W.E.E Peeps Friday Link Sweep

does anyone here watch Damages?

I watched Season 1 and now gotta get caught up thru On Demand.

FX, TNT and USA are THE BEST when it comes to dramas.

I am afraid to go to these white blogs. I am afraid what I will find out about myself.

lol lol funny as hell

They like dissecting our minds based on their illusions or the latest discovery/history channel special or prof. West speech lol lol lol Not by talking to us though too threatening lol lol

Angry Black woman. I make the white women cry when I step into their offices. Just say boo and the crying starts.

lol lol lol Trose you are a colorist... lol lol make people cry based on their color lol lol lol lol

I don't get why some are just always scared, its like they make stuff up in their mind seriously, its sad.

"colorist"

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!

carolinagirl: LAWD HA'MERCY!! Ima have another sip of - - OBAMA-ADE as I watch Mr. President ascendin' those stairs!!

He B FY-INNE - - even from the BACK!! :>)

OK guys I am going to have to leave the Internet alone. What the hell is going on at the daily kos? Look at the top story.
WTF!
I have not read the story but my god.
http://www.dailykos.com/

New Study Finds Median Wealth of Black Women Is $5

I'm sorry trose1. I was gonna post this, but got depressed soon after. Apparently, black women:

Will die alone with 11 cats
Because they can't get a man
Because they are too educated and career driven
Because guys of outside races don't want them
Can't get married to their baby daddies
Have the highest rates of HIV
Half of us (that's 1 out of every two women) have herpes
And we're only worth about $5...

Seriously, why don't black women just fall off the face of the earth already?

I'm not buying this bullshit anymore...its like the entire state of the media has an agenda to get us to all stick our nappy heads in an oven. Fuck that.

I know. It is not going to happen. Black women are strong. Hmmmmm
Black women = Michelle Obama

BAM! There ya have it!

They are trying to say Michelle Obama is a monkey full of aides, herpes, broke, ugly, had a ton of abortions.
I know what these fools are up to.
I have never seen KOS have a lead story about Black people.

If they do its some paternalistic bullshit...

aint that the damn truth!

LMAO I am a Black woman and I see some shit but I have not witnessed all this shit.
I know more white women SNEAKING around getting abortions. I know white men and women crying about their diagnosis of herpes. They keep cold sores on their lips. ugh just nasty

This is a sad fact but at my black junior high school there were more pregnant girls then at my white high school.

My point is that I went to high school with a lot of horny, drop it like its hot rich white girls. They had been screwing since they were 14 (jr high) but their rich parents took care of that situation (abortion) while the black girls were having their babies. One of my white friends had two abortions by her senior year. By high school the black girls were on birth control, so there were actually fewer pregnant girls in high school than in jr high. Now this was in the 80s so I don't know how it is now, but I can't imagine things have changed that much.

I went to a hbcu and there are a lot of polls that will have students at hbcu with more stds than at white schools. Reason for that is that the black students utilizes the school infirmary where those cases are available, while the white students go back home to their PRIVATE doctor where that information is not made public or is available.

Basically, it is all bullshit!!! You have as many fast tail lil black girls as you have white girls. The main difference is that the white girls are going to private doctors and clinics and are terminating those pregnancies. Same thing with stds. That's why we need more black journalists who will counteract all of this bullshit.

Angee, I went to an all-girl catholic high school here in Cleveland. Most of the white girls, most catholic, had 5 or 6 abortions before we graduated. It was no secret. The nuns knew, the teachers knew. It was out in the open. That's why I laugh at the catholic churchs stance on abortion.

I was raised catholic.
I was at the Obama rally in GSO last year and Sister Gretchen was there. She left my home church (progressive catholic church black neighborhood)because it has become too conservative.
This is a nun in her 70s that is now freelancing because her church can't get over the abortion issue. Hardcore Obama fan who wished that the church felt as strongly about the death penalty as it does about abortion.
Said she was Fired Up and Ready to Go. Sister Gretchen is GANGSTA!!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

You are welcome. It seems like every 4 years this same story crops up and its bullshit!

Oh didnt you know? and half of us have herpes..yeah, I saw that article on CNN...so we're all bitter hags with herpes and $5 in our raggedy pockets. Hell, why dont I just take a rope go in my closet and get the shit over with?

Do not buy into to these bullshit trifling "we aint shit, aint gone be shit" news stories.

Damn they really trying or going into overdrive to kill the black woman's spirit [that is make sure we feel that the barack and michelle life is an exception lol lol lol] you know what let them keep deluding themselves with this illusion. It helps them feel superior.

Notice though how statistics of drunk driving changed from being labeled by race since majority were white etc..

Fuck 'em they will have to try harder, the girls and guys I work with are going to college inspired to study law, biology, literature, open barber shop based on business law they learned... FUCK 'EM.... YOU WILL NEVER SUCCEED IN BREAKING OUR SPIRIT.

don't forgot, we can't find a MAN!

Well no man wants us...so apparently we just throw ourselves at EVERY man, hence we all have HIV and herpes.......go figure.

How come the only folks I see w/ cold sores are white folks???

if you ever work with a bunch of white girls, they never have a clean pap smear. They are always waiting for that phonecall from the doctor.Somethin is always WRONG!

I'm not trying to be mean, but if you ever worked with them, they will tell all their damn business.

LOL yes they will tell u everything! I have heard about EVERYTHING. Then want you to eat their food they bring in. I take it and throw it in the trash!

