Newsletter News Brief: A Helping Hand Or A Slap In The Face?

New York City's current Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has reportedly initiated a program through his administration that offers homeless New Yorkers a free one-way ticket to any location on the planet.

According to The New York Daily News, "The free ride is part of a $500,000-a-year Bloomberg administration program to keep the homeless out of the shelter system...City officials said there were no limits on where a family can be sent; all it takes is for a relative to take them in when they arrive."

Book Excerpt Of The Week- Part 3: "Amusing Ourselves To Death" By: Neil Postman

"...Americans are the best entertained and quite likely the least well-informed people in the Western world. I say this in the face of the popular conceit that television, as a window to the world, has made Americans exceedingly well informed. Much depends here, of course, on what is meant by being informed. I will pass over the now tiresome polls that tell us that, at any given moment, 70 percent of our citizens do not know who is the Secretary of State or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Let us consider, instead, the case of Iran during the drama that was called the 'Iranian Hostage Crisis.' I don't suppose there has been a story in years that received more continuous attention from television. We may assume, then, that Americans know most of what there is to know about this unhappy event. And now, I put these questions to you: Would it be an exaggeration to say that not one American in a hundred knows what language the Iranians speak? Or what the word 'Ayatollah' means or implies? Or knows ant details of the tenets of Iranian religious beliefs? Or the main outlines of their political history? Or knows who the Shah was, and where he came from?

Nonetheless, everyone had an opinion about this event, for in America everyone is entitled to an opinion, and it is certainly useful to have a few when a pollster shows up. But these re opinions of a quite different order from eighteenth- or nineteenth-century opinions. It is probably more accurate to call them emotions rather than opinions, which would account for the fact that they change from week to week, as the pollsters tell us. What is happening here is that television is altering the meaning of 'being informed' by creating a species of information that might properly be called disinformation. I am using this word almost in the precise sense in which it is used by spies in the CIA or KGB. Disinformation does not mean false information. It means misleading information- misplaced, irrelevant, fragmented or superficial information- information that creates the illusion of knowing something but which in fact leads one away from knowing. In saying this, I do not mean to imply that television news deliberately aims to deprive Americans of a coherent, contextual understanding of the world. I mean to say that when news is packaged as entertainment, that is the inevitable result. And in saying that the television news show entertains but does not inform, I am saying something far more serious than that we are being deprived of authentic information. I am saying we are losing our sense of what it means to be well informed. Ignorance is always correctable. But what shall we do if we take ignorance to be knowledge?" -From, "Amusing Ourselves To Death: Public Discourse In The Age Of Show Business" By: Neil Postman

[SIDEBAR: I happen to think that the news is a lot more "deliberate" than the author expressed...A thought provoking book though."

TODAY IS...

PLEASE PASS THIS ON! (EACH ONE TEACH ONE OR TWO!) THIS IS PHASE ONE ON HOW WE CAN HELP TO STRENGTHEN & EMPOWER OUR COMMUNITY:The 2008 not guilty verdict in the Sean Bell case evoked outrage, emotion, and debate. It is not an anomaly that the police officers involved in the Sean Bell slaying were acquitted of all charges on all counts in State Supreme Court. I could run out of ink printing the names of people who have been victimized by the inaptly named justice system.

The American justice system has been especially terroristic towards the African American community. Many community members can cite historic and personal accounts to prove this. Therefore, it would be foolhardy (at the least) to turn to a system that has methodically oppressed us, and request that they free us. We can only free ourselves through extreme discipline and intelligent planning.

As a community we have been too compliant with leaders who organize ineffective, delayed reactions. The only strategy that can save us in this last hour is one that calls for a collective code of conduct that will be conducive to improving the conditions of our community, and shifting the paradigm of how we are treated by outside entities. The first step of this code of conduct should be based on economics.

The old adage of “money talks,” still reigns true in the new millennium. Any political scientist worth his or her library card will tell you that: “Economic powerlessness equals political powerlessness,” and conversely “economic power equals political power.” This means that if we continue to allow our wealth to be extracted from our community, we will remain impotent.

The power of the collective “Black Dollar” is often discussed. However, that power has been left unchanneled. Today is the day to change that. A one-time boycott is not going to bring long-term change and respect to our community. Our community has launched boycotts before. Our success and ascension will be based on what we consistently do. For this reason, we should initiate “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS.”

BUY BLACK FRIDAYS is a small step towards our community acquiring power via controlling our economics. Every Friday, people who acknowledge the injustice and oppression that the African American community has been consistently subjected to should do one of the following:

Option #1: Spend $0 on Friday
Option #2: Spend no more than $10 on Friday
Option #3: Only Shop at Black Businesses on Friday
[PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE OPTIONS CAN & SHOULD BE EXERCISED ON A DAILY BASIS. However, we can all at the very least focus on Fridays. This way we can take a collective stand and build our collective discipline. Please remember that this is only Phase 1!].

