Monthly archive of February 2006

Why Is This Man Smiling?

I found this picture of last night's State of the Union speech on the White House web site. But given the actual state of the union, I can't understand why this man is smiling. Maybe he knows something I don't.

For the second year in a row, I did not watch the State of the Union address. Instead, I read the speech on the Internet after the fact. I guess you had to be there to get it. Here's what I got instead. With the help of the White House transcript, I pulled together this breakdown of Bush's speech, by the numbers.

National Security
Number of references in speech to North Korea: 1
Number of references to Iran: 6
Number of references to Iraq: 16
Number of references to weapons of mass destruction: 2
Number of references to weapons of mass destruction in Iraq: 0
Number of American soliders killed in Iraq: 2,243
Number of references in Bush speech to 2,243 soldiers killed: 0

Civil Liberties
Number of references in speech to terrorism: 20
Number of references to civil rights: 0
Number of references to civil liberties: 0
Number of justifications Bush gave for warrantless wiretaps: 9
Rank of timeliness among justifications given: 1
Number of FISA warrant applications approved in 2004: 1758
Number of FISA warrant applications not approved: 4
Number of times Bush mentioned warrants in his speech: 0
Number of days after a wiretap before feds must get a warrant: 3
Number of days between Aug. 2001 CIA warning and Sep. 11, 2001 attack: 36

Culture
References in speech to "activist courts" that want to "redefine marriage": 1
References to "activist courts" that appointed Bush president: 0
Number of times Bush said human life "should never be discarded": 1
Number of times he mentioned the death penalty: 0
Number of references to King family: 2
Number of times Bush used some form of the word "strong": 12

Economy
Number of references in speech to taxes: 10
Number of government programs Bush proposed to cut: 140
Number of those programs he mentioned by name: 0
Number of teachers he proposed to train or hire: 100,000
Amount of money he promised to train or hire those teachers: 0
Number of references to Social Security in 2005 speech: 18
Number of references to Social Security in 2006 speech: 3
Number of manufacturing jobs lost since Bush took office: 2.8 million
Current cost of Iraq war: $237 billion
Number of times Bush mentioned war costs: 0
Annual federal surplus when Clinton left office: $236 billion
Annual federal deficit today: $400 billion
Increase in federal debt during last 4 years of Clinton term: $261 billion
Increase in federal debt during last 4 years of Bush term: $1.7 trillion
Current federal debt: $8.2 Trillion
References to federal debt in Bush speech: 0
Cost of Bush's promises for tax cuts and war spending: priceless

Posted in politics on February 1 2006, 3:53AM | Read More | Comments (24)

Falling In Love With Heather Headley

I first discovered Heather Headley four years ago with the release of her debut album, "This Is Who I Am." That CD featured some of my favorite songs of all time, including "I Wish I Wasn't" and "Four Words From A Heartbreak." It also included my favorite Heather Headley song of all, "If It Wasn't For Your Love," written by my friend Gordon Chambers. That song is a beautiful love ballad that I vowed would be played at my wedding one day.

I lost my Heather Headley CD on a train from Paris to Amsterdam in the summer of 2003, and over time I almost forgot how much I loved her voice until I got a new copy of that CD just last month. Then on Monday, I received a copy of Heather Headley's newest CD, "In My Mind," and last night I went to see her at her official album release party at HIRO in the Maritime Hotel in Manhattan. Suddenly I remembered why I love this woman so much.

Posted in music on February 1 2006, 4:35PM | Read More | Comments (16)

Does Alito Swing Both Ways?

George Washington University law professor Paul Butler confidently predicted that Samuel Alito's elevation to Supreme Court Justice this week would lead to the end of affirmative action. "The Supreme Court now appears to have five votes to end affirmative action," he wrote on Blackprof.com today. But in the same day comes the unexpected news that Alito has joined the side of the liberals in his first vote on the High Court.

Alito split with conservatives Wednesday night in refusing to allow Missouri to execute an inmate contesting the constitutionality of lethal injection. The inmate, Michael Taylor, had won a stay of his execution from an appeals court earlier in the day. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas supported the execution, but Alito joined with the remaining five members in a 6-3 decision to block a midnight execution last night. An appeals court will now review Taylor's claim that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment.