*DEAD*

OH DAMN!!! YOU KILLIN ME! All I can think of is the disappointed look they have when I pass up their damn food...I have been allergic to more shit they bring in than the law should allow...ROFLMAO

I am cracking up. LMAO
Miranda you know the drill. Thank you as soon as they leave.

TRASH!!!

LMAO I know. At work these white girls come into the office on Monday lips full of sores.
NASTY!

I saw that story. WTF is going on? We aborting all the babies, got herpes, jealous of white women, and don't have a penny in the bank.

We just hopeless! like a penny with a hole in it!

WTF !
I want to see the CBC, "twavis the cwab" and all the Black usual suspects. If they are not up in arms about this bullshit they need to sit down and STFU!
This makes me angry!
http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archi...

It comes in 3s.

Payday Loan regulation... *crickets*
Student Loan overhaul... *tumble weeds*

...and now this.

Yet they're hollering about summer jobs for youth as if a summer gig at the Parks & Recreation is gonna pay a mortgage since Mama and Daddy both outta work. The CBC is just full of shit.

Nothing like the teenager bringing home the bacon so he can pay for everyone's food and shelter.

I'm so sick of Maxine Waters talking about some damn summer jobs for youth. If we weren't experiencing the biggest decline in employment in decades she might have something...but now is not the time to be whining about why Peewee and dem cant find a job from June to August when their folks are still looking for work!

their asses need to be in school learning something. maxine find their parents a job with a livable wage and then junior don't have to work.

I think summer jobs are essential. Maxine needs to get her wig on straight and get on these shows and cuss out Durbin and Sessions.

In my opinion, this is my opinion only.... I think its because they don't have a grasp of the issues or complexities at all. Few of them understand the economic or judicial aspect. Rangel for example introduced a bill on the very issue so he understands it. But alot of them need new staffers who understand policy, leveraging of power and leveraging black voices..

On this issue, they can do something amazing by not voting for the senate bill with the hispanic caucus [ but I can see the hispanic caucus going for the compromise because a lot hispanic are incarcerated for power substance] either way they can say no to bill, UNTIL disparity is eliminated fully. The president, Eric Holder supported Durbin and the house version, this is something the public unless RACIST will agree to 1:1 ration period.

This is where they can stand and we got to work the phones.

I agree...I really believe the staff of these CBC members are as out-of-date as their bosses.

what is the sentencing for crystal meth? In honor of Rick james, that crystal meth is a helluva drug and crack ain't got nothing on crystal.
So if the argument is that it isn't about race but potency, what about crystal meth which is more powerful than crack and tend to be made by and sold by WHITE PEOPLE?

The before and after pics of those white people on Meth are unbelievable. It is sad. White people don't go to jail for drug use.

Oh side note WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH SOME SHOW I RAN INTO ON MTV ON PREGNANCY, like its amazing, all white kids. What the hell? They get a pass

I'll cop to watching it. Last season was a bit glamorous, well as glamorous as being a teenage girl with a baby can be. All of the girls had boyfriends and/or parents with money and were still together at the end of the season, and one couple (the black girl) even got married. One couple gave their baby up for adoption, and one couple's baby has liver disease.

This season is closer to reality. So far, none of the couples are together, and some dads have pretty much left their kids and moved on to new girls. Out of the four shows so far, two babies have had health issues. It's grim and sad.

I'm sixteen and pregnant. I told my neices don't watch that bullshit. Turn that shit off. Glamorizing having a baby without being married.

nope they just go to rehab and then get a damn reality show.

LMAO, have u seen those people on the current season of celebrity rehab? Just a hot mess....all of them.

Exactly. Getting high while in rehab.
I know heidi is high as a motherfreaker on there. Always licking those crusty ass lips and feening...

LOL u see that country girl have that seizure.? I mean really.
That Heidi Fleiss and her birds.... I mean birds ..WTF

You think many of the members of the CBC don't understand this law? Or do you mean laws in general? Lord have mercy ....my people my people. You are probably right.

things change overtime and it gets complex and complex, thus incumbent to always stay ahead. Its like insurance, it used to be simple but it got complicated with the many risks involved. I am not sure they have the proper staffers working with them who understand the laws that passes and their effect on their constituents. It is impossible for a legislator to know all or for that matter any individual (there is just alot to know at any given time, too much to know and no humanly possible way to know it all, nobody knows it all), thus its based on what your staffers are researching, data from your community, what your constituents are saying etc. to help but I am just not seeing it from some members. This is my opinion, just me..

but since they are all about black people and a black agenda, it is their JOB to understand the law or at least hire someone who can explain it to them in a way that they can understand it.

This shit ain't new. People have been talking about the disparity between crack and powder for DECADES. If they don't understand the law by now, they don't want to understand it. They just want to go on a black superbowl and shout a lot of rhetoric that will get the audience clapping, but that they have no intention of doing anything about.

It's time to vote those MOFOs out and get some new blood. Damn, this is the age of Obama and it is time to send their 1960s-70s behinds home.

Sorry, I just had a Warren Ballantine moment. lol

you are not wrong... I watched the #2 in the house clyburn not able to articulate a plan or explain policy. I wanted to throw my shoes at him on TV. I know we have stupid people in the legislative branch from all spectrum of the race but we need passionate, intellectuals, people who love people and respect people [very very very important for any person in government], good staffers and teach them to use the internet from black legislators.

