Jack & Jill Politics

rikyrah: The First Family will take a Much Needed Vacation:

Obama To Vacation In Hawaii For Christmas

President-elect Barack Obama will spend the Christmas and New Year's holidays on an extended vacation with his family in Hawaii, Democratic sources confirmed today. The length of the vacation is not yet clear, and transition officials would not comment. Obama last visited the islands in October when his grandmother was sick. The Christmas trek to Hawaii may be a regular occurance for Obama in the White House, which would please the press corps, the Secret Service, WHCA and the locals to no end -- though it must be said: Crawford was probably easier to secure.

Obama vacations there whenever he gets the chance, jetting it before the Democratic National Convention. It was in Hawaii where, his official biography says, he made the final decision to run for president.

WELL DESERVED!! They will probably pay tribute to Grandma Toots. R.I.P.

God Bless Them ALL.

But...but...that's too exotic! (snark)

Admiral: LOL!! :>) :>) YOU!! :>) :>) :>) **shakin' my head**

I am sure the Secret Service is happy, happy, happy...but I was wondering what family does Obama have there now that his grandma died?

Does his sister Maya live there with her family?

IIRC Maya is a teacher at a private all-girls school in the Honolulu area.

wrb: LOL! :>) Don't know abou the sister. I'm thinking that she doesn't live in Hawaii. I'll TRY to look it up! :>)

rikyrah: SOS Clinton - OUT! NEXT??????

Buffalo Mayor Gains Support to Be Clinton Successor

With Hillary Rodham Clinton’s nomination to be secretary of state now official, the discussions are ratcheting to a more frenzied level regarding her possible successor as United States senator. In fact, a number of elected officials from western New York are publicly urging Gov. David A. Paterson to appoint Mayor Byron W. Brown of Buffalo.

His supporters say that Mr. Brown, 50, would be the first black senator from New York and that he would also provide a national platform for a state official from western New York.

Mr. Brown was elected to the State Senate in 2000 and served there until his election as mayor in 2005.

“I think that the mayor would generate a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and excitement,” said State Senator Antoine M. Thompson, a Democrat who represents parts of Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

“He’s a former state senator, and so he’s familiar with state issues,” Senator Thompson said. “I think that people would like to see someone from upstate, particularly since we don’t have anyone from upstate holding any prominent statewide office.”

Of course, the governor has indicated that he will not announce a successor to Senator Clinton until she is confirmed by the Senate. But that has not prevented the lobbying from western New York from moving forward vigorously.

THERE IS MORE.

Since I don't know the Mayor, any comments? Thank you. :>)

That's my hometown - gawd I can't believe I just admitted that! He's not a bad Mayor. Buffalo has always been very segregated though. It was ranked 4th most racist city in the country at one point. I was highly shocked a Black Mayor got elected at all. There's lots of unemployment and burnt out houses surrounded by really nice suburbs (where the white people live). A lot of Black people left for Atlanta or the Carolinas or elsewhere and the ones left tend to fall into these ridiculous constructs of how being Black means you have to not talk white and other foolishness. I admit I couldn't wait to leave after high school and don't hold it in the highest regard. The best thing about Buffalo is its close proximity to Toronto.

Buffalo reminds me of MIlwaukee, my hometown. But Milwaukee is experiencing a cultural and urban renaissance right now.

h&f: Thank you very much! Good information for ALL of us ta know! :>)

I concur, GLH...this is good info...hope the brother has the credentials to withstand the political abuse his appoint will elicit. Cause Cuomo's son was suppose to be one of the top runners.

I know nothing about him, but if given the appointment, it would give him 4 years to build a foundation, which would be good.

rikyrah: JUST IN CASE U WERE WONDERING:

Kilpatrick aide pleads guilty in sex scandal

Stoic and publicly silent through months of a sex scandal, the woman whose relationship with former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick led to his downfall broke her silence Monday, shedding tears as she pleaded guilty.

Christine Beatty, a former aide to the mayor, accepted a four-month jail sentence in exchange for admitting to obstruction of justice charges for her actions in a civil lawsuit brought by two police officers. The officers claimed Kilpatrick retaliated against them when they suspected wrongdoing by members of his inner circle.

Sexually explicit text messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty, published in January by the Detroit Free Press, contradicted witness-stand denials they were having an affair. Both were married at the time.

