Today’s News NJ Criminality, Race and Social Factors Summit

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Criminality, Race and Social Factors

Symposium on:

 

THE IMPRISONMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS, EXPLANATIONS FOR DISPROPORTIONATE IMPRISONMENT OF RACIAL MINORITIES

Parents, Administrators, Teachers, Politicians, Activist and Everyone come out...

Moderator Daryl Mikell Brooks of Today's News NJ

Panelist:

Trenton Community Activist Darren "Freedom" Green

Writer Delonte Harrod of Inkkulture

Vanessa Jean Louis of  Afroconsevitve

Joe Siano of Sianoforcongress

The Summit Is Free

Place: Trenton NJ  State Capital  Annex Bldg. 

125 West State Street in Trenton, NJ  

New Jersey Senate Legislative Committee Room 4  

Date: Saturday October 16, 2010 Time 10am – 3pm 

Sponsored BY  Garces & Grabler Law Firm

Jamal Parris Says Sex Happened on Church Grounds, 4th Accuser Spencer LeGrande Speaks Out

By Boyce Watkins, PhD 

Update: 9/30/10 - 10:23 am. - Another Bishop Eddie Long accuser, Spencer LeGrande, speaks to the media.

Most of you may have read the story about Jamal Parris, the latest and most vocal of Bishop Eddie Long's accusers. Parris and three others have stepped forward to file a lawsuit against Long in state court for allegedly coercing them in to having sex. Well, another bombshell has hit the room, and this one was also delivered by Jamal Parris.

Parris told WAGA-TV in Atlanta that he and Long engaged in numerous sexual acts on church grounds, both before and after morning services. He also said that they would perform sexual acts in Long's home, car and office at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

The four accusers claim that Long traded sex acts for cars, clothes and other material possessions. The Bishop Eddie Long scandal seems to get just a bit deeper every single day. At this point, Long doesn't just have to worry about the ethical implications of committing adultery and being accused of engaging in homosexual sex, he also has to deal with accusations of pedophilia, since the public is not yet aware of how old the young men were when the alleged sex acts occurred.

Most damaging to Bishop Eddie Long, though, could be the consequences of using church funds to pursue his sexual interests with the boys in his care. Ironically, the federal government is likely to issue a stiffer punishment for misusing its money than it is for harming another human being. There are surely some federal investigators watching this case very closely.

The peculiar nature of the alleged sexual relationships is also interesting, as it appears that the accusers had prolonged physical interaction with Bishop Eddie Long. Of even more concern is the psychological control Bishop Long had over these young men, after grooming them at such an early age. The hundreds of thousands of people who've read our coverage on the topic here on Aol. Black Voices are now starting to realize that you must be extremely careful when trusting your children to other people, even if the individual is rich, famous and powerful.

Bishop Eddie Long is as powerful as they come. I recall seeing him at an event in Atlanta being held by networking-guru George Fraser. Long was walking with an entire entourage and being given the respect of a spiritual powerhouse. The young men and their mothers were likely intrigued by Long's power, making it an honor to be associated with him in any meaningful way.

If it is the case that Long abused his power and used it for such malicious purposes, it would be difficult to forgive him. A leader should designate himself as a servant of the people, and it takes a special spirit to be able to rise above natural temptations. I hope this trial starts soon, because if the news flashes keep coming at this rate, Bishop Eddie Long's entire reputation will soon be up in smoke. So far, he's been hit with several shotgun blasts in the media, and his team hasn't even thrown a sling shot. Maybe they'll send me an e-mail or something soon.

In the meantime, Spencer LeGrande, the fourth young man to file suit against Bishop Eddie Long (pictured above), added his voice to Jamal Parris' here:

It's time to fix our broken prison system and save money doing it

Can we finally bring an end to the madness of incarcerating so many Black men?

The budget crises faced by states might be the key to breaking our nation’s abhorrent incarceration rates for Black and Latino men.

We’ve all heard powerful arguments about the high social cost of keeping men of color locked up:

• the price paid for raising children without fathers
• relegating men to low-income jobs because they have a record or spent their prime working years in prison
• voter disenfranchisement
• broken families
• broke communities

All of these problems have social costs and real economic costs.

But somehow, the arguments are always pounded down by the law-and-order politicians who make specious arguments about public safety.

(Our “post-racial” society that is still automatically suspicious of dark-skinned brethren hasn’t been sufficiently outraged about inequities in the criminal justice system to do much about it either.)

Well, maybe this time the tune will change. Because this time it’s about big money. Not just the people’s money, not just the money lost by low-income communities. But BIG money, as in many billions of dollars.

State and local governments all across the country are facing budgetary crises. And they could cut billions out of their expenditures by reducing incarceration rates.

Governments could make quick use of an extra $16.9 billion a year, the amount that could be saved by cutting the number of jailed nonviolent offenders in half.

The Center for Economic and Policy Research released a new report on the potential savings to state and local governments if they cut the prison population, with virtually no risk to public safety.

Over the last 30 years, violent crime and property crime rates have gone down. Over the same period, incarceration rates have exploded. In other words, crime is not the reason more people are in jail. It’s a political choice.
Even for 2009, in the midst of the recession, FBI statistics show crime rates falling. They keep going down despite hard economic times, which we often think will drive people to take desperate measures.

In 2008, federal, state, and local governments spent about $75 billion on corrections, according CEPR. Nonviolent offenders make up about 60 percent of those in jail or prison, so cutting that group in half could offer substantial savings for strapped states and localities.

Take a cue from the downward trend in juvenile incarceration. States have been closing juvie facilities because arrests are down, as the AP reported.

Since it costs about $200,000 a year to hold a juvenile, there’s a potential for considerable savings. As states are laying off teachers, benching firefighters, and leaving poor children without health insurance it seems like a good time to reevaluate our priorities.

The juvenile justice system is taking a different approach than the adult one, with an emphasis on rehabilitation rather than punishment, the AP points out.

The juvenile system is focusing on the worst offenders, and steering those convicted of lesser crimes to other programs.

The result is that between 2000 and 2008, the number of juvenile offenders dropped 26 percent, from about 109,000 to 80,000.

While juvie facilities are losing residents, adult facilities are getting more crowded. Take one of the biggest governmental budgets anywhere: the state of California designates 11 percent of its state budget to prisons, while just 7.5 percent goes to higher education. Prisons here are so crammed they operate with double the number of inmates facilities were built to handle. And it's expensive, California spends about $50,000 per year per inmate. Other states spend around $22,000 per year per inmate. If those prisoners were out earning a living, even on a modest salary, they'd easily offset such costs.

