Blogging About News, Gossip, & Entertainment From A Black Woman's Point Of View.

Video & Photos of Barack Obama At College Game

admin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:41:06 +0000

Barack Obama attended today’s college basketball matchup between No. 7 Georgetown and No. 8 Duke. Among his companions were Joe Biden, David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs and Reggie Love.

The president also offered commentary during part of the CBS broadcast of the game. He said that he typically does not have time to watch entire college basketball games, but stays up to date by watching SportsCenter. He’ll make an exception for the Final Four and watch all of the games.

The home team prevailed, as Georgetown beat Duke, 89-77. Scroll down for video and photos, and to read the pool reports from the game.

POTUS attends a basketball game at the Verizon Center between Georgetown University and Duke University. Seated in a cushioned folding chair mere feet from the basketball court, POTUS studiously remained dispassionate and impartial even as fans of the Georgetown University team all around him went absolutely berserk. Just to his left was a line of shirtless students smeared with gray and blue body paint, some wearing frenzied blue wigs and screaming like they were possessed. In response to a call that was apparently unfavorable to the Georgetown University team, one of the shirtless fans tried starting a cheer unfit for a family newspaper. But just as it started to get off the ground, a second shirtless student — no doubt a nerd — scolded, “Dude, the President of the United States is right there!” Which effectively killed that cheer. Anyway, POTUS did not appear to have noticed the offending cheer. He remain hunched forward, elbows on his knees, watching intently but carefully avoiding any hint about which team he might wish to see prevail. POTUS perked up for the first time a few minutes into the contest during some kind of break in play when the Georgetown University Women’s Rowing Team was introduced, standing on the big blue “G” painted in the middle of the court. At least they got a polite applause from POTUS. During another break in play as both basketball teams huddled about something, a referee sauntered beneath the basket nearest POTUS. Holding the ball in one hand, he shouted toward POTUS, “Sir. Sir!” When POTUS looked up, the referee nodded his head toward the ball in his hand and then the basket, gesturing POTUS might want to take a shot. POTUS smiled broadly and then both men laughed heartily. Apparently, it was also bring-your-son-to-the-office-outing day. Both Robert Gibbs and Rahm Emanuel showed up with their sons. Shortly after kick-off, VPOTUS appeared from behind the stands. He strode right up to the court and sat beside POTUS. He wore the collar of his sports coat up, giving him a decidedly European look. His son, Hunter, was also in tow. Also seated with POTUS was David Axelrod. Reggie Love was in attendance but not sitting with POTUS. At halftime, POTUS got up from his seat and shook hands with some of the fans seated around him and VPOTUS posed for pictures.

During second half of the basketball game, POTUS moved halfway down the court to sit with the announcers for a little commentary on the game. He was welcomed and asked about his love of the game. POTUS lamented that with all his other duties, he “can’t watch a full game, unfortunately.” During the playoffs, however, he watches all the games. Asked his opinion of the contest between Georgetown University and Duke University, POTUS remained studiously impartial. “Obviously, two great teams,” he said. The guards from Georgetown were particularly noteworthy, he said, especially during the first half. In the second half, he said, the guards were getting a bit “sloppy” and the Duke team was “picking up its ‘D’.” Then they started talking about some other basketball teams when POTUS seemed to take a shot at East Coast liberal elitism. “If the Buckeyes are bragging about beating an Ivy League team, then that tells you something,” he said. Asked if he wanted to call a play, POTUS looked up in time to see a player running down the court, jumping up right as he approached the basket and throwing the ball up. “This was a turnaround and he didn’t get any spinback,” POTUS said. This analysis was admired by the professional announcers, who said POTUS could have a career in announcing if, you know, things didn’t work out. Realizing they had really stepped in it, they backed up and said that, of course, POTUS has a job and will for as long as he wishes. Exhibiting his trademark modesty, POTUS acknowledged he could easily do their jobs and joked that he would be coming after them as soon as he wrapped up his current gig. “You have either three more years or seven,” clearly suggesting he might CHOOSE not to pursue a second term. On a roll, one of the announcers decided to talk a little more politics. “You are obviously a left hander,” he said to POTUS. “Any problem going to the right?” Unclear what exactly that meant. But POTUS replied that just yesterday he went to Baltimore to speak to Republicans at their annual retreat. And then he said indeed he is stronger on the left. Before signing off, POTUS said people’s thoughts should be with the troops in the field and with those helping victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

Thank God for white people.

