Just because white folks do it.....

Philly is a city that is full of history and traditions. And one of Philly's most storied traditions is the rowing spectacle known as the Dad Vail Regatta. It is an annual rowing competition between colleges that attract the very bluest of blue bloods among us. Needles to say it is very white.

Recently Philly lost the event and fifty years of tradition to the tony New Jersey community of Rumson. Poor Mayor Nutter didn't see it coming, and he has been taking a lot of heat for it ever since. So now the hand wringing and pontification has begun. One African American columnist has summed up the feelings of black folks in this city who want to see the Regatta come back, but in a more racially diverse form.

"It seems organizers are mulling the possibility of bringing the Dad Vail Regatta back to Philadelphia in 2011. This after dumping the city for deep-pockets Rumson, N.J., for the 2010 regatta.

What's a 50-plus-year relationship got to do with it?
I'm just saying Dad Vail sounds like a two-timing boyfriend.
Everyone, it seems, is all up in oars and blaming Mayor Nutter for not fighting to keep the marriage gliding - even though the Dad Vail broke it off and found another sugar daddy without the city even knowing. And all for money, of course.

Rejection hurts. After all, the Dad Vail's prestige draws more than 125 elite college crew teams. Not to mention that the cash-strapped city could sure use the millions in revenue that 100,000 rowing fans are sure to toss around...

...Well, it hurts for some people. Of course, we always take back misbehaving boyfriends, but if the city had any foresight, it would shoot for a better version.
One that's a lot more representative.

Especially as our cash-strapped city tries to decide what events to fund, I'm not sure I'd put money into a public event that - unintentionally or not - has become a private endeavor.
The Dad Vail would mean a lot more than just a nerve-racking traffic hassle if it belonged to everyone.

No diversity. The cry for diversity along Boathouse Row has been ongoing for years now." [Link]

"Diversity"? Why? Black folks, can we talk? Why is it that you want to be included in everything that white folks do? Seriously, what the hell is that all about?

There are just certain things that we don't do or enjoy as a race. (I am, of course, speaking in generalities, so please save your comments about all the times you went skiing with your uncle Leroy. ) And as far as I am concerned, that's cool. White folks love to bungee jump and sky dive. Black folks like to watch a nice kung fu movie or play some dominoes. White folks like to water ski and scuba dive; black folks like to jet-ski and play frisbee in the sand. White folks like to ski, black folks like to sit in the ski lodge and talk shit. And on it goes. We have differences, and there is nothing wrong with that.

When events such as the Dad Vail Regatta go down and it's all lily white, there is no harm no foul as far as I am concerned. They spend money in the city and everyone benefits. I don't hear white folks screaming to be a part of the Greek Picnic. Why? Well I am guessing that they understand that it's an African American event, and there is no need to demand inclusion.

Not -some of-you black folks. If the white man is doing it, you want in. Stop it! As long as they are not saying you can't participate even if you wanted to, it's cool. Leave them alone to have their fun.

You Negroes can find other things to do.

BTW, please don't confuse my stance on this issue with my 12% rule. One is dealing with

an organized pre- planned gathering. The other deals with spontaneous happenings or events that are open to the general public. (Such as the movies which is what I use it for.) I just wanted to get that out of the way to preempt the field is a hypocrite comments.

Oh, and before I go; remember that story about Lincoln University trying to make classes on weight loss mandatory for graduation? Well it seems that they have changed their minds. There is nothing like a little added pressure from the overweight lobby to make "the man" cave...let me stop.

Sorry, he doesn't quite fit our corporate image.

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I have been struggling with something since W's recession hit us, and maybe some of you racism apologist can help me with this. Why is it that the unemployment rate for black folks with college degrees is twice that of what it is for their white counterparts? And higher, even, than whites with less credentials?

I know that the unemployment rate for black males is something like 17%, and that's high. But given the amount of black men without college degrees and criminal records etc., I can somewhat understand that. But how do the racism apologist explain the number of college educated African Americans standing in the unemployment line? Oh field, it's because they get degrees in meaningless disciplines like psychology and communications, so they are overqualified for some jobs and "under qualified" for others. As a result they are left out of the job market. It has nothing to do with their race. Stop your whining, everything isn't about racism. Here in A-merry-ca all you have to do is work hard, get your degree, and you will live the A-merry-can dream....Yeah that's the ticket.

