Year: 2013

Categories
Martin Luther King Jr Politics

Section 5 – The Foundation Of OUR Voting Rights

Justice Scalia

Section 5 of The Voting Rights Act has become the most controversial topic in the news over the past week. And with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia making unflattering comments like, I think it is attributable, very likely attributable, to a phenomenon that is called perpetuation of racial entitlement…, it puts more of a spotlight on the number one issue now facing the Supreme Court – the survivability of Section 5

Under Section 5 of the Voting Act, nine Southern states (and a few other counties) must get the advance approval from the Department of Justice in Washington for any state electoral changes they want to implement. This process, known as pre-clearance, covers everything from drawing the lines of legislative districts to deciding the location of polling places.

However, Justice Scalia thinks this very important measure amounts to Racial…Entitlement! A chance to vote… a chance which is the right of EVERY America citizens, is being considered Racial Entitlement. The comment clearly offended Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “Do you think that the right to vote is a racial entitlement in Section 5?… Do you think Section 5 was voted for because it was a racial entitlement?” she said later, seeming to call out Scalia.

Why should the fundamental right to vote, a right that was fought for and signed into law in 1965, a right that was spurred by Civil Rights Leaders, Organizers, Laymen, Preachers, Mothers and Fathers, Blacks and Whites… why is this still a topic for debate? It is so nonsensical that in 2013, the very foundation of the Voting Rights Act could possibly be overturned. And why would anyone consider overturning this important law considering what some of the GOP surrogates attempted in the election of 2012?

There were multiple reports and evidence of voter obstruction in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas and Florida just to name a few, where Republican governors concentrated on voter disruptions, from attempting to introduce late legislation to having voters produce picture I.D.’s to actually closing polling stations early, denying hundreds of thousands of voters an opportunity to perform there God given and Constitutional right to Vote. Those multiple disruptive behaviors alone to the voting process should be enough to keep Section 5 on the Books.

But make no mistake, this is a calculated and premeditated act of the Republican Party. Ever since President Obama was elected as President in term #1, Mitch McConnell had the audacity to state in a news conference that the main objective of his party was to “make sure this President was a one-term President.” That didn’t work out for them although they tried to block all of the President’s policies or support him in any domestic affairs that would be beneficial for the American people.

So now, after President Obama’s re-election, the scam is on. If they, the GOP and the big money bags, can’t beat him, they will attempt to swing momentum in their favor. How you asked? By changing (or stealing) the vote. By trying to eliminate Section. By cancelling out Section 5 of the Voter Rights Act. And now it appears the Republicans have found favor in a Justice on the Highest Court in the land, the Supreme Court.

So, how could a Supreme Court Justice miss this? Does he not look at the news? Does he not have access to a paper or computer with the internet? Is it just blind ignorance? I’m not sure what Scalia is thinking but I know how the majority of Americans feel.

Rep. John Lewis

Just ask Sen. John Lewis who was a part of the original marches with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., demanding voting and civil rights for all Americans. We can also solicit feedback from Minorities, Democrats and those survivors of the Civil Rights Movement who fought to have this law passed.

Outraged! Less we forget the hundreds of thousands who were beaten, maimed, imprisoned and even killed just to perform this most important act of democracy. And to have individuals attempt to take it away is completely atrocious and un-patriotic.

A Great Big Thank You to all who paved the way for me and my family to exercise our right to vote. And Thank You to all who continue to Fight the Good Fight. This is the right of All Americans. And now we Have to take a Stand, America! Contact your Congressman and tell them, “Continue to Fight For ME so I can Vote”! Get Active, Get Busy, Get Serious America! It’s a matter of Democracy, Freedom and Justice For ALL!

Categories
Featured

Florida Man Swallowed In Sinkhole While Sleeping In His Bed

A Florida man was missing and feared dead on Friday after a large sinkhole suddenly swallowed the bedroom of his suburban Tampa home, police and fire officials said.

Jeff Bush, 36, was in his room sleeping and the other five members of the household were getting ready for bed on Thursday night when they heard a loud crash and Jeff screaming.

Jeff’s brother, 35-year-old Jeremy Bush, jumped into the hole and furiously kept digging to find his brother.

“I feel in my heart he didn’t make it,” Jeremy told Tampa TV station WFTS. “There were six of us in the house; five got out.”

Jeremy himself had to be rescued from the sinkhole by the first responder to the emergency call, Douglas Duvall of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. When Duvall entered Jeff Bush’s bedroom, all he saw was a widening chasm but no sign of Jeff.

“The hole took the entire bedroom,” said Duvall. “You could see the bedframe, the dresser, everything was sinking,” he said.

Norman Wicker, 48, the father of Jeremy’s fiancée who also lived in the house, ran to get a flashlight and shovel.

