President Obama was elected the first African American President, selected Time Magazine person of the year in 2008 and is now a 2009 Nobel Peace Laureate. When the announcement was made the reporters assembled sucked the air out of the room with one collective gasp. He is only the third sitting U.S. president to win the prize for peace (preceded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919, picture above). He was awarded the prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." In other words, for using the novel practice of talking first and shooting later.
President Obama is a brilliant orator. But the time for big speeches has passed. Health care reform is going to require what political scientists call the The Johnson Treatment. 
Congratulations to Tyler Perry for having his second number one movie opening. I Can Do Bad All By Myself was a hit at the box office, raking in over 20 million dollars. It stars two of the best and most undervalued actors in Hollywood, Taraji P. Henson and Brian J. White. And for that reason alone I wish I could bring myself to support this film, but I can't.
Its been eight years since the 911 attacks that gripped the nation. The President and First Lady braved the cool fall weather and the rain (much of the time without umbrellas) to honor the fallen and support the families that they left behind.
September 11 was declared a National Day of Service by executive order of President Obama. (Not a bad day's work for someone who conservative extremists have branded an un-American, communist, socialist, fascist, terrorist, liar ugh?) 
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis inspired women around the world to adopt the pill box hat and super sized sun glasses in the sixties. And unless I miss my guess sparkling brooches and over sized bows will be showcased on the runways of New York's Fashion Week in 2009. The First Lady (pictured above) attending the joint session of Congress last night has been wearing voluminous bows regularly, since her tour of Europe in the Spring. Mrs. Obama is almost single handily elevating the status of accessories.
Normally Mrs. Obama chooses big bows in black and white or black on black. Last night she was the fairest of them all in a coral colored frock that featured detailed handiwork that would have made Coco Channel light headed. As if the bow covered pleats, brilliant brooch, abrupt sleeves and stiff skirt were not eye catching enough, just behold all the drama in the back. Mrs. Obama is fashion forward and fearlessly so.
Here's a list of blue dogs who need to be pressured into supporting a public option. Which is NOT the same thing as government take over. During the campaign season, politicians ask volunteers to call and cajole people into voting for them. They even have computerized calling systems called robocalls. We need to call them and insist that they support legislation that speaks directly to the character of our country.
I was feeling badly for Republicans who seemed to have been invited to something akin to a Democratic pep rally. Republicans looked as uncomfortable as turkeys invited to Thanksgiving dinner. And rightly so, cause they got served. But then the "gentleman" from South Carolina called the President of the United States a liar from the well of that distinguished chamber. At that moment my sympathy vanished. That's when I remembered that health care reform is not the real problem. For many conservatives the election of Pres. Obama in November is the real source of the contention; and they simply will not support his presidency. The open hostility was not "you are telling a lie", in that in that it called into question the correctness of his information. It was both personal and angry. It was also erroneous, but apparently that is beside the point.
I'm a fan of the HBO original series True Blood. If you're a fan too, you might be interested to know that coming soon to a store near you is tru blood the beverage. Soon fans can enjoy the experience of drinking blood orange soda pacakaged as the blood substitute from the show. If you want to get some in time for the season finale you can order it on line @ http://www.trubeverage.com/ before September 10th. A pack of four will run you about sixteen bucks. A case of twenty four is ninety-six dollars.
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the oldest female black greek letter organization. For over a century the members of this sorority have lived by the motto "By culture and by merit". But the embattled International President (Supreme Basileus), Barbara Mckinzie (pictured here), has described the law suit filed against her and the members of the board of directors (the directorate) as "without merit".
September 1, 2009 Whitney Houston's 7th album will be released. This is her first album since that great career distraction, Bobby Brown. The leading single off the album has been out for a few weeks. I Look to You is number 20 on the R&B charts. Not a great showing for what Guinness Book of Records calls the most awarded female artists in the history of music.
President Obama muddled the health care debate even more this weekend by signaling that he would be willing to back off a push for legislation that would include a public option. I am hoping that a president with party control over both houses of Congress is not willing to back peddle before any of the five bills even makes it out their respective committees.
Surprise, Michael Vick is going to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. He's essentially back in the NFL on a $1 million probationary trial. I've heard a lot of controversy about if he should play ball ever again. Many Eagle fans are apoplectic that a convicted animal abuser will be playing on their team.
Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver
There is a long standing tradition among representative democracies called "the loyal opposition". It's the idea that the minority can oppose the actions of the ruling party without opposing the constitution of the political system. The shouting, sign carrying, conservative, malcontents dominating the town hall meetings aren't just being rude. They are being disloyal. Their actions do serious injury to our system of government. The government that the Republicans on the right proudly hail, when convenient.