“I lied under oath,” Beatty told the judge, echoing the words Kilpatrick used during his own guilty plea in September.

“I did so with the intent to mislead the court and jury and to impede and obstruct the fair administration of justice,” she said in pleading guilty to two felonies.

Beatty, 38, initially was unable to choke back tears. Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny gave her a moment to compose herself.

Beatty’s jail sentence will begin Jan. 5. With credit for good behavior, she could be free in 100 days.

Beatty, the mother of two young daughters who has since gotten divorced, had vigorously fought her case until Monday.

“It was time to get it over with, get on with her life, get it out of her children’s lives,” defense lawyer Mayer Morganroth said outside court. “Otherwise it goes on and on.”

Beatty refused to speak to reporters as she left the court.

Beatty was charged with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice for her testimony before and during a 2007 civil trial in Wayne County.

“We live in an age where greed and protecting one’s secrets is glorified and accepted. I am very pleased that this defendant admitted her guilt,” county Prosecutor Kym Worthy said later.

Kilpatrick, 38, pleaded guilty three months ago, resigned from office and was sentenced to 120 days in jail.

In the civil lawsuit, officers Gary Brown and Harold Nelthrope claimed their police careers suffered when Kilpatrick learned they suspected misconduct by his security unit. Among the allegations: Police bodyguards helped cover up Kilpatrick’s extramarital affairs.

A jury ruled last year in favor of Brown and Nelthrope. Kilpatrick settled that case and another one for $8.4 million when he learned that a lawyer for the former officers had obtained the mayor’s text messages.

City Council members said they didn’t know the deal carried secret provisions to keep a lid on messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty. Then the Free Press published some excepts earlier this year.

Kilpatrick was ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to the city and surrender his law license. Beatty must pay $100,000 and cannot attend law school while on probation.

Under state sentencing guidelines, she likely faced 19 months or more in prison if she had been convicted of all seven charges, according to Worthy’s staff.

AP

LAWD HA'MERCY! It's gonna B a looooooooonnng 4 months!!

Annnnnnd, we still haven't read all the text messages!! :>) :>)

Welll, gotta keep perspective on what's REALLY important! :>) Inquiring minds want ta KNOW!! :>) :>)

she lost it all......for Mayor Trifling

rikyrah: YEP! What can we say??

We can say that she was a triflin heffa who put her own sexual needs ahead of her children and family as well as another woman's home and family. Her and Kwame deserve everything they get. Both of them destroyed two mens lifetime careers, pensions and homes because of the men doing their jobs all because Kwame and Chris wanted to delve into each other's crevices.

Those text messages were lewd and lascivious. How any married woman with children could have wrote what she did to a married man that was her boss is simply unbelieveable. She laid down with dogs and she got up with fleas.

Not to mention that Kwame and her husband were good friends had been since playing Pop Warner as youths together and her husband was the coach of his son's Pop Warner teams.

Both of these scuzzbuckets deserve want they get.

I have no sympathy for either one. Both of them should of married out of HS, but they didn't and to turn around and destroy 2 families later on is simply inexcusable.

wrb: CO-SIGN!! :>)

Dont know if this is true. But people are reporting that Obama is buying Michelle a beautiful ring as a thank you gift. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/artic...
Michelle Obama is to receive this £20,000 thank you from her husband for her support during the election.

The Harmony ring is made of rhodium - the world's most expensive metal --and encrusted with diamonds. It is being hastily made by Italian designer Giovanni Bosco in time for January's inauguration ceremony. ....


Hmmm... Black gold indeed. Thats powerful symbolism if true that this man know what really makes him rich.

YES!! It was reported on MSNBC as well.
Michelle has earned it and he knows that she is the best thing in his life.

Lord what is America gone do with all this Black Love on DISPLAY!!!??

And white hubbies gone have to step it up too! Can't you just hear their wives...if that BLACK man can shower his wife with love and affection...what YOU gon do?

And SiSTARS? Sistars?.....Not a brother alive that don't know he best get to gettin and watching Oprah's FAVORITE things...and buying ERRRYTHANG she shows!!

wrb: LOL!!! :>)

DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND (Beyonce)

ENJOY!! :>)

MSNBC reported it is a $35K dollar ring.

