08-25-09 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
MICHAEL JACKSON DEATH RULED A HOMICIDE: Coroner finds lethal doses of propofol in singer's body during autopsy.
*L.A. County coroner's officials found lethal levels of the powerful anesthetic propofol after examining Michael Jackson's body, according to a search warrant affidavit unsealed today in Houston, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The search warrant states that Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, told Los Angeles Police Department detectives that he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for about six weeks. He had been giving Jackson 50 milligrams of propofol every night using an intravenous line, according to the court records.
But Murray told detectives he felt Jackson was becoming addicted to the substance and began trying to wean the pop star off the drugs. He lowered the dosage to 25 milligrams and mixed it with two other sedatives, lorazepam and midazolam. On June 23, two days before Jackson's death, he administered those two medications and withheld the propofol.
On the morning Jackson died, Murray tried to induce sleep without using propofol, according to the affidavit. He said he gave Jackson valium at 1:30 a.m. When that didn't work, he said, he injected lorazepam intravenously at 2 a.m. At 3 a.m., when Jackson was still awake, Murray administered midazolam.
Over the next few hours, Murray said he gave Jackson various drugs.
Then at 10:40 a.m., Murray administered 25 milligrams of propofol after Jackson repeatedly demanded the drug, according to the court records.
Although Murray acknowledged to police that he administered propofol, authorities said they could find no evidence that he had purchased, ordered or obtained the medication under his medical license or Drug Enforcement Administration tracking number. However, police detectives saw about eight bottles of propofol in the house along with other vials and pills that had been prescribed to Jackson by Dr. Murray, Dr. Arnold Klein and Dr. Allan Metzger.
Other drugs that were confiscated in the search included valium, tamsulosin, lorazepam, temazepam, clonazepam, trazodone and tizanidine. They also found propofol in Murray’s medical bag. Murray told detectives that he was not the first doctor to administer the powerful anesthetic to Jackson.
At least two unidentified doctors gave Jackson propofol in Germany.
Between March and April 2009, Murray said he called Las Vegas doctor David Adams at Jackson’s request to arrange for Adams to administer propofol.
Murray said he was present at a cosmetologist’s office, where Adams used propofol to sedate Jackson. Since he began treating Jackson, Murray said he repeatedly asked the pop star what other physicians were treating Jackson and what drugs they were prescribing. But Jackson declined to provide the information, Murray told authorities.
TAMEKA FOSTER DENIES PLAGIARIZING ESSAY: "Regrettably, this other author has no copyright (or patent) on the black female experience," she says.
*Not only has Tameka Foster fired back against author Aisha Curry's claims that she plagiarized Curry's work on her essay "She's Pretty for a Dark-Skinned Girl," but she also calls the reporter who broke the story "a disreputable gossip writer."
Speaking to BVBuzz.com's Jawn Murray, Curry claimed Tameka's essay borrowed from her 96-page pocket-size book "She's Pretty for a Black Girl,"
which she self-published in March 2008 via AuthorHouse.
In a posting on www.globalgrind.com, Foster counters, "This is an unfounded insinuation that has no basis, merit or truth. I've never heard of this author or her book until Thursday afternoon."
Further denying Curry's claim, Usher's ex-wife writes:
"African-American women struggling with complexion issues is not a novel or an original topic. It's an issue that has been written about for ages."
More of Foster's response:
I shared my personal story as a dark skinned woman in America, an experience that parallels millions of other Black women. Regrettably, this other author has no copyright (or patent) on the Black female experience.
While I’m delighted to discover there is a new book with a similar theme available I only wish the author would have embraced our commonality as sisters in this struggle rather than opt for such a defamatory public recourse via a disreputable gossip writer. Approach is everything. Plagiarism is a serious implication that I’m extremely disheartened and insulted by. If this author can produce the same references in her book that I made to Alek Wek, poet Khalil Gibran, an experience in Brazil, disparaging public comments surrounding living as a “dark skinned” woman as well as scrutiny regarding her marriage to an R&B singer then perhaps she should seek legal counsel to handle this matter with the proper protocol.
MAYWEATHER'S HOME SEARCHED AFTER SHOOTING: Vegas cops arrive after boxer's car was spotted at scene of crime.
