After spending Saturday witnessing the critical need for our hard working men need to get tested for health issues, I woke up to the devastating news that a wonderful associate, Laurence Gaines, passed away. Laurence was the executive producer of The Bev Smith Show. I knew Laurence had been sick but thought that he was on the road to recovery. My thoughts and prayers go out to his biological family and his family at American Urban Radio Networks. Laurence was a wonderful producer and person, he will be missed.
From Bev Smith (BWO www.radiofacts.com)…
It is with the deepest sorrow that I inform you that my friend and my executive producer Laurence Gaines has passed away after a long battle with his health. We thought he beat it because he returned to work but God had other plans for Laurence. For those of you who knew him well, you know that he is in heaven trying to get me that interview that I asked for with God (smile). Tonight at 8pm EST, The Bev Smith Show will dedicate time to remember Laurence Gaines and the impact he made on the show. If you would like to be a part of that show to share your memories, please call the studio at 1-888-331-1210 starting at 8PM EST. Memorial arrangements are incomplete at this time. Pray for his family and The Bev Smith Show family.
Listen to The Bev Smith Show online at www.waok.com/
I'm just getting back from Los Angeles where I assisted my associate and owner of jazzmyne PR, Makeda, in coordinating media for the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program (BBHOP). Led by Dr. Bill Releford, the BBHOP provides free diabetes and blood pressure screening in Barbershops across the country. The program’s goal is to address healthcare disparities and cardiovascular disease in African American men. Dr. Releford decided that innovative outreach to black men is critical because they are disproportionately affected by diabetes and hypertension more than any other ethnic group.
The day started out at the The New Millenium Sports Beauty & Barber Salon on Crenshaw in the Leimert Park area. In addition to volunteer doctors on hand for a discussion and to perform screenings, a number of celebrities stopped by to encourage men to get screened. There was a two-hour panel discussion broadcast live by KJLH addressing health issues impacting African American men.
I was shocked to witness the amount of men coming in off the street in need of a free screening. There were men with and without health insurance that had not been screened. Click here for a video news story of the event.
After spending the morning at the New Millenium Barbershop, the doctors and celebrities went on a bus tour to visit some of the 100 barbershops performing health screenings.
The experience on Saturday certainly made me recognize the critical need for our hard working black men to get screened for life or death health issues.
Looking at the numbers – Mary Norwood 45%, Kasim Reed 37% and Lisa Borders 14% - it is safe to assume that Kasim Reed has a pretty good chance of replacing Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. Based on her performance in several debates, I have to wonder about Norwood’s intellectual capacity. She doesn’t come off as the brightest bulb in the fixture. Anyway, if Reed gets a little over 80% of Borders/others votes and maintains his count, it’s game time.
I hope he’s prepared to spend some money right to cross the finish line. Norwood did a great job with her commercials. Even though I was bothered by the fact that the commercials seemed like negative attacks against the Franklin administration, Norwood came off as a likeable candidate concerned about the issues confronting. She should never have participated in a debate. It was like Sarah Palin’s interview with Katie Couric. She also messed up with the last ad denouncing Republicans. What was up with that? She made it sound like Republicans have some kind of contagious disease. That was a bad move.
If Norwood runs some positive ads, keeps hugging people, and doesn’t open her mouth she has a better chance of winning on Dec. 1. Of course, if I were Kasim Reed I would publicly ask for a debate.
Norwood and Reed in runoff Dec. 1 by Eric Stirgus, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta has one more month and one more election to go before it chooses the city's next mayor: Councilwoman Mary Norwood and former state Sen. Kasim Reed will face each other in a runoff Dec. 1.
With 100 percent of the vote counted, Norwood led the race with 45 percent. She maintained a comfortable margin throughout the vote counting Tuesday night but was unable to muster the 50 percent required to put the race away. Reed finished a strong second, with 37 percent, and City Council President Lisa Borders faded to a distant third with 14 percent in the eight-way race.