When are u running for office??????
Clyburn.............alll I can say is.......he trys.
LMAO I know exactly what u mean.

Me run for office, no. Maybe in 8-10 years lol .. haha... I should ask when is Trose1 running for office? RobM or Town or Miranda or wsy needs to run for office too, federal and state level.

I just want to see them do better as they can do better.. Seriously, they can do better trose, THAT is some.

Clyburn tries but it I saw it and was disappointed, maybe it's age. But it applies to all the legislators that's why whoever their staff is needs to be really good at researching, listening and keeping them up to date.

love clyburn, but I get your point. It's call being a career politician who never had a REAL job in a gerrymandered safe district.
They don't have to learn shit when they run unoppose year after year. They are in office till they die.
Hell some of them have been in office longer than they have been married. Just dreadful!

I got skeletons in the closet! One too many bones.

come to think of it, my comments on here will come back to hunt me, I will be called a colorist lol oh well

LOL

LOL no excuses. I am not a lawyer but they cannot be confused on this issue. Black people have to do better.

"...thus its based on what your staffers are researching, data from your community, what your constituents are saying etc. to help but I am just not seeing it from some members."
STOP MAKING SENSE!

Someone called into Rev Al's show and said that these white MF's put the money for Black colleges in the HCR bill so it can be compromised out. These Dem MF"S need to go somewhere. ALL BLACK PEOPLE NEED TO BE OUTRAGED.

I was just coming to post this!

Yeah....what's that? Oh...that's the CBC hiding in the corner trying not to make a sound about this?

Miranda post it big. These MF Black organizations make me ill. All this talk about what Obama is NOT doing and they are doing absolutely nothing. I do know the NAACP has sent things out about this issue.
This is just bullshit. How the hell these MF's going to "compromise" on Black people rights? Like we are animals. WTF people should be outraged.

Here's the problem.....There's NO MONEY involve, so why should they get involve?
You know the cbc, tavis and all the usual suspects are about the almighty dollar!

20-1 reduction from 100-1, see that is systematic racism, that is not good, how about eliminating the disparity... this is how racism is kept alive..

Drug Sentencing Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1383), introduced by Senator Sessions (R-AL)

* This bill would reduce the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences to 20:1. It would take 20 and 200 grams of crack to trigger 5 and 10 year mandatory minimum sentences, respectively. The legislation would also decrease the amount of powder cocaine necessary to trigger a mandatory minimum sentence to 400 grams for a 5 year sentence, and 4000 grams for a 10 year sentence.
* The bill would also reduce the current mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine from 5 years to 1 year.
* Analysis of the legislation:
o The positive aspect of this act is that it reduces the existing disparity of crack and cocaine sentences to 20:1. However, this is still a disparity between the amount of crack and powder cocaine that trigger the same mandatory minimum sentence, which will likely lead to more racial injustices. The amount of crack that would trigger a mandatory minimum sentence would still be so low that law enforcement would continue to waste federal resources on low-level drug law offenders instead of targeting major traffickers and crime syndicates.
o This act would also decrease the amount of powder cocaine necessary to elicit a mandatory minimum.
[ THIS SESSIONS BILL NEVER WENT ANY WHERE]

DURBIN'S BILL

The Fair Sentencing Act will:

* Eliminate the sentencing disparity by instituting a 1:1 ratio for crack and powder sentencing.

* Increase the quantity of crack cocaine needed to trigger a mandatory sentence. Under this new law, possession of 500 grams of crack and 500 grams of powder cocaine would trigger a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. Similarly, 5,000 grams of crack or powder would trigger a 10-year sentence.

* Direct federal resources toward large-scale drug trafficking cases and violent offenders by increasing the number of aggravating factors subject to higher penalties.

A broad coalition of legal, law enforcement, civil rights, and religious groups from across the political spectrum supports eliminating the crack-powder disparity, including Attorney General Holder, Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton, Miami Police Chief John Timoney, the American Bar Association, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the National Black Police Association, and the United Methodist Church.

In addition to Senators Leahy and Specter, the bill is cosponsored by Judiciary Committee Members Feingold (D-WI), Cardin (D-MD), Whitehouse (D-RI), Kaufman (D-DE), and Franken (D-MN). Senators Kerry (D-MA) and Dodd (D-CT) are also original cosponsors.
http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releas...

Taking into account that:

The federal criminal penalty structure for the possession and distribution of crack cocaine is one hundred times more severe than the penalty structure relating to powder cocaine. Blacks comprise the vast majority of those convicted of crack cocaine offenses while the majority of those convicted of powder cocaine offenses are white. This disparity has led to inordinately harsh sentences disproportionately meted out to African American defendants that are far more severe than sentences for comparable activity by white defendants. Indeed, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reported that revising this one sentencing rule would do more to reduce the sentencing gap between blacks and whites "than any other single policy change," and would "dramatically improve the fairness of the federal sentencing system." Notwithstanding widespread recognition of the inequity of the current sentencing scheme, courts have found that domestic law affords no remedy.
-- Nkechi Taifa: http://www.acslaw.org/files/Taifa-%20Crack%20-%...

BASICALLY MOTHERFUCKERS GETS HIS 20:1 RATIO AS ONE BLOGGER CALLED IT ITS NOW 1/5TH RACIST AS BEFORE
BUT WE ARE NOT DONE
http://criminaljustice.change.org/blog/view/cra...