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:53:34 +0000

If you look at almost every heartbreaking story coming out of Haiti, there are many thoughts that may come to mind. You may be even more grateful to be an American and live in a country that may not be perfect, but is safe and have the money and power to maintain a functioning society, especially at the moment of disaster. With the exception of the governments’ previous slow response to Katrina , which anyone could see was more of a disaster than the actual Hurricane. We have a pretty amazing track record as a nation that responds fast and covers most of the tab. For that we should be proud.

I hate to look at things like the tsunami from a few years ago, or the erathquake in Haiti now and try to find something to complain about, but this time it’s a little more personal to me because these are black people.

My issues is this..where are the black rescue workers? This is not an argument of discrimination towards blacks, this is me asking the question , where are all the black hero’s in this disaster? I see white firefighters, white doctors and nurses, loving white families who are adopting Haitian orphans, and white rescue workers doing all the heroics for the people of Haiti. Sure every now and then I will see the face of a black nurse from Harlem, or a black doctor here and there, but overall, the majority of the effort is coming from whites, which I am VERY grateful for.

And, just in case you were wondering if I am trying to blame the media for not showing blacks rescuers on purpose, you’d be wrong. This is something that has always bugged me about African-American people, MY people. On paper, as a group we do almost nothing for the poor an sick of the world. White rapper Asher Roth came out months ago to publicly shame “Black Rappers For Showing Off & Neglecting Africa“, and you know what, HE’S RIGHT! It is almost always whites who take the lead and put the blood, sweat and tears into doing whatever possible for the needy of the world.

I understand the economics for many African-Americans aren’t the same for whites, but why does it always seem to be white people running clinics, and orphanages in poor black and latin countries? They hold fundraisers, telethons, charity events, and put themselves directly in the front lines in some of the worst places a person can live just to help people they don’t know. Let’s face it, we know that in our black culture here in the US, we put more effort into our rims, shoes and hair weaves than Africa and the poor of this world. A sista can drop $1,000 on a lace front wig, but not consider to donate $10 to the Red Cross. Of course this doesn’t apply to all of us, but you know deep down inside what I mean.

I’m not taking anything away from the blacks who do volunteer their time and effort to causes they care about. I know there are several community organizers and local activists in many black and Hispanic communities that devote their lives to helping their people. So the real question is why don’t blacks commit to helping the poor and sick of Africa and other devastated countries like so many whites do? Can it all be about money? I doubt it. I think more than anything this recent disaster in Haiti should inspire more African-Americans to become firemen, rescue pilots, doctors and whatever field of training that gives more flexibility for situations just like this. It would be nice to see black people included in the rescue of their own people and all races of people who face this kind of nightmare. It would be great if more blacks took an interest in adopting the orphaned children of Haiti, and Africa.

I remember making jokes about the “trend” of white people with money who adopt Asian babies. To me I always thought it was sweet and the right thing to do overall, but I really would feel for Asian people who had to see their race of children being raised by rich white people. I always felt sympathy for those who had to see it become what I felt was some kind of exotic tend to impress people.

Well guess what? Now it’s happening to us. I see more and more black children being adopted by whites and now that the shoe is on the other foot I feel nothing but support and love for the whites who decide to adopt black children. Nobody else seems to want them, especially us black folks, so why not? I would rather see more blacks adopt black children purely for the sake of numbers. Black children are less likely to be adopted than any other race in the United States alone, far less in other countries. So if a white couple decides they want to open their home and hearts to black children I support that right. I also feel the same for gays , who are embracing mixed adoptions as quickly as their heterosexual counterparts.

