‘Dog’ says he doesn’t want to forget racial slur

artchapmancnn Dog says he doesnt want to forget racial slurOf course Dog the Bounty Hunter wants us all to forget his use of the “N” word in a call recorded by his own son, Tucker.

My position on this is that people are always sorry when they get caught. The bottom line is that Dog wouldn’t have apologized if his entire career wasn’t on the line.

A the end of the day I’m not gonna loose sleep over this another piece of trash that probably still uses the “N” word in private:

“HONOLULU, Hawaii (CNN) — It’s been more than a year since a racial slur threatened to end the television career of Duane ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’ Chapman. But the incident still weighs heavily on his mind.

A&E briefly suspended his top-rated reality show in late 2007, and his reputation was on the line.

Now, with his show back on the air and at the top of the network’s ratings list, Chapman insists that he does not want the controversy to be forgotten.

“They said, ‘It’ll pass,’ and I said to the guy, ‘You know what? I won’t let it.’ “

Chapman, 56, spoke candidly about accusations of racism on a recent windy Saturday afternoon on the sidelines of 8-year-old son Garry’s baseball game.

It was his other son, Tucker, who recorded a profanity-laced conversation with his father and reportedly sold the recording — which included Chapman repeatedly using the “n-word” — to the National Enquirer in 2007.

Some African-American leaders called for the cancellation of his show.

Chapman said he was advised to lay low for several weeks, but he refused.” Source: CNN

Memorial service set for slain 8-year-old girl

artmissingtracypd Memorial service set for slain 8 year old girlMemorial Services for Sandra Cantu have been set for today. My heart still goes out to her family. I cannot imagine what they must be going through right now.

I can only hope that seeing justice done will help to ease their pain, although it won’t bring little Sandra back.

The woman accused of this heinous act deserves to die for it. It’s just that simple:

“CNN) — Eight-year-old Sandra Cantu will be remembered at a memorial service Thursday in the central California community where she lived and was later found dead.

The girl, who police say died at the hands of a Sunday school teacher, was last seen alive March 27 in the mobile home park where she lived with her family in Tracy, California. Police found her body April 6, stuffed into a suitcase and submerged in a pond at a dairy farm in the area.

Police arrested Melissa Huckaby, 28, and charged her with killing and raping Sandra, who was a friend of her 5-year-old daughter. She faces charges of murder, kidnapping, the performance of a lewd and lascivious act on a child under 14, and rape by instrument.

Huckaby, a Sunday school teacher at Clover Road Baptist Church, lived in the nearby mobile home park that Sandra’s family lived in.

If convicted, Huckaby would face the death penalty or life in prison without parole, San Joaquin County District Attorney James Willett said this week.

The service for Sandra is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET at a high school in Tracy. ” Source: CNN

Sandra Cantu, child found in submerged luggage may have been raped

In another development in the Sandra Cantu murder, authorities say that the child may have also been raped before being murdered:
“(CNN) — A Sunday school teacher accused of killing a Tracy, California girl may also have raped the 8-year-old, authorities say.

Melissa Huckaby, expected to be arraigned Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET in the death of Sandra Cantu, will face additional charges, including rape, police told CNN.

“When she was booked, she was booked on charges of kidnapping and murder,” Tracy Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman said on “Larry King Live” on Monday night. “And we’re informed by the district attorney that she’ll be charged with abduction, murder, rape with a foreign object and lewd and lascivious acts with a child.”

Sandra’s body was found April 6, stuffed into a suitcase and submerged in a pond at a dairy farm. Huckaby, also of Tracy, California, was arrested on April 10 after questioning by police.

Sandra was last seen alive March 27 in the mobile home park where she lived with her family — the same mobile home park where Huckaby lives with her own 5-year-old daughter. The two children were close friends and played together frequently, police said.” Source: CNN

Police to search Clover Road Baptist Church in Sandra Cantu’s murder

artmissingtracypd Police to search Clover Road Baptist Church in Sandra Cantus murderWe told you earlier that missing California 8-year-old, Sandra Cantu, was found dead in an irrigation pond. Now we learn that the home and church of a local pastor have been searched by the police:
“The Clover Road Baptist Church on West Clover Road is just down the street from where Sandra lived at the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park in Tracy. The church was cordoned off by yellow police tape today as officers awaited a search warrant. No arrests have been made.

Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman said investigators planned to search the church in conjunction with a search of a residence in the mobile home park. Neighbors said the home being searched was that of the pastor.” Source: SanFrancisco Chronicle

I am speechless at the latest turn of events in this case. Of course all suspects are innocent until found guilty, but to think that a pastor could have had something to do with this act is unfathomable!