“It sounded like a car ran into the back of the house,” Wicker said.

Authorities had not detected any signs of life after lowering listening devices and cameras into the hole and rescue efforts were suspended after the site was deemed too unsafe for emergency personnel to enter.

h/t Chicago Tribune

Categories
Television

Bonnie Franklin – Mom On ‘One Day At A Time’ – Dies At 69

Bonnie Franklin, star of TV’s “One Day at a Time,” died Friday at her home in Los Angeles, suffering complications from the pancreatic cancer she had revealed in September. The actress was 69.

Later Friday, her sitcom daughters shared their thoughts online.

Valerie Bertinelli, who played the younger of divorced mom Ann Romano’s kids on the long-running show, said simply on Twitter, “My heart is breaking.” She included a snapshot of herself with Franklin.

She continued on her website.

“Bonnie has always been one of the most important women in my life and was a second mother to me,” Bertinelli wrote. “The years on ‘One Day At A Time’ were some of the happiest of my life, and along with Pat [Harrington Jr.] and Mackenzie [Phillips] we were a family in every way. She taught me how to navigate this business and life itself with grace and humor, and to always be true to yourself. I will miss her terribly.”

“Remembering my friend. Rest in peace. Bonnie Franklin,” tweeted Mackenzie Phillips, who too posted a picture of herself with her onscreen mom.

When Franklin herself was a youngster, her parents enrolled her in acting classes.

“I was a bookworm, and my mom felt I should get out of myself,” she told The Times in a 1987 interview. “My four brothers and sisters also had lessons, but I’m the only one who took them seriously.”

It was a path that would lead Franklin to one Emmy nomination, one Tony nod and two Golden Globe nominations, from her career on Broadway as well as on the small screen, most notably on “One Day at a Time,” which ran from 1975 to 1984.

h/t LA Times

Categories
Politics

NRA Promises “To Get Rid Of” Any Anti-Gun Lawmaker

NRA’s President David Keene

This is a threat from the NRA, but based on the last election in Chicago Illinois, where one of their A+ members lost to Democratic State Representative Robin Kelly who was for gun control, it seems that this threat from the NRA amounts to just that – an empty threat. But don’t tell that to the NRA, they swear they still have the political pull they had ten or even twenty years ago.

Speaking at a rally of about 7,000 people protesting New York gun laws in Albany, Keene promised that the NRA would “soon have five million members” because of a surge of interest after lawmakers passed laws in response to the shooting of 20 elementary school children in Connecticut.

“Because of the fact that we, as believers in the Second Amendment, are willing to do something that most people in this country are not willing to do, which is not just to stand up for our rights, but to support those people who stand with us and work to get rid of those in public office who do not,” the NRA president told the crowd.

Categories
Politics

Why Is “Jedi” The Number One Trending Word On Twitter?

Well it may be due to the smack-down President Obama awarded to a CNN reporter who asked what I’ll consider to be a stupid question. The question had to do with the Sequester and why President Obama didn’t do more to keep Republicans in Washington and force them to agree with him instead of allowing them to leave early for the weekend.

The President answered, “I know that has been some of the conventional wisdom that’s been floating around Washington, that somehow, even though most people agree that I’m being reasonable, that most people agree I’m presenting a fair deal, that fact that they don’t take it means that I should somehow do a Jedi mind meld with these folks and convince them to do what’s right.”

Moments after President Obama made that statement, the White House tweeted this photo:

 

Categories
Politics

President Obama Proves Again Why He Is The Only Adult In Washington – Video

A powerful Q&A happened today after President Obama met with leaders of Congress. The president held a press conference to talk about what happened in his meeting and took questions from reporters. One of the question was from a CNN reporter, Jessica Yellin, who implied that the President was not doing everything possible to force Republicans into see things his way.

In his response, President answered that he is “not a dictator,” and if Republicans say they have to go catch a plane, he “cannot have Secret Service block the doorway.” He continued;

I know that has been some of the conventional wisdom that’s been floating around Washington, that somehow, even though most people agree that I’m being reasonable, that most people agree I’m presenting a fair deal, that fact that they don’t take it means that I should somehow do a Jedi mind meld with these folks and convince them to do what’s right.

Well they’re elected. We have a constitutional system of Government. The Speaker of the House and the Leader of the Senate and all those folks have responsibilities. What I can do is I can make the best possible case for why we need to do the right thing. I can speak to the American people about the consequences of the decisions that Congress is making or the lack of decision making by Congress.

But ultimately, it’s a choice they make. This idea that somehow there’s a secret formula or a secret sauce to get Speaker Boehner or Mitch McConnell to say, you know what Mr. President, you’re right. We should close some tax loopholes for the well off and well connected in exchange for some serious entitlement reform and spending cuts to programs we don’t need, I think if there was a secret way to do that, I would have tried it. I would have done it.

