TodayCNN’s Don Lemongave Joe Jackson, Michael Jackson’s father, another chance to redeem himself and act like grieving father instead of a promotion manager.
Did he take that chance? NO. He got on television once again and acted like a moron. So I have to say it again.. JOE JACKSON IS A MORON and it appears he wants to cash in on his son’s death and the resulting publicity.
Anyway, a few hours ago Lemon interviewed Jackson and once again he greeted Lemon laughing and smiling and as Lemon questions him about his grief he has the audacity to declare that he’s crying on the inside and right in the middle of all this is a serious looking Al Sharpton.
Is Jackson high?
Look, I’m black and I understand we mourn in different ways of that there is no doubt. Funerals in black communities across the globe are celebrated in ways that I’m quite sure many cultures would find a bit strange. However they are some omnipresent themes at most of the Christian black funerals I’ve attended. Alcohol is served. There’s lots of food and drinks and at some funerals mourners may even start dancing and singing at the grave side as a way of celebrating the life of the deceased.
That’s different. But that’s how many of us mourn in the black community.
However, Joe Jackson’s isn’t mourning in that way or a different way, he simply isn’t mourning. The man doesn’t even appear sad! I’ve seen more emotion from people who have lost a beloved family pet!
This man appears to be more concerned about all the press he’s getting, all the positive press his son is getting and the fact that he could use the press to his advantage and the advantage of his friends! There’s only one thing Joe Jackson should be concerned about right now and that is the fact that he just lost his son who happened to be a superstar and I haven’t seen one moment when he appears to be genuinely upset about his lost. Instead of acting like a grieving parent, he’s acting like a manager that has lost his biggest client.
Am I the only person in the world, who thinks that last night’s BET Awards tribute show to Michael Jackson could’ve been much better?
Midway through the awards show, it was clear to me and to quite a few other people that the performances were at very best sub par. And as for the host Jamie Foxx, well let’s just say before his next hosting gig my advice to him, is to at the very least give Chris Rock a call and get some pointers.
Anyway, I Googled the award show and of course they were the typical recaps of what happened but I haven’t seen one news post that actually notes how terrible the performances were. From the beginning with New Edition’s massacring of The Jackson 5’s songs to the absolutely horrible performance by Keri Hilson’s et al. It seemed that while most of the artistes were capable of costuming themselves like Michael Jackson NOT ONE of them could come close to matching the King of Pop’s legendary stage performances. And the only performance that came significantly close to anything MJ would’ve done was Beyonce Knowles’ medley.
I know the tribute show was last minute and that most of the artistes would never have been able to or even claim to be half the entertainer Michael Jackson was so I’m willing to give them a pass there. However, I do believe that if many of these performers sincerely wanted to pay tribute, to a man that many of them consider to be their inspiration and the Greatest Entertainer who ever lived, they should have stepped up their routines and put a bit more effort into their performances. And based on what I saw last night that didn’t happen. If by some chance that was the best crop of musical talent in the black community, Michael Jackson himself would have to shake his head in disappointment.
The biological mother of two of Michael Jackson’s children, Debbie Rowe, admits Michael Jackson isn’t the father of his two eldest children Prince Michael and Paris Katherine.
And the two never had sex.
The most interesting part of this article was her insistence that Michael Jackson didn’t want anything to do with her when he found out she couldn’t have anymore children.
A few moments ago while watching CNN’s coverage of theBET Awards, Joe Jackson, Michael Jackson’s father got some lady to read a statement for him as he’s standing on the red carpet speaking with CNN’s Don Lemon!
The entire scene was awkward with this woman standing between the two men reading from a piece of paper.
Then he introduced another spokesperson, his lawyer to answer a simple question that he could have responded too with a ‘no comment’ or ‘I would prefer to talk about that later’. And if that wasn’t bad enough he introduced and seemed to be pluggin a guy’s recording studio which apparently he used to work for/with!
MY GOD!!!!
I hate saying this but Joe Jackson appeared and acted like a frigging moron and if you didn’t know it, you wouldn’t have believed this man had just lost a son! I’m not saying he should’ve broken down in tears or cried a river but the least he could’ve done is show a bit of genuine emotion.
All I can say is what bizarre behaviour from a man that just lost his son.
The wife of outspoken Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi may be under detention in Iran.
According to some unconfirmed reports circulating the web, Zahra Rahnavard who has been likened to Michelle Obama by many Iranians, may have been detained by the Iranian government after she called for the immediate release of those who had been arrested since the beginning of the protests.
