Guess Who's Going to Miss This Year's Watermelon Harvest?

Photo: Mayor Dean Grose, Los Alamitos, California

Citing cultural ignorance and outright cluelessness, Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose will be stepping aside on Monday. That email he sent to small group of friends ignited a hailstorm of criticism and brought more attention to the Mayor than he really intended.

Mayor Grose says didn't know that people would be offended by the email and had no idea that watermelon had any racial connotations. Did I mention he was sorry? Of course he is!

Watermelons on the White House Lawn

Source: OC Register.com/Keyanus Price

Wouldn't it be funny to send out an email of the White House with watermelons on the lawn? Los Alamitos, California mayor Dean Grose thought so. It was an adolescent attempt at humor that he thought he'd share with a few friends. Not everyone thought it was funny. I know there's absolutely nothing wrong with watermelons growing on the White House lawn but now that Barack Obama is President, it has special significance.

Now I know Mayor Grose didn't mean anything by this email and is surprised that anyone would be offended by it. It's only watermelons, what's the big deal? From Tim Rice, a prominent anti-racist commentator, comes the best observation:

White Denial once again...so this guy says, "Oh sorry, I didn't know watermelons had a racial connotation..."

I guess the next thing we're going to see is cotton in the Rose Garden or Michelle Obama as Aunt Jemima. But of course, nothing wrong with that since Aunt Jemima is on the shelf of every supermarket and grocery store. Aunt Jemima is an American icon and cotton is a natural fiber. Next up, 40s, nooses and black Sambo dolls.

Poor Bobby Jindal!

Photo: AP/APTN Pool

Tagged as a rising star in the Republican party, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was charged with giving a rebuttal to President Obama's speech to Congress last night. Jindal failed miserably. It started with his awkward entrance and went downhill from there.

He looked strange coming from out of nowhere with a goofy smile on his face. God Bless him. His message was lackluster and uninspired. Republicans have been telling us for years that government is the problem while racking up the largest deficit this country has ever had. After eight years of runaway spending, Republicans are now reclaiming their fiscal conservative roots now that they've spent and plundered this country into an economic abyss.

Jindal like many of his Republican counterparts in Congress, don't like the stimulus package but don't offer any other solutions to our economic crisis, no plan to create jobs or stimulate the economy other than tax cuts for the wealthiest citizens. All I see is some new curtains on a dirty, streaky window. You've got Jindal, Michael Steele and Sarah Palin, the diversity trifecta dominated by a bunch of old white dudes with dark empty souls.

While Jindal may be the future of the party, if he isn't offering anything but stale, outdated ideas than the future for Republican party looks very, very bleak.

About Last Week, Random Musings

1. Boycott the New York Post
   I was one of the many people outraged by that tasteless cartoon published by the Post comparing our President to a rabid chimpanzee. It wasn't funny given the long, insensitive racial history that this country has had. From King Kong to Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, comparing any African American to an ape, chimpanzee or orangutan isn't the slightest bit funny and needs to stop.
   
   You can have a picket sign-less protest with Rev. Al outside the Post's offices, but you're better off served by not spending your hard earned money on the Post, watching Fox News or supporting other News Corporation, Ltd. ventures. Now if we can get the good Rev. to keep his ass of Fox News, that would be a major accomplishment but being the publicity slut that he is, he ain't about to turn down an opportunity to appear on Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly's shows.
   
   I don't know about you but half-assed apologies are better left unsaid.
   
   
2. Saudis Block Underage Marriages
   What a surprise! Marriage officials in Saudi Arabia are refusing to marry off 13 year old girls. In direct conflict with the Grand Mufti, the arbiter of all things Muslim, these officials are rejecting his directive and ignoring the injustice of denying these young girls the opportunity to become the chattel of their much older husbands.
   
   Nice move. Now if we can get them to increase the age to at least 18, it wouldn't look so much like the child exploitation that it is.
   
   
3. Meghan McCain Reads the G.O.P.
   From the mouth of babes. . . . Miss McCain is spot-on about how out of touch the Republican party is. But do Republicans really need her to tell them this? Yes, but that doesn't mean that they'll listen, she's either talking into their deaf ear or they're so busy whining and complaining that they don't hear her anyway. McCain is even less impressed with Michael Steele, the party's new chairman. Me too.
   
   Am I the only one who believes the Republican party is irrelevant? I think not.
   
   
4. Blaming the Poor and Minorities Never Grows Old
   Last week, Republican analyst Pat Buchanan was on MSNBC's Morning Joe blaming government lending to minorities for the financial crisis. According to Buchanan, the Community Reinvestment Act, forced banks to lend money to less qualified minorities offering them no money down loans which according to Buchanan's logic created the mortgage crisis. What about corporate greed and irresponsibility!?
   