Some folks already saying that ain't a lot for diamonds and rhodium plated platinum.

Careful, it is the Daily Mail of the UK and they are not known for their sterling (heh , pun intended) journalism.

Lilytiger: RAOTFL!! :>) STERLING NICE!!!! :>) :>)

see is stuff like that, that makes it so hard on us broke brothas lol. barack is messing it up buying rings, showing her he loves her, kissing her, taking her on dates, geez now all of us gotta act right lol

osmond: HEY! :>) LOL! :>) U got it!! :>) :>)

I don't want no Scrubs......

OMG! I almost fell off the couch

Laughing with some girlfriends this weekend talking about how we wanted "Obama-Like" brothas for Christmas....it was discussed here some time ago as well. But yes, my friend...Obama is raising the bar.

rikyrah: LOOK at THIS "PLATE!": :>)

OBAMA PLATES GIVE LI THIEVES LICENSE TO STEAL

A Long Island Obama supporter scored vanity license plates bearing his presidential hero's name - now, if he could only use them.

Jonathan Lifschutz, 50, of Great Neck, got his "OBAMA" plates from the Department of Motor Vehicles three days after the Jan. 26 South Carolina primary, and they soon became the most sought-after in the state.

In fact, they were so sought-after that Lifschutz couldn't keep them on his Saab - because would-be thieves tried prying them off.

He even caught one man in the act.

So Lifschutz, a financial analyst, has taken off the plates for safekeeping and put the old ones back on.

"Those plates will probably, at some point, become a collector's item - in someone else's house," he joked. "I decided that they will best be preserved if I took them off and just carried them in the car."

Lifschutz - a one-time Hillary Rodham Clinton backer and donor - said he applied for the license plates after he saw former President Bill Clinton minimize Barack Obama's primary victory over Sen. Clinton in South Carolina. Kyle Murphy and Clemente Lisi

CUTE PLATE!! :>) :>)

Now I'm gon look for one!! :>) :>)

President Elect Obama!! :>) LARGE and IN CHARGE! :>) :>)

People would probably cause accidents trying to take pics of it. I'd store them in the house for safe keep.

nickwah22: TRUE DAT!! :>) :>) I will!! :>) :>)

Huckabee Claims Civil Rights Of Gays Are Not Being Violated: They Aren’t Getting Their ‘Skulls Cracked’
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/11/18/huckabee-ga...

Any bit of like I had for him has gone out the window..

Did he say that with saddness that their skulls weren't being cracked.

He comes off like a great guy, kind of like the sex offender down the street, and then boom he shows himself.

So,so sad, so,so true, Lilytiger!

rikyrah: From change.gov:

THE NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM

Pics & ALL

Monday, December 1, 2008 01:58pm EST

With today's introduction of key members of the National Security Team, President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden have now chosen nearly half of the cabinet, including the heads of the departments of State, Defense, Treasury, and Justice.

Nominees announced today include Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, Eric Holder as Attorney General, Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Susan Rice as Ambassador to the United Nations, and General Jim Jones, USMC (Ret) as National Security Adviser. President-elect Obama also announced that he has asked Robert Gates to stay on as Secretary of Defense.

Opinion leaders from across the ideological spectrum have praised the cabinet that is taking shape.

"In selecting nominees for his Cabinet and a new White House staff, President-elect Barack Obama has so far placed an admirable emphasis on proven competence over personal loyalty or political purity," the Washington Post editorial board wrote last week.

View pictures from today's press conference and read President-elect Obama's prepared remarks below.

Mr. President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama!! LARGE and IN CHARGE! :>)

Since y'all waxing about Hillary, I urge you to check out the "WORD ASSOCIATION" section of Field Negro's blog, and find out what picture word association he is using for Hillary.

WARNING: Do not be drinking anything while you are near your keyboard.

http://www.field-negro.blogspot.com/

LMAO

luv FN

CPL: BWAhahahahahaha!! No he di'int! YES HE DID!!! :>)

I recognized the "FACE" immediately!! :>) :>)

Nice post!! Do ya think he's been readin' JJP? :>) :>)

rikyrah: From Politico 44:


THE WHITEBOARD
President-elect Obama will meet with some of the nation’s governors tonight in Philadelphia to discuss the economy. The governors will likely try to ensure that they get their piece of Obama’s planned economic stimulus package, to which the president-elect has yet to give a price tag.