I don’t even think we as a people even think to consider adoption when all other options aren’t possible. Is the concept of shelling out thousands of dollars to much to handle for something blacks feel can be naturally done for free? Do black women who are not able to have children feel like they would rather go childless than adopt a black orphan ?

When you see white people taking the initiative in catastrophes like the Haitian earthquake, it gives the appearance to the world that black people are incapable of taking care of their own. Barack Obama is black , but he is one man, and we cannot lay all the responsibility of charity and awareness on Obama, Oprah and Wyclef Jean. More black celebrities, athletes, business leaders and families who can afford it should start investing in helping the world outside of their neighborhood. Stop leaving it all up to the whites of the world and start including our culture and people in a more diverse world stage that has nothing to do with sports or music. It seems to be the only time blacks are seen for anything internationally is for needing help, and it’s always whites there to do it.

Yet another amazing rescue in Haiti

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:00:17 +0000

It’s been over a week since the Haitian earthquake devastated the country. Sadly, at this point, finding survivors is becoming increasingly rare. Still, there are glorious exceptions — like Kiki, the young boy who flashed a million-dollar smile after being lifted from the rubble.

The rescue was captured on camera. As you’ll see below, Kiki’s older sister, Sabrina, was pulled out first. Seven-year-old Kiki comes out next, looking a bit dazed. However, after seeing the crowd, the survivor immediately smiles and extends his arms in triumph. A photographer from the New York Post described the scene and the crowd’s reaction.

After so much heartbreak and tragedy, this was a rescue that inspired the masses. When asked why he smiled so broadly, Kiki responded, “I smiled because I was free, I smiled because I was alive.”

After being treated for their injuries and dehydration, the two children were reunited with their parents. No doubt the children were happy. In time they’ll understand just how happy they’d made everyone else.

Watch the incredible moment below, and learn how you can donate to Haiti here.

shock Tiger Woods: An even bigger uncle tom than we assumed

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:51:39 +0000

Read this interesting new bombshell about Tiger Woods and his negative opinions about black athletes and lesbians.

Tiger Wood's Attempt At "Looking Hardcore". Nice try wimpy.

In February’s Vanity Fair, Bissinger recalls a 1997 GQ interview that Woods gave when he was 21. The golfer, now 33, made a “series of profane quips” about women, sex and athletes that now provide “a sustained glimpse of the real Tiger Woods,” writes Bissinger, who refers to Woods as a “sex addict.”

At one point, Woods said during the tape recorded interview: “What I can’t figure out is why so many good-looking women hang around baseball and basketball. Is it because, you know, people always say that, like, black guys have big dicks?”

Bissinger notes that during a photo shoot — “where four women attended to his every need and flirted with him as he flirted back” — Woods told a joke. He rubbed the tips of his shoes together and then asked the women, “What’s this?” Woods then replied. “It’s a black guy taking off his condom.”

Woods also cracked that lesbians are “faster” at sex than gay men because women “are always going 69,” Bissinger notes.

Bissinger writes that the interview “was the only honest and open one Woods has ever given. After that the steel wall of insulation came down, spearheaded by I.M.G.,” his agency.

Joe Logan, a co-founder of a Web site called MyPhillyGolf.com, tells Vanity Fair that Woods — who has an estimated net worth of $600 million — fraudulently created an image so he could earn as much money as possible through endorsements.

“He held himself out to a higher standard he created and built and cashed in on,” he tells the magazine. “Everyone feels duped and betrayed. It’s not like some guy who got drunk and jumped in the sack with some waitress.”

The public shouldn’t be so surprised by the Tiger Woods sex scandal, says Pulitzer Prize winner Buzz Bissinger.

Many of us in the African American community have always verbalized our disgust with America’s favorite Uncle Tom, Tiger Woods. For some of us, not me, it was because he seemed to perfer white women , for most, it was because he made it clear to the world that he didn’t see himself as black and even tried to convince us that he was a special racial category ‘canabalasian‘, that was to me the real issue.