   
   
   
   

Haterade: The Alan Keyes Version

What hole did Alan Keyes crawl out of? Keyes, an unhinged Republican, ran against Barack Obama for the Illinois Senate seat and lost. Another self-loathing negro in the same vein as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is inciting mutiny among our troops, questioning Obama's legitimacy and throwing around words like communism and socialism to scare people. Keyes' coonery is a disgrace and he should be an embarrassment to Republicans or whatever party he is now representing.

One of the Reasons I Like Michael Eric Dyson

And yes, I agree with our Attorney General Eric Holder, we are a nation of cowards when it comes to race. In this debate on Hardball, Professor Michael Eric Dyson cleans conservative commentator Pat Buchanan's clock at the 8:34 mark.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Why is that people like Pat Buchanan never want to acknowledge the role that Jim Crow, segregation and white privilege has played in this country? Notice how Buchanan is really good at citing statistics about African Americans but offers nothing else. He's not willing to take responsibility for how American Indians and African Americans have been treated in this country.

An honest discussion about race is never one-sided. Buchanan just skates right over this fact as if it doesn't matter and it does.

Ain't Nothing Off the Hook About the G.O.P.

Leave it to the newly elected chairman of the notorious G.O.P. to come up with some bullshit like a hip-hop makeover of the Republican party. *Rolls eyes* Michael, Michael, Michael, surely you're not serious. Here you are, the first black chairman of the party of Lincoln and this is the best you could come up with? What about an alternative to that stimulus plan you and the rest of the Republicans have been complaining about? What are you going to do to help the average American in these rough economic times?

Besides the obvious connotations of phrases like "hip-hop" and "off the hook", Steele is trying to pander to a more youthful demographic and is sounding mighty black to me. Sorry Michael, but using the race card in a desperate attempt to bring people of color into the party is misguided and ill-fated. Remember, you are the party of Michelle Malkin, Lynn Westmoreland and Bill O'Reilly. Too bad Steele couldn't come up with anything better because unless he plans to blow up the party and start from scratch, there is nothing he's going to do to make Republicans cutting edge.

All I see is a party of whiners and card-carrying racists who blindly follow people like Rush Limbaugh and believe that Sarah Palin will be their savior in 2012. I feel sorry for Steele and the rest of the Republican malcontents. You cannot simultaneously hope to bring people of color into the party and vilify them as the reason for the country's ills. Mortgage foreclosures, crime, out-of-wedlock births and illegal immigration. We're not as stupid as you think.

Of Apes and Black Men

Photo taken from New York Post

Anyone who thinks that it's okay to compare our President (or any black man) to an ape or a chimpanzee is terribly wrong. Call it satire if you want New York Post but I ain't buying it. This is not only cruel and insensitive but is wrong on so many levels. The comparison of black people to monkeys is nothing new in our uncomfortable racial history. Is the President supposed to be a monkey, dumb as a monkey or like the Connecticut chimp on a rampage?

For whatever reason, the folks over the Post thought they were being clever and witty and responded with the following:

"The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut. It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist."

Just because we've elected Barack Obama as President doesn't mean our ugly racist past is behind us. Do we really need to have Rev. Al Sharpton mixed up in this? Of course not, but as usual, Sharpton feels he has dominate selective stories about race and racism as if he represents all black people. Have a seat Rev. Al, we've got this one. For other opinions about the Post's cartoon, visit The Swamp.

Miles Davis Flashback

Besides being one of the greatest musicians of all time. Miles Davis was not shy about smacking the shit out of his women and spoke about it in such a blase manner you'd think he was talking about the weather. Of course, it wasn't a big deal for Miles, the women stuck around, most famously Cicely Tyson, the award winning actress but also Francis Davis, a Broadway dancer who gave up her career to be with Miles.

Miles not only abused drugs and alcohol but also women!? I was crestfallen. I struggled with the two images of Miles, one as the brilliant musician whom I had come to admire and the other as a callous woman beater. I didn't like it at all. How could someone whose music I loved and admired be a wife beater? Miles' misguided treatment of women didn't change my mind about his music or his talent as a musician but I did think less of him as person. Miles Davis, woman beater.

There's never been a good reason for a man to put his hands on a woman, ever, not back in 1970s and certainly not now.For an eye-opening account of spousal abuse, read Pearl Cleage's 'Mad at Miles: A Black Woman's Guide to the Truth'.

Happy Presidents Day!

Abraham Lincoln, Pres't U.S. (LOC), originally uploaded by The Library of Congress.

