You Have To Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth

I accidently scanned to some AM talk radio station and heard some blow hard going off about Hillary having criminal friends. I turned but I guess this is what he was growling about.

Disgraced Democratic party fundraiser Norman Hsu is out of jail tonight, after surrendering to authorities for a 15-year-old arrest warrant.

After being led away in handcuffs this morning, Hsu posted the $2 million bail set by California Superior Court Judge H. James Ellis and was released.

Hsu, an apparently wealthy apparel magnate, had pleaded no contest in 1992 for what authorities have called a Ponzi-like fraud scheme involving latex gloves that cost investors more than $1 million.

But after entering his plea, Hsu failed to appear for sentencing. At the time, he reportedly faced up to three years in prison. When Hsu didn't show, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Until news of his criminal past broke two days ago, Hsu was a major donor and fundraiser for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.'s presidential bid. He has also donated to the presidential campaigns of Democratic Sens. Barack Obama, Ill., and Joseph Biden, Del.

Hsu reportedly raised well over $1 million for Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, by eliciting donations from others and giving generously from his own pockets. Questions have been raised in the last few days about many big contributions from Hsu's contributors, which appeared incommensurate with the modest incomes of the individuals and families who gave them.

How the hell did he have an arrest warrant out for his ass for 15 years? This wasn't for some traffic violation. He was facing 3 years! Interesting, isn't it? If he were black and had only stolen a box of latex gloves from Target, the cops would have been running a high speed chase, rolling over dogs and children in the process, trying to hunt him down.

Powered by ScribeFire.

It's All Over Casanova

We all have our ups and downs, our moments of poor using poor judgment and our times where we make critical mistakes. Why did this man have to make his in a bathroom?

Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig will resign from the Senate amid a furor over his arrest and guilty plea in a police sex sting in an airport men's room, Republican officials said Friday.

Craig will announce at a news conference in Boise Saturday morning that he will resign effective Sept. 30, four state GOP officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The announcement follows by just five days the disclosure that he had pleaded guilty Aug. 1 to a reduced misdemeanor charge arising out of his arrest June 11 at the Minneapolis airport.

The three-term Republican senator had maintained that he did nothing wrong except for making the guilty plea without consulting a lawyer. But he found almost no support among Republicans in his home state or Washington.

Oh well, I guess he can go back to ranching . Maybe some quiet time with his animals is just what he needs ... (Dirty minds, don't go there)!

Powered by ScribeFire.

So She Wasn't On Crack When They Married

Poor, pitiful Bobby. I want to know where he got $10K to put Whitney and Bobbi Kristina up in a hotel if he had to live in his car ...

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown are scheduled to appear in divorce court today, where they’ll fight for what they feel they deserve. Brown says Houston has stopped letting their daughter return his calls since the couple’s break-up. He also says he lived in his car at one time while Houston was undergoing rehab, and he paid $10,000 for her and their daughter to live in a hotel. A prenuptial agreement binds Brown from getting alimony or support.

If she had the sense to get a prenup that will not pay him alimony or support, she couldn't have been too strung out.


Update: Bobby is high as I write. He says he didn't sign a prenup. That's not his signature ...

Via TMZ

Just moments ago, Brown’s lawyer, Stacy D. Phillips, told an Orange County Superior Court judge that she had an issue with the prenuptial agreement that Houston’s legal team brought up earlier this week. According to Brown’s attorney, Bobby is prepared to take the stand and tell the judge that “It is not his signature” on the document.

Not his signature? Hmmmm. Whose could it be?

Powered by ScribeFire.

Ashton Is More Important Than A Purse

Well, isn't this refreshing!

Ashton Kutcher has a rule when it comes to being photographed with wife Demi Moore – or any woman.

"Your man should not upstage you," Kutcher advises. "He is there to highlight you."

The actor, 29, offers that gem, among others, in an essay on fashion tips that appears in the September issue of Harper's Bazaar, on newsstands now.

In the essay, Kutcher endeavors to help couples struggling with how to dress and offers the male point of view when it comes to sprucing up.

"Guys don't like to be told they look nice, pretty, or cute or that they clean up well," writes Kutcher, who's been married to Moore, 44, since 2005.