Couldn’t California find a better use for $8 billion a year? Couldn’t all states find more productive ways to spend the billions they allocate for corrections.

Even for those who are deaf to the social well-being arguments, can we get your attention if we just talk about the dollars?

Alyssa Giachino is an economics writer for TheLoop21.com. She has worked as a reporter in New York, New Jersey, Mexico City and California covering stories on labor, the environment, immigration and politics.

Musharraf: Pakistan’s Military Needs Role in Govt

With Eye on His Own Return, Musharraf Warns of New Coup

by Jason Ditz,
Though any comments made by former junta leader Pervez Musharraf always come within the context of his own designs on returning to Pakistan and returning to power, today’s calls for an amendment to the constitution to formalize the military’s role in governing the country came as something of a surprise.

“Pakistan’s army chief ought to be involved in some form, to ensure checks and balances, to ensure good governance,” Musharraf insisted. This is something of a surprise as Musharraf has retired from the army and is seeking to return to power purely as a political candidate.

Ousted from power in mass protests in 2007, Musharraf has been living in exile in London. Though there had once been talk of trying to extradite him to Pakistan to try him with treason for his 1999 coup d’etat, the increasingly struggling civilian government has been spending most of its time fending off charges of corruption and incompetence. This has given Musharraf, once seen as a pariah, some hope of returning to power through an election.

Musharraf also warned that if the situation in the country did not improve it was entirely possible that Gen. Parvez Kayani, who replaced him as head of the military, might launch a coup of his own and seize power. Kayani has long been seen as averse to taking any role in politics, but has also been under pressure to get involved as Pakistan struggles with myriad wars, natural disasters and virtual economic collapse.

Judge Throws Out Several Charges Against Anna Nicole Smith’s Former Boyfriend

The judge presiding over the case against Anna Nicole Smith’s former boyfriend, Howard K Stern, dropped several of the charges against him. The prosecutors in turn have been accused of essentially overcharging him, however. The judge said that in the 622 jury trials he has presided over, there have only been three times where he was faced with “overzealous” prosecutors who “appeared to put winning above” fairness. The judge tossed charges against Stern for obtaining drugs by fraud and deceit as well as part of a conspiracy count against Stern, saying there is no proof of conspiring.

Takeover: 71% of Republicans now tea-party supporters

by Allahpundit

The other 29 percent are all invited to my next Beltway cocktail party. I kid, I kid.

In the survey, 71% of Republicans described themselves as tea-party supporters, saying they had a favorable image of the movement or hoped tea- party candidates would do well in the Nov. 2 elections…

The poll found that tea-party supporters make up one-third of the voters most likely to cast ballots in November’s midterm elections. This showed the movement “isn’t a small little segment, but it is a huge part of what’s driving 2010,” Mr. Hart said…

The tea party is a major driver of the so-called enthusiasm gap, with three-quarters of supporters saying they are intensely interested in the election…

Mr. McInturff said the tea-party movement had not necessarily drawn new people into the GOP. Rather, he said, “a substantial chunk of the Republican Party is rebranding themselves.”

Yeah, McInturff might be right on that last point. Check the crosstabs and you’ll see that the tea party’s overall favorable rating is only very marginally better than the GOP’s — 30/36, right around where it’s been for the past six months, as compared to 31/43 for the Republican Party. Elsewhere in the poll, though, 42 percent say that the tea party has been good for American politics versus just 18 percent who say it’s been bad. I’m not sure how to square that with the favorable numbers, unless maybe even some TP detractors think grassroots movements are good things per se even if they disagree with the particulars of a movement’s agenda.

Other tidbits? Although the GOP’s lead on the generic ballot has shrunk from nine points to just three as more Dems start tuning into the campaign, they still retain a double-digit lead among those who are “intensely interested” in November. Credit tea partiers for that. Bill Clinton is now/once again the most popular politician in America, enjoying a favorables split of 55/23 versus 47/41 for Obama. (They didn’t poll Hillary.) Count on Billy Jeff having a very busy schedule from now until November 2. And finally, the poll is gruesome for Palin, whose own favorables stand at 30/48. That -18 spread is 10 points better than Pelosi but actually one point worse than … Harry Reid. She also fares badly in a question posed by the Journal about certain outcomes from the November election that voters might find acceptable or not acceptable. The most acceptable outcome was seeing the influence of special interests reduced; the split on that was 70/14. The least acceptable outcome among the ones offered was seeing Palin become the leading spokesperson for the GOP. That split was 30/55 overall, notwithstanding the fact that she’s viewed favorably by two-thirds of tea partiers. If you’re wondering why David Plouffe is suddenly muttering about a “Beck-Palin-Limbaugh wing” of the GOP to anyone who’ll listen, that’s why.

Update: Jack Cafferty throws down the gauntlet.

Update: I neglected to mention one other intriguing data point from the crosstabs: The number who say Obama’s mostly responsible for the state of the economy as opposed to having inherited it from Bush is now at an all-time high — but it’s still at just 32 percent. Fully 56 percent remain in the “inherited” category, and yet the Democrats are facing a Republican tsunami anyway. Bear that in mind the next time someone tells you this election has nothing to do with anything except unemployment.

Suicides ravage Fort Hood

Suicide rates at the biggest military base in the U.S. are twice the national average.

Fort Hood is on track to break its suicide record this year and military officials are warning that the problem will only get worse as more soldiers return from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Four people killed themselves on the Texas base this week, bringing the total number of suicides there to fourteen this year alone, tying figures from 2008, the worst year on record. One of the deaths this week was part of a murder suicide. Last year Maj. Nidal M. Hasan went on a rampage and killed 13 people on the base. Returning soldiers often have trouble adjusting to non-combat life, and despite military outreach programs there is still a stigma around discussing mental problems openly.

So, Rahm will run for mayor here in Chicago -

Grand Master Rahm is in da house!
So White House hitman Rahm Emanuel has decided to be mayor of Chicago. He has informed the current mayor of Chicago, who has quietly decided to retire rather than have his political legs broken Rod Blagojevich style, and all his money taken by the Injustice Department with the help of some illegally obtained FBI/Hillary Clinton-provided Filegate-assisted charges, which is what happens when you cross the Chicago-style Gangsta White House if someone in it decides they want to be mayor of your city. Some people might think that you can't just choose to become mayor of Chicago, but that's ridiculously naive. Dead people vote in Chicago in every election. People who don't even live in Chicago vote in Chicago elections. Illegal aliens vote in Chicago elections. Some people vote 100s of times in Chicago elections. It has been this way for a very long time. It's just like Memphis in that regard. This is why no one in Memphis has been surprised at the gangland style leadership of the Obama White House. If Rahm wants to be mayor of Chicago, the election is already a foregone and well paid-for conclusion. Rahm is going to be mayor of Chicago. End of story.

