Jack & Jill Politics

EVENING OPEN THREAD IS UP!!

as predicted. The media is on full steam ahead mode to try to dismantle the "image" of President's relationship with his wife and now with his kids.
(cuz we can't have a stream of "family values" repubs looking bad while the President seems to have a good relationship with his family).

The final straw was the video clip that made it's way across cyber space showing the First Lady's "hula" and the President looking at her as if he would sop her up like a buscuit right there on stage. lolol Yep they had to put a stop to all that imagery. As a result today we see . . . .

Shielding the First Daughters From Media Spotlight

President Barack Obama's face brightened as he looked up and saw his 8-year-old daughter Sasha on the White House's Truman Balcony. He gave an exaggerated wave, she waved back and photographers captured a rare, unscripted moment.

It seemed innocent enough, yetWhite House officials asked news organizations not to distribute the image.

Weeks later, when Obama took his daughters for ice cream the Saturday before Father's Day, photographers were permitted to provide family friendly pictures to cable news networks and newspaper front pages. The popular Parade magazine put a candid shot of the First Family on its cover the same weekend, illustrating an article about fatherhood that the White House had suggested.

The two events reflect both the First Family's insistence on raising their young daughters away from the spotlight of the White House and their penchant for carefully using them to bolster the president's political image.

"He's going to try to have it both ways until and unless people start to question his value system and his sincerity in playing that role," said Gerald Shuster, a political communications expert at the University of Pittsburgh.


The Obamas Have Consistenly Controlled Media Access to Sasha and Malia
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=7960975...

Today I went to the grocery store and saw magazines that accused First Lady Obama of being a drunk. Said the President was upset because of her drinking vodka etc. The staff was upset because of her unfair treatment of them. Also saw headlines screaming about Michelle being upset because Barack was caught cheating. Saw front page headlines stating she has a "hit list". blah blah fluckety blah.
Utter garbage.

Samples . . . Barack and Michelle Obama's marriage troubles and that PO is cheating.
http://coverawards.com/2008/04/26/national-enqu...

MICHELLE OBAMA BOOZE BINGES

Michelle Obama - cracking under the pressure of being First Lady - is drinking way more than she should, friends fear.
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/michelle_obama_...

Makes you want to SSAAAAALLLLLLLLAAAAAAAPPPPPP!

I crack up when I go to the store and see the tabloids. The headlines are hilarious.

the thing is Rikyrah - no one bought them while I was there in fact the lines were long and ALL I heard was "oh please", "ridiculous", "this is just stupid" etc. The magazines were at the checkout counter and they were in your face but almost everyone who glanced at it blew it off as garbage.

Umm, Obama was just checking out her butt on national TV a couple of days ago. . .

for the life of me i can't figure out why the media needs access to the lives of a 10 & 8 year old? this has nothing to do with infringing on the press' ability to do its job, this is about the nonsense tabloid culture that we call "news" these days. there is literally nothing those kids could do that would be "newsworthy," and any adult demanding access to them should be ashamed of themselves (most of those reporters are parents too).
the press didn't complain about bush and clinton restricting access to their children who were older, why on earth should they make a stink now? screw anyone blabbering about the press' right to access, the obamas are parents first and foremost, and just like any other parents they have a right to try and protect their children however they see fit.
this nonsense is the height of silliness (which is saying something given the media in this country) and it makes me so angry that anyone would think they are entitled to know a damned thing about the lives of two small children.

These sorry people want some dirt on PBO & Michelle so bad until they just have to make up some dirt. Wicked sobs!


Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa>>>>lap

The Obamas come across as an anomaly particularly given the Sanford and Ensign problems. Sanford's dalliances with multiple women over the years indicates that for a long time his marriage wasn't that great regardless of how they tried to present themselves. Ensign was separated when he had his affair. So that was also a marriage not going so well.

So the conclusion is that the Obamas relationship cannot be as it seems, it must have some problems even if the media has to make it up or create a situation that will lead to a problem. That spontaneous moment last week with the "hula" dance spoke volumes about their relationship and none of it good news for the people looking for problems.

wonderful assessment caribgirl

That's why the press howls becaue the President and the First Lady are IN CONTROL of their own images,and go out amongst the PEOPLE. We aint dumb, we've got eyes and can see.

They'd better watch it, writing this trash.

This article is too funny. You have got to read it just for sh*ts and giggles.

Palin: I'd Beat Obama In A Run

Palin says she'd come out ahead if she went one-on-one with fellow jogger President Barack Obama in a long run, according to an interview published online Tuesday. Might Obama join the workout war of words? A message seeking comment Tuesday from the White House by The Associated Press wasn't immediately returned.

"I betcha I'd have more endurance," she told Runner's World magazine.

Palin said the exercise wasn't just a body thing and that it helps keep her emotionally and mentally in shape.

"I feel so crappy if I go more than a few days without running. No matter how rotten I feel before or during a run, it's always worth it to me afterward. Sweat is my sanity," Palin tells the magazine.
She said one of her biggest frustrations while campaigning with McCain was that the senator's staff didn't carve out time for Palin to get in a jog. But she recounted one memorable run at McCain's ranch in which she fell coming down a hill. The incident happened a few days before the debate with now Vice President Joe Biden.