To the people who are tempted to label “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS” as racist, I say this: In the big scheme of things, this is about right & wrong, justice & injustice. The African American community is a strong, proud community that has endured the brunt of America’s iron fist. We must stop the pounding. I feel that any fair-minded individual will concur, and join in.

ANY business that is privileged to enjoy the support of the African American community MUST return that support.

I thank you in advance for your effort and dedication.

-Elsie Law AKA Starface

Quote Of The Day

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Quote Of The Day

"It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell your friend his faults. So to love a man that you cannot bear to see a stain upon him, and to speak painful truth through loving words; that is friendship." -Henry Ward Beecher

Riddle Me This

I wonder if humans will be perceptive enough not to support technology that can make them obsolete?

Black History Fact Of The Day

Norma Merrick Sklarek is reportedly the first African American woman to be licensed as an architect in the United States. In 1985, she also became the first African American woman architect to form her own firm.

Norma Merrick's architectural projects has included: The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Terminal One at the Los Angeles International Airport, and City Hall in San Bernardino, CA.

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that earlier this month, Time Warner Inc. brought back a 5% stake in AOL from Google Inc. The price tag of this 5% stake is reportedly $283 million.

This maneuver is the first step in AOL Inc. spinning off to become its own independent company- separate from Time Warner.

The independent AOL Inc. is expected to make its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. AOL will also reportedly seek to expand its advertising display business and digital media business.

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law: Hearsay Defined

According to Black's Law Dictionary, Hearsay is defined as: "Evidence not proceeding from the personal knowledge of the witness, but from the mere repetition of what he has heard others say. That which does not derive its value solely from the credit of the witness, but rests mainly on the veracity and competency of other persons. The very nature of the evidence shows its weakness, and it is admitted only in specified cases from necessity."

Quote Of The Day

"What we watch is a medium [referring to television] which presents information in a form that renders it simplistic, nonsubstantive, nonhistorical and noncontextual; that is to say, information packaged as entertainment."-Neil Postman

Book Excerpt Of The Week- Part 2: "Amusing Ourselves To Death" By: Neil Postman

"You may get a sense of what is meant by context-free information by asking yourself the following question: How often does it occur that information provided you on morning radio or television, or in the morning newspaper, causes you to alter your plans for the day, or to take some action you would not otherwise have taken, or provides insight into some problem you are required to solve? For most of us, news of the weather will sometimes have such consequences; for investors, news of the stock market; perhaps an occasional story about crime will do it, if by chance the crime occurred near where you live or involved someone you know. But most of our daily news is inert, consisting of information that gives us something to talk about but cannot lead to any meaningful action. The fact is the principal legacy of the telegraph: By generating an abundance of irrelevant information, it dramatically altered what may be called the 'information-action ratio.'

In botyh oral and typographic cultures, information derives its importance from the possibilities of action. Of course, in any communication environment, input (what one is informed about) always exceeds output (the possibilities of action based on information). But the situation created by telegraphy, and then exacerbated by later technologies, made the relationship between information and action both abstract and remote. For the first time in human history, people were faced with the problem of information glut, which means that simultaneously they were faced with the problem of a diminished social and political potency." -From, "Amusing Ourselves To Death: Public Discourse In The Age Of Show Business" By: Neil Postman

Book Excerpt Of The Week- Part 1: "Amusing Ourselves To Death" By: Neil Postman

"To Understand the role that the printed word played in providing an earlier America with its assumptions about intelligence, truth and the nature of discourse, one must keep in view that the act of reading in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had an entirely different quality to it than the act of reading does today. For one thing, as I have said, the printed word had a monopoly on both attention and intellect, there being no other means, besides the oral tradition, to have access to public knowledge. Public figures were known largely by their written words, for example, not by their looks or even their oratory. It is quite likely that most of the first fifteen presidents of the United States would not have been recognized had they passed the average citizen in the street. This would have been the case as well of the great lawyers, ministers and scientists of that era. To think about those men was to think about what they had written, to judge them by their public positions, their arguments, their knowledge as codified in the printed word. You may get some sense of how we are separated from this kind of consciousness by thinking about any of our recent presidents: or even preachers, lawyers and scientists who are or who have recently been public figures. Think of Richard Nixon or Jimmy Carter or Billy Graham, or even Albert Einstein, and what will come to your mind is an image, a picture of a face, most likely a face on a television screen (in Einstein's case, a photograph of a face). Of words, almost nothing will come to mind. This is the difference between thinking in a word-centered culture and thinking in an image-centered culture." -From, "Amusing Ourselves To Death: Public Discourse In The Age Of Show Business" By: Neil Postman

Black History Fact Of The Day

According to the biography website, Maya Angelou is the first Black woman author to have a work of non-fiction appear on the best-seller's list. She achieved this feat with her tome, "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings."