The few Uncle Tom’s who reach the level of success Tiger Woods has reached at least understand how important it is to not intentionally offend blacks, you know, the people the UT (Uncle Tom) is trying so hard not to be like.

UT’s like Quincy Jones, Ice-T, Clarence Thomas, Taye Diggs, etc usually put on a fake persona as if to say, “sure I don’t touch black women, and I have no real ties to the community but I am still real“. For many of us that’s fine because I like many black women nowadays could care less if a brotha prefers white over black. We are so used to seeing our men act like white women are the gold standard of desire to now many of us are starting to ‘get it’ and just don’t give a damn like we used to. There are plenty of fish of other races in the sea, it does go both ways.

But the grand wizard of UT’s, Tiger Woods is by far the most self hating black athlete or celebrity of our time. This man has actually convinced himself that when he looks in the mirror, that a mixed-race black man is not starring back. To make fun of your fellow black athletes for doing the same exact thing your doing but you see yourself as different because you think your in another racial category is HYSTERICAL!

Now it’s true he was only 21 when this story was written, but I say if he is a dog now, he most likely was one back then also, and this Vanity Fair article from 1996 is clear proof the Tiger Woods has some serious , MAJOR issues with his racial identity, we, the African American community weren’t just jealous when we leashed our criticism towards him, like so many white love to charge. When I read this article, I got the impression of a white guy making a insulting black joke to another fellow white person. Do you know how pathetic it is to act in such a desperate manner and crack such a joke when you yourself are black, and an athlete, and you having nothing but hot white women catering to your every need? FAKE! FAKE! FAKE!

We smelled a rat then and now the world see’s his sorry, cheating, nasty butt for what he is. I am THRILLED for his poor wife Elin, because reports are already stating that she may get $300 million for her troubles. I think she has earned every single last dime. The humiliation of this scandal will follow her and her children for years, and this is just about one of the few things that can help her ease her pain. You GO GIRL!

Tupac’s “Changes” Named As One Of The Vatican’s “12 Favorite Songs” (Video)

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:48:46 +0000

Almost exactly eleven years after its posthumous release, legendary rapper Tupac Shakur’s 1998 hit “Changes” has been selected by the Vatican as one of the institution’s “12 Favorite Songs” as part of a playlist for MySpace’s new streaming service MySpace Music.

The distinction is the first time the Catholic Church has officially recognized the work of any popular American artist. With it, the song joins the ranks of works such as “Don Giovanni” by Mozart, the Vatican’s own “Advocata Nostra,” featuring the voice of Pope Benedict XVI, and “After The Rain,” by Dame Shirley Bassey.

“The genres are very different from each other, but all these artists share the aim to reach the heart of good minded people,” the Vatican explained on its official MySpace Music page.

The playlist, compiled by Father Giulio Neroni, was released Thursday, December 3 – and “Changes” has received nearly five million plays since then.

“This came as such an amazing surprise – it’s not something I would have ever thought possible,” says the late rapper’s mother, Afeni Shakur. “I give thanks every day, knowing Tupac’s words and music continue to have such an incredible effect on people worldwide. My son was always striving to reach out to as many people as he could, and he changed the world in doing so.”

Released two years after the rapper’s death in 1998, “Changes” has been acknowledged as one of Tupac’s all-time classics ever since, with a message that resonates just as strongly today. The song is a streetwise meditation on racism, the Middle East, drugs and gang violence coupled with a call for hope and peace. In essence, it highlights the need for change on both a personal and global level.

“Let’s change the way we eat, let’s change the way we live, let’s change the way we treat each other,” states Tupac on the track. “You see, the old way wasn’t working, so it’s on us to do what we gotta do to survive.”

The acclaimed single climbed to the top of the charts upon its release and became the only posthumously released Hip-Hop song to receive the Grammy nomination for “Best Rap Solo Performance.” It recently confirmed its lasting power when it hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Ringtones Chart (November 7, 2009), a spot it held for a whopping 34 weeks.