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee spent almost their entire meeting yesterday talking about drugs (leaving discussion of sex, rock-and-roll and judicial nominees for another day). Despite these limits on the conversation, the committee made a significant -- if disappointing -- advance toward reducing the sentencing disparity for possession of crack versus powder cocaine.

For over 20 years, possession of crack has been punished at 100 times the rate of sentences for powder cocaine. In other words, getting caught with five grams of crack would be treated as legally equivalent to possessing 500 grams of powder cocaine.

This discrepancy is no joke. Although most crack users are white, over 80% of defendants busted for crack possession are black. The law's racially disproportionate effect contributes to America imprisoning more people per capita than any other nation. Additionally, minorities compose 70% of this bloated prison population. In the words of one stalwart leader on criminal justice reform, the result is "an overwhelming international embarrassment."

So yesterday's moves to decrease the sentencing disparity are welcome, but fall well short of ideal. In the spirit of bipartisanship that has served them so well on issues including health care, climate change and civil liberties, Democrats again sacrificed their principals in order to appease a vociferous Republican minority. Rather than push through Sen. Dick Durbin's law which would have eliminated the crack/powder sentencing disparity, Democrats settled for reducing the disparity from 100:1 to 20:1. Great. Now the law's only 1/5 as racist as it used to be. Congratulations.

For those tempted to hem and haw about whether the Senate could have passed Durbin's bill, stop. Democrats enjoy a 12-to-7 majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sure, Republicans could have taken offense at the Democrats reliance on majority rule, and opted to delay, anonymously hold, filibuster and otherwise obstruct the bill's passage on the Senate floor. But what happens on the Senate floor is another story entirely, symptomatic of other ills. The bottom line is this: Democrats gave in again and are advancing merely less racist legislation on the Senate floor.

But wait! There's hope.

As every fan of School House Rock knows, a bill doesn't become a law until it's passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President. And the House of Representatives isn't content to engage in self-congratulatory speeches for making American law less racist.

Rather, the House Judiciary Committee has already passed a bill that would eliminate the crack/powder sentencing disparity. So, assuming that the House and Senate move on the bills now before them, the possibility remains that, in conference, the bills will be made uniform in abolishing this unjust, and unjustifiable discrepancy.

Act now to seize the momentous opportunity. They won't act without your calls and letters. End the crack/powder sentencing disparity.

CALL YOUR CONGRESS MEN/WOMEN, SENATORS, WE NEED FOLKS TO MAKE A STINK ABOUT THIS... THE CONGRESS MUST STICK TO ITS OWN VERSION OF THE BILL, MEANING CBC DO NOT VOTE FOR THE BILL UNTIL ITS FULLY ELIMINATED!!!

Thank you aleth. I cannot understand why Durbin needs to compromise at all. It makes little sense.

This burns me up. Where is the outrage????????
Let me go check out our Black blogs. I wonder what will be the topic tonight on the Obama bashing Black blogs. This is bullshit!
Yes, this is exactly how it is done and Black people let it happen.

this is good news:

Pelosi And Miller Affirm That Student Loan Overhaul Will Be Included In Health Care Package

Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Last year, the House passed the the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), which would end the senseless subsidies that the federal government gives to lenders to originate student loans. But thanks to intense lobbying by the lenders, blanket opposition from Republicans, and hesitant Democrats from states in which the lenders are based, the bill has stalled in the Senate.

To break the impasse, Democrats have been going back and forth on whether or not to include SAFRA in the same reconciliation package that they plan to use to make fixes to the Senate health care reform bill. Early yesterday, it seemed like such a step was not in the stars, but today, it’s looking more likely that SAFRA will indeed be included in the health care fix.

Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) has apparently had his concerns assuaged, while both Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) said that including SAFRA is a go. “This is critical to passing this in the caucus,” said Miller. “People have made it very clear they want to take this home.”

There are plenty of good reasons for putting SAFRA in the reconciliation bill. For starters, only one reconciliation bill can be passed per year, so leaving SAFRA out means exposing it to an almost inevitable filibuster later or waiting until next year’s budget resolution to include it again. Second, as Politico pointed out, the savings in SAFRA help the overall package meet reconciliation requirements:

The Senate parliamentarian notified Democratic leaders that, in order to meet the reconciliation requirements, both the Senate health and finance committees would need to produce $1 billion in deficit savings each over the next 10 years, Conrad said. With health care alone, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee would not be able to show the items within its jurisdiction save at least $1 billion. By inserting the education package, the committee would satisfy the reconciliation instructions, Conrad said.

With student debt at a record high of $23,200 per student, and the nation facing budget deficits for the next decade, it’s inexcusable to continue the current student loan system, which is nothing more than corporate welfare. The federal government gives billions every year to private companies to originate loans and then guarantees loan repayment up to 97 percent, even though the government can originate loans more efficiently and for less money. For every $100 lent by the banks, the cost to the government is about $13.81 in subsidies and defaults. The same amount lent directly by the government costs $3.85.

The lenders and their supporters in Congress argue that SAFRA constitutes an unprecedented “Washington takeover” of student lending and that the reform will kill jobs in the lending industry. As I pointed out over at AOL News today, both of these claims are bunk. The present system simply lets lenders pocket tax dollars while adding no value to the loan process.

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/03/12/pe...