"I was so stinkin' embarrassed that a golf cart full of Secret Service guys had to pull up beside me. My hands just got torn up, and I was dripping blood. In the debate, you could see a big ugly Band-Aid on my right hand," Palin said.

The governor also pointed out an advantage to running: When she's out, she's just another hockey mom in running shoes.

"When I run, I'm totally incognito because I'm not wearing a trough full of makeup. I can go running through a mob of tourists and they don't recognize me," Palin said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/30/palin-...

She needs to run with Mark Sanford along the Apalachian Trail...or Argentina...

lol

Ok, I'll say it:

Bitch, please.

too bad Obama has a million more important/better things to do with his time.

Well keep running sister sarah, run your your stupid azz somewhere where we will never see you and your trailer park family ever again.

But she recounted one memorable run at McCain's ranch in which she fell coming down a hill. The incident happened a few days before the debate with now Vice President Joe Biden.

That explains A LOT!

Thank You!

It's Coon Time on BET!

Again?

Hey,

What's up with this whole Jay Z & Chris brown MJ tribute deal? Someone at work said that Jay Z stopped Chris Brown from the "tribute" on BET. She also said that people are actually sigining petitions and emailing MTV saying that Chris Brown should be apart of any MJ tribute MTV has. I will be highly pissed if MTV has Justin Timberlake doing most of the tribute. It should be Usher, Chris Brown, and Chris Tucker.

Anybody else hear about this?

This Jay-Z is standing up for women these days?? Yeah...right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_812nBiQgFc

According to Jamie Foxx, it was neither Covergirl nor Jay-Z that pulled the plug on Chris Brown. In fact, he was never invited.

Jamie was on the Ricky Smiley show and said that he and the producers decided against having CB on because they didn't want his drama to overshadow MJ.

Quite frankly, I find it ridiculous and offensive that folks are whining about CB not being a part of the show, as if he's the heir apparent to MJ or the savior of his legacy. Just a few months ago, folks were asking for his head on a platter because he beat Rihanna to a bloody pulp.

I'm being to think that CB's pr peeps are leaking all these rumors.

"I find it ridiculous and offensive that folks are whining about CB not being a part of the show because he beat Rihanna to a bloody pulp."

Exactly.

No one is calling Chris Brown the "heir apprent' to MJ. I'm just saying that if the only reason to keep CB from being part of a tribute to MJ is the Rihanna business, not the fact that CB would actually do a great job (which he did at the World Music Awards in 2), then a lot of people should not be apart of the tribute Jay Z included.

Personally, i don't think Justin Timberlake should be anywhere near the MJ tribute after the way he left Janet high and dry after the Superbowl!!!

I'm sorry, lamh32 but yeah, people are acting like CB's absence is the reason why the BET "tribute" was an epic fail. Like he was/is the ONLY one who could've paid homage to MJ. To go so far as to create a freaking petition? GMAFB! CB is not that great of a performer and neither was his Thriller act at the World Music Awards.

I will co-sign you Timberlake's sorry ass.

I think Janet might have a thing or five to say about Timberfake being a part of a MJ tribute...

Well, I HEARD...all those folks might of been fatmouthing and kvetching and stuff but they had no real power and that it was CoverGirl that pulled the plug on Chris B.

Yes, and supposedly Al Sharpton also blocked his appearance.

Chris is talented and would do a great dance tribute, but when he started whaling on Rhianna, he messed up. He doesn't deserve to be there IMO.

"but when he started whaling on Rhianna, he messed up. He doesn't deserve to be there IMO."

bingo

I can understand the rejection of Chris Brown especially by Jay Z.

Ah,isn't there a video of Jay-Z hitting some woman? Also, didn't jay z beat the shittake outta some rec exec a few years back? Jay Z also has a hisory, so I'm just saying that Jay Z don't need to be throwing stones cause he married to Beyonce.

had nothing to do with Beyonce. Jay Z is Rihanna's mentor. Chris beat the mess out of Rihanna. So it isn't about throwing stones. Not in this instance.

No one is calling Chris Brown the "heir apprent' to MJ. I'm just saying that if the only reason to keep CB from being part of a tribute to MJ is the Rihanna business, not the fact that CB would actually do a great job (which he did at the World Music Awards in 2), then a lot of people should not be apart of the tribute Jay Z included.

Personally, i don't think Justin Timberlake should be anywhere near the MJ tribute after the way he left Janet high and dry after the Superbowl!!!

never said you called Chris the "heir apparent". Just want to point out that having a tit exposed is not a fair comparison to getting your a*s kicked by the person you are intimate with and probably exchanged words like "I love you".

And for selfish reasons I believe they did the right thing by excluding him. I don't want young men thinking that if a clean cut, educated, financially secure guy like Chris can kick his girls a*s, have the abuse publicized over all sorts of media and he can STILL get opportunities like that . . . well, why can't I?

Anyway, I agree with you that that incident was probably not the only factor in the decision (although it would have been enough for me) but I am sure it carried some weight.