I fail to see the fascination with our founding fathers and dead presidents. I'm particularly baffled by President Obama's fascination with Abraham Lincoln. *crickets chirping* I guess because I'm black I'm supposed to like Lincoln because he signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing my ancestors. I have no feelings for Lincoln one way or another.

For all of the folklore and carefully crafted stories about the goodness of our slave-owning founding fathers, I never really was impressed by any of them. I didn't believe in the goodness of George Washington, John Adams nor Thomas Jefferson. They were flawed men who made both good and bad decisions.

Now honestly, we know that Washington and the rest of those turncoats who demanded independence from England were actually slave owning terrorists and traitors who believed in the equality and rights of all men except enslaved Africans and Native Americans.

Chris Brown Speaks and Yes, God Is Going to Help Him

One week after he was arrested for allegedly making criminal threats to his girlfriend Rihanna, singer Chris Brown has finally released a statement. We've heard from Brown's stepfather, aunt, mother and other assorted relatives but here's what Brown had to say:

Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired. I am seeking the counseling of my pastor, my mother and other loved ones and I am committed, with God's help, to emerging a better person.

Sounds like the requisite remorseful celebrity apology for a possibly career-ending spat. Okay, who am I fooling!? In spite of his alleged attack on Rihanna, women will still be lining up to get with him, fans will still be buying his CDs and others will be denial about the whole incident. And there will be a small few who will feel empowered by what Brown has been accused of; his dance moves won't be the only thing they are copying.

My biggest problem with Brown's statement is that rather than seek some psychiatric or psychological counseling which he clearly needs, he's going to take the R. Kelly route, he's going to counsel with his pastor. Okay, whatever! If Brown was really serious, he'd get some professional help. God only becomes convenient when you need someone to thank during an awards ceremony and religion is a talisman to convice people that you're really not as evil as what you've been accused of.

Brown's fans will likely buy these tactics especially black folks who are some of the most religious and forgiving people on earth. After all, there are still some of us who believe that Ike Turner never really beat Tina and if he did, she did something to provoke him.

A Look Back at Stokely Carmichael

Kwame Ture, Formerly Known as Stokely Carmichael, Lectures on Pan-Africanism, originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire Photo File.


When Fox News' Juan Williams compared First Lady Michelle Obama to Stokely Carmichael, he got me to thinking once I got over his back handed insult. I'm figuring 99% of the people who watch Fox News don't even know who Carmichael is/was but since Williams made the analogy, he must have been a bad negro. Williams was obviously having some kind of 1960s flashback. He forgot about how black people had to march and protest for the right to vote and to be treated as human beings in a country that was built with the blood, sweat and tears of their ancestors. Back then, any black person who dared question segregation and Jim Crow laws was considered militant. So what point was Juan Williams trying to make!?

I don't know what Williams was doing in the 1960s but I do know what Stokely Carmichael was doing. A 1964 graduate of Howard University, Carmichael became famous for his black nationalist views. Depending on which source you want to believe, he coined the term 'Black Power' and also the slogan 'Black is Beautiful'. Either way, Carmichael was an advocate of black unity much in the way the great Marcus Garvey was for black people in 1920s. Like Garvey, Carmichael thought we should embrace our African heritage which later played a role in his transformation into a Pan-Africanist.

Although Carmichael was initially involved in civil disobedience, freedom rides and sit-ins, he became disillusioned when he saw that non-violence was often met with billy clubs, cattle prods, fire hoses and teargas. Arrested and beaten countless times, he abandoned civil disobedience when he no longer believed non-violence was an effective tool for blacks to gain civil rights. He adopted a more incendiary rhetoric and believed that the only way blacks would gain civil rights was through violence. In 1966, Carmichael joined the Black Panthers, only to break with them over ideology; he didn't believe white involvement in the group was helpful.

So without giving us any basis on which to justify his comparison of Michelle Obama to Carmichael, Williams brooches the subject but never offers any evidence to support it. Is the First Lady a black nationalist, a black militant or is she a Pan-Africanist? Only Williams knows for sure.

I had the opportunity to meet the handsome, charismatic Carmichael back in 1981 when I was an undergraduate. By then he had changed his name to Kwame Ture in honor of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president and Sekou Toure, his friend and benefactor who was president of Guinea. He was less a militant than he was Pan-Africanist; he had formed the All African Peoples Party and had never given up hope that black people around the world would unite under the banner of Pan-Africanism.