Don't celebrate I heard that this will be used as a "compromise" on HCR. Basically, this will be cut to pass HCR. The tricks are just beginning.

Read this from WaPo:

With student loan bill on verge of vote, new priorities in education funding

By Nick Anderson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 12, 2010; 3:43 PM

In the final push to pass a major student aid bill pending in Congress, funding for key elements in President Obama's education agenda is dwindling.

New Congressional Budget Office projections show that Obama's proposal to cut private banks out of a federal lending program would yield billions of dollars less than he originally hoped. That means less money for priorities that range from early childhood education to college completion, and a scramble is underway to determine what initiatives will be funded and what will be cut if, as expected, the loan overhaul merges with health-care legislation that appears headed for a final vote soon.

(SNIP)

In September, the administration cheered House approval of a measure that would expand direct government lending and end a program in which private lenders receive subsidies to originate student loans with a government guarantee against default. That switch, at the time, was estimated to produce $87 billion in savings over 10 years.

Now, the nonpartisan CBO projects the overhaul would yield about $20 billion less than that earlier estimate, mainly because many colleges already have switched to direct government lending.

Meanwhile cost estimates for one of the core spending priorities in the original bill -- the Pell grant program for needy college students -- are ballooning because the sour economy has pushed more eligible students into higher education. There are now more than 8 million grant recipients, and the total could push toward 9 million in the next year.

There is some debate over which estimate for the student-loan bill should apply. But congressional and administration insiders say it appears virtually certain that the lower number will prevail. The overhaul itself also would cost billions of dollars.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Thursday that the measure he seeks to enact would channel more than $50 billion into Pell grants. That's up from the House-passed bill's total of $40 billion. In addition, Harkin indicated that growth in the maximum Pell grant award would be less than the House envisioned. Instead of rising from the current $5,550 to $6,900 over the next decade -- as the House bill projects -- Harkin said the maximum annual award would rise to between $6,300 and $6,500.

Harkin said annual Pell award increases would be tied to inflation, but he omitted mention of a provision in the House bill that would tie the increase to inflation plus one percentage point. Lobbyists say they believe the additional percentage point will be dropped in final negotiations.

In addition, Harkin said the overhaul would reduce the budget deficit by at least $5 billion while channeling $2 billion toward historically black colleges and universities and $750 million to help low-income students enter and complete college.

Harkin and House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.) indicated that negotiations are ongoing. But it appears that funding is in peril for at least some provisions Obama has sought. The House bill includes $10 billion for community colleges, $8 billion for early education, $4 billion for school modernization and $3 billion for college access and completion.

Spending in the measure, said Joel Packer, executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, which represents dozens of education groups, appeared likely to "be scaled backed, somewhat significantly."

Meanwhile, the student loan industry is pushing for Congress to slow down and consider an alternative that would cut subsidies but preserve a role for private lenders in originating loans.

"We oppose any process that generates a bill that needlessly eliminates jobs and valuable student services," said Martha Holler, a vice president of Reston-based SLM Corp., also known as Sallie Mae, the largest student loan provider.

What do you mean? What does this bill have to do with HCR? They have 50+ votes for reconciliation already without the student loan bill. Most of the democrats who have objected to the student loan bill are not on record supporting reconciliation and that is less than 9 so they don't need them.

Someone on Rev Al's show said it is in the reconilliation bill and will be COMPROMISED out. These MF's are full of tricks.

People are just saying crazy stuff without knowing the facts.

You never know. Just putting it out there. I don't trust those MF's. Why would Durbin compromise with that ole Klansmen Session's?

Either way just keep watch on

1. Loan reform bill [ It should pass since its through reconciliation without any changes]

2. Congress decision on the 20:1 compromise on crack disparity.

Did anyone know about the letter TJ posted on his blog about tavis and Sharpton? I listened to Tom's reaction to their phonecalls yesterday. We all made comments about Tom sticking up for tavis. I was one of those people.
But then I found this link to a letter that he posted on his blog for tavis anticipating tavis and Sharpton's call later that day.
Here is the link:
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=blog_inner/17... Fly Jock

I found this comment of Tom's very interesting, "I hope that somehow, someway, Tavis will realize that if he is ever to gain the love and respect he once received from black America, he will have to find it in his heart to show love and respect for the president. It’s just that simple. And there’s a big difference in saying you have love and showing it. Love is unconditional - or it should be anyway."

And this one, "I believe the beef Tavis has with President Obama is personal, and only the two of them know what it’s really about."

I almost feel sorry for ole Tom now, especially since he will not be at tavis' lil townhall because he will be a host at Sharpton's event. lol Karma is a bitch tavis and I heard that she bites! Even your ole friend Tom sees thru you!

I agree with Tom about this "I believe the beef Tavis has with President Obama is personal".......damn skippy....Barack Obama did not need the permission of Tavis or any of the so-called "black leaders" to run for the Presidency. He didn't ask, he just DID...and Tavis is upset because he thought he was the kingmaker. Now he's just a bitter hater and he has all of the influence of Vanilla Ice.

TJ basically admits that Tavis' beef with PBO is personal and unreasonable, so why give Tavis a platform to spew bullshit? TJ says, "Don’t use your energy to spew hate against a brother that you know deep inside is in a bad situation. Use your energy to help black leaders - including the president - find solutions to some of the issues that are plaguing our community...". Maybe he should've told Tavis that after his lil' lecture yesterday morning. Instead, TJ was telling Rev. Al -- the one who was merely defending himself from Tavis' lies -- to move on. Furthermore, Tavis' "bad situation" is his own doing.