Posted in politics on February 2 2006, 11:57AM | Read More | Comments (9)

A Man Walks Into A Bar...

A man walks into a bar and... Usually when you hear that line, you know there's a joke to follow. But this case is no laughing matter. Last night a teenager entered a Massachusetts gay bar, attacked patrons with a hatchet and opened fire with a hand gun. The attack took place around midnight at Puzzles Lounge in New Bedford, an hour south of Boston. The gunman, identified as 18-year-old Jacob Robida, fled the scene.

The attack raises many troubling questions. What was this 18-year-old doing in a bar in the first place? What would compel a teenager to attack other people just because of their sexual orientation? Was this a planned attack, and if not, why was this young man in a bar with a hatchet and a gun? When will we learn to settle our differences without violence? And perhaps most importantly, how do we stop the cycle of hatred that leads people to demonize their fellow human beings?

Posted in sexuality on February 2 2006, 1:08PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Funeral Arrangements for Mrs. King

The family of Coretta Scott King announced her funeral arrangements today. In a final twist of irony, Mrs. King's funeral service will be held at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia at noon on Tuesday. New Birth is pastored by Bishop Eddie Long, who led a controversial march from the King Center against the civil rights of gays and lesbians. King herself was an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights, but King's youngest child, Bernice, a minister at New Birth, has been an opponent. New Birth seats 10,000 people, making it one of the biggest churches in the area.

The 78-year-old King died Tuesday in Rosarito, Mexico, where she was seeking treatment for advanced ovarian cancer. She suffered a heart attack and stroke in August. Medical officials listed her cause of death as respiratory failure. After her body was released by the Mexican government, Bishop Long offered to fly the body to Atlanta on his private jet. The funeral is being handled by Willie Watkins Funeral Home in southwest Atlanta.

Posted in pop culture on February 2 2006, 4:31PM | Permalink | Comments (26)

You Don't See That On TV Everyday

Wow! I love, love, love Rod 2.0. Where else on the Internet are you going to find the hot-off-the-presses pictures of Taye Diggs's soon-to-be famous gay kiss on "Will and Grace." Rod not only gives you the pictures, he recaps the episode as well. Head on over to Rod 2.0 to get the 411, the "T" and "the degaga." Major points to Rod for such a wonderful scoop!

Meanwhile, kudos to Taye for taking on this role with gusto. His performance makes it that much easier for other black male actors to play gay roles without fear of being stereotyped. And unlike some before him, he didn't hold back either. Good for him. If you're going to be an actor, be an actor. If you're going to accept a gay role, don't be ashamed of it. I have a hunch that Taye will be getting a lot of new fans because of this.

Posted in sexuality on February 2 2006, 10:59PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

The Super Bowl Turns 40

There won't be any "wardrobe malfunctions" at Ford Field this weekend. Instead, the Super Bowl will be a family friendly event. So look for traditional values like sex, violence, alcohol, capitalism and gambling. It's Super Bowl XL, and the XL stands for 40.

The NFL is also hoping there won't be any musical controversy either. After Detroit native Aretha Franklin complained about the absence of Motown performers from the Super Bowl lineup, the league quickly scrambled to add some more soul into the broadcast. "How dare you come to Detroit, a city of legends -- musical legends plural -- and not ask one or two of them to participate,'" Franklin told the media in January. Never fear. Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Joss Stone and India.Arie are now scheduled to perform in the pre-game show, and the Four Tops will also perform but it will not be broadcast. And last but not least, Aretha herself will sing the national anthem along with New Orleans native Aaron Neville.

As usual, the halftime show is expected to be the world's most watched musical event, and this year the performing honors go to the Rolling Stones. Also as usual, advertisers will pay a pretty penny. Thirty second ad spots sell for $2.5 million, about $83,000 a second. You can see some of the spots at SuperBowl-Ads.com before the show game. And finally, the forecast calls for a high of 28 degrees on Sunday and a chance of snow in Detroit. But fans in the stands won't feel the cold under the covered stadium in Ford Field.

Posted in sports on February 3 2006, 1:58PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Anti-Gay Group To Protest King's Funeral

Some members of a controversial church in Topeka, Kansas plan to protest the funeral of Coretta Scott King because of her support for gay and lesbian rights. Members of the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, led by Rev. Fred Phelps, announced their plans in a press release earlier today.

