America in 2016 feels a lot like Germany in 1919.

The most troubling part of having to deal with the thought of a president elect trump, is not that he actually won the whole thing. That's because in spite of what all  of the  pundits and pollsters like to say, that was not totally unexpected. If you understand anything about the history of this country, you always knew that there was going to be a white backlash after the first African American president. 

So no, that wasn't the most troubling aspect of this alt-right presidency . What has been most troubling is America's push to normalize the thought of a president trump. If you watch the mainstream news and listen to "mainstream" pundits these days, you will hear a lot about the trump policies; the trump candidate; and the trump doctrine as it relates to foreign policy. This is the type of debate we would expect to be having if a republican candidate with a different political ideology and different views of running the government had won. (Think Mitt Romney or John McCain.) But what we are dealing with here is not simply someone with a different view about governing, what we are dealing with is an individual who is temperamentally unfit to even serve as our president.

I suspect that this is what Germany felt like from 1919 until 1933. The German people were the last to see it coming.  After all, extreme nationalism and Pan- Germanism can't hurt anyone can it? I mean, Adolf just used the anti-Semitism thing to consolidate power and get the German people to feel better about themselves, right?

Sorry America, like Germany, by the time  this all hits you it will be too late.

When I see people like Oprah on national television saying to "give trump a chance" , I want to refer her to her friend, Dr Phil. It's easy for her to give peace a chance, she has a billion reasons not to feel any pain from  what Führer trump and his band of merry men will unleash on the rest of us. It's always easier to want to hold hands and sing kumbaya when you have made millions by being America's warm and fuzzy mammy.

Poor Oprah , she always wants us to be "optimistic", and now she wants us to be "optimistic" about trump.

Yeah whatever, Oprah. You take "a deep breath"and think about who you are asking us to "give a chance." The same guy who mocks disabled people; questioned the legitimacy of our first black president;  made light of the pain of a Gold Star family; and refused to rent properties to people of color. This is the guy you want us to give a chance to be our president?  Not going to happen. He will be sworn in as the 45th president, and he has the electoral college votes to say that---- under our current system--- he won, legitimately, but don't ask me to accept him as my president. I won't be like those Germans were back in 1933.  

Mark Singer knows Donald trump more than most people, and this is what he says:

 “I don’t really lump myself in the same humanity that possibly he belongs to.”

Sadly, whatever humanity he belongs to will be running things for the next four years.  
  

   

"When keeping it real goes wrong."

  I read an interesting post over at Siditty's blog and I thought that  I would share it with you.

If you are a hard working field Negro and you have achieved some success in your life, I believe that you can relate to what she is writing about.

"We all know that in America they way whites obtain success and black people obtain success are two different things. Hard work, nepotism, social class, and white privilege are keys to white success. For black people it is hard work, advanced education, more experience, few or no mistakes in their career, and sheer luck.

Some blacks manage to get ahead. Some do it by assimilating into "mainstream culture", some manage to just work hard and move ahead, but for every black that manages to get ahead, there are others who never seem to make it. Lack of opportunities due to social class, educational opportunities, and the realization that to make it is almost impossible in some instances, keep many from succeeding.

When you do succeed, you still fail, because for all your hard work, and your ability to make it, there is going to be some who didn't make it who feel you turned your back on them. Black people are the only race of people who expect a person to become successful to "keep it real". The problem is that sometimes "keeping it real" goes wrong.

You can't expect someone to leave the ghetto to go to school, and then come back to the same damn ghetto and succeed. If you surrounded yourself with people in high school whose ambition in life it was to sling dope on the streets, you can't go back to that and do well. If your neighborhood was filled with men who hang out in front of the liquor store all day, you can't come back to that and do well. St. Ides is not going to help keep your brain cells in tact. So you can't kick it with the boys who drink St. Ides all day long. The only thing you can do is help those who don't do that. You can show a high school student the steps needed to take to get into college or vocational school, because their school won't or their parents just don't know. You can tell a elementary and middle school students the importance of an education, and what to do and where to go if they are struggling, or their parents can't or won't help them. You can tell some of those liquor store men about Job Corps and how to apply. You can tell families about resources available to them to help them get their loved one out of in front of the liquor store, but you cannot save everyone. You can only save those who want to be saved. To succeed, you cannot surround yourself with failure and negativity on a constant basis.

I hate to say this, but in this country we can't be exactly like white people and isolate ourselves into our own community. We need those white corporations, companies, and employers to get ahead until we can start our own businesses. I am not an advocate of isolation, but I do understand that in order to rebuild black communities, we need to look at forming successful black businesses, and right now we need to model ourselves after the traditional business model, and the only way to do that is to work for those companies, learn how they work, and then bring that back to the community. So yeah, we are going to have to "sell out" and go work for the white man so we can learn.