I was listening to Michael Medved the other day, and he is a man I disagree with maybe 99% of the time. He was even saying that while America has come a long way when it comes to matters of race, these new unemployment numbers clearly showed that racism still exists in America.

Of course some...scratch that; damn near all of his conservative callers disagreed. They chalked it up to everything from cultural differences and the need for a comfort level with similar people in the work place, to affirmative action making whites think that even black folks with college degrees were not qualified. It was painful to listen to. And even Medved seemed embarrassed for his peeps.

The irony, of course, is that while most whites think that his O ness is doing a bad job primarily because of the unemployment rate; most of the people who are unemployed (and the primary reason for the high numbers in the first place) are black folks just like his O ness. A-merry-ca is in a recession. But black A-merry-ca is going through a depression.

Sadly, a great part of the problem is us. We do need to take control of our own businesses and become more entrepreneurial in our endeavours so that we can do the hiring instead of depending on other folks to hire us. Still, some of these large companies- with their last hired first fired [Negro] policies- need to get checked. We patronize those companies, and many of them get corporate welfare. Welfare which comes from tax dollars that some of us black folks who are actually working have to pay.

So for all of you who think we are in a post racial A-merry-ca, slow down the love train just a little. There aren't just two colors in A-merry-ca that we need to reconcile. There are three: Black, white, and green.

*Pic courtesy of AOL Black Voices.

The Audacity Of Condescension

"Don't play with me!" Mr. Gibbs, I think you better listen to that sister. That, my friends, was April Ryan of American Urban Radio, dressing down White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs, you deserved that.

And now I really have to wonder about the folks his O ness have been surrounding himself with. Would Robert Gibbs have told a white male pool reporter (or even a black male one) to calm down and compare his behavior to that of his child? But wait, let me make sure I get the quote right: "Gibbs instructed her to "calm down" and to take a deep breath," adding "I do this with my son and that's what happens."' Yep, that's what he said. Not cool Mr. Gibbs. Not cool. April, expect to see your name and your mug on some [right]wingnut sites in the coming days.

Now, having said that, it's time to attack black a little bit as well. April, WTF kind of question was that? This is the White House not some Hollywood studio or a Page Six New York Post briefing.

"Ryan claimed that there have been whispers around Washington insinuating that Rogers had overstepped the traditional role of her title at the event to become the 'belle of the ball,' thus 'overshadowing the first lady.'" Huh? Girlfriend, you can't be serious with that line of questioning. Come on now, "whispers around"? You are a reporter. Leave the rumors and innuendos to us bloggers.

So yes, it was an inappropriate question. But it was one that Gibbs should have done a better job of handling. He is the White House press secretary for crying out loud; he should know how to handle such things without letting his hidden issues rise to the surface.

Boy I wonder how many other people around his O ness have these hidden issues? I am sure it won't be long before we find out. Some folks just can't keep their issues hidden for long.

A Tiger Question For The Ladies.

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I am going to blog about this Tiger mess again, and then I am going to leave it alone. (I hope)

To be honest, this post really isn't about Tiger, it's about one of those Men are from Mars deals that I am struggling with. The women who read this blog will have to help me out with this one.

So here goes my question:

If you are having an affair with a man you know to be married, why is it that you only get upset when you find out that he is creeping on you AND his wife? (Remember that old blues song? "Your husband is cheating on us"?) Seriously, what is all that about?

So now we find that all sorts of women are coming out of the woodwork on Tiger because each of them are starting to find out that there were others. Noooooo. So he is creeping on his wife and you don't think he will creep on you?

And I love this Rachel Uchitel character. First she was willing to take a lie detector test and swore up and down that there was nothing between her and Tiger. Then, as the other women started to surface, she promised to hold a news conference. (Hmmm, I wonder what she was going to say?) Of course that news conference was called off today by Philly home girl and news hound, Gloria Allred, because....well, chi ching chi ching chi ching. Let's see now; Gloria takes about 25%....not a bad pay day.

But I digress. Back to my original question: What is it about the "jump off'" that makes her only feel offended when she finds out that she might be "jump off" number two or, god forbid, number three?

Just curious. Maybe if Tiger had asked some of these kinds of questions he wouldn't be in this mess.

*Pic courtesy of Getty images.

One less wingnut in 2012.