If she has been detained we can only assume that Mousavi may be next on their list.
Martina Navratilova is going through another messy divorce.
This time theex-tennis superstar is being sued by her second wife Toni Layton who is claiming that Navratilova wasn’t very nice during their seven year marriage and that she’s suffered ‘emotional, mental and physical trauma’.
Normally, I wouldn’t care one bit about a messy celebrity divorce but this one peeked my interest for two reasons. Apparently Navratilova is using current Florida law which doesn’t recognize same sex marriage to argue that Layton doesn’t deserve a dime and an animal sanctuary built by the two has been put up for sale.
As an outspoken advocate for gay rights and supporter of same sex marriage, which Navratilova claims to be as well, I would argue, that if she uses a law that she believes is unfair and unjust, simply to shield her money and assets, not only is she a hypocrite but she’s doing serious damage to the same-sex marriagemovement which she claims to support. I’m not saying that Layton is entitled to half or some large monetary settlement not at all. What I’m saying is a lot simpler than that. If Navratilova doesn’t recognize the legality of her own marriage she cannot expect or demand nationwide recognition of same sex marriage.
And in regards to the animal sanctuary I know the sale of the sanctuary doesn’t necessarily mean the animals will be homeless and often in situations like these, conditions are attached to the sale in order to protect the animals. And I refuse to believe that the great Martina Navratilova could throw defenseless animals out on the streets but then again according to Layton, Martina did throw her out with only the clothes on her back!
I just finished reading a few excerpts from emails between Mark Sanford and his mistress and I have to confess I’m actually starting to feel a bit sorry for the guy (I’m sure that’s going to disappear soon..lol)!
And I usually don’t have any sympathy for men who cheat on their wives particularly sanctimonious men but in this case it does sound like he’s in love with Maria.
I know that doesn’t excuse what he did and if I was his wife, he would’ve received divorce papers long ago but these recent revelations by Republican politicians of extra marital affairs should force the GOP to accept the reality that they cannot govern or dictate what men and women do in their bedrooms. And that their so called ‘family values’ party is and has always been just a figment of their imaginations.
I came across a really cool blog today on one of myGoogle adventures.
It’s an awesome blog written by Donald Mills called The Problem With Young People Today Is and yes the name appropriately describes his musings and observations on young people and life today.
I really liked his observations of my generation and his latest post onsweatpants with words across the backside is hilarious! My grandmother hates those sweatpants too, she thinks they are crude! LOL
Anyway, I’m considering myself one of his newest fans even if I am one of those ‘damned young people’ he continually disses.
He developed a relationship with a friend..is this friend male or female?
And now he’s crying even more..MY GOD!!! Now he admits he was unfaithful with a friend. He developed a relationship with a dear, dear friend from Argentina!!
My God these Republicans and their family values..you see, they don’t practice what they preach!!!
And that’s the height of hypocrisy!!!
Why can’t these men live up to their own standards?
So Gov Mark Sanford was really in Buenos Aires, Argentina instead of hiking the Appalachian Trail!
Again, his wife didn’t know, his kids didn’t know and his staff had no clue where he was why couldn’t he tell them that he was taking an ‘exotic’ trip?
Well,Buenos Aires is known as the gay capital of South America!
I’m watching his press conference about this incident and dude is crying..seriously crying..can you believe this…he’s talking about him letting down his loved ones..now he’s talking about God!!! WTF!!! This entire situation is weird it just makes you more curious about what he really did in Argentina!
Do we really need to make this a law in order toprevent accidentslike this from happening?
TRAIN OPERATORS OR ANY OPERATOR OF A MASS TRANSIT VEHICLE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SEND TEXT MESSAGES WHILE OPERATING THEIR VEHICLES UNLESS IT IS TO ALERT FIRST RESPONDERS TO AN ACCIDENT OR POTENTIAL INCIDENT!!!!!!
Does the average intelligent human being really need to be told that while operating a 240 tonne vehicle, he/she should keep the distractions to a minimum?
And that those distractions should not include TEXT messages from a co worker/significant other/friend etc!!!!!!
THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!!!
HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO DIE BEFORE WE PUT AN END TO THIS STUPIDITY?
The last nail has been hammered into the Brown-Rihanna relationship.
Rihanna can finally move on with her life and Chris Brown well he’s going to have wait a few years before he can say that.
In what has become one of the highest profile domestic abuse assault cases of all time Chris Brown was sentenced today ater pleading guilty to felony assault charges. He received 5 years probation and 180 days of community labor which will be performed in his home state of Virginia and he has to stay 50 yards clear of Rihanna at all times and must enroll in a domestic violence counseling program.