Another thing that irks me is if white people like a black person, that black person is automatically an Uncle Tom. Oprah can't help that white women love her. They like her because she doesn't seem like a threat. I think Oprah knows this, and she is knowing it all the way to the bank. One thing I will say is that Oprah sticks to her guns. She decided a long time ago she wasn't going to continue with the tabloid spin of her talk show when she first came out. Remember Oprah was the momma of the talk shows as we know them today, even Jerry Springer. Oprah used to be on par with the other talk shows. She used to have the KKK on her show spouting "white power". She had the black militants on her show as well. Did she let them duke it out on her show, let's keep it real, she still had some standards, but needless to say, she kept it a little trashy to keep up ratings. She hasn't had to go Jerry to keep her viewers, and the white woman loved has only recently waned, but think about it, we are 20 something years of the same show. She doesn't do a show to necessarily to appease them, if that was the case she would have had Sarah Palin on her show, instead she does shows that interest her, and let's face it over 20 years and several billions dollars more in worth, her interests have changed. I don't think Oprah has become a mammy to white woman, she is now showing her elevation in class, and sometimes she is out of touch. If I were a billionaire, I would dare say I might be a clad out of touch with the reality of the middle class on occasion as well. She has mammified the white women who love her, not become a mammy to them.

Living in the suburbs, the way you talk, managing to get out of a low income area, or never living in a low income area, becoming successful, and having white friends does not make you a sell out. What makes you a sell out is the mentality of thinking that you are somehow better than another person because you got lucky. Yes some people live in the ghetto because they are lazy, but take into consideration many or most aren't, and those that are lazy are dealing with generations of a mentality and surroundings that give them a sense of hopelessness. If you lose touch with humanity, that makes you a sell out.
Ultimately to become a success as a black person is almost a curse because you never ever truly fit in with your white co-workers and neighbors (they never forget about your blackness, and when they do, they actually notice it) and you don't fit in with the "down" black folk. You are on your own, hoping for the best. " [Source] 

Well of course "keeping it real" does not have to mean keeping it stupid.

You should work hard and aspire for all the finer things in life, but you should never lose sight of who you are in the world and what it took for you to get where you are.

Thoughts?

*Pic from youtube.com.


  

The soapbox is yours.

I am not going to post anything tonight because I want you field hands to do some thread jacking.


But first, I have a couple of questions for you.


The first one is for you black folks who come to the fields:


What do you think about Pharrell's comments to Oprah about being "new black"?


Is he speaking truth, or is he just another rich black person with no clue about what's going on in the real America?


This is what someone commenting over at Bossip had to say:


 "I like Pharrell and I really appreciate that he thinks outside of the box but I think PR wise he needs to leave the subject of race alone cause things can get really inflammatory when you try to sanitize or "package" the black experience to caress and absolve white folks eardrums of their legacy of hatefulness. The insulated blacks that are living that life and are blessed to be in his position are always kowtowing and pandering to the notion that white folks don't have zero, zip, zilch to do with why our communities are so torn and well…it's such a disgraceful lie. Whites have had a 400 year head start, jim crow,
institutionalized racism and have used colorism to keep blacks pressed through divide and conquer tactics. These are the facts so China "exotical" Pharrell can have a boy bye!"  Ouch!


The second question is for you white readers:


Do you believe that teacher Gil Voigt should have been terminated for his comments to a black student about president Obama? 


I am interested in all of your thoughts.




*Pic from Jarvez.com

Fifty Shades of Oprah, and a call for segregation at CPAC.

That boy Terrence Howard done lost his mind. I know he is supposed to be a big shot actor and all, but you don't go around messing with black royalty like Oprah.

"It appears that billionaire Oprah Winfrey has a sense of humor as large as her bank account. After actor Terrence Howard turned heads earlier this month mentioning Winfrey’s bosom while filming a love scene, the media mogul responded to Howard’s comments in an interview with Steve Harvey.
RELATED: The Strangest Chat With Terrence Howard Reveals His Cure For Cancer & Lust For Oprah

Last week, in an interview with Movie Fanatic on his upcoming film “The Butler,” which is directed by Lee Daniels, Howard said:
“To be able to make out with Oprah, to have love scenes with her and those tig ol’ bitties — she’s such a lovely and voluptuous woman. … She’s very, very, very beautiful, and that was wonderful.”

Keptman...I mean, Stedman is going to get with you boy. Leave that man's money....I mean woman alone.

"In an clip posted Friday morning, Harvey got straight to the point and asked Oprah about Howard’s questionable comments, with Oprah responding:

“It was supposed to be a little scene, and because Terrence Howard misbehaved, it turned into a bigger scene and then a bigger scene,” said Oprah.
Harvey comically interjected to which Winfrey said, “Oh, he’s a misbehaving kind of boy. I saw him on Twitter the other day talking about my breasteses.”
Harvey said he checked Howard on his statements, echoing a sentiment that many found his public adoration of Winfrey a bit inappropriate. After saying Winfrey could buy Howard’s next film, Winfrey said she wasn’t offended as many of her fans may have been.

“I wasn’t…you know what, some people called me saying they were all offended by it. I go, ‘Well, I do have big breasteses,” said Winfrey with a laid-back shrug."

Oprah, you shouldn't be talking like that. You must have been reading "Fifty Shades of Grey with all those white women.