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report

The entertainment conglomerate, Viacom has control over a bevy of entertainment and media companies. Their holdings include:BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the videogame "Rockband."

According to The Wall Street Journal, Viacom Inc. has posted a 32% fall in their second quarter profits. Although the corporation is still seeing loses in add revenue. The loss is a 3% improvement from the first quarter's as revenues. The company's stock is still doing reasonably well on the New York Stock Exchange despite a decline of viewers on its MTV station, and a decline of sales of their Rockband music videogame.

The Wall Street Journal states that Viacom's Chief Financial Officer has stated that the company's margins will dramatically increase later this year when they factor in profits from the summer blockbusters: Star Trek and Transformers 2.

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law: The Role Of The Chief Justice

According to Wikipedia: "The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. He is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Chief Justice is the highest judicial officer in the country. He acts as a chief administrative officer for the federal courts and appoints the director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. He also serves as a spokesman for the judicial branch...

The Chief Justice leads the business of the Supreme Court. In the case of an impeachment trial of a President, which has occurred twice in American history, the Chief Justice presides over the Senate. In modern tradition, the Chief Justice also has the duty of administering the oath of office of the President of the United States, but this is not required by the Constitution or any other law.

The first Chief Justice was John Jay. The current chief justice is John G. Roberts, Jr., who was nominated by President George W. Bush and took office on September 29, 2005 upon his confirmation by the Senate on a vote of 78-22 for confirmation. The salary of the Chief Justice is set by Congress, and it is slightly higher than that of the Associate Justices. As of 2008[update], it is $217,400 per year."

Quote Of The Day

"There can be no liberty for a community which lacks the means to detect lies." -Walter Lippmann

Definitions Better Than Webster's: Part 24- Contradictions

CONTRADICTION:
"...In the category of contradictions- mutually exclusive assertions that can not possibly be both, in the same context, be true. 'In the same context' is the key phrase here, for it is context that defines contradiction. There is no problem in someone's remarking that he prefers oranges to apples, and also remarking that he prefers apples to oranges- not if one statement is made in the context of choosing a wallpaper design and the other in the context of selecting fruit for dessert. In such a case, we have statements that are opposites, but not contradictory. But if the statements are made in a single, continuous, and coherent context, then they are contradictions, and cannot be true. Contradiction, in short, requires that statements and events be perceived as interrelated aspects of a continuous and coherent context. Disappear the context, or fragment it, and contradiction disappears." From, "Amusing Ourselves To Death" By: Neil Postman

Riddle Me This

What ramifications does this front page Presidential "apology" to a Massachusetts police officer [i.e. The Henry Louis Gates debacle- google it if you haven't heard about it yet. (I'm too perturbed to get into the details)], have on the community that is patrolled by killer cops?

[SIDEBAR: I don't know if this whole drama is a distraction for other things [The Sidebar's Sidebar: I'm starting to overstand how this system really works]; but even if it is, it doesn't dilute the message that this is sending.]

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

Reportedly a 9-figure legal settlement has been reached concerning the usage of the patent of stents. Stents are metal tubes that are utilized to prop open arteries after plaque has been removed from them. Medtronic Inc. has agreed to pay Abbott Laboratories $400 million to settle a patent lawsuit involving the use of the invention.

As a part of the settlement agreement, both corporations have agreed not to bring any stent-related lawsuits against each other for the next decade.

Out of their $400,000,000 settlement payments, Abbott Labs must reportedly pay $42 million to Evysio Medical Devices- the licensor of the stents.

[SIDEBAR: Who knew that stent-manufacturing was so profitable?]

Quote Of The Day

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." -Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Quote Of The Day

"False history gets made all day, any day, the truth of the news is never on the news." -Adrienne Rich

Riddle Me This: The How Are We Being Bamboozled Edition?

How much of what we see, and participate in, is actually a staged illusion? Just exactly how, and in how many ways, are we being bamboozled?

Quote Of The Day

"I grew up like a neglected weed- ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it." -Harriet Tubman

Scientists Continue To Push The Envelope When It Comes To Cloning

Two groups of Chinese scientists have reportedly discovered a technique in which they can "reprogram" mature skin cells of mice into embryonic-like cells. The new embryonic-like cells can then be used to create offspring.

According to The Wall Street Journal, this new technique may be used to create stem cell lines that can help treat human diseases. However, the technique can also be used to create human clones and "designer babies" who have manufactured genetic traits.

