Robin Thicke "Sweetest Love" Video

Robin Thicke's latest single "Sweetest Love" continues his track record as one of the best balladeers in R&B music. A great song.

Is Bobby Jindal The Future Of The GOP?

NOLA.com is reporting that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal plans to tour flood-damaged eastern Iowa and speak to an influential group of Christian conservatives this weekend in his maiden visit to the first-in-the-nation caucus state that some observers view as sowing the seeds of a future presidential race.

The Republican party is looking for a fresh face to capture the imagination of the American people in light of President-elect Barack Obama's ascension to the presidency in such a short period of time. Jindal may be that face. He has the same qualities that Obama possesses, and he's a minority at a time when our country is becoming more and more diverse.

Obama Says Millions Of Jobs In Danger Next Year

In what was an honest, but dire assessment of our country's economic future, President-elect Barack Obama stated today in his address to the nation that he is developing an aggressive stimulus package in an effort to prevent millions of job losses in the next year according to MSNBC.com. In his address he stated the following:

"If we don't act swiftly and boldly, most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year." "We now risk falling into a deflationary spiral that could increase our massive debt even further."

Obama, who named Timothy Geithner as his nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, is at least being honest amidst all the doom and gloom of the economic markets, high unemployment, and general uneasiness of the American people.

Jam and Lewis/Morris Day Interview

I found this video of a Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Morris Day interview supplied by MinnPost.com, in which the three now "middle aged" men discuss "The Time" reunion. Young black men, please notice how meticulously dressed, and articulate the 3 men are while being interviewed.

15 Year Old Slain At Baltimore Middle School

Another day, another tragedy at an inner city school. The Baltimore Sun reports that a 15 year old male student was killed, and found outside of the William H. Lemmel Middle School suffering from multiple stab wounds. A 14 or 14 year old boy has turned himself into police in connection with the stabbing.

Can The Dumping On Michael Vick Please Stop!

Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is presently in Virgina awaiting a Tuesday hearing in which he's expected to plead guilty to two felony charges and receive a suspended sentence related to state dog fighting charges. Vick is currently serving a 23 month sentence, and is scheduled to be released from prison on July 20, 2009.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting that Vick put family pets in the ring with pit bulls. This information is part of a 17 page report that was filed this past August containing a version of events from an unidentified witness. I have never condoned Vick's actions, and he's pretty much lost everything as a result of making very poor decisions. I am, however, hoping that when Vick, who will be 29, is released from prison that he will be able to make a successful comeback as an NFL quarterback. Has he made very poor decision? Yes he has, but we have CEO's ruining companies every day and receiving multi million dollar salaries, while watching the lives of their employees that they employ potentially go into ruin, because of poor decision making.

It seems that the while the mainstream media is having a field day with Michael Vick's demise, I'm hoping that the has a roaring return to football, and reclaims his place as the most exciting player in the NFL. As Don King would say, "Only In America."

Michael Jackson Now A Muslim, And Called Mikaeel

The self proclaimed "King of Pop" has reportedly converted to Islam according to the New York Daily News, and changed his name to Mikaeel. I don't mean to be skeptical of Jackson's actions, but I wonder if this conversion has anything to do with the lawsuit that he's facing from Bahraini Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa who is demanding repayment of advances totaling $7 million, and Jackson is scheduled to testify at the trial on Monday.

Detroit Mayoral Candidates Convene At Forum

The Detroit Free Press reports on the seven mayoral candidates convening at a forum to discuss small business and to tout their records and plans to grow jobs in the city. The seven candidates on hand were businessman Dave Bing; Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr.; Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans; Freman Hendrix, deputy mayor to former Mayor Dennis Archer; the Rev. Nicholas Hood III, a former councilman; Sharon McPhail, a former councilwoman and general counsel to ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and state Rep. Coleman Young II.

Hopefully after the Kwame Kilpatrick debacle the city of Detroit is in a healing mode. A February 24th special primary will be held to determine which two candidates will move forward to the May 5th general election, and serve out the remainder of the term.