8:30 PM

Obama departs reception with Democratic governors, and arrives at the Sheraton Hotel shortly thereafter.

Politico 44 The Next President - Minute By Minute - Dec 1

Thursday, Dec. 4 @ 9pm et/pt Christiane Amanpour's special about genocide called "Scream Bloody Murder"

no discussion about the AIDS pandemic?

nickwah22: From the President-Elect [change.gov]"

President-elect Obama commemorates 20th Annual World AIDS Day
Monday, December 1, 2008 03:04pm EST

THERE IS A VIDEO.

World Aids Day 2008

From the London perspective:
World Aids Day 2008 (UK)

Thanks, I was looking for blog posts from here or other sites. I figured with today being WAD there would be a few floating around. I think HIV/AIDS is becoming a normalcy in our society and wanted to see what progress if any has been made. AIDS cases are down in Jamaica though, I read those stats somewhere today.

Its not that people are complacent they just dont care when their jobs are being lost and they are stressing about Christmas around the corner. Granted no one cares when the economy is good because black lives are undervalued the world over. People dont care. They dont care that in this country the face of AIDS is black and brown men who have sex with men. They dont care about the black and brown women with HIV in this country or in the rest of the word. The pattern of HIV in this world is a mirror of vulnerability and barometer of poverty, violence, lack of education, gender, race and sexual orientation based discrimination.

I can see where people wouldn't be thinking about it, but I think by putting it on the backburner doesn't help. I noticed that the only channel I actually see HIV/AIDS commercials on is BET. Maybe you are right, maybe its the "face" of this issue that is getting in the way.

Am I the only one one scared about what Vogue is going to do to Michelle after what they did to JHud? Ugh. I can't even look at Annie Liebovitz the same way after that and the god-awful Lebron James/King Kong cover. Double Ugh. And please lawd don't let Andre Leon Talley near Michelle. Remember what he did to JHud at the Oscars. Triple Ugh!

Also, I hate to burst everyone's bubble but the cover images aren't original to Essence according to this Women's Wear Daily article:

http://www.wwd.com/media-news/fashion-memopad/o...

However, the covers look good so I guess it doesn't matter. Hopefully Essence will be able to actually interview the Obamas again at some point.

Well I think Michelle would demand final approval. It's not like Vogue can't take a good photo - remember the Oprah cover? ATL just needs to stop trying to be artsy and keep it simple. You know he's already gotten mail about messing with Mrs. O. When he styled Sophie Okonedo he was ok. I recognized the Barack photo immediately.

I thought that PE Obama shot looked familiar. Michelle's shot, however, is new to me. She looks great!

When are these issues gonna be on the newstand? Does anyone know when Ebony will be on the stand?

Looks like I'm not the only one who's adopting the Wait and see approach.

Check out Al Girodano's new Post:
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/welco...

This is great - thanks for posting the link.

These covers are fab! Classy and tasteful. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. YES THEY ARE AND YES THEY DID!

I tell you what, I can't stand Campbell Brown. Her whole "no bias, no bull" schictk is getting old. It's mostly bull. I kinda wish Campbell Brown and David Gregory would have just gone away after the electiob,

She needs to go to Faux News with her Rethug husband Dan Senor. He's a Republican strategist and Fox News. As for Gregory, he has a much journalistic finese as a screw driver.

LOL

I still like MSNBC with the trifecta of Rachel, Chris and Keith. I know Tweety over steps the bounds of sanity but his moments of nailing people who don't know what they are talking about, make up for it.

Anyone remember this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1wSZBTAXRs&feat...

Co-signing, Lilytiger, a terrific trifecta, indeed; they all have their issues but they bring it!

This video gets my pick for Tweety's Oscar winning performance: He TKO'd Michelle Backman. That bitch won anyways, but we'll be watching her here in Minnesota.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bT01mC9xSA
**********************************************************************
LOL! Yes, Kevin James with his bryll cream hair, crest whitening strips teeth, and tighty whites, brought a spit ball gun to a hand grenade fight.

His smile is forced because homeboy is feeling the weight on his shoulders. And he was like "Fools I dont have time for this mess. This is your last shot and I'll smile for you because after this we are done. I have work to do".

