God Bless Haiti

On January 12, 2010, the Caribbean nation of Haiti, a small island of about 9 million people, was struck by a 7.0 earthquake, which devastated the capital, Port-au-Prince and left, at last count, approximately 150, 000 Haitians dead. Although there have been a small number of people miraculously rescued from the rubble after 2 weeks, much of what is happening there speaks to the depth of tragedy that has occured. There is widespread starvation and survivors are dying from treatable injuries due to overcrowding of hospitals and lack of medical resources and equipment. Please do right by the strong, resilient citizens of Haiti by not only keeping them in your prayers, but also donating through the Red Cross or any reputable charity of your choice. Thank you, dear readers.

Inside the Mind of Sen. Harry Reid

US Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) sparked outrage and controversy in recent weeks when it was revealed in the new campaign expose "Game Change" that he called our illustrious (and currently beleagured) leader Barack Obama a "light-skin negro" with "no negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one". Poor dear, Harry Reid. Anyhow, below is the link to an article about this issue. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves (or better yet, in the comments section! ) Till next time, dear readers.

[url] http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/01/harry-reid-barack-obama.html [/url]

Elisabeth Hasselbeck Understands Black People

The View's Elisabeth Hasselbeck was recently regaling her co-hosts with an oh-so-amusing story of how, while out shopping with her young daughter Grace, she was getting funny looks from the evidently cloistered white people around her, because Grace was carrying the doll representing Sorry your feelings got hurt Elisabeth, but just imagine feeling the sting of discrimination over several generations, or the curious, sometimes awkward stares and comments not because your child is carrying a black doll, but has married interacially and is raising biracial children. Now that's a notion that'll probably make your dear friends lose their overpriced lunches. But carry, on, I feel your pain, no seriously, more than you know.

Tiger Woods: Zero for Par

Tiger Woods, Cablinasian golf hero, has been outed as a philandering husband. After his recent bizarre tree-hitting accident, rampant media speculation regarding his mysterious injuries forced him to admit that, yes, he cheated on his hot Swedish wife (ok, shallow I know, but Tiger, seriously??!) with some 20-something reality girl ( No judgement or anything). Anyhoo, rumor has it that Elin Nordegren, said hot Swedish wife (And mother of Tiger's so-cute children) got handy with a golf club, and inflicted aforementioned injuries. Anyhoo, after all this hoopla, Tiger still ain't talkin' and thus far has gotten away with a fine for reckless driving. Now that we've established that the Bill Cosby of sports is as flawed as any of the rest of us, we need to get back to matters of greater importance, what's Lindsay Lohan up to these days?

The Power-Packed Punch of Precious

Immediately after viewing the critically-acclaimed film "Precious", I texted my friend summarizing my impression of the movie. This was at 10:30 at night. On a Sunday. Such was the raw acting talent of Gabby Sidibe and the frightening transformation of Mo'Nique, that I was blasted out of my little existential bubble and into a bleak world, that, as the aforementioned friend pointed out, is a fact of life for too many, especially people of color. Despite some shortcomings (negative portrayal of black motherhood; lack of some back story on Precious' abusive and emotionally warped mother), this film goes beyond others of its genre in vividly presenting how a dark-skinned black teen in 80's Harlem uses immense fortitude to cope with being raised by one abusive parent while raising the children of the other abusive parent by whom she got pregnant. I applaud Precious for not coming across as an afterschool special, and despite its shortcomings, I'm rooting for it to be recognized in awards season, for it's a very good beginning in allowing art to bring more such stories to the forefront in an equally meaningful and honest fashion.

Sammy Sosa Embraces the (Not-So) Dark Side

Hello, again, my lovely loyal readers. I'm back to rant, and not at all in a kinder, gentler fashion. As you may well know, Sammy Sosa, while intending to soften his skin, ended up bleaching his face to match Edward Cullen's (Cool, a chance to throw in Twilight!) Now, anyone who's ever stood in a beauty supply store knows this explanation is crap. We've all seen the tubes of cream with names like "Fair and White", and "Black & White" (I wish I were making that name up) whose label descriptions barely mask their intentions to turn one from Oprah to Alicia Keyes, and probably lighter. I am deeply offended and hurt by these actions on so many levels. Firstly, Sammy evidently thinks his audience is stupid, seeing as he used the lamest excuse possible to justify why he looks like the undead. Secondly, as a public figure, he IS a role model, whether he cares to be or not, and by doing this, he's saying that brown-skinned people aren't good enough, as they are, lastly, Sammy's actions, because of their colonial implications, will perpetuate the long-standing animosity that darker-complexioned people harbor towards those with lighter skin or a biracial background, because of the real and perceived advantages they enjoy in this society. Enjoy your artificial complexion, Sammy,thanks for the disappointment.

Richard Nixon: Friend of the Mulatto

New tapes have recently been released of Richard Nixon's many delightful musings on the world, including his beliefs regarding abortion. Here for your reading pleasure is a quote from an article, in which he's speaking to special counsel Chuck Colson: Nixon said, "There are times when abortions are necessary, I know that, you know that's when you have a black and a white." Colson: "Or rape." Nixon: "Or rape." (Here's the link to the full article from which this came http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/23/eveningnews/main5107797.shtml). This quote seems to imply that the Prez thought that race-mixing was worse than rape, as it appears that he had to be prodded to include that aspect in his commentary. Wow.