So I guess that means we wouldn’t be seeing photos like the one above ever again?
I sincerely hope Brown gets help and that he never abuses another woman again and that Rihanna understands that once your partner hits you once he/she will most likely do it again.
For the past week, I, like so many of you, have been riveted to my seat as I’ve watched the infancy of yet another Iranian revolution play out right before my very eyes.
Americans have devoured and disected every image, parsed ever morsel of information and formulated their own opinions on what is taking place in that Middle East country. And as Iranians have turned to Twitter and Facebook we’ve publicly followed and encouraged them while simultaneously praising their bravery in disobeying their governments’ bans.
Iranians have inspired us and made us extremely hopeful that for the first time since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the majority in the country were finally prepared to take the first steps towards establishing a true democratic state.
However, as the week wore on and protesters’ calls fell on deaf ears many of us suspected that their demands would be rebuffed, at Friday prayers Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei confirmed a crackdown was immenient.
This past Saturday millions of us watched as grainy videos uploaded to Youtube made their way into our living rooms via national news channels showing demonstrators being beaten and attacked in the streets as they defied their Supreme leader and rallied in support of Mousavi.
But after all of this I am still unsure of how far these supporters are willing to go in support of Mousavi and if the movement I’m watching on tv and the internet has really morphed into a pro democracy crusade similar to the one that occurred in Lebanon?
I sense this is no longer about an election.
I believe this is no longer about deposing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and appointing Mir Hussein Moussavi.
And I know that the majority of protesters do not want the Islamic Republic to fall.
But what do they really want and are they willing to continue to spill their blood and sacrifice their lives in pursuit of a democratic state if that is truly their demand?
So far the death toll, as reported by the Associated Press, stands at 19.
However like most movements that oppose oppressive regimes expect that total to increase. And undoubtedly a critical point will be reached when leaders and protesters, enforcers and supporters start to play a dangerous game of chicken.
In Iran this game has been occurring at various levels for the past 30 years. The battle between democracy and despotism, modernity and tradition may finally have come to a head this past week but in the past these drives have been crushed and the reformers have always backed down.
But this time the elites and intellectuals, leading the movenment appear to have significant support among the mases and that could lead to significant societal change.
And if we are currently witnessing a regime change in Iran unfortunately and inevitably that means there will be hundreds moreNeda Soltans. I don’t know if the protesters or the ruling elites and clerics are really prepared to accept that reality.
Am I the only one that believes that the banks are onlyrepayingus because they want us (the government) out of their business?
Because I really don’t believe they would be repaying these TARP fundsif we hadn’t got on their cases and called them out as quickly as we did or if the media hadn’t been keeping a watchful eye on their behaviour and what they were doing with our money.
But it’s all good.
Hopefully, we’ve all learned something from this government bailout debacle.
This time we were able to stop the collapse of our economy, save the banks’ and CEO hides and STILL get our money back. The next time and believe me there will be we may not be as lucky.
I’m a fan of adverts. Well, to be more specific I’m a fan of WELL-MADE adverts.
And Ally Bank’s ads have definitely caught my eye.
If I had money I might even consider banking with them just because of their ads and that’s a home run for any commercial isn’t it?
My favorite Ally ad so far is the one featuring two little girls and a pony. The look on the little girl’s face that DIDN’T get the pony is priceless! And I love the guy playing the mean banker.
Do you think the kids reactions in these ads are genuine?
Sarah Palin has every right to demand an apology from David Letterman.
His jokewas crude and offensive and his apology or lack thereof was insufficient.
I just finished watching Ed Schultz and Danny Deutsch on MSNBC imply that Sarah Palin must be a bad mother because her teenage daughter got pregnant out of wedlock!
They also implied that Palin is a hypocrite because she’s using or has used her kids to get a political advantage and that she’s irresponsible for ‘parading’ her daughter around in the media and that she should expect attacks like the one Letterman dished out.
WHAT THE HELL!!
Are they serious?
It almost sounded like they were blaming Sarah Palin for Letterman’s tasteless joke!
Now I’m no fan of the Republican party or Sarah Palin (she has potential but she needs brush up on some critical areas) but I do know right from wrong and this isn’t a liberal v conservative issue it’s a simple right vs wrong.
Sarah Palin is not the first and she certainly wouldn’t be thelast politician to use their family for political advantage. All politicians have at some point in their political career used their relatives to appear more appealing to women, to men, more normal and ‘just like us’.