“It’s a testament to Tupac’s genius that his music can have this kind of impact more than ten years after the fact,” says Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine. “This is an unprecedented honor to his legacy, as well as for those who had the privilege of working with him during his lifetime.”

In additional Tupac news, it was announced in September that the artist’s private writings would be added to Atlanta University Center’s Robert Woodruff Library – an institution that also houses Martin Luther King’s papers – to be made available for scholarly research.

The collection features Shakur’s handwritten lyrics and track listings, personal notes, video and film concepts, fan correspondence, promotion materials and other items providing a unique insight into his creative genius.

Peep the video for “Changes.”

Source

shock Hispanic woman adopts black baby and then gives it back * video*

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:58:49 +0000

I found this article today and tried to be fair about my judgement of this woman before I finished the article. Basically, a hispanic mother of 5 adopts a black baby, tries to bond with the baby over the course of 18 months and realizes that she isn’t able to bond with the baby ..fine so far right? Well guess what…she is blaming herself and she is also blaming the BABY for the reason why she wasn’t bonding with her new child! She says “the baby shares some of the responsibility for this lack of bonding” . How can an innocent little baby be responsible for anything?

See I really hate to cry racism in a situation like this, because I truly DO NOT think a hispanic woman who choses to adopt a black child would have any level of racist tendencies, especially towards a baby. So explain to me how you can easily raise 5 latin children , but cannot handle a tiny black baby ? Was she not prepared for the cultural shock of raising a black child in a hispanic family? Maybe she isn’t strong enough to handle the stares and the double takes she may be getting from her community.. Or maybe she just realized she was in over her head..either way, I am very disgusted by her openly adding blame to the BABY for her issue with it!

What makes me even angrier is that there are many women (white of course) who “admire” her honesty and don’t think she is wrong to do this..I wonder if they would feel the same way if the baby was white, and after 18 months she gave the baby back and blamed it for not bonding with her. I think this is very suspect and maybe she just wanted to be like Angelina Jolie too much and figured out you can’t fake love for a black child. I can tell you Angelina loves her kids, you can see it on her face , but this woman is weak, and that child is better off without her sorry butt. Read the story and watch the video ….

The “Today” show on NBC did a shocking segment on Anita Tedaldi, “a woman who adopted a child and then gave him up 18 months later.” Tedaldi is a writer who originally told this story on The New York Times’ Motherlode blog.

She and her husband have five biological children and decided that they wanted more. After going through the approval process, she was able to adopt a baby who was found by the side of a road. Despite her pre-adoption belief that she would “be able to parent this little boy the same way I had done with my biological daughters,” she terminated the adoption after 18 months.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Because she couldn’t bond with him, she said.

Asked by Matt Lauer what this means, Tedaldi was somewhat vague and did manage to blame the baby. “It went both ways,” she said in the interview. “The child, D., wasn’t connecting with us.”

What on earth is she talking about? Without giving us particulars, we’re left to wonder what went on in that house for a year-and-a-half? Was Baby D. not a hugger? Did he not smile? What does it mean exactly that an infant is not bonding with his mother?

Lauer really missed the boat by not pressing this question. And Tedaldi, but averting a direct explanation, only adds to the frustration and creates more questions.

Writing about the story, “Today” correspondent Natalie Morales thinks that we shouldn’t be too quick to judge the woman. Many commenters on the “Today” show Web site agree.

But what no one is saying is that ultimately this story is about the one thing that it shouldn’t be about — Anita Tedaldi. One of the not-discussed-enough aspects of the mommy blogosphere is how often it becomes All About Mom. This story is a classic case of that.

Not only did Tedaldi give back a baby she had decided to adopt, she actually says that the baby shares some of the responsibility for this lack of bonding. Is it possible that it’s just damn hard to raise a baby when you already have a house full of children? And that Tedaldi didn’t realize this until the child arrived?

Explain it to us, lady. What happened?

