The Garage Door is Open

$$Cha-Ching$$ - Friday Plays & Update

2011-09-16T16:32:00.003-05:00

$$Cha-Ching$$ - Friday Plays & Update

** UConn -4 vs. Iowa St.

* Boise St. -20 vs. Toledo
my system actually tells me that this ought to be a 3 star play on Toledo, but my gut tells me otherwise PLUS on lines of 20+ over the last five seasons Boise covers 70% of the time (21 of 30 games) while over the same period and same spreads Toledo has lost on every occasion (0 of 4)

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College Football (9/15 - 9/17) Week 3 thru 9/15 - Bankroll +9.1%
NFL Football (9/18 - 9/19)

College
** LSU -3.5 vs. Mississippi St. (winner)
** UConn -4 vs. Iowa St.
* Boise St. -20 vs. Toledo

NFL

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A Mayonnaise Jar and Two Beers....

2011-09-15T19:56:00.004-05:00

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or golf balls.

The same goes for life.If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter.

Set your priorities.....The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented...

The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

$$Cha-Ching$$: Week 3 - Huge SEC Thursday Night Match Up - LSU vs. MSU

2011-09-15T17:37:00.004-05:00

$$Cha-Ching$$ - Huge Thursday Night Match-up and we've got a play:

** LSU -3.5 vs. MSU

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College Football (9/15 - 9/17)
NFL Football (9/18 - 9/19) - Bankroll %

College
** LSU -3.5 vs. Mississippi St.

NFL

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$$Cha-Ching$$: Week 2 Updated & Final

2011-09-13T22:31:00.003-05:00

Week 2 closed with a Monday Night Football Doubleheader...and 2 more WINS! $$Cha-Ching$$

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College Football (9/8 - 9/10) 8 plays - 6 wins, 2 losses
NFL Football (9/8 - 9/12) 9 plays - 6 wins, 3 losses - Bankroll +22%

College
** Arizona St. -10 vs. Mizzou (loser)
** North Carolina -10 vs. Rutgers (loser)
** Michigan St. -32 vs. Florida Atlantic (winner)
** Georgia Tech -11 vs. Middle Tennessee (winner)
** TCU +1 vs. Air Force (winner)
** Georgia Tech / Middle Tennessee over 56 (winner)
* TCU / Air Force over 49.5 (winner)
* Oklahoma St. -14 vs. Arizona (winner)

NFL
*** Buffalo +5.5 vs. Kansas City (winner)
** Atlanta / Chicago over 40.5 (winner)
** San Diego / Minnesota over 41.5 (loser)
* Green Bay / New Orleans over 47.5 (winner)
* Tennessee +1.5 vs. Jacksonville (loser)
* New York Giants -2.5 vs. Washington (loser)
* Dallas +5.5 vs. New York Jets (winner)
* New England -7 vs. Miami (winner)
* Oakland +3 vs. Denver (winner)

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$$Cha-Ching$$: Monday Night NFL Doubleheader

2011-09-12T15:46:00.004-05:00

Week 2 is coming to a close...Monday Night Football Doubleheader...and 2 more plays to $$Cha-Ching$$

* New England -7 vs. Miami

* Oakland +3 vs. Denver

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College Football (9/8 - 9/10) 8 plays - 6 wins, 2 losses
NFL Football (9/8 - 9/11) 7 plays - 4 wins, 3 losses - week 2 thru 9/11 Bankroll +14.4%

College
** Arizona St. -10 vs. Mizzou (loser)
** North Carolina -10 vs. Rutgers (loser)
** Michigan St. -32 vs. Florida Atlantic (winner)
** Georgia Tech -11 vs. Middle Tennessee (winner)
** TCU +1 vs. Air Force (winner)
** Georgia Tech / Middle Tennessee over 56 (winner)
* TCU / Air Force over 49.5 (winner)
* Oklahoma St. -14 vs. Arizona (winner)

NFL
*** Buffalo +5.5 vs. Kansas City (winner)
** Atlanta / Chicago over 40.5 (winner)
** San Diego / Minnesota over 41.5 (loser)
* Green Bay / New Orleans over 47.5 (winner)
* Tennessee +1.5 vs. Jacksonville (loser)
* New York Giants -2.5 vs. Washington (loser)
* Dallas +5.5 vs. New York Jets (winner)

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New Strategy: Betting Discipline + Bankroll Management - Week 1

2011-09-12T15:03:00.005-05:00

After years of sticking up a wet finger to see which way the wind was blowing, this year we've employed a new wagering strategy...and so far $$Cha-Ching$$

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College Football (9/1 - 9/5) 13 plays - 6 wins, 6 losses, 1 push - Bankroll +4.7%

*** Idaho -5.5 vs. Bowling Green (loser)
*** New Mexico +6.5 vs. Colorado St. (winner)
*** Boston College -3.5 vs. Northwestern (loser)
*** LSU +3 vs. Oregon (winner)
** Kent St. / Western Kentucky > 48.5 (loser)
** Baylor +4 vs. TCU (winner)
** Miami-OH +20 vs. Mizzou (winner)
** Notre Dame -10.5 vs. South Florida (loser)
* Indiana / Ball St. < 54 (winner)
* Ohio / New Mexico St. < 53.5 (loser)
* West Virgina -21.5 vs. Marshall (push)
* SMU +15 vs. Texas A&M (loser)
* Maryland -4 vs. Miami (winner)

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Countdown to Kick Off

2011-08-23T02:25:00.006-05:00

Countdowns

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Top 10 Hardest Holes On The PGA Tour from Auctions 4 Golf

2011-08-17T21:12:00.004-05:00

Top 10: Hardest
Holes On The PGA Tour

#1 No. 17 - The Champion Course at PGA National Resort and Spa

#2 No. 18 - TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course

#3 No. 11 - Augusta National Golf Club

#4 No. 10 - Pebble Beach Golf Links

#5 No. 6 - The Champion Course at PGA National Resort And Spa

#6 No. 14 - TPC Southwind

#7 No. 15 - Colonial Country Club

#8 No. 14 - Pebble Beach Golf Links

#9 No. 17 - TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course "Island Green"

#10 No. 18 - Doral Golf Resort & Spa "Blue Monster"

Featured NIKE Golf Clubs on EBAY

Featured NIKE Golf on AMAZON

Basketball Shoe Buying Tips from Victory Shoe Shop

2011-08-17T10:48:00.006-05:00

Basketball Shoe Buying Tips

Durability
1. Whether you're playing on a
  concrete court in a public park, or on the floor of a first class
  gymnasium, your shoes are going to get a work out. Look for quality
  brands and materials that will stand up to all of the up and
  down the court action you're bound to encounter.
Stability Support and Cushioning
1. Of course, your basketball shoes
  are going to need first class stability, so, look for shoes that
  feature mid-foot, heel and ankle support, as well as a quality
  lacing system. You'll also want to consider a lot of padding
  in the shoe for load distribution and added cushioning. After
  all, countless jump shots can cause quite an impact on your feet.
Breathability
1. During a game, you're going
  to sweat. Look for basketball shoes with uppers made of leather,
  nylon, mesh, or other breathable material to remain as cool as
  you can.
Style
1. Half of the fun in buying basketball
  shoes, is in getting a pair that looks great, and makes all your
  buddies jealous.

Featured NIKE Basketball

Featured NIKE Jerseys

- courtesy About.com

Running Shoe Buying Tips from Victory Shoe Shop

2011-08-04T10:11:00.004-05:00

Running Shoe Buying Tips

Shop late in the day -- your
feet swell during the day.
Measure your foot while standing.
Try on both shoes with the socks
you will wear.
Buy for your larger foot (feet
are rarely the same exact size).
Allow a thumbnail's width between
the shoe and your big toe.
Choose shoes that are comfortable
immediately. If they hurt in the store, don't buy them.
Look for a moderately priced
shoe. Price is not necessarily an indication of quality. Research
has shown that moderately priced running shoes work just as well
as expensive ones.
Make sure the shoe matches your
foot type and running style.
Wear new shoes around the house
before using them on short runs.
Don't do a long run in new shoes.
Start out with a short run and stop if you have any hot spots,
which are a warning sign that a blister is on the way.
Consider having an evaluation
by a doctor, physical therapist, or podiatrist to learn your
foot type.

Search and shop VictoryShoeShop.com for more information and a great selection of Nike brand shoes and apparel

The World's Highest Paid Athlete's 2011

2011-07-31T19:36:00.003-05:00

The World's Highest Paid Athlete's 2011 - Forbes.com

Earnings figures are derived from salaries, bonuses, prize money, appearance fees, licensing and endorsement income in the 12 months ending May 1.

1. Tiger Woods, $75 million, golf
2. Kobe Bryant, $53 million, basketball
3. LeBron James, $48 million, basketball
4. Roger Feder, $47 million, tennis
5. Phil Mikelson, $46.5 million, golf
6. David Beckham, $40 million, soccer
7. Cristian Ronaldo, $38 million, soccer
8. Alex Rodriguez, $35 million, baseball
9. Michael Shumacher, $34 million, racing
10. Lionel Messi, $32.3 million, soccer
11. Fernado Alonso, $32 million, racing
12. Rafael Nadal, $31.5 million, tennis
13 (tie). Valentino Rossi, $31 million, racing
13 (tie). Tom Brady, $31 million, football
15. Lewis Hamilton, $30 million, racing
16. Derek Jeter, $29 million, baseball
17. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., $28.5 million, racing
18. Yao Ming, $27.7 million, basketball
19. Dwight Howard, $27.6 million, basketball
20. Dwyane Wade, $26.2 million, basketball
21. Peyton Manning, $26.1 million, football
22. Ichiro Suzuki, $26 million, baseball
23. Carmelo Anthony, $25.1 million, basketball
24. Kaka, $25 million, soccer
25. Manny Pacquaio, $25 million, boxing
26. Jeff Gordon, $24.9 million, racing
27. Ronaldinho, $24.7 million, soccer
28. Amare Stoudemire, $34.5 million, basketball
29. Maria Sharapova, $24.2 million, tennis
30. Wayne Rooney, $24.1 million, soccer
31. Jimmie Johnson, $24 million, racing
32. Kevin Garnett, $23.8 million, basketball
33. C.C. Sabathia, $23.6 million, baseball
34. Jim Furyk, $23 million, golf
35. Vince Carter, $21.8 million, basketball
36. Johan Santana, $21.5 million, baseball
37. Tim Duncan, $21.2 million, basketball
38. Chris Paul, $20.9 million, basketball
39 (tie). Mark Teixeira, $20.8 million, baseball
39 (tie). Ryan Howard, $20.8 million, baseball
41. Miguel Cabrera, $20.3 million, baseball
42. Rashard Lewis, $20.1 million, basketball
43 (tie). Todd Helton, $19.6 million, baseball
43 (tie). Ernie Els, $19.6 million, golf
45 (tie). Joe Mauer, $19.3 million, baseball
45 (tie). Dirk Nowitzki, $19.3 million, basketball
47. Barry Zito, $19.2 million, baseball
48. Jahri Evans, $19.1 million, football
49. Pau Gasol, $18.9 million, basketball
50. Michael Redd, $18.8 million, basketball

City Wide Rally in Support of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price

2011-07-10T13:38:00.001-05:00

FYI...Annouced today...next week's rally will feature a live broadcast on Freddie Haynes' K-104 show and guest speakers will include civil rights pioneer and St. Luke's pastor emeritus Zan W. Holmes and Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson.

Fwd: FYI...

Mark your calendars. Sunday 7/17 @ 4:30pm. St. Luke's Community United Methodist Church will host a city-wide rally in support of county commissioner John Wiley Price.

Given this support, sounds like the pastors might have an inside scoop.

How Ignorant Are Americans?

2011-06-07T10:54:00.003-05:00

How Ignorant Are Americans? http://t.co/Crd87ry NEWSWEEK gave 1,000 Americans the U.S. Citizenship Test--38 percent failed.

A Sample 100 Question Citizenship Test

1.What are the colors of our flag?

2. How many stars are there in our flag?

3. What color are the stars on our flag?

4. What do the stars on the flag mean?

5. How many stripes are there in the flag?

6. What color are the stripes?

7. What do the stripes on the flag mean?

8. How many states are there in the Union?

9. What is the 4th of July?

10. What is the date of Independence Day?

11. Independence from whom?

12. What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?

13. Who was the first President of the United States?

14. Who is the President of the United States today?

15. Who is the Vice-President of the United States today?

16. Who elects the President of the United States?

17. Who becomes the President of the United States if the President should die?

18. For how long do we elect the President?

19. What is the Constitution?

20. Can the Constitution be changed?

21. What do we call a change to the Constitution?

22. How many changes or amendments are there to the Constitution?

23. How many branches are there in our government?

24. What are the three branches of our government?

25. What is the legislative branch of our government?

26. Who makes the laws in the United States?

27. What is Congress?

28. What are the duties of Congress?

29. Who elects Congress?

30. How many senators are there in Congress?

31. Can you name the two senators from your state?

32. For how long do we elect each senator?

33. How many representatives are there in Congress?

34. For how long do we elect the representatives?

35. What is the executive branch of our government?

36. What is the judiciary branch of our government?

37. What are the duties of the Supreme Court?

38. What is the supreme law of the United States?

39. What is the Bill of Rights?

40. What is the capital of your state?

41. Who is the current governor of your state?

42. Who becomes President of the United States if the President and the Vice-President should die?

43. Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?

