World): A real soldier in the struggle in activism for Black model rights. Keep up the good work!

4. Do you think if they had an open casting that said "All Black Single Men and Women: Only FINE Brothas and Sistas need apply...," would these same people show up?

Some of you might think that any mental energy spent on Diddy or fashion is a waste of time and superficial. But consider that we are living in a world where the majority of our young people are deeply influenced by the images and the messages (subliminal and otherwise) that are put forth in the media. True, not many average Black youth are watching fashion shows, but if you know anything about the industry, trends that start on the runway, including the "look" of the models, eventually trickle down to ready-to-wear and the advertising we see in magazines and local TV.

So for what it's worth, hats off to Diddy!

(If anyone actually SAW the fashion show, live or on TV, or has a link to video, please let me know!)

Obama: Just Talk????



(Below, Black Utah Dude responds to a past post of mine, specifically the part where I wrote:

“Criticize B. Obama all you want about being mainly an eloquent wordsmith, but so far, he hasn't made any mega-blunders like this (and the 5 million other ones Billary's made, like the Dr. King thing....what will Billary pull out next to make sure the Reps win????)”

For what it’s worth, I appreciate the feedback BUD, particularly because you are one of the most spiritually versed brothas I know – from Utah or anywhere!)


I made the observation in an earlier email to you that obviously the man [Obama] had appeal because he was "attractive, eloquent, witty, and above all sincere". However, I know you were not referring to me in this quote.

But I want to raise this question: what's wrong with words? What's wrong with being mainly an eloquent wordsmith?

The Bible says "in the beginning was The Word". The Vedas say that it was the Divine Word which existed before creation, and which was the blueprint of creation as well.

Actions speak louder than words (and of course our actions must align with our words), but without words and the ideas they can convey, the emotions they can arouse, and the visions they can establish, there will be no call action and there will be no change.

This whole country was founded on words (Ben Franklin, et al.) which later led to revolution. And if you think about it, every revolution begins with powerful words. Without those words, you'd just have frustrated masses grumbling about their miserable lives, void of any vision of a new direction.

What if humans suddenly lost language? Civilization would disappear.

Once we give up on words, we're just left pointing guns at each other in a Mexican standoff.

There is an old Sanskrit maxim stating that the highest class of people can be motivated through reason alone -- words; the second class of people are unaffected by reason but will respond to flattery (more words); the third class of people will respond not to reason or flattery, but with promises of material goods (requiring words to entice), and the fourth class of people will respond only to threats of punishment (even more words) or actual punishment.

There's an inverse implication to that last one: punishment need not be meted out by the speaker, but the speaker can manipulate others using the fear of punishment from others, which is what politicians often do: "If my opponent wins, this is what will go wrong in your life."

If we accept this model, we have to acknowledge that, regrettably, the voting public consists of all four kinds of people, and if you expect to be elected in a democracy, you need to appeal to all types of people. In order to do that, you need to be a master wordsmith. It doesn't matter how good (or evil, for that matter) your ideas are, if you cannot reach into people's hearts and convince or flatter or entice or scare them, how will you reach them?

Of course, just because someone is an eloquent wordsmith doesn't mean they're right, it doesn't mean they're good. Sweet words can mask all manner of evil and Kool Aid may be laced with cyanide. But this is not the fault of words--it is the fault of the speaker. Being a gifted orator doesn't automatically mean that the speaker is up to no good. Having said that, we obviously have to examine our own motivations when we give in to (or revolt against) their message as well.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Larry King Messed Up.....


Wow.....Here I was about to "big-up" Larry King's old azz for having Will.i.am (Obama supporter and creator of the "Yes We Can" video), America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty" and Clinton supporter), and others on his show tonight to talk about youth voter participation this year....

and the conversation was okay (if not simplistic and at times downright corny and preachy in a "ABC Afterschool Special" sort of way; like "Okay kids, now that we've paraded this cool entertainment folk in front of you, be like them and vote too"...)....

then he F-ed it up by playing a clip of that dumb-azz "Obama Girl" video. I know from reading other blogs that I'm not the only one that was a bit suspicious of that chic when she first came out on You Tube, running around half nekked, with "Obama" on her butt cheeks talkin' bout she in love with Obama. What about his wife and kids, bitch??? Being an Obama fan is all good (and he is cute), but don't you think the way you expressed it was a tad bit disrespectful? Is she really a fan or a saboteur (ya'll remember that movie Undercover Brother?; who did they send after him to bring him down??)?

