New documentary on DVD: In Their Own Words: The Tuskegee Airmen

The inspiring story of the Tuskegee Airmen, as told by the men who trained, fought and overcame.

"In Their Own Words: The Tuskegee Airmen" tells the story of America’s first squadron of African-American pilots who fought to protect the skies during World War Two. Ignoring the prevailing ideas of the time, the Airmen accepted the challenge, proved their mettle and set a precedent that led to the integration of the Armed Forces.

Complete with emotional interviews, rare photographs, and computer-generated recreations, In Their Own Words chronicles the Airmen’s story from the rocky start in 1941, to the acceptance of the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007.

Almost twenty of the original Airmen came together to tell their story in a way never before seen: in their own words. The story is told by the different Airmen, each contributing an integral part without the reliance on narration. In its ninety minutes, “In Their Own Words: The Tuskegee Airmen” whisks the viewer into laughter and tears; all while telling a historical story of hope and perseverance in the face of adversity. Awards

"This documentary is an invaluable piece of American history that proved to be extremely helpful with research for the film." - Anthony Hemingway, Director, Red Tails

North Carolina to honor Tuskegee Airmen at Capitol

[ SOURCE ] The state of North Carolina is planning a tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen at the State Capitol.

Gov. Beverly Perdue's office said the ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday. The state and the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission will salute the veterans as an acknowledgement of the service and contributions they made to the nation and the world.

Four of the original Tuskegee Airmen who now live in North Carolina and their families have been invited to the Capitol for the tribute.

The airmen were the first black pilots to serve in the U.S. military. They trained at a segregated air base in Tuskegee, Ala., and were supported by black men and women on the ground. Their exploits in World War II were chronicled in the movie "Red Tails."

People Aren't Smart Enough for Democracy to Flourish, Scientists Say

By Natalie Wolchover | LiveScience.com

[ SOURCE ] The democratic process relies on the assumption that citizens (the majority of them, at least) can recognize the best political candidate, or best policy idea, when they see it. But a growing body of research has revealed an unfortunate aspect of the human psyche that would seem to disprove this notion, and imply instead that democratic elections produce mediocre leadership and policies.

The research, led by David Dunning, a psychologist at Cornell University, shows that incompetent people are inherently unable to judge the competence of other people, or the quality of those people's ideas. For example, if people lack expertise on tax reform, it is very difficult for them to identify the candidates who are actual experts. They simply lack the mental tools needed to make meaningful judgments.

As a result, no amount of information or facts about political candidates can override the inherent inability of many voters to accurately evaluate them. On top of that, "very smart ideas are going to be hard for people to adopt, because most people don’t have the sophistication to recognize how good an idea is," Dunning told Life's Little Mysteries.

He and colleague Justin Kruger, formerly of Cornell and now of New York University, have demonstrated again and again that people are self-delusional when it comes to their own intellectual skills. Whether the researchers are testing people's ability to rate the funniness of jokes, the correctness of grammar, or even their own performance in a game of chess, the duo has found that people always assess their own performance as "above average" — even people who, when tested, actually perform at the very bottom of the pile.

We're just as undiscerning about the skills of others as about ourselves. "To the extent that you are incompetent, you are a worse judge of incompetence in other people," Dunning said. In one study, the researchers asked students to grade quizzes that tested for grammar skill. "We found that students who had done worse on the test itself gave more inaccurate grades to other students." Essentially, they didn't recognize the correct answer even when they saw it.

The reason for this disconnect is simple: "If you have gaps in your knowledge in a given area, then you’re not in a position to assess your own gaps or the gaps of others," Dunning said. Strangely though, in these experiments, people tend to readily and accurately agree on who the worst performers are, while failing to recognize the best performers.

The most incompetent among us serve as canaries in the coal mine signifying a larger quandary in the concept of democracy; truly ignorant people may be the worst judges of candidates and ideas, Dunning said, but we all suffer from a degree of blindness stemming from our own personal lack of expertise.