44. Can you name the 13 original states?

45. Who said, "Give me liberty or give me death."?

46. Which countries were our enemies during World War II?

47. What are the 49th and 50th states of the Union?

48. How many terms can a President serve?

49. Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.?

50. Who presides over your local government?

51. According to the Constitution, a person must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible to become President. Name one of these requirements.

52. Why are there 100 Senators in the Senate?

53. Who selects the Supreme Court justices?

54. How many Supreme Court justices are there?

55. Why did the Pilgrims come to America?

56. What is the head executive of a state government called?

57. What is the head executive of a city government called?

58. What holiday was celebrated for the first time by American colonists?

59. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?

60. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

61. What is the basic belief of the Declaration of Independence?

62. What is the national anthem of the United States?

63. Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?

64. Where does freedom of speech come from?

65. What is the minimum voting age in the United States?

66. Who signs bills into law?

67. What is the highest court in the United States?

68. Who was President during the Civil War?

69. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

70. What special group advises the President?

71. Which President is called the "Father of our country?"

72. What Immigration and Naturalization Service form is used to apply to become a naturalized citizen?

73. Who helped the Pilgrims in America?

74. What is the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?

75. What were the 13 original states of the U.S. called?

76. Name 3 rights or freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

77. Who has the power to declare war?

78. What kind of government does the United States have?

79. Which President freed the slaves?

80. In what year was the Constitution written?

81. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?

82. What is the supreme law of the land?

83. Where does Congress meet?

84. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?

85. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?

86. Name one benefit to being a citizen of the United States?

87. What is the most important right granted to U.S. citizens?

88. What is the United States Capitol?

89. What is the White House?

90. Where is the White House located?

91. What is the name of the President's official home?

92. Name one right guaranteed by the first amendment.

93. Who is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?

94. Which President was the first Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?

95. In what month do we vote for President?

96. In what month is the new President inaugurated?

97. How many times may a Senator be re-elected?

98. How many times may a Congressman be re-elected?

99. What are the 2 major political parties in the U.S. today?

100. How many states are there in the United States?

Answer sheet for 100 Questions

Red, White, and Blue.
50
White
One for each state in the union
13
Red and White
They represent the original 13 states
50
Independence Day
July 4th
England
England
George Washington
Barack Obama
Joe Biden
The electoral college
Vice-President
Four years
The supreme law of the land
Yes
Amendments
27
3
Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary
Congress
Congress
The Senate and the House of Representatives
To make laws
The people
100
John Ensign and Harry Reid
6 years
435
2 years
The President, cabinet, and departments under the cabinet members
The Supreme Court
To interpret laws
The Constitution
The first 10 amendments of the Constitution
Carson City
Jim Gibbons
Speaker of the House of Representatives
John G. Roberts, Jr.
Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Rhode Island, and Maryland
Patrick Henry
Germany, Italy, and Japan
Alaska and Hawaii
2
A civil rights leader
Your County Commissioners
Must be a natural born citizen of the United States; Must be at least 35 years old by the time he/she will serve; Must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years
2 from each state
Appointed by the President
9
For religious freedom
Governor
Mayor
Thanksgiving
Thomas Jefferson
July 4, 1776
That all men are created equal
The Star-Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key
The Bill of Rights
18
The President
The Supreme Court
Abraham Lincoln
Freed many slaves
The Cabinet
George Washington
Form N-400, "Application to File Petition for Naturalization"
The American Indians (Native Americans)
The Mayflower
Colonies
Rights:
1. The right of freedom of speech, press, religion, peaceable assembly and requesting change of government.
2. The right to bear arms (the right to have weapons or own a gun, though subject to certain regulations).
3. The government may not quarter, or house, soldiers in the people's homes during peacetime without the people's consent.
4. The government may not search or take a person's property without a warrant.
5. A person may not be tried twice for the same crime and does not have to testify against him/herself.
6. A person charged with a crime still has some rights, such as the right to a trial and to have a lawyer.
7. The right to trial by jury in most cases.
8. Protects people against excessive or unreasonable fines or cruel and unusual punishment.
9. The people have rights other than those mentioned in the Constitution.
10. Any power not given to the federal government by the Constitution is a power of either the states or the people.
The Congress
Republic
Abraham Lincoln
1787
The Bill of Rights
The Constitution.
In the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Everyone (citizens and non-citizens living in the U.S.)
The Preamble
Obtain federal government jobs; travel with a U.S. passport; petition for close relatives to come to the U.S. to live
The right to vote
The place where Congress meets
The President's official home
Washington, D.C., (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.)
The White House
Freedom of: speech, press, religion, peaceable assembly, and, requesting change of the government
The President
George Washington
November
January
There is no limit
There is no limit
Democratic and Republican
50

How should a Judge, Judge?

2011-05-19T14:23:00.001-05:00

A judge should approach the law in a formalistic, mechanical way abstracted from human experience.

or

A judge should determine, at the moment of decision, whether our collective values on a given issue have converged to a degree that they can be persuasively crystallized and credibly absorbed into legal doctrine.

Clarence Thomas Wants A Fight

2011-05-18T12:18:00.001-05:00

Clarence Thomas wants a fight about his lying to the American people. So let's give it to him.

Here are the facts. Thomas' wife earned $700,000 from half the radical right-wing ideologues in Washington. Opposing health care reform was her specialty.

For 13 years, Clarence Thomas didn't disclose a penny of that income, even though he was legally and ethically obligated.

Thomas is trying to conceal a blatant conflict of interest. His family is getting rich off an issue that's very likely to come before the Supreme Court.

So 250,000 of us demanded he recuse himself from cases about health care. We must have struck a nerve because Thomas went apoplectic, accusing you and me of "undermining" the Supreme Court because we dare question a single justice's impartiality.

This week was another big financial disclosure deadline -- and the beginning of the next round of our fight.

These financial forms are a matter of public record, typically made available within 30 days of the filing deadline. But when a Supreme Court justice has broken the public trust repeatedly for over a decade, we deserve to know right away what conflict he has.

Stand with me to force Clarence Thomas to release his disclosure ASAP. We need to know how big a conflict Thomas is bringing every day to our Supreme Court.

There's clearly something fishy going on when a U.S. Supreme Court justice claims his wife's income was "inadvertently omitted due to a misunderstanding of the filing instructions" -- especially when those instructions are, "Spouse's Non-Investment Income -- If you were married during any portion of the reporting year, complete this section."

Already there are questions about Mrs. Thomas' 2010 earnings at Liberty Central, a right-wing action group she founded in 2009. She claims she had no salary -- the COO of the organization says otherwise.

Clarence Thomas shouldn't hide the truth behind stalling tactics. Stand with me today and demand he publicly release his financial disclosure immediately.

Thanks again to the 250,000 people who are already standing with me to hold Clarence Thomas accountable. Our work has been a great success so far.

But Thomas is gearing up for a fight. And, as a guy from Brooklyn, there's no way I'm backing down. I need you in my corner one more time.

Anthony Weiner

SUPPORT KATHY HOCHUL

2011-05-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

Remember that Republican congressman who high-tailed it out of Washington after the shirtless photos he sent to women on Craigslist got splashed all over the Internet?

Well, the special election for his seat is just 8 days away and our Democratic candidate, Kathy Hochul, is down by just 1 point in her latest poll!

Republicans know it would be a disaster to lose this race in the single reddest district in all of New York -- even his Royal Highness Speaker John Boehner rushed up there to raise cash for more dishonest Republican attack ads.

With just 24 hours to go until our One Week Out Deadline, let's show we've got what it takes to fight this race to the finish.

Contribute $20 or more today to help us raise the $75,000 needed to fight back against Republican attacks.

I'm telling you -- the more folks in Western New York hear about the Republicans' support for that ludicrous budget to end Medicare, the more voters are flocking to support Kathy.

The Republicans' cynical plan to pay for tax breaks for the ultra rich by ending the Medicare support that our seniors rely on is far more shameful than a few racy photos. Let's make sure they don't get away with it.

Thanks,

James Carville

P.S. Back in 2009, Democrats won another special election in upstate New York by just 726 votes. This race is shaping up to be the same sort of nail-biter. Help us hit our $75,000 goal to help put Democratic candidate Kathy Hochul over the top.

Contribute today

Bar Stool Economics REVEALED

2011-04-28T20:52:00.004-05:00

Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you are all such good customers,’ he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.’ Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.

But what about the other six men – the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

‘I only got a dollar out of the $20,’declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I got’

‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man. ‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

================================================================================
What does the above "analysis" FAIL to discuss:

If you were to divide up a $100 as a function of the wealth distribution among the 10 friends (U.S. families):

The 10th guy (the richest) would receive $71.30
The 9th guy would receive $13.40
The 7th & 8th guys would share $11.30
The 5th & 6th guys would share $3.80
The 1st 4 guys (the poorest) would share 20 cents

Forget for a second, that the top 10% of folks aren't spending much time with the bottom 90%...much less a daily round of beers, but ask yourself:

Where else in the world is the rich guy to go where he'll be able to command 70+ percent of the resources?

National Urban League Unemployment Report February 2011

2011-03-21T12:14:00.001-05:00

---National Urban League's Highlights of the February 2011 Employment
Report---

Here is an excerpt from the National Urban League's highlights of
the February 2011 Employment Report:

"The economy gained 192,000 jobs in
February while private sector employment increased by 222,000.

The unemployment rate changed little - now 8.9% (from 9.0% in January). The Black unemployment rate declined to 15.3% (from 15.7%) - the unemployment rate for Black men was 16.2% (from 16.5%); for Black women 13.0% (from 12.9%).
The unemployment rate for Whites was unchanged at 8.0% while the
Hispanic rate was 11.6% (from 11.9%). Rates of teen unemployment were 21.3%
for Whites (from 22.8%), 38.4% for African-Americans (from 45.4%) and 30.6% for Latinos (from 32.9%). The rate of underemployment (including the unemployed, marginally attached and those working part-time for economic reasons) was 15.9% (from 16.1%). The ranks of long-term unemployed (jobless
for 27 weeks or more) decreased from January to February - now at 6 million (from 6.2 million) or 43.9% of all unemployed -- 1.5 million people have been unemployed for 2 years or more.

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2011-01-04T13:30:00.001-06:00

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Sean Hannity is The World's Biggest Douche Bag

2010-11-18T23:55:00.007-06:00

In recent days, Sean Hannity has railed and railed against the TSA's new enhanced screening techniques of "invasive" pat-downs and full body scans. He's advocated adopting Israeli-style security procedures (read: racial profiling) and has said that the new procedures rob travelers of their self-dignity.

Today, however, when Hannity was challenged by one of HIS callers to make a stand against these new procedures by not flying his initial response was to indicate that he had only taken a "few" days of vacation this year and would not forgo his scheduled Florida family vacation.

Seems that Hannity's "principles" mean nothing in face of his personal vacation...and looks like the upcoming "robbing of the self-dignity" of his wife and 9-year old daughter means very little either.

What a Douche Bag!

eBay Power Seller again!!!

2010-04-30T00:55:00.006-05:00

Jaymo's Garage Sale (Jaymo1) happily thanks all of our customers, as we proudly announce that we have regained our eBay Power Seller status and have achieved Top-Rated Seller status.

2010-03-17T10:24:00.001-05:00

Though it doesn't provide everything he wanted, Dennis Kucinich announces his support for health care insurance reform legislation.

U.S. House Passes Health Care Bill...

2009-11-07T23:20:00.002-06:00

This evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 3962, the historic Health Care Reform bill, 220-215. Only 1 Republican member voted in support of the legislation, Joseph Cao of Louisiana, however 39 so-called Democrats voted against the bill.

Who are these 39, and why did they choose to vote against legislation championed by their party and the Democrat president?

