Month: March 2013
In his weekly address, President Obama says that businesses have created jobs every month for three years straight – nearly 6.4 million altogether, and have added 246,000 new jobs in February. We must keep this momentum going, and that’s why the President recently met with Republican leaders to discuss how we can replace the harmful, arbitrary budget cuts, called the “sequester,” with balanced deficit reduction.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
In honor of the Spirit of the day, I worked my tail off , between my daytime gig as a manager and my part-time job as a writer and graphics designer. And we do work hard, don’t we Sisters? At 50% of the world’s population, women supply an average of 60% of its labor. There’s always things that need to be done that no one else seems to get to. So you do it. You see something busted, you fix it. You see someone in need of comforting, you give it. You see a cause worthy of saving, you champion it. You see a world in need of peace, you bring it!
Well, because we all worked so hard yesterday, I am unofficially declaring today, Saturday, March 9, International Women’s Day, Supplemental! Starting today Ladies, let’s sit back, lay back or lean on someone else’s back for a change and center our souls, focus our minds and build up our energies, because every day is our day and a woman’s work ain’t never done : ) ♦
Bethany Hamilton — Known for surviving a shark attack that left her without one arm, she overcame the injury to become a professional surfer.
Yoko Ono — A Japanese artist, peace activist and feminist, also known for her philanthropic contributions to the arts, peace and AIDS outreach programs.
Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas — Making history in the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won gold medals in both the individual and team all-around competitions, becoming the first black woman of any nationality to do so.
Padma Lakshmi — The first internationally successful Indian supermodel, she is now the host of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” an award-winning author of two cookbooks, and the co-founder of a nonprofit organization focused on increasing awareness, education and research about endometriosis. h/t Instagram
Raising my glass of OJ to you Ladies! ♦
Conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck has been fired from ‘The View’ according to Us Weekly.
Friday, the co-host’s contract was not renewed after market researchers found her political views weren’t going over well with View’s audiences.
“People did not watch the show because of Elisabeth. So they told her yesterday her contract would not be renewed,” –a source from Us Weekly.
I wonder exactly when those researcher’s heads will begin rolling when network exec’s see that it was all about the diversity. Audiences may not have liked Hasselbeck’s views or even her for that matter but differences of opinion surely create a lot more interesting, fiery dialog than a set full of women basically all holding the same opinions about things. I think what’s needed are stronger, more mature, more diverse independent thinking women on the show. Right now it’s like, and I hate to use such a derogatory term, a henhouse than anything else. ♦
Later pilgrims…
Imagine you’re a waitress, out with friends on a night off, when you lose your wallet. Cash, credit cards, driver’s license—all gone. Your bank later informs you that checks are being issued in your name.
That is precisely what police in Colorado say happened to Brianna Priddy, a server at a Lakewood Applebee’s.
Priddy, though, didn’t panic.
“I handed it back to her and said, ‘Sure, I’ll be right back with your margarita,'” she told Denver’s NBC affiliate.
Priddy called the police, and tried to act normal while waiting for them to arrive.
“I put on my server smile and tried to take care of them, but I was shaking like crazy,” she said.
When police arrived, the woman, whose name has not been released, was arrested on suspicion of theft, identity theft and criminal impersonation. Police also found narcotics in her possession.
“Dumb criminal,” Lakewood police spokesman Steve Davis told Denver’s 9NEWS. “That’s the first thing that comes to mind.”
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed a bill Friday allowing the state’s school districts to arm teachers and other personnel with guns.
Supporters say the so-called sentinels could help prevent tragedies such as the Connecticut school shooting in December. The law will go into effect July 1.
Several representatives of school boards, school administrators and teachers opposed the bill during committee testimony last month. They said the measure could make schools more dangerous, lead to accidental shootings and put guns in the hands of people who are not adequately trained to shoot in emergency situations.
But main bill sponsor Rep. Scott Craig, R-Rapid City, said earlier this week that he has received messages from a growing number of school board members and administrators who back it.
Craig said rural districts do not have the money to hire full-time law officers, so they are interested in arming teachers or volunteers.
The measure does not force a district to arm its teachers and would not force teachers to carry a gun.
On Monday, the South Dakota House voted 40-19 to accept the Senate version of the bill, which added a requirement that a school district must decide in a public meeting whether to arm teachers and others. Another Senate amendment allowed school district residents to push a school board’s decision to a public vote.
r/t AP
A surprisingly strong jobs report for February sparked renewed faith in the economic recovery despite looming federal spending cuts and the recent increase in payroll taxes and gasoline prices.
Unemployment fell to 7.7 percent last month, from 7.9 percent in January.
It was the lowest rate of joblessness since December 2008, when the financial crisis and recession first pushed unemployment above 7 percent.
February produced 236,000 more jobs than were lost, the report said, higher than many optimistic forecasts had expected.
Much of the increase came in key areas such as construction work, which posted its best hiring in six years in part thanks to a recovery in housing activity.
Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold will be reuniting as Axel Foley and Billy Rosewood in the pilot for the possible CBS series “Beverly Hills Cop.”