Paladino Alleges Cuomo Affair

Posted By Pat Dollard.

Politico:
New York Republican gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino alleged Tuesday that Democrat Andrew Cuomo was unfaithful to his ex-wife years ago, a stunning accusation that validated his earlier prediction that the race would be getting nastier.

Paladino offered no proof of his claim, despite requests for substantiation, and he made it minutes after angrily declaring his 10-year-old daughter—a child from his own affair 10 years ago—off limits to the press. The tea party-backed Republican had publicly revealed her existence when he declared his candidacy earlier this year.

“Has anybody asked Andrew Cuomo about his paramours?” Paladino told POLITICO, as campaign manager Michael Caputo chimed in, “when he was married.”

Paladino continued, “When he was married - or asked him why his wife left him or threw him out of the house? Has anybody ever done that?” he demanded. “What are they doing intruding on my life?” (See: More on the New York gubernatorial race)

The blunt and unvarnished nature of Paladino’s allegations marked a jarring departure from statewide campaign norms, where charges of a highly sensitive or personal nature are rarely leveled by candidates themselves and are instead typically disseminated behind-the-scenes by operatives.

“No buffer, no aides, no filter, nothing. This never happens,” said one Republican strategist of Paladino’s remarks.

Cuomo’s split from Robert Kennedy’s daughter Kerry, with whom he has three children, was extensively covered when it took place in 2003. She was widely reported to have left the marriage, and to have had an affair with socialite Bruce Colley, with whom she later split. There has never been a public allegation or evidence that Cuomo had an affair, and Kennedy recently said she would be backing her former spouse for governor.

“We have not and will not descend into the gutter with Paladino, Caputo and [GOP operative Roger] Stone,” said Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto. “We’re not going to start now because the people of New York deserve a better dialogue from their candidates and journalists.”

The flap served as a vivid reminder of the shoot-from-the-hip style of Paladino—who surged to a lopsided primary win over Rick Lazio, the GOP establishment pick—and its drawbacks.

While he has had success combining tea party anger with upstate resentment of New York City, his campaign had to apologize after the revelation that he forwarded racist and sexually explicit emails to dozens of associates. Paladino, who has promised to take a baseball bat to Albany, also raised eyebrows Tuesday by asking an Asian-American TV reporter if he was born in this country during a discussion on immigration and by comparing Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to the anti-Christ.

And he’s made clear his goal is to get under Cuomo’s skin.

Paladino made the comments to POLITICO after some of his aides had made similar intimations for days, though none so direct.

He spoke Tuesday mid-afternoon from a hotel where he was staying near Midtown Manhattan, in a wide-ranging interview that touched on his reaction to the coverage of his daughter. Paladino, who was married with three kids at the time of her birth, had had an affair with her mother.

Paladino, a developer, himself discussed his daughter with the Buffalo News when he declared his candidacy before the summer, and the campaign made his wife, Cathy, available for a string of interviews in the past week in which she was asked about the young girl.

Asked about the coverage, Paladino said grew visibly angry and said, “My daughter is off limits.”
He protested reporters trying to interview the girl’s mother, and their presence at her home with cameras.
“She’s an innocent,” he said, adding that his relationship with her mom was long over. “That was ten years ago. What do you think this is, Peyton Place on television? For Christ sake!”

He added, “I’m surprised they’re going and intruding in peoples’ lives like that. They’re innocents. “

He blamed Cuomo for the coverage, as did Caputo, and insisted that the attorney general’s team was behind the coverage though he did not offer any proof.

“I think he’s the one that’s setting the level of discourse,” said Paladino.

Glenn Beck Lands NYT Mag Cover: Women Love Him But Does Fox

by Glynnis MacNicol | 

Glenn Beck has landed the cover of the New York Times Magazine. If there is a greater measure of mainstream acceptance (dare we say legitimacy?) in the media I can’t think of what it is, other than perhaps a full hour on Oprah. It also marks a turning point of sorts, I think. Message being: Beck has arrived on the top floor, but can he stay there.
The profile, penned by Mark Leibovich, is less revealing than a nice sort of summing up of the Beck phenomenon for Times readers who only know Beck from the periphery or as a common reference point (correct or otherwise) to illustrate the more extreme elements of the conservative movement. Essentially this is the NYT answering the question: who was that guy who just got 350,000 people to show up on the National Mall and started talking about God and individual responsibility. Here are a couple of highlights:

Fox And Beck – All is not lovey dovey

[Roger] Ailes, who declined to comment for this article, has generally been supportive of Beck. But he has also been vocal around the network about how Beck does not fully appreciate the degree to which Fox News has made him the sensation he has become in recent months. In the days following Beck’s Lincoln Memorial rally, which by Beck’s estimate drew a half-million people, Ailes told associates that if Beck were still at Headline News, there would have been 30 people on the Mall. Fox News devoted less news coverage to the rally than CNN and MSNBC did, which Beck has pointed out himself on the air…When I mentioned Beck’s name to several Fox reporters, personalities and staff members, it reliably elicited either a sigh or an eye roll. Several Fox News journalists have complained that Beck’s antics are embarrassing Fox, that his inflammatory rhetoric makes it difficult for the network to present itself as a legitimate news outlet. Fearful that Beck was becoming the perceived face of Fox News, some network insiders leaked their dissatisfaction in March to The Washington Post’s media critic, Howard Kurtz, a highly unusually breach at a place where complaints of internal strains rarely go public.

Women love Beck

Women tune into Beck’s radio show more heavily than they do to other conservative commentators, says Chris Balfe, the president and chief operating officer of Mercury, which employs more than 40 people. And Beck’s television show is on at 5 p.m. Eastern, traditionally a slot with more women viewers…But Beck also appeals to a more traditionally female sensibility. “He works through things in real time,” Balfe told me. “Maybe he’ll come back tomorrow and say, ‘You know what, I’ve given this some thought, and here’s what I’m thinking now.’ ” Or maybe he’ll come back sooner. Within a few sentences of proposing Obama’s “deep-seated hatred for white people,” he added this caveat: “I’m not saying that he doesn’t like white people.”

