Iyanla and Oprah Reunited

I won't be watching but I can tell from this clip that there will be some real drama on the 'Oprah' show tomorrow.  Self-help guru Iyanla Vanzant makes an appearance after being banned from the show eleven years ago. At the height of her success, Barbara Walters offered Vanzant the opportunity to have her own show and she took it. The show was cancelled and Vanzant faded into oblivion shortly thereafter.

There was much said about a rift between Vanzant and Oprah because of this decision. I don't know if Oprah really banned her from the show and/or felt hurt or betrayed by Vanzant but it is evident from this clip that something did happen. It doesn't look like she'll be fawning all over Vanzant like she did over Tina Turner, Beyonce or Halle Barry.

Oprah has the annoying tendency to over share; there are certain details about her and her life that I'm just not interested in. It seems to me that whatever went on between these two women would have been best worked out in private instead of on Oprah's show.

Black Love Hurts

This Pepsi commercial aired last week during the Super Bowl and has created quite a stir on some websites frequented by African-Americans, particularly women. Of course, some people were offended that the black woman was portrayed as angry and violent while others decried the couple's relationship as dysfunctional until the blonde woman was hit with the can of Pepsi Max. The folks at Pepsi obviously thought this ad was funny and it would be if we lived in a post-racial America, but we don't.

This commercial raises more issues than it solves. I have no reason to buy Pepsi Max but I wasn't the targeted audience, I am not a black man. I get that. Would black women be offended if the blonde was another black woman? Probably not. But somewhere, I suspect there was a contingent of black men who saw this commercial as further justification for not dating black women..."You see how she is? That's why I don't date black women."

And for the rest of the population that relies on television for social cues and mores, this commercial is further proof that black women are and continue to be angry and pissed off unless they are in a laxative commercial.

One Million People Can't Be Wrong

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is the typical African leader. He’s been in power for more than thirty years and still doesn't get it. Amid massive protests and not-so-subtle messages from his allies, Mubarak has dug in and refuses to step down. Former President Jimmy Carter said it best, Mubarak will have to leave.

In a desperate attempt to stay in power, Mubarak fired his cabinet and appointed a spy chief as his Vice President for the first time in thirty years.  Few Egyptians took comfort in the fact that Omar Suleiman, head of Egypt’s secret police and may have been involved in some CIA extraordinary rendition cases. This doesn’t exactly address the Egyptian people’s concerns.

I am not surprised that the Obama administration hasn't had much to say. They are simply continuing the hypocritical US foreign policy that has been played and replayed over the years; we champion democracy only when it fits our interests. One glaring example of this foreign policy failure is Iran, had it not been for the U.S., the Shah of Iran would have been run out of Iran much sooner than 1979. The CIA and an endless supply of foreign aid helped the Shah overstay his welcome.  Our unwavering support of the Shah ushered in the Islamic Revolution and the return of the Ayatollah Khomeini. We don't need to do much research to find out how that plan worked.

Instead of clinging to outdated and dangerous foreign policy, we should welcome change in Egypt and support the Egyptian people no matter what route they take. When Mubarak steps down, that doesn’t mean the country will be overrun by Muslim extremists, the Taliban or al-Qaeda. Let the Egyptian people choose who they want to represent them. It is not the job of the United States, Israel or anyone else to make this decision.

Mubarak has been a good ally if you count being a dictator who tortures and jails his opposition as desirable qualities for a leader. The fact that he has failed to deliver any kind of basic needs to the Egyptian people speaks volumes. His chickens have come home to roost. Until now, we have been perfectly content with the Mubarak regime but the Egyptian people have had enough. If President Obama wants to be on the right side of history, he must support the Egyptian people and do more than pay lip service to democracy, freedom and the will of the people; he must tell Hosni Mubarak to go now. 

We should embrace change in Egypt, even if it isn’t in our immediate best interests. When Mubarak leaves office, it doesn’t mean we’ll get Islamic extremists or the Taliban. We need to trust that the Egyptian people know what's best. Embracing Egypt’s revolution would go a long way in changing perceptions of the U.S. around the world, particularly in the Arab world (with the exception of Saudi Arabia).  Given the low opinion that President Obama and the U.S. has  among the Egyptian people, we ought to do what we can to support a peaceful transition change there.