Ironically, Tedaldi used to feel the same way we did, and wrote a column for Military.com called “We Can’t Trade In Our Children or Husbands” back in January 2008. (Military.com has pulled the piece, but the Adoption Talk blog has some of the text.) Now that she has had this experience, she feels differently

Hey, no harm no foul, right?

But there is harm. There is a baby involved here.

In the original Times blog, Tedaldi wrote that she “wasn’t connecting with [the baby] on the visceral level I experienced with my biological daughters.”

Perhaps that was part of the problem? She wanted to duplicate her parenting experience with her older kids frame-for-frame. We have no way of knowing unless we hear details.

Many are praising this mom for her honesty. We can’t help but wonder how much of the story she decided not to share with the world.

What do you think?

Source

More school: Obama would curtail summer vacation

admin — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:15:30 +0000

All you school age kids and teenagers are not going to like this one. In the end, it appears to be a brilliant idea..See this is the kind of change Obama was talking about and it’s time our nation catches us to the rest of the world and stop living in denial.

Too many teachers, and students are just plain STUPID and it’s time we stop acting as if having tons of weapons and clout is all it takes for us to remain as a superpower. We need our youth to grow up and become smart, CRITICAL THINKERS, who can compete in science, math, and economics and against other countries like India and China who are pumping out mini-Einsteins every day. Read the full story below ..

By LIBBY QUAID, AP Education Writer Libby Quaid, Ap Education Writer

WASHINGTON – Students beware: The summer vacation you just enjoyed could be sharply curtailed if President Barack Obama gets his way.

Obama says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe.

“Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas,” the president said earlier this year. “Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom.”

The president, who has a sixth-grader and a third-grader, wants schools to add time to classes, to stay open late and to let kids in on weekends so they have a safe place to go.

“Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Fifth-grader Nakany Camara is of two minds. She likes the four-week summer program at her school, Brookhaven Elementary School in Rockville, Md. Nakany enjoys seeing her friends there and thinks summer school helped boost her grades from two Cs to the honor roll.

But she doesn’t want a longer school day. “I would walk straight out the door,” she said.

Domonique Toombs felt the same way when she learned she would stay for an extra three hours each day in sixth grade at Boston’s Clarence R. Edwards Middle School.

“I was like, `Wow, are you serious?’” she said. “That’s three more hours I won’t be able to chill with my friends after school.”

Her school is part of a 3-year-old state initiative to add 300 hours of school time in nearly two dozen schools. Early results are positive. Even reluctant Domonique, who just started ninth grade, feels differently now. “I’ve learned a lot,” she said.

Does Obama want every kid to do these things? School until dinnertime? Summer school? And what about the idea that kids today are overscheduled and need more time to play?

___

Obama and Duncan say kids in the United States need more school because kids in other nations have more school.

“Young people in other countries are going to school 25, 30 percent longer than our students here,” Duncan told the AP. “I want to just level the playing field.”

While it is true that kids in many other countries have more school days, it’s not true they all spend more time in school.

Kids in the U.S. spend more hours in school (1,146 instructional hours per year) than do kids in the Asian countries that persistently outscore the U.S. on math and science tests — Singapore (903), Taiwan (1,050), Japan (1,005) and Hong Kong (1,013). That is despite the fact that Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong have longer school years (190 to 201 days) than does the U.S. (180 days).

___

Regardless, there is a strong case for adding time to the school day.

Researcher Tom Loveless of the Brookings Institution looked at math scores in countries that added math instruction time. Scores rose significantly, especially in countries that added minutes to the day, rather than days to the year.

“Ten minutes sounds trivial to a school day, but don’t forget, these math periods in the U.S. average 45 minutes,” Loveless said. “Percentage-wise, that’s a pretty healthy increase.”

In the U.S., there are many examples of gains when time is added to the school day.

Charter schools are known for having longer school days or weeks or years. For example, kids in the KIPP network of 82 charter schools across the country go to school from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., more than three hours longer than the typical day. They go to school every other Saturday and for three weeks in the summer. KIPP eighth-grade classes exceed their school district averages on state tests.