Member	Party	State
Adler, John Herbert	D	NJ-3
Altmire, Jason	D	PA-4
Baird, Brian Norton	D	WA-3
Barrow, John Jenkins	D	GA-12
Boccieri, John A.	D	OH-16
Boren, David Daniel	D	OK-2
Boucher, Frederick Carlyle	D	VA-9
Boyd, F. Allen	D	FL-2
Bright, Bobby Neal	D	AL-2
Chandler, Albert Benjamin	D	KY-6
Childers, Travis Wayne	D	MS-1
Davis, Artur Genestre	D	AL-7
Davis, Lincoln Edward	D	TN-4
Edwards, Thomas Chester	D	TX-17
Gordon, Barton Jennings	D	TN-6
Griffith, Parker	D	AL-5
Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie	D	SD
Holden, Thomas Timothy	D	PA-17
Kissell, Larry	D	NC-8
Kosmas, Suzanne M.	D	FL-24
Kratovil, Frank M. Jr.	D	MD-1
Kucinich, Dennis	D	OH-10
Markey, Betsy	D	CO-4
Marshall, Jim	D	GA-8
Massa, Eric J.J.	D	NY-29
Matheson, James David	D	UT-2
McIntyre, Mike	D	NC-7
McMahon, Michael E.	D	NY-13
Melancon, Charles J.	D	LA-3
Minnick, Walt	D	ID-1
Murphy, Scott	D	NY-20
Nye, Glenn C.	D	VA-2
Peterson, Collin Clark	D	MN-7
Ross, Michael Avery	D	AR-4
Shuler, Heath	D	NC-11
Skelton, Isaac Newton	D	MO-4
Tanner, John S.	D	TN-8
Taylor, Gary Eugene	D	MS-4
Teague, Harry	D	NM-2

Ebony's 30 Must Have Albums

2009-08-25T13:54:00.005-05:00

If you were forced for whatever reason to throw away all of your albums and CDs except for 30, which ones would you keep? In celebration of Black Music Month 2004, Ebony Magazine listed it's top picks:

1. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (1971)
2. Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)
3. Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (1967)
4. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959)
5. Nat King Cole - Greatest Hits Nat (King) Cole (1994)
6. Stevie Wonder - Song In The Key Of Life (1976)
7. Sam Cooke - Portrait Of A Legend (2003)
8. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (1964)
9. Prince - Purple Rain (1984)
10. Ray Charles - The Best of Ray Charles (1994)
11. Duke Ellington - Ellington Uptown (1948)
12. Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - Ella & Louis (1997)
13. Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston (1985)
14. Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced? (1967)
15. Chuck Berry - Chuck Berry The Great Twenty-Eight (1982)
16. Marian Anderson - Spirituals (1999)
17. Mahalia Jackson - Move On Up A Little Higher (1947)
18. James Brown - Live At The Apollo (1962)
19. Public Enemy - It takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)
20. Little Richard - Georgia Peach (1991)
21. Al Green - Greatest Hits Al Green (1975)
22. Sly and the Family Stone - Stand (1969)
23. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly (1972)
24. Billie Holiday - Lady Day (1988)
25. Temptations - The Ultimate Collection (1997)
26. B.B. King - Live At The Regal (1971)
27. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: The Anthology (1995)
28. Janet Jackson - Control (1986)
29. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
30. Alicia Keys - Songs In A Minor (2001)

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Russell Simmons: Rush Hour

2009-08-24T20:49:00.003-05:00

from FastCompany magazine (November 2oo3):

Rush Hour

By Jennifer Reingold

If it were empty, the executive suite at Rush Communications, the conglomerate owned by Russell Simmons, could be that of any CEO. Look around, and you'll see hardwood floors covered by intricate oriental rugs, a set of deep red, tufted leather couches and chairs, a mahogany desk, and the requisite 43rd-floor views of midtown Manhattan that span both rivers. You expect no noise other than the hushed tones of a secretary whispering that an appointment has arrived.

But that's not exactly this CEO's style. In Russell Simmons's office, Lord Nez, an intern, breaks out into a spontaneous rap while helping Simmons choose a pink Phat Farm suit for tonight's MTV Video Music Awards. The door is wide open, a good thing because it's often blocked by a stream of designers, friends, and employees trickling in and out without advance notice, asking Simmons to sign this or approve that. The phone is either ringing or Simmons is using it, all the while thumbing messages on his Motorola two-way like a madman, talking a blue streak to a reporter, and pouring a mysterious ochre-colored powder into a bottle of Evian (that's lunch). Forget about power ties: Simmons makes his executive statement with floppy Phat Farm jeans, spotless white sneakers, a neon-green Polo shirt, and a pink Barbie Band-Aid behind his ear.

Brrriinng! Simmons is calling Reverend Run, one-third of the famous rap group Run-DMC (aka Simmons's own little brother Joey) to talk about the sneaker company they co-own.

Brrriinng! It's Dr. Benjamin Chavis, the former head of the NAACP and now president and CEO of Rush's Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, who wants to prep for a corporate meeting.

Brrriinng! Kimora Lee Simmons, a former Chanel model, Simmons's wife of four years and the designer of Rush's Baby Phat women's and girls' clothing lines, is on the phone, fretting that she doesn't feel like going to the MTV awards. "It's okay, honey," he teases. "I'll just take [sexy female rap star] Foxy Brown." (Kimora didn't make it, but Simmons showed up with his brother instead.)

This attention-deficit-disorder-as-management-style is an amazing thing to behold. It's also business as usual for Simmons, arguably the most creative, successful, and respected African-American entrepreneur of the moment. He has built a career--and incubated a vast array of businesses--on the simple premise that the music and culture of today's urban youth have broad commercial appeal across the United States and around the world. As hip-hop has blossomed in Iowa, Connecticut, and Paris, so too have Simmons's wealth, power, and influence. "I consider him one of the great entrepreneurs out there today," says his pal Donald Trump. "He's a fabulous guy with a tremendous understanding of business."

Yet spend a few hours with Simmons, and it becomes obvious that he is no longer all about the benjamins. His favorite line, says Craig Marshall, Rush's COO, is "What else?" and that now seems to mean using his power to achieve social and political goals ranging from overturning certain restrictive New York State drug laws to encouraging voter registration. "I want to contribute more to earth than I take away from it," Simmons says.

Simmons's success comes as much from what he is not as from what he is. He is not a man who made it big and then abandoned his roots but rather one who is still as comfortable on the streets of the inner city as he has become on Wall Street. He vacations on St. Bart's with the gatekeepers of the establishment, virtually all of whom call him a friend, while holding political opinions and promoting cultural messages that many of those same people might find incendiary. He is radical and approachable at the same time. He is, in a word, authentic.

Today, the Russell Simmons empire, dubbed Rush after Simmons's most apropos nickname, spans clothing (Phat Fashions, featuring the Phat Farm, Baby Phat, and Phat Farm Kids lines, expects to bring in an estimated $615 million in retail sales this year) and music (he is chairman of Island/Def Jam records, although he sold his stake in the company in 1999). There's a new financial-services arm, an entertainment unit that includes the acclaimed Def Comedy Jam and Def Poetry Jam series of live shows and television programs, a monthly magazine, and an energy soda, DefCon3. Rush also houses the nonprofit Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, a nationwide series of youth conferences aimed at increasing voter registration and political awareness, and the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation.

That would be plenty for any normal planetary being to handle, but Russell Simmons is not normal. He is 46 going on 12, with the manic energy of a teenager and the goofy, almost cartoonish grin of someone who can't believe how great life is. Easygoing, profane, and hilarious, Simmons regularly speaks all over the country to everyone from small-town entrepreneurs to Harvard MBAs, is photographed at every social event, takes an intensive yoga class every single day, and somehow makes it home every night to his palatial 35,000-square-foot spread in Saddle River, New Jersey, to see his two daughters, Ming Lee, 3, and Aoki Lee, 11 months. He has a platinum Rolodex of friends and contacts whose scope boggles the mind. How does he keep it together?

"Everybody around me is smarter than me," he says. "I don't keep track of shit, and I don't have to worry about nothing." Yeah, right. Simmons may not know what's happening on any particular day--"I had a 1 o'clock? What's that about?" he yelps at his best friend, the speakerphone--but he is, in fact, deeply involved in most aspects of his company, whether it's adding buttons on a suit, tinkering with the color of the sports drink, or canning a sneaker commercial that's already been shot. Simmons's management style is a mix of the business skills he learned selling fake coke on the streets of Queens; a mellow nonjudgmentalism, which he credits to his yoga practice; and the eclectic curiosity and unfailing optimism of a born entrepreneur.

Simmons can happily have a political dialogue with New York governor George Pataki or former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, and just as happily hang out with his friend Spuddy from Hollis, the Queens neighborhood where he grew up. Although Simmons moves effortlessly from Hamptons polo matches to the clubs frequented by 50 Cent, the rapper who's been shot nine times, he doesn't change much. He still graciously accepts tapes from the eager wannabe rappers whom he runs into on the street. He wears a Timex, although he owns part of a Swiss company, Grimoldi, whose watch faces are encrusted in diamonds. "What you see is what you get," says Donny Deutsch, chairman and CEO of Deutsch Inc., an advertising agency that has worked with Simmons. "He doesn't pretend to be what he's not."

Simmons is a man of contradictions. A true yoga fanatic who goes every afternoon to a class, no matter where he is, as well as a vegan, he has no trouble buying his wife a Bentley or building a home that some call a shrine to conspicuous consumption (it does have a meditation room). "Being a renunciate [a term for someone who gives up material benefits for spiritual reasons] is bullshit," he says. "Yeah, we've got this tremendous house, we got a flower man, a fish man, Basquiats, Warhols, a bunch of crap in here. But to deprive yourself of the world's toys is different from not being attached to them."

Simmons supported a PETA-led protest against the treatment of chickens at KFC, yet at the same time let a collar of real fur sneak into his men's clothing line. He is close to Minister Louis Farrakhan and actively defends the idea of reparations to African-Americans for slavery, yet is just as happy to break bread with Ronald Perelman or Donald Trump. ("He's my nigga," he says affectionately of The Donald. Responds Trump, after a pause: "I think that's a great compliment, and I think I will thank him for that.") He gets on with nearly everyone, and that has made him a political and economic force to reckon with.

One thing Simmons is not is a by-the-book details guy. He surrounds himself with people he trusts to handle the day-to-day aspects of his business. He is a kind of grand pooh-bah of marketing, a master brander and hype creator who leverages his reputation as the grandaddy of hip-hop to bring people together and let things combust. "Not only does he have a finger on the pulse of popular culture," says Tommy Hilfiger, a friend and rival, "but he also truly recognizes raw material and understands how to turn that potential into a marketable product."

Simmons is happiest as a connector of people and trafficker of information. He has always focused on the common interests of people from various races and classes, rather than their differences, and spends much of his life trying to bring together people with similar goals but disparate backgrounds. "He's just interested in people," says Island/Def Jam CEO Lyor Cohen, "and because he's interested, they're interested. He wants to know the nuances of how other people live, receive art, and experience culture. It has nothing to do with adding a number to the Rolodex. When you cut him open, that's what he bleeds."

The middle son of three boys in a middle-class family, Simmons decided early on that the straight path of his dad, a teacher, and his mom, a recreation director, was not for him. School bored him, and he wanted nice clothes, so he turned to the street, selling ganja for extra money. He joined an infamous gang, the Seven Immortals, watched his older brother Danny--now a successful artist--go to jail for using drugs, got a job at the Orange Julius store in Greenwich Village, and eventually graduated to selling fake cocaine. Bogus coke wasn't illegal and the margins were better, Simmons says, plus he reasoned the only people you had to worry about were ripped-off clients.

Everything changed one day in 1977, when Simmons saw a man named Eddie Cheeba whip a club crowd into a frenzy by shouting out rhymes. Simmons had an epiphany. "Just like that, I saw how I could turn my life in another, better way," he writes in his autobiography, Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money + God (Crown Publishing, 2002). "All the street entrepreneurship I'd learned selling herb, hawking fake cocaine, and staying out of jail, I decided to put into promoting music." Simmons quit dealing and became a concert promoter for New York-area shows and then eventually a manager, helping to get some of the first rap singles on the radio. He got his biggest break when he coproduced Run-DMC, the rap group featuring his kid brother. The group became the first rappers to appear on MTV and the first to score crossover hits with white listeners, particularly because of its rap-rock collaboration "Walk This Way," with heavy-metal band Aerosmith. Today, the marriage of hard rock and rap seems natural, two strands of the same teenage angst and anger. But in the mid-1980s, the idea that black street kids and white suburbanites could like the same music was shocking.

Simmons learned a huge lesson from Run-DMC's success. The group made it precisely because it wasn't trying to cross over at all. Unlike other aspiring rappers, the members of Run-DMC didn't wear fancy superstar clothes but rather leather suits, hats, and Adidas sneakers--exactly what was being worn in the 'hood at the time. By appealing to a smaller audience with their own authentic style, they became mainstream stars. Simmons says this insight has been a constant in every business he's owned. "You have to tell the truth," he says. "It endears you to the community. The [people] can smell the truth, and they're a lot smarter than the people who put the records out."

In 1985, Simmons and his partner Rick Rubin cofounded Def Jam Records, the label that featured such huge rap stars as Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys, and LL Cool J. Then, as now, he surrounded himself with a small cadre of smart, loyal partners and employees who flourished in a disorganized, entrepreneurial free-for-all. The lifestyle was wild--Simmons says having sex and snorting cocaine in the office was part of a normal business day--but it was a rush to be on the edge of a rapidly changing culture. Island/Def Jam's Cohen has worked with Simmons for 20 years and remembers those days fondly. "I lived in a welfare hotel and slept on the floor, and it was an incredibly fun period of time," he says. "We had the tremendous amount of arrogance that's necessary to swim against the tide."

Def Jam teamed up with Sony before selling a 60% share to Polygram, and in 1999, Simmons sold the remaining 40% for $120 million. Today, he has little operational involvement at Island/Def Jam but serves as a father figure to rappers such as Ludacris and Jay-Z, helping to solve legal and personal problems and teaching them the business of entertainment. "We talk every now and then about the industry, music, etc.," says Ludacris. "I look up to him. I want to follow in his footsteps in terms of the business ventures."

Those ventures extend far beyond music. In 1990, Simmons started Rush Communications, an umbrella company for a variety of ventures aimed at American youth. Today, the company is a percolating mix of businesses, led by Phat Fashions clothing, which was founded in 1992. Phat Farm's advertising and brand is quintessentially Simmons: The men's and boys' clothing lines have the classic styling of a Tommy Hilfiger or Ralph Lauren but with a slightly edgy twist. There are sweat suits, jeans, and preppy pink argyle sweaters, all made well enough (and priced high enough, says Simmons) to satisfy the aspirations of the poor yet also appeal to the rich. The multi-ethnic ads show more attitude than you might see in a Ralph Lauren spread, and they frequently carry a social or political message. Often, you'll see Simmons's cross-marketing skills at work; he loves to use Def Jam rappers as models, or feature the platinum-colored Motorola flip phone he designed, complete with the Phat Farm logo and Simmons's signature (it retails for $549). Today, Phat Farm has become the most broadly distributed urban brand, although primarily through smaller chain stores. In order to go head to head against such retail giants as Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren, Simmons's stated goal, Phat Farm must break into department stores. Federated Department Stores Inc., the owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, has carried Phat Farm for several years, but others haven't, believing the crossover appeal is limited.