*Las Vegas Metro Police served a search warrant Monday at the home of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. after his Rolls-Royce was found at the scene of a shooting.
Fox 5 Vegas is reporting that gunfire rang out at the Crystal Palace, a skating rink on Boulder Highway. The property caters to families and holds “all-day skate” events until 10 p.m. on Sunday.
Metro Lt. Patrick Charoen said no one was hurt in the shooting, but a vehicle was hit with several bullets between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Mayweather Jr. isn't named as a suspect, and Charoen said witnesses only identified his vehicle at the scene. Police wouldn't say what they were looking for at the fighter's home, and it’s unknown whether he was there when officers arrived.
Mayweather Jr., 32, is currently training for a Sept. 19 fight against Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, TMZ.com spoke to Mayweather's father, Floyd Mayweather, Sr., who said his son had nothing to do with the shooting.
Mayweather Sr. said cops ransacked his son's home looking for a gun, but didn't find anything. Senior also said the reason his son's car was at the skating rink was because he takes his kids there every Sunday to skate.
FNC'S GLENN BECK RETURNS, ADVERTISERS DON'T: Wal-Mart, CVS, Sprint among 33 companies who pulled spots after he called Obama 'racist.'
*Glenn Beck returned to Fox News Channel on Monday after a vacation, but 33 of his previous advertisers have decided not to follow him back, a move in response to his calling President Barack Obama a racist.
A total of 33 Fox advertisers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., CVS Caremark, Clorox and Sprint, have pulled their commercials from Beck's show, according to the companies and www.ColorofChange.org, a group that promotes political action among blacks and launched a campaign to get advertisers to abandon him.
That's more than a dozen more than were identified a week ago, according to the Associated Press.
The Clorox Co., a former Beck advertiser, now says that "we do not want to be associated with inflammatory speech used by either liberal or conservative talk show hosts." The maker of bleach and household cleaners said in a statement that it has decided not to advertise on political talk shows.
The AP points out that advertising on shows with such opinionated hosts presents a dilemma – as Beck and his Fox conservative colleagues Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly host the most-watched programs on their networks.
With the health care debate raising political temperatures, Beck's show had its biggest week ever right before his vacation, averaging 2.4 million viewers each day, according to Nielsen Media Research.
"This is a good illustration of that conundrum," said Rich Hallabran, spokesman for UPS Stores, which he said has temporarily halted buying ads on Fox News Channel as a whole.
Beck was actually on another Fox show July 28 when he referred to Obama as a racist with "a deep-seated hatred for white people." The network immediately distanced itself from Beck's statement, but Beck didn't. He used his radio show the next day to explain why he believed that.
ColorofChange.org quickly targeted companies whose ads had appeared during Beck's show, telling them what he had said and seeking a commitment to drop him. The goal is to make Beck a liability, said James Rucker, the organization's executive director.
"They have a toxic asset," Rucker said. "They can either clean it up or get rid of it."
Beck's strong ratings — even at 5 p.m. EDT he often outdraws whatever CNN and MSNBC show in prime-time — make it unlikely Beck is going anywhere even as the list of advertisers avoiding him approaches three dozen.
But it could mean advertising time becomes cheaper on his show than such a large audience would normally command. Some of his show's advertisers last week included a male enhancement pill, a law firm looking to sue on behalf of asbestos victims, a company selling medical supplies to diabetics and a water filter company.
LATOYA JACKSON TO GUEST CO-HOST 'THE VIEW': Entertainer joins list of celebs to replace Elisabeth during her maternity leave.
*LaToya Jackson will be one of the celebrity guest hosts filling in for the pregnant Elisabeth Hasselbeck when "The View" returns for its new season next month.
ABC announced Monday that the sister of late singer Michael Jackson will be a guest co-host on Sept. 16 and 18. This will be her second time at the hot topics table following a stint in 2003.
Previously announced as guest co-hosts next month are Meghan McCain, daughter of former GOP presidential candidate John McCain, and former Fox News Channel anchor E.D. Hill.
Besides Hasselbeck, who is on maternity leave until mid-October, regular co-hosts of "The View" include Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Sherri Shepherd.
OBAMA'S VACATION ACTIVITIES REVEALED: Week on Martha's Vineyard to include tee time on the links and several books.
