MLK – REMEMBERING THE KING OF LOVE

Nina Simone’s The King of Love is Dead – song about the April 4, 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – is one of the most emotionally-stirring tunes I ever heard. Note that Nina didn’t say the King of Racial Hatred is Dead, or the King of Violent Revolution is Dead, […]

DESEAN JACKSON – FIRE FIRST, FORGET QUESTIONS

So, what did Pro Bowler DeSean Johnson do that resulted in him being cut from the Philadelphia Eagles? It seems that NJ.com said “gang connections,” and Jackson’s Eagles career, after signs of simmering troubles, was subsequently roasted. Did Jackson shoot somebody? Did he conscript youngsters into thug life? Did he sign-up […]

THE PAST IS WORSE THAN YOU THINK: SPIES OF MISSISSIPPI

Here’s another reason why many Americans refuse to have a conversation about race—like reconciling a dysfunctional relationship, one or both sides get to discover more about the trifling stuff each other did! Shee, and who wants that?! Except there’s a big difference—what black folks wanted during the civil rights movement was far […]

THE HOVA DILEMMA

Jay-Z’s paralyzing decision point about the next steps he should take in his upcoming venture with Barneys New York, given the store’s racially-scented harassment of young black shoppers, reminds me of a midnight stroll I took through Battery Park City’s North Cove marina a few months ago where I saw aspiring members of the […]

YES, NSA. THERE IS A BETTER WAY.

I just watched a fascinating interview with National Security Agency Director, General Keith Alexander, where he answers critics of the NSA’s counter-terrorism surveillance programs with a challenge at the 15:09 mark: “Can somebody come up with a better way of doing it?” Here’s my way: starve the terrorist beast. I admit that my way […]

TARGET: OBAMA OR OBAMACARE?

Talk show host, blogger and online comrade Tanya Free raised a question yesterday that will likely spark a passionate debate: “What role, if any in your opinion, has race played in the government shutdown? Is it about ObamaCare or Obama?” My short answer is “Both,” and the evidence I’ll present in this post is one […]

ROBOT SOLDIERS – OH, THE POSSIBILITIES

OilPrice describes how companies are developing four-legged android soldiers that can move fast, take plenty of punishment, and of course reliably carry out its programmed instructions to hunt and kill targets. The piece also talk about the implications. Almost makes you wish we remain in the drone age… For those of you who […]

THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN CLOSED – BUT THERE’S WORSE NEWS.

This government shutdown is pretty friggin’ amazing in that I’ve never seen such dysfunctional behavior in large organizations. But what’s more amazing to me is how America is on its way to completing a 16-year journey to nowhere. 16…years. That’s a lot of time when you consider the rest of the world is not […]

ONE MORE POINT ABOUT BARILLA

I used Tumblr last night to cover Barilla Pasta CEO Guido Barilla’s comments about gays, but I wanted to revisit the topic to cover the weird point he tried to make in his apology: With reference to statements made yesterday, I apologize if my words have generated controversy or misunderstanding, or if they have hurt […]

THE COST OF ZAPPING POVERTY IN AMERICA

The American Prospect published a debate-sparking article when it said that bringing every American above the poverty line would cost $175 billion, or 1 percent of the US Gross Domestic Product. We’re not talking about a lot of loot when you keep in mind that the US will spend $4 to $6 trillion […]