Beck loves Oprah

Beck’s staff and loyalists love to compare Beck with Oprah Winfrey [also us...a year ago]…As Winfrey does, Beck talks a great deal about himself and subscribes to the pop-recovery ethic…The presumed Oprah parallel is corporate as well as stylistic. Beck, like Winfrey, has a knack for making best sellers of books he mentions on the air. He publishes a magazine, sells more than a million dollars in merchandise and speaks of an array of possible multimedia ventures….Beck himself is a study in fusions. He blends TV-ready empathy with push-the-edge conservative talk, as well as self-doubt with the self-absorbed grandeur of a man whose hard-won recovery grants him the power to speak from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Senator Joe Lieberman helped get Beck into Yale

He even enrolled at Yale, with a written recommendation from an alum who was a listener at the time, Senator Joe Lieberman. He took one class, early Christology, but says he “spent more time trying to find a parking space” than in class and quickly dropped out.

Who knew?

“If you were in an imaginary meeting for a TV show,” Bill Shine, Fox News’s programming director, says, “and someone said: ‘I have an idea. Let’s spend a month talking about the founding fathers and get a bunch of pictures of Benjamin Franklin and hang them up,’ you’d be like, ‘What?’ But it works

Meg Whitman’s illegal alien maid problem

By Michelle Malkin 

Not again.
From Zoe Baird to Michael Huffington to Linda Chavez to Bernie Kerik, the political class can’t seem to follow the same tax and immigration laws everyone else is required to follow when it comes to hiring and paying their household help. Tim Geithner got away with it. But as the links above show (and it’s by no means a comprehensive list), there’s a long history of candidates and nominees torpedoed over their failures to cross the t’s and dot the i’s at home.

So, what was Meg Whitman thinking?

A former housekeeper for Meg Whitman claims the Republican governor candidate knew she was an illegal immigrant but continued to employ her, according to her attorney Gloria Allred.
Allred said Whitman caused the worker to “feel exploited, disrespected, humiliated, and emotionally and financially abused.” The worker alleges Whitman knew she was here illegally but did not act on it until she decided to run for governor last year.

The Whitman campaign claims the housekeeper lied to the GOP candidate in 2000.
But the housekeeper says Whitman knew her illegal status in 2003 or 2005, when the Social Security Administration sent a red-flag no-match letter. Whitman didn’t fire her until 2009, when she decided to run for office, according to the housekeeper.

Yes, Gloria Allred is a crapweasel. But an SSN no-match letter usually speaks for itself. And if Whitman did in fact receive the no-match letter in 2003/2005, her credibility goes out the window.

The California Republican Party has already had its share of open-borders debacles. The scandal will only serve to spotlight Whitman’s politically expedient flip-flops and double-talk on immigration.
Heckuva job, California Pubbies!

***
Guy Benson at Town Hall has more on Whitman’s side of the story.
Yes, it’s politically timed.

Yes, I repeat: Gloria Allred is a crapweasel.

Yes, it’s absurd for the housekeeper who stayed on for nine years at $23/hour to complain about being “abused.”

But the question remains: Did Whitman receive a red-flag no-match letter years (update: *or was she shown a DECOR no-match letter sent to the maid by SSA*) before she fired this woman or not?
***

One last point: If you think I’m saying Jerry Moonbeam Brown is preferable to Whitman, you think wrong. What I am saying is that we should be honest about how careless and lame both of these chucklehead candidates have been (need a refresher on Whitman’s gushing over Van Jones? Here.)

The long-term solution: Grass-roots conservatives need to start grooming and fielding serious local and state candidates NOW who can provide better choices in the future.

Hollywood Legend, Tony Curtis, RIP

Hecklerspray has learned that one of Hollywood’s finest, actor Tony Curtis, has died. His daughter Jamie Lee Curtis’ representative, has confirmed the sad news.

Curtis, whose real name was Bernard Schwartz, is most fondly remembered for his ace role in Billy Wilder’s ‘Some Like It Hot’ with co-stars Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon.

Of course, there was much more to Curtis’ career and he starred in countless films and was always great value when appearing on talk-shows to regale us all with glorious anecdotes and wisecracks.

Curtis was one of those rare actors able to nail a tough, dramatic role as easily as the comedic gigs. Comedies like Some Like It Hot and Sex and the Single Girl had audiences rolling in their seats while dramas like The Outsider and The Boston Strangler really showed Curtis’ chops.

Curtis was no stranger to the small screen either, co-starring with Roger Moore in the TV series The Persuaders! as well as providing the voice for “Stony Curtis” on The Flintstones (which happens to be 50 years old today).

Outside of acting, Curtis was a keen painter and his surrealist work can fetch upward of $25,000. They really don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
Away from the arts, Curtis liked the ladies and was married six times.

His first wife was the actress Janet Leigh, who together, were Hollywood’s golden couple. He then shacked up with another actress, Christine Kaufmann, Leslie Allen, b-movie actress Andria Savio, Lisa Deutsch and Jill Vandenberg Curtis who was his beau until his death. Along the way, he managed to have something of a fling with Marilyn Monroe.

He wasn’t just a cad though, as in the ’90s, Curtis founded the Emanuel Foundation for Hungarian Culture for the restoration and preservation of synagogues and 1300 Jewish cemeteries in Hungary, which he dedicated to the 600,000 Hungarian victims of the Holocaust.

However, in recent years, Curtis has not been well, nearly dying when contracting pneumonia which left the actor in a coma. He was again hospitalized this year after suffering an asthma attack during a book signing.
At the time of press, it is not known what was the cause of Curtis’ death, but in all honesty, it matters not. It seems we’ve lost one of the good ones.

Obama Tells Audience Why He Is A Christian

As reported by the New York Times, President Obama continues his series of stops in back yards in various parts of the country in the run up to the mid-term elections. Today, in New Mexico, he was asked by one questioner : "Why are you a Christian?" Here is the CBN News transcript of his answer (the article also includes a video of the Q&A and a transcript of his response in the Q&A to a question about abortion rights):

I’m a Christian by choice. My family didn’t ... frankly, they weren’t folks who went to church every week. My mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn’t raise me into church. I came to my Christian faith later in life. ... It was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life I would want to lead. Being by brother’s keepers ... treating others as they would treat me ... also understanding that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings. ... We’re sinful, and we’re flawed, and we make mistakes, and we achieve salvation through the grace of God. ... We can still see God in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace. So that’s what I strive to do and pray to do every day. ... I think my public service is a part of that effort to express my Christian faith.

But the one thing I want to emphasize ... as President of the United States, I’m also someone who deeply believes part of the bedrock strength of this country is that it embraces people of many faiths and of no faiths. This is a country that is still predominantly Christian, but we have Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, and their own path to grace is one that we have to revere and respect as much as our own, and that’s part of what makes our country what it is.

Posted by Howard Friedman

Lucasfilm To Convert Star Wars Films To 3D; Episode One, 2012

I suppose it was only a matter of time. Lucasfilm Ltd. announced today that the Star Wars saga will be converted into 3D. Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace is expected to be the first 3D release sometime in 2012.