I was ready to proclaim Mark Stanford's wife my hero for not doing the "obligatory" stand by your cheating husband to salvage his political career, but in recent days I've come to respect her less than the ones that do. If only she had remained silent or rather left her original statement that she didn't much care where he was as her final public staement, it would have been so empowering and satisfying. Instead, she said she would be willing to take him back if he changed. How does he respond? He again professes his love for the other woman, calling her his "soul mate." And said he would TRY to fall in love again with his wife again. This mofo announces to the world--TO HIS KIDS--that he's in love with another women and not in love with his wife. All I can say is it couldn't be me!

Here it is RIGHT HERE: This mofo announces to the world--TO HIS KIDS--that he's in love with another women and not in love with his wife. All I can say is it couldn't be me!

Nope - I mean, I divorced my first husband because he voted for Reagan so you KNOW I'm not about anything like this.

The saddest part is not the other woman or Jenny Sanford, but Mark Sanford is sticking it to his boys big time. If he truly cared about them he'd shut his fucking mouth NOW. THEN RESIGN.

I don't mean to be intrusive, but did y'all have children when you dumped him cuz of Reagan?!

Sanford is doing his sons a lot of damage but he could not care about them we know this, as he was gone, Father's dAy!!

You so right about shutting the hell up cause he is destroying their mother and their lives wallowing in this cesspool of serial infidelity...this is a narcissitic mydyckismylife sybaritic sniveling whinning jerk.

Yeah - but she was young 3 or 4. She didn't care. It was like he never left; he was around all the time anyway. He was a good daddy.

Truly this is Sanford. Because it is NOT about anyone but him.

".....this is a narcissitic mydyckismylife sybaritic sniveling whinning jerk."

You don't do that to people you love or even care about superficially.

She needs to start singing this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6hgQj3jslg&feat...

Because that man is embarrassing her. Now he's coming out and saying that there were other women but he didn't have sex with them. Please, now we are probably getting into "depends on what the definition of is, is" territory.

Um, scuse me...waving my hand ....what he actually said was that he didn't 'cross the line' with those women, not that he did not ahve sex. So, we need to know what he considers 'crossing the line' in terms of violating his marriage vows. Lawd, Lawd lawd, his mixing of sin, with repentance seeking redemption is just to all hellfire and brimstone...he needs to just stick with lascivious details so we do not have to deal with his angst.

this is what he said

He acknowledged that he had casual encounters with other women while he was married but before he met Chapur, on trips outside the country to "blow off steam" with male friends.

"What I would say is that I've never had sex with another woman. Have I done stupid? I have. You know you meet someone. You dance with them. You go to a place where you probably shouldn't have gone," Sanford said, declining to discuss details. But he said those encounters were nothing like his relationship with Chapur.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/30/mark-s...

is this man crazy?

volunteering all this info without being asked
why doesn't his dumb azz just be quiet?

Gotcha!

We read different reports, I seee...Here's what I had read:

"The governor says he "never crossed the ultimate line" with anyone but Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine at the center of a scandal that has derailed Sanford's once-promising political career."

two more words:

Elaina Bobbitt

Is it Elaina or Lorena?

Chopped Off

two more words:

frying pan

two words:

hot grits

Two words:
Yamaha chainsaw.

Admiral - you don't play. lololol

There are some things worse than hot grits rikyrah. I would revert to my psychological warfare......

You mean crazy glue..right?

LOL.

Awww, poor little Republicans, Obama doesn't want to play with them anymore:

GOP Leadership To Obama: You Never Call, You Never Write…

GOP leaders have a new complaint about President Obama: He’s not reaching out to them nearly as much as he did earlier this year, when he road-tested his pledge of post-partisanship, only to get uniformly rebuffed on his first big legislative initiative.

Here’s GOP Rep. Eric Cantor, giving voice to the new GOP gripe:

GOP leaders complain that the phone calls and White House invitations have slacked off — perhaps because Obama’s early efforts to woo Republicans yielded few votes.

“I think that in the beginning they seemed a lot more willing to go in and engage with us,” said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor.

I asked Cantor spokesperson Joe Pounder if this was the real view of House GOP leaders. He argued that while Obama engaged at the outset — watching the Super Bowl with GOPs, for instance — there were now multiple cases where Republicans had been snubbed.

For instance, Pounder said, the White House has not responded to the House GOP proposal for $375 billion in budgetary savings for the next five years. What’s more, Pounder continued, Obama has met only with Democrats on several recent occasions.

Of course, Democrats respond that Obama’s initial outreach efforts weren’t exactly reciprocated. House Republicans unanimously opposed his stimulus and his budget, and almost all of them opposed the big war spending bill. Many refused to condemn Rush Limbaugh for saying he hopes Obama fails.

On health care, a leading Republican — Senator Chuck Grassley — keeps raising the bar for what will count as “bipartisanship” from Dems. He recently suggested that a health care bill wouldn’t be truly bipartisan unless it didn’t contain any public insurance option, and also suggested it wouldn’t count as bipartisan unless it has lots of GOP support.