NAACP, civil rights groups seek to ban Confederate flag in Homestead FL

20000119edhan a NAACP, civil rights groups seek to ban Confederate flag in Homestead FL


This story is one reason why I wonder whether the NAACP’s usefulness has come and gone
. This civil rights organization always seems to be focusing on the wrong things. They are handling today’s issues of race and diversity like they did half a century ago, proving that they seem unable to change with the times.

I’m sure I’ll ruffle a lot of feathers with my comments here, but the NAACP has yet to prove their usefulness in the 21st century. Instead they serve more as an organization that exists to serve the black political machine in various chapters around the country.

Why on earth are they seeking to ban a flag?

The flag is a mere symbol of the hate, but I must ask is the removal of the flag going to make these ignorant groups hate minorities any less?

People need to learn not to be distracted by this type of silliness. Instead, I would personally like to see more focus on the issues that are destroying the community from within. These are the problems that are truly affecting the community. Let’s focus on education, violence, and the apparent systematic destruction of the family.

Progress can be made if we turn our attention to the things that we can affect. These ignorant fools will be marching and waving their flags from now to kingdom come. And it’s unrealistic to allow ourselves to be so distracted by what they are doing that we fail to focus on what we should be doing.

Let’s face it. Crime and other internal issues within the black community have destroyed far more lives than a bunch of hicks waving Confederate flags!

More from the story:

“HOMESTEAD — The NAACP and other civil rights groups have joined black Homestead residents in seeking to ban the Confederate flag and groups that support it from city-sanctioned festivities.

”That flag is flown to strike fear in people, and it’s no different than a swastika being displayed in front of Jews,” said Brad Brown, vice president of the Miami-Dade NAACP.

The issue came to a head on Nov. 11 during the 2008 Homestead/Florida City Chamber of Commerce parade, when organizers allowed Confederate army organizations to participate in Veterans Day ceremonies and display Confederate flags.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) marched in the parade. Some rode atop vehicles emblazoned with Confederate states’ banners; others walked with Confederate battle flags.

The demonstration outraged black residents.

City officials said they did not organize the parade. Parade organizers, who are linked to the local chamber of commerce, defended their right to display the flag.” Source: Miami Herald

New York charges Madoff ‘feeder’ Ezra Merkin with fraud – I say send ‘em all to jail!

 New York charges Madoff feeder Ezra Merkin with fraud   I say send em all to jail!As the investigation into the Madoff scheme deepens, other prominent names are coming to the forefront. I say that it’s time for all these fat cats to pay for what they’ve done.

I celebrate each and every indictment that comed from this case, and hopefully this will make people think twice about pulling these types of shenanigans on people…

But it probably won’t; the lure of all that money is too much for most to resist:

“New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo today charged money manager J. Ezra Merkin with civil fraud in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, alleging that Merkin funneled more than $2.4 billion in clients’ funds to Madoff while ignoring ‘glaring red flags.’

Merkin, a well-known New York philanthropist and the former chairman of General Motors Corp.’s financing arm, GMAC Financial Services, ‘profited enormously from Madoff’s scheme, reaping huge commissions while investors lost all their money,’ Cuomo said in a statement.

Merkin earned $470 million in management and incentive fees over time by steering money to Madoff, Cuomo said.” Source: LA Times

White House Corrects Conference Call Number After Directing Reporters to Sex Line

Apparently the White House mistakenly distributed a phone sex number to phone sex operator 1 main Full White House Corrects Conference Call Number After Directing Reporters to Sex Linejournalists. When the conference call number was dialed, the participants were greeted by a seductive female voice requesting a credit card number from callers who”feel like getting nasty.” They were supposed to be listening to a briefing call with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Advisor Jim Jones to discuss the NATO summit.
I agree that it was stupid for FOX News to cover this as a bonafide news story. However, the folks at the White House really need to be more careful in order to stop giving ammunition to critics who are happy to yell incompetence:
“In a press release, the White House accidentally listed a phone sex number for journalists seeking an ‘on-the-record briefing call with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a

Journalists seeking to talk a little foreign policy with high-profile Obama administration officials live from the G20 meetings in London this week were solicited for phone sex instead after ringing up the toll-free number given by the White House.

After several efforts to make sure that the phone number was correctly dialed, a call to the White House resulted in a corrected press release. “If you are having trouble dialing into the call, please try this number as an alternative,” and listed the international line included for reporters abroad to dial.

By this time, the conference call was already under way.

Asked for comment about this mishap, Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton responded: “A corrected phone number on a press release is probably one of the stupider things FOX News has covered lately.” Source: Fox News

Author Richard Wright honored by U.S.Postal Service

richard wright2 Author Richard Wright honored by U.S.Postal ServiceWith fellow South Side of Chicago roots, I could not ignore the opportunity to tell you about the new stamp honoring, author Richard Wright.