"God is not mocked," the group said. Citing Biblical verses, the group leaders wrote, "God Hates Fags! Fag-Enablers! Ergo, God hates Coretta Scott King and is now tormenting her with fire and brimstone where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched, and the smoke of her torment ascendeth up for ever and ever."

"This is a solemn warning from WBC to black America as you gather round the coffin of Coretta Scott King: The same God who blessed you has sworn to curse you if you rise up and go a whoring after the strange gods of Sodom - as with covenant-breaking ancient Israel."

Posted in sexuality on February 3 2006, 3:39PM | Read More | Comments (49)

Vernard Gilmore: My Favorite Things

Last week we profiled Aubrey Lynch in the "My Favorite Things" series, so this week I thought we should continue the trend by recognizing another wonderful dancer. His name is Vernard Gilmore, and he dances for the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Born and raised in the southside of Chicago, Vernard began dancing at Curie Performing and Creative Arts High School and later studied at the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater. He attended Barat College as a dance scholarship recipient, received first place in the all-city NAACP ACT-SO Competition in Dance in 1993, and moved to New York City in 1995. Here in the city, he started as a student at the Ailey School and was asked to join the Ailey Repertory Ensemble (also known as Ailey II) in 1995, and after two years he became a member of the first company, where he has been a dancer ever since.

Posted in theater on February 6 2006, 2:25AM | Read More | Comments (6)

The Real State of The Union

A year ago this month, I sat in New Birth Missionary Baptist Church for Tavis Smiley's annual "State of the Black Union," an event which brought together some of the leading figures in black America to discuss our collective concerns. This year I returned to New Birth to see the State of the Black Union in 2006. But this time I wasn't a panelist and I wasn't there in person. Instead, I was traveling on a plane all afternoon as I watched the funeral services for Coretta Scott King on TV during my flight on Delta's Song airline.

I didn't understand it at first, but after a few hours of watching the funeral services I realized that I was watching the real State of the Union. It was not the scripted, highly staged prime time event of the week before. It was an unscripted back and forth exchange of ideas, concerns, fears, hopes and aspirations for our country. It was the real State of the Union, as experienced by real people, and delivered by Dr. Joseph Lowery, Dr. Maya Angelou, Senator Ted Kennedy, former President Bill Clinton, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and many others.

Posted in politics on February 7 2006, 4:19PM | Read More | Comments (27)

Black History Comes Out of the Closet

Each day this month, the National Black Justice Coalition is profiling a new person in black history. But the profiles go beyond the traditional Black History Month stories. Instead, many of these stories talk about the rich and diverse backgrounds of prominent African Americans who happened to be same-gender-loving, bisexual or gay.

Among those profiled so far are civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey, Harvard University Chaplain Rev. Peter Gomes, U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Batts, Underground Railroad Conductor Harriet Tubman and Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt. Visit the NBJC web site to find out more and sign up for the NBJC email alerts so you can start to receive the daily Black History Month profiles in your inbox.

Posted in sexuality on February 8 2006, 1:56AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Coretta Scott King Would Be Proud

Oh no you don't. Don't even try it. I can see what's happening now, and those of us who really knew or appreciated Coretta Scott King need to put a stop to it.

The right-wing is busy building a lie that yesterday's funeral of Coretta Scott King was somehow disrespectful to this great woman and the legacy she left behind. They tried to do the same thing after Senator Paul Wellstone's funeral service a few years ago, and now they're trying it again. They're trying to make the left wing defensive about standing up for what's right. And they ought to be ashamed of themselves for even moving their forked tongues to speak such nonsense.

Make no mistake about it. Coretta Scott King, and Martin Luther King as well, would have been proud of what Dr. Joseph Lowery had to say. They would have been proud of the funeral service as a whole. More than anything else, they believed in speaking truth to power. And that is something that many of these closeted conservative, Johnny-come-lately wannabes will never understand.

Posted in politics on February 8 2006, 12:05PM | Read More | Comments (63)

I Want My Gay DNC

You may remember Ramon Gardenhire. He's been on this site before as a guest columnist. Back in October 2004, he was deputy director of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Outreach at the Democratic National Committee, and he wrote a column comparing John Kerry and George Bush on AIDS issues. Well, things have changed since then. And unfortunately, I'm not surprised.