*President Barack Obama officially began his vacation on Martha's Vineyard Monday, kicking off a week to be filled with tennis, golf and a whole lot of reading.
Obama started Monday with a workout at the mansion he is renting on the island.
Then the commander-in-chief challenged First Lady Michelle Obama to a game of tennis before hitting the island golf club with partners including UBS chief executive officer Robert Wolf.
"The president's been coming to Martha's Vineyard for some 10 years,"
said White House deputy spokesman Bill Burton. "He's probably been five or six times over the course of that time period. He enjoys it, it's comfortable, the beaches are nice, the people are particularly nice. There's really good food to eat."
The president had no planned public events during his weeklong vacation -- his first since taking office -- but was expected to make telephone calls to lawmakers in support of his top priority health care reform drive.
Burton announced the books Obama plans to read during his respite, including the fiction work "The Way Home" by George Pelicanos, who has created his own genre focusing on the crime and tensions stalking wrong-side-of-the-tracks streets in the nation's capital, Washington.
Obama also has at hand Richard Price's "Lush Life," a fictional look at a shooting on Manhattan's Lower East Side; "Plain Song" by Kent Haruf, which delves into small town life in Colorado; and "Hot, Flat and Crowded," by New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, which is subtitled: "Why we need a Green Revolution and how it can renew America."
The president also planned to indulge his constitutional scholar's taste for history, with "John Adams," David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of one of America's founding fathers and second president, which formed the basis for a blockbuster HBO television series.
BET SAYS 'THE GAME' MAY NOT BE OVER: Creator of CW comedy still in talks with network to film new episodes.
*There still a smidgeon of life left in "The Game" (the series, not the rapper). BET is still in talks to order a new season of the cancelled CW comedy, thanks to continued lobbying from series creator Mara Brock Akil.
A month before the "Girlfriends" spinoff was axed in May following three seasons, Akil began pitching the CW an hourlong version of the show as a way of to keep it on the network, which had decided to drop all of its half-hour comedies.
When "Game's" cancellation became official, BET began preliminary talks with producer CBS Studios about possibly taking in the series with new originals. The cable network already runs repeats of both "Game" and "Girlfriends."
The options on the "Game" actors have lapsed, according to the Hollywood Reporter, so if a deal is reached with BET, CBS Studios would have to make new pacts with them.
JAY-Z RETURNING TO MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: Rapper to play venue on Sept. 11 – the date of his album release.
*At press time, Jay-Z was expected to announce that he will perform a benefit concert at New York's Madison Square Garden on Sept. 11th, the same day his eleventh studio album, "The Blueprint 3," is scheduled to hit the streets.
Jay-Z's first two singles from "Blueprint 3" -- "D.O.A." and "Run This Town" -- peaked at No. 24 and No. 3 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Two new tracks from the album, "Off That," featuring Drake and produced by Timbaland, and "Reminder," also produced by Timbaland, leaked online Sunday (Aug. 23). [Scroll down to listen.]
The New York Times reported that the concert will raise money for the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund, a charity created to support the families of police officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty.
The concert will be broadcast by Billboard collaborators, Fuse.
Ticket information will be announced shortly.
Jay-Z famously performed at MSG in Nov. 2003 as the first rapper allowed to headline at the historic venue. The experience was captured on film for the 2005 documentary "Fade to Black."
The show was touted as his final concert before deciding to hang up the mic for good, but he came out of retirement and was back at the Garden the following year.
"Off That" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH7RDvrCEf4
"Reminder" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtzj4g-00Sk
KATHERINE HAPPY WITH MJ VIENNA TRIBUTE: Mrs. Jackson calls concert 'a wonderful idea' and one her son would've loved.
*Michael Jackson's mother has given her blessing to next month's global tribute for Michael Jackson in Vienna, calling it "a wonderful idea" and an event that her son would have loved.
Katherine Jackson made the comments in a hand-signed letter dated Thursday and made public Monday by the Austrian event promoters, World Awards Media GmbH, reports the Associated Press.
The Sept. 26 concert — being planned by Jackson's brother Jermaine — will be held in front of a 17th-century palace in the Austrian capital. The performers haven't been announced, but the event is expected to draw thousands of people.