"I will smash them one against the other, even parents against children, says the LORD. I will not let my pity or mercy or compassion keep me from destroying them." ~Jeremiah 13:12-14~

Did someone take the book of Jeremiah out of Mike Huckabee's bible? Poor Governor Huckabee. All those pardons guided by his faith might have finally caught up with him. Maurice Clemmons , -A-merry-ca's black bogeyman of the moment- was not the first person that Huckabee pardoned who went on to do some seriously f*&#%d up things, it's just that he has now become the most notorious.

I bet you never heard of Wayne Dumond or Glen Green. If you haven't don't feel bad. Most people outside of Arkansas haven't heard of them either. Like Clemmons, they were the beneficiaries of Huckabee's mercy. With a little prodding from his brothers in Christ, the good gov. made sure that these animals got back on the street because they were able to hustle the gov. and his friends into believing that they could change their spots.

I don't mean to pile on Mike Huckabee. Honesty, of all the GOP candidates who ran against his O ness, he seemed to be the most fundamentally decent. But I can't ignore the hypocrisy on the right. If you saw him [Huckabee] on Bill O'Reilly's show you saw how O'Reilly told him that he was not at fault for releasing these monsters to society, and that he was a stand up guy for even being on his show and talking about it. Huh? Are you kidding me? Imagine, for a minute, that Huckabee is a dumbocrat; do you think the reaction would be the same from our [right] wingnut friends? Of course it wouldn't; but such is the hypocrisy and spin that goes on when it comes to politics here in A-merry-ca.

Joe Conason writing for Salon.com doesn't like Mike Huckabee. This is what he wrote:

"During the 2008 campaign, Huckabee's arrogance and stupidity mostly escaped the full scrutiny of the national press corps, in part because his stint as a contender was so brief. But next time, if there is a next time, he should get no such free pass -- and his claims to divine guidance ought to be thoroughly debunked. "

Yes it should. And of course the problem with "divine guidance" is that we never know what the man upstairs is really planning. Sometimes it might not be in the best interest of us mortals. For example, right about now it's looking like he never wanted his humble servant, Mike Huckabee, to be president in the first place.

"Preaching To The Choir."

I heard the speech by his O ness tonight, but rather than a long post about it I am going to just leave it alone. I have already added my two cents to this debate. Besides, my mama always told me...well, let's just say that I am taking a wait and see attitude when it comes to Afghanistan. Get used to that word boys and girls, we will be hearing it a lot over the next three years. I won't be as tough on his O ness as some folks have been, but I am not going to pretend to like this new strategy, either. I wonder how we are going to pay for this new "surge"? I am willing to pay an added war tax, I wonder if my [right]wingnut friends who have been advocating for more troops will be willing to do the same? I doubt it. Lawmakers are supposedly jittery about this new war effort, and they should be. Thirty thousand troops at a million per man is a lot of dead presidents. Sorry, poor choice of words. It's a lot of money.

Still, West Point was a nice touch O man. All those men and women in uniform giving the commander in chief their undivided attention. I just hope you know what you are getting into . I know you said the comparisons to Vietnam aren't fair, but sorry, when it comes to war the American people tend to view all of them the same. When Bryan Williams starts leading "The Nightly News" with those coffins coming into Dover those comparisons will be made, fair or not.

So O man, for the record, I am not feeling this latest move, even though it beats being in Iraq;a place we had no business being in the first place. At least OBL might still be hiding out in the mountains of that region somewhere, (Thanks for blowing the chance to get him frat boy. Air strikes and Afghani intelligence? ) and we know that he is the mastermind behind the attacks that killed over three thousand Americans.

And speaking of Iraq: The evil one was at it again today. This guy just can't help himself. He won't shut up until AG Holder puts his ass in handcuffs.

“I begin to get nervous when I see the commander in chief making decisions apparently for what I would describe as small ‘p’ political reasons, where he’s trying to balance off different competing groups in society,” Cheney said.

“Every time he delays, defers, debates, changes his position, it begins to raise questions: Is the commander in chief really behind what they’ve been asked to do?”

Blah blah blah. Where is Elin Woods with those golf clubs when you need her?

The vultures are circling.

Let me start tonight's post by wiping a little egg from my face. I said that the vultures in the media would leave Tiger alone; I was wrong. This story, as they say in the business, has legs.

I also want to say for the record that I really did not want to blog about the salacious nature of this incident tonight. I believe that Tiger, in spite of all his fame and wealth, is entitled to his privacy. At least when it comes to his family. So there.