"We want to feel dirty, rugged, and, most important, that you feel safe when you are in our company," he continues. "So when your guy finally tries on something that you like, tell him that he looks like James Bond or Tony Montana."

Adds Kutcher, "Feel free to be even more vague than that: 'Wow, that suit makes you look like that hot football player!' Trust me, say any of this and you won't be able to get him to take the damn suit off."

The bottom line, he says, is that the woman must be the star of the couple.

"When it comes to getting dressed, men are a little bit more important than handbags but less important than shoes," he writes. "At any rate, we are merely accessories.

Powered by ScribeFire.

More Ignorant FBI Mess

Surprised?

Federal agents spied on the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for several years after his assassination in 1968, according to newly released documents that reveal the FBI worried about her following in the footsteps of the slain civil rights icon.

In memos that reveal Coretta Scott King being closely followed by the government, the FBI noted concern that she might attempt “to tie the anti-Vietnam movement to the civil rights movement.”

Four years after Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, the FBI closed its file on Coretta Scott King, saying, “No information has come to the attention of Atlanta which indicates a propensity for violence or affiliation of subversive elements,” according to a memorandum dated Nov. 30, 1972.

Now, if her husband wasn't hadn't shown a "propensity for violence or affiliation of subversive elements," why was she suddenly suspect? Those dirty old bastards!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Look What They Dun Did Now!

So where's the one in Spanish since the district is nearly 60% Hispanic? Shouldn't they have done that one first?

A school district police officer has been suspended as the district investigates his distribution of a "Ghetto Handbook" and a three-month lapse before top district officials were informed about it.

The eight-page booklet, subtitled "Wucha dun did now?", was handed out to about 15 Houston Independent School District police officers at a May roll call meeting, spokesman Terry Abbott said.

A supervisor immediately collected the booklets, Abbott said, but district officials said they didn't learn about the incident until someone made a complaint to the district's Equal Employment Opportunity Office in mid-August.

"This publication was completely reprehensible and HISD condemns it in the strongest possible terms," Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra said in a written statement Thursday.

He said he has "mounted a very aggressive investigation."

District Police Chief Charles Wiley "is not doing any interviews because of the fact that it's an ongoing investigation," Abbott said.

The booklet billed itself as a guide to Ebonics, teaching the reader to speak "as if you just came out of the hood." It included definitions such as "foty: a 40-ounce bottle of beer"; "aks: to ask a question"; and "hoodrat: scummy girl."

The booklet names six district officers "and the entire day shift patrol" as contributors. Abbott said a preliminary investigation has cleared those officers of involvement.

Last year, almost 30 percent of the district's 202,000 students were black and almost 60 percent were Hispanic.

Carol Mims Galloway, president of the Houston NAACP chapter, said the officer who created the book should be severely punished or fired.

"It was really a slap in the African-American community's face," said Galloway, who's running for the school board.

"We're paying their salaries with our tax dollars," Galloway said of the district police. "It does reflect on the district."

School board member Larry Marshall said the document was inappropriate, even if it was meant to be a joke.

"These are very racially sensitive times," he said. "It was a huge mistake in judgment."

It wasn't a "huge mistake in judgment." It was ignorant, racist and wholly stupid! Naturally, I'm sure they'll say they "didn't mean anything by it."

Powered by ScribeFire.

Starbuck's Newest Star

This cutie patootie is moving up in the world of chefs. I may have to get more than my standard iced tea or doppio over ice.

To our surprise, Marcus Samuelsson has signed a deal with Starbucks that is detailed in a lengthy press release today. The collaboration is called "Coffee is Culinary," and consists of two new coffee blends, two new baked items, and then there's this paragraph:

Discover the Foods, Flavors and Inspirations of Marcus Samuelsson

In his cookbook, Discovery of a Continent: Foods, Flavors and Inspirations from Africa, Samuelsson shares his stories of the land, the people and the traditions of Africa through his artfully prepared dishes. Any one of his creations can be paired with Starbucks® coffee to enhance the rich flavors of both the cuisine and the coffee experience. Additionally, Samuelsson selected five original recipes for inclusion which were developed by Starbucks store partners (employees).