Bottom Line: Larry, your intentions were good, but the so-called "Obama Girl" was not the best chic to roll out as a role model. And according to you, it turned out her tawdry behind ain't even end up voting no-how!!!

Also, please stop using lingo like "fo-shizzle"...I don't even like it when some Black folk use it. Geeeshhh!!!!

Ossie Davis Play Re-Discovered!





Just saw a fantastic reading of a little known work written by the late, great Ossie Davis called "The People of Clarendon County" at the Schomburg Center. If you are in the NYC area, the reading is brief (about 40 minutes), but the all-star cast and subject matter make it worth seeing.

Written in the 1950s, the piece explores the true story of how a group of Black citizens in a South Carolina town were actually the first ones (before Brown vs. Board of Ed) to go after the government about the constitutionality of "separate and unequal" practices in public schools. Originally intended to be performed by young people to educate them about their history, it was first performed by a young Ossie, Ruby, and Sidney Poitier.

Tonight it was brilliantly performed by Lynn Whitfield, Glynn Turman (remember him as the colonel in "A Different World"?), and Rueben Santiago Hudson (who wrote and starred in "Lakawana Blues"). The evening was hosted by former NYC mayor David N. Dinkins and Ruby Dee herself, who I can tell you STILL LOOKS GOOD up close, in person (she had a bangin' outfit and a modern, sassy haircut; ya'll know Black don't crack!). Later on, Mr. Turman pointed out the fact that he had his first major acting role over 40 years ago with Ms. Dee in the original Broadway stage play of "Raisin in the Sun."

Hurry and check it out this Saturday, February 9 when John Amos (of "Roots", and the dad from "Good Times"), Roscoe Orman, and Barbara Ann Teer perform. Or Sunday February 10 with Danny Glover, Mary Alice Smith (the oracle from "The Matrix"), and Glynn Turman work it out.

Here's another overview of the play, and a link to dates and ticket info.
If you make it, let me know what you think!

Race or Gender: The REAL Decision 2008???



Much thanks to Garden State Lady for sending me this article that highlights the dilemma that many Black women are finding themselves in when it comes to choosing Obama or Clinton:

http://www.theroot.com/id/44656

Quote: "During the 1950's and 1960's black women willingly subordinated their feminist aspirations for the larger goal of black civil rights."

Quote: "Even today black girls are taught, implicitly or indirectly, to be loyal to family and community first. And many of us see ourselves, above all, as part of the collective black family."

It's funny, as a Black woman today, I can't recall a time where I've ever felt that I was in a situation where the choices that I made were, in effect, putting my race ahead of my needs as a woman. Instead, I think I've often felt that whatever I'm doing for myself or my community as a Black person also speaks to the needs of my sistren at the same time.

Yet, as the author points out, there are apparently a lot of you out there that feel torn. What's up with that? I was on another blog where it was suggested that some Black women are going with Billary due to a deep distrust and dissastifaction with Black men. Yet many of the women I know consistently band together to support Black men (and women) the sake of the community as a whole. When we do this, do our needs as women suffer?

On top of that, what about the fact that a lot of Black women simply don't trust white women and feel that the so-called "feminist" movement has been so dominated by, and served the interests of whites, that it leaves sisters in the dust? Think about it. How many Black female candidates has NOW come out publicly to support?

In the end, I flow like Oprah and say "I am a FREE woman," and who I vote for has nothing to do with favoring or sacrificing the interests of my Black community or my sisters in the struggle, yet everything to do with who I feel will be best for the country as a whole and the world.

Who's Got More Delegates? The Answer is....

If you've been asking this very question "So who's got more delegates now? Who's in the lead? Obama or Clinton?" for the past few days, then you already know that the news media are not helping to relieve your confusion one bit.