[SIDEBAR: When science experiments cross certain boundaries of nature, disaster is sure to strike.]

TODAY IS...

PLEASE PASS THIS ON! (EACH ONE TEACH ONE OR TWO!) THIS IS PHASE ONE ON HOW WE CAN HELP TO STRENGTHEN & EMPOWER OUR COMMUNITY:The 2008 not guilty verdict in the Sean Bell case evoked outrage, emotion, and debate. It is not an anomaly that the police officers involved in the Sean Bell slaying were acquitted of all charges on all counts in State Supreme Court. I could run out of ink printing the names of people who have been victimized by the inaptly named justice system.

The American justice system has been especially terroristic towards the African American community. Many community members can cite historic and personal accounts to prove this. Therefore, it would be foolhardy (at the least) to turn to a system that has methodically oppressed us, and request that they free us. We can only free ourselves through extreme discipline and intelligent planning.

As a community we have been too compliant with leaders who organize ineffective, delayed reactions. The only strategy that can save us in this last hour is one that calls for a collective code of conduct that will be conducive to improving the conditions of our community, and shifting the paradigm of how we are treated by outside entities. The first step of this code of conduct should be based on economics.

The old adage of “money talks,” still reigns true in the new millennium. Any political scientist worth his or her library card will tell you that: “Economic powerlessness equals political powerlessness,” and conversely “economic power equals political power.” This means that if we continue to allow our wealth to be extracted from our community, we will remain impotent.

The power of the collective “Black Dollar” is often discussed. However, that power has been left unchanneled. Today is the day to change that. A one-time boycott is not going to bring long-term change and respect to our community. Our community has launched boycotts before. Our success and ascension will be based on what we consistently do. For this reason, we should initiate “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS.”

BUY BLACK FRIDAYS is a small step towards our community acquiring power via controlling our economics. Every Friday, people who acknowledge the injustice and oppression that the African American community has been consistently subjected to should do one of the following:

Option #1: Spend $0 on Friday
Option #2: Spend no more than $10 on Friday
Option #3: Only Shop at Black Businesses on Friday
[PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE OPTIONS CAN & SHOULD BE EXERCISED ON A DAILY BASIS. However, we can all at the very least focus on Fridays. This way we can take a collective stand and build our collective discipline. Please remember that this is only Phase 1!].

To the people who are tempted to label “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS” as racist, I say this: In the big scheme of things, this is about right & wrong, justice & injustice. The African American community is a strong, proud community that has endured the brunt of America’s iron fist. We must stop the pounding. I feel that any fair-minded individual will concur, and join in.

ANY business that is privileged to enjoy the support of the African American community MUST return that support.

I thank you in advance for your effort and dedication.

-Elsie Law AKA Starface

Quote Of The Day

"Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true." -Charles Dickens

Riddle Me This: The Bailout Bonuses Edition?

Whatever happened to getting the exorbitant bonuses back from executives who ran companies that received bailout money (aka taxpayers' money)?

Quote Of The Day

"We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history." -Sonia Johnson

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words Pic Of The Week

Fannie Lou Hamer

Black History Fact Of The Day

In 1962, Fannie Lou Hamer helped to organize a voter registration drive in Mississippi. At the time of the registration drive Black people were not allowed to vote in the state of Mississippi. As a result of her activism, Mrs. Hamer was fired from her job on a plantation. She was subsequently hired to be a secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report

Amazon.com has reportedly reached an agreement to purchase Zappos.com (an online clothing and footwear company) for $800 million in cash and stock. According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal is expected to be finalized in the fall,

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law: Will Harvard Professor Sue The Massachusetts Police Department After Being Arrested For Breaking Into His Own Home?

African American studies scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. (of Harvard University), was arrested at his home after someone called the authorities to report a break in.

The Wall Street Journal states that a police report revealed that Professor Gates had just returned home from a trip to China. Upon his arrival at his residence, he had difficulty opening his front door. The Professor reportedly had his driver push his front door, while he opened the door from the inside. While this was transpiring, police who were allegedly responding to the call of a break in arrived. Professor Gates was subsequently asked for his ID and arrested. [SIDEBAR: I wonder if the driver was arrested for breaking in too. Smh.]

The arresting officer claims that Mr. Gates was hesitant to show his identification, and accused him of racism. Mr. Gates' attorney says the officer refused to give his client his badge number. The charges against Professor Henry Gates included a charge for disorderly conduct. However, all of the charges have been dropped. Police officials have reportedly called the incident "regrettable and unfortunate."

It has yet to be determined whether or not Henry Louis Gates will file a lawsuit against the police department for this inexplicable incident.