According to Deadline Industrial Light & Magic. will be supervising the conversion, with Visual Effects Supervisor John Knoll saying “it is not something that you can rush if you want to expect good results. For Star Wars we will take our time, applying everything we know both aesthetically and technically to bring audiences a fantastic new Star Wars experience.”

THR say that “each conversion takes at least a year to complete” and George Lucas will be “overseeing the process to make sure each is as perfect as possible.”

If Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace makes enough money they will continue with the Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith conversions, followed by the original trilogy.

Tea Party Time

by digby

What a morning. I had just finished reading Matt Taibbi's report on the Tea party before I read this:

As I've noted here, the impact of the Tea Party on the GOP and the broader political landscape is only beginning to be felt, and now the new NBC/WSJ poll finds that an astonishing 71 percent of Republicans describe themselves as Tea Party supporters.

Taibbi's take on the movement seems right to me except in two important respects. The first is that he completely leaves out the importance of Fox News in the building of this movement. It literally couldn't have happened without it, and the most powerful leaders of the group are creatures of the Murdoch media empire. He does discuss the corporate influence on the group through various other astroturf organizations, and a major thesis of the story is the fact that the Tea Partiers are deluded patsies for the corporate overlords, so that aspect of the story isn't missed. But the insidious Fox agenda is a story unto itself.

The other thing I think he missed was the merging of the Tea Party with the Religious Right. The Glenn Beck MLK day at the Lincoln Memorial was a sort of national invitation. It's necessary since the churches form the main grassroots organizing function for the GOP.

Jim DeMint signaled this a few months back:

David Brody: Are you concerned at all that some of the social conservative issues, abortion and same sex marriage, some of these other issues because they are taking somewhat of a back seat right now at least to the fiscal issues that there are some inherent problems for social conservatives in something like that?

Senator Jim DeMint: No actually just the opposite because I really think a lot of the motivation behind these Tea Party crowds is a spiritual component. I think it's very akin to the Great Awakening before the American Revolution. A lot of our founders believed the American Revolution was won before we ever got into a fight with the British. It was a spiritual renewal.

Senator Jim DeMint: I'm 'praying for you' comes up more than anything else in these crowds so I know there's a spiritual component out there.

Senator Jim DeMint: I think as this thing (the Tea Party movement) continues to roll you're going to see a parallel spiritual revival that goes along with it.

David Brody: Just so I understand, when you say spiritual revival how are you terming that? What do you mean specifically as in "spiritual revival?

Senator Jim DeMint: Well, I think people are seeing this massive government growing and they're realizing that it's the government that's hurting us and I think they're turning back to God in effect is our salvation and government is not our salvation and in fact more and more people see government as the problem and so I think some have been drawn in over the years to a dependency relationship with government and as the Bible says you can't have two masters and I think as people pull back from that they look more to God. It's no coincidence that socialist Europe is post-Christian because the bigger the government gets the smaller God gets and vice-versa. The bigger God gets the smaller people want their government because they're yearning for freedom.

So, within the Tea Party now you have the anti-government (for people they hate) obsessives, the Birchers, the gun fetishists, the neo-confederates and the social conservatives, with spillover between all of them. And the corporate leadership is bankrolling it, knowing that these folks are driven by tribal resentment (Taibbi's description of this is right-on) and are uninterested in their machinations. It's the GOP coalition. If I have any quibble with Taibbi it's the fact that he's so sanguine that these people can do no real mischief once in power. I think the corporate overlords have a tiger by the tail and will find it much harder to control it than they imagine. At the very least they are going to have to throw it a substantial amount of red meat to keep it placated. (I'm guessing it's going to have a lot of taco seasoning on it.)

The big question is, who are the 29% of Republicans who don't approve of the Tea Party? Mike Castle types who just haven't awakened to the radical takeover of their party? And will they keep voting Republican when Jim DeMint officially becomes the spiritual and intellectual leader of the GOP?

Terry McMillan and Ex-Husband Return to The Oprah Winfrey Show

Posted by TheSavvySista

Famed author Terry McMillan made a reappearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday along with her ex-husband, Jonathan Plummer.  McMillan who recently released Getting to Happy, which is the the follow-up to her bestselling book, Waiting to Exhale, appeared to have forgiven her ex.  Here is a snippet of what was said:

Terry said, "I wish I hadn't been so compelled to sue him and his attorney because the anger lingered and it wore me out."

She added, "I thought the more I hated him the more he'd suffer."

On their relationship now, Jonathan says, "Things are great!" while Terry quickly noted, "He's not my BFF." source

A lot of people also questioned why Terry couldn't see that Plummer was gay and here was her response:

In response to one viewer who wrote, "He wasn't down low, he was high low," McMillan answered why she didn't see the signs that her ex-husband was gay:

"Most people in love don't see a lot of things. He was one from another culture so I just thought there were certain things about his manners and things that he could and couldn't do that had a lot to do with him being from Jamaica. And plus he was young, very young."

Terry also said that he loved her and that, "He brushed my hair, massaged me, all kinds of wonderful things."

Interesting...

QUESTION:

Have you read Terry McMillan's new book, Getting to Happy?  If so, what did you think?  I've read it, but I would love to know your opinion about it.

Obama Now Listening To Nas & Lil Wayne

On the song “I Want To Talk To You”, Nas said he wanted to talk to the muthafuckin’ president. Well, it looks like he’s gotten a step closer. In the new issue of Rolling Stone, President Barack Obama says that he’s added Nas and Weezy to his playlist.

What music have you been listening to lately? What have you discovered, what speaks to you these days?

…Thanks to Reggie [Love, the president's personal aide], my rap palate has greatly improved. Jay-Z used to be sort of what predominated, but now I’ve got a little Nas and a little Lil Wayne and some other stuff, but I would not claim to be an expert. Malia and Sasha are now getting old enough to where they start hipping me to things. Music is still a great source of joy and occasional solace in the midst of what can be some difficult days.

Bishop Eddie Long Accuser Jamal Parris Speaks Out; Remembers Pastor's Voice, Smell Of His Cologne [Video]

» by Danielle Canada

Jamal Parris Speaks Out Against Bishop Eddie Long.

Jamal Parris, one of the four men that have accused Bishop Eddie Long of sexual coercion, has spoken out for the first time.

Parris, 24, was contacted by FOX 5 I-Team reporter Dale Russell who traveled to Colorado in hopes of speaking with the oldest of Bishop Long's accusers.