Mato Nagel, a sociologist in Germany, recently implemented Dunning and Kruger's theories by computer-simulating a democratic election. In his mathematical model of the election, he assumed that voters' own leadership skills were distributed on a bell curve — some were really good leaders, some, really bad, but most were mediocre — and that each voter was incapable of recognizing the leadership skills of a political candidate as being better than his or her own. When such an election was simulated, candidates whose leadership skills were only slightly better than average always won.

Nagel concluded that democracies rarely or never elect the best leaders. Their advantage over dictatorships or other forms of government is merely that they "effectively prevent lower-than-average candidates from becoming leaders."

High School Shootings, can we stop saying it's not supposed to happen here?

Let me first start off by giving my condolences to the families of the three students that died in the tragic school shootings at Chardon High School in Ohio. No parent should ever have to out live their children and today my heart is truly broken.

I also want to state that I am a school board member who is currently serving as a school board president in my local school district. I am representing myself here and these opinions are my own.

I was shocked when I first heard about the shootings and like many thought, "Not again!"

During interviews someone inevitably made a statement about the community be a small town where everybody knows everybody and that "this is not supposed to happen here."

Now I truly believe that person and other people that say that don't mean any harm. But that statement that it's not supposed to happen here implies that it's supposed to happen someplace else. This is the United States of America and it should never happen anywhere.

All of OUR children regardless of where they live, what color they are, or what their socio-econmoic is should be safe at school.

As a school board member a school shooting is my greatest nightmare. I believe it's safe to say that for the overwhelming majority of those who serve as school board members that holds true. Trust me right now districts all over the country are going over their protocols and plans for a school shooting. I know I have already emailed my superintendent about the situation and I'm sure many board presidents have.

I don't want to see this happen anywhere at all. So it's time for this country to make a choice when it comes to the easy accesibility to firearms.

What's more important? Our right to bear arms or are children's right to live.

George Cook AAreports.com. Author of the Kindle book Let's Talk Honestly: One Black Man's Thoughts $1.50

Pres. Obama explains what he means by higher education so even Rick Santorum can understand

During an address to the National Governor’s Association on Monday, President Obama explained what he means by higher education. With his higher education Rick Santorum who called Obama a snob for wanting more children to have a chance at higher education should be able to understand this.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

February 27, 2012

President Obama Challenges Governors to Invest in Education

White House Releases Education Blueprint: An Economy Built to Last

Today, President Obama delivered remarks to the National Governors Association (NGA) where he challenged governors across the nation to do their part to ensure American students and workers have the education and training they need so that we have a workforce prepared for the jobs of the 21st century.  The President believes that in order to create an economy that’s built to last, we must invest in education and provide every American the opportunity to develop the skills needed to compete for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

“Nothing more clearly signals what you value as a state as the decisions you make about where to invest,” President Obama told governors. “Budgets are about choices, so today I’m calling on you to choose to invest more in teachers, invest more in education, and invest more in our children and their future.”

Education Blueprint: An Economy Built to Last

The White House today released an Education Blueprint: An Economy Built to Last. In addition to documenting the Administration’s education efforts, the report shows that last year, more than 40 states cut higher education spending; these state budget cuts have been the largest factor in tuition increases at public colleges over the past decade. It also finds that the majority of states provided less funding for elementary and secondary schools in 2012 than in 2011. 

As the report notes, over the past 23 months, American businesses have created 3.7 million jobs and last year businesses added the most private sector jobs since 2005. American manufacturing is creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. The strength of the American economy is inextricably linked to the strength of America’s education system.  Particularly in times of economic challenge – times like today – the American economy needs a workforce that is skilled, adaptable, creative, and equipped for success in the global marketplace.