Last Friday, Gardenhire discovered that Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean had abolished the office of GLBT outreach where he once worked. Gardenhire describes Dean's move as "an affront to every progressive Democrat, GLBT or straight." Even more disturbing is the news that the DNC eliminated the GLBT outreach office but is keeping the GLBT fundraising office. As Gardenhire puts it, "Our money may be good enough, but we are not."

Posted in politics on February 9 2006, 9:14AM | Read More | Comments (21)

The Miracle of Life

This is not the type of story I would normally cover on this site, but I found the story so compelling, inspiring and fascinating that I had to share it. It's the story of a woman named Eloysa Vasquez. This 38-year-old woman stands 3 feet tall and weighs only 37 pounds. That's right. That's not a misprint. She is 37 pounds. She has a rare disorder known as Type 3 osteogenesis imperfecta, which makes her bones so brittle that a mere muscle move could break them, and so she uses a wheelchair to move around.

But that's not the only fascinating part of the story. Eloysa Vasquez recently gave birth to a healthy boy. At 3 pounds, seven ounces, little Timothy is the son of Eloysa and her husband Roy, a 5 foot 8 inch man. After surviving two miscarriages in previous attempts at pregnancy, Eloysa gave birth to Timothy by Cesarean section on Jan. 24.

Posted in pop culture on February 10 2006, 10:55AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Why Julian Bond Skipped King's Funeral

He is one of the most recognizable figures of the civil rights movement. He marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and he worked with Coretta Scott King in the years after her husband's death. He even served in the state legislature of Georgia, where Mrs. King lived. And now he is the chairman of the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). So why wasn't he at the funeral for Coretta Scott King on Tuesday?

Julian Bond, who is also a professor at the University of Virginia, reportedly told his students in his history class that day why he chose not to attend the funeral in Atlanta. He decided not to go because he felt that Dr. King's message and Coretta Scott King's message were contradictory to the message of the anti-gay New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

Posted in politics on February 10 2006, 12:33PM | Read More | Comments (54)

Watch Where You Point That Thing

Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a man during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas. Property owner Katharine Armstrong said Cheney turned to shoot a bird and accidentally hit Harry Whittington, 78. Whittington was reportedly taken to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital by ambulance and he was said to be doing "fine."

Now I could use this opportunity to mention the 30,000 firearm deaths per year in America. And I could mention the 331,000 firearm victims in 2004. But I'll save that for another article. Instead, I'm left to wonder one thing. What if the roles had been reversed and Harry Whittington had accidentally shot Vice President Cheney? Would that be enough to make us realize that guns are inherently dangerous?

Posted in politics on February 13 2006, 12:05AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Write Your Own Caption

The White House said it never happened, but TIME magazine and the New York Times each published photos over the weekend proving that it did. In the picture above, President Bush meets with disgraced Washington power lobbyist Jack Abramoff's client, tribal chairman Raul Garza. Abramoff himself is seen in the background of the picture to the left of Bush.

Posted in politics on February 13 2006, 2:53AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Negro Please!

Should white people be able to use the N word? Should black people use the N word? And if black people use the word in the presence of white people, does that give white people permission to use it? A white English teacher in Louisville, Kentucky seems to think it does. At least that's what he said at first. Now he claims that he called one of his black students a "nigger" to teach him a lesson about not using the N word.

The teacher, Paul Dawson, told his student, Keysean Chavers, to "sit down, nigger" last December. Chavers, a freshman at Valley High School, is a Boy Scout, a football player, a member of the ROTC, and an honor roll student. He was standing near his teacher’s classroom door when Dawson used the N word. In a disturbing television interview, the teacher admits he used the word but said the student used it first. The student denies that claim, but even if it were true, does that make it right for the teacher?

Posted in politics on February 13 2006, 5:12AM | Read More | Comments (59)

The Olympians: Shani Davis

There are not many black faces in the winter Olympics in Torino. Of the 211 American athletes, only 5 are black. Other countries have also sent black athletes, but there aren't that many. So all this week I run a series of profiles of black athletes on the site. We begin today with Shani Davis.