Michelle looks fabulous. Her smile is all like "Remember when you were telling me he is corny and drives a car with holes in it and that I should be with someone who was up to my standards. Heiffers, guess who is going to be in the White House!". Maybe she wasnt thinking that exactly but she is thinking about something that isnt charitable or else she was thinking about christening rooms in the White House ifyouknowhatiamsayin

"David Gregory to Host Meet the Press"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/01/david-...

MTP says it has nothing to announce.
Gregory is not confirming or denying it...


wack

Haven't watched MTP since I was a kid, and it looks like that will continue. I just haven't been able to take Gregory seriously since he tripped the light fantastic with Karl "MC" Rove.

MsKitty, he tripped it with Mary J. too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evoMTW1eso0

Lest we forget: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evoMTW1eso0

ROFL

That was sooooo wrong.

omg, smh, lmao

evita, yes, and it was soooooo fun! MTP and David Gregory, oh the incongruency of it all!

OMG that Mary J clip? That was so bad I was embarrassed for him. Somebody really needs to pull Gregory aside the next time he gets ready to make a fool of himself. Seriously.

The least qualified out of the bunch. Affirmative Action for white men yet again!

bad decision.

horrible

blech

evita: Ohhhh noooooo!! YUK!!! DOUBLE YUK!! **shivers**

He need to "Meet The Press" ta find out what they do!! He 'on't know!!

DANG!!!

Ugh. Gregory? Do they want the show to fail?

Totally WHACKED!!

I can't STAND Gregory..he is awful...sooooo insipid and a sycophant!!

I won't be watching that incompetent shill.

Me neither.

I suffered through infrequent, 3x weekly, viewings of 'Race' to the White House, which had always been ROAD to the White house until this year...I did not find that subliminal message amusing.

Now that it is 1600 Pennysylvania, I barely watch once a week//I started watching Campbell more...but she has turned into all bias and bull since the election.

OH GOD! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

First, Hillary gets SoS, and now this.

I need a drank!

I will meet you there! I need some Tanqueray 10, with ice shaken not stirred~~

Michelle is gorgeous!

These covers are HOT! Two of the best covers Essence has had in a long time!

Joan Walsh was at it again on Hardball.

Tweety mentioned Samantha Power rejoining PE Obama's team. Walsh said that Hillary signed off on letting her back into the fold. Signed off? WTH? So, Walsh is insinuating that Hillary got the final say on whether or not Power was welcomed back like Kotter? GMAB!

And then, later in the conversation, she made a Freudian Slip saying (and I'm paraphrasing) that Hillary will "do her own thing"! UGH!

Susan is working with Hillary so I dont get that this is such a big deal. Naturally she would be asked about it. She did call her a monster lol. This Clinton drama feels over hyped and forced.

No, Susan did not call HRC a monster...Samantha Powers did.
Susan has nothing but disdain for HRC, that is REAL evident.

Could you tell by the frown on her face at the conference! At least Obama elevated her position so she skips over Hillary and goes straight to him. Once Hillbot messes up Dr. Rice can step right in.

I meant Samantha sorry

I kinda agree with ya there to some small extent. In some cases, the Clinton drama is usually because the Clinton's leaked the drama

Walsh was getting on my LAST nerve with her 'all things Hillary' mantra. I was glad Hitchens was there to voice the views of many, many, many people which is we are sick of all things Clinton!!

We want them to go away and get off the nation stage, like all other Presidents when they leave office. I have Clinton fatigue.

i am not looking forward to hearing about hill and bill the next 4 years...the press is going to cover their asses like they are still in office and Obama is their god damn personal assistant that is in the WH when they are off globe trotting!!

Personally even when I agree with Hitchens, I find him very unpleasant, more so than Joan. At least with Joan we know she's a Clinton-lover from the beginning, the devil you know. Besides, IIRC, wasn't Hitchens pretty dismissive of Obama particularly during the Rev Wright/Bitter moments during the primaries. He basically got behind Obama because eventually he couldn't stand Palin, Clinton, or McCain, so Obama was the lesser of the evils.

So I take much of what Hitchens says with a grain of salt.

Everything you said about Hitchens is right.

But he's also right about Hillary and Bill Clinton.

I can never take a brilliant writer with a grain of salt, even when I disagree with him. I often do.

Not this time.