The President believes that educating our way to an economy built to last requires shared commitment. In addition to challenging governors to do their part, the President asked them to keep up pressure on Congress to pass his proposal to prevent further layoffs and rehire teachers who had lost their jobs.   Additionally, the President will continue to urge Congress to take critical measures to make college more affordable, including preventing student loan interest rates from doubling this summer, making the American Opportunity Tax Credit he signed—worth up to $10,000 to help families cover the cost of tuition—permanent, securing funding for Pell Grants, and taking steps to double the number of work-study jobs over the next 5 years to better assist college students who are working their way through school.

In addition to these important measures, the President believes we must make critical investments in our nation’s education system. He has proposed funding to promote partnerships between community colleges and businesses to train 2 million workers, to continue giving states, districts and schools the funding and flexibility they need to put a great teacher in every classroom and build on the successes of the Race to the Top program, to improve early childhood education, and to create incentives for innovative reforms to keep college affordable.

The President believes this is a make or break moment for the middle class and those trying to reach it. In order to create an economy that’s built to last -- where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone pays their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules -- we must make critical investments in our students and workers and build a foundation to compete for the jobs of the 21st century. 

Octavia Spencer Academy Award Acceptance Speech

Congratulations to Octavia Spencer for winning an Academy Award for best supporting actress. Check out her emotional acceptance speech below:

The Dead War Series Trailer: A new book by George Cook

Hi this is George Cook and I am now about to engage in a little shameless self promotion. I would like to invite you to check out my latest Kindle book and it's accompanying video, The Dead War Series Book 1. Buy the book for your Kindle here: The Dead War Series $1.50

Welcome to the Dead War Series. In the year 2053 the dead walked. Mankind was caught off guard at first but within six years mounted a massive military assault on the dead.

These are the stories of some of those men and women that fought back. These are the stories of some trying to find a "cure". These are the stories of those that are just trying to survive the nightmare of the walking dead. These are the stories of those that caused The Dead War. Check out the book trailer below:



Buy the book for your Kindle here: The Dead War Series $1.50

Rick Santorum calls Obama a snob for wanting all Americans to go to college?????

In a sign that the GOP is really going off the rails Rick Santorum called President Obama a snob for wanting all Americans to go to college. What's even more surprising is that republicans who are always talking about pulling one's self up by their boot straps cheered for this. Isn't going to college one way of pulling yourself up? Now suddenly going to college is a bad thing? Why is it that everything President Obama says has to be spelled out to conservatives. President Obama wants those who WANT to go to college to be able to. No one is being forced to do anything. It's getting real scary when Ron Paul might be the sanest GOP candidate out there. Watch Santorum's comments below:

Obama's war on religion. Really?

Wow. It's come to this. The GOP candidates for president and elected republican officials have now proclaimed that President Obama is in a all out war on religion.

I guess they don't have much choice but to make some bullsh** up since the economy is getting better and jobs are being created. You know those jobs the so called job creators wouldn't create because of President Obama's policies?

I understand you have an election to win and that you have to attack President Obama in any way that you can. But a war on religion, come on now. These individuals saying these things need to stop and take a reality break.

No one has been told that they can not practice their religion. No one in anyway has been stopped from worshiping in any manner they wish to.

No Bibles, Torahs , or Korans are being confiscated and burnt in the streets by soldiers or police.

No pastors, ministers, rabbis or imams are being dragged from their churches, synagogues or temples and being arrested or shot dead in the streets.

No houses of worship are being burned down are closed to the public.

So where is this war on religion?

These GOP types might want to look at countries like China and North Korea if they want to see a real war on religion. They might want to look at those practicing Christianity in some Middle East countries are going through before they use such hyperbole.

Get a grip fellas. If you want to beat Obama then stick with real issues like the economy, gas prices, and jobs and one of you stiffs might stand a chance. A snowballs chance in hell, but still a chance.

George Cook AAreports.com. Author of the Kindle book Let's Talk Honestly: One Black Man's Thoughts $1.50

Nelson Mandela undergoes hernia surgery

South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela successfully underwent hernia surgery Saturday, a family member told CNN Saturday.

The 93-year-old likely will be discharged within the next two days, said the relative.