Starbucks will be selling Samuelsson's cookbooks in stores, and donate $1 to Unicef for every copy sold between now and October 1. Samuelsson will, in exchange, embark on a ten-city tour to promote this whole deal.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Hillary's Half Dollar Endorsement

Seeing that he liked George Bush because he was "a gangsta" and saw a lot of himself in the Pres, I guess Obama isn't gangsta enough for him (not that his felon status allows him to vote anyway). Now if he thinks that Bill is going to be running the show if Hillary wins, he needs to think again!

In an interview with MTV News, 32-year-old Curtis James Jackson, otherwise known as rapper 50 Cent, revealed his views on our current president ("he has less compassion than a regular human being") and came out in favor of Hillary in '08, for reasons the candidate might call right and not-so-right:

I'd like to see Hillary Clinton be president. It would be nice to see a woman be the actual president and ... this is a way for us to have Bill Clinton be president again, and he did a great job during his term.

While his statement might seem a little self-contradictory, I'll go down on record as feeling a little bit the same way.

So-called "backpack" rappers like Talib Kweli and Common have been giving shout-outs to Obama in their songs lately (Common's single, "The People," says "My raps ignite the people like Obama") but Hil may have a good strategy by going after the platinum-sellers. The big question is: who will get Lil Wayne on their side.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Well, Here's An Interesting Take On Craig

Trey Ellis - author, teacher and screen writer - has a humorous spin on this ...

Look, I feel sorry for Senator Craig and the millions of other gay men of his generation on the down low, torturing themselves for decades by pretending to be what they are not. I feel sorry for anyone so drowning in guilt, shame and loneliness that they compulsively seek out intimate contact with strangers among the stench of piss and shit.

And yet...how awesome it would be if straight guys could just sidle up to a woman, tap our foot and have sex with them. According to Craig's police report that's all you have to do. I'm newly single again and truly suck at meeting women at bars. I don't like to get drunk and think it's unsportsmanlike to take a woman to bed if she's blotto.

This whole tapping the foot thing could be the answer to my prayers. After yoga, instead of feverishly racking my brain for some non-lame ice breaker I'd just -- tap, tap, tap -- and they'd jerk me in to the locker room. The next time I fall in love at Starbucks, instead of pretending to the woman in front of me that I'm confused about the distinction between a grande and a venti I'd tap, tap, tap and we'd rush off to the nearest hotel.

It is a uniquely male solution. Women, in general, seem to like things more nuanced and Byzantine.

Leave it to a bunch of guys to figure out a way to circumvent thousands of years and the endless intricacies and uncertainties of courtship with a simple tap of the toes.

Okay, hee hee, ho, ho. Of course he isn't serious. He's just frustrated. LOL!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Tucker Isn't Gay Either

Tucker, pretending you are a tough guy is no different than Senator Craig getting on camera repeating I'm not gay.

On the August 28 edition of MSBNC Live, hosted by MSNBC general manager Dan Abrams, Tucker Carlson, host of MSNBC's Tucker, asserted, "Having sex in a public men's room is outrageous. It's also really common. I've been bothered in men's rooms." Carlson continued, "I've been bothered in Georgetown Park," in Washington, D.C., "when I was in high school." When Abrams asked how Carlson responded to being "bothered," Carlson asserted, "I went back with someone I knew and grabbed the guy by the -- you know, and grabbed him, and ... hit him against the stall with his head, actually."

Tucker Carlson irritates the living heck out of me because he is a twit and a tool. He tossed the bow tie, miserably failed to improve his butt head image by looking like a total noodle on Dancing With The Stars and has an irrational jealousy of the suave, debonair and charismatic Barack Obama BUT STILL cannot come off as anything but a silly little boy! I don't care if he is gay or not. He'll never be the hyper-masculine man he obviously longs to be. I just wish that whomever he's screwing to keep his job in television would finally kick him to the curb. I'm tired of catching glimpses of him. I'm tired of seeing clips of his asinine commentary.

Look at this loser!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Craig Should Have Left Well Enough Alone

Just as I couldn't bring myself to post about the other bathroom sex guy who used the "blame the black guy" defense, I was going to leave this one alone too. But, this story just keeps getting bigger and bigger as the days go by. Why didn't he just keep his mouth closed? That Nixonian "I am not a gay" speech he gave the other day just made things worse. Now, we see that the arresting office flat out called him a liar.