Russell caught Parris leaving a local grocery late Sunday night and reports that while Parris was at first reluctant to speak, he eventually told a story of “love, anger, and desire to protect other young men.”
Parris told that Long became a “father-like figure” to him who lavished money, cars, jewelry and trips on his private jet, that eventually b turned him into a “slave“ to a man he loved.

"You finally have a father that you've always wanted for and always dreamed of," Parris said. "He would just walk away from you if you don't give him what he wants. So you end up turning into something you never thought you would be, which is now a slave to a man that you love."

“So, while the media and the rest of the people around the city, around the country look at us like how could grown men let another man touch him, what you have to understand is this man has manipulated us since childhood," Parris explained. "This was our father and we loved him."

He also denies allegations that he and the other three men are trying to blackmail the Bishop for money and calls the claims “ludicrous.”

“We would have to be the craziest kids in the world to want to come out and admit to another man touching on us publicly," said Parris. "To really believe this is about money would be absolutely ludicrous."

He also added one final shocking claim during the interview, detailing nights when he would cry and try to wash off the Bishop's scent after being abused.

“I cannot get the sound of his voice out of my head…I cannot forget the smell of his cologne.  And I cannot forget the way that he made me cry many nights when I drove in his car on the way home, not able to take enough showers to wipe the smell of him off of my body."

Check out the full interview courtesy of FOX 5 below.

Wayne Brady And Mike Tyson Just Smacked A B*tch With Some Bobby Brown

You probably thought there was no way anyone could top the video for Bobby Brown’s Every Little Step. Check out this Funny or Die version by Wayne Brady, Mike Tyson and Bobby Brown.

Every Little Step with Mike Tyson & Wayne Brady from Mike Tyson

Hopefully this starts a trend of former boxers remaking classic videos. Riddick Bowe would make a great Too Big MC (MC Hammer’s sidekick). Oscar de la Hoya would make a great Selena or Paula Abdul. There’s no way Goldie would turn down a chance to remake the video for Rush, Rush with Keanu Reeves.

A constructive approach to China’s currency

Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill aimed at addressing China's currency practices. It is scheduled for a vote by the full House sometime this week. In hearings, Committee Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI) stated, "the status quo with currency imbalances is unacceptable and unsustainable." He argued that China's "mercantilist policies" distort trade and slow U.S. economic growth and job creation.

Levin had listed a number of potential policy responses. None of the remedies promise quick or significant relief to America's jobs deficit. A number of them risk serious side effects. The committee settled on one which may be more symbolic than potent. The bill seeks to increase the chances for American businesses to win tariff protection by treating China's currency policy as an illicit subsidy. The bill was watered down significantly so it would not run afoul of global trading rules.

The fundamental problem is a disconnect between U.S. policymakers' sense of what global rules of economic conduct ought to say and what they actually say. Two prominent examples of this disconnect can be found in the rules of the World Trade Organization: An agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures establishes the conditions under which a nation can retaliate against a trading partner's export-encouraging practices; Another specific provision -- Article XV -- says that exchange rate manipulation should not be used to frustrate the intent of the trade agreement.

These provisions form the basis of some of the most prominent U.S. plans for action against China. This week's House bill would let U.S. firms seek tariff protection from Chinese goods "subsidized" by an undervalued exchange rate. A WTO case on Article XV would take China to task for the trade distortions resulting from a misaligned exchange rate.

But the WTO does not allow retaliation against any and all subsidies. It sets some strict conditions on which ones are actionable. According to veteran international trade lawyers, there is serious doubt that a distorted currency would meet those conditions. Nor does Article XV offer much clarity about lines that cannot be crossed. In each case, there is an important gap between the rules as they stand and the rules as envisioned by China's U.S. critics.

With such a disconnect, there are three options. The United States government could pretend global rules read more favorably; it could ignore the rules and strike out, perhaps by imposing a broad unilateral tariff; or it could seek to modify the rules through negotiation. The first approach risks the appearance of flouting international agreements and sparking new trade conflicts. The second approach would leave no doubt about U.S. contempt for global accords and would risk destroying the rules-based multilateral trading system.

The remaining option, then, is to seek new agreement on proper international economic behavior. Fortunately, the groundwork for such an agreement is already in place. The Group of 20 leaders, meeting in Pittsburgh last year, endorsed a framework for "Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Growth." Earlier this month, John Lipsky of the International Monetary Fund said in a speech that, while there had been substantial "buy-in" to the idea of rebalancing, the plans that had been put forward to date fell short of what was needed.

While discussions of the principles undergirding the global economic system should be inclusive, the implementation problems are really the concern of a small number of large countries. This suggests a new solution. A G-20 Implementation Subgroup, consisting of the United States, Japan, China, and Germany, would be well-positioned to craft a more serious program than we have seen to date. Representatives of the European Central Bank and the IMF could also attend, given those institutions' relevant roles.

This should not be a meeting to talk down the dollar, nor to vent criticisms of China. Rather, the Subgroup would have a mandate to discuss the broad range of macroeconomic policies needed to achieve the kind of global rebalancing that meetings of the full G-20 have already endorsed. This would certainly include ways for China to address its unhealthy global surplus, but it would also include discussion of deficit reduction measures to reduce U.S. borrowing. If the subgroup meeting were held in January, it could take into account the recommendations of the U.S. bipartisan deficit reduction commission.

This approach has the virtue of engaging the key players in a multilateral discussion in a group sufficiently small that it might reach agreement on action. The multilateral approach is preferable to unilateral or bilateral pressure both in that the underlying problem is multilateral and in its avoidance of the kind of national rivalries that can emerge in bilateral discussions.

There are obvious potential pitfalls to such an approach. There could be a complete failure to reach agreement, for example. These are deep-seated problems that run up against serious domestic concerns. Or there could be ill-advised attempts at a quick fix, as some have characterized a previous effort at coordinated action, the 1985 Plaza Accord.

But the other options on the palette are unpalatable. There is a broad sense among U.S. policy folk (and some abroad) that bounds of proper international economic behavior have been crossed. The problem is that those bounds are not spelled out anywhere. This mix of ambiguity and discontent seems like a recipe for serious conflict. A meeting with a pre-set mandate to address imbalances would offer the best opportunity to defuse some of those festering tensions.

Posted By Phil Levy

Former NY official might plead guilty, bringing possible NM repercussions

Former New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi is set to plead guilty to a crime in that state’s long-running pay-to-play criminal investigation, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
Hevesi’s name might not mean anything to New Mexicans, but his guilty plea could have repercussions here in the state.

