Blogs | Black America Web

Blogs | Black America Web This is sad but true. I'm not ready to write Tavis off just yet, but he risks becomming irrevelant by ceding too much of a platform that he once held with a vice grip. Not that Rev. Al Sharpton is a newcomer to the scene. Far from it!! But short of working with President Obama (in a grass-roots way by organizing at the community level) Tavis runs the risk of looking like a "hater". Rightly or wrongly, Tavis is viewed right now as the voice of dissent. He's one of the most notable black intellectuals in this unflattering role. Work with the President and our other black leaders Tavis. They need you, and so do we!

I Thought It Was Chivalry (Not Monogamy) That Was Dead?

Click on title for an interesting editorial......... Is the media over-hyping infidelity and women that have been scorned? Yes, there are many recent high-profile examples of men behaving badly, but is this the exception, or the rule? Ladies, I need your thoughts on this one.

Another "First"

Click on title for article........ Stories like this show how far we've come. We no longer have to prove that we are as smart as white people. President Obama and First Lady Michelle have resumes that 99% of white people in this country can’t compete with. Yet black people in high-profile jobs (even the Presidency) can't change the "hearts and minds" of many that would love nothing more than for things to regress back to the days where segregation was legal.

Big Ben (Accused Rapist) vs. Michael Vick (Convicted Dog-Fighter): Double Standard?

Please click on the title to see a good article... This article speaks for itself. Couldn't have said it better myself.

On Marriage & Morals

Which is more morally reprehensible: Open Marriage or Gay Marriage? I believe strongly that marriage is between one man and one woman, so by definition, I would be vastly opposed to both of the aforementioned. As a heterosexual, it is not surprising that I have a major problem with gay marriage. (No offense to my lone gay friend, but she knows I still love her). I certainly believe that gays and lesbians should have the same rights afforded to them under the Constitution as heterosexuals; just not marriage. Maybe it's my strongly-held religious beliefs, maybe it's that I'm NOT as liberal as I vote, maybe it's my own sexual orientation, but I just feel that if gay marriage becomes the law of the land across the United States, then what next? Legalizing polygamy? Or allowing a man and a horse to get married? At some point, there has to be some principles for which we hold sacred about the sanctity of marriage, and at the very least a guiding principle of marriage is that it is between a man and a woman. When I hear the gay and lesbian movement liken their plight to the plight of blacks fighting for civil rights in the 1950's and 60's they lose my sympathy. To me, there's no comparison. Do I favor civil unions for gays? Sure. Should these civil unions be written in such a way as to include the same benefits that married couples enjoy? Absolutely. But that is as far as I can go with the whole gay marriage debate. Now to the idea of open marriage. Critics of open marriage say that it is a pact entered into unwillingly by women. Most women simply agree to it to please their man, they argue. There may be some truth to this, especially if a couple has been married for awhile and then the man springs up the ‘open marriage idea’. Some women might go along with an open marriage to ‘get along’, but only as an alternative to being with a man that they figure will leave or cheat anyway if they don’t. They might say to themselves, “I’d rather be in an open marriage, than gamble on trying to find a man that will be faithful and wind up getting hurt.” Some of these women may purposely remain single into their 30’s because of skepticism of love and committed relationships. They have seen their girlfriends give their all to men, only to be devastated with the revelation of an affair. Some have even seen their own mother hurt and abandoned by their father; and then witnessed their mother in a revolving door of bad relationships with men that were unfaithful. However, using this assumption is also assuming that most women aren’t assertive about what THEY want, need, and expect in a marriage. I just don’t believe that most women will voluntarily acquiesce to something as serious as being in an open marriage. Open marriage is still relatively rare, but my assumption is that more and more women that are in open marriages consent because they are as adventurous and enjoy variety as much as the men. It’s also possible that women in open marriages have problems with commitment or monogamy like their husbands. Now the question is: Are either one of these deviant forms of marriage likely to end in “happily ever after”, or are the divorce rates for these couples as high as traditional married couples?

Airing Dirty Laundry

Should President Barack Obama have a “black agenda”? Michael Baisden, host of “The Michael Baisden Show” has always said that President Barack Obama cannot and SHOULD NOT fix what ails black America all by himself. He reiterated that on his show recently, as he talked about the Tavis Smiley/Rev. Al Sharpton brouhaha that had been brewing on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Baisden made some excellent points. Among them were: We all have to be held accountable for the state of black America (Many of these issues LONG predate a Barack Obama presidency). Each neighborhood, each household has to do its part. If black businesses are faring worse in this recession, Baisden said, is that President Barack Obama’s fault alone when many blacks don’t patronize black businesses? Baisden added that when we do patronize black-owned businesses, we generally write them off forever if they make a mistake. But the same people don’t close their accounts with banks that have gotten bailout money, dealt in risky speculation, and contributed, in part, to homes being foreclosed on, and the entire economic meltdown. Tavis Smiley feels that black leaders have given Barack Obama a pass on black issues. And he said that if we don’t RIGHT NOW hold a black president to accountability that it will lead to our sure demise. He said how can we, in good conscious try to resurrect a black agenda with the next president if we don’t demand the same with Obama. He said with all due respect, if he were the next president of the United States and white, he would basically tell black leaders to “Get Lost”. You didn’t ask this of President Obama”, Tavis argued, so you have no credibility. Rev. Al Sharpton feels that to assume the duly elected President of 50 states can have a black agenda alone is asinine. Instead, he feels that we have to help the President so that he doesn’t have to compromise his tenuous position as the President of ALL people. Example: A jobs bill. Although unemployment disproportionately affects blacks, Sharpton knows a bill can’t be called “The Brothas & Sistas Jobs Bill: Puttin Uncle Leroy Back to Work. He also said, How does it look to tell our young black kids to go to school, study hard, and that they can achieve anything, and not support a black man who is president with his black wife and kids?? The man, Sharpton argued played by the rules, went to Harvard and excelled. Sharpton also said that he believes that if people aren’t out there on the front lines trying to get RESULTS for blacks, then they are just ego-tripping. He said blacks don’t need more meetings and televised town hall meetings. They need ACTION!! He said he doesn’t agree with everything Obama does, but his goal is always to see where he can find common ground with the president, and said that the President has always been receptive to his suggestions.

Steele and Palin: Republican Puppets

If Sarah Palin is the Republican Party's "chosen one", then the entire party is a joke! If I was a Republican Party leader, I would want Sarah Palin on a one-way plane trip to The North Pole! I would be loud about the fact that she is a horrible choice to be a counterpoint to President Obama. I believe they are using her and the Tea Party as a distraction. But if they are pandering and gutter-diving, then what does that say about the Party? They don't want to talk about issues. And they really don't have ANYONE in the Republican Party that has the intellect, charisma, and ideas for moving the country out of the mess Bush created like Obama. So they use the age-old tactic, and practice the politics of "distraction" and "divisiveness". Another pawn for the Republican Party. Michael Steele. Michael Steele would have NEVER been asked to be the chairman of the Repulican Party if Hillary Clinton had been elected president! The fact that he is too dumb to see that is hilarious to me, and the crazy thing is that Steele is actually a pretty smart guy! It's even more hilarious that making him the President of the RNC seems to have backfired in their face, with many of the Republican Party bosses wanting Steele to be fired. I have no respect for Steele because he knows that he is a pawn, but chooses to ignore it to advance his own agenda.