Although Phat Fashions is still growing at 30% a year, according to Marshall, Rush's COO, Simmons has decided it's time to sell a majority stake. Is that because he sees a coming slowdown or because he needs scale? "We need better investment, sourcing and production and better infrastructure," Simmons says. "The obvious urban business has been fully exploited. We're growing dramatically still, but I believe we're hitting a ceiling."

Simmons has held serious negotiations with Kellwood, but at press time there was no deal. Skeptics say they think his clothing's popularity with the mainstream--suburban white kids--is more of a trend than a permanent cultural shift, as Simmons believes. Another issue is that in the fickle world of youth, popularity almost always means alienating the trendsetters, in this case urban buyers. Simmons's success has also inspired many imitators who are using their roots in the entertainment world to promote their clothing. "I'm agreeing that hip-hop is a culture and a lifestyle, but I'm not agreeing that he's going to be the only player in it," says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group, a consumer-market researcher. "Simmons is the biggest player now, but he was filling a void, and that void is rapidly closing."

While hip-hop music has crossed the cultural divide, not every urban-suburban venture has made it. In fall 2002, dRush, Simmons's advertising joint venture with Deutsch, set up to market mainstream products to urban youth, shut down. "Clients' budgets were limited, and they would just take slivers and say, 'This is our minority budget,' " Deutsch says. "But I'd go into business with him again tomorrow."

There are plenty of other projects, starting with DefCon3 soda, which is being distributed exclusively by 7-Eleven, and a joint venture with Unifund, a financial-services company, for the new Rush Card, a prepaid Visa debit card aimed at the estimated 45 million Americans with no access to checking accounts or credit. Simmons hopes to break people's dependence on pricey check-cashing agencies by allowing their paychecks or other funds to be transferred to the card. Not that Simmons plans to give it away: The card costs $19.95, and each transaction costs $1. Cheaper than a check-cashing window, yes. Charity, no. "He loves to say it's hard to help the poor if you're one of them," says David Rosenberg, Unifund's CEO, who predicts that the Rush Card will reach 250,000 people by the end of the year.

Businesses like this one, the kind that may improve someone's economic status, are attracting Simmons's attention these days. In part, the change comes from his nine-year yoga practice, which he says has transformed his life. He goes to class at Manhattan's expensive and star-studded Jivamukti, which combines an intense workout with a distinct spiritual philosophy. A recent Thursday afternoon saw Simmons sneak in late, clad in gray Phat Farm sweats that became drenched over the course of the challenging 90-minute class. Forearm stands, headstands, difficult balance poses--he did them all, concentrating as fully as he had on anything all day. Then he was gone, skipping the meditation segment so he could make it to the MTV awards in time. If Simmons on yoga is a calm man, it's hard to fathom what Simmons on cocaine was like 20 years ago.

Today, the types of activities he's interested in are as much about the give-back as the bling-bling. So he's wading more deeply into politics, making headlines earlier this year by meeting with Governor Pataki and others in his attempt to try to get New York State to repeal the draconian Rockefeller drug laws. The attempt backfired; not only did the laws remain, but Simmons found himself under investigation by the New York Temporary State Commission on Lobbying for organizing a rally on the issue without lobbyist credentials. Typically, he's undeterred. "People were saying I'm in trouble," he says, amazed. "But they're talking about the drug law. That's all I ever wanted. I can say whatever the f*** I want about their laws. How dare they?" Simmons is suing the state for violating his free-speech rights, and in a telling line, says he did it "on behalf of the hip-hop community."

Another political power base is Simmons's Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, which meets in different cities and had its 11th meeting in Philadelphia in August. The all-day event featured speakers such as Philadelphia Mayor John Street and rapper LL Cool J, and the price of entry was a voter-registration card. "Our high aspiration over five years is to register 20 million voters," says Chavis, the network's president and CEO, who claims that the group has already registered 1 million voters. It's no wonder that Democratic presidential candidates Howard Dean, John Kerry, Dick Gephardt, and Al Sharpton have already met with Simmons. "I think he's going to end up running for some sort of political thing," says Ludacris. (Simmons denies it.)

His growing clout in the corporate world is also causing people to take notice. Earlier this year, he threatened to call for a public boycott of Pepsi when, under pressure from Fox's Bill O'Reilly, it fired Ludacris as its new spokesperson because of his use of obscenities and then went on to place the equally obscene--but white--Osbourne family in a Super Bowl commercial. Simmons quickly won Pepsi's agreement to donate $3 million to charity. "I definitely appreciated that he stood up for me," says Ludacris.

He seems to like flexing his economic muscles. As an executive from Abbott Laboratories waits to meet with him, Simmons gets visibly upset, explaining that the company paid him around $150,000 to do a public-service campaign encouraging the community to get HIV testing. He agreed, donating the money to the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, but says he thought the money was coming from a nonprofit, not an $18 billion company that makes the tests themselves. Suddenly, $150,000 looked like chump change, and Simmons was getting ready to tell the woman so. "Why are we just talking about testing?" he asks. "Why aren't we talking about prevention? I made a deal, but I want to talk about a better deal."

These days, Simmons does a lot of speaking. His listeners have included Motorola executives (he shared a panel with Jack Welch, who wrote him a rap song ["He was very nice, but it was ridiculous," says Simmons]), and he keynoted the awards ceremony for Crain's 100 Most Powerful Minority Business Leaders. "There was Stanley what's-his-face [O'Neal, the CEO of Merrill Lynch], Dick Parsons, others," he says. "I can't even count, I can barely read, and these guys are in the audience." They paid attention. So should the rest of us. The man has got something to say.

Jaymo's Garage Sale Re-Launches Magazine Back Issues Store

2009-07-27T14:22:00.005-05:00

Jaymo's Garage Sale proudly announces the re-launch of Magazine Back Issues Store (www.magazinebackissuesstore.info), an affiliate marketing website promoting magazines and magazine back issues available on eBay, the world's largest marketplace.

At re-launch, the magazine back issue subcategory featured nearly 22,000 eBay auction items including issues featuring news, celebrity, music, sports, fashion and much more. The Magazine Back Issues Store website provides an easy way to locate back issues of favorite titles such as GQ, Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, Ebony and other titles covering the whole range of the magazine universe.

For more information, visit www.magazinebackissuesstore.info or contact Jerome Moore at jaymo1-on-ebay@jaymoinc.com.

Jaymo's Garage Sale Re-Launches Quality Back Issues Website

2009-07-27T13:40:00.006-05:00

Jaymo's Garage Sale proudly announces the re-launch of Quality Back Issues (www.qualitybackissues.info), an affiliate marketing website promoting magazines and magazine back issues available on eBay, the world's largest marketplace.

At re-launch, the magazine back issue subcategory featured nearly 22,000 eBay auction items including issues featuring news, celebrity, music, sports, fashion and much more. The Quality Back Issues website provides an easy way to locate back issues of favorite titles such as GQ, Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, Ebony and other titles covering the whole range of the magazine universe.

For more information, visit www.qualitybackissues.info or contact Jerome Moore at jaymo1-on-ebay@jaymoinc.com.

Jaymo's Garage Sale Re-Launches Auctions for Obama

2009-07-23T16:23:00.003-05:00

Jaymo's Garage Sale proudly announces the re-launch of Auctions for Obama (www.auctionsforobama.com), an affiliate marketing website promoting Barack Obama -related merchandise on eBay, the world's largest marketplace.

At re-launch, the search term "Obama" resulted in over 2,600 eBay auction items including Collectibles, Historical Memorabilia, Clothes, Books and Magazines. The Auctions for Obama website provides an easy way to locate news, information and rumors, and great merchandise including hats, t-shirts, bumper sticker, posters and other collectible items related to President Barack Obama, his administration and his historic presidential campaign and election.

For more information, visit www.auctionsforobama.com or contact Jerome Moore at jaymo1-on-ebay@jaymoinc.com.

Jaymo's Garage Sale Re-Launches Auctions for MLB

2009-07-22T14:46:00.004-05:00

Jaymo's Garage Sale proudly announces the re-launch of Auctions for MLB (www.auctions4mlb.com), an affiliate marketing website promoting Major League Baseball (MLB) and baseball-related merchandise on eBay, the world's largest marketplace.

At re-launch, the search term "MLB" resulted in over 11,300 eBay auction items including Sports Memorabilia, Video Games, Clothes, Toys and Collectibles. The Auctions for MLB website provides an easy way to locate news, information and rumors, and great merchandise including jerseys, hats, posters and trading cards based upon your favorite MLB teams and the league's best players and legends.

For more information, visit www.auctions4mlb.com or contact Jerome Moore at jaymo1-on-ebay@jaymoinc.com.

Jaymo's Garage Sale Re-Launches Auctions for NBA

2009-07-21T22:49:00.002-05:00

Jaymo's Garage Sale proudly announces the re-launch of Auctions for NBA (www.auctions4nba.com), an affiliate marketing website promoting the National Basketball Association (NBA) and basketball-related merchandise on eBay, the world's largest marketplace.

At re-launch, the search term "NBA" resulted in over 8,300 eBay auction items including Sports Memorabilia, Video Games, Clothes, Toys and Collectibles. The Auctions for NBA website provides an easy way to locate news, information and rumors, and great merchandise including jerseys, shoes, posters and trading cards based upon your favorite NBA teams and the league's best players and legends.

For more information, visit www.auctions4nba.com or contact Jerome Moore at jaymo1-on-ebay@jaymoinc.com.

Jaymo's Garage Sale Re-Launches Auctions for Golf

2009-07-21T22:02:00.004-05:00

Jaymo's Garage Sale proudly announces the re-launch of Auctions for Golf (www.auctions4golf.com), an affiliate marketing website promoting golf and golf-related merchandise on eBay, the world's largest marketplace.

At re-launch, the search term "golf" resulted in nearly 79,000 eBay auction items across categories including Sporting Goods, Clothes, Sports Memorabilia, Books and Collectibles. The Auctions for Golf website provides an easy way to locate news, information and rumors and great merchandise including clubs, balls, apparel, and memorabilia regarding the game of golf, golfing venues and the world's greatest golfers and legends.

For more information, visit www.auctions4golf.com or contact Jerome Moore at jaymo1-on-ebay@jaymoinc.com.

Olla Mae's Celebrates Grand Re-Opening

2009-07-12T21:14:00.005-05:00

Olla Mae's Down Home Cooking & Seafood Celebrates Grand Re-Opening in new Arlington location.

Olla Mae's Down Home Cooking and Seafood on Facebook

Clearance Sale Underway at Jaymo's Garage Sale

2009-05-01T10:15:00.008-05:00

Jaymo's Garage Sale launches magazine clearance sale.

Buy 1 Get a 2nd for 50% Off

Jaymo's Garage Sale has made it easy for you to get the magazine back issues that you want at a price that you're sure to love.

Simply claim the 1st magazine of your choice at the full list price and submit a BEST OFFER of 50% off the list price for a 2nd item of equal or lesser value. Pay the combined invoice and receive FREE shipping on the 2nd item.

Jaymo's Garage Sale: New eBay Listings for the Week of 11/30/08

2008-12-11T10:49:00.002-06:00

A sample of the new listings posted on eBay, and to the eBay store Jaymo's Garage Sale, the week of November 30, 2008.

Inventory in Jaymo's Garage Sale's eBay store can be browsed and purchased by clicking through at www.jaymoinc.com.

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion, Auctions for Golf,

Jaymo's Garage Sale: New eBay Listings for the Week of 11/23/08

2008-12-11T09:44:00.005-06:00

A sample of the new listings posted on eBay, and to the eBay store Jaymo's Garage Sale, the week of November 23, 2008.

Inventory in Jaymo's Garage Sale's eBay store can be browsed and purchased by clicking through at www.jaymoinc.com.

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion, Auctions for Golf,

A Video Introduction to Jaymo's Garage Sale

2008-12-11T09:33:00.005-06:00

Welcome to Jaymo's Garage Sale

Jaymo's Garage Sale owner and operator Jerome Moore offers an introduction to his eBay store.

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion, Auctions for Golf,

Jaymo's Garage Sale celebrates with Magazine Collection featuring President Barack Obama

2008-11-04T01:09:00.012-06:00

On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of United States.

In celebration, Jaymo's Garage Sale is featuring an outstanding collection of magazines featuring the historic campaign and accomplishment.

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion, Auctions for Golf,

LeBron James & Gisele: The Vogue Cover that Caused All the Controversy

2008-10-24T10:17:00.006-05:00

Here it is, the controversial Vogue cover featuring NBA star LeBron James and supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

The cover has caused a lot of chatter, particularly online, over whether the shot (taken by famed photographer Annie Liebovitz) perpetuates racial stereotypes.

Some look at the cover and don't think much of it, that it's an interesting shot of two of the world's most recognizable people.

Others, however, see it as the embodiment of racial and sexual stereotypes, that it's a depiction of an aggressive, black man in a King Kong-like pose, embracing a white woman, a Fay Wray-like "damsel in distress."