Of course, there’s still hope. Maybe if Obama invites Republicans to watch the All Star Game, they’ll drop their opposition to his agenda…

*****************************************

Update: The DCCC takes a whack: “Rather than be part of bipartisan solutions, Congressional Republicans have been content to sit on the sidelines saying no and whining. Polling shows the American people are tired of the Republican Party of No banking on failure instead of working with President Obama and Congressional Democrats to move our country forward.”

Spirit to GOP...... "FUCK YOU!'

Double F'em!

Guess what rethugs?We won!!!President Obama tried to reach out to you and all he got was racist attacks in the form of watermelon emails among your rank and file,his wife being compared to apes and when he did put in your stupid amendments you idiots still said no.You had your chance for 8 years, President Obama gave you a chance to have a voice and all you did was said no and hope he fails.F*ck all republicans with their treasonous arses.That is all

And he told them he was no wuss...AND that he was keeping score!!

Guess they were too busy believing in NObama to understand the real power and scope of hope.

Obama to GOP....."beat it"

High court curves in conservative direction

By Joan Biskupic, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — In the term that ended Monday, the Supreme Court shifted more to the right, making it harder for people to bring civil rights claims, rejecting challenges by environmentalists and raising the standard for older workers alleging bias on the job.

One of its more consequential decisions came on the last day of the term, when the justices imposed a new hurdle for employers trying to scrap tests and other seemingly neutral practices that favor whites at the expense of racial minorities, or men at the expense of women.
HIGH COURT: Major rulings of the 2008-09 term
MORE: Supreme Court impacts hiring practices
CLINTON: High court will rehear 'Hillary' documentary case
Even in the cases where the Roberts Court did not rule as conservatively as expected, it trimmed legal remedies. Although a recent ruling said school officials' strip search of an eighth-grade girl violated her rights, the majority nonetheless decided she could not obtain money damages because the officials made a good-faith mistake about the law. Though the court spurned a constitutional challenge to the landmark Voting Rights Act, it created an opportunity for counties and other political entities to get out from under federal scrutiny of their election laws.

"There has been a modest evolution toward narrower, less sweeping opinions," says Harvard University's Richard Fallon. "Roberts' style in dealing with iconic precedents is to distinguish the older cases, leave them standing, but start tacking in the opposite direction — as in the (voting rights) case."
Fallon said Monday's case similarly shows the court pivoting away from precedent yet leaving the long-term effects uncertain.
"The Roberts Court (has shown) a desire to close the courthouse door," said Stanford University law professor Pamela Karlan, who noted that the court boosted the requirements in early litigation stages for people alleging a range of civil rights violations.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-06...

Consider this Chief Justice John Roberts' version of "burrowing": making a shitload of ultraconservative rulings before Obama can appoint more judges to swing the Supremes toward the progressive side.

A Broken U.N. Promise In Congo
By Eve Ensler
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo -- Just over a year ago, in answering whether sexual violence in conflict was an issue that the U.N. Security Council should take on, then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice proclaimed, "I am proud that, today, we respond to that lingering question with a resounding 'yes!' " With this statement, and with the cooperation of other power brokers at the table, the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1820, which finally recognized sexual violence as a widely used strategy of warfare and cleared the path for the council to respond to it worldwide.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is to report to the Security Council today on implementation of Resolution 1820. What will we learn? A year after adopting the resolution, Congo remains the worst place on the planet to be a woman. Over 12 years, in a regional economic war for resources, hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped and tortured, their bodies destroyed by unimaginable acts. The Security Council's implementation of Resolution 1820 in Congo -- the very place that inspired it -- has been an utter failure.
Rape as a weapon of war has increased in eastern Congo since June 2008.

In January, military operations were launched in North Kivu with the supposed goal of arresting the rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and neutralizing his National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) troops as well as the FDLR, the former Rwandan Hutu genocidaires. Even now, with Resolution 1820 in place, no one considers the women. Anneke Van Woudenberg of Human Rights Watch, just back from the front lines in both North and South Kivu, told me Monday that in nearly all the health centers, hospitals and rape counseling centers she visited, rape cases had doubled or tripled since January.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

Wanna go back to the motherland?

The Obamas will vacation in Martha's Vineyard. I hope they stay away from the uppity negros. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/30/obama-...

I was really hoping they'd go to Hawaii or Chicago.

The pimping of his kids has already begun, as private as MJ was about his kids, why release these never-before-seen pics?

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/galler...

You know!! So every surrogate that was pregnant at that time can peep those pictures to see if any of the kids look like them to see if they can get paid. They are determined for some white people to get paid and have something to argue with Katherine about.

Mike was not crazy. If all this is true, he didn't want the surrogate to know so she wouldn't come to collect.


I still don't know why Debbie Rowe had to get paid during the last trial if she was not the bio momma, coming back to claim parental rights. Did MJ have to pay her more hush money?

Nice pics.
The look on Sharptons face in pic#57 is priceless...makes you wonder if he was wondering if his nose was going to detach.

The Obamas are going to the Vineyards, so for that lady who called Michelle Obama "ghetto" in the New Yorker's article on Blacks and Martha's Vineyard, I hope Michelle's "ghettoness" doesn't contaminate you folks.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/24377...

Interesting. They are going to the Vineyard next month and not in the traditionally coveted month of August.

Didn't Politico say that the Obamas had chosen a church and it was denied by the White House?