He maybe right about Hil and Bill, but his views on Obama I will take with a grain of salt. Even if you agree with him about the Clintons, pay attention to how he speaks of Obama. It just seems to me he has absolutely no respect for Obama, and it's times like these when it completely oozes out of his pores.

He's jealous of Barack. Everything he says about Barack needs to be seen through the prism of envy.

you're right envy is the right word.

I suspect that a lot of Repubs are envious of Obama's charisma and saavy

Yes, you are right about Hitchens and his evolution to O-ness support.
But I just an soooooo SICK of the Clintons...they just suck all the oxygen out the room.

I would love to be a fly in a cabinet meeting to watch Obama rein in those egos and I bet he has to do some serious refereeing between Hill and Susan...I am just waiting to see how he throws Power up in the mix...Hill thought she had boxed them out by asking to pick her staff.

Obama agreed but is going to go STILL surround her ass with Powers and Rice...hahahahahaha

I am sick of the Clintons and for that I was glad to root for Hitchens today...cause Walsh was too full of white female entitlement promoting HRC.

Hitchens was having NONE of it. I loved it when he called her out on being offended that he referred to her as Ms. Walsh.

And who is she to dismiss criticism of the Clintons as people who are "career Clinton haters" who have spent years trying to bring them down. Walsh needs to realize that there are plenty of people, like myself, who were Clinton supporters but became turned off by their race-baiting and white privilege schtick in the quest for the Oval Office.

Yes, that was sweet how he did that!!/// I was ctfu!!

YES!! and then she had the NERVE to claim that it was a small group?! I was like WTF?

Sorry, Walsh but there are so many of us that HRC could not win the nomination...HELLO!!

Lots and lots of people are sick of HRC and could not stomach the idea of her and Bill back in the WH!

While I was turned off by the race-baiting, too..I was a staunch Obama supporter from the moment he spoke at the 2004 DNC convention and HRC tore her proverbial draws with me when she voted for the war AND told all of us if we wanted an apology we could vote for someone else.

You are definitely right on that white entitlement BS...that made me nauseous.

Which was why, I was just overjoyed when Obama trounced her in caucus after caucus. With massive crowds from coast to coast and she with a former President in tow, could barely muster 4K folks at a rally.

Rev Pflegel said it BEST!!!

Joan Walsh Administers a Smackdown to Christopher Hitchens
ummm, I don't think so! She was her usual whinney self. eewwww!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvAe4UJZl0w

The title (Joan Walsh Administers a Smackdown to Christopher Hitchens) is bullshit.

Hitchens is right about the Clintons, and he slapped Joan down.

Admiral, say it again. There's no where to hide these days.

Yes, that headlinewas definitely written by a Hill supporter

cause all those of us who are not would have written it in the reverse!

Christopher Hitchens Administers a Smackdown to Joan Walsh.

I am no fan of Hitchens but I agree with him about the Clintons.

whiterosebuddy: Co-SIGN!! Christopher Hitchens Administers a Smackdown to Joan Walsh.
I am no fan of Hitchens but I agree with him about the Clintons.

Agree on your sentiments!! :>)

Whiterosebuddy, Idon't know that much about Hitchens, I know what white entitlement sounds and looks like, and I loathe it!

"You can call me Joan; I'vebeen to your house, Christopher." You don't have to call me Ms. Walsh, we had drinks together.' What the fuck?!!!

Raise the hand...who is going to buy BOTH COVERS?


ME ME ME ME ME ME

LOL

rikyrah: Imma buy as much as I can!! Bofadem!! :>) :>)

I have a subscription - it came with my tickets to the Essence festival. I was boycotting Essence before that....still quite mad at the whole cover of PDiddy with Kim Porter and Essence promoting their "black love"...I was so done with Essence after that...then another issue had R. Kelly's wife in it proclaiming his innocence. If it wasn't for those damn tickets......but I have loved the covers of the Obama's and now these two....so I guess I can forgive them....a lil bit.

HAHAHAHA! OMG Too true. I wrote a post about Black famous women choosing scrubs and how that sends a bad message to the rest of us.
http://snipr.com/6zl2i

See now that Barack & Michelle are going to the WH everybody wants to talk about Black love but he wasn't raised by Black people and trained to look down on us the way so many of these other men choose to do. He is the exception. And he made a lot of mistakes by leaving Michelle alone with the girls early on - but I wonder how many people have actually read his books. He's been steadily making progress for years and wasn't readily made "perfect". People want to idolize them and that's dangerous.

