Dear Trump: And Then They All Laughed at You

Dear Trump,

Game, set, match. Next time, don't bring a knife to a gunfight. Yeah, we know how much you want to be the center of attention, but what happens when your wish is fulfilled? You didn't expect to get served tRUMP roast at the White House Correspondence Dinner, did you? You took it on the chin for a hot minute, then it got deep! As you sat there simmering in your own juices with your lips poked out, President Obama and host Seth Myers took it to your ass so hard, it would be virtually impossible for anybody to take you seriously. And the beauty of it all is that it happened in front all of the real players. To put it succinctly, you're done. Game over, thanks for playing!

Once again,
The Blacks

POLITICAL PIGGY LINKS

I have to say, I don't know why there isn't more righteous anger over the fact that self-described clown and gold shill Glenn Beck would even consider holding a rally on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. At the same location, no less. There is a bizarre effort on the part of conservatives to rewrite history in terms of the civil rights movement, in that they are trying to claim the movement for themselves! Honestly, if I were to spend too much time thinking about this, I'd give myself a brain aneurysm. I don't want to die, so perhaps I should just shift my focus to other matters for the time being:



Embattled Congressman Charlie Rangel has a strong response for President Obama with regard to his political future

Are background checks just another form of discrimination?

A NYC Muslim cabbie was stabbed by a passenger after being asked what his religious beliefs were

Shirley Sherrod channels Tyra Banks and tells the USDA to kiss her fat black ass!

"I WANNA HIT OBAMA"

In the aftermath of the Shirley Sherrod firestorm and the current developments with regards to immigration, some people are saying they're suffering from "race fatigue". But let's face it. In the Age of Obama, apparently race matters more than ever. It's on the front burner, out in the open and in the case, unabashedly so.

SO, YOU LIKE GOSSIP?

Beyoncé officially has a new baby brother. TMZ reports that her dad, Mathew Knowles, has been confirmed as a baby daddy. If he liked it then he shoulda put a - oh, why bother?

Mo'Nique advises Sandra Bullock on the fine art of how to tell people to kiss your ass. She said this in a loving way, of course.

Tyler Perry has revealed the cast list for his upcoming film adaptation of the acclaimed play For Colored Girls Who have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf: Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington, Loretta Devine and Macy Gray.

What the Puck? A former Real World cast member is seriously injured in a car accident.

Oh, just cut the shit. Republican Senator Tom Coburn is trying to push an amendment to ensure that President Obama's healthcare bill won't provide Viagara for sex offenders.

YES, IT'S A BIG FUCKING DEAL

The good guys win one. Go get it!

FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER ON RACISM AND PRESIDENT OBAMA

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During an interview with Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News, former president and humanitarian Jimmy Carter adressed the elephant in the room and said that he believes U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's (read more about Joe here) outburst during President Obama's speech on healthcare was rooted in racism. This issue has been tiptoed around for too long, and quite frankly, it's time that someone finally had the courage to confront this head-on.

Much has been made about the tea parties, disruptive town hall meetings, Fox News ranters and other fringenuts being harmless, or a small minority of the right, but what does it take or how much time should pass before this idiocy spreads and infects more of the disillusioned resulting in violence against our president? Politicians are played a dangerous game of poking at the cookoo's nest with a stick and claiming that the denizens are just frustrated average folk. Not to mention the unprecedented blatant disrespect for the office of the president? Nazi! Socialist! Take our country back! Bury Obamacare With Kennedy! These are just some of the things being shouted at so-called patriot rallies and town hall meetings. It's fucking frightening, and as I read and watch the daily barrage of insults and attacks against a president who is, ironically, trying to engage in a bi-partisan effort to ensure universal healthcare for all, I sometimes feel physically ill. Okay, I admit that the healthcare issue is a bit complex, and I want him to "call out" those who are smiling in his face while simultaneously slipping the shiv in his back - and yes, I'm aware that this is how the Republicans play the game, but I wish the president would take off the kid gloves and call Joe Wilson an asshole just as easily as he called Kanye West a jackass!

That said, I know that our president is an assured tactician, and I wholly believe that he knows how to get the job done. It's only been eight months and there's much to do. But backhands must be served when due! And it's only a matter of time before the right mobilizes the fringe and for however ridiculous their claims, there is a growing movement. A potentially deadly movement.


Need further proof? Then watch this clip. It is ignorance in full bloom.


To those who are tired of the so called race card being played, face it - race is, and will continue to be an issue. Racism and prejudice against blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and other cultures is so ingrained into our culture, history and collective minds that it will most likely never disappear. It appears in every aspect of life including entertainment, fashion, the media, the classroom and the boardroom. Most of us do our best to compartmentalize it or develop thick skins in order to continue going about our daily business. There is also racism by minorities against other minorities. And a lot of us have made or laughed at the occasion racist joke, "slipped" an occasional slur or hold on to certain streotypical beliefs that were implanted into our minds as youths, which are then passed along, generation to generation. Or perhaps we may even have some innate feelings and ideas about race which needs to be addressed. But keep it real, it ain't going away no time soon, so wherever you stand, we must continue to encourage open dialogue and debate. It's pure and simple.

PUBLIC UNVEILING OF OBAMA PAINTING CANCELED

Artist Michael D'Antuono planned to unveil a painting of President Obama which invokes the iconic image of Christ wearing a crown of thorns in New York City's Union Square today, but has since canceled the showing due to "pressure" from those who are opposed to the painting.

Some are calling it a cowardly move. I guess. It all reeks of the usual PR shenanigans to me. Discuss, if you must.

President Obama Pays Homage To Beyonce's Single Ladies

Beyonce can rest a little easier now that she has the President's seal of approval. Singer John Legend has captured video of the President Obama working the crowd and greeting the R&B siren at the Concert on the Mall. The Huffington Post reported the following exchange after some light prodding from the First Lady about his enthusiasm for the ubiquitous hit "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It"):

Michelle Obama says, "Mr. President, you didn't tell Beyonce about 'Single Ladies'? Your rendition?"

"I'm not like Justin [Timberlake]" Obama says laughing, referencing the SNL spoof. "I didn't put on the outfit... [but} I didn't want my girls thinking that I couldn't, you know... I got a lil something."

And with that, he did the hand flip and added, "This part I get."

Two days later he again danced to Beyonce, along with wife Michelle, at his first inaugural ball.

Now, about that ever elusive Oscar................

Mission Accomplished! Barack H. Obama, 44th President of the United States

I was inspired to start writing this blog on a whim the morning of November 5, 2008, after President Obama's election night victory speech. Although I felt euphoric, I don't think it truly hit me until I watched the inauguration ceremony. My mother and I watched in silent tearful joy as he was sworn in, gave an impassioned speech on where we've been and where we will go from here, escorted former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura to their farewell flight and then sat and signed some offical documents flanked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Diane Feinstein, among others. It is now official. For today, I'm not thinking about myself or my own selfish wants and desires. Or whether Beyonce is a suitable choice to sing a damn song, or any of the other follies of celebrities. I just want to bask in the glow and appreciate how far we've come as African Americans and Americans as a whole.

That is all.

Here is the transcript of President Obama's speech, as well a clip from the inauguration.


Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.

They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.

We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

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