Yep - so who knows about this one. Tis plausible though.

Well, how many people can really get into Camp David? The members have to be the Obamas and the Camp David staff. I don't think I can visit that church. The bubble!!

Racial Profiling alive and "well":

"ATLANTA (Reuters) - U.S. authorities detain thousands of people each year solely on the basis of religion, race or nationality despite efforts by senior law enforcement officials and the government to stop it, the American Civil Liberties Union said.

An ACLU report said racial profiling was often applied to immigrants from South Asia and to North Africans suspected of being Islamic militants following the September 11, 2001, attacks carried out by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda militants.

The report, submitted on Tuesday to the U.N. Committee to End Racial Discrimination, said profiling could involve harassment, detention, arrest or investigation.

Many Latin American immigrants were also targeted for immigration violations while others, including black Americans, were profiled as suspected drug offenders, said the report, which did not provide precise figures. "
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idU...

------
http://panafya.com/
Fitness, health & wellness for black women

COONERY REPEATS ITSELF?

Catch the encore of the BET Awards '09 TONIGHT @ 6:30/5:30c!

NO THANKS! I'm still trying to climb out of Sunday night's VOC (Vortex of Coonery)

I have a need to really see if Taraji forgot to really announce the category of that award that she presented to Toya. You know she was fooling with that Tyrese/Ving Guns-Michael Jackson mess that I think she might have...or I was so appalled he was up there with that mess that I didn't hear her announce the category.

Hey Guys!

You Rock My World! Come on, lets work it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYv_32_i9Og

MICHAEL JACKSON VIEWING SET FOR NEVERLAND ON FRIDAY!

http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/06/michael-jacks...

I think I can let up on tweeting Sharpton now!
Bet you won't see DapDaddyJoeJackson in front of the camera anytime soon.

I was just getting ready to post this:
"According to press reports, the singer's family will organize a public viewing of his body at Jackson's Neverland ranch"

I cannot even begin to imagine this public spectacle...this will be gargantuan!

I wonder how many days the family has planned for public viewing on the 4th holiday weekend.

Goodness this is huge.

They have their Graceland.

We will have Neverland.

Well, you know MJ has to go out (temporarily) in the style and manner is which he lived (over the top). Just the sheer amount of time it has taken to plan this "event" says how much will go into it. There's a private ceremony Sunday, now just how can they stretch this time out until that concert date of July 13 in London? Just wondering...

Whatever comes before he goes into the ground (and if) this will be fantabulous. All part of strategy to stop the berater/haters and leading to martyrdom.

WE WILL HAVE NEVERLAND! SCHARTZENEGGER AIN'T CRAZY... the highway plans are on the drawing board as we speak.

Can you imagine the international flight bookings to LAX once this hits the wires?

Friday IS the official July 4 holiday isn't it. Great move!! Now eerybody will be home and not have to call in sick. I remember that Elvis caravan of white funeral cars and it took forever.

Whiterose, I'm still wondering if MJs body might not be laying in state in that concert in London on July 13. These peeps want to see MJ and the promoters don't want to pay them back. You know Mike is an international superstar.

Then he has to go to Gary and rest in peace until Neverland is finished and we move him there permanently. Weren't there problems with Elvis' gravesight before that moved him to Graceland? Can they actually just bury Mike at the local cemetery in Gary, I dont think so? STFU DapDaddyJoe who is not even in the Will.

I'm going!!!

Okay okay just kidding - MJ, I will be there in spirit...I hope it's tastefully done.

Unofficial national holiday. After the inauguration--oh no, TV coverage is just fine with me. I'll pop some corn. Neverland trek in 2 years.

Do you realize the amount of money AA families have spent taking their kids to Graceland? And Schwartzenegga standing there with his hand out for stimulus money too. MJ/Neverland just stimulated him to act.

Saw this story on a black entertainment blog:

Vibe Magazine folds

Vibe magazine shutting down
Jeff Bercovici
Jun 30th 2009
Vibe magazine, the urban-music magazine founded in 1993 by Quincy Jones, is the latest victim of the media recession. Multiple sources both within and outside the magazine confirmed that it is shutting down.

Reached for comment, chief financial officer Angela Zucconi said, "We will be making a statement by the end of the day. That's all I can say at this point." She referred further questions to CEO Steve Aaron, who was not immediately available. Messages left for editor in chief Danyel Smith and publishers Edgar Hernandez were not immediately returned. [Update: Media Decoder has official confirmation.]

Vibe enjoyed significant success in the late '90s and early part of this decade as hip hop and R&B became the nation's predominant forms of pop music. But in recent years the title has fallen on hard times under its new owner, the Wicks Group, which bought it in 2006. In February, it reduced its circulation and publishing frequency, cut salaries and moved employees to a four-day workweek to save money.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/06/30/vibe-mag...

VIBE should have shut down about 10 years ago.

Let's hope BET soon joins Vibe's rank

Looking at the scene outside of The Apollo....folks everywhere.

Where are you watching that?

CNN

(is Craig Hickman reading this?)

He's a captive tweeterer with Wimbledon going on. Obsessed with the game.