"I will hit the ground running," a smiling Norwood vowed late Tuesday night, addressing a buoyant crowd at the Varsity, the unusual site of her election-night gathering. "I feel wonderful. We are 10 points ahead. I think that's a great place for anyone to be." (Norwood wound up seven points ahead, although she was 10 points up when she made that statement.)
Reed emerged to greet supporters at the Hyatt Regency at 11:15 p.m., saying that Norwood had run her best race, and that the trajectory of his campaign showed that he was on the road to be the next mayor. Read the full story at ajc.com (Staff writers Ernie Suggs and Steve Visser contributed to this report)
Seems that Rush Limbaugh – the talk show host that seems to say anythin about anyone who isn’t ultra conservative – is miffed that his dreams of becoming part owner of the St. Louis Rams have been shattered. Rush seems to think Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson made comments that caused the NFL team to kick him to the curb. Methinks his anger is misplaced - Rush most likely made his own comments that got him nixed.
Anyhoo, in a column published by the Wall Street Journal Rush claimed that Rev. Sharpton played “a leading role in the 1991 Crown Heights riot" and the "1995 Freddie's Fashion Mart riot."
Rev. Sharpton, who was not present at either of the incidents mentioned by Rush, demanded an apology. Associated Press reports that Rev. Sharpton’s spokeswoman released a statement saying, "Unless Mr. Limbaugh apologizes and clarifies his statements, attorneys for Rev. Sharpton will move forward with a lawsuit…..He has the right to criticize Rev. Sharpton, but he does not have the right to accuse him of criminal activity, and riots and murders are criminal."
Will good ol’ Rush apologize? I guess we’ll have to stay tuned for part two since his camp did not respond to AP’s request for comment. Read the full story here
This is hysterical. The White House held a fiesta to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. President Obama was so moved by the music during a performance by Latina star Thalia, he jumped up and danced salsa with the singer. When he returned to his wife she sat smiling, clapping, and enjoying the music. Some people say that the media is making something of nothing. I say GO Michelle! She gave President Obama the classiest South Side of Chicago attitude she could muster. I guarantee you, Mr. President is checked and will not try that again. While people debate the body language going on here, Mr. Pres knows what's up - won't be no Clinton scandals on Mrs. Obama's watch. Michelle Obama is one class act.
This is absolutely ridiculous. Black people need to get together and march against this type of behavior. Why were they beating this young man? He looks like he is White. Are they beating him because he is not Black? It's hateful and we should yell just as loud about this as we do when Whites attack Blacks! After watching this video you have to wonder why White people aren't marching. Perhaps incidents like this are motivating some of the tea party attendees.
These children need something like the Scared Straight program they once had at Rahway State Prison in NJ. Let them get bullied by some of those muscular inmates doing double life and see what they have to say then.
The South Carolina Republican acted ignorant and ghetto during President Obama's health care address says he will not apologize again for his outburst. I understand why our President is acting classy enough excepting his apology, however, since I'm just "joe public" I'm gonna call it like I see it. There are some old-school ignorant folks that refuse to give President Obama the respect given to ALL presidents. It seems that every time you mention race these days you get "accused" of playing the race card. Call it what you want, I'll call it racism. I don't believe Mr. Wilson would have disrespected a white man the way he did President Obama. I also believe he made a decision to disrespect the president and apologize later. They should have dragged his GHETTO butt out of the building.
Several articles claim that Mr. Wilson is a good guy and this is not normal for him. Guess what? This is the first African American President so he had no need to act like this in the past. You will never convince me or anyone with common sense that all of this hoopla over health care is not an undercover way to protest a black President. To all the nuts out there all I can say is get over it, there's a black man in charge.
Two of the articles below: "A Dangerous Kind of Hate" by Colbert I. King of the Washington Post and "Boy, Oh, Boy!" by New York Times op-ed columnist, Maureen Dowd, are quite revealing. Take a minute to click and read them.