"An event of this dimension not only keeps Michael's spirit alive, more than that: It gives millions of fans the opportunity to experience his music and celebrate the life of my son," Katherine Jackson wrote. "I am sure Michael would love it."
Event promoter Georg Kindel has said the tribute was initially planned for London's Wembley Stadium on Aug. 29, which would have been Jackson's 51st birthday, but that Jermaine Jackson decided instead on Vienna. Austria is home to many castles, and Jermaine has said Vienna was chosen as the venue because his brother "loved castles."
In the letter, Katherine Jackson said she immediately considered Jermaine's plan — announced several weeks after he visited Vienna to receive an award in his brother's honor — "a wonderful idea."
"I fully support Jermaine's endeavors to spread Michael's important message of making a better world for us all," she wrote.
To her son's fans, Katherine said she was "overwhelmed by the worldwide love and support that my beloved son Michael has received over the past month."
Austrian media have reported that Madonna, U2, Lionel Richie and Whitney Houston might be among the performers. However, the tribute's Web site says only that the lineup will include "some of the most popular contemporary artists."
NY LAWMAKER WANTS MJ SUBWAY STATION: Brooklyn stop is where Jackson shot 'Bad' video; MTA says name change is unlikely.
*A New York City lawmaker has launched an effort to put Michael Jackson's name on the subway station where the singer shot his music video for "Bad."
Councilwoman Letitia James wants a plaque placed at Brooklyn's Hoyt-Schermerhorn station — or to have "Jackson" added to the station's name, reports the Associated Press.
Although Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Kevin Ortiz said Monday the name change is unlikely, James is planning a petition drive. Ortiz says the MTA prohibits station plaques, and the agency is currently developing naming-rights guidelines.
Jackson, who died June 25, shot the Martin Scorsese-directed music video at the downtown Brooklyn station in 1987.
'DWTS' ANNOUNCES SEASON 9 PAIRS: Mya, Macy Gray, Michael Irvin among 16 to meet their professional dance partners.
*The pairings for ABC's upcoming ninth season of "Dancing With the Stars" seasons were announced on Monday.
Grammy-winning singer Macy Gray will be partnered with Jonathan Roberts, who returns for his seventh season. Singer/actress Mya will pair up with Dmitry Chaplin and NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin teams with Season 8’s professional dancer competition winner Anna Demidova, who makes her debut.
The new season of "Dancing With the Stars" will kick off with a three-night premiere on ABC, starting on Sept. 21.
The other pairs are as follows:
• Pop star Aaron Carter will dance with Karina Smirnoff, who returns for her seventh season.
• Olympic champion swimmer Natalie Coughlin teams with Season 1 champion Alec Mazo, who is back for his fifth season.
• From “Iron Chef," Mark Dacascos is matched with Lacey Schwimmer, who returns for her third season on the show.
• Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will have a winning partner, as he goes toe-to-toe with two-time champion Cheryl Burke, who returns for her eighth season.
• Actor and comedian Ashley Hamilton teams with Edyta Sliwinska, who is the only dancer to compete on all nine seasons of “Dancing With the Stars.”
• Actress Melissa Joan Hart teams up with reigning two-time “Dancing With the Stars” champ Mark Ballas, who will compete in "Dancing" for his fifth season.
• Model Kathy Ireland will dance with Tony Dovolani, who returns for his eighth season.
• Model Joanna Krupa teams with Season 7 champ Derek Hough, who returns for his fifth season.
• Ultimate Fighting champion Chuck Liddell teams with Anna Trebunskaya, who returns for her fourth season.
• Actress Debi Mazar teams with Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
• Entertainer Donny Osmond will pair with Kym Johnson.
• Professional snowboarder Louie Vito will partner with Chelsie Hightower.
• Former "The Osbournes" star Kelly Osbourne and Louis van Amstel will partner.
MIJAC'S MOM AND KIDS WEEKEND IN VEGAS: Katherine, Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket chill at the Palms.
*People.com is reporting that Michael Jackson's mother, three children and three of their friends were spotted poolside at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Sunday sipping on virgin strawberry-banana daiquiris.
Prince Michael I, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II (a.k.a.
"Blanket"), 7, were seen with their friends dunking each other in the pool and swimming around for more than two hours. Blanket, wearing a life preserver, even showed some of his moves, dancing on the edge of the pool before jumping in the water, People reported.