The officer who arrested Sen. Larry Craig in a police undercover operation at an airport men's room accused the senator of lying to him during an interrogation afterward, according to an audiotape of the arrest.

On the tape, released Thursday by the Minneapolis Airport Police, the Idaho Republican senator, in turn, accuses the officer of soliciting him for sex.

"I'm not gay. I don't do these kinds of things," Craig told Sgt. Dave Karsnia minutes after the two men met in a men's room at the airport on June 11.

"You shouldn't be out to entrap people," Craig told the officer. "I don't want you to take me to jail."

Karsnia replied that Craig wouldn't be going to jail as long as he cooperates.

At one point during the interrogation, the officer told Craig: "You're not being truthful with me. I'm kind of disappointed in you, senator."

Meanwhile, more of Craig's Republican colleagues moved away from him Thursday in the wake of his guilty plea earlier this month to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct in the undercover police operation aimed at sex solicitors.

Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who chairs the GOP's senatorial campaign committee, stopped short of calling on Craig to resign, but suggested strongly that he should.

"I wouldn't put myself hopefully in that kind of position, but if I was in a position like that, that's what I would do," Ensign told The Associated Press in his home state. "He's going to have to answer that for himself."

This is sheer madness. I don't care if he is gay or if he just has the compulsion troll for men in the public bathrooms. I don't get the whole random sex in the bathroom thing anyway but given the frequency with which it happens to celebrities and public figures, I imagine the rates are pretty dang high in the general population. That is information I don't need and is even going to make me look at the guys at work with a shifted glance - especially when more than one goes in there at a time ...

Powered by ScribeFire.

Hit The Road Jack!

... and don't ya come back no more, no more, no more no more ...

President Bush on Monday said he reluctantly accepted the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose "good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons."

Alberto Gonzales was dogged by controversial issues including wiretapping programs and fired U.S. attorneys.

After months of standing by his top prosecutor and "close friend," Bush spoke briefly in Texas to praise Gonzales, saying the attorney general endured "unfair treatment that has created harmful distraction at the Justice Department."

Bush said it's "sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person" is impeded "from doing important work."

Did I say no more? What's sad is that we live in a time where mediocrity reigns and the dumbest president EVER, keeps appointing people who are just as stupid!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Cured But Broke And Begging

These people are so nutty it's downright sad. Ted Haggard is back, nearly broke and looking for folks to support his family for two years!

He and his wife are moving to a halfway house in Phoenix where Ted, in his letter to Landrock, says he is “willing to counsel some of the men and to teach the group from time to time. The woman directing the ministry to women invited Gayle to teach and minister to the women.”

A snippet of the shameless fundraising pitch sent to Landrock:

It looks as though it will take two years for us to have adequate earning power again, so we are looking for people who will help us monthly for two years. During that time we will continue as full time students, and then, when I graduate, we won’t need outside support any longer.

…Thank you so much. We feel our move into the Dream Center is the next step God would have us take. Any help we can get with this will be greatly appreciated and, I believe, rewarded in heaven.

As Bloggernista said:

It takes some serious gall to get busted for buying drugs, cheating on your wife with a male hooker all while preaching family values and anti-gay rhetoric from the pulpit and then come back after a mere three weeks in therapy to claim that you are now “completely heterosexual” and continue to ask others to support you through religious contributions.

I'd say it takes more than gall. He's either on illegal drugs again or he is in desperate need of select prescription ones ...

Powered by ScribeFire.

Moving Food Around The Plate ...

doesn't help you clean your plate. This is how the surge is working ...

The Bush administration talking points on the Iraq War are that the troop escalation has reduced violence and made Iraq safer for Iraqis, that the major threat in Iraq is self-avowed al-Qaeda devotees, and that Iran and the Shiites are just as deadly a threat as the Sunni Arab guerrillas.

The facts? The Associated Press points out the following

Deaths per day from political violence in 2007: 62
Deaths per day from political violence in 2006: 33

Yeah, things are obviously much safer. The report does say that violence is down in Baghdad this year, but the 'surge' just displaced it to other provinces ...

Powered by ScribeFire.

Happy Talk Doesn't Make Happy Campers

... or happy feet either ...