If you grew up in the 80's watching the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoons; and collecting some or all of the 500 action figures with swivel arm battle grips, you will not be disappointed. This movie is true to the cartoon with only minor deviations. I don't mean to suggest that its a great epic, not by a long shot. Citzen Kane, it is not. But it is deserving of far more praise than the online reviews I've read have been giving.
I had predicted privately to friends that the Michael Jackson Memorial was going to be a hot ghetto mess of epic proportions. I deduced that a family with all the cachet of a troupe of carnival side show freaks and ten thousand randomly picked grieving fans was a recipe for disaster. Throw Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton into that mix and you'd get the most classless event since...well the most recent BET Awards show. I based that assessment on how Daddy Joe plugged his new business interest at the BET Awards. And how brother Jermaine gave a tour of Never Land Ranch to Larry King before the arrangements were complete. The fact that Jackson’s dearest friends, Liza Minnelli, Elizabeth Taylor, Quincy Jones, and Diana Ross all declined to attend seemed to be further evidence of an anticipated fiasco. But what I didn’t know was that someone in the family had the idea to hire AEG Live and Kenny Ortega to produce the service. This was the single smartest decision the family could have made; and they should be applauded for turning the service over into competent hands.
Honduras has a constitutional problem. It all started with a the liberal cowboy-president, one Manuel Zelaya, who apparently tried to take political action to extend his term of office. When the parliament, supreme court and the attorney general deemed such action illegal, he fired the commander of the military for not enforcing his orders. The other branches of government found that action illegal too. Under orders from the supreme court the military arrested and deported President Zelaya at bayonet point. Now here’s the problem.
Every few years or so good gangster movie comes along. The kind of movie that once made kids run around with imaginary tommy guns and pretend to be g-men or bank robbers. The kind of movie that that combine coolness and cruelty in a world where living to excess is the aim. Public Enemies is just such a movie. It’s not a new story and it’s not revolutionary but it is the best gangster movie since American Gangster (2007).
I’ve changed my Facebook and Twitter profiles to green ribbons in support of the protestors in the Islamic Republic of Iran. I support people who choose to express their political views through non-violent protests. I am thrilled when people who have had their backs pressed against the wall stand up straight and say “The situation in which I find myself is intolerable.” But while I stand in awe of the courage of these protestors I have to question their raison d’ etre.
Real Spain just paid Manchester United a record $130 million dollars for footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo the 24 year old Portuguese winger is in Los Angeles and not getting much love in the press. TMZ calls him a “greasy euro douche”. Most of the twitter responses say that England fans are glad to be rid of him. There is no end to the negative comments on the web about his over prossesed hair, his orange tan, his too tight shirts, his short shorts and his over rated skills on the football field. It all looks to me like a big steaming pile of hate.
District of Columbia Councilman Marion Barry voted against legislation that would recognize the marriages of gays and lesbians from states that allow gay marriage. He voted against it for admittedly religious reasons.
Dave Bing was elected to fulfill the rest of Kwame Kilpatrick's term as mayor of Detroit. The 65 year-old former NBA player and hall of fame hero turned business man, will serve for at least the next seven months. Bing has no experience in politics so I hope he's a quick study.
This weekend I was talking with a friend who is an educator. He mentioned that in the wake of the swine flu he had stopped eating pork. I was shocked that he really thought he could catch the flu from eating pork. Then I found out that in Cairo the government ordered the slaughter of all pigs.
President Obama will get to appoint his first justice to the Supreme Court. David Souter, the 69 year-old associate justice, announced his retirement yesterday. Justice Souter was appointed by President George H. W. Bush.
First Colin Powell endorsed then candidate Barack Obama. Now Sen. Arlen Specter decides to join the Democratic Party. Hey look, I'm running out of Republicans to like.
Some say President Obama is restoring Americas greatness, bringing us back from the brink of the abyss. Some say he’s taxing and spending the country into oblivion. Most experts agree that it’s too early to tell one way or the other.
Ernie Barnes
President G. W. Bush invaded a sovereign nation, deposed their leader, occupied the country and set up a puppet government of his choosing. That ought to be grounds for a trail at The Hague. Whether or not his operatives sanctioned torture seems to be a minor point. He ordered U.S. troops to violate international law on a trumped up charge. Every other abuse of power flows from this illegal fount. Every subsequent action was illegal including torture. To investigate and hunt down every decision maker might mean bringing to trial every member of the Bush administration plus half the Congress.
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela gets a bad rap in the U.S. media. I’m not saying he’s a role model. But I don’t think he’s the villain lots of conservatives think he is. Like most people in the world he’s not good or bad. He’s complicated. Chavez, born to black Indian parents, is one of the few Latin American leaders whose look is distinctly non-European. Since the days of Columbus the descendants of Spaniards have governed Latin America and excluded native people. I don’t agree with all his tactics; but I also fail to completely understand what native people in Latin America suffer as a result of colonialism.