Katherine Jackson was reportedly accompanied by a friend and nanny, and smiled over the kids' pool-side antics.
On Saturday, the kids were spotted with their uncle Jermiane having dinner n the private dining room of Vegas hotspot N9NE Steakhouse.
Jackson's children lived at the Palms Hotel with their father for about two months in early 2008.
HALLE BERRY'S DAUGHTER SPEAKS FRENCH: Nahla overheard speaking in her daddy's native tongue.
*A cashier at the Malibu Kitchen on LA's Pacific Coast Highway claims to have overheard Halle Berry's daughter Nahla speaking French, the native language of her French Canadian dad Gabriel Aubry.
The source says Nahla, 18 months, told her dad, "Papa! Regard! Un chien!" [translation: "Look! A dog!"] while pointing at a dog barking.
Aubry's sister, Eugenie, explains that their family often visits and speaks French with one another. She says, "She's picking it up and I'm glad the little one will speak French, too."
EUR BOOK REVIEW: The Bitch Switch: Knowing How to Turn It On and Off
by Kam Williams
“What we as women have gone by in the past—the nice girl plan—is NOT working in the office, at home, or in life.! In romantic relationships, we suffer because we hand over our power for love and turn off our Bitch Switch. In our relationships with friends and family, we are taken advantage of. In the office, we have been passed over and walked on because we refuse to embrace our inner bitch. WELL, NO MORE!
…This book is your step-by-step guide for locating your inner BITCH, personalizing your switch, and knowing when to turn it on and when to turn it off. It’s not about being mean. It’s about meaning what you SAY!" ~ Excerpted from the Introduction (pages xi & xiii)
*Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth made her memorable entrance into the national spotlight as the villain viewers came to either love or hate on The Apprentice during the debut season of the hit NBC-TV reality series. By the time she was fired in the boardroom by Donald Trump at the conclusion of the tenth episode, the sassy, business-savvy sister had already become enough of a cultural icon to be referred to by just her first name alone.
Whether or not she had been fairly portrayed as a demanding diva on the program, Omarosa subsequently had the sense to parlay that controversial image into appearances on over 20 other reality shows, including Celebrity Poker Showdown, Fear Factor, I Love New York and The Surreal Life, to name a few. And a testament to her enduring notoriety is the fact that she was the only former contestant invited back by Trump last year for another go-round as a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice.
In The Bitch Switch: Knowing How to Turn It On and Off, Omarosa lays out her straightforward philosophy of life in order to help females who let themselves be treated like doormats. Though unfortunately-titled, given the use of the B-word, this otherwise sensible tome reveals the author as an intelligent, strong and fervent feminist with plenty of practical advice to share with women whose self-esteem issues have been sabotaging their professional careers and preventing them from forging meaningful relationships.
For instance, not one to tolerate any double standards, Omarosa points out that a businesswoman will often be called a B-word for exhibiting the same hard-nosed leadership skills that would be praised in a man. Rather than allow herself to be manipulated by a natural desire to be liked, she instead asserts that “When men stop being assholes, I’ll stop being a bitch.”
A recurring theme emerges from an examination of Omarosa’s daily affirmations which range from “Nagging is good and shows persistence!” to “I can’t make everyone like me, but I can make them respect me!” to “Who cares what people think of me! I don’t need their trifling validation!”
An effective primer for vulnerable females on how to avoid the pitfalls of dating and of economic exploitation via an unapologetically self-preservation oriented approach to the battle-of-the-sexes.
The Bitch Switch: Knowing How to Turn It On and Off
by Omarosa
Phoenix Books
Paperback, $12.95
206 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59777-595-3
To order a copy of The Bitch Switch, visit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1597776254?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1597776254
To see some highlights of Omarosa from the first season of The Apprentice, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyjk7eRltqA
STEVEN IVORY: Franklin's Mom Rides a Bike
* When Franklin meets Geoff and myself in front of the water fountain at the Grove just after noon, he appears shaken.
"I actually think she's seeing somebody," he mumbles, his body here giving us a brotherly hug but his mind elsewhere.
"Jennifer's tippin' on you?" asks Geoff, concerned.
"Not Jen. My mother--I think she got a boyfriend."
Geoff: "Wow. Your father know about it?"