A government official assured the public that Mandela's hospital stay was not an emergency. "People need not panic. This was planned ... Mandela has had abdominal pains for sometime," said Keith Khoza, a spokesman for the ruling African National Congress.

African-American woman makes history as new CO of USS Mitscher

[ SOURCE ] History was made Friday as Cmdr. Monika Washington Stoker took command of the Norfolk-based guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher. She's the first African-American woman serving as Commanding Officer of an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer, the Navy said.

"It says that you do whatever you want to do, whether it's in the military or not and don't let anyone tell you that you can't," Stoker said.

She relieved Cmdr. Brian Sorenson, who served as commanding officer for two years. Stoker, a native of Greensboro, N.C., served as USS Mitscher's Executive Officer since June 2010.

Hair relaxer use linked to uterine fibroids

[ SOURCE ] Hair relaxers are used by millions of black women, possibly exposing them to various chemicals through scalp lesions and burns. In the Black Women’s Health Study, the authors assessed hair relaxer use in relation to uterine leiomyomata incidence. In 1997, participants reported on hair relaxer use (age at first use, frequency, duration, number of burns, and type of formulation). From 1997 to 2009, 23,580 premenopausal women were followed for incident uterine leiomyomata ( fibroids ).

Risk was unrelated to age at first use or type of formulation. These findings raise the hypothesis that hair relaxer use increases uterine leiomyomata risk.

Allen West mad at Obama because it cost him $70 to fill up his Hummer.

Today ( 02/23/12 ) Allen West posted this on his Facebook page:

People have asked me before is there any area where I could praise President Obama? Certainly, he has an impeccable penchant for understanding the power of the bully pulpit. President Obama is also very adept at promulgating deceptive language masquerading as policy, actually just insidious political gimmickry. This "tax policy" is an example as well as today's speech on his "energy policy" shall be. Here is the bottom line, last night it took 70 dollars to fill the tank of my 2008 H3 Hummer, what is it costing you? What does it cost the President to fill his gas tank?


Well I decided that me being an average American would answer Mr. West question.

Mr. West trade the Hummer in and get a more economical car. I can't afford a damned Hummmer so no it doesn't cost me $70 to fill anything up. Like most people with any common sense I got rid of my SUV as soon as gas prices spiked. Us common people were forced to live within our means and not own vehicles that cost $70 or more to fill up.

Secondly President Obama is about as responsible for the rise in gas prices as I am. Stop with the pandering and blaming and get to work fixing our problems. Anyone can talk a good game but few can play one.

George Cook AAreports.com. Author of the Kindle book Let's Talk Honestly: One Black Man's Thoughts $1.50

Obama Breaks Ground on African-American History Museum

Breaking ground on the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, President Obama said today he hopes the museum will remind future generations of the “sometimes difficult, often inspirational, but always central role that African-Americans have played in the life of our country.”. Listen to more of what President Obama said below:

Obama takes tougher stance on higher education

Access to college has been the driving force in federal higher education policy for decades. But the Obama administration is pushing a fundamental agenda shift that aggressively brings a new question into the debate: What are people getting for their money?

Students with loans are graduating on average with more than $25,000 in debt. The federal government pours $140 billion annually into federal grants and loans. Unemployment remains high, yet there are projected shortages in many industries with some high-tech companies already complaining about a lack of highly trained workers.

Meanwhile, literacy among college students has declined in the last decade, according to a commission convened during the George W. Bush administration that said American higher education has become "increasingly risk-averse, at times self-satisfied, and unduly expensive." About 40 percent of college students at four-year schools aren't graduating, and in two-year programs, only about 40 percent of students graduate or transfer, according to the policy and analysis group College Measures.

College drop-outs are expensive, and not just for the individual. About a fifth of full-time students who enroll at a community college do not return for a second year, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually, according to an analysis released last fall by the American Institutes for Research.

There's been a growing debate over whether post-secondary schools should be more transparent about the cost of an education and the success of graduates. President Barack Obama has weighed in with a strong "yes."