A Dangerous Kind of Hate by Colbert I. King, Washington Post
On Aug. 16, pastor Steven L. Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Ariz., told his congregation that he prays for the death of President Obama. In a sermon titled "Why I Hate Barack Obama," Anderson preached: "I'm not going to pray for his good, I'm going to pray he dies and goes to hell." Read the full story here
Boy, Oh, Boy! by Maureen Dowd
The normally nonchalant Barack Obama looked nonplussed, as Nancy Pelosi glowered behind.
Surrounded by middle-aged white guys - a sepia snapshot of the days when such pols ran Washington like their own mens club - Joe Wilson yelled “You lie!” at a president who didn’t.
But, fair or not, what I heard was an unspoken word in the air: You lie, boy!Read it here
Wilson: No more apologies for outburst against president
(CNN) -- Rep. Joe Wilson said Sunday he will not apologize again for yelling out that President Obama lied during the president's speech to Congress last week.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, shouts "You lie!" during President Obama's speech Wednesday night.
"I am not going to apologize again," the South Carolina Republican said on "FOX News Sunday" when asked about pending disciplinary steps against him by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.
Wilson said he already apologized to Obama and that the president accepted it. However, he insisted that Obama "was misstating the facts," and that Democratic leaders in the House were "playing politics" by continuing to focus on the issue.
The controversy has shifted the focus of the heated health care debate by calling attention to claims by Republicans that a health care overhaul sought by Obama and Democrats would provide free insurance coverage for illegal immigrants. Read the full story on CNN.com
I have a lot of respect for Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr and it is sad that this kind of foolishness still goes on in America. But, I have to admit, I'm getting a kick out of it.
Just think, of all people to mess with, the cops selected one of the nation's pre-eminent African America scholar. And, when people want a statement from him, he directs them to his boy, Dr. Charles Ogletree, a Harvard Law Professor. Oh Lord, it doesn't get any better than this! The Po-Po is gonna have to be more careful these days and watch who they pick fights with. Black folks have come a long way and you never know who you're messing with. I hope this incident gets back to the boys in the hood - they can celebrate because Gates and Ogletree are the two best people to show that the "post-racial/Obama era" people keep referring to is a figment of someone's imagination.
When I initially heard about this incident I hoped that it was just the police protecting the neighborhood. If there were two men of any race kicking or appearing to force a door in at my home I would hope someone would call 911. Too bad people are no longer neighborly - back in the day my neighbors would have looked out the window and known who it was if they lived in the area.
But nowadays they would call 911.
The problem with this incident seems to be the fact that they arrested Dr. Gates even after they found out who he was and had a problem with him being "loud and tumultuous."
The man was home. He had a right to be as loud as he wanted to be after showing proof that he was not a robber on a cane. I suspect Dr. Gates used words the police couldn't even spell and it got them mad. Perhaps that's what the tumultuous means.
We can't jump to conclusions and think this was racist - although I doubt that a frail white man using a cane would have been treated this way. I believe it's something I often talk about with police - white, black or otherwise - they have a power problem and tend to abuse the power they were given. If someone does not give police the respect they think they deserve because they carry a gun, some police feel like they can arrest you for disrespect. Any, police often arrest people because they feel they were disrespected. In addition to being ignorant, that is abuse of power but it happens every day with these insecure police officers trying to find their manhood (or womanhood) in a badge.
Black scholar's arrest raises racism claims
BOSTON - Police responding to a call about "two black males" breaking into a home near Harvard University ended up arresting the man who lives there — Henry Louis Gates Jr., the pre-eminent African-American studies scholar.
Gates had forced his way through the front door because it was jammed, his lawyer said. Colleagues call the arrest last Thursday afternoon a clear case of racial profiling.
Cambridge police say they responded to the well-maintained two-story home after a woman reported seeing "two black males with backpacks on the porch," with one "wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry."
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