By the way Rikyrah, does JJP have any plans to move into Twitterworld?

LOL!

teehee...craig gonna send you to the corner NO cable TV for you!!

Listen up you Facebook junkies! As of June 24th, Facebook is making our status messages, videos, and photos available to not only the approved "friends" but the public at large. That's right, videos and photos of your kids, weddings, etc., and snarky remarks you've made are now all available for Average Joe and Susie Q's viewing pleasure. Aaaarrgghh! What happened to privacy!

http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/20...

misleading... by default it will be public, but you can change it. Just like myspace.

not at all. by default it has always been private, now "public" is default. As fb well knows, very few users take advantage of the privacy controls - now they will be responsible for making that decision - if they are even aware that it's a choice -- for each status update, video upload, and photo.

The lack of notice and comment by fb is also a bit disconcerting.

Does a person have to be an approved friend to get into the actual facebook page? How can that happen?

"Sanford said Chapur is his soul mate but he's trying to fall back in love with his wife."

GMAFB!!!!!!!!

I thought it was pretty funny. My favorite quote was this one "he is committed to reconciling with his wife in hopes of saving his family and what is left of his political career."

What he means is -- he is committed to saving what is left of his political career. To heck with his wife and kids because in the next breath he is rambling about other women he has been with but "not sexually" lolol and that this relationship was "more than" just sex.

The man is a lunatic. oust him from office, lock the doors and destroy his access keys and passcodes.

by next year he will be divorced
and prob married to his new woman
and still try to have a political career

Jenny shoulda opened up a can of Brenda Ritchie on his ass....

lol. Damn. Lionel's my guy. But I understand.

LMAO...where are my Louboutin's

Brenda Richie.....

Do it with me ladies....

Stand up.

Bow head.

Raise fist.
http://www.english.ucla.edu/ucla1960s/7071/ange...

ROTFLMBAO!!!!!!!

ok, I nearly choked on my fruit slad when I read this comment.

BWA HA HAH HA HA HA

Sanford also admitted he dallied with other women but never crossed the ultimate line. The panty line? Or maybe he was only eating.

yall im beginning to think he's getting ready to flip out
to how crazy he acted at the press conference
comparing himself to King David
volunteering info about other dallying and ain't nobody asked him for it
every time you look at him it looks like he's been crying
im really thinking he needs to see someone
i don't think he's with it right now

"volunteering info about other dallying and ain't nobody asked him for it"

lolol

I'll ask again..

Am I supposed to BELIEVE THAT SHYT?

I gotta ask.

Jesus Christ! He is something else! Divorce his ass!

Girl a man that crass and bold needs the Lorena Bobbitt special...

I say make him do something way old-school, like colonial era...

I wanna see his ass walk around with a Scarlet Letter up in the RNC convention...you know how those "family values" Rethugs are always up on some, "let's do shyt like our founding fathers, tea-party drivel and all that"....if you got caught out there, take it back 17th century and wear a Scarlet letter every day for the rest of your life.

Now we know why he was telling Maria, not to leave and stay for her sons...cause that was what he was doing. Somehow or another he loss sight of that.

did you see where he said ?
he kept asking his wife for permission to see the other woman?

how you gonna ask your wife some sh-t like that
is he playing with a full deck?

Well he asked because they probably have that type of relationship and it seems as if he received permission before in other instances so he figured why not ask in this case? I don't understand it myself but it isn't for me to understand. I guess thats how they roll.

That's what I'm talking 'bout! Lord Jesus, I wish a man wouuuuuuuuuld ask me permission to see another woman? Hear me? Humph!

You did read where Jenny not only told him no, but when the reports came in about Argentina..she said 'I didn't think he had it in him"

So, yeah, BF was asking for permission!!

Jenny may be a dominatrix!

now that you mention that
remember from the press conference where he said he had been crying for 5 days?
maybe he's the submissive one
he does seem kind of weak
maybe he likes to be spanked LOL

He better be glad he married Jenny and not me. Cause lord knows, I would take him back just to torture his ass. Ask rorysdaddy what would happen. I told him from day one, cheat if you wanna, but if I find out about it, just keep going. Don't fall for that baby I will take you back stuff. You will think Misery was a kiddie movie. Kathy Bates wouldn't have ish on me.

BOOTY CALL!

Hell muthaphuckin' NAW.

***Copied from Tuesday Open Thread***
BOOTY CALL.

If the stupid fuck is so much "in love", divorce the wife, and marry his one, true love...be not like King David, be like Edward VIII.

He won't, the stupid fuck.

Mark "IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!" Sanford.

It was a long time ago...but do you remember way back when this black man won a huge lottery and on stage he had his wife and new girlfriend? LMAO

OK...Jenny needs to come out in tomorrow and her statement should simply say "Mark has me fucked up with somebody else, I aint the one."

I bet that wife was happy..she knew she was getting money..and the woman was gone have HIM with the money. Wife knew she had the better deal.

lol lol

YES! He name was Curtis Sharp. He's broke now: http://weeklywire.com/ww/08-23-99/nash_cover.html

delete

Imagine that! Shocked I tell ya...just shocked!