NBA Tickets

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion, Auctions for Golf,

The Color of Loyalty by Michael Eric Dyson

2008-09-23T15:06:00.007-05:00

The essay, "The Color of Loyalty" by Michael Eric Dyson appeared in the May 5, 2008 issue of TIME magazine.

Mainstream America has shown little understanding lately of the patriotism that a lot of black people practice. Black love of country is often far more robust and complicated than the lapel-pin nationalism some citizens swear by. Barack Obama hinted at this when he declared in Montana a few weeks ago, "I love this country not because it's perfect but because we've always been able to move it closer to perfection. Because through revolution and slavery... generations of Americans have shown their love of country by struggling and sacrificing and risking their lives to bring us that much closer to our founding promise"

That's a far cry from the "My country, right or wrong" credo, which confuses blind boosterism with a more authentic, if sometimes questioning, loyalty. At their best, black folk offer critical patriot-ism, an exacting devotion that carries on a lover's quarrel with America while they shed blood in its defense.

It is easy to see why the words of black critics and leaders, taken out of context, can be read as cynical renunciations of country. Abolitionist and runaway slave Frederick Douglass gave a famous oration on the meaning of Independence Day, asking "What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim." But in-stead of joining the chorus of black voices swelling with nostalgia to return to their African roots, Douglass stayed put. Poet Langston Hughes grieved in verse that "(America never was America to me) ...(There's never been equality for me,/ Nor freedom in this `homeland of the free')." But his lament is couched in a poem whose title, like its author, yearns for acceptance: Let America Be America Again.

Even Martin Luther King Jr. was branded a traitor to his country because he opposed the war in Vietnam. When King announced his opposition in 1967, journalist Kenneth Crawford attacked him for his "demagoguery," while black writer Carl Rowan bitterly concluded that King's speech had created "the impression that the Negro is disloyal." Black dissent over war has historically brought charges of disloyalty despite the eagerness among blacks to defend on foreign soil a democracy they couldn't enjoy back home. Since the time of slavery, blacks have actively defended the U.S. in every war it has waged, from the Civil War down to the war on terror-ism, a loyalty to the Federal Government conceived by black leaders as a critical force in gaining freedom. W.E.B. DuBois argued in World War I that blacks should "forget our special grievances and close our ranks ... with our white fellow citizens." Some 380,000 soldiers answered the call even as they failed to reap the benefits of their sacrifice when they came home.

Even the angry comments of Jeremiah Wright have to be read as the bitter com-plaint of a spurned lover. Like millions of other blacks, Wright was willing to serve the country while suffering rejection. He surrendered his student deferment in 1961, voluntarily joined the Marines and, after a two-year stint, volunteered to become a Navy corpsman. He excelled and became valedictorian, later a cardio-pulmonary technician and eventually a member of the President's medical team. Wright cared for Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery, earning three White House letters of commendation.

Dick Cheney, born in the same year as Wright, received five deferments --- four while an undergraduate or graduate stu-dent and one as a prospective father. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush used their student deferments to remain in college until 1968. Clinton did not serve, and Bush was on active duty in the National Guard for two years. If time in uniform is any measure, Wright, much more than Cheney, Clinton or Bush, embodies Obama's ideal of "Americans [who] have shown their love of country by struggling and sacrificing and risking their lives to bring us that much closer to our founding promise."

Wright's critics have confused nationalism with patriotism. Nationalism is the uncritical support of one's country regardless of its moral or political bear-ing. Patriotism is the affirmation of one's country in light of its best values, including the attempt to correct it when it's in error. Wright's words are the tough love of a war-tested patriot speaking his mind --- one of the great virtues of our democracy. The most patriotic thing his nation can do now is extend to him the same right for which he was willing to die.

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion, Auctions for Golf,

Rolling Stone Magazine: The 2004 Rock Rich List

2008-07-14T15:04:00.004-05:00

In the March 18, 2004 issue (#944), Rolling Stone published its annual list of music's biggest moneymakers.

Here's the Top 50 biggest (net) earners. Where's your favorite?

1. The Rolling Stones, $84.1 Million
2. Bruce Springsteen, $81.7 Million
3. The Eagles, $62.9 Million
4. Dixie Chicks, $39.8 Million
5. Metallica, $39.1 Million
6. Toby Keith, $38.7 Million
7. Bon Jovi, $36.1 Million
8. Shania Twain, $36.1 Million
9. Simon and Garfunkel, $35.8 Million
10. Cher, $33.8 Million
11. Celine Dion, $33.1 Million
12. Fleetwood Mac, $32.5 Million
13. Robbie Williams, $32.5 Million
14. Christina Aguilera, $29.7 Million
15. Jennifer Lopez, $29.1 Million
16. Dave Matthews, $27.3 Million
17. Jimmy Buffett, $25.8 Million
18. Ice Cube, $25.7 Million
19. The Beatles, $25.6 Million
20. Norah Jones, $25.6 Million
21. Justin Timberlake, $24.7 Million
22. Elton John, $24.6 Million
23. Coldplay, $23.7 Million
24. Queen Latifah, $23.3 Million
25. Aerosmith, $22.5 Million
26. KISS, $22.1 Million
27. Kenny Chesney, $21.9 Million
28. Eminem, $20.8 Million
29. Yanni, $20.5 Million
30. James Taylor, $20 Million
31. Phish, $19.4 Million
32. Dr. Dre, $18.6 Million
33. John Mayer, $17.1 Million
34. 50 Cent, $16.9 Million
35. Tim McGraw, $16.7 Million
36. R. Kelly, $14.4 Million
37. Matchbox Twenty, $14 Million
38. P. Diddy, $13.9 Million
39. Billy Joel, $13.8 Million
40. Brooks and Dunn, $13.6 Million
41. Red Hot Chili Peppers, $13.4 Million
42. Pearl Jam, $13.4 Million
43. Paul McCartney, $13.3 Million
44. Mana, $12.1 Million
45. The Dead, $11.4 Million
46. Bill Gaither, $11.2 Million
47. The Osbournes, $10.3 Million
48. Trans Siberian Orchestra, $10.3 Million
49. Radiohead, $10 Million
50. Ero Ramazotti, $10 Million

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion, Auctions for Golf,

American Legacy: The Top 10 Most Influential Books & Films in Black History

2008-06-27T13:59:00.004-05:00

In celebration of American Legacy magazine's 10th Anniversary, historian Gerald Early produced the "essential reading list" in black history, and film critic Gene Seymour discusses the top films that "made the biggest impact on black culture".

What's your opinion?

Most Influential Books
1. The Souls of Black Folk (1903), W.E.B. Du Bois
2. White Over Black: American Attitudes Toward the Negro 1550-1812 (1968), Winthrop Jordan
3. The Myth of the Negro Past (1941), Melville Herskovits
4. When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America (1984), Paula Giddings
5. Before the Mayflower (1962), Lerone Bennett
6. Blues People (1963), Amiri Baraka
7. Harlem Renaissance (1971), Nathan Huggins
8. Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63 (1988), Taylor Branch
9. Biography of Paul Robeson (1988), Martin Duberman
10. Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow: Black Women, Work, and the Family from Slavery to the Present (1985), Jacqueline Jones

Most Influential Films
1. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
2. Body and Soul (1925)
3. Hallelujah (1929)
4. Imitation of Life (1934)
5. Gone With The Wind (1939)
6. Carmen Jones (1954)
7. Black Orpheus (1959)
8. Black Girl (1966)
9. In The Heat of the Night (1967)
10. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)
11. Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)
12. She's Gotta Have It (1986)
13. Boyz N The Hood (1991)

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion,

Emerge Magazine: College Hoops Bottom 50 Graduation Rates

2008-06-25T13:37:00.007-05:00

As reported in the article 'A Net Loss' by Jimmie Briggs in the December 1993 / January 1994 issue of Emerge Magazine, "African-Americans dominate basketball like no other sport. Sixty-four percent of the NCAA Division I men's basketball players are black, but when it comes to academics, the schools that recruited them usually foul out."

A study of the 1993 NCAA Division I Graduation Rates Report reveals that more than 40 major universities have graduated, within a six year period, none of there black basketball players...

Rank / School / % of Blacks graduating / % of Whites graduating
(NA = Statistics not available)

1. University of Akron 0% / 100%
2. University of Hawaii 0% / 100%
3. University of Texas - El Paso 0% / 100%
4. University of Nebraska - Lincoln 0% / 83%
5. University of Oregon 0% / 83%
6. University of Idaho 0% / 75%
7. Indiana University - Bloomington 0% / 75%
8. University of Vermont 0% / 75%
9. University of Toledo 0% / 73%
10. McNeese State University 0% / 67%
11. Mississippi State University 0% / 67%
12. University of California - Irvine 0% / 60%
13. Hofstra University 0% / 60%
14. University of Missouri - Columbia 0% / 57%
15. Butler University (NY) 0% / 50%
16. University of Florida 0% / 50%
17. University of Georgia 0% / 50%
18. Long Island University - Brooklyn 0% / 50%
19. University of New Orleans 0% / 50%
20. University of North Texas 0% / 50%
21. University of Wyoming 0% / 50%
22. Brigham Young University 0% / 46%
23. Liberty University (Va) 0% / 43%
24. California State University - Fresno 0% / 33%
25. University of Massachusetts 0% / 33%
26. California State University - Northridge 0% / 33%
27. Indiana State University 0% / 25%
28. North Carolina State University 0% / 20%
29. Idaho State University 0% / 17%
30. California State University - Fullerton 0% / 0%
31. California State University - Long Beach 0% / 0%
32. Central Connecticut State University 0% / 0%
33. Lamar University 0% / 0%
34. Louisiana State University 0% / 0%
35. San Diego State University 0% / 0%
36. San Jose State University 0% / 0%
37. University of South Alabama 0% / 0%
38. University of Tennessee - Chattanooga 0% / 0%
39. Tulane University 0% / 0%
40. Weber State University 0% / 0%
41. Chicago State University 0% / NA
42. Fairleigh Dickinson University - Teaneck 0% / NA
43. Georgia State University 0% / NA
44. University of Houston 0% / NA
45. Tennessee State University 6% / NA
46. Northwestern State University - Louisville 7% / 0%
47. University of Louisville 8% / 0%
48. Youngstown State University 8% / 33%
49. University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa 9% / 0%
50. Jacksonville University (MS) 9% / 0%

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion,

Today's Black Woman: 10 Things Women Do That Men Hate!

2008-06-20T14:51:00.005-05:00

As reported by Jamilah Oliver in the November / December 2000 issue of Today's Black Woman, the "10 Things Women Do That Men Hate".

1. Nag. Nag. Nag.
2. Goldiggers
3. Reliving Past Relationships
4. Male Bashing
5. Overreacting
6. Women who lead men on
7. Women who use a man to make another man jealous
8. Women who will not cook
9. Not being forgiving
10. Trying to change a man

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion,

FORTUNE Magazine: The 40 Richest People Under 40

2008-06-06T12:30:00.005-05:00

As appears in the September 20, 2004 issue of FORTUNE Magazine available from Jaymo's Garage Sale.

America's 40 richest under 40: A billion dollars may be a bit harder to come by these days, but some youngsters are still finding their pots of gold.

Rich Kids
1. Michael Dell (39), Dell Computer - $17.95 billion
2. Pierre Omidyar (37), eBay - $10.05 billion
3. Jeff Skoll (39), Skoll Foundation - $4.69 billion
4. Larry Page (31), Google - $4.19 billion
5. Sergey Brin (31), Google - $4.17 billion
6. Jerry Yang (35), Yahoo - $2.81 billion
7. David Filo (38), Yahoo - $2.57 billion
8. Ken Griffin (35), Citadel Investment Group - $1 billion
9. Dan Snyder (39), Washington Redskins - $823 million
10. Marc Benioff (39), Salesforce.com - $376 million
11. Jeffrey Citron (34), Vonage - $346 million
12. Elon Musk (33), Space Exploration Technologies - $328 million
13. Sean Combs / Diddy (34), Bad Boy Entertainment - $315 million
14. Tiger Woods (28), golfer - $295 million
15. Halsey Minor (39), Grand Central Communications - $286.1 million
16. Shawn Carter / Jay-Z (34), Roc-a-Fella Enterprises - $286 million
17. Jerry Greenberg (38), Sapient - $278 million
18. Raul Fernandez (38), ObjectVideo - $263 million
19. Jennifer Lopez (35), Sweetface Fashion - $255 million
20. Marc Andreessen (33), Opsware - $253 million
21. Joe Liemandt (36), Trilogy - $234 million
22. Shaquille O'Neal (32), Basketball player - $222 million
23. Michael Robertson (37), Linspire - $220 million
24. Marc Ewing (35), Alpinist magazine - $217 million
25. Julia Roberts (36), Actress - $212 million
26. Will Smith (35), Actor / Rapper - $188 million
27. Andre Agassi (34), Tennis player - $162 million
28. Jared Polis (29), Colorado State Board of Education - $160 million
29. Jeff Gordon (33), NASCAR racer - $155 million
30. Sudhakar Ravi (39), retired - $137.1 million
31. Ashley Olsen (18), DualStar Entertainment - $137 million
31. Mary-Kate Olsen (18), DualStar Entertainment - $137 million
33. John MacFarlane (38), Sonos.com - $136 million
34. Jeffrey Zients (37), Advisory Board Co. - $132 million
35. Sreekanth Ravi (37), retired - $131 million
36. Paul Gauthier (32), retired - $129 million
37. W. Glen Boyd (37), retired - $125 million
38. Britney Spears (22), Entertainer - $123 million
39. Michael Saylor (39), MicroStrategy - $113 million
40. Kevin Garnett (28), Basketball player - $106 million

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion,

FORTUNE Magazine: America's Most Admired Companies

2008-06-04T19:31:00.004-05:00

As appears in the March 7, 2005 issue of FORTUNE Magazine available from Jaymo's Garage Sale.