Tina Susman of the LAT finds that the privates and specialists among US troops in Iraq are dismissive of the 'happy talk' they hear from Bush and some of their commanders about the way the war is going. They see the realities on the ground, they lose friends to roadside bombings, they see evidence that the Iraqi Army is not trustworthy. So 'happy talk' doesn't impress them.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Fear Of A Dickless Planet?

I still don't get what they plan to accomplish here ...

Alabama journalist Gita Smith imagines the Supreme Court oral argument that will take place if the Court accepts a challenge to Alabama’s law banning the sale of vibrating sex toys. The 11th Circuit held in favor of the state, writing that there is no right to sexual privacy in the state. Gun sales? Go for it. Vibrator sales? Too dangerous.

Honestly! Are they kidding? Are they going to throw people in jail for selling them or for having them? Will the USPS be responsible for inspecting boxes from places like this to see if they contain "vibrating sex toys"?

Powered by ScribeFire.

Dogging Britney

I'm no fan of Britney and the blond twit crew but I think they are harassing this child!

TMZ has learned that officials from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were out at Britney's house today to investigate why her dog was wearing a cast. We're country y'all!

Madeline Bernstein, President of SPCA - LA, told TMZ tonight, "We have received various sources of complaints throughout the day. Some said that Britney's Yorkie dog was injured and had a cast on and some said the dog had a broken leg and was not treated. After the calls started pouring in, we did go to Britney's house today [on Mulholland Drive] but were just able to leave a note with the housekeeper. The matter is not if the dog had an accident, but if the dog is getting proper care."

Madeline also told us they haven't heard back from Britney yet. "Britney is out of town," Bernstein tells us, "but we hope to have an answer soon and get the matter resolved pretty quickly."

If the dog wasn't treated, how did it get a cast? Who called and why? This is silly!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Not Just For Catholics Anymore

... not that child molesting was a Cathlolic crime anyway but they get most of the credit. Here, a convicted sex offender is allowed back into a Southern Baptist pulpit.

A southwest suburban Southern Baptist congregation allowed a convicted child sex offender to preach for the last few years — despite his past, and a warning from his previous church that he might still be dangerous, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

In 1996, Jeff Hannah was sentenced to nine years in prison for having sexual relations with four underage girls — ages 15 to 17 — while a married youth minister at Crossroads Church in Libertyville.

…”In our church, we believe in forgiveness,” said Del Kirkpatrick, one of the deacons who hired Hannah.

In talking to the Sun-Times last week, Hannah, 42, was unapologetic about his crimes, saying his first marriage had been troubled and he’d had “urges.”

…The Rev. Steve Farish, pastor of Crossroads Church, which has relocated to Grayslake, said he considered Hannah so dangerous that he warned the Romeoville church and a regional Southern Baptist official.

“We thought he could still potentially be a danger to women and children,” Farish said. “He was never repentant and never told the truth.” Randie Bruno, the prosecutor in Hannah’s case said, “He has the charisma to fool everybody.”

He had "urgres?" So did Jeff Dahmer! I think people forgive those they can identify with and what good Southern Baptist man can't identify with having "urges" for young flesh? Uck!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Tre Wuz ROBBED!

Okay, I always say that when one of my favorite competitors on a reality show gets eliminated too early. I really thought Tre' would be there until the end. I actually don't know if I want to watch anymore because too many of the other chefs are hokey and untalented. I thought it was going to be Hung and Tre' at the end. But, it won't be ...

Last night’s Top Chef claimed Tre Wilcox, the affable Texas chef and audience favorite. Acting as executive chef for Restaurant April, three of his dishes bombed and the judges reluctantly singled him out as the night’s loser. He spoke with us about his new female fans and why he thinks Hung will become this season’s Top Chef.

Bravo is hyping your elimination as one of the most shocking in Top Chef history. Did it feel that way?
A little. Every chef has a bad day, and sometimes things can be out of balance. At the end, I still live again to cook.

Most of your competitors left in tears, but you were very levelheaded. Did you see it coming?
After Restaurant Quatre won, I saw elimination coming. Most operations start cutting people from the top when things go wrong. I did multiple dishes, so there was more of a target on me. It was safer for Casey and CJ, who only made overcooked monkfish and salty lobster salad.

