Entertainment

I sense a bit of tension between these two reporters.

Over the years I gotten my best laughs listening to some of the phone pranks perpetrated by early morning radio hosts. This one is from the Steve Harvey Morning Show and they are in rare form. Nephew Tommy calls an elder from church the usher board to discuss her attitude. Anyone that's ever come in contact with an usher at a Black church can imagine what he was in for. Take a minute and enjoy a good laugh.

Condoleezza Rice, one of most powerful and controversial women in the world, has until now remained a mystery behind an elegant, cool veneer. In this stunning new biography, New York Times reporter Elisabeth Bumiller peels back the layers and presents a revelatory portrait of the first black female secretary of state and President George W. Bush’s national security adviser on September 11, 2001. The book relates in more intimate detail than ever before the personal voyage of a young black woman out of the segregated American South and also tells the sweeping story of a tumultuous half-century in the nation’s history.

In Condoleezza Rice: An American Life, we see Rice’s Alabama childhood under Bull Connor’s reign of terror in “Bombingham,’’ the name given to Birmingham when it was the central battleground of the civil rights movement; her education in foreign policy under Josef Korbel, a charismatic Czech intellectual who also happened to be the father of Madeleine Albright, the only other female secretary of state in U.S. history; and Rice’s confrontations with minorities and women while she was provost at Stanford University in the 1990s.

Examining the current administration, Bumiller explores in depth Rice’s extraordinarily close relationship with George W. Bush, her battles with Vice President Dick Cheney, and her indirect but crucial role in the ousting of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Bumiller shows us Rice missing clues to the September 11 attacks, waging war against Saddam Hussein, and counting election returns with Karl Rove in 2004. In addition, we watch Rice’s recent attempts to salvage the ruins of the Iraq policy she helped create and to avoid war with Iran.

Drawing on extensive interviews with Rice and more than 150 others, including colleagues, family members, government officials, and critics, this book offers dramatic new information about the events and personalities of the Bush administration. With great insight, Bumiller explores Rice’s effectiveness as national security adviser and secretary of state, her attempts to revive classic American diplomacy, her longtime political ambitions, and her future on the world stage.

The things people do for attention. It appears that Damon Wayan decided to exploit the Don Imus situation to get a little attention. Well, he got my attention. As a matter of fact, I have more of a problem with Wayan’s remarks than Imus.

Last week as a guest on the morning show “The View,” Wayan commenting on Imus Wayan said, "Freedom of speech, what happened to that? What happened to expressing yourself? At least I know where he stands. And you know what? When he called them nappy-headed ho's, I went, 'Wow, he's right!'"

Now Wayan decided to make this statement after the young ladies already publicly stated that they were offended by the words. So even if he is disoriented enough to think that some bipolar person watching “The View” that morning thought it was funny to call the young ball player ho’s, he knew – as the world did – they did not find the remark funny. It really seems like they should be able to sue Wayan for slander or something.

At least Imus made a mistake. Wayan did this on purpose. I believe any Black man that gets on national TV and affirms the nasty comments made by Imus should be ignored for life. I didn’t think people should have called for the firing of Imus, but they need to boycott anything Damon Wayan is a part of. Yes, he should be held to a higher standard!


It's very sad to see someone as talented and successful as Wayan to stoop so low for attention.

Read it here

The New York Post reports that a source said Don Imus "signed a 5-year deal with Citadel that pays him between $5 million and $8 million annually." The shock jock, along with his feisty team (including Charles McCord) will begin broadcasting Dec. 3, 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on 77 WABC. The show will be syndicated nationally by the ABC Radio Network.

For the loads of people who believe Imus should not be allowed back on the air, find another issue. Don Imus has a right to work. For those who find him offensive, change the station. I'm sure the world will know if he learned his lesson from his past indiscretions.

E! Online is reporting that the star of the A&E reality series Dog the Bounty Hunter made insensitive remarks during a phone conversation with his son (click here for the full article). Perhaps it’s the publicist in me, but this one smells a little fishy. Honestly, I never heard the guy’s name before this incident. I’ve heard of the show and a few problems in the past. I’m just wondering, who sold the tape? How much? Was the show on the way out anyway? Something is rotten in Denmark. We have to keep in mind, people do the strangest things for fame. Some killers are just looking for fame, and innocent people confess to crimes for attention especially in high-profile cases. For example, John Mark Karr made a falsely confessed to murdering JonBenet Ramsey. You never know what makes people do the strange things they do just to get attention.

A WebMD article, (click here for full article ) quotes Saul Kassin, PhD, professor of psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, “Some false confessors have a pathological need for attention."

"They are driven by the limelight," adds Eric Hickey, PhD, professor of criminal psychology at California State University, Fresno, and director of the Center of Forensic Studies at Alliant International University, Fresno. And, sometimes, financial gain. "They want the notoriety, the attention, but they also plan on making money. Some people may have in mind when they confess, maybe a book [will come out of this]." (WebMD article)

Perhaps this was a ploy for attention, like a false confession, or maybe it’s on the up-and-up. Even if everything is above board and someone close to him betrayed him in this way, I think the bounty hunter has more to worry about than what the public thinks of him after this debacle – especially given the fact that he was allegedly talking with his son.

Nevertheless, the n-word was used during a a private conversation and is not a public matter. Whoever this guy is, he has the right to say whatever the heck he thinks, no matter how ignorant it might be. We all say some stupid things in the privacy of our own homes. I have to commend Rev. Sharpton for distinguishing between this remark and the public comments made by Don Imus.

Basically, no one cares what the unknown bounty hunter thinks of his son’s girlfriend.