Falling prices. squeezed margins. Brutal competition. For this elite set of corporations, it's the perfect time to do business.

The Top Ten
1. Dell
2. General Electric
3. Starbucks
4. Wal-Mart Stores
5. Southwest Airlines
6. FedEx
7. Berkshire Hathaway
8. Microsoft
9. Johnson & Johnson
10. Procter & Gamble

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion,

FORTUNE Magazine: The 50 Most Powerful Women in Business

2008-06-04T15:30:00.003-05:00

As appears in the October 18, 2004 issue of FORTUNE Magazine available from Jaymo's Garage Sale.

Who's Up?
Who's Down?
And is that a new No. 1?

Meet the alpha females of American business, 2004.

1. Meg Whitman, President and CEO (eBay)
2. Carly Fiorina, Chairman and CEO (Hewlett-Packard)
3. Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO (Avon Products)
4. Anne Mulcahy, Chairman and CEO (Xerox)
5. Marjorie Magner, Chairman and CEO - Global Consumer Group (Citigroup)
6. Oprah Winfrey, Chairman (Harpo)
7. Sallie Krawcheck, CFO (Citigroup)
8. Abigail Johnson, President (Fidelity Management & Research)
9. Pat Woertz, EVP Global Downstream (ChevronTexaco)
10. Karen Katen, EVP President - Global Pharm (Pfizer)
11. Judy McGrath, Chairman and CEO - MTV Networks (Viacom)
12. Indra Nooyi, President and CFO (PepsiCo)
13. Ann Moore, Chairman and CEO - Time Inc. (Time Warner)
14. Pat Russo, Chairman and CEO (Lucent Technology)
15. Christine Poon, Worldwide Chair - Medicines and Nutritionals (Johnson & Johnson)
16. Zoe Cruz, Worldwide Head - Fixed Income... (Morgan Stanley)
17. Doreen Toben, EVP and CFO (Verizon)
18. Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair - Disney Media; President - Disney / ABC Television (Walt Disney)
19. Amy Woods Brinkley, Chief Risk Officer (Bank of America)
20. Susan Arnold, Vice Chair - Global Beauty Care (Procter & Gamble)
21. Amy Pascal, Vice Chairman; Chairman of Motion Picture Group (Sony)
22. Ann Livermore, EVP - Technology Solutions Group (Hewlett-Packard)
23. Myrtle Potter, President - Commercial Operations (Genentech)
24. Susan Desmond-Hellman, President - Product Development (Genentech)
25. Gail Berman, President Entertainment - Fox Broadcasting Co. (News Corp.)
26. Shelly Lazarus, Chairman and CEO - Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide (WPP)
27. Sherry Lansing, Chairman - Motion Picture Group, Paramount (Viacom)
28. Stacey Snider, Chairman - Universal Pictures (General Electric)
29. Heidi Miller, CEO - Treasury and Security Services (J.P. Morgan Chase)
30. Cathleen Black, President (Hearst Magazines)
31. Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO - Frito-Lay (PepsiCo)
32. Linda Dillman, EVP and CIO (Wal-Mart Stores)
33. Mary Sammons, President and CEO (Rite Aid)
34. Janet Robinson, EVP and COO (New York Times Co.)
35. Judy Lewent, EVP, CFO, President - Human Health Asia (Merck)
36. Susan Ivey, President and CEO (Reynolds American)
37. Nancy Peretsman, EVP and Managing Director (Allen & Co.)
38. Vivian Banta, Vice Chairman and CEO - Insurance (Prudential Financial)
39. Brenda Barnes, President and COO (Sara Lee)
40. Vanessa Castagna, EVP; Chair and CEO - Stores, Catalog, Internet (J.C. Penney)
41. Deb Henretta, President - Global Baby and Adult Care (Procter & Gamble)
42. Lois Quam, CEO - Ovations (United Health Group)
43. Lisa Weber, President - Individual Business (MetLife)
44. Ursula Burns, SVP; President - Business Group Operations (Xerox)
45. Claire Watts, EVP - Merchandising (Wal-Mart Stores)
46. Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chairman and CEO (Carlson Cos.)
47. Jenny Ming, President - Old Navy (Gap)
48. Susan Decker, CFO and EVP - Finance and Administration (Yahoo)
49. Anne Stevens, Vice President - Canada, Mexico and South America (Ford Motor)
50. Carol Kovac, GM - Healthcare and Life Sciences (IBM)

Jaymo's Garage Sale is a recognized eBay Powerseller concentrating in the areas of books, magazine back issues, music, celebrity-collectibles and men's clothing, hip-hop gear and urban fashions. Jaymo's Garage Sale has also developed and manages multiple affiliate marketing websites, including Jaymo's Garage Sale, Auctions for Obama, Celebrity Fragrance Store, Hip-Hop Clothing Store, Hip-Hop Clothes Online, Hip-Hop Clothing Online, Magazine Back Issues Store, Quality Back Issues Store, Jaymo's Shirt Shack, Jaymo's Turntable, Jaymo's Magazine Rack, Campaign Swag Store, Hip Hop Honey Online, Age of Conan, Auctions for NBA, Auctions for NFL, Auctions for MLB, Auctions for NHL, Auctions for NASCAR, Campaign Gear for Barack Obama, AudioXplosion,

Jaymo's Garage Sales Launches 'AudioXplosion'

2008-05-31T00:51:00.004-05:00

May 30, 2008 - Jaymo's Garage Sale launched a new affiliate marketing website, www.audioxpolsion.com, promoting car audio and video merchandise available on eBay, the world's largest marketplace.

At launch, the 'car electronics' subcategory contained more than 44,000 auction and fixed priced listings, including receivers, in-dash CD & DVD, navigation equipment, radar detectors and satellite and HD radio. The AudioXplosion website provides an easy means to locate the latest car audio and video equipment as well as news, information and rumors regarding the car audio community and car culture.

For more information, visit www.audioxpolsion.com or contact Jerome Moore at mrjaymo@tx.rr.com.

FORTUNE Magazine: 50 Best Companies for Minorities

2008-05-28T19:18:00.007-05:00

In the June 28, 2004 issue of FORTUNE Magazine, Cora Daniels wrote:

In an ideal world the leading companies for minority employees would be tops for everyone. But this is not an ideal world, and some companies are still more successful at fostering diversity in their workplace than others. The good news: Corporate America is raising the bar, and the best keep getting better. FORTUNE's list shows which 50 companies rank at the very top.

1. McDonald's (Oak Brook, Ill)
2. Fannie Mae (Washington, DC)
3. Sempra Energy (San Diego, Ca)
4. Union Bank of California (San Francisco, Ca)
5. Denny's (Spartanburg, SC)
6. US Postal Service (Washington, DC)
7. PepsiCo (Purchase, NY)
8. Southern California Edison (Rosemead, Ca)
9. Freddie Mac (McLean, Va)
10. PNM Resources (Albuquerque, NM)
11. PG&E (San Francisco, Ca)
12. SBC Communications (San Antonio, Tx)
13. Hilton Hotels (Beverly Hills, Ca)
14. Verizon Communications (New York, NY)
15. Yum Brands (Louisville, Ky)
16. Colgate-Palmolive (New York, NY)
17. Xerox (Stamford, Ct)
18. Hyatt (Chicago, Ill)
19. Washington Mutual (Seattle, Wa)
20. TIAA-CREF (New York, NY)
21. Applied Materials (Santa Clara, Ca)
22. Consolidated Edison (New York, NY)
23. United Parcel Service (Atlanta, Ga)
24. DTE Energy (Detriot, Mi)
25. BellSouth (Atlanta, Ga)
26. Coca-Cola (Atlanta, Ga)
27. Nordstrom (Seattle, Wa)
28. Avon Products (New York, NY)
29. Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, Ill)
30. Knight-Ridder (San Jose, Ca)
31. Golden West Financial (Oakland, Ca)
32. Starwood Hotels (White Plains, NY)
33. Darden Restaurants (Orlando, Fl)
34. Safeway (Pleasanton, Ca)
35. Wyndham International (Dallas, Tx)
36. Levi Strauss (San Francisco, Ca)
37. Pepco Holdings (Washington, DC)
38. Citigroup (New York, NY)
39. Prudential Financial (Newark, NJ)
40. Schering-Plough (Kenilworth, NJ)
41. American Express (New York, NY)
42. MGM Mirage (Las Vegas, Nv)
43. J.P. Morgan Chase (New York, NY)
44. Pitney Bowes (Stamford, Ct)
45. Procter & Gamble (Cincinnati, Oh)
46. General Motors (Detroit, Mi)
47. Eastman Kodak (Rochester, NY)
48. Merck (Whitehouse Station, NJ)
49. AT&T (Bedminster, NJ)
50. Bank of America (Charlotte, NC)

This issue, and other quality back issues of FORTUNE magazine and other top business magazines, are available on eBay at Jaymo's Garage Sale.

Jaymo's Garage Sale Launches 'Auctions for NHL'

2008-05-14T13:23:00.003-05:00

May 12, 2008 - Jaymo's Garage Sale launched a new affiliate marketing website, www.auctions4nhl.com, promoting National Hockey League (NHL) - related merchandise available on eBay, the world's largest marketplace.

At launch, the search term NHL resulted in more than 10,000 eBay auction items across categories ranging from sports memorabilia & apparel to toys & media. The Auctions for NHL website provides an easy way to locate news, information and rumors and great merchandise including jerseys, shoes, posters and trading cards based upon your favorite NHL teams and the league's best players and legends.

For more information, visit www.auctions4nhl.com or contact Jerome Moore at mrjaymo@tx.rr.com.

www.auctions4nhl.com is not affiliated, authorized or endorsed by the National Hockey League (NHL), or any other related property

Jaymo's Garage Sale Launches 'Auctions for MLB'

2008-05-12T19:30:00.007-05:00

May 9, 2008 - Jaymo's Garage Sale launched a new affiliate marketing website, www.auctions4mlb.com, promoting Major League Baseball (MLB) - related merchandise available on eBay, the world's largest marketplace.

At launch, the search term MLB resulted in more than 19,000 eBay auction items across categories ranging from sports memorabilia & apparel to toys & media. The Auctions for MLB website provides an easy way to locate news, information and rumors and great merchandise including jerseys, shoes, posters and trading cards based upon your favorite MLB teams and the league's best players and legends.

For more information, visit www.auctions4mlb.com or contact Jerome Moore at mrjaymo@tx.rr.com.

www.auctions4mlb.com is not affiliated, authorized or endorsed by the Major League Baseball (MLB), or any other related property

Jaymo's Garage Sale Launches Auctions for NFL

2008-05-09T19:07:00.003-05:00

May 8, 2008 - Jaymo's Garage Sale launched a new affiliate marketing website, www.auctions4nfl.com, promoting National Football League (NFL) - related merchandise available on eBay, the world's largest marketplace.

At launch, the search term NFL resulted in more than 28,000 eBay auction items across categories ranging from sports memorabilia & apparel to toys & media. The Auctions for NFL website provides an easy way to locate news, information and rumors and great merchandise including jerseys, shoes, posters and trading cards based upon your favorite NFL teams and the league's best players and legends.

For more information, visit www.auctions4nfl.com or contact Jerome Moore at mrjaymo@tx.rr.com.

www.auctions4nfl.com is not affiliated, authorized or endorsed by the National Football League (NFL), or any other related property

Jaymo's Garage Sale Launches Auctions for NBA

2008-05-08T23:21:00.003-05:00

May 7, 2008 - Jaymo's Garage Sale launched a new affiliate marketing website, www.auctions4nba.com, promoting National Basketball Association (NBA) - related merchandise available on eBay, the world's largest marketplace.

At launch, the search term NBA resulted in more than 10,000 eBay auction items across categories ranging from sports memorabilia & apparel to toys & media. The Auctions for NBA website provides an easy way to locate news, information and rumors and great merchandise including jerseys, shoes, posters and trading cards based upon your favorite NBA teams and the league's best players and legends.

For more information, visit www.auctions4nba.com or contact Jerome Moore at mrjaymo@tx.rr.com.

www.auctions4nba.com is not affiliated, authorized or endorsed by the National Basketball Association (NBA), or any other related property

Rules of the Game by Dr. Boyce Watkins

2008-04-30T13:05:00.003-05:00

EVERY CHILD IS COLLEGE MATERIAL IF THEY WANT TO BE.....so, whatever your guidance counselor told you about your child not being equipped for the next level, tell them that Dr. Boyce said THEY ARE WRONG.

Rules of the Game By Dr. Boyce Watkins

Education is your vehicle, it’s kinda like your first car

Here are tips from the top on how to live like a star

You think school’s not important and you let your grades slide? Well, buckle up my negro, cause I’m pimpin your ride

Some think school is important, some think that it’s not

But it’s Ludicrous to think you’ll get that number one spot

Without that paper in your pocket, you’re getting no love

That top position that your fishin….it ain’t hiring scrubs

Do you want to fly like an eagle or live your life with a limp?