There aren't many black faces in Torino, but there's one you will surely hear about. His name is Shani Davis and the 6'2, 185 pound 23-year-old Chicago native is a world class skater. Davis is the first African American to make a U.S. speed skating team, but late Saturday he announced he won't be competing in the team pursuit competition. That's because he wants to focus his energies on the individual competition. On Saturday he will compete in the 1000 meter speed skate and the following Tuesday he competes in the 1500 meter race. So who is Shani Davis?

Posted in sports on February 13 2006, 9:50AM | Read More | Comments (43)

The Olympians: Aaron Parchem

Our series of profiles of Olympic athletes continues today with Aaron Parchem, a 28-year-old African American athlete competing in Torino. Like Shani Davis, he's also from Chicago. And as a black man in the sport of figure skating, he's no doubt had to overcome his share of obstacles.

Parchem has been skating with his partner, Marcy Hinzmann, for three seasons now. In order to get to Torino, they had to defeat the defending national champions at the 2006 U.S. Championships to earn the second and final spot for the U.S. Olympic pairs team. Parchem had been first alternate for the 2002 Olympics with a different partner, but this time was even more amazing. His partner Hinzmann went through reconstructive knee surgery to compete, but that hasn't stopped the duo from skating their way into the history books. So who is Aaron Parchem?

Posted in sports on February 14 2006, 2:45AM | Read More | Comments (5)

The Olympians: Robin Szolkowy

We resume our series of profiles on Olympic athletes by crossing the Atlantic. America isn't the only country with black athletes, and today we profile German figure skater Robin Szolkowy, a 26-year-old pairs skater competing in Torino.

The son of a German mother and Tanzanian father, Robin Szolkowy and his partner Aliona Savchenko came into Torino as medal contenders after they beat several of the world's top teams to take second place at the 2006 European Championships. This week at the Olympics, Szolkowy competed against Aaron Parchem in the pairs skating competition and ended quite a bit higher than the American team.

Posted in sports on February 15 2006, 9:35AM | Read More | Comments (15)

The Olympians: Vonetta Flowers

Of all the American Olympians of 2006, few are more familiar than Vonetta Flowers. It was four years ago this week when Flowers rewrote the history books by becoming the first person of African descent to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics. Now the 33-year-old Alabama native is back at the Olympics, and next week she will go for the gold once again in the women's bobsled competition in Torino.

The date was February 19, 2002 and few people had heard of Vonetta Flowers. That would soon change when Flowers and her teammate made history. The young woman who had once dreamed of competing in the Summer Olympics suddenly found herself on the medal stand at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, just 18 months after she answered a help wanted ad that introduced her to bobsledding.

Posted in sports on February 16 2006, 11:47AM | Read More

The Olympians: Lascelles Brown

It was winter 1988. The place was Calgary, Alberta. The scene was the Winter Olympics. It was the last place some expected to find a group of black men from a Caribbean country competing in a winter sports event. But the Jamaican bobsledders that year not only made history, the four-man team captured the attention of the world. Disney even made a film ("Cool Runnings") about the team. With all the attention they generated, you may not remember that the team finished in last place. But it really didn't matter. Just being there was a victory.

Lascelles Brown (pictured above on the left) was only 13 years old when his countrymen competed in their first Olympic bobsledding competition. Today, almost 20 years later, the world-class Jamaican-born athlete will be competing in the winter games. He'll be joined by teammate Morgan Alexander (pictured above on right). But the two men won't be there as a novelty. They're coming to win.

Posted in sports on February 17 2006, 1:57PM | Read More | Comments (1)

Shani Davis Makes History

Despite all the criticism and all the haters, Shani Davis made Olympic history today, becoming the first black person to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history. Davis won the men's 1,000-meter speedskating race, followed by American Joey Cheek in second place. Both men beat Chad Hedrick, the American media darling who was trying to win five gold medals in Torino.

Davis was criticized for not competing in the team pursuit competition last week that would have given Hedrick a chance at five gold medals. Davis said he wanted to focus on his individual events. And in the end, it was Chad Hedrick who was the hater. Asked after the 1,000 meter race if he was happy for Shani Davis, Hedrick instead replied: "I'm happy for Joey."

Then, showing the team spirit that he criticized Davis for lacking, Hedrick said, "Once Shani beat me, I didn't care if I got a bronze. I'm here to win. It's all or nothing." Now isn't that ironic. It's okay for Chad Hedrick to focus on individual victory but not for Shani Davis.