Finally, they have been having fun down at CPAC. Why these republican blacks would even try to have a panel discussion on anything having to do with black folks is beyond me. I mean we are talking about CPAC attendees here.

So anyway, some loser named Scott Terry was looking for his 15 minutes and it looks like he got it.

"NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — A panel at the Conservative Political Action Committee on Republican minority outreach exploded into controversy on Friday afternoon, after an audience member defended slavery as good for African-Americans.

The exchange occurred after an audience member from North Carolina, 30-year-old Scott Terry, asked whether Republicans could endorse races remaining separate but equal. After the presenter, K. Carl Smith of Frederick Douglass Republicans, answered by referencing a letter by Frederick Douglass forgiving his former master, the audience member said 'For what? For feeding him and housing him?' Several people in the audience cheered and applauded Terry’s outburst.

After the exchange, Terry muttered under his breath, 'why can’t we just have segregation?'” [Source]

Mr. Terry, when I hear people like you I wonder the same thing.

*Top pic from NewsOne.com

Doggie "diss"?

Did I just watch Justin Bieber pull a wicked a cross-over on Common in the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game? Noooo!

Anyway, if you are a fan of Lady O, you might want to skip this post.

A few weeks ago I listened to Michael Vick do an interview with local sports talk show host, Mike Missanelli. He was asked about his upcoming interview with Oprah and if he knew about the bet she had with Piers Morgan as to who would get an interview with him first. Vick assured Missanelli that Ms. O would win because he didn't even know who Morgan was.

Well Michael, you probably should have gone with Morgan. Seems Vick pulled out of his interview with Ms. O because she was going to ambush him by bringing a dog lover who adopted one of his dogs on her show. (I wonder if she told that to Vick's people? I doubt it.)
Of course Ms. O was not pleased about the last minute cancellation which left her scrambling to replace him, and folks in the know say you don't diss Ms. O. Well, I am sorry, but unless she plans to strap em up and play defensive end for an NFC East team this upcoming season (if they have one) I wouldn't worry too much about Ms. O.

"After careful consideration, I will need to postpone the taping of the Oprah Winfrey interview scheduled for February 22. I admire and respect Oprah and hope to be able to participate in an interview in the future..."

Good move Mike, your Mom will be pissed, but nothing good could have come from that interview. I don't know why you agreed to it in the first place. At the end of the day, Ms. O is going to pander to her dog loving fans, and I can just imagine how that ambush would have gone. Great television for Oprah, but it might have been career suicide for you. Poor pet owners confronting angry black man (who might be getting angrier with every minute) you get the picture.

Anyway, now it seems that Ms. O is upset, and she told the Hollywood Reporter that she prepared for months for the sit down and even did a field trip to Philly with her staff. (*Yawn*) Trust me, she will get over it. The money spent on that field trip is a drop in a very large bucket to Ms. O.

As an Eagles fan I am glad it didn't happen, and if the Eagles themselves stepped in and said don't do it I can't say that I blame them. They are about to give Mike 20 plus million and possibly more down the road. After his meltdown -or if he comes off looking like a jerk- Ms. O won't even give Vick a second thought. She will be long gone and looking for her next Dr. Phil or Rachael Ray.

Keith is gone, and black folks need not apply.

Keith Olbermann is out and already some of you Negroes are hoping for a black replacement at MSNBC. It Won't happen. So stop getting your hopes up. You Negroes need to stop begging "the man" to give you shine, and start trying to get your own television stations, (Shout out to David Honig) and supporting the ones that are already here. (I am talking TV One. I am still not down with BET just yet. Sorry Bob.)

Still, if they do decide to go black I would just looove for them to go with my man Tavis.....NOT! That is the last Me-Gro I want to see representing black folks every night. Roland Martin? Hmmm, Roland is OK, but my man will have to work on those suits. Roland, it's called a suit, not a straight jacket....OK let me stop.

I wonder if a black anchor at one of these cable shows would be talking about the bomb that was found in Washington? The lame stream media sure is quiet about it. Or, the cop from the "windy city" who was doing his best John Demjanjuk impersonation on black folks for years. I guess racial tensions and hate groups aren't selling in A-merry-ca these days. One political act of terror is enough for now. We are just getting over Tucson, we can't overload the public. There is just so much hate we can take here in A-merry-ca. You can't pursue happiness when you are hating anybody.

Oh well, that's all from me folks. I will just watch some games today while I anxiously await Oprah's big announcement about her family secret on Monday. It's going to be tough holding my breath so long.

Somebody is hearing it.

I see that Ms. Thing finally went on her dream date with Jackie Jackson after all these years. Nice. When are you Negroes going to try and get me a hook up with Lark? That's the least you could do for a brotha toiling out here in the fields. You mean to tell me that not one of you people know Lark? Or, someone who knows someone who knows her?
Anyway, enough of that. Now on to some more serious matters: I see that a certain wingnut "bloviator" still has O man assassination issues. What gives, here? I mean this has been going on for awhile with this guy. I know I know, if you say it enough and all that stuff, but this is beginning to become a dangerous obsession. Hey Glenn, I don't hear the dog whistle, but I am sure that somebody out there does.