What I can do is I can make the best possible argument. And I can offer concessions, I can offer compromise, I can negotiate, I can make sure that my party is willing to compromise and is not being ideological or thinking about this just in terms of political terms. And I think I’ve done that and I will continue to do that. But what I can’t do is force Congress to do the right thing.

But there was a follow-up. Jessica had another statement/question to make. She asked about New York’s Mayor Bloomberg who stated that the effects of the Sequester was being overstated. Jessica wanted to know if Bloomberg was correct. The President responded with a few examples, one of them being that the Department of Defense now had to figure out how to continue providing full education to the children of military families if their teachers were furloughed . And he pointed out that Mayor Bloomberg will not feel that pain.

Watch the full exchange below;

Categories
Sports

Yanks Make Offer But Cano Focused On 2013

Yesterday, the Baseball world learned that the Yankees had made a “significant” offer to Robinson Cano’s agent, Scott Boras. Hal Steinbrenner had eluded to the fact that the Yankees were prepared to make an offer. Then Brian Cashman confirmed to members of the New York media that “a significant offer had been made. The question remains, is it significant enough to get Cano to forgo free agency and pledge his career to the pinstripes?

Scott Boras is notorious for instructing his clients to test the market and use free agency to their advantage. Since Boras usually represents the best of the best, that strategy usually works. Cano said today that he does not want to talk about the Yankees’ offer. He stated “I want to focus on the 2013 season and I don’t want my contract to become a distraction for this team.” Cano has repeatedly let on that Boras is in the driver’s seat of these talks and that he is purely focused on Baseball.

Reputable baseball journalist Jon Heyman took to twitter this morning explaining that in his experience, when a team has to tell the media they made a “significant” offer, a deal is usually not close to done. Sweeny Murti of WCBS thinks that Boras and Cano are just a few days away from calling off talks until after the season. I agree with Sweeny. I think that Cano has all the leverage and no matter what the offer was from the Yankees, it’s only a starting number. Cano is the best second baseman in the league and will command at least 8 years and at least $200 million. Do not fret Yankee fans, I think it’s still more likely that Cano stays in pinstripes but a deal won’t be reached until after the season. If a deal was close, the Yankees wouldn’t have to let their fans know that talks were ongoing. Sit tight. It’s going to get bumpy.

Categories
Food And Recipes

The Quik Cook! Quick & Easy Crab Cakes

Quick & Easy Crab Cakes

prep: 10 min
total: 25 min
servings: 6

Ingredients:
1cup boiling water
1pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Cornbread Stuffing Mix
3 eggs
2cans (6 oz. each) crabmeat, drained, flaked
1/4cup butter or margarine
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges

Directions:
ADD boiling water to stuffing mix; stir just until moistened. Let stand 5 min.
BEAT eggs in large bowl. Add crabmeat; mix lightly. Stir in stuffing. Shape into 6 patties.
MELT butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add patties; cook 5 min. on each side or until heated through and lightly browned on both sides. Serve with lemon wedges.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Serve with small hot baked potatoes and a bagged salad tossed with your favorite KRAFT Dressing, such as Italian.
SPECIAL EXTRA: Add 1/4 cup finely chopped red peppers and 2 Tbsp. finely chopped onions to the crabmeat mixture before shaping into patties.

 

 

 

Categories
MSNBC Politics

Bob Woodward And David Axelrod Face Off Over Supposed “Threat” – Video

Both men were on MSNBC’s  Morning Joe and the confrontation was almost immediate due to Woodward’s claim that an email he received from the White House amounted to a “threat.”

Woodward, a well respected journalist, has been in the news all week because of some of his reporting, where he blamed President Obama as the originator of the Sequester. The White House has been on the defensive since Woodward’s claim, leading to the confrontation between the two men on Friday.

“When the full e-mails came out, they were as cordial as can be,” Axelrod said to Woodward on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “His e-mail was cordial, and your response was cordial. So if you felt threatened, why didn’t you say to Gene, ‘Don’t threaten me?’”

“You are putting words in my mouth,” Woodward responding, adding he never said he felt “threatened.” “I said, ‘I don’t think this is the way to operate.’”

Axelrod retorted: “I’m not putting words in your mouth, Bob. It’s your newspaper that said you said you were threatened.”

A Washington Post story posted Thursday did originally say in the headline that Woodward claimed the White House “threatened” him. The headline has since been changed.

On Fox News on Thursday night, Woodward said, “The problem I have with the Gene Sperling email — and this comes after a shouting match, lot’s of people shout at me — is that goes into the coded, ‘you better watch out’.”