"Franklin's folks been divorced for years," I answer as we begin a stroll under a cloudless Los Angeles sky among the Grove's Sunday retail and restaurant patrons. "Frank, if your mother is dating, that's great. She's been alone for years. But did she say she's got a boyfriend?"
"Mom ain't said boo about no dude. But on the phone I mentioned meeting you guys for a movie, and she started telling me about something with Morgan Freeman. Now, mom ain't been to a theater since 'Gone With The Wind,' and she'd never go alone. She's seeing first-run movies, man."
"Maybe she goes with a lady friend."
"Nah. Lacey [Franklin's brother] thinks he actually met this cat the other day. Went by the house. Said mom was actin' funny, like she didn't wanna let Lace in."
"Who is he? What did he look like?"
"You remember Cosby's father on Cosby's old show? Lace said he looked kinda like that."
Geoff: "That's not bad."
"Dr. Huxtable's daddy...in a leisure suit."
"Leisure suit?"
"Beige. With beige patent leather loafers. Can you believe it?"
Geoff: "Heh, heh--Jim Dandy to the rescue."
"What's wrong with that?"
"What's WRONG is that my daddy wasn't 'bout no leisure suits."
"This isn't your daddy--he's your mother's boyfriend."
"Do you know how it feels to find out your mom has a leisure-suit-man mentality? Lace said she introduced this cat as 'Mr. James.' "
Geoff: "Uh, oh. They datin,' brother. Why do mothers who date again call their boyfriends 'mister?'...."
"It's just strange thinking of mother being with someone else after all this time," says Franklin. "I mean (his eyes squinting), what are they DOING when they get together?"
Geoff: "Money, you don't wanna know what they doin.' They...."
"No, Geoff--what I don't wanna know is what YOU think they're doing...."
"Frank, people don't stop having sex just because they're older."
"But, it's been so long...."
Geoff: "So? Sex is like ridin' a bike. You can be away for years. But once you climb back up on that bad boy...."
"It's remarkable, Geoff, hearing you BEG for an ass-kickin' in public...."
"I'm talkin' about your mother ridin' a bike....
"Don't talk about my mother ridin' NOTHIN...."
While Franklin and Geoff bicker, to myself I concede that If there's any consolation to losing mama while just a kid, it's that I had to endure her dating only once.
For years after she and Daddy divorced, mama did nothing. Then, one day, when I was 14, there's a man calling the house. I don't know how or where she met him. Don't remember much--he came around but two or three times--only that he was a man.
He'd call, and without a word I'd plop the receiver on the table: "Mama, a man is on the phone!" without the dignity of a name.
The truth is, a tuxedoed Sidney Poitier could have come calling, still clutching the "Lillies of the Field" Best Actor Oscar he won nine years earlier in '63, and I'd have tried to drive him away. After five kids and in her forties, what in the world, went my immature, selfish notion, did my mother need with a man?
Mama apparently understood my feelings, but never acknowledged them. Instead, she tiptoed about the brooding envy of her protective middle child with demure placidity.
I share my story with the fellas. Delicately, we are mulling over the philosophy that a boy's mother is also his very first girlfriend, when we run into a couple I know, recently back from France.
After introductions, the pair excitedly launch into a story about shaking the hand of Lance Armstrong minutes after he'd won yet another Tour de France. Franklin grimaces and abruptly excuses himself to check theater showtimes.
"I say something wrong?" asks the husband.
"Not really," answers an earnest Geoff. "It's just that Frankie's mother is riding a bike again and he's a little sensitive about it."
Steven Ivory's book, FOOL IN LOVE (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster) is available at Amazon.com (www.Amazon.com). Respond to him via STEVRIVORY@AOL.COM
THE JOURNAL OF STEFFANIE RIVERS: Healthcare Reform?
*Ask anybody what is the top domestic challenge facing Americans and nine people out of ten will say the cost of healthcare. It’s the number one challenge because, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 46 million Americans, or 18 percent of the population under the age of 65, had no health insurance in 2007. And those with health insurance wanted better, less expensive coverage.
So if one-fifth of Americans are without health insurance and the federal government has formed a healthcare plan that would allow everybody to have minimal coverage – because that’s what most people claim to want for each other – why are so many people, including some politicians, against it? I don’t get it.