What do you think all those photo ops with Obama and his wife, Obama his wife and the kids, Obama, his wife, the kids and the dog are all about?
Hello??
Sarah Palin is not a horrible mother for ’using’ her family to get votes. She’s not a horrible mother for not knowing that her teenage daughter was sexually active either. Sarah Palin is not in the wrong here, at least, not this time. David Letterman is and anyone who suggests that his joke was acceptable because she brought her family into the political limelight is missing the point.
Just call it what it is. An offensive joke about a 14 year old girl who happens to be the daughter of a politician. If the joke was about any other 14yr old girl would we be laughing? No. So why should we laugh if it’s about Sarah Palin’s daughter? We shouldn’t and it’s unacceptable regardless of who the target was.
Unfortunately this type of offensive language and negative media coverage directed towards female politicians and their families prevent many women from seeking political office (it’s not going to stop me..you betcha..lol) and as a female politician your skin might be as tough as an elephant’s but your family members may not and ultimately many women choose to do what’s in the best interest of their families.
It’s a pity we’re still forced to make that choice family or career because many in the media aren’t big enough to leave our families out of it.
We’ll soon find out how willing the Iranian people are to take those first crucial steps towards normalizing their relationship with the West and the United States.
The last time I got this excited, for the middle east, was way back in 2005 during Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution.
And now that same excitement coupled with anticipation is killing me.
Last year, young people in the US finally stepped up and put their votes where their mouths and hearts have been for a very long time. Young people all across the United States worked their butts off, convinced their friends, families and in some cases coworkers to vote for and support a candidate that many pundits had declared as having a snow ball chance in hell of winning the American presidency.
But most importantly millions of those young people showed up at the polls on voting day showing that with unparalleled determination, hard-work and just a bit of luck change is indeed possible even at the highest levels of power.
And for the past few weeks we’ve been watching a replay of that same process in Iran.
Iran’s young people have catapulted their version of Barack and Michelle Obama unto the world stage by openly displaying their support for underdog presidential candidateMir Hossein Mousaviand his wife Dr. Zahara Rahnavard.
Obama won the election because he was able to harness and direct the energies and passion of millions of young people. Mousavi is hoping that their efforts coupled with the current economic conditions in Iran and the desire for positive changes amongst the Iranian people will be enough to topple the country’s current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Can Mousavi accomplish the same thing? Maybe. It’s certainly looking like he has a real shot at winning but it is a long shot. Nevertheless I’m willing to argue that his chances are much better than Obama’s were that’s for sure..lol
And what happens if he does? Would a Mousavi win have any influence on Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hoseyni Khamenei the ’real’ leader of Iran? Maybe. According to some reports it appears Ayatollah Khamenei is willing to work with Mousavi although the two men were once fierce rivals for the affections and adulations from the previous and first Supreme Leader Ayotallah Khomeini.
However it appears Khamenei is willing to put the past behind him and Mousavi appears to be a realist and if elected he intends to pursue a pragmatic approach on the international stage andhe’s even said it!
So should Mousavi win we could finally see direct talks, (remember what Obama said during the election?) or we could see multi-lateral talks but chances for constructive and significant diplomacy undoubtedly increase with a Mousavi presidency.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you should start planning a trip to Iran or that President Obama will be visiting Iran anytime soon but should Mousavi win we can definitely expect a thaw in US-Iranian relations.
How significant a thaw? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see…
Have you seen this public service announcement (PSA) asking Americans to support economic sanctions against Iran?
The 35 second PSA was created by the non-partisan, coalitionUnited Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has been running on CNN for the past few days.
According to UANI’s website their primary objective is ’ to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.’
UANI hopes to initiate grassroots opposition against a nuclear armed Iran and the danger that poses to the region and the world by inviting average citizens to create UANI chapters in their communities and to send messages to their leaders and elected officials, the press and Iranian companies.
It seems that every group in the world is looking to duplicate Obama’s success in rallying and coalescing grassroots support for their particular agenda, policy or candidate. Unfortunately Obama’s success wouldn’t be easily duplicated.
This is a tough one for me and I really, really don’t know how I feel about this one.
After Dr. George Tiller was allegedly murdered by 51-year-old suspected anti-choice terrorist, Scott Roeder on May 31st his family has decided to close his Kansas, Women’s Health Care Services Inc, clinic forever.
According to one of Tiller’s lawyers, the family is ’proud of the service and courage’ shown by Dr. Tiller and they will continue to honor his death by contributing to private charities.