Read more here: Obama takes tougher stance on higher education

Magic Johnson and Sean "Diddy" Combs to launch cable networks

[ SOURCE ] Comcast will launch four minority-owned networks on its cable-TV systems in the next two years, including channels spearheaded by music mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and NBA great Magic Johnson.

Two of the networks are majority black-owned while two are majority American-Hispanic-owned, with all of them programming in English, the Philadelphia-based Comcast said.

Revolt, conceived by Combs and MTV veteran Andy Schuon, will have programming that includes music videos, live performances, music news and interviews.

"Revolt is the first channel created entirely from the ground up in this new era of social media," said Combs, who described the channel as "immediate, like today's social networks."

In a video posted on YouTube, Combs said Revolt will put artists in charge.

"It's your channel to do what you want to do, how you want to do it," he said, addressing them, with the result "uncut, raw, uncensored."

Revolt is scheduled to launch in 2013.

Aspire, to be led by Johnson in partnership with family-oriented channel GMC TV, will dedicate itself to enlightening and positive programming aimed at black families. It will air movies, documentaries, music and comedy, as well as faith and inspirational programs.

"Aspire will be a network that encourages and challenges African-Americans to reach for their dreams," said Johnson, adding that it "will celebrate our heritage, our groundbreaking achievements and the fearless talent that has shaped American culture."

It will launch this summer.

Saturday Night Live tackles issue of overwhelming black support for Obama

On this past weeks Saturday Night Live there was a skit tackling the issue of overwhelming black support for President Obama as only SNL can. Watch the video below:

Black On Black Hate Crime Baffles Local Couple

A couple in the Detroit area received hate mail which included a noose. While the headlines says it baffles them the reason why they got the hate mail is quite clear. Watch the video below:

Black On Black Hate Crime Baffles Local Couple: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Did CNN exploit Whitney Houston " homegoing" coverage?

Like many I watched CNN's coverage of Whitney Houston's "Homegoing" coverage. I was happy that they aired the event because not only was it a great sendoff for Whitney Houston but it gave the entire world a positive view of what goes on in the black church. At the same time some of my friends had the uneasy feeling that CNN was exploiting Whitney's death for their own benefit. I think it's a very close call here between exploitation and covering an event. I don't think it was exploration at all. What do you think?

43 NAACP Image Awards Winners

Winners of the 43rd annual NAACP Image Awards, presented Friday in Los Angeles:

Motion Pictures:

Motion Picture: “The Help”

Actor in a motion picture: Laz Alonso, “Jumping the Broom”

Actress in a motion picture: Viola Davis, “The Help”

Supporting actor in a motion picture: Mike Epps, “Jumping the Broom”

Supporting actress in a motion picture: Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Independent motion picture: “Pariah”

Foreign motion picture: “In the Land of Blood and Honey”

Documentary, theatrical or television: “Sing Your Song”

Television:

Comedy series: “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”

Actor in a comedy series: Malcolm-Jamal Warner, “Reed Between the Lines”

Actress in a comedy series: Tracee Ellis Ross, “Reed Between the Lines”

Supporting actor in a comedy series: Nick Cannon, “Up All Night”

Supporting actress in a comedy series: Keshia Knight Pulliam, “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”

Drama series: “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”

Actor in a drama series: LL Cool J, “NCIS: Los Angeles”

Actress in a drama series: Regina King, “SouthLAnd”

Supporting actor in a drama series: James Pickens, Jr., “Grey’s Anatomy”

Supporting actress in a drama series: Archie Panjabi, “The Good Wife”

TV movie, mini-series or dramatic special: “Thurgood”

Actor in a TV movie, mini-series or dramatic special: Laurence Fishburne, “Thurgood”

Actress in a TV movie, mini-series or dramatic special: Taraji P. Henson, “Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story”

Actor in a daytime drama series: Emerson Brooks, “All My Children”

Actress in a daytime drama series: Tatyana Ali, “The Young and the Restless”

News/information, series or special: “Unsung”