EPA reveals the more high risk and hazardous coal ash sites...there are many in NC, KY, and AZ

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/s...

and from Salon:

EPA reveals 44 higher risk coal ash sites
By H. JOSEF HEBERT Associated Press Writer


Jun 29th, 2009 | WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday made public a list of 26 communities in 10 states where residents are potentially threatened by coal ash storage ponds similar to one that flooded a neighborhood in Tennessee last year.

North Carolina has the most sites on the list, a dozen. The largest concentration is near Cochise, Ariz., where there are seven storage ponds.

The agency said it will inspect each of the 44 coal ash sites located near communities to make certain they are structurally sound. The sites are being classified as potentially highly hazardous because they are near where people live and not because of any discovered defect.

"The high hazard potential means there will be probable loss of human life if there is a significant dam failure," said Matt Hale, director of EPA's office of research, conservation and recovery. "It is a measure of what would happen if the dam would fail. It is not a measure of the stability of the dam."

http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/2009/06/29/D994LE...

Here you go guys! Enjoy!


Hot damn.....Jermaine is too fine working that Guitar! :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZNgdJojNT4&feat...

OMG!! Justice you are bringing back so many wonderful memories!! Jackie was FIIINE in that green shirt...him and Marlon were so hot.

I suppose this must have been their first reunion after Gordy siphoned off Jermaine from the group? That family went through a lot with Motown..can't even imagine how much fireworks would be in the room betweeen Joe and Berry...hahahah...but Berry was a bigger reptile...he married Hazel off to Jermaine and made him family...what a masterstroke that had to be to ol Joe.

I remember those days so well.

I do not think that BET knows the true magnitude of their phuckup! They just created too much expectation around a talent that touched too many lives for too many generations and they are NEVA coming back from this stupendous failure...

Breaking News: Minnesota Supreme Court paves way for Democrat Al Franken to take Senate seat

Will Norm Coleman STFU or ...not

Minnesota Supreme Court Rules On Coleman's Appeal: He Lost, Franken Won The Election

By Eric Kleefeld - June 30, 2009, 2:08PM (TPM)

The Minnesota Supreme Court has handed down its much-expected ruling in the heavily-litigated Minnesota Senate race from 2008 -- and it's a unanimous one -- deciding against Republican former Sen. Norm Coleman's appeal of his defeat in the election trial and affirming the lower court's verdict that Democratic comedian Al Franken is the legitimate winner of the race.

The courts finds that "Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast and is entitled under Minn. Stat. § 204C.40 (2008) to receive the certificate of election as United States Senator from the State of Minnesota." This means that when Franken is ultimately seated, the Democrats will have 60 seats and be able to beat any Republican filibuster if they stay completely united (though good luck with that, obviously.)

It's been seven and a half months since Election Day, and five and a half months since the seat went vacant after Coleman's term expired -- but the state's process of recounts and litigation is now over, barring the unlikely event of a higher authority stepping in and forcing them to do more. Franken has won by 312 votes, out of roughly 2.9 million -- a difference of 0.011%.

The big question now is what comes next. Will Coleman concede, or will he take another path -- as national GOP leaders like Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) have urged -- and take this to federal courts, where he might try to get an injunction against Franken receiving a certificate of election? And if Franken does get his certificate, will the Senate GOP attempt to filibuster its acceptance?

Coleman's core issue during the litigation has been that more rejected absentee ballot envelopes that his campaign has identified should have been counted, and that the 14th Amendment requires the state to adopt a less strict standard for admitting these votes in. The rationale here is that various counties were lax in enforcing certain legal requirement, and therefore deficiencies in other ballots must be excused.

His campaign picked out about 4,400 out of 11,000 total outstanding ballots -- and has made the interesting claim that they don't know what's in these envelopes. It's very clear to any rational observer that both sides engaged in cherry-picking in selecting rejected ballots. And their claim was always a tough legal road to take.

The other possibility that they've floated throughout this process at various times is that it's impossible to truly know who won this election, and therefore the result should be thrown out ("set aside," in their words).

We'll see whether the national GOP goes to the mat any more than they already have for any or all of these claims, and how much longer this can get held up. Believe it or not, this is not actually yet the longest ongoing dispute over a Senate election since direct voting was brought in -- that "honor" belongs to the 1974 New Hampshire Senate race, which left the seat vacant through August 1975, when a temporary appointment was made, and then had a do-over election in September 1975.

I was watching Bill O'Reilley the other night--he said the President of Honduras was a "leftist" so the generals probably had a point in deposing him. No mention of the fact that the guy was duly elected, and is no murderous revolutionary or whatever.

Found this link in the comments section over at Ta-Nehisi Coates:

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
My Hero Ain't Molest Them Bitch Ass Kids: Phonte's teary-eyed tribute to The King

During his investigation for the Arvizo trial, Michael was examined by Dr. Stan Katz, a clinical psychologist who concluded that Michael didn’t fit the profile of a pedophile but instead that of a regressed 10 year old, an analysis which I agree with wholeheartedly. I mean after all, only a person with the simple, unsuspecting mind of a child could truly believe they could sleep in the same bed as their pre-pubescent buddies and not pay a price for it.