Quote Of The Day

"History would be an excellent thing if only it were true." -Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

Riddle Me This

I'm all for the power of positive thinking- to a certain extent- but does all this "new age" rhetoric about "your thoughts creating your reality" ignore (and let off the hook) the existing systems that have been set up in society? (For example, the unjust justice system, the corrupted financial system, etc.).

Black History Fact Of The Day

According to Wikipedia baseball hall-of-famer, Hank Aaron, "holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (2,297), the most career extra base hits (1,477), and the most career total bases (6,856)."

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report: "Private Investment In Public Equity" Defined

According to Investopedia, "private investment in public equity" is when: "A private investment firm's, mutual fund's or other qualified investors' purchase of stock in a company at a discount to the current market value per share for the purpose of raising capital."

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, escaped prosecution on insider trader charges when a federal judge threw a case brought against him by The Securities and Exchange Commission out of court.

The SEC claimed that Mark Cuban sold his stake in an internet search company after the company's CEO confided in him that the company was planning to raise money via a "private investment in public equity."

According to The Wall Street Journal, the SEC claimed that Mark Cuban avoided loses of more than $750,000 by selling his 6% stake in the internet corporation after being tipped off to the company's new investment strategy. Mr. Cuban and his attorneys rebutted that Mr. Cuban was not under any obligation not to sell his shares based on the information that he received. A federal judge concurred. However, the judge also gave the SEC a 30 day window of time to refile the charges if they can come up with stronger allegations.

Quote Of The Day

"Truth is powerful and it prevails." -Sojourner Truth

Quote Of The Day

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Quote Of The Day

"Don't waste life in doubts and fears; spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best preparation for the hours and ages that will follow it." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quote Of The Day

"When I'm under the gun and I've got pressure on me, I don't panic. I look for the right solution, and then I go for it." -Magic Johnson

TODAY IS

PLEASE PASS THIS ON! (EACH ONE TEACH ONE OR TWO!) THIS IS PHASE ONE ON HOW WE CAN HELP TO STRENGTHEN & EMPOWER OUR COMMUNITY:The 2008 not guilty verdict in the Sean Bell case evoked outrage, emotion, and debate. It is not an anomaly that the police officers involved in the Sean Bell slaying were acquitted of all charges on all counts in State Supreme Court. I could run out of ink printing the names of people who have been victimized by the inaptly named justice system.

The American justice system has been especially terroristic towards the African American community. Many community members can cite historic and personal accounts to prove this. Therefore, it would be foolhardy (at the least) to turn to a system that has methodically oppressed us, and request that they free us. We can only free ourselves through extreme discipline and intelligent planning.

As a community we have been too compliant with leaders who organize ineffective, delayed reactions. The only strategy that can save us in this last hour is one that calls for a collective code of conduct that will be conducive to improving the conditions of our community, and shifting the paradigm of how we are treated by outside entities. The first step of this code of conduct should be based on economics.

The old adage of “money talks,” still reigns true in the new millennium. Any political scientist worth his or her library card will tell you that: “Economic powerlessness equals political powerlessness,” and conversely “economic power equals political power.” This means that if we continue to allow our wealth to be extracted from our community, we will remain impotent.

The power of the collective “Black Dollar” is often discussed. However, that power has been left unchanneled. Today is the day to change that. A one-time boycott is not going to bring long-term change and respect to our community. Our community has launched boycotts before. Our success and ascension will be based on what we consistently do. For this reason, we should initiate “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS.”

BUY BLACK FRIDAYS is a small step towards our community acquiring power via controlling our economics. Every Friday, people who acknowledge the injustice and oppression that the African American community has been consistently subjected to should do one of the following:

Option #1: Spend $0 on Friday
Option #2: Spend no more than $10 on Friday
Option #3: Only Shop at Black Businesses on Friday
[PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE OPTIONS CAN & SHOULD BE EXERCISED ON A DAILY BASIS. However, we can all at the very least focus on Fridays. This way we can take a collective stand and build our collective discipline. Please remember that this is only Phase 1!].

To the people who are tempted to label “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS” as racist, I say this: In the big scheme of things, this is about right & wrong, justice & injustice. The African American community is a strong, proud community that has endured the brunt of America’s iron fist. We must stop the pounding. I feel that any fair-minded individual will concur, and join in.

ANY business that is privileged to enjoy the support of the African American community MUST return that support.

I thank you in advance for your effort and dedication.

-Elsie Law AKA Starface

Quote Of The Day

"Our people have to be made to see that any time you take your dollar out of your community and spend it in a community where you don't live, the community where you live will get poorer and poorer and the community where you spend will get richer and richer. Then you wonder why where you live is always a slum area." -Malcolm X

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words Pic Of The Week

A real "renaissance" man: Paul Robeson.