Chef Tom [Colicchio] thought your team let bad food get out of the kitchen. Did your laissez-faire approach lead to your defeat?
I could have been a little more intense, but some of the things were just individual errors. The way I run my kitchen day-to-day is that I trust people to execute the dishes I design. I can’t be the chef that makes everything.

I want to have a sneaking feeling that this isn't the last we'll see of Tre on the show. They should bring him back as a twist (like they sometimes do on these shows) and let him win his spot back! I still want him to win!!!!

(Oh! And another thing ... What in the heck was up with Casey and those onions? I could chop onions faster and better than that when I was 12? It was a race and she was chopping like she was using safety scissors! She should have been sent home for poor knife skills alone)!

In the Quickfire, the two teams competed in a mise en place race; first group to shuck 15 oysters, dice five onions, dismember four dead chickens, and beat a few egg whites senseless would earn the services of a sommelier (Stephen, from season 1) during that evening's part-two of the Restaurant Wars. At the end of the challenge, Team Restaurant Garage (a.k.a. ''The Bad News Bears'') won, because Hung, if you'll recall from two weeks ago, can chop apart a whole cauliflower in 1.5 seconds, which is apparently a skill transferable to poultry, and also because Casey, on the other team, cut onions like a homeless grandma.

Powered by ScribeFire.

I'd Be Booty Out Again

When I got trashed by the dot come crash a few years ago, I thought about jumping into the loan business. I went to a meeting with a friend who was involved with some company that brought in new people. It reminded me of a pyramid scheme so I kinda backed off. It wasn't like I had the time because I was working a temporary job with crazy hours. Turns out I'd probably be worse off anyway.

Just a few years ago, mortgage salesman Terry Orlowski rode the housing boom and a six-figure income down to the car dealership and bought a new Audi A6.

Now, the soaring market and the fast car are gone. Last week he lost his job, along with 6,000 other employees of First Magnus Financial Corp., a mortgage lender. With a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan, he plans to move back in temporarily with his ex so their two children can stay in private school.

"My first thought was this was one of the bigger companies. No one is safe," Mr. Orlowski says.

The flood of layoffs – some 21,000 since the beginning of the month in the real estate, construction, and mortgage-lending industries – is one way the Federal Reserve can see real impact on the economy from the turmoil in the markets. It's not just guys in hard hats looking for work; it's also white-collar workers. Many of these jobs in finance and real estate are relatively high paying, which has helped car dealerships and high-end retailers. To be sure, all sorts of jobs are affected, because when a house changes hands, a small army of brokers, appraisers, pest-control inspectors, title searchers, and lawyers send out invoices.

"Unlike a lot of other businesses, real estate is everywhere," says economist Bob Brusca of Fact & Opinion Economics in New York. "Even if this turns out to be small potatoes in one place, it has a fairly big impact."

A simple real estate transaction can involve up to 20 people, says Steve Walsh, president of Scout Mortgage in Scottsdale, Ariz. "An escrow officer may make $1,000, the county recorder gets a few hundred, the appraiser makes $300 to $400, the termite man $50 to $100, and there are movers and landscapers and decorators."

Mr. Walsh says his accountant told him of some real estate agents who had been making $200,000 a year but are down to a $15,000 income. He says his firm, with business down 40 percent, has cut staff, too.

For many companies, it's not a select few who are being let go. Instead, entire divisions or even the entire company is shutting its doors. Yesterday, Accredited Home Lenders Co. in San Diego said it would eliminate 1,600 jobs – about two-thirds of its workforce. On Monday, Capital One Financial in McLean, Va., announced it would ax an entire mortgage division with 1,900 people.

The 21,000 layoffs that the real estate and related industries have announced so far this month are almost equal to the number for all last year – 22,814.

"It's only going to get worse," says John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "It's already much worse for the year than last year."

Powered by ScribeFire.

Sounds Feasible

Let's stop fooling ourselves. We know something like this is inevitable.

A rumor is circulating among well-connected and formerly high-level Iraqi bureaucrats in exile in places like Damascus that a military coup is being prepared for Iraq. I received the following from a reliable, knowledgeable contact. There is no certitude that this plan can or will be implemented. That it is being discussed at high levels seems highly likely.