New York’s ongoing investigation into Hevesi and how he ran that state’s comptroller’s office, which invests taxpayer money, has focused on how he and others in his office picked funds in which to invest and on several occasions the investigation’s trail led to New Mexico. The New York inquiry appears to have sparked the ongoing federal investigations into how New Mexico‘s investment agencies picked what funds to invest in.

So the question is, if Hevesi pleads guilty, what kind of cooperation, if any, will the former New York comptroller be required to give federal investigators currently looking at New Mexico’s state investment agencies? Maybe he has information. Maybe he doesn’t. Maybe no agreement like that will be struck. Only time will tell.


But if Hevesi does plead guilty as the New York Times is predicting people following the web of investment scandals stretching from New York to New Mexico and California will wonder what will be the next shoe to drop.

The Times notes the New Mexico connections with a small paragraph in its story:

The activities of Mr. Hevesi’s sons have also drawn scrutiny: investigators have questioned why an obscure firm operated by Daniel Hevesi was paid more than $1 million in fees for deals with pension funds in New York City and New Mexico, and whether any legitimate work was done for the payments.

Among the allegations listed in a criminal complaint issued by the office of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo last year were that the founder of New Mexico’s former financial adviser, Aldus Equity, helped Dan Hevesi, the former comptroller’s son, win a lucrative contract in New Mexico for a firm he was representing in return for Aldus’ increased business in New York. At the time, Dan Hevesi was acting as a third-party marketer.

Hevesi received $250,000 in third-party marketing fees related to one New Mexico investment deal through the New Mexico State Investment Council, state records show.

Henry, “Hank” Morris, one of Alan Hevesi’s most trusted aides who was charged with 123 counts in New York’s criminal investigation last year, received at least $150,000 in third-party marketing fees related to New Mexico investment deals, the documents also show.

Aldus’ founder, Saul Meyer, pleaded guilty to securities fraud last year  in the New York criminal probe.
There are other curious New Mexico connections to the New York scandal.

David Loglisci, the former chief investment officer for New York state’s pension fund who worked for Alan Hevesi, pleaded guilty to securities fraud in New York earlier this year. You might remember Loglisci as the executive producer of a film shot in New Mexico titled “Chooch,” which was made by one of his brothers. The Albuquerque Journal’s Tom Cole wrote about this connection more than a year ago.  The movie featured, among other things, a nine-pound dachshund named Kiwi Limone.

Several prominent investors seeking pension fund business in New York put money into the movie-making effort, according to published reports.

It’s unclear how, if at all, Loglisci might have been involved with New Mexico’s investment agencies, however.

By Trip Jennings

Beastie Boys, LL Cool J Among 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees

By Allen Starbury

This year's class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were announced this week, and it includes a very eclectic group of acts ... including two iconic hip-hop acts. Punk-inspired legends, the Beastie Boys, and LL Cool J and among the 15 acts on the 2011 nominees list, as well as rockers Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, and crooner Neil Diamond, among others. 500 voters decide who gets inducted into the 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Both LL and the Beasties have received previous nods without making it into the Hall. To be nominated, musicians have to meet the Rock Hall's standard induction requirement of releasing a first single or album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. With hip-hop just breaking into mainstream music in the early '80s, the genres presence on the esteemed list is scarce. The few hip-hop acts to be inducted include Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in 2007, and Run-DMC in 2009 who were presented with the honor by Eminem during the induction ceremony. Inductees will be announced in December with the 26th Annual Induction Ceremony following in March 2011 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

Al Qaeda would attack France, Germany and the UK

September 29, 2010.- The jihadists are planning to kidnap and kill Westerners citizens in similar attacks to those carried out against two hotels in the Indian city of Bombay, the BBC said.

The alleged plot by Al Qaeda, detected by Western intelligence agencies would be on cities of the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

Intelligence agencies to investigate both sides of the Atlantic, one of the most serious terrorist plots in recent years, the BBC said.

The plan is supposedly inspired by Al Qaeda leaders in hidden areas of Pakistan tribal areas and it is believed that it’s going to be based on the use of small teams of well-armed jihadists to act as commands.

The CIA stepped up its missile attacks on Taliban insurgents in Pakistan, precisely to thwart such suspected attacks by Al Qaeda, The Wall Street Journal said.

U.S. officials reported to The New York Times that “only this month twenty Predator missile attacks were carried out, more than double as the usual.”

France was at the highest level of alert in recent days, after security services received reports about Islamic terrorists, who were preparing an imminent attack on this territory.

The alert began after a group led by Al Qaeda in the Maghreb kidnapped five French citizens in the Arlit uranium mines in Niger, two weeks ago.

Avoiding Baby Momma Drama – The Hard Way ~ by DNLee of

“SouthernPlayalisticEvolutionMusic” [Essay]

 Avoiding Baby Momma Drama – the hard way by SouthernPlayalisticEvolutionMusic (DNLee) A few years ago I had a pregnancy scare. The three minutes one waits to see if there are two blue lines or one are long and scary. But before the outcome was known, I knew exactly how I felt about becoming a mother [...]

A few years ago I had a pregnancy scare. The three minutes one waits to see if there are two blue lines or one are long and scary. But before the outcome was known, I knew exactly how I felt about becoming a mother at that point in time, with that particular person. Regardless of the outcome, marriage was never on the table. It was a recreational relationship and he wasn’t much a catch in my opinion. Though, I was a far cry from where I wanted/needed to be, he just didn’t have his stuff together. It was in those moments of possibility that an image of my potential future flashed before me.

Anger and bitterness from futile attempts to get him to “do the right thing”. Resentment and hurt from being tethered to a man who did little to improve himself or help his offspring. Finally, shame. Shame from being interrogated by my teen age/young adult child (who I imagined would be highly intelligent and challenging like me) who would asked the obvious question – “What in the world were you smoking to have been with that fool?”

It was that last image that made it clear to me that it matters with whom and under what circumstances I have babies. It wasn’t that being someone’s baby Momma and not a wife, was problematic for me. No, it was my own selfish inclination to choose the best possible candidate to be my child’s father. I knew I had some great genes and smarts on my end. I didn’t want to flub all of that up with a crappy donor. Not anyone was good enough to be my brilliant children’s father. Moreover, my feminist sense of equity and fairness won’t let me rest easy knowing my children’s father isn’t capable or willing to do his fair share of the child-rearing, protecting, and providing.

Yeah, Old Boy was a Scrub. I knew that, but I saw no need to be tied down to him for the rest of my life. The quotable statistics say as many as 60+% of the black babies born in this nation are born to unmarried mothers. As important as this topic is, I don’t believe marriage is the panacea to this problem. I’m not anti-pre-marital-sex which some No Wedding No Womb bloggers obviously are. Neither am I a big pro-marriage person; but I do I believe in supporting the idea of emotionally and psychology healthy families. And I think that is the heart of this movement: Healthy Secure Adults Prepared for Parenthood.