Talk series: “Oprah’s Lifeclass”

Reality series: “Dancing With the Stars”

Variety series or special: “Oprah Presents: Master Class”

Children’s program: “I Can Be President: A Kid’s-Eye View”

Performance in a children’s program, series or special: Keke Palmer, “True Jackson, VP”

Writing:

Comedy series: Salim Akil, Mara Brock Akil, “The Game”

Dramatic series: Lolis Eric Elie, “Treme”

Motion picture: Ann Peacock, “The First Grader”

Directing:

Comedy series: Leonard R. Garner, Jr., “Rules of Engagement”

Dramatic series: Ernest Dickerson, “Treme”

Motion picture: Salim Akil, “Jumping the Broom”

Recording:

New artist: Diggy Simmons

Male artist: Cee Lo Green

Female artist: Jill Scott

Duo, group or collaboration: Mary J. Blige feat. Drake

Jazz album: George Benson, “Guitar Man”

Gospel album, traditional or contemporary: Kirk Franklin, “Hello Fear”

World music album: Sounds of Blackness, “Sounds of Blackness”

Music video: Jennifer Hudson, “Where You At”

Song: Kirk Franklin, “I Smile”

Album: Jennifer Hudson, “I Remember Me”

Literature:

Fiction: Reshonda Tate Billingsley, “Say Amen, Again”

Nonfiction: Hill Harper, “The Wealth Cure: Putting Money in Its Place”

Debut author: Lyah Le Flore, “The Strawberry Letter”

Biography/autobiography: Harry Belafonte, “My Song”

Instructional: T.D. Jakes, “The T.D. Jakes Relationship Bible: Life Lessons on Relationships from the Inspired Word of God”

Poetry: James Golden, “Afro Clouds & Nappy Rain: The Curtis Brown Poems”

Children: Tony Dungy (author), Ron Mazellan (illustrator), “You Can Be A Friend”

Youth/teens: Jeff Burlingame, “Jesse Owens: I Always Loved Running”

• 
  

Phoenix Coldon is missing!

Missing since 12/18/11 in unincorporated St. Louis, Missouri North County (Spanish Lake area). Her car was found running in the middle of the street at the intersection of 9th St. & St. Clair Ave.in East St. Louis, Illinois, facing the wrong direction, keys in the ignition, motor running. PLEASE, HELP FIND HER!

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Goldia Coldon (Phoenix's Mother) (314-653-6606); or Detective Vogel (314-615-8630) or Captain Doyle (314-355-1200) of the St. Louis County Police Department; or Call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-8477, an anonymous tip line that pays up to $1,000 for information leading to the whereabouts of Phoenix Coldon.

Read more here about Phoenix Colon here: http://www.facebook.com/missingphoenixcoldon

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee on Whitney Houston during House Session

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee took a few minutes to recognize the passing of Whitney Houston during the 02/15/2012 House Session. Listen to her comments below:

Tammie Fields: A news reporter who cares about missing black woman

Tammie Fields WTSP

Tonight I received a phone call from a news anchor at WTSP a CBS affiliate in Tampa Florida. Her name is Tammie Fields and she was calling to talk to me about the media's coverage of missing black women. She wanted to let me know that there were many black reporters out there in the media who are working hard to get the stories of these missing women on air.

What struck me right away was her passion to get these cases on air. She told me that she takes it personally when we, myself included question black media's role in helping find our missing. Tammie Fields has been a reporter / anchor for over 20 years and even though she is a anchor and doesn't have to actually go out and report stories she does to make sure these missing women get the coverage they deserve.

She is currently reporting on the case of missing woman Christina Voltaire a missing college student in Florida. You check out her coverage here: http://winterhaven.wtsp.com/news/news/105468-missing-winter-haven-college-student-wanted-locks-changed

Christina Voltaire's story has beeen featured on Find Our Missing tonight on TVone. ( 9 PM Eastern Time on Wednesdays )

Fields stressed the importance of contacting the media to get missing women coverage and gave me these tips:

* Someone needs to write up a press release even if it's just a paragraph containing all of the pertinent information about the missing individual. This press release must go to the assignment editor of every local newspaper, radio station, and television station


* CALL THE POLICE FIRST! File a missing persons report. The media will check with the police to see what is going on and if there is no police report chances are there will be no news coverage.