But....having said, that there are some places with this story that I have to go. First, let's acknowledge that big old elephant sitting in the middle of the room: The racial component of this story. I have been hearing it from some of you sisters at the water cooler, today: Field I sure hope you blog about Tiger and his white woman. If he had stayed with Tyra (I didn't even know he dated Tyra) this wouldn't have happened. He is going to end up like O.J. Just watch.

I will admit , this story does have some *eerie similarities to a certain Brentwood case. The star athlete of color; the blond wife; rumors of affairs; possible domestic violence; and it goes on. There is even -what one Orlando reporter described as- the "Johnny Cochran of Orlando" representing Tiger. So I guess, as A-merry-cans, we have to ask ourselves collectively; would we even care as much if Tiger was in fact married to Tyra and not Elin?

The fellows have been talking to me as well: Yo field, what was your boy thinking? Tiger knows that he is too famous to creep. Or, field, why would your boy risk everything for some outside tail? Home boy better zip it up next time.

All this, of course, while Tiger is still chilling by a river in Egypt. TMZ says otherwise, and they even have the other woman's name and her picture to back up their story. And the real culprit in all of this where Tiger is concerned, just might be The National Inquirer. (These guys have been on a roll lately.) They have been reporting this story all along. Tiger, I have a little advise for you: You have lots of loot. Get a nanny to do your grocery shopping. You don't need Elin to be standing at the check- out counter and reading about you getting your driver on with some other woman.

Oh well, let's hope that this is the end of the drama with Tiger. I still love to see the man swing a golf club, and I sure don't need to see a slow police chase in South Florida anytime soon.

Killing season.

I am too depressed to do a lot of writing tonight. And you can thank the animals living among us masquerading as human beings for my mood. You can also blame the holiday season and the NRA lobby for A-murder-ca becoming a literal killing field over the past few days. For example:

In Florida, a man goes on a killing spree allegedly murdering four family members after a Thanksgiving meal.

In Washington state a man ambushed and allegedly killed four police officers while they were getting ready to start their day in a coffee shop.

In Paterson, New Jersey, a man chased down and shot his wife and their two young sons. Fortunately -if there is such a thing as a silver lining in this tragedy- he allegedly only killed one of his intended targets before being shot and killed himself.

In Madison, Wisconsin, four people were shot in a domestic dispute.

And finally, in Kansas, the former director of a utility service allegedly shot and killed his estranged wife and two teenage daughters to death.

Are you starting to see a pattern here?

Oh well, back to my local killings here in Killadelphia. I am sure my local murder count needs updating. It is, after all, the holiday season. There is nothing like a little holiday cheer to bring out the killer in some of us.

The cover up.

I am going to surprise and upset some of you with this post. (Gee field, what else is new?)

I don't agree with Google removing that image of the first lady. It's one of the first images that appeared because of the amount of hits that the blogger blog that posted it was getting, and Google, after a tremendous amount of pressure, removed it from their image search. I still think you can still see the image on Google (See the pic with this post) but they have chosen to run a disclaimer with it.

Now here is the thing: As reprehensible and repugnant as that picture is, it still should not be removed. Why? Because where an image appears on google depends on the demand for the image on the Internet. The more hits and requests for the image via the blog the further up the Google chain it goes.

Obviously this vile image of the first lady was in great demand. To pretend that it wasn't and to try and censor it now would be the equivalent of putting a band-aid on an open festering sore. I say let's see the sore and how bad it is and deal with it. A-merry-ca is too good at covering up stuff.

If we did, maybe we would get more thoughtful posts like this one, -which was inspired by the episode- and people would actually start talking to each other. (Not that I would want to do much talking with the type of person who takes the time to do these types of photo shop jobs.) Hey at least we would know they are out there and where to look for them. I hate it when this type of ignorance is close to me and I don't even know that it's there.

Oh field, stop whining, they had chimp pics of Bush and no one made this big of a deal over it. I didn't see the folks at Google scrambling to put disclaimers on those pics. That, of course, is your standard [right] wingnut response. And if you are like me you don't even try to educate and teach by explaining the difference. You just kind of let it go and chalk it up to the law of averages playing itself out on the human intelligence scale.

But you see the problems that this type of censoring can cause, so why do it? Hey, when we see it we will blog about it and point it out, and I am sure that the [right] wingnuts will defend it. But at least it will be out there in all its ugliness for us to see. A fitting simulacrum of what lurks in their vacuous minds.

Couples and another "Magic Negro".