I could run down the list of objections to the proposed healthcare bill that has everyone up in arms, but to do so would only fan the flames of intolerance. The biggest objection to the proposed health care plan is money: Who is going to pay for it and who is going to control it?
Medicaid and Medicare are tax supporting health programs established in 1965. So for those people who don’t want a government run health care system, they are forty-four years too late. If these programs are any indication of how the new and improved health care system might work I too have my reservations. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to improve our broken system.
There is a place for social programs and with so many working class poor people living without insurance it would seem a new government run health care system is a good place to start.
Whatever they do it must include honest examination of the role of the Food and Drug Administration and pharmaceutical companies when it comes to controlling costs. If they continue to do the same thing expecting different results not only is that insane, but it’s a big waste of time and money.
Send questions, comments or requests for speaking engagements to Steffanie Rivers at teamtcbadvertising@hotmail.com. And see the video version of her journal at youtube.com/steffanierivers.
TURNER’S TWO CENTS: Get Tough, Obama!
by Cameron Turner
*Joe from Philadephia tried to be diplomatic, but when he phoned a conservative radio show last Thursday to speak to President Obama he couldn’t mask his disappointment. Joe voted for Obama and supports his healthcare policy. But he thinks the President’s been acting like a wuss. “I’m getting a little ticked of that it feels like the knees are buckling a little bit,” Joe told Mr. Obama. “It’s very frustrating to watch you try and compromise with a lot of these people who aren’t willing to compromise with you.”
Sandra Trutt, an Obama supporter from Santa Monica, California, agrees with Joe. But she used much harsher words to criticize the President in her letter to the Los Angeles Times. Trutt described Mr. Obama as “a flaccid president, unable to control his own party, bowing repeatedly to pressure from cowardly, corrupt legislators on both sides of the aisle.”
Joe and Sandra are both right. It’s time for the President to get tough! The wildfire of misinformation, hysteria, scare tactics and outright lies that’s been raging through town hall meetings and across the conservative airwaves proves that the right wing will stoop to any depth to block healthcare reform – not because they care about the needs of the American people, but because they want to weaken the President by depriving him of an important political victory.
Barack Obama is a decent guy who respects the opinions of people who disagree with him. He is by nature a diplomat who believes folks with different points of view should talk things over to reach a consensus. He’s right about that. But a diplomat must also know when it is time to stop compromising. For President Obama, that time is now.
In recent weeks, the White House has implied willingness to withdraw the option for a government-run healthcare program (which the Republicans have dishonestly described as a “government takeover” of healthcare) and to scuttle the end-of-life provisions (which right wing liars like quitter governor Sarah Palin falsely characterized as “death panels”). But those two proposals would benefit vast numbers of Americans, and they are crucial to the President’s liberal voter base. So, Mr. Obama needs to stand firm against the Republicans’ deceptive emotional appeals and fight tenaciously for the public option, the end-of-life-provisions and healthcare reform in general.
It is encouraging that President Obama now says he’s willing to get healthcare reform passed with or without Republican support. He’d still prefer to work out a bipartisan deal but if that can’t be done he’ll move ahead without a single GOP vote. That’s the kind of spine-straightening that Obama must demonstrate if he is to retain the backing of loyal supporters like Sandra Trutt and Joe from Philadelphia. Such toughness will also show the Republicans that President Obama is a strong leader who is committed to bringing about the policy changes that the American people elected him to initiate.
Frederick Douglass, the great abolitionist leader, spoke a timeless truth when he said, “Power concedes nothing without demand.” President Obama has tried to appease the Republicans but they’re determined to obstruct and play dirty. It’s time for Mr. Obama to start making demands.
Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.
THINK! IT AIN’T ILLEGAL…YET!
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
"When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity." — John F. Kennedy
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Aug. 25: Jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter is 76. Singer Walter Williams of The O'Jays is 67. Actor Blair Underwood is 45. DJ Terminator X of Public Enemy is 43. Actor Kel Mitchell ("Kenan and Kel") is 31.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
BlushBlog is an online community where the authors blog about men, relationships, fashion, marriage, single life and more. You'll find it here:
www.blushblog.com.
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Aug. 25, 1925: A. Philip Randolph organizes the Sleeping Car Porter's Union. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)
