BLIZZARD BREAD-CHASERS

This is a summary of conversations I had today with a bunch of people about my response to NYC’s Snowmageddon: They: Did you go shopping for the blizzard? Me: Nah. They: Why not? It’s supposed to be a serious storm. Me: I buy food every week, and have a pantry that’s probably good for two months. Why […]

KING ABDULLAH’S BLOOD-STAINED LEGACY

While President Obama and other Washington heavies give posthumous praise to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for his “moderate” voice of the Middle East, I have a different set of memories… Under King Abdullah’s reign, unarmed protesters were shot to death. He beheaded people as if he was creating a national sport. Practicing spiritual […]

WAR ON TERROR ALSO MEANS PLAYING WITH YOUR BRAIN

This should blow your mind—Americans think terrorism should be President Obama’s top priority, according to a recent Pew Research survey. Let’s follow this logic for a moment… Americans consider terrorism a more pressing matter to address than the economy, race relations and scientific research. Meanwhile, you have a better chance at being iced from a […]

STATE OF MADNESS

You didn’t think I’d be silent about President Obama’s State of the Union address, did you? First, we hear that Obama couldn’t push through his true agenda because of Republican Congressional opposition—even though his Democrats dominated both houses during the first two years in office. But he now wants to raise the minimum wage, provide free […]

REMINDER: WHO KILLED MLK

Instead of taking time out during Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday to recognize his contributions to creating a just and more civil society, I find myself spending more time thinking about his assassination. And thinking about his death almost invariably surfaces the question: why did it happen? Thanks to a 1999 lawsuit filed and won […]

THE OSCARS DIDN’T GET THAT POST-RACIAL AMERICA MEMO EITHER

While Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, an African American, responded to the absence of Oscar nominations for Black folks this year by hoping for increased diversity in the future, news show-hosting civil activist and preacher Al Sharpton has called for an emergency meeting to discuss a plan of action to address what he called […]

AND JUST LIKE THAT, WE ALL BECAME LESS FREE – THE CHARLIE HEBDO CHAPTER

You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before. —Rahm Emanuel There is another point about the Charlie Hebdo murders that I’m not sure my earlier post made clear, but a look at the response by […]

THIS (PAST) WEEK IN FREEDOM

While the world may be aware of the millions of marchers in France who expressed support for the Charlie Hebdo employees who were murdered by terrorists for exercising their freedom of the press, I thought a roundup of other recent events—for or against freedom—would be appropriate. 2,000 people, including women and children, were massacred by […]

AN ALBUM (OR TWO) IN MY HEAD (0060)

ANDY BEY PAGES FROM AN IMAGINARY LIFE HIGH NOTE 2014 Andy Bey has a high position on my shortlist of favorite living Jazz vocalists, even though his discography is disappointingly thin. He also appears to be full of surprises like D’Angelo when his record company released Pages from an Imaginary Life late last year. The […]

FBI SKETCH OF SUSPECTED NAACP BOMBER RELEASED

Take a good look at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s sketch I posted since it’s supposed to be a person of interest connected with the bombing near the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Colorado Springs office. Assumimg the authorities are serious about finding this individual—and my quick glance at the sketch makes […]