* Whoever the contact person is for the missing person's family must be available 24/7 to the media and be ready to do 10-15 minute interviews for all media. They should have a recent photo for the media also.


* If there are any news reporters are anchors of color in your area contact them. They want to cover these stories but they can't cover what they don't know about. It helps to have someone on the inside fighting to get these stories on air.


I want to applaud Tammie Fields for her hard work and dedication to the stories of missing African Americans. I was especially heartened when she told me that reporters of color all over the country are fighting to get these stories on the air also.

Thank you all

Public backs Obama in birth control fight, poll suggests

[ SOURCE ] It's not even close: By a lopsided margin of 66 percent to 26 percent, Americans support President Barack Obama's proposal to require private health insurance plans to cover the full cost of birth control for women, according to a new CBS/New York Times public opinion poll.

Rephrasing the question to ask specifically about "religiously affiliated employers, such as a hospital or university," barely moved the needle, to 61 percent to 31 percent.

Those numbers, which come with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, are better for Obama than his numbers on foreign policy (50 percent approve, 36 percent disapprove), Afghanistan in particular (51 percent approve, 36 percent disapprove) and are nearly the mirror image of public opinion on his handling of the federal budget deficit, where he loses 32 percent to 59 percent.

National polls can understate the political danger of a given issue. Congressional Democrats fretted last week that the firestorm could cost them dearly among blue-collar voters, especially Catholics., in states like Pennsylvania. Some Democrats complained privately that the "culture war" clash drowned out the positive news about the economy.

The poll was conducted from Feb. 8 to Feb. 13. It's not clear what impact Obama's proposed "accommodation" to religious institutions will have politically.

Black NBA players have nothing against Jeremy Lin!

Unless you have been leaving in a cave for the last week you have heard of the "linsanity" caused by the sudden emergence of NY Knicks point gaurd Jeremy Lin.

As of this posting Lin has led the Knicks to six straight wins including a game winning shot against the Toronto Raptors last night. This being the New York area the press is going crazy with this story and that includes one of the last bastions of overt racism, sports talk radio.

While driving into work this morning I heard a white caller asking a white host why "the black athlete" seems to have a problem with Jeremy Lin. It always amazes me how white guys in the media have these ridiculous conversations about black people with nary a black person in sight.

Anyway the host was smart enough not to go there and instead praised Jeremy Lins play.
But I will answer that callers question. The answer is NO, " the black athlete" has nothing against Jeremy Lin.

I can promise you that the overwhelming majority of NBA players both black and white are extremely happy for Lin. Game respects game in the NBA and if "you got game", you got respect.
Lebron has praised Lin as have other NBA players because the kid can flat out play.
Even that jackass Floyd Mayweather was taken out of context. He was not dissing Lin at all but the coverage of Lin.

Do some bench players look at Lin and wish they had his success? Hell yes, but that's because they are competitors not because they think that they should be starting over the chinese kid. He proves the old adage in sports, you never know when you will get your shot so be ready.

Anyone who has ever played basketball at any level knows that all players care about is winning. They could care less what color or race you are. Ask the black players on the Dallas Mavericks do they care that Dirk Nowitzki is white?

So let's the race angle go and enjoy the "linsanity"

George Cook AAreports.com. Author of the Kindle book Let's Talk Honestly: One Black Man's Thoughts $1.50

Let Whitney Houston rest in peace!

I understand that the media has a job to do in reporting the death of Whitney Houston. But what's really starting to piss me off is the constant reminders that Whitney Houston used drugs. It's like the talking heads on cable and broadcast television can't go five minutes without reminding us of that.

I wont name the networks but their initials are CNN, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, CBS, HLN, FNC, etc.