"There is serious talk of a military commission (majlis `askari) to take over the government. The parties would be banned from holding positions, and all the ministers would be technocrats, so to speak. . . [The writer indicates that attempts have been made to recruit cabinet members from the ranks of expatriate technocrats.]

The six-member board or commission would be composed on non-political former military personnel who are presently not part of the government OR the military establishment, such as it is in Iraq at the moment. It is said that the Americans are supporting this behind the scenes.

The plan includes a two-year period during which political parties would not be permitted to be part of the government, but instead would prepare and strengthen the parties for an election which would not have lists, but real people running for real seats. The two year period would be designed to take control of security and restore infrastructure.

. . .[I]t is another [desperate plan], but one which many many Iraqis will support, since they are sick of their country being pulled apart by the "imports" - Maliki, Allawi, Jaafari et al. The military group is composed of internals, people who have the goal of securing the country even at the risk of no democracy, so they say. "

Powered by ScribeFire.

Men In Tights

I am much more of a Spike Lee fan than I am a John Singleton fan but I do agree with John on the topic of black men in drag.

John Singleton was spotted at the premiere of “Illegal Tender” in New York yesterday. During a recent interview to promote the film, he shared his views on African American films and filmmakers:

There’s nothing but comedies, and I’m tired of all these Black men in dresses. Every other movie has a Black man in a dress, from the Madea movies to Norbit to Big Momma. How come nobody’s protesting that? They call them family movies, and nobody’s telling the little kids that it’s kind of different for a man to wear a dress. I’m just saying that it comes to a point where, if that’s the only types of images they’re seeing, how is that informing upon Black men in America?

Aside from the obvious box office profits, I don't get why they take such joy in dressing up like women. And, no, I am not calling them gay. I think that there are some deeper, pathological issues going on ...

Powered by ScribeFire.

Did She Forget That She Was Made From His Rib?

I didn't even get to post on this "spare the rod, spoil the wife" silliness about husbands having the right to beat their wives before I ran across this story.

Juanita Bynum, a preacher whose fiery and frank sermons about women's empowerment have won her a national following, was attacked by her husband in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel early Wednesday morning, police said.

Bynum, whose ministry is based in Waycross, and her estranged husband, Thomas W. Weeks III, had met up at Renaissance Concourse Hotel near Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to try to reconcile, Atlanta police said.

But while at the parking lot about 4 a.m., the two got into a physical fight until a bellman at the hotel pulled Bynum's husband off her, Officer Ronald Campbell said.

"She was bruised up and battered," Campbell said. "She had purple bruising around her neck and upper torso."

The husband, who is also a preacher, left the scene. No charges have been filed against him, according to police.

Police found out about the fray from a staff member at Piedmont Hospital, where Bynum was taken for a checkup. She could not be reached Wednesday night.

A popular Pentecostal evangelist, Bynum lives in Hempstead, N.Y., but her administrative offices are in Waycross. She is open about her past, freely talking about sex and being on welfare, hospitalized with a mental breakdown, divorced and spiritually broken.

Once a homemaker, a hairdresser and a flight attendant, Bynum's big break came when Bishop T.D. Jakes invited her to speak at one of his conferences several years ago. Her ministry took off a couple of years later after she gave her unrehearsed "No More Sheets" sermon on breaking free of sexual promiscuity at a singles event.

I don't even want to speculate that when she got married a few years ago she told people that this was the man that God had sent for her. But I imagine that her sermons are so popular because she has thousands of women convinced that God will send them a perfect mate too.

Powered by ScribeFire.

The Crazies of Abraham

This reminded me to remind you to watch this on CNN this week. After night one (Jewish Warriors), I'm not sure I can watch anymore. I found it very draining to see that kind of thinking intertwined with the name of God.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Don't Blame It On The Boogie

Here we go again. Now Hip-Hop is to blame for dog fighting. I love how much credit and power this society tries to lend black people when it comes to the negative things that plague our country. I find the concept of dogs, chickens, frogs ... fighting for sport disgusting but let's get clear and educated on this. Dog fighting is a long standing, albeit illegal, sport that is part of the southern, rural "good old boy" culture. I guess I always thought it was for yahoos and rednecks. It didn't begin and it won't end with Hip-Hop. This MTV article gives some historical perspective.