Still, the most saddening myth surrounding Michael’s life is that he was ashamed to be Black. During the mid 80’s, in the midst of his ever-changing skin complexion and facial features, popular opinion in the Black community was that Mike was a sellout. This was an opinion that would unfortunately haunt him for the rest of his life, but a closer look reveals quite the opposite.

As echoed by my man Scorpeze of the house music duo Windimoto in his excellent blog, Michael Jackson never tried to disown or separate himself from his Blackness at any point in his career. In fact, he was probably the most openly pro-Black pop entertainer of his time. Michael Jackson ashamed to be Black? I mean, this was the same guy who:

-portrayed Black people as kings and queens in ancient Egypt ("Remember the Time" video)
-called Tommy Mottola (his then label boss) a devil and a racist
-sang "white man's gotta make a change" live on the Grammies in '88
-sang about a beautiful African woman in "Liberian Girl"
-featured an African chant at the end of "Wanna Be Startin Somethin"
-donated over $25 million to the United Negro College Fund
-sang "I ain't scared of no sheets" in "Black or White" and upped the ante by morphing into a BLACK PANTHER at the video's end
-wrote a song called "They Don't Really Care About Us," with a Spike Lee-directed video that featured prisoners raising the Black power fist
-uhhh “We Are The World” and USA for Africa, anyone?

What about this man wasn’t Black enough? Was it his battle with vitiligo and how it caused skin discoloration? Was it his excessive facial surgeries, due I’m sure in no small part to the teasing and ridicule he faced about his looks as a teenager?

Why did we turn our collective backs on a man who always reminded us that he never forgot who he was, or more importantly, whose he was?

This essay is my plea to all people who consider themselves a fan of Michael Jackson, but especially to Black people: Don't let them talk about our Brother. Don’t let his naysayers convict him of crimes that were never proven. Don't let people reduce the memory of one of our greatest heroes to that of a weird guy who wore a shiny glove and molested little boys.

When Elvis Presley died, did the media remember him as an overweight, drug-abusing racist who dated a 14 year-old, or was he eulogized as The King of Rock and Roll?

When Woody Allen dies, do you think the media will focus on the controversy behind him marrying his own stepdaughter, or on the films "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan" and how great they were? (Ditto for Jerry Lee Lewis, the rock and roll pioneer who married his 13-year old cousin.)

When people accuse Michael of being a pedophile or a child molester, ask them to provide hard evidence. Ask them to provide an opinion rooted in fact, rather than one based on gossip, hearsay, and conjecture. Chances are, they won't be able to. The Black community has done a great disservice in not reciprocating the love that Michael Jackson showed us when he was alive. The least we can do in honoring his death is ensure that his legacy is remembered properly for future generations.

Was Michael Jackson a weirdo? Of course he was a weirdo.

But maybe if you had been in the public eye since you were 7, had grown ass women throwing themselves at you since you were 13, suffered physical abuse at the hands of your father, watched your father and older brothers engage in sex with groupies on tour as a child, were called "Big Nose" and "ugly" by both family members AND fans, developed a skin disease that took away the one thing you repeatedly expressed your pride for, and spent the last half of your life as the most famous person on Earth, you'd probably be a bit of a weirdo too.

I am not attempting to paint Michael Jackson as a saint, as no man ever lives up to such a lofty title. But to me, the phrase “no good deed goes unpunished” seems to sum up Michael Jackson’s life more than ever.

Why would people try to tear down a man who constantly used his power, money, and influence to help others?

Why would people express such disgust and contempt for a man who constantly sang of love and peace, and used his talent to entertain, uplift, and inspire millions?

Tell em that its human nature, I suppose...

Rest in Peace, Brother Michael. I love and miss you dearly.




The rest of this piece is here:

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=b...

**Tears**

Love You, Michael!

Right on! Tell them that it's Human Nature!

I try to focus on MJ's music, just like i try to focus on my favorite dance theatre company, or how Serena & Venus play on the tennis court.

That's how I know them, that's how I appreciate them..beyond that, their world is a mystery and I like playing dumb that way.

All the mystery is what it took for them to get to those levels of MASTERING their craft.

Wonderful writeup. It always bothered me that the media would call him WackoJacko and not focus on his tremendous humanitarian efforts. I did not beleive Michael loathed his race either. I always noticed that the entire family had nose jobs even Joe Jackson, and that the family ridicule was what probably made each and every one of them have rhinoplasty. It is a sad commentary on our society and the emotional pathology within families.

I use to wonder, what it must be like to be a child born into the family after all that rhinoplasty and have to wonder who you looked liked? Couldn't imagine the family having to pull out the photoalbum to show you how you looked just like they USE to. Child would be immediately damaged and have only one question...when can I get my nose done, mommy?

The author forgot to add: featured a flawless ebony Naomi Campbell as his love interest for the "In The Closet" video

It is absolutely senseless how beautiful she is in that dang video.

LOL! Naomi was soooo HOT in that video.... we're talking girl crush, for sure.

She was my Christy doll come to life!

Beautifully FLAWLESS! :-)))

thankyou:)

Wow, that's a good read. I always wondered about that case-I mean really, if a man molested my child, there's NO amount of money that could make me overlook it.