My guess is that Stokely Carmichael's story would be lost on a self-loathing negro like Juan Williams. Williams appears to belong to that class of black folks who feel burdened and ashamed of their poorer, less educated counterparts and envious of his richer, more accomplished counterparts. Williams has nothing good to say about our Ivy League educated President and First Lady. Regardless of his black militant credentials, Carmichael preached self-reliance, unity and embracing a common African heritage which probably would seem unsettling to someone like Williams who spends his time sitting at the masters table sipping Kool-Aid and cosigning on insults, lies and half truths.

Blame The Victim and Other Excuses

Rihanna and Chris Brown
Photo: Reuters

Poor Rihanna, she must have done something to provoke the alleged attack by R&B heart throb Chris Brown. Seems like everyone has an excuse for Brown and a reason why Rihanna may have deserved it. This is a story that plays itself over and over in domestic abuse cases everyday. Women are the provocateurs.

As stories of the alleged attack came to light Sunday night after both singers missed the Grammy Awards, some in the entertainment community were praising Brown, of particular note, actor Terrance Howard who was caught outside Mr. Chow's in Beverly Hills sprouting this foolishness which he has since retracted:

"It's just life, man. Chris is a great guy, man. He'll be all right. And Rihanna knows he loves her, you know? They'll be alright. 'Cause everybody gotta get out of the way."

Whatever that means. I expect Brown to also be praised in the hip-hop community by those who have made their careers off of disrespecting and degrading women. They are noticeably quiet. Not a word from some of the biggest names in hip-hop, not Russell Simmons, P. Diddy or 50 Cent who is knee deep in a war of words with Rick Ross. Like anyone really gives a shit! Thus far, only Kanye West, has come forward to express his support and concern for Rihanna.

Rihanna's reported injuries are quite horrific sounding, bloody nose, busted lip, bruises, scrapes and bite marks. Bite marks!? What could a person possibly do to provoke you into biting them? Sounds very strange to me and doesn't sound like something a normal person would do in a fit of anger. It points to something more disturbing and dark. So much for that carefully crafted, squeaky clean image Chris Brown's people have managed to cultivate for him.

For all the attention this case has gotten, I am certain of at least two things. Rihanna will continue to portrayed as the villan in this drama and that it is unlikely she will press charges against Brown. I have a feeling that this has happened before. Both Brown and Rihanna are young and have much to learn. The biggest lesson they should learn now is that at 19 and 20 years old, they probably shouldn't be together.

Grandmother of Octuplets Calls Daughter "Unconscionable"

Hot on the heels of her daughter's publicity tour, Angela Suleman, mother of Nadya Suleman, is determined to tell her side of the story. The grandmother of fourteen paints an unflattering portrait of her daughter and dispels some of the things she told Ann Curry on NBC's Today Show; many of them are disturbing, especially if they are found to be true.

Read the interview and a get a tour of the Suleman home here.

Eight Will Get You Fourteen

Photo: Nadya Suleman from Today Show

Ain't nothing funny about an unwed mother of six giving birth to octuplets with the help of a fertility doctor. The line that should have been drawn with Nadya Suleman, obviously was erased, obliterated and downright ignored. The self-professed single mom has science to thank for her brood of 14. Citing some lame ass excuse that as an only child she always wanted to have a huge family, got her wish when she gave birth to eight children on January 26th.

As more information about Miss Suleman comes to light, it has become quite obvious that this only child is a sandwich short of a Happy Meal. Suleman says “That was always a dream of mine, to have a large family, a huge family, and I just longed for certain connections and attachments with another person that I really lacked, I believe, growing up.” What about a personal, intimate connection with a man whom your children will be able to call 'Daddy'? It's called marriage.

Besides being an obvious aficionado of plastic surgery, Miss Suleman is also a fan of in-vitro fertilization (IVF); “All I wanted was children. I wanted to be a mom. That's all I ever wanted in my life. I love my children.” While I am not doubting Miss Suleman's love for children, I am doubting the stability of her mental state. Some of statements that she made to Ann Curry in her interview are quite alarming and deserve further scrutiny. I hope Child Protective Services is watching this.

Sometimes getting what you want is not the best thing for you. Miss Suleman has been indulged by her doctors and obviously her parents who are supporting her in her quest to be the world's most famous unwed mother. What's being overlooked here is the dismal prospect of a 33 year old unwed mother of fourteen and more importantly the fourteen children she has given birth to. This is pure selfishness.

Sure you can get some man's sperm and get impregnated by IVF, but what about the role of the father in these children's lives? In spite of what has become socially acceptable, having a child out of wedlock is unfair to the child. I know celebrities do it all the time, it looks glamorous and cool but is far from the reality that average single mothers face; they can't afford nannies let alone child care and face obstacles and challenges at every turn. That child is deprived of a father and will likely miss an important influence in their life.