Posted in sports on February 18 2006, 3:07PM | Read More | Comments (114)

Rod McCullom: My Favorite Things

If you've been reading this site for more than a minute, you probably know about Rod. Like Beyonce, Omarion or Fantasia, he's known for his first name, which in this case happens to be part of the name of his popular web site, Rod 2.0. His name is Rod McCullom, and he's a television writer, producer and blogger extraordinaire.

Over the past year, I've gotten to know a little bit more about Rod from our email and phone conversations. He's a talented, intelligent, hard-working, entrepreneurial person with a diverse range of interests. Most amazing to me is that he manages to keep his site, Rod 2.0, up and running with fresh daily content, breaking news, colorful and thoughtful commentary on pop culture and current events, and hot, hot pictures. His is the only blog that I read everyday.

Posted in pop culture on February 20 2006, 8:50AM | Read More | Comments (12)

Noah's Arc Renewed for 2nd Season

It's official. "Noah's Arc," the popular Logo television series, has been picked up for a second season. So says director Patrik-Ian Polk. And there won't be any controversy with the Nation of Islam interrupting the filming like last time. The production is moving to Canada to start filming in Vancouver in May. The network has ordered eight episodes, which will begin airing August 9.

The producers have already been seen scouting locations in Vancouver and meeting with potential crew. Here in the U.S. we're still waiting for that first season DVD and for the first season episodes on ITunes, which we were told would happen in January. And we'll be watching and hoping for an even better season come August.

Posted in pop culture on February 20 2006, 9:50AM | Permalink | Comments (38)

A New Look For BET

BET Jazz will become BET J on March 1, and the relaunched channel will offer new programming for African American adults. But that's not all. Guess who will be an on-air host for a new weekly television series? You guessed it. I will be a regular on a new show called "My Two Cents" starting next week on BET J. The show, a weightier version of the ABC show "The View," will look at race, pop culture and current events and will run frequently on the channel.

Meanwhile, the network will be re-branding and reprogramming with a "mix of music and lifestyle programs for jazz enthusiasts and African Americans 25 plus," according to Cybelle Brown, vice-president for sales and marketing at BETJ. It won't be all music and it won't be all original programming. The channel will feature neo soul, R&B and Caribbean music and will show short films in prime time, Monday to Friday. Currently distributed to more than 13 million households, the new Bet J will also be launched on Direct TV, thus reaching more than 21 million households. Brown predicted the channel would be a home for "BET graduates" and would complement the format offered by BET, BET J's sister network.

Posted in pop culture on February 21 2006, 10:30AM | Read More | Comments (30)

The Rivalry Ends

It was billed as the biggest rivalry on ice since Tonya Harding allegedly asked her ex husband Jeff Gillooly to club the knees of her American competitor Nancy Kerrigan. But unlike the 1994 Olympic feud, nobody got hurt this time.

This time the American rivals were men, and Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick faced off today in the 1500 meter speedskating race. Coming into the contest, each man already had a gold medal under his belt (Hedrick for the 5000 and Davis for the 1000), but today's race took place on Hedrick's playing field. Hedrick is the current world record holder in the 1500 meter race. But in the end, Shani Davis again beat Chad Hedrick, although he barely missed the top prize. The gold medal went to Italy's Enrico Fabris, who skated right past all the controversy and into the record books.

Posted in sports on February 21 2006, 6:31PM | Read More | Comments (37)

The Lawrence Summers I Knew

Under pressure from faculty and board members, Harvard President Lawrence Summers abruptly resigned yesterday. In just five years as the head of the Ivy League school, Summers managed to alienate many of the people who should have been his allies. But his announcement reminded me of several encounters I had had with Summers over the years, most recently last fall.

It was a pleasant day in September and many of the leading lights in black America had gathered on the lawn of the Harvard Law School. Assembled under the tent were Franklin Raines, Cornel West, Barack Obama, Deborah Lee, Charles Ogletree, Randall Kennedy, Ellis Cose, David Wilkins and many others. And then there was Lawrence Summers, the president of Harvard University. Summers's speech that day could most charitably be characterized as unusual.

Posted in pop culture on February 22 2006, 12:01AM | Read More | Comments (12)

Black Men Can't Dance?