While I understand and respect the family’s decision to close the clinic I can’t help but wonder if Dr. Tiller’s memory, honor and courage wouldn’t have been better served by keeping the clinic open?
My favorite part of the new search engine is its look and the image search section. I loved it! The images are sharp and they appear on your screen uncluttered unlike Google’s and I have to admit that’s one area they’ve got Google beat hands down at least for the moment.
I’m not sure they are the ultimate Google-Killer, many have tried but none have suceeded but they will give Google a run for their money.
In just a few hours President Obama will deliver arguably one of the most important speeches of his presidency in Cairo, Egypt.
But I believe that in order for Obama to get the Arab world actively engaged in the issues that are important to us and our allies he must do three things.
One reiterate that the US is NOT at war with Islam. Reinforce our support for Palestinian statehood. And three show respect for the view held by many people across the Arab world (and arguably the entire world) that the American way is not the ONLY way.
These are the three main points Obama has to hammer home in order for his words to resonate with the average muslim man and woman in the Middle East.
Every rational American can accept that the US is not at war with Islam however amajority of muslims believe that we are actively seeking to destroy Islam. This perception has arisen primarily due to conflicting political interests and it will disolve into thin air after his speech. But what Obama and diplomats can do is to highlight our common interests-the establishment of a free and secure Palestinian state and the mutually desired withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.
If we can actively work to align these two key interests and maybe even achieve one of them in coming years we can then begin to work on our differences. However, in order to achieve a desirable outcome on those two issues I believe that we must be willing to accept and adjust our way of thinking.
Now I’m not suggesting that the adjustments have to made solely on our end, not at all. Arab states and muslim men and women everywhere must be willing to do more than simply pay lip service to the idea of rejecting radical elements within their communities. Instead they must wholeheartedly renounce and squash those elements within their midst before members of their citizenry have become radicalized and a threat to America and its allies. We can’t do that for them they must do that on their own.
As ahyperpowerthe United States could tell any state or nation ’to shove off’ but we tried that route look how far it got us? Our influence and dominance on the world stage can be increased tenfold if we admit to a few mistakes.
And this is one of those occasions.
To admit a mistake as a nation doesn’t make usapologists as some have suggested instead when a world leader is willing to admit his or her mistake what it says to the rest of the world is that the country is big enough to admit its shortcomings, accept that it doesn’t have all the answers and is wise enough to seek counsel and assistance from others in an effort to never repeat that mistake in essence it is a state deserving of the mantle of leadership.
However the idea of our President acknowledging past mistakes bothers millions of Americans.
And I can understand that.
Forgive me for using my own character as an example but like most people I hate admitting mistakes but what I hate even more is act of admitting to others that I was WRONG that gets under my skin. And I don’t know a single individual as strong willed and stubborn as I am that likes to admit that she/he could’ve been wrong on anything…LOL!.
But there are times in our lives when a simple acknowledgment of a past mistake is enough to garner us respect and admiration from our loved ones and even our enemies and I believe this principle can be applied to a state as well.
How we go about rectifying those mistakes will say more about us as a country than any wrong we have committed in the last past years. Let’s hope that those men and women in the Arab world are also ready for a fresh start because I know that we are.
Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak was on Hardball with Chris Matthews a few minutes ago discussing his potential Senate run against the newest Democrat in the US Senate Arlen Specter.
He still hasn’t decided according to him he’s still consulting with his family. I don’t buy his reason at all but it does sound nice and keeps the press back a bit. But what I think he’s really doing is weighing the costs to his political future if he runs against Specter because he knows he wouldn’t be running against Specter alone he’ll be running against Obama, Biden and the current Democratic leadership.
And that’s a tough call for a politician.
But I hope he does run.
We’re Democrats damn it! We don’t want people telling us who to vote for even if that order comes from a well liked President. Leave the anointing of leaders to the Republicans..lol.
Sestak might be a long shot and he might suffer severe blowback for running against Specter BUT this is America if you believe in something you go for it and fight for it every inch of the way and I think if Sestak really believes that he’s the better candidate he shouldn’t let anything deter him from running.
Who knows he just might win and all he has to do is look at the current occupants at the White House to know that anything is possible in this great country!
As my page states, I am a black liberal. I was born into a family of unapologetic liberals and will undoubtedly remain one for the rest of my life. My blog title borrows from a book I once read called Conversations with an unrepentant liberal by Julius Bixler if you should get the ... Continue reading »