Just because Miss Suleman wanted to have children, she all but ignored the importance of the father beyond sperm donor. Fathers are important in the lives of their children. Expecting to raise happy, well balanced children without a father is wishful thinking.

Miss Suleman's antics will no doubt spur on copycat mothers who want to do the same. She is expecting to rake in millions from interviews, movies and pimping herself out to the highest bidder. I won't be watching, reading or buying anything associated with this woman. This kind of foolishness needs to stop. There is still nothing cute about an unwed mother of six who gives birth to octuplets with the help of IVF or the doctor who help impregnate her.

Lil' Wayne Does Letterman's Top 10 List

Lil' Wayne presents Letterman's Top 10 List
by yardie4lifever2

You have to be hiding under some rock not know who rapper Lil' Wayne is. He's tatted up and funny looking as hell and besides all of that, I can barely understand what he's rapping about. To make it worse, my husband had a T-Pain featuring Lil' Wayne ringtone on his phone that used to drive me crazy every time I heard it. . . "she's all on me, i think she wants wants me...". What the hell!? After months of coaxing, he finally changed it but that wasn't the end of Lil' Wayne. I'd hear him in other people's cars at stop lights. I'd hear people singing Lil' Wayne lyrics at the bus stop. He was everywhere. I still don't get it and probably never will.

This video represents the only time I have ever understood anything Lil' Wayne has said, anywhere, anytime. It's just precious but I'm still not going to rush out and buy a Lil' Wayne CD because in spite of his tremendous success this year, hip-hop is still dead.

White Liberal Guilt and the Media According to Michael Steele

I feel sorry for Michael Steele. One of the first things he should do as the newly elected chairman of Republican National Committee is to find some new scapegoats for his parties failures. I'm tired of hearing about the liberal media and white liberal guilt. The liberal media has, according to Steele, coronated Barack Obama. "He's not been vetted or challenged and we don't know anything about him" whines Steele. Ho-hum. Is this the same liberal media that did nothing to challenge former President George W. Bush's justification for invading Iraq!? The Republicans give the liberal media way too much credit, especially when they have their own 24 hour news station.

What Steele and the rest of his "ride-or-die" Republicans fail to realize is that it wasn't guilty white liberals or the liberal media who elected Barack Obama President but the American people, nearly 8 million of them by the largest popular vote in history. The election was nothing like a coronation We live in a democracy where people exercise their right to vote. The right to vote is especially dear to African Americans because were it not for the National Voting Rights Act of 1965, we'd still be denied the right to vote.

After eight years of W., I'm pretty certain that if Fred Flinstone and Barnie Ruble were running against John McCain and Sarah Palin, they would have won. It wasn't like any of us knew what McCain and Palin stood for since they ran the most schizophrenic campaign in modern history. If they had a message, I failed to see what it was. What I saw as an aimless, divisive campaign based on hate, fear and Islamophobia. While this was successful in igniting the Republican base, the past eight years of W. and his failed policies have left this country economically and morally devastated. The American people knew it and so did the Republicans whether they want to acknowledge it or not.

Giving the Republican party a black face creates a false reality. We're supposed to believe that Republicans are a diverse group of Americans who embrace different people and points of view. Since when? Sadly, the party has been hijacked by bible-thumping, illiterates and not even Steele can change that. Remember when Cuban-born Mel Martinez was chairman of the RNC from 2006 - 2007? He was appointed to that post with the hope that he would attract more Hispanics to party; it didn't work. Martinez had the post for a year. Based on this, I'm not convinced that Steele is going to work any magic either.

Like any good token, Steele is oblivious to his position as his party's 'magic negro'. The powers that be are hoping that some of that 'black' magic rubs off on their party. In the meantime, Steele, who no doubt ran on his Republican credentials and not his race, believes he is the best person for the job. Although he would deny it, race had everything to do with it his election as party chairman. He has been noticeably quiet when his fellow Republicans have played the race card. He praised Sarah Palin and doesn't mind if his cronies belong to "whites only" country clubs because he doesn't golf anyway.

There's an expression used often in the black community: "Get in where you fit it" and Steele is doing that. The best way for him to get ahead as a black Republican in the age of Obama is to attack him rather than praise him. That's one thing I like about self-loathing negros is that they will stop at nothing to cut another more successful black person down. Rather than praise Obama's accomplishments, Steele is more comfortable attacking him.

If Steele gives Obama two years, I give him about the same amount of time as chairman of the RNC. He may be the black face of the Republican party but the party is still lily white and committed to seeing Obama fail rather than wanting the country to succeed.