There seems to be no thought as to the facts that Whitney's loved ones have to hear that bullsh**! It's almost as if the newscasters start masturbating when talking about the fact the Whitney MAY have died from drug use.

We don't know what happened and it's saddening to know that this garbage is actually getting ratings. Let's wait to the facts are known before even talking about drugs.

Like all of us Whitney wasn't. But when anyone dies shouldn't we focus on what they excelled at? Shouldn't we applaud their successes?

Whitney broke through glass ceilings in music and on magazine covers. She was one of the greatest singers of our time and by all accounts an excellent mother. Let's focus on that.

For those that claim that they bring up Whitney's drug use as a cautionary tale spare me. No one has never not used a drug because a celebrity died. If that was the case after the deaths of, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Judy garland, Ol' Dirty Bastard, John Morrison, Elvis Presley, Dorothy Dandridge, Michael Jackson, and others it would be safe to assume that no one in the United states would be using drugs now.

This is all about ratings and it's pathetic.

Rest in peace Whitney, WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

George Cook AAReports.com

Dallas School Girls Excluded From 'Red Tails' Movie Screening

When 5,700 fifth-grade boys in Dallas' public schools recently went to see a movie about black fighter pilots in World War II, the girls stayed in school and saw a different movie instead.

One of the pilots is among those asking why.

A spokesman for the Dallas Independent School District said officials took only boys to see "Red Tails" Thursday because space at the movie theater was limited. Jon Dahlander told The Dallas Morning News that leaders of the district also thought boys would enjoy the movie more than girls.

"Red Tails" tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary pilots during World War II who become the first black aviators to serve in the U.S. military. The movie opened last month.

Some female students were shown a different movie instead: "Akeelah and the Bee," about an 11-year-old girl who competes in a national spelling bee.

Dahlander, who did not return several phone messages from The Associated Press, told the newspaper that the district often holds gender-specific events.

"It's not out of the ordinary," Dahlander said.

But an original Tuskegee Airman and others questioned why everyone didn't get to see the same movie. Herbert Carter, who flew 77 missions in World War II with only one crash landing, said he was "almost speechless."

Read more here: Dallas School Girls Excluded From 'Red Tails' Movie Screening, Bussed Thousands Of Boys To Event

Why Coors partnering with 100 Black Men bothers me

I often scour the Internet looking for stories of interest to African Americans ( don't know if I can use that term anymore since I hear we prefer being called black now ) and I was a bit dismayed when I came upon this headline:

Coors Light® Partners with 100 Black Men to Recognize Outstanding Community Leaders


Now this is a program to honor black men though online voting who are doing something in their communities or as the press release puts it " Six Ice Cold Leaders to be Recognized through Online Voting Process "

The press release also states:

Consumers from across the U.S. can vote for nominees hailing from Atlanta, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, New Orleans and Mobile, which were selected based upon their ability to lead by example, motivate others and create or inspire positive living and innovation, with lasting effects on their communities.


Now let me state for the record that I applaud 100 Black Men and believe that they do excellent work mentoring our your boys and men. That being said I have issues with a beer company, MillerCoors being a partner to an organization that mentors young black boys. What example is being set here?

You don't see Corona sponsoring the boy scouts or Heineken sponsoring a little league team but it's okay for black boys to have a beer company as a sponsor to a group that mentors young black boys?

MillerCoors is not doing this because they suddenly felt all warm and fuzzy inside. This is an attempt to reach potential customers at an early age. If you don't think that they will try to splash the Coors logo on everything they can get away with you are very naive and I have a bridge in New York to sell you.

I enjoy a good beer myself ( which is why I don't drink Coors ) but at the same time I know I have to set an example so I don't drink beer in front of minors and I don't think it sets a good example for Coors to partner with 100 Black Men.

Maybe it's just me. Am I wrong on this?

George Cook AAreports.com. Author of the Kindle book Let's Talk Honestly: One Black Man's Thoughts $1.50