This post is from Jerry Bowles, who seems a lot angrier about this than I am:

"If you check the Google and Twitter trend charts, one of the hottest viral memes running around the internet right now is the Biblical verse Psalm 109:8 which has started popping up on bumper stickers and t-shirts with the seemingly harmless directive to Pray for Obama. Sounds benign enough and the verse itself seems to be a harmless piece of rightwing wishful thinking: "May his days be few, may another take his office."
Where it becomes seditious and anti-American are the lines that immediately follow that one:

“May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.

May his children be wandering beggars;
may they be driven from their ruined homes.”

Friends, it does not get any uglier than this. As Frank Schaeffer, author of Patience with God: Faith for People who Don’t like Religion or Atheism, said on the Rachel Maddow show:

"...This is the American version of the Taliban. The Taliban quotes the Qu'ran, and al Qaeda quotes certain verses in the Qu'ran, in or out of context, calling for jihad, and bloody war, and the curse of Allah on infidels. This is the Old Testament, Biblical equivalent of calling for holy war. Now, most Americans'll just see the bumper sticker and smile and think that it's facetious. Unfortunately, there are 22 million Americans or so who call themselves super-conservative evangelicals. Of this, a small minority might be violent. But, the general atmosphere here is really getting heated.

And what surprises me is that responsible, if you can put it that way, Republican leadership and the editors of some of these Christian magazines, etc. etc., do not stand up in holy horror and denounce this. You know, they're always asking 'Where is the Islamic leadership denouncing terrorism? Why aren't the moderates speaking out?' Well, I challenge the folks who I used to work with... I would just say to them: 'Where the hell are you? This is not funny anymore. And be it on your head if something happens to our President..." [Link]

Relax Jerry, he isn't as powerful anymore, maybe they will leave him alone now.

Finally, in my ongoing effort to be "fair and balanced", I would like to leave you with a commentary from a black republican that someone sent me. (h/t Mike)

"The message from voters in the 2010 election was two-fold: a rejection of President Barack Obama's job-killing Socialist agenda and a denunciation of the Democratic Party's divisive politics of race-baiting. The accusation by Democrats that the Republican Party is a racist party was exposed, once again, to be absolutely false when these three black Republicans, shown below, won their elections and were added to the long list of black Republicans already serving in elected positions in multiple states at various levels of government. Newly elected to Congress are Tim Scott in South Carolina and Allen West in Florida. Also in Florida, Jennifer Carroll became that state's lieutenant governor, the first black woman Republican ever elected to this position. These victorious candidates received scant media coverage since they contradict the image promoted by Democrats that the Republican Party is racist.
During the election, Obama and his fellow Democrats tried to avoid the political tsunami by resorting to acts of desperation, including scraping the bottom of the Democratic Party's racist barrel. Blacks in Florida were startled and incensed when former President Bill Clinton, at the apparent behest of Obama, tried to get black Democrat U. S. Rep. Kendrick Meek to drop out of the race for U. S. Senate and endorse white Gov. Charlie Crist, the one-time Republican who ran as an independent after withdrawing from the Republican Party primary. There would have been a firestorm of charges of racism by the liberal media and black civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP, had a white Republican tried to force a black Democrat out of a race for any elected office.

So, what was a focus for the NAACP during the 2010 election? That once great organization was busily digging its own grave of irrelevancy by issuing a bogus and racially incendiary report written by far left wingers in the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. That report falsely accused the Tea Party activists of being racist because they oppose Obama's socialist agenda and want to reduce the size of our government, cut spending and keep our taxes low. Without a doubt, the NAACP report was a blatant attempt to get black voters to the polls by stirring up hatred against their fellow white Americans who Obama described as "the enemy." [More]

Tap tap, skip. Tap tap, skip. You hear that Obama? Leave those good "white Americans" alone, or those dog whistles could get louder.

I love this country.

A Kitty told me.

You all know me, I am not a blatherskite. I don't like to delve into the salacious and juciy gossip out there. Strictly the serious stuff like societal problems and politics for the kid.....OK OK, that's bullshit. I love a juicy story as much as the next guy. So with that in mind I have to write about Oprah and her former paramour.

Now there are strange couples and there are strange couples. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but Oprah and John Tesh just seems kind of strange. I know she likes her men tall but...

"Before Oprah loved Stedman, there was John Tesh.
An exclusive excerpt from Kitty Kelley's upcoming tell-all Oprah Winfrey biography claims the talk-show queen enjoyed a 1970s romance with an unlikely live-in lover: John Tesh.
The towering 6-foot-6 Tesh and a barely out-of-her-teens Winfrey shared her Nashville apartment until he bolted in the middle of the night, according to the first-ever look inside the book, obtained by the Daily News.
According to Kelley, the "social pressure" on an interracial couple in Tennessee at that time proved too much for Tesh to handle.
"He said one night he looked down and saw his white body next to her black body and couldn't take it anymore," another Tesh ex-paramour told Kelley." [story]

Oh lawd John, what were you thinking? Still, don't feel bad, I could have bought shares of Disney's stocks a few years back and I passed. You must have the same sinking feeling thinking about what could have been. Oprah!? Just think John, you let a little thing like interracial dating come between you and millions of dollars. Mr. and Mrs. John Tesh. That has a nice ring to it. But sorry, it's too late to get her down the aisle, now. Just ask Stud...I mean Stedman.