According to a report on The Wrap, Reinhold has signed on to do a cameo in the pilot alongside his old big-screen partner Murphy, who is also an executive producer on the series. But don’t expect the series to be all about these two ’80s action movie icons. The series, written by “The Shield’s” Sean Ryan, is a continuation of the three movies but will focus on Foley’s son, played by Brandon T. Jackson.
According to the report, Reinhold’s by-the-book character, who was a detective in the first two films and then a “Deputy Director of Operations for Joint Systems Interdepartmental Operational Command” in the third film, will get a promotion for the series. Chief of police?
Murphy’s on-screen role in the series will also be minimal, and he’ll cameo in the pilot as well.
Reinhold is one of the only actors to appear in all three “Beverly Hills Cop” movies, besides Murphy and Gil Hill, who played Foley’s Detroit police boss, Inspector Todd.
C*G*R*Style: Welcome To Cougar Town
Friday, March 8, 2013
Ex con, Julio Acevedo, charged with criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident, plowed his car, into a livery cab carrying newly married Orthodox Jewish couple Nachman and Raizel Glauber and their unborn baby, killing all three. Acevedo has a rap sheet that includes being charged with the shooting death of his best friend, street thug Kelvin Martin, nicknamed 50 Cent, back in the 80’s, a name which Platinum-selling rapper Curtis Jackson aka 50 Cent, uses as his stage moniker. All this, occurring in the great borough of Brooklyn, New York…just sayin’. ♦
And speaking of Fiddy…
Rapper 50 Cent talks about the influence that secret societies have over the music industry and how certain artists are not allowed to make their own kind of music if it goes against the industry giants wishes, a subject I’ve written about in a past blog on Ezkool. ♦
“As the president who signed the act into law, I have come to believe that DOMA is contrary to those principles and, in fact, incompatible with our Constitution. Although that was only 17 years ago, it was a very different time. In no state in the union was same-sex marriage recognized, much less available as a legal right, but some were moving in that direction. Washington, as a result, was swirling with all manner of possible responses, some quite draconian.”
A mouthful (no pun intended).
To be fair Clinton has done more than any previous president to court the gay community and promote gay rights and for the last intervening years has tried to distance himself from the law, culminating in his lending his support to a measure legalizing same-sex marriage in New York in 2011 alongside President Barack Obama. Not only is Bill Clinton a polygon but he’s a polygon, shaped like a cat who always seems to land on his feet. ♦
“Before I started shooting, I was just a voter wondering why things weren’t getting better after each election. Picking up my camera changed everything for me. My intention with this film is to find out if our political system supports the decaying of Urban America, what that means and what if anything can be done about it. Journeying across the country and spending time with an important, but misunderstood segment of our society – Black Republicans, revealed a reality and an experience few will ever see. As race, politics, human nature and history all clash in this film, I know that as the Director, I am only opening the book on this subject matter and its implications for America.” – Kevin J. Williams, Director
Btw, Kevin– he’s a white dude. Yes…real interesting indeed! ♦
Later pilgrims…
Emma Anderson loves to sing. And singing was her crime when a transit cop grabbed her luggage with her attached and tossed her off the train in Miami. As unbelievable as that may sound, factor into the equation the fact that Emma is 82 years old.
Mrs. Anderson of Miami-Dade explains; “I was beating my little beads with the bottle and I was singing a song, and he came up to me and said, ‘Ma’am, you’re making too much noise.’” Another passenger recorded the entire event on a cellphone.
“You’re getting off here,” the train’s employee said. “Let’s go.” And with that, he grabbed Mrs Anderson’s bags and threw them outside. Mrs Anderson is seen stumbling to the ground behind her bags as other passengers gasped at what they had just witnessed.
“By what we saw on the footage, she was dragged off the train. She wasn’t escorted,” said Kenny, Emma’s 42 year old son.“She was just singing to the Lord, preaching to the Lord, and he grabbed her bag and drug her off the train.” Kenny also said that after X-rays were conducted, Doctors determined that Mrs. Anderson’s hip and shoulder were bruised.
A Miami-Dade Transit Spokesperson told WPLG in a statement, “The elderly passenger, Ms. Anderson, who was escorted from a Metrorail train, was initially asked by a security guard to refrain from singing loudly and playing an instrument while on the train. She refused to comply.”
The family has contacted a lawyer.
TMZ Reports that Justin Bieber was rushed to a hospital in London moments ago … after collapsing backstage during a concert … TMZ has learned.
A source close to Justin tells us the singer felt woozy during the show at the O2 Arena … and with 4 songs to go, he stumbled backstage where he collapsed.
We’re told the singer was pulled into a private room where he was treated with oxygen from emergency personnel.
Sources say Bieber was advised to go to the hospital … but declined … insisting that he “had to finish the show for his fans.”
That’s when Bieber’s rep, Scooter Braun, went on stage on told the crowd … “Justin’s got very light breath. The whole show he’s been complaining, He’s backstage with the EMTs and the doctor.”
A short time later, JB returned to the stage … completed the show … and got a HUGE ovation.
Justin was transported to the hospital directly following the show … and we’re told he’s still there receiving treatment.
We’re told he’s in good spirits and feels OK … but doctors want to evaluate him.