Baltimore Teen Being Charged With Grandmother's Death

The Baltimore Sun is reporting the sad story of Jabreria Handy, who lived with her grandparents, and also only 16 at the time, being charged with the murder of her 69 year old grandmother Eunice Taylor. Jabreria reportedly got into an argument with her grandmother over pictures hanging on a wall, pinned her wrists down on the bed, and her grandmother subsequently died of a heart attack. Jabreria is now being charged with second degree murder.

Where is all of this anger coming from young people.

Teen Chaos In Philly

While Black America is still caught up in the Obama phenomenon, the stock market continues to tank. While an estimated 5 million people want to attack Washington, D.C. to be a part of history, I can always turn to my favorite city to bring me down to earth concerning what's really going on with our teens.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that 3 students attacked a teacher at a local high school, and even more disturbing is a Philadelphia Daily News report that a 12 year old boy attempted to rape a teacher at a local Middle School. These stories keep me grounded, and let me know that all is not well with our future generation.

Jazmine's Rising Star

Philly native Jazmine Sullivan, whose star continues to rise on the heels of two singles on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Charts, "Bust Your Windows" and "Need U Bad" is profiled in the Philadelphia Inquirer today. The 21 year old songstress in currently on tour with Maxwell, and if you haven't listened to her new album "Fearless" you're missing a treat.

Hillary's Camp Leaking Info?

With each passing day, it seems like the chances of Sen. Hillary Clinton becoming Secretary of State diminish, if the news coming out of her camp yesterday that she is seriously thinking of not accepting the position, fearing her loss if independence. The New York Daily News reports that Team Obama thinks that Hillary's camp is leaking information to the media, which isn't helping in the vetting process. It seems that every Obama cabinet position selection is going smoothly except Mrs. Clinton's. Perhaps selecting her to be the Secretary of State wouldn't be such a good idea after all.

Travis Henry (9 Kids by 9 Different Women) Trying To Get Child Support Reduced

Former NFL player Travis Henry was in a DeKalb County Superior Court Wednesday trying to get his monthly child support payment reduced for one of his children, claiming that he no longer has income. Henry, who is facing drug charges in an alleged cocaine deal, has 9 children by 9 different women. He also has received $3 million in salary this year from his former team, the Denver Broncos. Thanks to the Atlanta Journal Constitution for the update. I guess Henry has never heard that a vasectomy is a very good birth control method for men.

Jarrett Says Obama Committed To Our Cities

Valerie Jarrett, who is President-elect Barack Obama's transition team co-chair, and seen to the right of him in the above Newsweek cover, met with the the Trotter Group which is an organization of African American news columnists last week according to the Philadelphia Daily News. Jarrett, who will also be a senior advisor to Obama told the group that Obama will commit to naming a cabinet level post of urban policy chief.

This is the reason in my mind that black people went out in droves and voted for Obama. If our urban areas can't be reinvigorated over time under Obama, it'll never happen. Our future generations are already on life support, if something isn't done soon, the present downward spiral could become maddening in terms of continued crime and substandard educational systems in our cities.

She By Sheree

Although I'm a big fan of the Bravo reality show "Real Housewives of Atlanta," I really haven't commented on it, because it's just interesting to see black people go "over the top" when they apparently have struck it rich. I must say that like Anderson Cooper, Nene is my favorite character, because with her "what you see is what you get" and she doesn't appear to be pretentious. One of Nene's nemesis' on the show, however, Sheree Whitfield is getting some national publicity for her upcoming She by Sheree fashion line according to the New York Daily News. Reportedly She by Sheree was one of the top ten items Googled last week.

The Bravo show, which concluded last night has been the highest rated of the "Housewives" series, so it's pretty much guaranteed a second season. Congrats to Sheree for the good publicity, and I hope she eventually launches her fashion line.