Kitty Kelley, I sure hope you ain't lying about the "Queen of daytime." Because if you are, she will sue your ass and it won't be pretty. And I can't say that I would blame her. I mean just imagine, you put something like this out there and the next thing you know it will show up on all types of blogs.

Give me chicken or give me death!

Ahhh hell no! Sorry, I am going to have to get with my patio dwelling friend, Oprah, on this one.

Oprah, have you lost your mind? Why are you lending your name to a KFC giveaway? I know times are hard and I guess you want us black folks to eat right by eating that new grilled chicken they are serving up (not going to work, my cousins love them some fried chicken and the original recipe too damn much), but you have got to stop it. Your little stunt damn near caused the folks in New York to have to call the National Guard. FREE CHICKEN? IN THIS ECONOMIC CLIMATE? AND IN NEW YORK? Oprah that's just asking for trouble. Some news outlets are even saying that your giveaway, or lack of it, sparked "civil rights era protest" . CIVIL RIGHTS ERA PROTEST OVER SOME DAMN CHICKEN? So this is how a revolution starts: Promise a bunch of chicken loving A-murder-cans freebies and not deliver.

Black folks are crying "fried chicken racism." Come on field, it is racism. I bet if they had freebies at Starbucks they wouldn't run out. Can't you see it field, it's the man trying to keep us chicken lovers down. Oprah should be ashamed of herself. Well yeah, she should be ashamed of herself. But it should be for agreeing to do this promotion with KFC in the first damn place. Like she needs the money. *

Look Oprah, you don't need this right now. Not when some of my blogging buddies have been ripping you---and rightfully so--- for supporting the latest in a line of celebrity loons.

And black folks can we talk? What the hell is it with you all and these damn chickens? (Even though all I see are white people in *this pic. [Except for my two cousins in the back. Get out people!]) Field don't front like you don't love you some chicken. OK I won't front. I love me some chicken, too. But damn it I won't stage a sit in if I can't get a two piece with two sides. That shit is embarrassing. And white folks if any of you were involved you ought to be ashamed of your damn selves as well. In fact, I know some of you were involved because the free coupons were on Oprah's site and you all love Oprah.

Oh well, all is well that ends well. I think Queen O has said they are getting things together and everyone will be able to get their free chicken. The president of KFC has issued a formal apology, and A-murder-ca is back to normal. No more chicken riots.

Go figure, swine flu and chicken riots. I know one thing; I would rather be a pig than a chicken in A-murder-ca right about now.

Is one of the "Kings of Comedy" a fraud?

I get e-mails from friends and readers all the time turning me on unjust things that have happened to different people in these divided states of A-merry-ca. (Like the story on my sidebar about the Scott sisters. And I am still waiting to hear from Abilene Christian University after hearing from the former African American head of their student body, Daniel Paul Watkins, who was, in his words, removed from his position without good cause) One such e-mail was from Tracy Carson, whose mother, Sharon P. Carson, recently wrote a book about African American relationships. Problem is, the famous comedian Steve Harvey just wrote a book that is very similar, not only in title but in content. So in the words of another famous comedian: it makes me want to go hmmmm.

Here is Ms. Carson's press release:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Mar 01, 2009 – Did Steve Harvey copy the book title Act Like A Lady Think Like A Man And theme from an earlier book? Book with same title & theme copyrighted and published by Sharon P. Carson in 2003 CHICAGO, IL – Sharon P. Carson the author of the original title; Act Like A Lady –Think Like A Man, watched the February 27th episode of the Ophra [sic] show on which Steve Harvey was promoting his book of the same title. She was hoping that Steve would reveal to Oprah where he got the title and the theme for the book. It just seemed odd to her that his book had the same title and theme as her book that was copyrighted in 2003. Thinking of all the self - published poets and authors like herself who have a hard time finding publishers for their materials, she was hoping for perhaps some recognition that the idea for the book might have come from her, especially since upon subsequently purchasing the book, she found some interesting parallels. But then she thought that it was not unusual for a high profiled person to take a great title and theme, rewrite a book and use their celebrity to sell it. This she says happens too often to the unsung poets, authors and entrepreneurs of the world. Steve wrote in his book that his hope was to “empower you with a wide-open look into the minds of men”. Sharon P. Carson wrote in her book in 2003 that women need to gain some insight into how men think in terms of relationships. Sharon also noted that in chapter 8 of Steve Harvey’s book titled “Why Men Cheat” he came to the same conclusion that she did in chapter 37 of her book, titled “Why would a man cheat”; “because they can”.