I decided that I couldn’t bare/share children for/with a man who had – up until the point of conception – failed to demonstrate his capacity to be a good parent. And I was/am willing to take the necessary steps to live by this resolution. In essence, I decided that if necessary, I would exercise Post-copulatory or Cryptic Female Choice.

Like female moths or scorpionflies, I would selectively choose which male(s) will fertilize my eggs and which eggs I carry to full development and care for. And as much as this topic is sweeping the interwebz and the Black Blogosphere, most everyone is telling stories of love and compassionate sacrifice of matrimonial parenthood or the conscious decisions to love a child despite singleness. Who else is discussing the other reality: the right and responsibility to make some very, very hard decisions about unwanted/untimely pregnancies.

As much as No Wedding No Womb advocates for marriage before parenting, I contend it must also include:

educating and empowering young men and women to be sexually responsible; providing them every opportunity to embrace themselves sexually yet simultaneously provide them the tools to avoid pre-marture parenthood; and finally it must embrace and support women who decide not to have babies – after becoming pregnant.

Out-of-Wedlock Births: It’s Not Simply About Marriage & Baby Mamas

By Arielle Loren

Single Black childbearing woman. Unmarried Black woman birthing life. Queer (unwed) Black woman having or raising a child. Spinster Black woman adopting a young soul.

Figuratively, your wombs are on my mind, along with the wombs of the numerous other mothers who do not fit the first-comes-marriage-then-baby-in-the-carriage narrative.

The diverse experiences of Black female motherhood remain a hot topic in Black social commentary. Last week, an online viral campaign entitled “No Wedding No Womb” hit the blogosphere and Twitter community like a 2×4 appearing from the dark. Founded by relationships author and blogger Christelyn Karazin, the “movement” sparked a ton of controversy and, perhaps, some conversations that we, as a community, have become lackadaisical about having.  Good or bad, it is true that approximately 70% of Black children are being born out of wedlock. From the perspective of our parent’s generation, this is astonishing, yet it is a reality and something we ought to be discussing.  Although this online social blitzkrieg called for weddings and/or couple commitment before having children, the questions beneath the shouting and #NWNW Twitter bashing truly were the following:

“How do we create a healthy, cohesive environment where we can raise our young ones?” “How can Black women get the support they need as mothers: financially, emotionally, physically, etcetera?” “How can we as a community deliver a strong message that warns younger Black women that single mothering can be tough, and that waiting for a healthy marriage, or committed relationship, could perhaps serve their futures better?”

When I analyze a social issue, I don’t simply take things from the surface. The title,” No Wedding, No Womb,” is salacious, but the messaging of the 100+ bloggers who participated in the campaign were not speaking in one voice. They were conversing, challenging each other, and trying to promote why this was an important issue for our community to discuss because, in truth, we’re not doing well. Full disclaimer: I participated in the movement by critiquing its heteronormativity and I introduced into the conversation the politics of gay marriage.

I believe that healthy marriages can be one tool by which Black women can see social change. It’s not simply the marriage or commitment factor, though, that can solve our social ills. The problem is that Black women, particularly, face tough economic conditions, disheartening long-term relationship prospects, societal sexism, homophobia, not to mention the “Black card” that has ridden our skin since birth. There are several other oppressions that intersect with the ones above, but the main point is that we have the end of the stick at our feet. While we are not victims and instead claim ourselves as warriors, we are struggling—and healthy life partnerships could make our lives easier. One person cannot fight everything, all the time, everyday. Man, woman, or transgender, we need partners who want to support our life paths. Healthy marriages can be a strong answer to that plight.

Particularly from a heterosexual perspective, Black men do need to be brought into the conversation about our struggles. I don’t want to bash our men, but, truthfully, they’re not pulling the same amount of weight as we are as parents. Many of them are not there for our children: financially, emotionally, and physically. And these are not simply men who had children out of wedlock, this also can apply to divorced and separated fathers who had children within heterosexual marriages. Black women are the strong backbone of this community, married or not. We don’t need to be replaced in that capacity, but we do need more support. Healthy marriages or long-term committed relationships can give that support.

Children do thrive better under stability, and I’d argue that two parents can provide more support than one. This is not about bashing single mothers because actually they’re the larger population of contemporary Black parents. Many do just fine and will continue to raise their children to be successful young men and women. In the same way, I applaud single fathers, who are raising their children alone. I do not want to forget them because I’m sure that they have some valid contributions to this social conversation. Growing up under a single parent absolutely is not a death sentence, even if it may bring a unique set of challenges. There are other family members and community folks who step up to the plate to create the necessary team for raising a child. This support is imperative, not simply for single mothers, but for married/committed parents challenged by other social issues. Marriage and romantic commitment does not solely ensure a child’s success. Let’s be sure to discuss what other support mechanisms our community can bring to the table.

On the same-sex parenting side of things, homosexual couples have proven that they can raise cohesive families without a marriage certificate. Unfortunately, I would argue that a lot of this was not by choice, but circumstance. Yet, they have done it and continue to do it, proving that the marriage certificate is not a necessity for a commitment to each other as parents and to their children.

I do believe that healthy marriages are  powerful tools for building strong, committed relationships enabling parents to feel supported by each other and, thus, provide a stable household for children. I also think that wedding ceremonies are a beautiful celebration, especially if the marriages resulting from them transform into healthy unions. The celebration and subsequent healthy marriage can set a strong example of unity for the children in our community. Therefore, this is something positive and admirable to be promoting.

Ultimately, we’ve got to reshape the state of Black relationships, in addition to other social oppressions, if we’re going to set examples for our kids and provide them with better opportunities. Admittedly, healthy marriages are hard to come by, just like most non-marital relationships are not long lasting. There needs to be a stronger, more realistic conversation about what works to create stable, parental environments. This is not about judgment, and it’s unnecessary to throw darts at women who could be labeled as “baby mamas.” Not every woman is going to have her child inside wedlock, and this is something we need to acknowledge and factor into the conversation.

We may never go back to the days where weddings before kids were the norm. It’s not the end of the world, but it is a social change that needs to be dealt with in terms of how we become unified for our kids. We could try to go back to the old way of doing things—or we can try to come up with another solution. Regardless, we need to figure this out for our children, personal health, and overall community’s strength.

Don’t simply critique, help come up with intersectional solutions for our advancement. I don’t have all of the answers and perhaps you disagree with my analysis. That’s quite okay. I’m just thankful to be a facilitator of conversation and hope you’ll contribute your voice too.