Pimpin ain’t too easy, but it sucks getting pimped

Some people think good grades come to those who are smart

But you can’t be a great heart surgeon if you ain’t got no heart

If you got good grades already, then the burden’s no lighter

Your GPA is slammin, but it can always be tighter

And when you hit that first obstacle and you’ve just been beat down Are you gonna get up like a fighter or lie down like a clown?

College is the place to make your dreams come true

But making silly choices can create nightmares for you

So, let me pimp your ride and I’mma start with the rims

24 inch spinners, the paint job matching your tims

Number 1: study for 6 hours a day

If you are consistent and persistent then your hard work will pay Pulling all nighters might make sense when your doing it see

But that F on your exam is what you’re getting from me

Number 2: don’t allow yourself to skip any class

Days off never pay off when you’re trying to pass

But passing all your classes is not your first role

Be a baller and a scholar, straight As are your goal

Number 3: Don’t feel you have to drink till your drunk

Cause cupid makes you stupid when the party’s too crunk

We have rapists and drunk drivers when the liquor gets full

And lifetime alcoholics when they get out of school

Number 4: don’t forget this part of the rhyme

NEVER drop out of college for any reason, any time!

People leave school for a second, to get out of that cage

Then they're 35 with 3 kids making minimum wage

Number 5: make sure you learn to manage your time

Your time is like your money, you should count every dime Procrastination is a gamble, don’t rely on your luck

Or you’ll crap out and be busted, with a report card that sucks

Number 6: Getting a college degree is real cool

But to make the monster money, go to graduate school

I promise that if you’re willing to go that last mile

The bling on your check will match the bling in your smile

Number 7: make sure you know your major by heart

Know every class you’re taking from the end to the start

Know all the classes that you need to get the degree in your hand Don’t be sitting at the end, saying “I didn’t know man!”

Number 8: baby mamas are created by sex

And child support's like pacman when it eats up your check

If you call yourself a player and eager to please

The campus is a GREAT place to catch a nasty disease!

Life is kinda serious, and it ain’t playin no games

You have to come out dunkin like your names Lebron James

Cause if you don’t hustle like hustler to get that last inch

You’ll find yourself defeated at the end of the bench

Yes this ride is costly, cause pimpin ain’t free

But your whip will be the tightest if you listen to me

Whether you want a life of freedom or just want some cash

Or if you want a chromed out Bently with DVDs in the dash

Education lets you travel down the highway of life

It creates freedom for your kids or your husband or wife

You’ll drive this ride forever, until you are dead

So get on it if you want, cause its built in your head

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about College”. He makes regular appearances in national media, including CNN, FOX, ESPN, and Essence Magazine.

McCain, Clinton and the Gas Tax Holiday: How Stupid Do They Think We Are?

2008-04-29T13:07:00.005-05:00

posted by MrJaymo 4/29/08

John McCain, Hillary Clinton...and after today's press conference, I'm sure, President Bush are about to run another game on the American people.

In a society where we save nothing, over consume on everything, lack curiosity about differing opinions and obtain our news by pundits and soundbite -- we're about to be sold another feel good solution that will do absolutely nothing to solve the problem at hand.

McCain and Clinton have proposed that in order to provide American's with some financial relief, the 18 cent per gallon Federal Gas Tax should be suspended during the upcoming "Summer Driving Season" (Memorial Day, 5/26 thru Labor Day, 9/8).

Now, I'm no economist and not a finance professor, but I did pay attention 1 or 2 days in math class when I was younger. I know that with a little addition, multiplication and a calendar that it's easy to figure out that if I fill my 18-gallon gas tank once per week for the 15 weeks of the so-called "Summer Driving Season", my savings amount to just under $49.00 ($48.60). So under the grand, McCain / Clinton plan, my dual-car, dual-income, dual-child family will pocket an extra $97.20 over 3-months if we fill up both cars once-a-week throughout the summer.

And I bet that Barack Obama has better, more accurate numbers than my "wild-assed" estimate. He's estimated that the average family will only save $30.00. He knows that the average person fills up more along the line of 2 times per month, not 4. Barack Obama also knows, I'm sure, that in 2008, the idea of a "Summer Driving Season" is a myth.

In years past, families took a 2 or 3 week summer vacation and drove to the Grand Canyon or drove to the beach or drove to Grandma's house. Who can afford to take 2-weeks anywhere anymore?! Hell, if you're worried about the price of milk, eggs and bread... or whether your home is going to be foreclosed on, what in the hell are you thinking about taking a road trip to Grandma's for?!

The McCain / Clinton Gas Tax proposal will do nothing to solve your fiscal problems. If you want to change your financial situation, you need to make fundamental changes in your own behavior. Get a second job! Sell your $500-a-month car payment and get a car you can afford (that's right, get rid of the 2008 Accord and find a 2002 Civic)! Buy a pound of hamburger and make some Hamburger Helper for $5.00 and the possibility of leftovers instead of taking the family to McDonald's for Quarter Pounders and Happy Meals for $15.00...(they're going to kill you anyway)!

The McCain / Clinton Gas Tax proposal will do nothing to solve our nation's issues. It is another case of the proverbial "sunshine up your behind".

The solution to our problems are drastic behavior change and personal responsibility. I'm so sick of the crap that McCain, Clinton and the media are shoveling, and this whole election process, that I'm almost of the mind that Barack Obama should hold on to his dignity and use his eloquence and stature to direct change from the private sector.

But, I'm not there yet. So in the meantime...

Vote for Barack Obama

WHO IS THE PATRIOT?

2008-04-21T19:33:00.002-05:00

WHO IS THE PATRIOT

By Lawrence Korb and Ian Moss
April 3, 2008

In 1961, a young African-American man, after hearing President John F.
Kennedy's challenge to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you
can do for your country," gave up his student deferment, left college in
Virginia and voluntarily joined the Marines.

In 1963, this man, having completed his two years of service in the Marines,
volunteered again to become a Navy corpsman. (They provide medical
assistance to the Marines as well as to Navy personnel.)

The man did so well in corpsman school that he was the valedictorian and
became a cardiopulmonary technician. Not surprisingly, he was assigned to the
Navy's premier medical facility, Bethesda Naval Hospital, as a member of the
commander in chief's medical team, and helped care for President Lyndon B.
Johnson after his 1966 surgery. For his service on the team, which he left in
1967, the White House awarded him three letters of commendation.

What is even more remarkable is that this man entered the Marines and Navy
not many years after the two branches began to become integrated.

While this young man was serving six years on active duty, Vice President
Dick Cheney, who was born the same year as the Marine/sailor, received five
deferments, four for being an undergraduate and graduate student and one for
being a prospective father. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both
five years younger than the African-American youth, used their student
deferments to stay in college until 1968. Both then avoided going on active duty
through family connections.

Who is the real patriot? The young man who interrupted his studies to serve
his country for six years or our three political leaders who beat the system?
Are the patriots the people who actually sacrifice something or those who
merely talk about their love of the country?

After leaving the service of his country, the young African-American
finished his final year of college, entered the seminary, was ordained as a
minister, and eventually became pastor of a large church in one of America's biggest
cities in the U.S.

This man is Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the retiring pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, who has been in the news for comments he made over the last three decades.

Campaign Swag Store

2008-04-13T11:42:00.004-05:00

Obama, Clinton, McCain...it doesn't matter who you support as long as you show your support! Get your campaign swag (stuff we all get) at the Campaign Swag Store now.

Funny Signs in Businesses

2008-04-11T18:22:00.003-05:00

Sign over a Gynecologist's Office:
"Dr. Jones, at your cervix."
**************************
In a Podiatrist's office:
"Time wounds all heels."
**************************
On a Septic Tank Truck:
Yesterday's Meals on Wheels
**************************
At a Proctologist's door:
"To expedite your visit, please back in."
**************************
On a Plumber's truck:
"We repair what your husband fixed."
**************************
On another Plumber's truck:
"Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber."
**************************
On a Church's Bill board:
"7 days without God makes one weak."
**************************
At a Tire Shop in Milwaukee:
"Invite us to your next blowout."
**************************
At a Towing company:
"We don't charge an arm and a leg. We want tows."
**************************
On an Electrician's truck:
"Let us remove your shorts."
**************************
In a Nonsmoking Area:
"If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take
appropriate action."
**************************
On a Maternity Room door:
"Push. Push. Push."
**************************
At an Optometrist's Office:
"If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to
the right place."
**************************
On a Taxidermist's window:
"We really know our stuff."
**************************
On a Fence:
"Salesmen welcome! Dog food is expensive!"
**************************
At a Car Dealership:
"The best way to get back on your feet - miss a car payment."
**************************
Outside a Muffler Shop:
"No appointment necessary. We hear you coming."
**************************
In a Veterinarian's waiting
room:
"Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!"
**************************
At the Electric Company
"We would be delighted if you send in your payment.
However, if you don't, you will be."
**************************
In a Restaurant window:
"Don't stand there and be hungry; come on in and get fed
up."
**************************
In the front yard of a
Funeral Home:
"Drive carefully. We'll wait."
**************************
At a Propane Filling Station:
"Thank heaven for little grills."
**************************
And don't forget the sign at a
CHICAGO RADIATOR SHOP:

"Best place in town to take a leak."
**************************
Sign on the back of another
Septic Tank Truck:
"Caution - This Truck is full of Political Promises"
**************************

The Six Black U.S. Presidents

2008-04-10T18:30:00.004-05:00

Not Politics as Usual. Find all things Democrat for 2008 at CafePress

The Six Black U.S. Presidents

If elected, would Barack Obama, be the first black president of the United States? What determines if a person is black or of African descent? In the 19th and 20th centuries, the standard for determining one’s race was, one drop of black blood, made you black, socially and in the eyes of the law. So by that standard, it would appear some U.S. presidents would have been considered black or mullatto.

Mulatto (-noun 1. the offspring of one white parent and one black parent: not in technical use. 2. a person whose ancestry is a mixture of Negro and Caucasian. adjective 3. of a light-brown color.

In February of 2004, an article was written by C. Stone Brown, titled “Who Were the 5 Black residents?” for DiversityInc magazine. The article was based on a book by Dr. Leroy Vaughn an opthalmogist titled “Black People and Their Place in History”. The following text is a collaboration of his theories and other known historians and authors.

Thomas Jefferson the third elected president, who served two terms between 1801 and 1809 was described as the “son of a half-breed Indian squaw and a Virginia mulatto father,” as stated in Vaughn’s findings. Jefferson also was said to have destroyed all documentation attached to his mother, even going to extremes to seize letters written by his mother to other people. Only in recent years did the family of Thomas Jefferson acknowledged he was the father of the (5 or 6) children born to a slave on his plantation, Sally Hemmings.

President Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, was in office between 1829 and 1837. A renowned African-American historian J. A. Rogers, author of the “Five Black Presidents” wrote that Andrew Jackson Sr. died before his son, President Andrew ackson Jr., was born. The president’s mother then went to live on the Crawford farm, where there were Negro slaves and one of these men was Andrew Jr.’s father, Rogers wrote. Vaughn cites an article written in The Virginia Magazine of History that Jackson was the son of an Irish woman who married a black man. The magazine also stated that Jackson’s oldest brother had been sold as a slave.

Abraham Lincoln, the nation’s 16th president, served between 1861 and 1865. Author Vaughn, states Lincoln had very dark skin and coarse hair and his mother allegedly came from an Ethiopian tribe. His heritage fueled so much controversy that Lincoln was nicknamed “Abraham Africanus the First” by his presidential opponents and cartoons were drawn depicting him as a Negro. In a book, titled “The Hidden Lincoln” written by William Herndon, Lincoln’s law-office partner, said that Lincoln’s father of record, Thomas Lincoln, could not have been Lincoln’s father because he was sterile from childhood mumps and later was castrated.

President Warren Harding, the 29th president, in office between 1921 and 1923, apparently never denied his ancestry. According to Vaughn, William Chancellor, a professor of economics and politics at Wooster College in Ohio, wrote a book on the Harding family genealogy. Evidently, Harding had black ancestors between both sets of parents. Chancellor also said that Harding attended Iberia College, a school founded to educate fugitive slaves. Professor Chancellor says the Justice Department agents allegedly bought and destroyed all copies of this book. Harding suffered nervous breakdowns at the age of 24 and had to spend some time in a sanitarium. Between 1889 and 1901, Harding paid five “protracted” visits to the J. P. Kellogg sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan “to recover from fatigue, overstrain, and nervous illnesses.” Some speculate his illness was due to the pressure of not fully disclosing his black heritage and living as “white”.

Calvin Coolidge, the nation’s 30th president, served between 1923 and 1929 and supposedly was proud of his heritage. He claimed his mother was dark because of mixed Indian ancestry. This notion was disputed by Auset Bakhufu, author of “The Six Black Presidents” who said in her book that by the 1800s, the New England Indians hardly were pure Indian, because they had mixed so often with blacks. Coolidge’s mother’s maiden name was “Moor” and in Europe the name “Moor” was given to all blacks just as “Negro” was used in America. It later was concluded that Coolidge was part black.

The last elected “black” president was Dwight David Eisenhower who served from 1953 to 1961, the 34th president. Eisenhower’s mother, Ida Elizabeth Stover was a mullato woman making Eisenhower part black. Eisenhower as president moved military integration from a law to reality. He battered Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus with federal force to desegregate Little Rock’s Central High School. He was the first President to elevate an African- American to an executive position in the White House. He established the first regulations to prohibit racial discrimination in the federal workforce. He was the first President since Reconstruction to meet with Civil Rights leaders in the White House. He helped turn Washington, D.C., into an integrated city.