In Massachusetts’ expanded learning time initiative, early results indicate that kids in some schools do better on state tests than do kids at regular public schools. The extra time, which schools can add as hours or days, is for three things: core academics — kids struggling in English, for example, get an extra English class; more time for teachers; and enrichment time for kids.

Regular public schools are adding time, too, though it is optional and not usually part of the regular school day. Their calendar is pretty much set in stone. Most states set the minimum number of school days at 180 days, though a few require 175 to 179 days.

Several schools are going year-round by shortening summer vacation and lengthening other breaks.

Many schools are going beyond the traditional summer school model, in which schools give remedial help to kids who flunked or fell behind.

Summer is a crucial time for kids, especially poorer kids, because poverty is linked to problems that interfere with learning, such as hunger and less involvement by their parents.

That makes poor children almost totally dependent on their learning experience at school, said Karl Alexander, a sociology professor at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University, home of the National Center for Summer Learning.

Disadvantaged kids, on the whole, make no progress in the summer, Alexander said. Some studies suggest they actually fall back. Wealthier kids have parents who read to them, have strong language skills and go to great lengths to give them learning opportunities such as computers, summer camp, vacations, music lessons, or playing on sports teams.

“If your parents are high school dropouts with low literacy levels and reading for pleasure is not hard-wired, it’s hard to be a good role model for your children, even if you really want to be,” Alexander said.

Extra time is not cheap. The Massachusetts program costs an extra $1,300 per student, or 12 percent to 15 percent more than regular per-student spending, said Jennifer Davis, a founder of the program. It received more than $17.5 million from the state Legislature last year.

The Montgomery County, Md., summer program, which includes Brookhaven, received $1.6 million in federal stimulus dollars to operate this year and next, but it runs for only 20 days.

Aside from improving academic performance, Education Secretary Duncan has a vision of schools as the heart of the community. Duncan, who was Chicago’s schools chief, grew up studying alongside poor kids on the city’s South Side as part of the tutoring program his mother still runs.

“Those hours from 3 o’clock to 7 o’clock are times of high anxiety for parents,” Duncan said. “They want their children safe. Families are working one and two and three jobs now to make ends meet and to keep food on the table.”

Can a Mixed-Race Contestant Become a Chinese Idol?

admin — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:15:43 +0000

When I read this story I was excited then saddened all within 30 seconds. I think this girl and her mother are two very people. I did more research on this story and came across on many asian sites..to say the comments were cruel and insensitive is an understatement. The Chinese clearly have a long way to go when working on their racists attitudes. Thank God I live in America. Read the full story below from Time.com

In many ways, Lou Jing is a typical young woman from Shanghai. Pretty and confident, she speaks Mandarin heavily accented with the lilting tones of the Shanghai dialect and browses the malls of this huge city for the latest fashions.

But there is one thing that distinguishes this 20-year-old from her peers, something that has made her the unwitting focus of an intense public debate about what exactly it means to be Chinese: the color of her skin. Born to a Chinese mother and an African-American father whom she has never met, the theater student rocketed into the public consciousness last month when she took part in an American Idol–esque TV show, Go! Oriental Angel. (See pictures of modern Shanghai.)

The marketing gurus for the series could hardly have dreamed of a better promotional gimmick when they started to investigate the backgrounds of the dozens of pop-star wannabes to root out the competitors’ mushy stories of triumph over adversity that are a well-worn staple of the genre. Here was a tale guaranteed to attract eyeballs: a girl of mixed race, brought up by a single Chinese mother, struggling to gain acceptance in a deeply conservative, some would say racist, society.

The strategy worked — perhaps too well. In August, Lou’s appearance on the show not only boosted viewer numbers but also sparked an intense nationwide debate about the essential meaning of being Chinese. Over the past month on Internet chat rooms, where modern China’s sensitive issues are thrashed out by netizens long before they reach the heavily censored mainstream media, Lou’s ethnicity has been the subject of a relentless barrage of criticism, some of it crudely racist. Many think she should not have been allowed to compete on a Chinese show, or at least not selected to represent Shanghai in the national competition. She doesn’t have fair skin, which is one of the most important factors for Chinese beauty. What’s more, her mother and her biological father were never married; morally, the argument goes, this kind of behavior shouldn’t be publicized, so she shouldn’t have been put on TV as a young “idol.”