"So, we can continue to fan the flames and push his buttons, but I can’t see how that does anyone any good."

Tavis started it and we're just finishing it.

"But we also have a lot in common, and that commonality should be enough to remind us that in-fighting is non-productive, divisive and kind of embarrassing. The spotlight is on us right now, and I don’t like what’s being seen by the world."

Then stop giving Tavis an extra platform for his bs, TJ!

Tom Joyner is suffering from Michael Vick syndrome: he's letting his boy from back in the day drag him down.

Tom doesn't need to give Tavis a mic to air out his concerns or defend himself. Tavis has his own radio show and tv show to do that. What does he need Tom's mic for?

Oh yes, the TJMS has more followers than Tavis' nite-time show.

If Tom Joyner doesn't want to be seen as being in cahoots with Tavis and his hate, he shouldn't have Tavis on his show anymore. I hope he realizes Tavis pimped him and his show to get publicity for his sad little Negro Expo. Thing is, Tavis probably told him he just wanted to come on to talk about his Negro Expo. Tom probably didn't even know the way Tavis was going to pimp his expo was to put Sharpton & Friends on blast.

But now he knows, so if he chooses to have Tavis on in the future and Tavis puts somebody else on blast, Tom Joyner will officially be in cahoots with Tavis and his hate.

Tom Joyner is suffering from Michael Vick syndrome: he's letting his boy from back in the day drag him down.

Town breaks it down.

I afgree. It's almost like a paternal relationship with those two. Tom knows tavis is a screw up and continues to screw up but he loves him anyway. He loves him so much he makes excuses for tavis' behavior.

This is Tom excusing tavis' behavior, "I know that if Tavis knew how to get out of this situation, he would. But it’s not in him to do what needs to be done, to recognize he has gone down a wrong path, and his only real option is to turn around."

Tom if you love your boy tavis you need to seat his lil ass down and show him some tough love. You need to get real with him, lord knows, west and dyson is not going to do it. They need tavis to put them on and they are not going to rock that money boat.

The only way for Tavis to turn around is to be completely destroyed. Tom knows that and he doesn't want to see that happen, but that's what's going to happen.

Tom Joyner is suffering from Michael Vick syndrome: he's letting his boy from back in the day drag him down.

*dead*

fyi... I'm listening to the rebroadcast of Keeping it Real with Al Sharpton.
Link: http://wolbbaltimore.com/

and his forum will be broadcast on tvone and msnbc next Saturday. tavis' townhall will be on cspan that same day. Should be interesting.

I agree, but I was surprise that he actually went there on his blog. Wish he would have done it on the radio like tavis.

had no idea about the letter, and thanks for pointing it out to us.

Wow, do you know how hard it must have been for Tom to actually post that?

it's like LBJ, Vietnam and Walter Cronkite.

I wonder if Tavis will 'get it' the way that LBJ did.

No, I don't think Tavis will get it because Tavis thinks it's all about him and until he gets over himself (which is unlikely), he's going to continue on this downward spiral. Anytime you demand to be put on somebody's magazine cover, then put them on a "hit list" because they reject your demand, something's wrong with you. And I think what most people are disgusted by the most is the level of disrespect Tavis has towards other people. It seems like he only respects people who kiss his ass. Everyone else can kick rocks.

And I think what most people are disgusted by the most is the level of disrespect Tavis has towards other people.

so true.

he dissed DOROTHY HEIGHT.

DOROTHY HEIGHT.

I admit I'm still not past that.

Eventhough he is still defending tavis, he's still keeping it real.

The comments are hardcore. Some really make you say ummmm like this one:
[Posted by Tbetter1 March 12, 2010, 11:38 am
Poor Tavis. I believe what he really needs is a woman. Has anyone ever seen him photographed with a female? Maybe there is something going on with him that he has not been completely honest about. If I was Tavis, I would pipe down a little. If would be a shame if people started tapping in to his personal life.]

".....tapping in to his personal life."
ROTFLMBAO!!!

Cuomo Hands Paterson Case to an Ex-Judge

By DANNY HAKIM

ALBANY — Facing growing political pressure, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday appointed an independent counsel to take over his office’s investigation into the Paterson administration’s response to a domestic violence case.

Mr. Cuomo said Judith S. Kaye, the former chief judge of New York, would lead the inquiry, along with an investigation into whether the governor lied when he was questioned by the State Commission on Public Integrity about his office’s solicitation of Yankees World Series tickets.

The development came as a surprise; Mr. Cuomo had previously expressed no public reservations about taking on the sensitive cases, even as he prepared to announce his candidacy for governor, and his staff had spent the past two weeks investigating the domestic violence case.

But in recent days, the political complications for Mr. Cuomo became more apparent. The cases are likely to drag on for weeks if not months, potentially colliding with the start of Mr. Cuomo’s campaign for governor, which is expected to begin next month.

In addition, some African-American leaders and newspaper editorials had urged him to step aside, given his political ambitions and the delicate decisions he could confront leading the investigations.

“An investigation of a sitting governor of New York is a complex, weighty matter indeed,” Mr. Cuomo said in a conference call with reporters on Thursday afternoon.

“My office has conducted a preliminary review of both matters,” he added, “and we have determined that there are credible issues that need to be resolved.”