Sharon actively promoted her book before the release in January 2009 of Steve Harvey’s book and would not like to see her promotion efforts hindered. She feels that her book has much to offer from a woman’s perspective and seeks empower women to practice self love and tough love in relationships. Before the publication of Steve Harvey’s book of the same title, Sharon bought the domain name; http://www.actlikealadythinklikeaman.com/ from which she has been selling her book. She has also held seminars with women at a Chicago University in promotion of her book and can be viewed on the following youtube clip as she was being interviewed on a cable television program about her book in 2007 ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxVVQX15X2Y. Sharon hopes that her earlier book with the same title will finally receive the recognition it deserves and is currently consulting with attorneys regarding her options."

Ms. Carson, if it is in fact true that Steve Harvey got his idea for his book from you, it is not right and you should be compensated. Personally, I really hope that Steve Harvey knew nothing about Ms. Carson's book before he wrote his own. (I hear a movie might even be in the works) But here is hoping that if he did get his ideas from Ms. Carson he will come clean.

As a blogger who encourages independent publishing, it would be disappointing to see someone use their celebrity to take advantage of the hard work that someone else did.

Oprah has already been duped once on her show, I would hate to see it happen to Ms. Thing again.

"You Go Girl!"

Ms. O is currently my field Negro of the day. Ironically, it's for something completely different than what I am going to post about.

Now let me be clear; I have killed Ms. O in the past. Primarily for her weak ass book club and the phony picayune authors she has trotted out to us. But today I have come to praise her O ness. Today, I am a fan. Today, l will be like the rest of her millions of adoring subjects, and say, "You go Girl."

Why am I so happy? Because Ms. O (at least for now) said no to the beauty queen. Ms. O stood by her principles, and refused to let this poor excuse for a human being spread her putrid beliefs to her audience, and the rest of A-merry-ca. This, in spite of various outlets and pundits telling her to reconsider her position. Think of the ratings they say, you could win back conservative women who abandoned you after you supported Obama, they say; and on and on.

But so far you have stood your ground. ( I love how you got with [sl]Drudge] You don't need the beauty queen on your couch, or the ratings that her appearance would bring. Honestly, Ms. O, you don't need the money. You could retire and run off to your own private island with your boy Stud-man, and tell A-merry-ca to kiss your rather ample ass. So don't give in. I am sick of people with power and influence in this country selling out. (If I were "like Mike", I would probably shoot myself. What a phony!) It's nice to see someone stand up for what they believe in for once. Ms. O, we all know you supported his "O" ness, so how can you help his opponent get more votes? Hell, I am just starting to forgive you for putting the frat boy on your show and helping him get over the top. Don't make that mistake again. A-merry-ca can't afford four more years of a wise cracking intellectual lightweight. One was enough.

The Ladies Man.

I have to give it to the "O" man, because with all due respect to Tim Meadows, he is the true "ladies man". I mean Oprah, Maria Shriver,Caroline Kennedy, and Michelle? What we have here is a presidential candidate really going hard after the female vote. And he has to. With Hillary crying at every turn, and Maxine Waters and even [M]ann Coulter supporting her, poor "O" man has to really pull out all the stops in order to compete with Hillary for the support of those folks who belong to the feminine gender.

It was a powerful moment in Pauley Pavilion last night, and you couldn't escape the symbolism. All those pwerful women standing together for the "O" man among a sea of Obamaholics. Their message was clear; it's alright to support him ladies, he is in touch with his feminine side.

I have been thinking about the "O" man's message of unity; and, not only will he be bringing black and white folks together, but he will be bringing men and women together as well. Who says women are from Venus? With the "O" man our planets are aligned. We can finally reach out from Mars and embrace our feminine sides.

Thank you "O" man!

I couldn't make this shit up: Please buy the book.

I was kicking it with an old colleague today and we were exchanging war stories about life on the domestic relations front. He was amazed that I have been able to hang in there for so long, and do the job that I do. All that anger, all that hostility, and all that emotional baggage people bring to the table day in and day out. So fam wanted to know when the book was coming out.


Later on in the day I found myself thinking; what if there was a book, what would I write about?

Would I write about the 28 year old grandmother who appeared and demanded that the court act more responsibly in finding the defendant in her case? Would I write about the half brother and half sister who appeared as parents in a case, and didn't know that they were related until their son was born? A son, by the way, who is on SSI for obvious reasons . Apparently, their father had laid his seed all over the city, and they had never found out about each other until it was too late. I could also dedicate a page or two to the gentleman who fathered six children by six different women, (Five of them receiving cash assistance from the state) and still found time to hit on some of the female workers in our court. Yeah my man was funny.


Then I could dedicate an entire chapter to all the defendants out here who are paying support for children that more than likely aren't theirs. How do I know? Let's just say that when a plaintiff comes in on three different cases and all three of the defendants are excluded as the father after they opt for a DNA test, but a fourth defendant doesn't take the test and starts paying support. It's a pretty good chance that contestant number four might not be the father either. Then I could write about the ones who actually take the test, are excluded, but they are ordered to pay support anyway because they had held themselves out as the father to begin with. (Hey, "the law can be an ass" what can I tell you?)