A friend of mine went and saw The Blind Side, and he was going on and on about what a tear jerker it was. Sorry, I will pass. I am not ready for yet another Magic Negro story. I know it's the Christmas season and some of us want to feel good about ourselves, but this is one feel good story I can do without. Been there done that. Remember The Green Mile ?

Tonight I am thinking about couples. One in Washington D.C. and the other one in Orlando, Florida..

Let me start with the Orlando couple, first: It's been a slow news day so I am sure that you have all heard about Tiger Woods doing like the crash test dummy with his Cadillac SUV. (Why doesn't he drive a Buick?) His publicist has been in full spin mode ever since the mishap. It's a minor accident, Mr. Woods has been released from the Hospital; and he is fine. The spin- master had better be in full spin mode because the rumors are flying really fast. I am not a real journalist guided by the punctilious nature of that profession, so I can repeat one of them here: Tiger and Mrs. Tiger were in a heated fight and he tried to roll in the middle of the night. Not so fast. Seems Mrs. Woods is pretty good with the clubs as well and took an iron to the back of the SUV causing Tiger to- using a golf analogy- hit a sand trap.

Now what is not in dispute is that Tiger was leaving his spot at two thirty in the morning; he was involved with a one vehicle accident; and Mrs. Woods did take the irons to the back of the SUV. It will be really interesting to see how the press treats this story. Tiger is an icon and he is loved. Will the vultures start to circle to get to the bottom of this, or will they leave him alone?

The other couple that intrigues me are the two reality show wanna be clowns in D.C. Crashing a state dinner is no easy thing to do, and yet they did it. How? What the hell is up with the Secret Service? Field, they did not pose a threat to the president. Maybe not this time. Although isn't that one of the crashers I see shaking hands with his O ness in the pic? Is it me or does it seem like it's so much easier to get next to this president? Ahhh stop it field, what about the Iraqi who threw the shoe at George Bush? Yes, but that happened on Iraqi soil. This happened in the White House for crying out loud!

Another fascinating aspect of this story is the lengths A-merry-cans will go through for their 15 minutes. (Think "Balloon Boy's" parents). Are we that obsessed with face time as a culture that we would risk fines and imprisonment to get in front of the camera? Of course we would. That was a rhetorical question.

The irony of these two couple stories is that one couple is trying to stay out of the news while the other one is desperately trying to get in it. In the end, they will probably both get their wish.

Only in A-merry-ca.

Junk in your trunk? If so, you just might not graduate.

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I am sure that we have all gotten our turkey and mac and cheese on by now. If you live anywhere in the continental United States you had a very big meal today and you are probably just sitting around letting the calories soak in.

So this is a perfect time to blog about this story.

It seems that Lincoln University, an HBCU here in Pennsylvania, has decided that if you are not healthy and watching your weight you could jeopardize your chances of graduating. The folks at Lincoln are tired of obese students not taking care of themselves and they have decided to take the knife and forks into their own hands.

"We know we're in the midst of an obesity epidemic," said James L. DeBoy, chairman of Lincoln's department of health, physical education and recreation. "We have an obligation to address this head on, knowing full well there's going to be some fallout."

Well hell yes Mr. DeBoy, you best believe that there is going to be "some fallout". You can't stop black folks from getting their grub on. And college students at that. Ain't gonna happen.

And I agree with honor student Tiana Lawson-who happens to be a senior- who says (and I am para-paraphrasing here) that she didn't go to Lincoln to be told about her weight; she went for an education. Let's just be glad that kids like Ms. Lawson are in college holding it down and hitting their books, instead of burdening them with the added pressure of having to watch their weight. If Ms. Lawson chooses she can worry about her weight later. Besides, how do we know that she isn't just as healthy as a size six freshman with a coke bottle shape?

"In an interview Friday, Lawson said she has no problem with getting healthy or losing weight. But she does have a problem with larger students being singled out.

"If Lincoln truly is concerned about everyone being healthy, then everyone should have to take this gym class, not just people who happen to be bigger," she said.
The mandate, which took effect for freshmen entering in fall 2006, requires students to get tested for their body mass index, a measure of weight to height.

A normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. Students with one that's 30 or above -- considered obese -- are required to take a class called "Fitness for Life," which meets three hours a week."

Great. I wonder if they teach the kids to skip Thanksgiving in "Fitness for Life" classes?

Props to Mrs. Field and her sister who threw down in a way that is sure to make my BMI inch towards that 30 mark.

*Pic courtesy of The Grio.