At first I thought it was me, but then I read this Wall Street Journal blog that confirmed my suspicians: The media, once again, is playing us for the okey-doke.

What do I mean? If you read Delegates and Super Delegates 101, you know that the only the delegates gained from the primary votes really count right now. The "super delegates" don't officially pledge their vote to a candidate until the Democratic National Convention. So if you are reading the newspaper, internet, or watching a news program and report how many delegates a candidate has CHECK TO SEE IF THEY ARE COUNTING JUST DELEGATES, OR ADDING A PREDICTION ABOUT SUPER DELEGATES ALSO. If they say that the tally includes super delegates, then their total is pure speculation!

The only media outlet that seems to be just counting delegates in its reporting is NBC. Check out their nifty graphics here. According to them, without all this super delegate non-sense that we can't be sure of until the August convention, the score looks like this:

Obama: 861

Clinton: 855

Edwards: 26 (remember, even though he's out of the race, he still got delegates from previous primaries)

So as of Friday, February 8th at 4pm, BARACK OBAMA HAS MORE DELEGATES THAN BILLARY.

These numbers will change:
1. After the rest of the country has its primaries and caucuses.

2. When all this stuff with the close call in New Mexico, and the Florida and Michigan exclusion is figured out.

3. At the Democratic National Convention when the mysterious super delegates cast their votes.

That #3 is the messed up part, ya'll....

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Delegates and SuperDelegates 101


Am I the only one who's irked about this delegate system? Or to be more precise, the Super Delegate thing?....Or maybe you're one of those that don't really know how this system works. Well, you can check out this spiffy professional type link here... but here's how I understand on the Democratic side, in G-n-B terms.....

- Delegates are people who get to go to the Democratic National Convention (this year it's in August) and vote for who will be the party's presidential nominee.

- Delegates can be any Democrat registered to vote. You. Joe Schmo. Anybody. If you wanna be one, you just go to your local party chapter and they will break down the selection process.

- When the primary or caucus occurs, in most states, delegates are awarded on a proportional basis. For example, if Jack got 30% of the vote in Texas and Jill got 70%, then 30% of the Texas delegates pledge to vote for Jack at the convention, and the other 70% pledge to vote for Jill.

- Each state has a different number of delegates depending on their population. There are 3,253 Democratic party delegates in all. See your state number here.

Actually sounds simple, right? But wait! There are also these Super Delegates...

- Super Delegates also go to the Democratic National Convention and vote for who the party's presidential candidate will be. However, they're different from regular delegates because they can vote for whomever they want, regardless of how average citizens voted in the primary. Why? I have no idea.

- Super-delegates are congressman, Democratic party big-wigs, governers, big ballers and shot-callers. Why? I have no idea.

- There are 796 Democratic super-delegates.



So in the case of candidates Jack and Jill (above), Jack might have won the majority of the popular vote around the country during the primaries, but if Bob the super delegate is really feeling Jill, he could say "Bump Jack! Jill gets my vote." If enough super delegates think and vote like this, a candidate (in this case, Jack) could lose the nomination even though most of the average citizens around the country actually chose him.

With 4,049 delegates total (that's delegates plus super-delegates), and a big portion of that number being the "anything goes" super delegates, that means that Jack and Jill scenario is a very real possibility.

Does that sound fair to you?


Here's another take on this issue:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/108697?gt1=10856

(Thanks to S. in the Garden State for sending me this Newsweek article)

Relieved...but VEXED 48 hours after the battle...

So the last time I checked in, I was having a major anxiety over all the speculation about the Super Tuesday results. In fact, I was so angst that I turned the tv off till 11:30pm to see things a bit more conclusive, but the pundits still befuddled. The next morning things became clearer, but here we are on Thursday and stuff STILL ain't totally figured out. Here's what I do know....

Obama: 13 states won (Illinois, Georgia, Alabama, Connecticut, Missouri, Utah, Deleware, Minnesota, Colorado, Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, North Dakota)

Clinton: 8 states won (who cares...)

Some thoughts...

1. What's up with Obama winning states like N. Dakota and Idaho? I didn't know POTATO FARMERS were feeling him like that. Dang!