As a young adult, I read his books, Black Boy and Native Son. His writings are a timeless window into the the effects of racial prejudice; a must read for anyone who dares to learn more.

I am proud that Wright has been chosen to be honored with a stamp by the U.S. Postal Service. And if I was a stamp collector, I would promise to get one. However, since I’m not, I will settle for the pride of knowing that a well-deserving individual has been honored:

“Mississippi made him, but Chicago made him a writer. It was Chicago—with its bright churn of possibilities and its darker realities—that transformed Richard Wright from a shy Southern kid into a popular and internationally acclaimed author.

Chicago broke his heart, but it gave him his mission: to illuminate the dehumanizing effects of racial prejudice in 20th Century America.

That is why, according to officials at the U.S. Postal Service, when a new stamp honoring Richard Wright (1908-1960) was commissioned, they decided that the stamp’s background simply had to be the South Side of Chicago, where Wright lived and worked during a crucial, formative decade.

And when a location was needed for the public ceremony Thursday at which the stamp will be unveiled, that was a snap: Again, it had to be Chicago.” Source: The Chicago Tribune

Be Outraged!!!! Secret illegal drug experiments on people in the U.S!

Given the history of secret government experiments on Americans, this story comes smoking crack cocaine Be Outraged!!!! Secret illegal drug experiments on people in the U.S!as no surprise to me. The real question at hand is whether it’s ethical for the government to conduct these experiments in the so-called “name of science?”
Supposedly the people who participate in receiving illegal drugs for experimentation sign consents. Are you serious?

How can a drug addict give informed consent to participate in a study? Are they really of sound mind and judgment to make that call?

The bottom line is that the government sees these addicts as expendable, which allows them to justify this practice:

“The federal government is giving crack and powder cocaine, morphine, and other hard-core drugs to taxpayer-funded researchers for testing on addicts, The Examiner has learned.

For decades, the government has authorized, funded and lobbied for studies in which otherwise illegal drugs were given to addicts in cities such as Washington, Bethesda, Baltimore, New York, Minneapolis and San Antonio. The studies continue today and have an array of aims, from documenting the ways cocaine warps the brain to the intensity of pain from morphine withdrawal.

Government records obtained by The Examiner show that the researchers gave test subjects:

* Morphine at the Veterans Administration in D.C.
* Cocaine injections at the U.S. military’s Uniformed Services University in Bethesda.
* Crack cocaine in several major cities.

Most government officials are not aware of the experiments, even though they have been going on since at least the 1970s. [...]

The subjects of the tests signed consent forms before engaging in the studies and were paid.

Most of the studies have been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a government agency based in Washington that is part of the National Institutes of Health. Officials there declined to be interviewed for this story and have not responded to requests for documents relating to the studies. Records show the studies date back to at least 1979.[...]

“The question is whether the results justify using these individuals as disposable subjects,” Walters said. [...]

According to NIDA’s Web site, researchers in New York still are looking for “volunteers.”” Source: The Examiner

Do you think that the government should be giving people illicit drugs in the name of scientific research?

Spike Lee advises students at Pitt to focus attention on a job they love

heller mag lee 03 500 Spike Lee advises students at Pitt to focus attention on a job they love

I can really appreciate that Spike Lee is giving encouraging, yet realistic advice to students at the University of Pittsburgh. It’s so important for young people to understand that “paying one’s dues” is inevitable on the path to success. I also agree with Spike, and to add to his advice, doing what one loves makes it easier to pay those dues on the way to success:

“Film director Spike Lee, one of the few African-American filmmakers to achieve widespread success, prescribed a formula last night to college students who want to follow his example: Find a trade they love, hone their skills and work hard even when they don’t feel like it.

‘Do not believe this thing called overnight success — there is no such thing,’ he told a throng inside the David Lawrence Hall on the University of Pittsburgh campus last night. ‘Anyone who’s a success had to bust their ass for it. That means when you’re tired, when you’re grumpy, when you’re sick, you have to do more.’” Source: The Post-Gazette

I recently had a conversation with my Dad about Spike Lee, which led to a very interesting discussion about “eating one’s vegetables.” When asked to give advice to people, Spike is known to tell people to eat their vegetables.

Although this advice is so simple, it can be hard to swallow. The fact of the matter is that most people want to eat cake, not vegetables. And it’s the desire to eat this proverbial cake, and the pursuit thereof that actually keeps them from attaining their goals.

So I agree with Spike Lee, and my advice to you is to eat your vegetables!

pixel Spike Lee advises students at Pitt to focus attention on a job they love