I will never be able to here this Rick Ross song again and not think of Pentacostal Church services.
He said I think I’m Paul…I died laughin. “That will preach!” as my uncle says. Turning into a preacher later in life…I could see Ross doing that.
August 25, 2010
Overweight Women Charged Extra at Georgia Nail Salon
Sisters spend a LOT of money at nail salons. I’m not into all the designs, gel nails, silk wraps, and what have you, but I know a ton of women who are. I was amazed that a nail salon would tack on an extra $5 for what…FAT. That’s right. An african-american woman in Georgia was recently told that the extra 5 dollars on her bill was due to her being overweight. Apparently, the nail salon had experienced some broken chairs due it it’s heftier customers.
I have a question. Do they have a scale at the front of the store where they can weigh you before you get your services and determine whether you qualify for the broken chair fee? What do you think? Would you patronize a place that charged overweight customers more? We do in the case of the airlines.
Michelle Fonville said her experience at Natural Nails on Covington Highway in DeKalb County turned from pleasant to painful in a matter of moments. “I was humiliated. I almost cried. Tears were forming in my eyes,” said Fonville. She said things went downhill on Monday after the salon manager gave her the bill for her manicure, pedicure and eyebrow arch.
Fonville realized that she had been overcharged by $5. “I said, ‘I’ve been overcharged. She may have made an error,’” said Fonville. “She broke it down, then told me she charged me $5 more because I was overweight.”
Fonville said she couldn’t believe what was happening and recounted the experience with Channel 2 Action News reporter Eric Philips. “I said, Ma’am, you can’t charge me $5 more. That’s discrimination because of my weight,” said Fonville.
Click here to see the video and read the rest of this story.
August 12, 2010
I am a Brown Twitter Bird
If you’re not hip to the #BrownTwitterBird movement and the “interesting: Slate article by Farhad Manjoo that started it all, get hip! Details here.
My Bird’s name is Avian…as in Avian Flu. She so fly!! She so fancy!
The #BrownTwitterBird Tweets go from hilarious to just bland and stereotypical. In the end it’s interesting to consider how much influence African-Americans could have in this medium. I think the Slate article was flawed by the fact that you can’t verify race by Twitter profile pics, but hey…whatever. I hadn’t even heard of a “blacktag” until this article and I’m black (really black) so what does that tell you.
Much Love to InnyVinny for creating a monster meme virus that has spread like wildfire.
August 6, 2010
Is it just me or does this “Do away with the 14th Amendment” jazz make you antsy?
On the news last night I noticed a lot of commentators and pundits were discussing the 14th amendment all willy nilly. Um…was anyone else uncomfortable with the dialogue. I don’t want to wake up tomorrow and hear that I’m not a citizen. Don’t follow me…
Background: Anderson Cooper’s show offers the rundown of what’s being tossed about in the halls of Capitol Hill.
Republicans such as Sens. Lindsey Graham, John Kyl and John Cornyn are tripping over themselves to jump on the latest “Dumb Way to Solve the Illegal Immigration Problem” bus by suggesting Congress examine repealing the 14th Amendment, which deals with one way of becoming a U.S. citizen.
The far right has latched onto the idea that the provision in question – which grants citizenship to children born in the U.S. – is being abused by illegal immigrants who choose to come to America to have their children, thus worsening the illegal immigration problem.
Some are even trying to suggest that how it is being used today is counter to the original intent of the Founding Fathers.
Of course, the 14th Amendment was not in the first U.S. Constitution as drawn up by our framers. It was adopted on July 9, 1868, to prevent Southern states from denying citizenship to former slaves and their children, since they didn’t choose to come to America. They were brought here for the purpose of the vicious and dehumanizing free-labor plan that helped build the nation – slavery.
There were no immigration laws as we know them in 1868 so this is just crazy talk.
The problem is enforcement of the existing laws. The 14th amendment can’t change anything that the government is not going to enforce. The problem in my opinion is that we have neglected our own immigration laws and the enforcement of them for so long that now the elephant in the room is that there are millions of people who would have to be rounded up for the law to really be followed to the letter. Many of these people have children who are by law American citizens. Combine this with the fact that we’ve allowed whole industries to benefit from the labor of persons who are in this country illegally. If all of the “illegal” aliens were forced to leave, the impact would be felt on various levels of our society.