2. Doesn't the above go to show that all this speculation about "Will he be able to do well in places without a lot of Blacks?" was a bunch of horse manure? As Chris Rock said, ain't Black folk up in Minnesota but Prince and they STILL voted for him.

3. Shout out to my peoples in Alaska for having Obama's back. Again, who knew...One love!

4. To BLACK UTAH DUDE....okay, you got me! Ya'll came out for the O-man, while my wack -ass state went the Billary route. One point for you....

Yet....Billary still has more delegates. More on that later....

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Anxious.....at 9:15 pm "Super Tuesday"

Am I the only one that feels like it is wickedly NERVE RACKING to watch the news just after the pols close? I mean, with all this "predicted" winner crap, I've gone through several emotional highs and low in a matter of minutes - not cool.

CURRENT SCORE CARD:

Obama Winning (projected): Alabama, Georgia, Conneticut, Minnesota, Delaware

Clinton Winning (projected)
: New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy some aspect of the speculation and political commentary, especially when it features the "All-Stars," but the bottom line is that since it's all based on exit polling at this point, it doesn't make sense to sit back in victory or defeat yet. So....

I'm gonna try my best to stay off of the net (and off of the television netWORKS) and try to enjoy some tea, burn a little incense, and maybe finish reading one of the tons of books I promise that I will finish soon.....(let's see if I can hold back)

Movie: "African Booty Scratcher"



WAIT! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK....

I just saw this great short film on HBO called "African Booty Snatcher." Now when I saw this title listed amongst the chanel's "Black History Month" selections, I thought it was an awful joke unwittingly played by some producer who had no idea what the term connotes in the Black community. Then I thought "Is this some sort of sick adult film they are trying to lay on us?!"

Well I'm happy to say neither was true! Instead I found a brilliant short film that gave insight into what many second generation African youth in the U.S. go through when living within African-American communities. It's amazing how in only 13 minutes Sierra Leonean-American filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu was able to capture the complexities of the ignorance, stigma, and ultimately pride that is involved when these cultures collide.

(Check the part when the guy comes into the restaurant...TELL ME YOU HAVEN'T HEARD FOLK TALKING THIS MESS BEFORE...or maybe YOU have felt the same way!)

Check this listing to see when it will be playing on HBO in your area. You can also check out the ABS Myspace page to see a trailer and film screening dates across the country.

Not again! More Billary Tears??.....

Can ya'll believe this?....

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/02/breaking_hillary_reemploys_the.html

It seems like every time Obama is ahead, this woman busts out the waterworks - now, just in time for Super Tuesday. Will you buy it this time?

Geeshh....

CNN's Black Female All-Stars



Is it me, or does CNN got the ill “Black Woman Pundit All-Star” line-up???…..






















Amy Holmes (republican)


Donna Brazile (democratic strategist)


Soledad O’Brien (anchor; check out the clip….this sistah won’t stop, won’t quit!)




Suzanne Malveaux (anchor/correspondent)

She’s the only journalist I know who had the cajones to ask Billary “Are YOU Black enough?” Just wish there was a clip of it (if you were the at the National Association of Black Journalist function and got some video, holla at me; that’s got to be PRICELESS…and I ain’t got no money,so…), but she talks about her rationale here…..



Look how she gets George W. all shook up. Catch the snide remark he makes at the end?…



I mean, I see more intelligent Black women on CNN than on BET……DANG!!!

"BLACK UTAH DUDE" SPEAKS....

Hey Gang,

Some Black dude in Utah (yes, I said a BLACK DUDE in UTAH – they do exist) had the nerve to imply that my commentaries were unobjective….can you believe that –ish???? Now ya’ll know from all my past posts that I just present the info, 98% of the time with links to some outside story so that you can DECIDE FO’ YO’ DANG SELF….just like I hope you’ll do today on (come on, let’s say it together now….)

SUPER TUESDAY!!!!!!

Well, so that Black Utah Dude can’t say I’m not fair, I’m showing you this message and a link he sent me about Billary, Health Care, and Lies….