Black History

Donny Hathaway and frequent duet partner, Roberta Flack, were Howard University classmates.

Donny Hathaway's first album was titled, "Everything Is Everything." The 1970 critically acclaimed album is a favorite among soul music fan.

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report

Despite the "recession" chatter, money is still being made out here. Google Inc.'s second quarter earnings increased by 19%. The company had a profit of $1.48 billion.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the online company's earnings boosted its stock price to $4.66 per share. Last year's second quarter prices were $3.92 a share. Revenue for Google is also being calculated as having risen 2.9%.

Ironically, in contrast to Google's reported success within this year, the company layed off employees for the first time.

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

Mr. Hatley, a man who erroneously believed that he was the father of a child who was birthed in 1986, paid 13 years of child support for that child until DNA tests proved that he was not the father. Mr. Hatley, who is said to be a hard working and honest man, stepped into a legal quagmire although he was obviously the one wronged by the afore stated predicament.

The mother of the son, who was thought to be Hatley's until DNA evidence proved otherwise, filed for public assistance for her son in 1988 in the state of Georgia. The law of Georgia, allows the state to pursue the non-custodial parent (in this case Mr. Hatley was erroneously considered the "non-custodial parent") to reimburse the state for any monies rendered for assistance.

Despite acknowledging (in 2000) that Mr. Hatley had paid child support for over a decade for a child he didn't father, the court ordered that Mr. Hatley pay the state more than $16,000 as a reimbursement for the public assistance.

According to CNN: "Latesha Bradley, an attorney who represented Hatley in that hearing, told CNN the argument for keeping Hatley liable for the back payments was that he had signed a consent agreement with the office of child support services. The court agreed that Hatley had to comply with the consent agreement for the period that he believed the boy was his son."

Despite the injustice of the situation, Mr. Hatley complied with the payments. However when Mr. Hatley became unemployed in 2006, he was unable to make the payments. The "justice" system incarcerated him for 6 months for failure to make payments. He was jailed for another 6 months in 2008, when he was unable to make payments due to a job loss and homelessness.

The ridiculousness of this case is appalling. The system spent taxpayers money to legally bid and incarcerate a man who paid child support for a child he never bore.

Quote Of The Day

"I believe, indeed, that over emphasis on the purely intellectual attitude, often directed solely to the practical and factual, in our education, has led directly to the impairment of ethical values." -Albert Einstein

Riddle Me This: The Corporate Welfare Edition

How can corporations that received corporate welfare (aka taxpayers money) take their profits and invest overseas now that they've become "disenchanted" with the American economy? Shouldn't they be helping to jump start the economy that funded them?

Black History Fact Of The Day

In the 1970s (before he successfully started his own practice), famed attorney Johnnie Cochran became the first African American District Attorney for Los Angeles County.

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report

I'm not one to follow stocks on a daily basis (although I do pay attention). However this afternoon, I couldn't ignore that Wall Street is all abuzz.

Stocks have reportedly rallied. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 257.86 points (3.1%), The NASDAQ Composite Index is up 3.5%, and The S&P 500 was up 3%.

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

Today, Judge Sonia Sotomayor is engaging in a second day of hearings that are required before she can be named as a Justice on the Supreme Court. The judiciary committee hearings will reportedly end on Thursday.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "A vote by the full Senate to confirm Judge Sotomayor [as a Supreme Court judge] is expected in early August.

If Sonia Sotomayor is confirmed to succeed Justice David Souter, she will be the first Hispanic to sit on the Supreme Court.

Quote Of The Day

"Conformity is the jailer of freedom, and the enemy of growth." -John F. Kennedy

Eminent Domain & Coney Island

New York City seems to continue to be on a quest to expand the city into a tourist/entertainment spectacular. The question is at whose expense? First it was the "Nets Stadium" controversy, now it's Coney Island.

As the city seeks to add a new (and supposedly improved) amusement park, hotels, and retail shops to the beach front neighborhood; officials have allegedly admitted that they may invoke eminent domain despite promising not to do so in the past.

According to The New York Daily News, the city wants to obtain Coney Island acres that are currently owned by property developer, Thor Equities. They have reportedly offered to purchase the land from the developer. However, the city is also hinting that they will seize the property if necessary.

Black History Fact Of The Day

According to her website, long time educator Marva Collins started her own school (Westside Preparatory School) in Chicago in 1975, after being dissatisfied with the status quo school system.

Mrs. Collins biography on her site states that: "During the first year, Marva took in learning disabled, problem children and even one child who had been labeled by Chicago public school authorities as borderline retarded. At the end of the first year, every child scored at least five grades higher."