In addition, NO ONE is going to take away the 14th. One good reason? All the Italian, German, Russian, and other european immigrants who came to these shores. You see, no one is going to want to have to prove that their great, great grandma from England or Cicely became a citizen naturally. Remember people, we are a nation of foreigners. The only people who’ve “been” here are the Native Americans.
May 29, 2010
Sex and the City 2: Black Don’t Crack
Black actresses need to thank God that “Black Don’t Crack”. Apparently HD brings out every little flaw.
I saw “Sex and the City 2″ Thursday and I’m telling you, HD film is NOT forgiving! Not at all. All of the ladies looked much older than in the first film. Even Charlotte, who was so youthful looking, was showing major signs of aging (most notably in the chin area). SJP has always shown her age and is not a Botox or surgery girl so I wasn’t surprised at how she looks. I will say, Samantha looked the best out of all 4.
I really would have expected that they’d found some way to filter out the harshness of HD. Whoo! Makeup Artists, you have your work cut out for you. Sistafriend actresses, ladies let’s hope that the Melanin and some good moisturizers helps your black not to crack.
May 28, 2010
Grand Isle and the Oil Spill: Karma is a Bitch
They say that what you do unto others will be done unto you. Now, trust me…I have compassion for the people currently effected by the oil spill. People are losing their livelihoods and some have lost their lives. However, I just have to say that I just see an irony in this mess. A very, very sad irony. Jefferson Parish officials refused to help people suffering during Katrina and now, parts of the parish are in need.
“And despite constant warnings from Jefferson Parish officials about oil approaching Grand Isle late last week, the boats needed to stop it weren’t around when they were needed. As a result, oil washed up on beaches and authorities in Jefferson “commandeered” shrimp boats from BP in order to get booms out to the passes near the island.” source
One of the most compelling during the Katrina disaster came from two white paramedics from San Francisco who were among those trapped in the city after the hurricane. They were turned away on a bridge by Jefferson Parish police:
“”The police commander came across the street to address our group. He told us he had a solution: we should walk to the Pontchartrain Expressway and cross the greater New Orleans Bridge to the south side of the Mississippi, where the police had buses lined up to take us out of the city…We organized ourselves, and the 200 of us set off for the bridge with great excitement and hope. As we marched past the convention center, many locals saw our determined and optimistic group, and asked where we were headed. We told them about the great news. Families immediately grabbed their few belongings, and quickly, our numbers doubled and then doubled again. Babies in strollers now joined us, as did people using crutches, elderly clasping walkers and other people in wheelchairs. We marched the two to three miles to the freeway and up the steep incline to the bridge…
As we approached the bridge, armed sheriffs formed a line across the foot of the bridge. Before we were close enough to speak, they began firing their weapons over our heads. This sent the crowd fleeing in various directions. As the crowd scattered and dissipated, a few of us inched forward and managed to engage some of the sheriffs in conversation. We told them of our conversation with the police commander and the commander’s assurances. The sheriffs informed us that there were no buses waiting. The commander had lied to us to get us to move. We questioned why we couldn’t cross the bridge anyway, especially as there was little traffic on the six-lane highway. They responded that the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans, and there would be no Superdomes in their city…All day long, we saw other families, individuals and groups make the same trip up the incline in an attempt to cross the bridge, only to be turned away—some chased away with gunfire, others simply told no, others verbally berated and humiliated. Thousands of New Orleaners were prevented and prohibited from self-evacuating the city on foot. (Bradshaw and Slonsky 2005)”
When questioned about these incidents later, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff confirmed that his office closed the bridge, explaining that his Parish did not have the resources to care for thousands of needy people.” source
Other Accounts:
Evacuees Were Turned Away at Gretna, La. : NPR
Jefferson Parish Sheriff asks to be taken off of lawsuit | – NOLA.com
I wonder what the citizens of Jefferson Parish thought about the events on that bridge back then? I wonder what they think about the responsiblity of all of us to care for the needy now?
July 2, 2010
Ninja, Pleassse! You sho is crazy, Ninja!
Black people, I have to say that I found this “Ninja, Say What?” video to be very informative. As I watched it I said to myself, mmm…Black folk must really, really sound crazy sometimes depending on who is listening in on us using the one word we don’t want others to use.
Tell me what you think.
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Tags: commentary, my ninja, n-word, ninja, ninja say what, video, what's up my ninja