Tim James’ campaign ad. Yee-Haw!

Just when I think I’ve heard it all from the tea party/Palin/conservative psycho movement, they remind me just how determined they are to move us all back into the pre-civil rights era.

Republican candidate for Governor Tim James is rootin’, tootin’, fightin’ mad in the above campaign advertisement. In his home state of Alabama, the current driver’s license exam is available in an appalling 12 languages. How dare Alabama acknowledge America’s diversity! What a waste of money.  

In his southern fried accent, James is not shy about letting us know exactly how he feels about immigrants or other people who haven’t mastered English: “This is Alabama. We speak English. If you want to live here, learn it.”

Wow. Oh, how I wish this line came from a Mad TV skit. I truly wish this were a joke. But James is dead serious.

Rhetoric such as this truly makes me feel like we’ve regressed as a nation since Obama’s election. Racism and ignorance is blatant, and in some circles, applauded.

We live in an international world today. Cultures and languages mix unlike any other time in history. Maybe someone should get James an iPod and internet access, and inform him that this is 2010, not 1952. You can’t turn the hoses on everyone that doesn’t look like you.

But we should turn a hose on James for subjecting us to that terrible accent of his. Sheesh! I felt like I was an extra in “Gone with the Wind” for a second there.

I don’t mean to mock James (actually I do), but everything about this man embodies the republican “anti-everything” movement. I’m angry.

Watch the clip above.

Shakira is doing something that I truly wish more popular musicians would do today: she’s using her fame and power to foster social and political change.

In lieu of Arizona’s republican Governor Jan Brewer signing an immigration law that allows law enforcement officials to stop someone simply because they look like an illegal (read: a pass for racial profiling), Shakira is headed to Phoenix to meet with the city’s mayor and local Latino families.

“Shakira is deeply concerned about the impact of this law on hardworking Latino families,” her political and philanthropic advisor Trevor Nielson said. “She is coming to Arizona to try to learn more about how law enforcement is reacting to this new law and how we can ensure that people in the state of Arizona are not being targeted because of the color of their skin.”

While her presence is not going to move mountains, it will certainly draw much needed attention to this issue. Say what you will about her bare midriff and sexed-up image, Shakira is doing much more for the world than many of our other favorite acts. What she’s doing takes courage and guts. Realistically speaking, there are people in Arizona and across the nation who support this idiotic law, and she runs the risk of alienating a portion of her fan base. Luckily, she understands there’s something much greater at stake for Latinos in Arizona: freedom.

Source: Associated Press

 
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Sade is known for a lot of things: her great music, her sexy vibe, her reclusive nature. But one thing she isn’t known for is her sense of humor. In VERY rare form, Sade is seen on the Wanda Sykes show in what is probably the only comedic sketch of her entire career, and it is absolutely hilarious.

With over 25 years in the music industry, Sade continues to surprise. Her latest LP Soldier of Love debuted at #1 last week selling over 500,000 copies, and is a great addition to her already stellar discography.

Check out Ms. Adu above.

A new anti-abortion campaign targeting Georgia’s African-American community makes some startling, yet true statistical claims about Black people and abortion. The “Too Many Aborted” campaign, which consists of billboards and a video (posted below), cites CDC abortion data to make its case against the controversial practice.

The effort, sponsored by Georgia Right to Life, is also lobbying for legislation banning abortion based on race.

While I always have been, and always will be, a staunch supporter of a woman’s right to choose, the campaign does make you think.

Watch the video spot below.

Madonna has been cited as a muse by many designers over the years, including Jean-Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs. After ending a successful run as the face of Louis Vuitton’s Fall-Winter campaign last year, the material girl picks up another fashion endorsement from Dolce & Gabbana as the face of their Spring-Summer 2010 campaign. Stefano Gabbana admitted to W Magazine that he was wary about asking Madonna to do the campaign. “There was a sort of fear on our behalf of asking Madonna to do anything business,” Gabbana said. “We thought it could impact our relationship, and Madonna is one of the few people we’re really in awe of. To have Madonna in our campaign is a dream come true.”

Read more to see the rest of the ads.

Read more »

Over the past few weeks, images have emerged of Chris Brown from various European fashion events sporting very different attire than we’re used to seeing him in. It seems he’s done away with the baggy tees, backwards hats, and sneakers, and is attempting a more mature look. While he’s certainly no style icon in-waiting, the first and fifth looks are awesome. The middle three…mmm…not so much.

Check out C-Breezy above.

Photos from concreteloop.com

Once upon a time, Usher was the quintessential male R&B artist. His albums were great from start to finish, his performances were awesome, and his style was impeccable. He, along with Kanye West and others, really pioneered the more polished and tailored look prevalent in hip-hop today. He used to be a trendsetter, someone that I looked to not only for great music, but for style as well. That was, until he completely fell off in 2008 with the release of Here I Stand, his less-than-stellar return to music after the 2004 blockbuster Confessions. Lately, it seems like Usher has been attempting to regain his place atop the R&B throne, but if he continues to rock outfits like the above atrocity he wore during his performance at the All-Star game this past Sunday, I’m not so sure he’ll be able to come back full force. The leather capri pants and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle vest are too over-the-top. It looks like Ush was attempting a Michael Jackson-esque look. But costumes like that didn’t really work for Mike, and they definitely look out of place on Usher.