Those staff members from his office who have been conducting the investigation will now report to Ms. Kaye instead of to him.

In a statement, Ms. Kaye thanked Mr. Cuomo for “entrusting me with these serious and important matters.”

“I promise,” she added, “that the public will have a full, fair and independent accounting of the facts.”

The governor’s lawyer, Theodore V. Wells, Jr., said in his own statement: “We respect Attorney General Cuomo’s decision to appoint Chief Judge Kaye as independent counsel to the Office of the Attorney General,” adding that they “look forward to a prompt and favorable conclusion to both investigations.”

But Oscar Michelen, the lawyer for David W. Johnson, the aide involved in the alleged domestic violence, said Mr. Cuomo should go further and withdraw his staff members from the case. “After all, this investigation has been proceeding under his direction and control for some time,” Mr. Michelen said. “I believe it would have been more prudent and would have completely removed any specter of political motivation to have allowed Judge Kaye to take over with her own staff and team. I hope that he re-evaluates this decision and comes to the conclusion to do just that.”

In his conference call with reporters, Mr. Cuomo said his decision was driven not by politics, but by his concern about the appearance of a conflict of interest.

“I understand the political environment, and I understand the ferocity of politics in New York,” he said, “and I understand that it is incredibly important to all of us that the public have 100 percent confidence that this investigation is being handled properly.”

Mr. Paterson, who like Mr. Cuomo is a Democrat, ended his own candidacy last month in the wake of the domestic violence scandal. But some African-American leaders have expressed concern that the controversy has been overblown and worry that the governor will not get a full hearing for his side of the story.

Last weekend, Charles Barron, a New York City councilman, called on Mr. Cuomo to recuse himself from the domestic violence case. Ms. Kaye, who spent nearly 16 years as the state’s chief judge before her retirement in 2008, now works at Skadden, Arps. She was appointed in 1983 to the Court of Appeals by Mr. Cuomo’s father, former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, and was the first woman to serve on the state’s highest court. Ms. Kaye will not be paid in her role as independent counsel.


FULL ARTICLE: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/nyregion/12in...

should have done this a long time ago

White House Identifies 3 as Likely Picks for Fed Posts
By SEWELL CHAN
Published: March 12, 2010

WASHINGTON — Moving quickly to put its mark on the Federal Reserve, the White House on Friday identified two economists and a lawyer as its choices to fill all three vacancies on the central bank’s board of governors, a senior administration official said.

The economists are Janet L. Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, who is the top choice for vice chairwoman, and Peter A. Diamond, an M.I.T. economist who is an authority on Social Security, pensions and taxation. The lawyer, Sarah Bloom Raskin, is the Maryland commissioner of financial regulation.

The Obama administration stopped short of saying that it would formally nominate all three to the Senate, stating only that Ms. Yellen was “a leading contender” and that Mr. Diamond and Ms. Raskin were “under consideration,” the administration official said.

The cautious language seemed in part a way to gauge reaction in Congress at a time when the central bank has faced intense criticism.

In January, the Senate confirmed the Fed’s chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, to a second four-year term by the narrowest margin for any chairman in the Fed’s history. Mr. Diamond, 69, has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1966 and was president of the American Economic Association in 2003.

Ms. Raskin, 48, was named in 2007 to the Maryland position, which involves consumer protection, an area of particular concern to the Fed. She was previously managing director of the Promontory Financial Group, which was founded by Eugene A. Ludwig, a former comptroller of the currency who is influential in Democratic circles. Ms. Raskin previously served as counsel to the Senate Banking Committee when it was led by Senator Paul S. Sarbanes, Democrat of Maryland.

Ms. Raskin’s husband, Jamin B. Raskin, is a Maryland state senator and a law professor at American University.

Mr. Diamond also has ties to the Obama administration and Democratic politics; he wrote a book on Social Security with Peter R. Orszag, who is director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Ms. Yellen, 63, a Brooklyn native who received her Ph.D. in economics at Yale, has taught in the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, since 1980. She was a member of the Fed board from 1994 to 1997 and then chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, from 1997 to 1999, under the Clinton administration. Ms. Yellen’s husband, George A. Akerlof, is a Nobel Prize-winning economist who also teaches at Berkeley.

Mr. Obama has named one other Fed governor, Daniel K. Tarullo, who took office in January 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/business/econ...

I don't know about the site but I like the newspaper headline:

REPUBLICANS TURNED OFF BY SIZE OF OBAMA'S PACKAGE

HAHAHA http://probablybadnews.com/2010/03/05/funny-new...

Make of it what you want but for real that headline in a newspaper is funny

BWA HAHAHAHAHA!

ROFLMBAO

That explains EVERYTHING.

Hey lovable's, its Friday and it's a great Friday.... I found out Krugman likes health care bill hummm.... can FDL primary him as an op-ed columnist too... selling them out and the like...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/opinion/12kru...
Health Care Myths
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: March 11, 2010

Health reform is back from the dead. Many Democrats have realized that their electoral prospects will be better if they can point to a real accomplishment. Polling on reform — which was never as negative as portrayed — shows signs of improving. And I’ve been really impressed by the passion and energy of this guy Barack Obama. Where was he last year?
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Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Paul Krugman
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But reform still has to run a gantlet of misinformation and outright lies. So let me address three big myths about the proposed reform, myths that are believed by many people who consider themselves well-informed, but who have actually fallen for deceptive spin.