“…we've become so brainwashed as a public, that we get bent out of shape because of Billary's mandated insurance proposal (which we now see is also Obama's plan in a different way); however, look at your paycheck and ask why this is any different from the HUGE gash that social security also makes in your check. I'm sorry, but my wages are already being garnished. Can you get out of paying Social Security as well? Universal health care is just as big as Social Security -- so it wouldn't be surprising to see it as another minus on your paycheck.

Any, I'm not kissing up to the Clintons. The biggest problems with the Clintons is that both are habitual liars, and to quote David Geffen, "lie with such ease": "

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=M2MyYjE0MjRhYzU3YTA1Y2E3YmQzNDRkZjFmN2M0ZGY=#more

Funny thing is that ultimately, I still stand by my previous comments, but it’s always good to hear all sides. Thanks Black Utah Dude!!!!!

It's Super Tuesday!!!!....Yeah!!!!!

It's SUPER TUESDAY and I'm SUPER EXCITED!.....Aren't you?

I've been accused of being just a tad bit biased, but in all honesty, I don't care who you vote for, just vote. Still.... I figured I'd take this occasion to make what has, up until now, amounted to a private blog and make it go public.

Below you'll send the post that I sent to you "A-Listers" a few days ago, but now you can share it with yo' friends. Don't worry about re-sending your comments from the past (but feel free to do so if ya want).

I even wrote a little intro in case ya'll don't know what the heck this is about. In any case...

VOTE, mi gente!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, February 4, 2008

Hide Your Paychecks From Billary!!!!


Hi Peeps,

IF YOU STILL THINK OBAMA AND BILLARY ARE BASICALLY THE SAME ON POLICY, THEN LOOK AT THIS:

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1709472,00.html

Ya'll hear this -ish Billary is talking now about garnishing people's paychecks? If you watched the last CNN Smackdown....er, I mean "debate"...then you heard how Barack explained and defended his reasons for not imposing health care on everyone flatout. One of his reasons had to do with the question of what happens to folks who don't want to opt into the universal coverage. Billary didn't really address that question comprehensively...until now.

Now what do you think will happen if she wins the nomination and goes up against the Republican candidate? THEY WILL USE HER WORDS TO ANNHIALATE HER at the ballot box in November. Think about it. No matter what her intentions, her stance sounds too much like "big brother" and will scare the crap out of voters. Then we'll go into the next decade with Mitt-Mc-Huck as president. Yet look at what she says in the middle of the article: she STILL thinks that she'd be more viable against the Republican candidate bc she has more experience....yeah, right! More experience putting her foot in her mouth!

Criticize B. Obama all you want about being mainly an eloquent wordsmith, but so far, he hasn't made any mega-blunders like this (and the 5 million other ones Billary's made, like the Dr. King thing....what will Billary pull out next to make sure the Reps win????)

So....still think this race is just a matter of differences in "likability." Still think Barack and Billary are the same re: policy?

Think and grow wise, mi gente......

Diddy Gets Black Consciousness???

Hi All,

If this is true, then here's another one for the "OH SNAP!" files:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pxi3l7WzZI



Word is that he's not just looking for fashion week models, but trying to make it an ALL BLACK SHOW. Now, some of you might be thinking that this is so-called "reverse racism." But did ya'll check that other message I sent about Naomi Campbell's boycott of Fashion Week in NYC? Imagine if you were a Black woman or man in this industry and you hardly got any shows to be in.

If it was just Diddy talking, I might be like whatever. But the fact that this comes on the fashionable heels of Naomi speaking out (and remember, she didn't have to say nothing bc even if they only featured 2 Black models during the whole week, chances are with her supermodel status, she'd be one of them; in other words, she could have just made her money regardless of what happen to the rest of her sistren and just kept steppin', but she didn't), leads me to think this might be the start of a real fashion industry mini-revolt.

Let's see what happens at his show February 8th....

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Oh Snap! Maria Shriver....

My People,

BREAKING NEWS. LIVE AT 5:50PM SUNDAY, FEB. 3, 2008:

I'm watching Michelle, Oprah, Caroline Kennedy live from California. I thought Stevie Wonder busting his azz to get up on stage and endorse Obama was something, but then guess what??

MICHELLE JUST PULLED MARIA SHRIVER OUT THE CROWD!!!!