Here’s to hoping Usher can get back to his platinum status.

Rihanna is seriously working hard towards becoming a bona fide pop culture icon. Visually, she’s just as entertaining as Madonna and Prince were in their heyday. She’s always giving us something fresh to look at – whether it’s her sick fashion, crazy photos, or creative videos.

Today Rihanna delivers the freshness in the form of her newest video clip, “Rude Boy.” With the absolutely uninspired state of the music industry at the moment, it’s rare to see a video that’s actually visually interesting. But this one definitely delivers. The clip draws you in – the colors, the vibe, the clothes. It looks like Rihanna and video director Melina actually tried to do something different. And they succeeded. The pop art feel of the clip is awesome, and Rihanna’s dancing, while not groundbreaking, fits in well here.

This is the sort of clip that artists should always attempt to create, especially if they are one of today’s leading acts. Music videos are such a great vehicle for making a statement, and many artists have used the art form as a means to shift their image. Tupac’s “Brenda’s Got a Baby” showed the world he was socially conscious.  Janet’s “Love Will Never Do” let us all know that there was a gorgeous, sexy woman under that all-black Rhythm Nation military getup. And “Honey” transformed Mariah Carey from ‘fully-clothed pop diva’ to ‘damn-near-naked pop diva that plays with rappers’.

Frankly, there is absolutely no reason for any music video to be lacking. There’s too much technology, too much inspiration, too many resources in today’s world for artists to produce uninteresting or lazy videos. Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” was great, but when she tried to duplicate it two more times with “Diva” and “Ego”, the concept fell flat, and she looked as if she had run out of creative steam. I know we’re in a recession B, but creativity is free.   

Good job, Rihanna.  Watch “Rude Boy” above.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist the P!NK reference. Sarah Palin is too much. She’s like a teenage girl stuck in a 45-year-old’s body, and the entire country is her high school. She’s dying to be popular, she’s well-dressed, and I think she’s convinced that all the rumors she’s spreading will get her enough votes to be class president (read: POTUS). But the icing on the Hostess cupcake in Sarah Palin’s locker has to be what’s written on her hand. Literally.

The former Alaskan governor, and former Vice Presidential candidate, has notes scribbled on her hand as she addresses many adoring crazy people fans at the Tea Party Convention in Nashville on Saturday. Now there’s nothing wrong with having notes for your speech. There’s nothing wrong with having your entire speech on a teleprompter – something Palin has frequently criticized President Obama for. But when someone of Palin’s “stature” uses her hand as a notepad during a keynote address, it’s plain embarrassing. Maybe more than anything she’s said, or any office she’s abandoned, or any outright lie she’s uttered about President Obama, THIS will illustrate that this woman should not be taken seriously. I wouldn’t let Sarah Palin be president of a school’s PTA, much less President of the United States. But stranger things have happened in America (i.e. Dubya being elected TWICE), and America is currently obsessed with putting nice, religious, folksy people in office regardless of their strange track record. So we’ll see what the future holds for Palin. Maybe she’ll borrow her daughter’s Magic 8 Ball and shake it for the answer to the question: “Should I run for president?”

I think this post needs a little P!NK. LOL.

Undoubtedly, you are painfully aware of the devastating earthquake that shook the impoverished island nation of Haiti on Tuesday. To call this event a tragedy would be a gross understatement. But perhaps even more tragic are the reactions of two very affluent Americans who, instead of sending some of their money and using their media platforms to encourage others to help with the recovery, have decided to slam Haiti, Obama, and the relief effort.

The first offender is none other than the conservative mascot Rush Limbaugh. On his radio show Wednesday, Limbaugh accused the Obama administration of using the Haiti situation as a political tool to gain credibility with “the light-skinned and dark-skinned Black community within this country”, as if African-Americans are also classified into two sub-races.

Even in times of great disaster, Limbaugh still finds a way to spew pompous, insensitive, ignorant rhetoric.

Listen to the clip below.

The second idiot to weigh in on Haiti is televangelist Pat Robertson, who said Tuesday’s quake and Haiti’s historically bad fortune are because of a pact they made with the devil in order to gain their independence from France. Robertson’s strange story is rooted in folklore that says in 1791, Haitian voodoo priests sacrificed a pig and drank its blood to ensure that Satan would help them secure their independence from the French. And in return, the priests supposedly gave Haiti to the devil for 200 years. But even if this Aesop’s fable holds some truth, wouldn’t the devil have lost control of Haiti back in 1991? Just saying.

Watch Robertson below.

The best way to fight these crazies and those that think like them is to do something for Haiti. The Haitian people really need our help – prayers, money, and time. Below are some links if you’re interested in helping out:

The White House Site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/haitiearthquake

Wyclef Jean’s Yele Foundation: http://www.yele.org/

You can donate $10 to the Red Cross simply by texting “HAITI” to “90999” from your cell phone, and the charge will appear on your next mobile bill. I’m sure you’ve spent ten bucks on worse things. Just do it.