Obama Eyeing Holder As First Black Attorney General

President-elect Barack Obama is said to be eyeing Washing attorney Eric Holder as his Attorney General according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Holder is considered an outstanding lawyer, who knows his way around the Washington political scene. He was formally Bill Clinton's deputy attorney general, and like Clinton he has some potential political baggage. On Clinton's last day in office, Holder made "a bad call" when he told the White House he was "neutral, leaning toward favorable" for a presidential pardon for Marc Rich, a wealthy commodities dealer who had spent years running from tax charges. Rich's ex-wife, Denise, was a prominent Democratic Party donor.

The Obama team is presenting vetting Holder, and they'll make sure that he can get through the nomination process before formally making an announcement.

It's Up To Bill!

While The Guardian is reporting that Sen. Hillary Clinton will be accepting President-elect Barack Obama's offer to become Secretary of State, the New York Daily News is reporting that former president Bill Clinton must first be willing to open up on his fundraising and money that's been earned to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. Bill Clinton's foundation has reportedly received millions of dollars from foreign sources and he's commanded as much as $300,000 per speech that he's given through his world travels.

Ultimately Bill will not want to be the barrier that prevents Hillary from becoming Secretary of State, so I'm sure he'll open up his financial books as much as he needs to so that Hillary can be properly vetted. He owes her that much.

Katt Williams Hospitalized

Comedian Katt William, who has been displaying some very erratic behavior lately, has been hospitalized in in South Carolina according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Williams opted out of the BET Hip-Hop Awards last month, which immediately began the rumor mill going about what's up with him. His people are citing fatigue as the reason that police were summoned to the a local hotel where Williams was allegedly displaying "suspicious behavior."

Hopefully Katt will get the help he needs if indeed he's having issues.

Beyonce' The Fierce One

Beyonce' Knowles, or should I say just B, as I refer to her, releases her latest album today, "I Am ... Sasha Fierce." Beyonce' has already released two singles from the disc, "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) and "If I Were A Boy". Both are currently on the Billboard charts and continuing B's ascension into legend status as an artist. Beyonce' at the moment, doesn't have a peer in the female singer category. The legends of decades gone by, Mariah and Janet are headed on a downward spiral, while the artist of the moment Rihanna, just doesn't have the performing capabilities of the the multi-talented Knowles.

The new album is sure to fly off the shelves, and having taken a listen to it, the best songs have yet to hit radio. "Sweet Dreams" and "Disappear" are the two cuts to pay close attention to over the coming months.

Kennedy's Dream Comes True

Mike Lupica, who is a nationally renowned sports columnist, and who also appears weekly on ESPN's "Sports Reporters", writes in his New York Daily News Column about how prophetic Robert F. Kennedy was when on May 27, 1968 a week before he would be assassinated, he stated that in the next 40 years that a Negro could achieve the same position as his brother.

A good article in which Lupica speaks to Kennedy's daughter Kerry, about the renaming of the Triborough Bridge in her father's honor.

Obama On "60 Minutes"

President-elect Barack Obama appeared on "60 Minutes" last night, giving a separate interview and a joint interview with his wife Michelle to Steve Kroft. Nothing earth shattering was disclosed except that the Obama's reinforced the notion that their both ready for their "life changing" mission that will be here in January. Obama did acknowledge that there are many problems that need to be addressed, and in my heart I know he's up for the challenge. A complete transcript of Obama's portion of the interview is on the CBS site.

While Obama was noncommittal about the appointment of Sen. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, the New York Post reports that George Stephanopoulos, a former top aide to President Bill Clinton who now hosts ABC News' "This Week," yesterday wrote that sources told him that "Obama wants Hillary Clinton to be his secretary of state and that Clinton wants the job, too." "But there's one significant complication: how to make sure that former President Clinton's foreign speeches, business dealings and foundation work don't present conflicts of interest," wrote Stephanopoulos, adding that the "Clinton Team" now is working on that issue.

If Obama truly wants Clinton as his Secretary of State, and she indeed wants the job, I'm sure that they'll find a way to make it happen.