These kinds of posts on the most popular chat rooms have attracted thousands of comments. A few have been supportive of Lou, but the rest range from expressions of fear and ignorance to outright racism. One of the most popular posts about Lou Jing on the KDS Life forum asked in mock seriousness, “Is it possible that she is Obama’s daughter?” Another poster said, “I can’t believe she’s so shameless that she would go on TV.” Most of the critics are agreed on one point: that this black woman cannot be regarded as a “real” Chinese.

As recently as the 1970s, foreigners were largely barred from living in China, let alone marrying a local. China does not easily accept mixed-race children as true-blooded Chinese: as soon as a child is born, the parents are required to register with the authorities as to which of the 56 government-approved ethnic groups their child belongs; there are no mixed-race categories. Lou feels she is very much Chinese. “When I meet somebody for the first time, they’d often ask me how I can speak Chinese so well, and I tell them, ‘Because I’m a Chinese — of course I can speak my mother tongue well,’ ” Lou says defiantly. “I don’t like to be treated differently.”

As China undergoes an astonishing demographic shift and more foreigners make their homes in the Middle Kingdom, Lou is by no means the only one being treated differently. Recent decades have seen a surge in the number of mixed-race couples. According to the data offered by Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau, from 1994 to 2008, each year there have been about 3,000 more mixed-race marriages in Shanghai. But as the children of that first generation of mixed-race marriages come of age, their moves to gain acceptance in society — like Lou’s participation in the TV show — have exposed a deep-running vein of xenophobia in Chinese society. Last year, Ding Hui, a young man of African-Chinese ethnicity, caused a stir when he was called up to the national volleyball team, prompting much soul-searching about whether the athlete should be allowed to represent China alongside pure-blooded Chinese competitors. Eventually, Ding Hui did go on to play for the national team.

“As China continues to open up, this kind of phenomenon will become ever more prevalent,” says David Zweig, a professor of humanities and social sciences at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “This is part of the process of internationalization, but we can only hope that Chinese people, including netizens and the people whose views tend towards extremism, can come to accept that there are many mixed-race people, both in China and worldwide.”

As for Lou, she found the whole experience more than a little disturbing. She did well in the show, ranking in the top 30 contestants before she was eliminated. Now she’s back to her normal life as a college junior — with a little new insight into her home. “Through this competition, it’s really scary to find out how the color of my skin can cause such a big controversy.”

The Waldorf Astoria Presidential Suite: President Obama’s Hotel Room In New York (VIDEO)

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:31:14 +0000

The presidential suite at the Waldorf Astoria hotel is really living up to its name this week.

President Obama checked in Monday and will be there throughout the United Nations General Assembly meeting. He is the latest in a long-line of presidents to stay or live at the Waldorf, a tradition that dates back to Herbert Hoover.

So what is the president getting for $7,000 a night? Watch the videos and find out!

source:

Aimee Louise Sword Raped Son She Gave Up For Adoption (VIDEO)

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:35:17 +0000

What the hell is going on with all these women doing all sorts of freaky stuff with young boys lately? I remember when men where the main sexual perverts of society..some disturbed women out there are making it look bad for us ladies..you won’t believe this one…

Aimee Louise Sword gave up a male child for adoption years ago, and now the media is reporting that Sword searched the internet for that now teenage son- and allegedly seduced him. But Aimee Louise Sword has many defenders standing with her saying “She could not do such a thing”…….The 35 year old Michigan woman is charged with third-degree criminal sexual misconduct…….. Remember- Innocent until proven guilty by a court of law. (Pic from CBS Link/My Space)

Note: Updated news reports are now saying that Ms.Sword “raped” the teen and that the teen may have been unaware that she was his biological mother .

Watch the video