The only difference between Barack Obama and most of the former “black” presidents is that none of their family histories were fully acknowledged by others or their selves. Even though Obama is half-white, he strongly resembles his Kenyan father. And not only is Obama open about his ancestry, most people acknowledge and recognize him as a black man, which is why people will identify Obama, if elected, as the first black president of the United States.

Get Obama campaign swag...hats, t-shirts, buttons, yard signs, assorted memorabilia and much more at Auctions for Obama.

Get Your Barack Obama Campaign Swag at 'Auctions for Obama'

2008-04-09T19:09:00.006-05:00

Auctions for Obama

Get your Obama campaign swag...hats, t-shirts, buttons, posters, yard signs, memorabilia and much more at Auctions for Obama

New Sites Help You Target Your eBay Search

2008-04-08T23:35:00.003-05:00

A few niche websites to help tailor your next eBay search...

Celebrity Fragrance Store
Hip Hop Clothes Online
Hip Hop Clothing Online
Hip Hop Clothing Store
Magazine Back Issues Store
Quality Back Issues

Rev. Jeremiah Wright Responds to the New York Times Smear of Him and Barack Obama

2008-03-26T12:54:00.008-05:00

Reverand Jeremiah Wright wrote an open letter to New York Times writer Jodi Kantor in response to what he believes was her participation in "...one of the biggest misrepresentations of the truth I have even seen in sixty-five years". (March 5, 2008 article by Jodi Kantor: Disinvitation by Obama is Criticized)

March 11, 2007

Jodi Kantor
The New York Times
9 West 43rd Street
New York,New York 10036-3959

Dear Jodi:

Thank you for engaging in one of the biggest misrepresentations of the truth I have ever seen in sixty-five years. You sat and shared with me for two hours. You told me you were doing a "Spiritual Biography" of Senator Barack Obama. For two hours, I shared with you how I thought he was the most principled individual in public service that I have ever met.

For two hours, I talked with you about how idealistic he was. For two hours I shared with you what a genuine human being he was. I told you how incredible he was as a man who was an African American in public service, and as a man who refused to announce his candidacy for President until Carol Moseley Braun indicated one way or the other whether or not she was going to run.

I told you what a dreamer he was. I told you how idealistic he was. We talked about how refreshing i t would be for someone who knew about Islam to be in the Oval Office. Your own question to me was, Didn't I think it would be incredible to have somebody in the Oval Office who not only knew about Muslims, but had living and breathing Muslims in his own family? I told you how important it would be to have a man who not only knew the difference between Shiites and Sunnis prior to 9/11/01 in the Oval Office, but also how important it would be to have a man who knew what Sufism was; a man who understood that there were different branches of Judaism; a man who knew the difference between Hasidic Jews, Orthodox Jews, Conservative Jews and Reformed Jews; and a man who was a devout Christian, but who did not prejudge others because they believed something other than what he believed.

I talked about how rare it was to meet a man whose Christianity was not just "in word only." I talked about Barack being a person who lived his faith and did not argue his faith . I talked a bout Barack as a person who did not draw doctrinal lines in the sand nor consign other people to hell if they did not believe what he believed.

Out of a two-hour conversation with you about Barack's spiritual journey and my protesting to you that I had not shaped him nor formed him, that I had not mentored him or made him the man he was, even though I would love to take that credit, you did not print any of that. When I told you, using one of your own Jewish stories from the Hebrew Bible as to how God asked Moses, "What is that in your hand?," that Barack was like that when I met him. Barack had it "in his hand." Barack had in his grasp a uniqueness in terms of his spiritual development that one is hard put to find in the 21st century, and you did not print that.

As I was just starting to say a moment ago, Jodi, out of two hours of conversation I spent approximately five to seven minutes on Barack's taking advice from one of his trusted campaign people a nd deeming it unwise to make me the media spotlight on the day of his announcing his candidacy for the Presidency and what do you print? You and your editor proceeded to present to the general public a snippet, a printed "sound byte" and a titillating and tantalizing article about his disinviting me to the Invocation on the day of his announcing his candidacy.

I have never been exposed to that kind of duplicitous behavior before, and I want to write you publicly to let you know that I do not approve of it and will not be party to any further smearing of the name, the reputation, the integrity or the character of perhaps this nation's first (and maybe even only) honest candidate offering himself for public service as the person to occupy the Oval Office.

Your editor is a sensationalist. For you to even mention that makes me doubt your credibility, and I am looking forward to see how you are going to butcher what else I had to say concerning Senator Obama's "S pi ritual Biography." Our Conference Minister, the Reverend Jane Fisler Hoffman, a white woman who belongs to a Black church that Hannity of "Hannity and Colmes" is trying to trash, set the record straight for you in terms of who I am and in terms of who we are as the church to which Barack has belonged for over twenty years.

The president of our denomination, the Reverend John Thomas, has offered to try to help you clarify in your confused head what Trinity Church is even though you spent the entire weekend with us setting me up to interview me for what turned out to be a smear of the Senator; and yet The New York Times continues to roll on making the truth what it wants to be the truth. I do not remember reading in your article that Barack had apologized for listening to that bad information and bad advice. Did I miss it? Or did your editor cut it out? Either way, you do not have to worry about hearing anything else from me for you to edit or "spin" because you are more interested in journalism than in truth.

Forgive me for having a momentary lapse. I forgot that The New York Times was leading the bandwagon in trumpeting why it is we should have gone into an illegal war. The New York Times became George Bush and the Republican Party's national "blog.." The New York Times played a role in the outing of Valerie Plame. I do not know why I thought The New York Times had actually repented and was going to exhibit a different kind of behavior.

Maybe it was my faith in the Jewish Holy Day of Roshashana. Maybe it was my being caught up in the euphoria of the Season of Lent; but whatever it is or was, I was sadly mistaken. There is no repentance on the part of The New York Times. There is no integrity when it comes to The Times. You should do well with that paper, Jodi. You looked me straight in my face and told me a lie!

Sincerely and respectfully yours,

Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. ,Senior Pastor
Trinity United Church of Christ

25 Greatest Rap Albums of All-Time

2008-02-12T18:38:00.000-06:00

In the Winter 2ooo issue of Revolver Magazine, editors compiled a listing of the 25 essential hip-hop albums. Is your collection in order?

1. Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock (Tommy Boy, 1982)

2. Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell (Profile, 1986)

3. Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full (Island, 1987)

4. Boogie Down Productions - By Any Means Necessary (Jive, 1988)

5. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jam, 1988)

6. N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton (Ruthless / Priority, 1988)

7. Salt-N-Pepa - A Salt with a Deadly Pepa (Next Plateau, 1988)

8. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (Capitol, 1989)

9. LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out (Def Jam, 1990)

10. Monie Love - Down to Earth (Warner Bros., 1990)

11. De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead (Tommy Boy, 1991)

12. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory (Jive, 1991)

13. Arrested Development - 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of... (Chrysalis, 1992)

14. Dr. Dre - The Chronic (Death Row, 1992)

15. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle (Death Row, 1993)

16. Cypress Hill - Black Sunday (Columbia, 1993)

17. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Loud, 1993)

18. 2Pac - Me Against the World (Interscope, 1995)

19. Will Smith - Big Willie Style (Columbia, 1997)

20. Jay-Z - Volume 2...Hard Knock Life (Rockafella / Atlantic, 1998)

21. OutKast - Aquemini (LaFace, 1998)

22. Various Artists - Def Jam Classics, Vol. 1 (Def Jam, 1989)

23. Various Artists - Hip-Hop Greats (Rhino, 1990)

24. Various Artists - Straight from the Streetz (Priority, 1994)

25. Various Artists - Profilin' the Hits (Profile, 1999)

Black Enterprise: 10 Best Cities for African Americans

2008-02-03T15:12:00.000-06:00

In the May 2007 issue of Black Enterprise magazine, the readers and editors ranked the 10 best cities for African Americans. Criteria included earning potential, entrepreneurial opportunites, jobs, cost of living, affordable housing, higher education, access to higher technology, medical care, quality of public schools, availability of daycare facilities, race relations, crime rates and black political clout.

The top 10 cities were:

10) Jacksonville, Florida
9) Columbus, Ohio
8) Indianapolis, Indiana
7) Charlotte, North Carolina
6) Dallas, Texas
5) Nashville, Tennessee
4) Houston, Texas
3) Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
2) Atlanta, Georgia
1) Washington, D.C.

This issue of Black Enterprise along with over 60 additional quality back issues of this timeless publication is currently available at Jaymo's Garage Sale.

For nearly 40 years, Black Enterprise has been the premier business, investing and wealth-building resource for African-Americans. And today, Black Enterprise continues to be the definitive source of information for and about African American business markets and leaders, and the authority on black business news and trends.

Which candidate do you support? Take the Candidate Matchmaker Quiz

2008-01-05T21:59:00.000-06:00

Do you know who you're going to vote for in your presidential primary or caucus? Who you'll support in the presidential election in November?

Do you know which candidate your views align with most closely?

Take the Candidate Matchmaker Quiz below and see if the "facts" match your perceptions.

Disclaimer: This Candidate Matchmaker Quiz was produced and / or distributed by Fox News...home to Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Brit Hume and John Gibson (among other partisan hacks). If you disagree, consider the source.

Closed minds continue to be one of our greatest downfalls...

2008-01-03T18:25:00.000-06:00

This column appeared in the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The columnist does a great job highlighting missed opportunities. She talks specifically about Memphis, but the same dynamic exists in most places. Closed minds continue to be one of our greatest downfalls...

Kwanzaa debate misses key idea

By Wendi C. Thomas

Sunday, December 30, 2007

We missed it again.

We had a chance to rise above, to be better, wiser.

Instead, it's as if we reverted to childhood, distracted by a shiny object, a distant glint of what might be racism. The possibility of prejudice glimmered and we were transfixed.

County Commissioner Henri Brooks, a black woman and a Christian, wanted to celebrate the African-based holiday of Kwanzaa at the Shelby County Administration Building.

Probate Court Clerk Chris Thomas, a white man and a Christian, thought that would be an inappropriate use of a government building.

His attempt to throw a Christian party had been thwarted, so why was Brooks allowed to hold what he still contends is a spiritual celebration, not the values-based event those of us who have celebrated Kwanzaa know it to be.

Despite Biblical commands against suing another believer, Thomas sought an injunction to keep Brooks from doing exactly what former County Commissioner and Memphis City Councilman Shep Wilbun did at least four times without controversy in the 1990s -- hold a Kwanzaa event in a public building.

A judge ruled Wednesday in Brooks' favor, and that evening she was able to continue the tradition she has maintained for 13 years . She held a public, open-to-all gathering to mark Kwanzaa, which celebrates seven values that anyone -- regardless of race -- could be proud of.
By my count, more than 200 people have sounded off on blogs and media bulletin boards about Brooks and the event, most comments laced with the righteous indignation that should be reserved for matters like genocide or global warming.

But instead, it was the predictable venom spewed when people disagree about how an affair involving race has been resolved. Some of the sentiments should shame even the most hardened bigot, like this one from The (Nashville) Tennessean Web site: "After seeing Henri Brooks in action, all I can say is what a pity her mother wasn't pro choice."

The funny thing is -- and by funny I mean unfortunate -- only about 100 people came to Brooks' Kwanzaa celebration. Odds are there wasn't much overlap between the 200 complainers and the 100 celebrants, which means that a lot of folks chose not to see firsthand what Kwanzaa is -- and isn't.

As she opened the Kwanzaa celebration Wednesday, Brooks had this to say: "I'm not going to say it was a problem to get in here. I'm going to say we had an educational opportunity."

What I'm about to ask you to consider may set your teeth on edge, but work with me.

On this, Brooks is right. This was -- it is -- an opportunity. For all of us. If those who have never celebrated Kwanzaa had gone to the county commission chambers, we would at least know how to pronounce the seven principles of the weeklong celebration: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith).

But this was an opportunity missed. We miss a lot of these chances in Memphis, even though they surround us.

They are at the temple we've never visited, the mosque we've never stepped inside, the neighborhoods we denigrate but never drive through.

They are in the unfamiliar languages of immigrants we pass at the mall.

They are at the cultural festivals, such as Kwanzaa, that are open to all although we never go.

Maybe we're afraid that what we'd find would be too different. Maybe we're afraid we'd discover we're so much the same.

Or maybe we haven't yet grown tired of crossing our arms tightly and closing our minds even tighter to the stunning diversity and commonality that could be our communal power, that could stitch together the racially scattered fragments of Memphis.

Today, those of us who recognize Kwanzaa will reflect on the principle of purpose, or, as the official Kwanzaa Web site says, "to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness."

And in this, in Nia, is another opportunity -- for all of us, regardless of race, to work for our collective good to restore Memphis to the greatness she deserves.

Black Men: It's Our Responsibility to Change the Dynamic!

2007-12-13T23:50:00.000-06:00

W.E.B. Du Bois, Jackie Robinson, Ralph Ellison, Clarence Thomas, Al Sharpton, Shaquille O'Neal, Samuel L. Jackson. All are black men who grew up without their biological fathers. More than half of the nation's 5.6 million black boys live in fatherless households, 40 percent of which are impoverished.

- quoted in the December 14, 2007 Washington Post article 'The Ghost of a Father' profiling Barack Obama