Law professor Devon Carbado posts a provocative question about racial stereotypes and popular culture on Blackprof.com. Pressured to watch the popular TV show "Dancing With the Stars" recently, Carbado observed that one thing really stood out for him. Jerry Rice can't dance. Yes, that's right. Jerry Rice, the former NFL player and three time Super Bowl champion. Jerry Rice, the black sports hero of the 90s. As Carbado said, Rice was "stiff as a broom stick."

The stereotype suggests that all black people can dance, but those of us who are black know that assumption is no more true than the assumption that all black men have big dicks (oops, did I spoil another secret?). Racial stereoypes have pegged blacks as rhythmic, athletic, sensual and sexual beings. Thus we are often depicted as innately capable of dancing, running, jumping, throwing, catching and screwing. It may seem an honor to some observers, but beware that the pedestal becomes a cage. For by characterizing blacks in a physical sense, society does not characterize us in the sense of our intellectual capacity or our emotional needs, and thus reserves those other traits for other races.

Posted in pop culture on February 22 2006, 10:36AM | Permalink | Comments (29)

Is It Time For Blacks to Act Up?

Is it time for African Americans to "act up" in order to fight the AIDS epidemic? Noted activist Mario Cooper thinks it is. Cooper is a long-term survivor of HIV and a longtime AIDS and gay rights activist. He's seen the inside of the political system as a lawyer and adviser to Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and as the manager of the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York City.

If the black community is to save itself from the AIDS epidemic, we need our own ACT UP, he writes in a recent column published in The Body. "More than money, more than media attention, more than HIV medications, we need the kind of body-on-the-line activism that would make Rosa Parks, H. Rap Brown and Martin himself proud," says Cooper. Drawing obvious parallels to the ACT UP organization and movement that became hugely popular in the war on AIDS in the 1980s and 90s, Cooper argues that it's time for black folk to do the same thing.

Posted in sexuality on February 23 2006, 8:19AM | Read More | Comments (16)

What Would Lynn Swann Do?

What is it about black celebrities not voting and then becoming Republicans? Four years ago, I reported that LL Cool J had never voted in his life and then came out and announced that he was going to be voting as a Republican to cast his ballot for New York's governor George Pataki. Now comes word that Lynn Swann, a former NFL player and now a Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, hasn't voted a lot in the past either.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported recently that Swann missed 20 of his last 36 chances to vote in a public election. But Lynn Swann challenged his critics and said he was "very proud" of his voting record. "I'm not worried about my voting record; I think the issues that face the state of Pennsylvania go well beyond anyone's voting record," he said. That answer begs an obvious question: Should a candidate for public office have voted in public elections?

Posted in politics on February 24 2006, 4:33AM | Read More | Comments (17)

Carnival 2006

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- The past week here in Ipanema has been an incredible experience. Carnival is now in full swing and tomorrow is Fat Tuesday. I will be posting a few pictures here during the next few days. The pictures here were taken yesterday during one of the many street parades breaking out all throughout the city. Stay tuned for more.

Posted in pop culture on February 27 2006, 11:13AM | Read More | Comments (7)

Octavia Butler (1947-2006)

I have not read a lot of science fiction in my life, but I did take a college course on science fiction authors. We read many of the most famous authors in the genre, including Kurt Vonnegut, Isaac Asimov and Samuel Delany. And we were also introduced to female authors like Ursula K. LeGuin and Octavia Butler. Butler was one of very few African American women writers in speculative fiction or science fiction, and she paved the way for others like Tananarive Due. The news of Butler's death at just 58 years old comes as a blow to the literary community.

A few years ago, she described herself as "a 53-year-old writer who can remember being a 10-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an 80-year-old writer." She added, "I'm also comfortably asocial -- a hermit in the middle of Seattle -- a pessimist if I'm not careful, a feminist, a Black, a former Baptist, an oil-and-water combination of ambition, laziness, insecurity, certainty, and drive."

Posted in books on February 28 2006, 9:28AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Carnival Continues in Rio

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- I'm posting pictures from Carnival this week down in Rio. Tonight is the big night, Fat Tuesday, celebrating the last day before the beginning of Lent. The streets are crowded, the bands are playing, the Samba schools are marching, and the people in their costumes are celebrating.

Posted in pop culture on February 28 2006, 9:48AM | Read More | Comments (4)