I would dedicate another chapter to female defendants (Kitty feel free to comment after this post) and how hard it is to get them to pay child support. "I carried that child for nine months, I will be damned if I am going to pay support to a no good father who wasn't in his life for the first few years." In that same chapter, I would talk about the differences between sisters and white women. A sister will always be willing to come down on the child support order if the brother will just agree to spend more time with the child. Not a white woman, she will come to court with two lawyers if she has to get every penny that she thinks is owed to her. Now to be fair, this might be an economic phenomenon. Because I have seen wealthier sisters do the same thing. It seems that the poorer the litigants the more they are willing to come to a compromise and have outside agreements with each other. Which is somewhat ironic, because you would think the folks that needed the money the most would be willing to fight harder for every penny that's owed to them.


Finally, I think I would close the book by writing about all the wonderful grandparents (particularly grandmothers) who are holding it down out here, and who are increasingly becoming custodial parents of their own grand children. Most of these children were abandoned because their parents were either on drugs, in jail, or were just incapable of holding it down. Grandparents, by the way, make very good plaintiffs. They always cooperate with the court, and you can tell they always have the child's best interest at heart. Hey considering what the body of the book will be like, it will be important to end it on a positive note.


Now if I can just find a publisher and a way to promote this bad boy. Hey is Oprah still in South Africa?

I have to leave the bandwagon: But I could be back.

I got an e-mail from a friend of mine from D.C. today. The guy has never been politically active, but he was asking me to join him on the Obama team, and sign up as a volunteer with the campaign. I still haven't responded to fam, and I probably won't until after the 2008 elections.

Sorry, but with all due respect to Oprah, I am just not feeling Obama. Lord knows I have tried, and given the choice of candidates, I really wanted to support the guy. But....I have to keep it real with you, I just can't get up for him. It's kind of analogous to this: You have a really hot cousin, and you could really get with her on a physical tip. But one day you are both alone, and just when the sparks start to fly, you remember that she is your cousin, and... well, "Mr. Johnson" won't stand at attention if you get my drift. Obama is that hot cousin; nice to look at and says and seemingly does all the right things, but.....I just feel like "weeping for brunhilde,"who says she gets the practical pragmatic Obama, but not the passionate idealistic one. That's me right now, the brother is just not moving me, he is not making my Johnson stand up.

Maybe it's because I know in my heart that he can never win. Maybe if he really had a shot I would be more passionate about him, but you and I both know that he can't win, and that's why that part of my brain keeps saying don't waste your time with this guy. Not in 2008. Maybe in 2024, but not 2008, America just ain't ready for such a historic event yet. A woman Prez is a bit more acceptable now. "But field you are such a flip flopper, weren't you on board with Obama at one point?" Yep, and right about now I am jumping right off the good ship"O". Hey, I could change my mind three or four more times before I actually cast my vote, so don't trip.

I think at the end of the day, I might just end up supporting the ice Queen. After all, what's that saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend?" Lord knows my enemies hate Hillary. Hell that's reason enough to vote for her from where I sit. I would do it just to piss off all those whacked out Hillary and Bill haters out there. Four more years of another Clinton. Yep, I can live with that. After eight years of the frat boy, I can damn near live with anything.

The Field Negro Dilemma

"Nothing a white man with a penny hates more than a nigger with a nickel" ~~Chris Rock~~

I know this very old gentleman in Louisiana, who does very well for himself. He dropped out of school in the eight grade to work in the fields, and while working as a farm hand for a very wealthy white family he taught himself auto mechanics by working on farm tractors and other equipment.

So this man eventually started his own automotive business and became very well to do. Although watching the way he lived, you would never know it. I once asked him why he lived such a spartan existence in spite of his obvious wealth, and he told me somtething that reminded me of the Chris Rock joke. "I can't got around here acting like I have more money than my white customers, hell, they would never come back to my business."

Anyway, I thought about that man and the Chris Rock joke again while debating a white blogger on Maryscott's excellent web site, My Left Wing. There I was again caught up in a debate with someone from the majority population ("every time I try to get out, they pull me back in") about the same sh**, that we argue about every time. If it's not, "why do you call yourself the field negro, that is so 1950's? Or why don't you people stop playing the victim role and pull yourselves up by your boot straps? Racism does not exist anymore, it's all in your minds. " And so it goes, back and forth with people who don't get it and never will.

But then when you make the argument that you are not a victim, and that you are not some woe is me handkerchief head Negro, that's when you get the I know you are a "nigger with a nickel" argument, and that's when the venom really flies. Because what the f**k are you doing advocating for black causes on the Internet when you are one of the Negroes who made it? Hell, you might even make more money that I do Negro, so you got a whole lot of f*****g nerve crying racism and inequity in our society when your black ass made it. So you see the Catch 22 here, you can't win if you are a field Negro with house Negro money, or a house Negro comfort level. If you have house Negro money you should think like the house Negro and not care about Negroes who are left behind in the fields. Because after all, you could be in the house too, you just choose to be in the fields.