The duo later debated whether Obama “moved the goalposts” on sequestration by insisting tax revenues be part of the package to avert it.

Categories
Food And Recipes

The Quik Cook! Mini Frittatas with Ham and Cheese

Mini Frittatas with Ham and Cheese

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3 frittatas)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped reduced-fat ham (about 2 ounces)
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 large egg whites
1 large egg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add ham; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add ham mixture, stirring with a whisk. Spoon mixture into 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until set.

Categories
Tid Bits

Friday, March 1, 2013

Its official! It’s lights out for ‘Fashion Night Out’, as the annual shopping celebration will go on hiatus in NYC this year, according to its website. Night Out was launched in 2009 as a way to boost retail sales during the height of the recession, and gave fans the opportunity to mix n’ mingle with their favorite designers and celebrities. But event organizer, Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers, says some retail participants complained that the event cost more money to put on than it took in from sales. Other officials like Bob Gormley, District Manager of Community Board 2 in SoHo says the venue had grown out of control and needed a time-out! Still, yet another sponsor of the event, Councilwoman Margaret Chin (D-Soho) said that the event was at times marred by “violence and shockingly disturbing behaviour”. Well, all I know is, we may need to revisit this sudden decision to cancel FNO if the sequestered cuts prove to be too much for NYC retailers to handle on their own–once again. Stay tuned …♦

Since its opening to the public on September 21, 2012, the  still fresh Barclays Center, the multi-purpose indoor arena in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, is doing what its suppose to do. Conceived by real estate developer Bruce Ratner, it’s the first new entertainment arena to open in NYC  since 1968, holding its own against other big name coliseums in the metropolitan area like, Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Prudential Center in Newark, and Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
It held its first event ever with a Jay-Z concert on September 28, 2012. So now you may ask “Why is JayZ’s name so inexplicably tied to the giant entertainment complex?”
Well, I’m glad you asked!

Facts You MayOr May Not Have Known About JayZ’s Ties to The Barclay Center 

  • When developer Bruce Ratner set out to buy the New Jersey Nets and build an arena for them in Brooklyn, he recruited Jay-Z, the hip-hop superstar who grew up in public housing a couple of miles from the site, to join his group of investors.
  • Jay-Z owns a small financial stake in the company, although his contributions have dwarfed the $1 million he invested nine years ago. His influence on the project has been wildly disproportionate to his ownership stake — a scant one-fifteenth of one percent of the team.
  • But he’s also been a creative diva: Jay-Z helped design the logo for the Brooklyn Nets and the Nets gear on sale (featuring a stark, urban black and white feel).
  • He is owner of the 40-40 Club chain, one of which is in the arena.
  • It was also his aesthetic force that helped define the half-million dollar Vault suite seating areas.
  • He counseled arena executives on what kind of music to play during games. (“Less Jersey,” he urged, pushing niche artists like Santigold over old favorites like Bon Jovi.)
  • And, Jay-Z played a week of opening concerts when the Barclay Center finally opened its doors,  recycled as an album marking the occasion of the arrival of Brooklyn in the world of big commercial entertainment venues.
  • Sponsorship salespeople for the Barclay trumpet how “hip and cool” JayZ and his wife, Beyoncé, have made  the arena, and he along with the Nets basketball team have rewritten the rules on how to effectively deploy a strategic celebrity investor. h/t About.com

Good money is well invested smart money. ♦

And, speaking of Mrs. Carter…

The OWN network has released a 30-second clip from the upcoming Beyonce interview on Oprah’s Next Chapter.
During the sit-down chat, Lady O asks Beyonce about everything … from Bey’s HBO documentary, her miscarriage, firing her dad as manager and the birth of Blue Ivy.
The 31-year-old entertainer is also asked whether she and hubby Jay-Z will have more kids.
Beyonce’s new documentary Life Is But A Dream premieres Saturday on HBO. ♦ h/t X17

The Guru of reality TV, Mark Burnette (Survivor, Shark Tank) and wife, Roma Downey (‘Touched By An Angel’ star.) have produced, what they are calling, the first reality show-styled depiction of  the Scriptures entitled, ‘The Bible’ for The History Channel. Their approach was a depiction of the Bible in a more straightforward interpretation, rather than as an investigation or mystery. Touted  as a project that will re-introduce The Good Book to a whole new generation, the five-part, 10-hour docu-drama will have live-action and state-of-the-art CGI.  Airs March 3. ♦

 

Later pilgrims…

Categories
Music Tid Bits

LeBron James And The Miami Heats Doing The Harlem Shake – Video

And now the professionals are getting into it, leaving their mark on the hit dance moves sweeping the nation. Presenting LeBron James and the Miami Heat’s version of The Harlem Shake.

ps. This is not how the Harlem Shake should be done. For the correct way, click here. 🙂

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