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report: Senior Debt/Senior Note Defined

According to Wikipedia, a Senior Note can be defined as follows: "In finance, senior debt, frequently issued in the form of a senior note, is debt that takes priority over other unsecured debt owed by the issuer. Senior debt has greater seniority in the issuer's capital structure than subordinated debt. In the event the issuer goes bankrupt, senior debt theoretically must be repaid before other creditors receive any payment.

Senior debt is often secured by collateral on which the lender has put in place a first lien. Usually this covers all the assets of a corporation and is often used for revolving credit lines. It is the debt that has priority for repayment in a liquidation."

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

Volumes of legal tomes will be used to entice customers to purchase Amazon's digital reader.

Amazon.com Inc. Currently offers hefty legal books published by the Practising Law Institute for a discounted price. In addition to the cheaper price tag, the legal reference books are obviously easier to transport in their digital form. They are also being touted as time savers because they are easier to index and digitally bookmark.

According to The Wall Street Journal, legal textbooks- and textbooks of other varieties- are hoping to draw readers into the digital e-book market by offering greater convenience.

While I can see the advantages of having a legal library at your fingertips, I hope that the tangible "old-fashion" kind of books don't disappear any time soon.

Quote Of The Day

"The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same." -Carlos Castaneda

Quote Of The Day

"In order for us human beings to commit ourselves personally to the inhumanity of war, we find it necessary first to dehumanize our opponents, which is in itself a violation of the beliefs of all religions. Once we characterize our adversaries as beyond the scope of God's mercy and grace, their lives lose all value." -Jimmy Carter

Quote Of The Day

"Change is not always growth just as movement is not always progress." -Author Unknown

Quote Of The Day

"People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering." -St. Augustine

TODAY IS...

PLEASE PASS THIS ON! (EACH ONE TEACH ONE OR TWO!) THIS IS PHASE ONE ON HOW WE CAN HELP TO STRENGTHEN & EMPOWER OUR COMMUNITY:The 2008 not guilty verdict in the Sean Bell case evoked outrage, emotion, and debate. It is not an anomaly that the police officers involved in the Sean Bell slaying were acquitted of all charges on all counts in State Supreme Court. I could run out of ink printing the names of people who have been victimized by the inaptly named justice system.

The American justice system has been especially terroristic towards the African American community. Many community members can cite historic and personal accounts to prove this. Therefore, it would be foolhardy (at the least) to turn to a system that has methodically oppressed us, and request that they free us. We can only free ourselves through extreme discipline and intelligent planning.

As a community we have been too compliant with leaders who organize ineffective, delayed reactions. The only strategy that can save us in this last hour is one that calls for a collective code of conduct that will be conducive to improving the conditions of our community, and shifting the paradigm of how we are treated by outside entities. The first step of this code of conduct should be based on economics.

The old adage of “money talks,” still reigns true in the new millennium. Any political scientist worth his or her library card will tell you that: “Economic powerlessness equals political powerlessness,” and conversely “economic power equals political power.” This means that if we continue to allow our wealth to be extracted from our community, we will remain impotent.

The power of the collective “Black Dollar” is often discussed. However, that power has been left unchanneled. Today is the day to change that. A one-time boycott is not going to bring long-term change and respect to our community. Our community has launched boycotts before. Our success and ascension will be based on what we consistently do. For this reason, we should initiate “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS.”

BUY BLACK FRIDAYS is a small step towards our community acquiring power via controlling our economics. Every Friday, people who acknowledge the injustice and oppression that the African American community has been consistently subjected to should do one of the following:

Option #1: Spend $0 on Friday
Option #2: Spend no more than $10 on Friday
Option #3: Only Shop at Black Businesses on Friday
[PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE OPTIONS CAN & SHOULD BE EXERCISED ON A DAILY BASIS. However, we can all at the very least focus on Fridays. This way we can take a collective stand and build our collective discipline. Please remember that this is only Phase 1!].

To the people who are tempted to label “BUY BLACK FRIDAYS” as racist, I say this: In the big scheme of things, this is about right & wrong, justice & injustice. The African American community is a strong, proud community that has endured the brunt of America’s iron fist. We must stop the pounding. I feel that any fair-minded individual will concur, and join in.

ANY business that is privileged to enjoy the support of the African American community MUST return that support.

I thank you in advance for your effort and dedication.

-Elsie Law AKA Starface

Quote Of The Day

"It always seems impossible until its done." -Nelson Mandela

Black History Fact Of The Day

Marvin Gaye reportedly had a 3-octave vocal range. Before he launched an extremely successful solo career, he was part of a group called "The Moonglows."

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report

Discover Financial Services recently offered $500 million in stock. There is speculation that the company decided to issue the stock in order to raise funds to counter the $1.2 billion in bailout money that the company received in March.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Discover plans to issue senior notes soon.