What these narrow minded individuals don't and will never get, is that as a person of color I don't see myself as just an individual; I see myself as being part of a larger group, a collective. And because of the f****d up way we are in this society, so does every one else.
Don't tell me that every black person in this country wasn't on pins and needles when the shooting went down at Virginia Tech. From Oprah, to Colin Powell, to Condi Rice, they were all saying; "please Lord don't let this shooter be a Negro." And yep, my black ass was saying it too. How do you think I felt when I found out that one of the D.C. snipers was not only black, but was a Jamaican to boot. A double whammy for the field. It's why black folks who couldn't stand O.J.'s house Negro ass cheered like crazy when he was found not guilty, even though Helen Keller could see that the mother f****r did it. Its that collectivism that drives white folks and some black folks crazy. But the sad thing is, that they view us as a collective as well. Don't for a minute think that the black thug pictured on the front page of the local paper, who assaulted the little old lady, is any different than field Negro, attorney, in the majority population's eyes . Ask Oprah, her black ass got shaded in a high end department store just like Shanequa from North Philly. Why? Because her ass is black that's why, and she is a part of the collective. Yeah Oprah, your black ass might be worth a billion, but when that store clerk sees you coming, she still sees a black person first.

But can you imagine if Oprah was in a chat room and trying to agitate or make an argument in support of black people? "Oprah how dare you say there are problems in America, you are worth billions, you have more money than I ever will and I am white." Hey America can't be all that bad, your black ass seems to be doing alright." All the time Ignoring the fact that Oprah is one out of 13 million.

"Oh field Negro, you are just playing the angry black man role, what do you have to be angry about? You seem to be doing pretty well yourself. Stop playing the victim, you are not a victim buddy, you probably make more money than I do."

But let me paraphrase my man, potential baby daddy, Chris Rock again: "So do you want to trade places with me 'Charlie' since I make more money that you do? Ahhh no field, I think I will stick this white thing out".

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Looking for Love!

Ahhhh another day out in the fields, and the field negro is trying to catch some down time. As usual, I head over by the house to see if massa has thrown out his news paper so I can catch up on my reading. To my dismay, massa has only thrown out the classified section.-it seems he gave the rest of the paper to the house Negroes. Oh well, the field will make do with what he has.

Let's see now......oh, what do we have here? It's the dating section of the classifieds.
This might be kind of interesting, let's take a look.

SBF seeks SWM or SWF: Must be educated, have a love for Alabama football, as well as world affairs and politics. I have a hectic work schedule so my ideal mate must be very flexible and understanding. I also love to shop for shoes, and play the piano, so my mate must have patience and an appreciation for the fine arts.
If interested, please call Condi at ***-***-****

SBF seeks SWM for love and companionship : He must be a christian, and have a deep and profound love for God almighty. He must understand that God is the center of our universe and he will cure all the evils of the world. Including, with our prayers, changing the pigmentation of my skin someday. So my mate must understand, that although I am a BF now, hopefully, I won't always be this way, and one day, I will be as pure as the driven snow. Free from the sin and curse of being black that I was unfortunately born with.
If interested, please call La Shawn at ***-***-****

SBM seeks SWF: Must be tall athletic, and love the blues. After all, I from Memphis, and we love the blues and barbeque's there. My ideal mate must love people of all races, and be good with children. As I plan to have many. She must be patient and understanding, as I do not plan to get married until after November, 2006.
If interested, please call Harold at ***-***-****

MWM seeks SBF,SWF,MBF,MWF,SLF,MLF....you name it: Needed for tryst. Must be discreet as well as willing to travel, and meet new and interesting people.
If interested, please call Bill at ***-***-****

SBF seeks SBM for possible life time commitment: Must be loving,caring, and not wasteful with money. Must be dark handsome, and articulate. (I tried light didn't like it) My ideal mate does not have to have any previous work experience as he will be a stay at home husband. He must be understanding and be able to deal with the demands of my career. He must also be scandal free, with no illegitimate children, and willing to sign a prenup. An appreciation for reading would also be nice.
If interested, please call Oprah at ***-***-****

SBF seeks SBF for love and companionship: She must be patient, willing to listen, and most of all be drug free. Size, weight, and looks do not matter.
If interested, please call Whitney at ***-***-****

S?? seeks YWB or YBB for cuddling,and play: Cannot be older than ten and must be willing to travel to the Middle East. Must also enjoy cartoons, music, and old black and white films.
If interested,please call Michael at ***-***-****

SBM seeks SWF for love and companionship: My ideal mate must be blond, athletic, and have a great figure. She must be able to deal with my mood swings, and my volatile personality. She must be strong willed with a mind of her own, and not be swayed by what others might say. I like a woman that doesn't look back, but sees only the future and its possibilities.
If interested, please call OJ at ***-***-****

Wow, I never knew that there were so many lonely hearts out there. Well, the field sure hopes that they all find their ideal mates soon. Maybe if they came to the fields and looked around a little they would find that special someone. Mmmmm, that Oprah sure seemed nice. Maybe the field will give her a call. I don't mind a prenup.