Miranda...I felt the EXACT same way about that Porter/Diddy cover...it was an huge INSULT. An absolute disgrace ...but every since Susan Taylor sold Essence the folks in charge have a real challenging time making the mag afrocentric focused in terms of what our culture values...and they just promote that rapper/thug/babymomma..crap that sells records and passes for black culture as a powerful marketing tool.

Just a correction. Taylor didn't own Essence. It was owned by Black men and she ran the magazine. It has gone a little downhill since being sold but they wanted to cash out.

I rarely write into a magazine, but I wrote in - snail mail, and got my sisters and niece to write in too over that tripe with Kim Porter.

Susan Taylor didn't sell it, she was the editor-in-chief, not the owner....nevertheless, the magazine has NOT been the same since she left the helm. I find myself simply looking at the pictures. That whole Diddy/Kim Porter thing was absolutely appalling. I still can't believe they actually went THERE.

Taylor was editor in chief AND owner...she is now just editor in chief

Take it from me, a NYC magazine vet who has known/met many folks at Essence over the years including Susan Taylor...

Ed Lewis and Clarence Smith started Essence in 1970 and Lewis was an owner before the Time Warner sale a few years ago.

Susan Taylor was never the owner of Essence and left in 2007 as Publications Director (she was Editorial Director for years). She started out as a beauty editor in the 70s and rose to EIC and eventually Editorial Director.

Monique Greenwood and Diane Weathers were both Editor-in-Chief before Angela Burt Murray stepped in about 3 or 4 years ago.

thanks

The current editor-in-chief is Angela Burt-Murray. Susan Taylor was never the owner of Essence - she was the most visible face of the magazine for almost 2 decades though - when you thought of Essence, immediately she came to mind.

*raising both hands and a leg* ME!!

ditto, ditto, ditto

Vogue has a lot to match. Nobody makes a Black woman look beautiful the way that Essence can.

AIn't that the truth.

I have already said Vogue upset me with that Jennifer Hudson cover a couple of years ago.

But Anna Wintour, and basically the whole fashion industry adores Michelle And Barack Obama---so hopefully that will translate to a splendid cover.....we'll see.

Why they had JHud looking like a pig getting ready for the apple?

That was soooo wrong! The photos that accompanied the article inside the mag were better. They totally did that on purpose. Just don't hire Liebowitz as she has racial fetishisms that come out in her work. She sees them as Black people in stereotype not beautiful subjects. She should definitely have Pat McGrath doing her makeup though.

I'm still trying to figure that one out.

I think Wintour KNOWS we are watching her this time...especially after JHud, the Lebron/Gisele fiasco, and the worldwide success of the Italian Vogue all Black issue.....she betta come correct with Michelle.

Yes! They better come correct because that Jennifer Hudson cover was not the business.

I missed that cover, what did they do?

WRB, check this out:

http://concreteloop.com/2007/02/jennifer-hudson...

...tell us what you think.

AWWW man DAYUM!!

That is just too ugly...she looks like a loudmouth jezebel COW!!

That is damn awful...in a RED hussy dress too?! Strikes me as the type of picture that would have T.I's lyrics as the caption:

'love the way you drop it brain so good could swore you went to college'

And you KNOW ...what I'm sayin

Hmmm I love her but something is off. I think they air brushed her too much. Is Michelle's hair short now?

LOL like it matters. I'm still getting those issues!

They did somethin...her nose and his looks different..his too wide hers too narrow. Every since Susan Taylor sold Essence the folks of non-color go over the top sometimes and our features are just not natural looking. Obama's smile even looks forced and his arms are crossed, and it is like they were trying to make Michelle sexually provocative as she appears to be leaning forward to show cleavage.

typical hypersex media ploy

LOL I thought that too re the smile. That picture has been uses a lot and I've never seen his smile that wide. Someone got a little too happy with the photoshop :P

I didn't know Susan sold Esscene. Shame.

Frankly I think I might buy the Michelle issue only. I kind of wish they picked a new Barack picture.

They both look fabulous! I hope that the articles will live up to the cover photos.