The sport has a long history in this country. Dogfighting has been documented in the U.S. as far back as the 1750s, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or ASPCA. It grew in popularity after the Civil War, leading to many states banning professional matches and passing anti-cruelty laws. For many years, dogfighting remained most popular in parts of the rural South, especially North Carolina and Louisiana. In recent decades, however, it's moved into urban and suburban areas all over the country.

Dogfighters, also known as "dogmen," often breed their own animals and favor traits like aggression and a strong jaw. Dogs are raised to be fighters from the time they are puppies. They are conditioned like athletes: There are dog treadmills, swimming workouts and strength-building regimens that often include hanging dogs by the neck. They are often trained to fight by sparring with "bait animals" — which can be other dogs, cats or smalls animals — to test their fighting prowess. If a dog has potential as a fighter, its ears and tail are often cut off.

"[One reason] they do that is so the dogs don't get grabbed by the other dog and cause harm and injury," said ASPCA Senior Vice President Gail Buchwald. "But really, they are doing it to mask certain forms of body signals that dogs will use to signal one another to say, 'Here is my white flag of peace — I submit, the fight is over.' "

The fights themselves are high-stakes gambling operations with purses sometimes totaling upward of $100,000. In some communities, the high-rolling fight attendees resemble crowds at a prize fight.

"One of the reasons it has been difficult to investigate and eradicate the dogfighting rings is that they are so well-attended by citizens of influence," Buchwald said. "So we do have attorneys and doctors and judges and lawyers attending dogfights."

The fights can last for hours and are often fought "to the death." Even dogs that don't die in the ring are often victims of the sport: Animals that don't live up to owners' expectations are sometimes killed by other methods, including electrocution, drowning and shooting.

While she acknowledges the glamorization factor, Buchwald said hip-hop doesn't bear much responsibility for the popularity of dogfighting.

"We don't feel as though it is actually adding fuel to the fire and proliferating the dogfighting itself," she said. The real problem, she said, is that the glamorization of pit bulls has led to there being too many of them.

"We are finding that too many people are attracted to the machismo — this image of this macho breed that is strong and dominant," she said. "People acquire these dogs, and these dogs are not easily trained or managed. They are very high-energy and typically they end up in streets and in shelters because they are acquired for the purpose of an image."

While the ASPCA estimates around 10,000 dogs are involved in dogfighting every year, many more pit bulls end up on the street and in shelters — or worse.

Instead of making Vick the poster boy for this criminal activity, why not make a concerted effort to root it out in the backwoods where it began and still exists. I want Vick in jail because he was arrogant and stupid for getting into this because this is one lesson that he did not have to learn. However, now that it is in the spotlight, let's round all of these sick folks up!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Oh, He Knows Alright ...

Not promoting domestic violence BUT, people don't just up and set your "member" on fire.

A woman set fire to her ex-husband's penis as he sat naked watching television and drinking vodka, Moscow police said Wednesday.

Asked if the man would make a full recovery, a police spokeswoman said it was "difficult to predict."

The attack climaxed three years of acrimonious enforced co-habitation. The couple divorced three years ago but continued to share a small flat, something common in Russia where property costs are very high.

"It was monstrously painful," the wounded ex-husband told Tvoi Den newspaper. "I was burning like a torch. I don't know what I did to deserve this."

... that blasted gmail and the "Oddly Enough" news feeds in the banner ... How can I get any work done?

Powered by ScribeFire.

More Deaths For The Cause

Fourteen ...

A Black Hawk helicopter went down Wednesday in northern Iraq, killing all 14 U.S. soldiers aboard, the military said, the deadliest crash since January 2005.

Powered by ScribeFire.

She Can Find Another Job

I don't see the big deal. I would think that this would be the equivalent of using the copy machine to copy personal docs in an office environment. That happens all the time. This is just a different environment and I think, given her skill set, this is a small price to pay for finding the truth!

A state forensics scientist who said she tested her husband’s underwear for DNA to determine if he was cheating on her has been fired.

Ann Chamberlain of Okemos testified in a March 7 divorce hearing that she ran the test last September on the underwear of Charles Gordon Jr. Asked by his attorney what she found, she answered: “Another female. It wasn’t me.”

She said during another hearing that she ran the test on her own time with expired c