The first of these myths, which has been all over the airwaves lately, is the claim that President Obama is proposing a government takeover of one-sixth of the economy, the share of G.D.P. currently spent on health.

Well, if having the government regulate and subsidize health insurance is a “takeover,” that takeover happened long ago. Medicare, Medicaid, and other government programs already pay for almost half of American health care, while private insurance pays for barely more than a third (the rest is mostly out-of-pocket expenses). And the great bulk of that private insurance is provided via employee plans, which are both subsidized with tax exemptions and tightly regulated.

The only part of health care in which there isn’t already a lot of federal intervention is the market in which individuals who can’t get employment-based coverage buy their own insurance. And that market, in case you hadn’t noticed, is a disaster — no coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions, coverage dropped when you get sick, and huge premium increases in the middle of an economic crisis. It’s this sector, plus the plight of Americans with no insurance at all, that reform aims to fix. What’s wrong with that?

The second myth is that the proposed reform does nothing to control costs. To support this claim, critics point to reports by the Medicare actuary, who predicts that total national health spending would be slightly higher in 2019 with reform than without it.

Even if this prediction were correct, it points to a pretty good bargain. The actuary’s assessment of the Senate bill, for example, finds that it would raise total health care spending by less than 1 percent, while extending coverage to 34 million Americans who would otherwise be uninsured. That’s a large expansion in coverage at an essentially trivial cost.

And it gets better as we go further into the future: the Congressional Budget Office has just concluded, in a new report, that the arithmetic of reform will look better in its second decade than it did in its first.

Furthermore, there’s good reason to believe that all such estimates are too pessimistic. There are many cost-saving efforts in the proposed reform, but nobody knows how well any one of these efforts will work. And as a result, official estimates don’t give the plan much credit for any of them. What the actuary and the budget office do is a bit like looking at an oil company’s prospecting efforts, concluding that any individual test hole it drills will probably come up dry, and predicting as a consequence that the company won’t find any oil at all — when the odds are, in fact, that some of the test holes will pan out, and produce big payoffs. Realistically, health reform is likely to do much better at controlling costs than any of the official projections suggest.

Which brings me to the third myth: that health reform is fiscally irresponsible. How can people say this given Congressional Budget Office predictions — which, as I’ve already argued, are probably too pessimistic — that reform would actually reduce the deficit? Critics argue that we should ignore what’s actually in the legislation; when cost control actually starts to bite on Medicare, they insist, Congress will back down.

But this isn’t an argument against Obamacare, it’s a declaration that we can’t control Medicare costs no matter what. And it also flies in the face of history: contrary to legend, past efforts to limit Medicare spending have in fact “stuck,” rather than being withdrawn in the face of political pressure.

So what’s the reality of the proposed reform? Compared with the Platonic ideal of reform, Obamacare comes up short. If the votes were there, I would much prefer to see Medicare for all.

For a real piece of passable legislation, however, it looks very good. It wouldn’t transform our health care system; in fact, Americans whose jobs come with health coverage would see little effect. But it would make a huge difference to the less fortunate among us, even as it would do more to control costs than anything we’ve done before.

This is a reasonable, responsible plan. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

The only that grates on me about this article is when Krugman posed the question concerning Obama's role in this legilsation last year.

I wanted to ask if he has been living under a rock for the past year, then if he hasn't why is he being obtuse?

I've noticed that the pundits have been asking, "Where was this Obama last year?"

Answer: At various townhalls explaining what he wants in HCR. Conducting conference calls with progressive bloggers, explaining their game plan. But these mofos were too busy playing "keyboard gangsta" or whining to various cable news shows to notice.

I guess President Obama was supposed to go to each individual health care vote and hold the finger of each legislator as they press the Yay button. Otherwise, he didn't pull his weight...

The Coffee Party: How it started
Annabel Park was frustrated by what she perceived to be overexposure of the conservative Tea party movement.

There might be something here - the 4 or 5 people they profiled reminded me of the people I worked with on the Obama campaign. Even the conservative libertarian is looking for movement vis a vis gay rights.

They are just more a liberal answer to the Tea Party movement.

They don't like the broken system in Washington. I have met a couple of members in Houston. They are supportive of the President, but sick of the media laziness and how the Tea Party gets their concerns addressed or followed.

It's will be interesting to see how this turns out.

Whew! Good thing we protect that 2nd amendment!!!

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/22820797/d...

Man Denied Beer Opens Fire in Restaurant

(with an AK47 no less)

Oh now.... the poor soul has "mental health issues."

How come nobody knows about the mental issues when they are buying the gun?

11 year-old Marcelas Owens fights for Heatlhcare reform in memory of his mother...

Who lost her life to pulmonary hypertension, after losing her job and health insurance.

http://www.bvblackspin.com/2010/03/10/11-year-o...


God bless you, Marcelas.

I saw this story - sweet boy.

Just a guess, but I'd imagine that Glenn Beck skipped the New Testament. He's probably more of an Old Testament, fire and brimstone retribution kinda guy.

A lot of these Jesustanis skip the entire New Testament, most specifically The Gospels.

Dec 2, 1980 - four American churchwomen were murdered by El Salvadoran troops trained by U.S. military. Why? Because they were considered Marxists. Why? Because their belief in social justice and teaching people of their 'base communities' how to read & write was considered subversive, suspect, and a threat. Knowledge is power after all.

Glenn Beck is a fucking punk.