In case ya'll don't know, she's a Kennedy AND first lady of California AND ARNOLD SCHWARTZENEGGER'S BABY MAMA!!!!

Now ya'll know Arnold, as a REPUBLICAN governor just supported McCain. But his wife Maria just pulled a debo like "Bump my husband! I'm down with Barack..WHAT!"

This is live play by play...

- she talking about conquering her fears

- alluding to the fact (not coming out and saying it), that this hard to do considering her man supports McCain

- saying she's standing here not bc she best friends with Oprah or cousins with Caroline, but bc she wants to be here!

- she keep talking about how she giving "Shout Outs"..no kidding, those are here words; she giving a shout out to her little daughter right now

- she saying how she just decided to run out and do this THIS MORNING (and she look like it, too, bc that head ain't combed and that outfit is a nice orange but a little wrinkled)

- DANG! she rocking the crowd with some call and response type stuff like calling Barack LEADER and other words and audience is cheering back each time like "yeah"

(My personal thoughts: THIS IS THE BEST DANG CAMPAIGN IN MY WHOLE LIFE!!! SO EXCITING!!!!)

(My thougts as she's speaking: BILLARY must be angry as hell!!!!)

What ya'l think about THAT???

Signing out for now.....

Another Day, Another Kennedy



What It Is, Folks,

So with all these Kennedy's flying around it shouldn't be surprising that one more has popped up to get behind a candidate. This time it's Ethel for Obama:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ethel-skakel-kennedy/why-im-supporting-barack_b_84604.html

That makes the score:

Obama: 4 Kennedys (one JFK seed + one JFK brother + one JFK nephew + one RFK wife)

Billary: 3 Kennedys (all seed of RFK)

Now, some would say that aside from the 1 extra Kenneday advantage, Obama also has an edge because while Billary has RFK's seed, Obama actually has RFK's WIFE. And not for nothing, but who knows a man (for better or worse) than the wife? So now you got Kennedys saying Obama is like John AND Bobby! Dang! Let's hope he stays safer than those two did....

And on another note, why do we care so much about what "A Kennedy" thinks anyway? Is this about any true political merit of the family today, or some left-over romanticism about the "Camelot" of yesteryear?

I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Obama Music Video: Yes We Can

Hey!

Have any of ya'll seen this new music video by Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas) and all these celebrities featuring Barack's speech?:

http://www.dipdive.com/



Dang! Now this song is in my head and I'm floating around talkin' bout..."Yes we can....oooohhhhh, yeah!.....Yes we can....."

What do you think?

The Hispanic Endorsement???

Hey Hep Cats,

Did you hear that this newspaper "La Opinion," which comes out of Los Angeles and is the largest Spanish newspaper in the whole U.S. just gave B. Obama their endorsement. It's brief, but read what they had to say (the first link is in English, the second in Spanish...any of you funky-bilinguals holla at your girl if there was something lost in translation):

http://laopinion.com/editorial/index_en.html/

http://laopinion.com/editorial/

Que creen, mi gente?

Friday, February 1, 2008

Naomi Boycotts Bigots

Buenos Dias,

Heard Naomi Campbell's taking a stand against designers that don't feature models of color. Check it out:

http://weblogs.amny.com/entertainment/fashion/blog/2008/01/naomi_campbell_boycotts_an_unn.html

Me too! No more of those $5,000 outfits, I'm cutting down.

National Geographic - Black Pharoahs


"Black Pharaohs".....They really get me with this mess!

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2008-02/black-pharaohs/draper-text.html

The thing of it is, if these "Black Pharaohs" only account for 75 years of the monarchy, what are they calling the others who reigned? White? Gimme a break. Blacks didn't just come from Nubia and we know that the folk who inhabit and dominate Egypt today ain't the ones from back in the day.

Welcome To Grits-N-Butta

Hey Folks,

Welcome to Grits-N-Butta. Here the conversation is easy (and sometimes greasy) like Sunday morning breakfast (hence the title). Write now, the hot topic that moves me is poliTRICKS, but don't be surprised if you see other things pop up from time to time.

Feel free to read, post, tell your friends, whatever.

Eat till your full!

- G-n-B