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

A woman allegedly brought a lawsuit against Chase Bank after a bank employee reportedly revealed to the woman's husband that the woman had an individual bank account.

The woman, who had a joint account with her husband at Chase, also had a personal account with the bank that had a balance of $800,000. This was unbeknownst to him. The husband found out about the "secret account" when a bank employee called him suggesting that he use the money in the account to make investments that would yield higher returns.

The lawsuit's plaintiff claims that once her husband found out about the once clandestine account, he began to put a strain on the marriage by harassing her for money. The plaintiff says that she eventually relinquished $155,000 to her husband in order to save her marriage. She is suing Chase for violating non-disclosure laws. She wants the bank to pay her $155,000 plus legal fees.

Quote Of The Day

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny." -Author Unknown

Black History Fact Of The Day

In 1950, Ralph Bunche became the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Martin Luther King Jr. was the second African American to win this award.

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report

The Pepsi Corporation has reportedly committed to spend $1 billion in Russia over the next three years.

PepsiCo Inc. recently opened a bottling plant right outside of Moscow. According to The Wall Street Journal, Pepsi plans to make this plant its largest one on the globe. Pepsi also reportedly brought Russia's largest juice company in 2008, for $2 billion.

The Wall Street Journal also reveals that Pepsi has vowed to spend $500 million in India, and $1 billion in China over the next four years.

As the American economy is allegedly experiencing a downturn, many corporations are focusing on investing their dollars in foreign markets.

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law: The Motion Picture Production Code

According to Wikipedia: "The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry censorship guidelines which governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It was originally popularly known as the Hays Code, after its creator, Will H. Hays.

The Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association (MPPDA), which later became the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), adopted the code in 1930, began effectively enforcing it in 1934, and abandoned it in 1968 in favor of the subsequent MPAA film rating system.

The Production Code spelled out what was acceptable and what was unacceptable content for motion pictures produced for a public audience in the United States."

While this code governed an industry, it ties in to the legal system in terms of how obscenity was defined and determined during the time that the code was enforced by Hollywood.

Quote of The Day

"In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe." -Michael Jackson (R.I.P)

Quote Of The Day

"Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities." -Terry Josephson

Black History Fact Of The Day

Today is Philadelphia native Phyllis Hyman's birthday.

The talented jazz vocalist received a Tony award nomination for her performance in the Broadway musical, "Sophisticated Ladies."

Phyllis Hyman was also a strong advocate for building Black businesses. She was committed to hiring employees of African descent.

CLICK HERE to view a video of Phyllis Hyman discussing why she made sure her company was a Black Business. This interview clip is a must see! You Tube diabled the clip's embedding ability, so please click the link to view it.

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report

Bemis Company, a Wisconsin based food and beverage packager, is reportedly set to expand. The U.S. corporation will allegedly purchase parts of Rio Tinto's packaging business for $1.2 billion in cash and stocks.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the purchase will expand Bemis' packaging business with "23 operations spread across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America, and New Zealand...The deal should push its sales from $3.8 billion to $5.3 billion annually."

Bemis' CFO is quoted as saying the following about the company being affected by the economy: "People continue to eat so we aren't as impacted by the economy as the housing industry or auto industry."

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

A recent audit of Brooklyn's Surrogate Court revealed such gross wrongdoings that Bill Thompson, the city's Comptroller and current mayoral candidate, has urged all Brooklyn residents to "make out a will as soon as possible;" so as to avoid having to deal with the corrupt system.

According to The New York Daily News, The Brooklyn Surrogate Court's recordkeeping was so mismanaged it was impossible for auditors to get basic information about the court's transactions. The news source states that: "The city's comptroller's office uncovered shoddy recordkeeping, suspicious real estate deals and auctions run by a shadowy company that vanished when auditors started asking questions." My question is: How could this go on so long?! I'm waiting to hear about the mass firings that SHOULD result from this!

Newsletter News Brief: Cynthia Mckinney Has Reportedly Been Released...

I've received a report via e-mail that Cynthia Mckinney and a group of activists, who were being held by the Israeli government, have been released. I am awaiting more information regarding this. Hopefully some media outlets will report the veracity of this soon.

Related Article:
CLICK HERE For: "Cynthia McKinney and 20 Others Inexplicably Imprisoned By The Israeli Government"

Quote Of The Day

"A ballot is like a bullet. You don't throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not in reach, keep your ballot in your pocket." -Malcolm X

Riddle Me This: The "Who's In Control?" Edition

If the mass media is a totally controlled apparatus, then how controlled are the people who appear on it and/or tune in to it regularly? Who is doing the controlling?