King Pen

Is This Mic On? Cool...

by Jermaine Hall
Editor-in-Chief KING Magazine


Have you ever been to Alaska? Can't say that I have. But I know a few things about the state. The first thing that comes to mind without a Google search: It's cold. And huge. Not sure about the natives, but I'll assume that they're not as nutty as their governor, Sarah Palin. Let me cliff-hang on that for a second...

First, I'll explain a few things about this Jock the Vote Issue. This isn't a bipartisan event. Our bikini content makes us way too liberal. We're pro-Obama. Admittedly, at the end of January, I wasn't sure what the senator from Illinois stood for. I just knew that his speeches were powerful enough to inspire the Dukies of this country (the kid from The Wire, not Krzyzewski's squad). But his message wasn't an epiphany: The U.S. has a $9 trillion deficit, 4,000-plus soldiers have died in a war sparked by ghost WMDs, unemployment is at a five-year high and VH1 is giving Chance and Real their own reality show. So, yeah, we need change. Someone absolutely needs to hit the reset button in D.C. By Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC, I was well aware of his vision-fewer taxes for the poor and middle class, improved education, alternate energy sources (trade in that V-12, already!), universal health care and high-stepping out of Iraq. Typical democratic stances, but if you're reading this magazine, you probably have an interest in some, if not all, of those points.

Next, I realized that Barack and the late ODB share a common interest: They're both for the kids, Whether black, white or other, young adults have drunk his Kool-Aid and love the taste. But there are some dangers that come with that. The kid who knocks back double-digit Patron shots on November 3 might opt to sleep their hangover away on November 4-or, worse, miss his or her state's voter registration deadline. That's the electorate I wanted to speak to this issue.

So playboys and playgirls, listen closely. While you chatter about Reagan Gomez's ill pregnancy snap-back, keep this in mind: It's not enough to rock a Obama shirt; he doesn't get points at the polls for that. You've supported him this far, so play like Mariano Rivera and close the deal. If not, your fate is as follows: Your vice president won't know what the Bush Doctrine is, but she'll be a tough chick adept at shooting a moose. Her stance on Russia? War, if necessary. Sex education in schools? The hockey mom would rather abstain. And as for your president, you'll have a war hero who was chums with George W. Bush. Don't be tardy, kids. Not this time.

"Fear Not For Man"-- Fela Kuti

Pan African Literary Forum Advances Diversity Across Africa

by Gia Parker


The first annual Pan African Literary Forum in Ghana hosted more than 200 writers, publishers, ad filmmakers from Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom in July.

PALF hopes that by bringing together aspiring writers it can develop talent and build mentoring relationships, which will lead to wider distribution of books by black authors worldwide.

Hosted by South African Poet Laureate Keorapetse Kgositsile, PALF connected established and emerging writers for writing workshops, seminars, lectures, networking, and cultural activities. Special guests included Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa, celebrated Ghanaian author and Brown University professor Ama Ata Aidoo, Orange Prize-winning Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Toronto-based Ghanaian novelist Esi Edugyan, and Caine Prize-winning Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina.

The event also raised money and donated books for Ghanaian schools to address an illiteracy rate of nearly 60%.

According to Grant Jones, chief administrator of PALF, "This year we were able to bring hundreds of pounds of books to needy schools, to schools in some cases that had no libraries at all."

PALF plans to return to Ghana in March 2009 with a broader package of services and interests for international writers. It hopes to hold the 2010 forum in Timbuktu and eventually move the event to Mali.

Looking forward, PALF wants to increase the number of participants and its diversity. To become a participant of the 2009 Pan African Literary Forum or to volunteer with the community outreach program by giving books or contributing to the organization's scholarships, go to: www.panafricanliteraryforum.org

"Follow The Leader" -- Eric B & Rakim

Step Up And Help Out!

The benefits of Volunteering


"Nothing we can do will bring him back." says Brittney Payton of her late father, famed Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton. "But he continues to live on in our work to help others."

Payton, 23, was just a teenager when the NFL legend succumbed to liver cancer almost 10 years ago while awaiting a transplant. She, along with her mother, Connie, and older brother, Jarrett, 27, manage the family's two Illinois-based foundations: The Walter and Connie Payton Foundation, which partners with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to provide gifts and resources to underprivileged youth, and The Walter Payton Caner Fund, which raises funds for cancer research and treatment.

In memory of her father, who had been on the transplant waiting list for more than eight months, Payton in 2001 spear-headed Youth For Life Remembering Walter Payton, and organ-donor awareness program designed to reach out to high school students. She also served as a spokeswoman for Illinois regional organ bank, Gift of Hope, along with Jarrett. After their father died, Payton points out proudly that Illinois went from having one of the lowest rates of organ donations to ranking No. 1 in registered donors.

Although she is proud of her efforts, Payton says she occasionally struggles with volunteer challenges, such as overcommitment and burnout, which she manages by setting clear boundaries and maintaining a balance of activities. "Giving to others provides my life with meaning and purpose," she says.

"Volunteering affords benefits to both the giver and the receiver," says Henry McKoy, a regional director with the Peace Corps, an independent federal agency that arranges for U.S. citizens to volunteer overseas.

Overseeing the African region, McKoy assists volunteers in leaving their homes, families, and friends for a minimum of two years to live and work in communities and villages in Africa. McKoy maintains that individuals who sacrifice comfort and convenience to improve the world often gain a sense of satisfaction, appreciation, and an expanded worldview. He adds, "Undoubtedly, serving others is a privilege and an honor."

Hip-HopTV24/7.org Incorporated suggest asking yourself these five questions before getting started volunteering:

1. Why do I want to volunteer?
2. What do I expect to give and gain?
3. What kind of organization or program do I want to help?
4. What skills and experience can I bring to the assignment?
5. What is my availability and how much time will I commit?

Join The Cause

The Future is Grim for Young Black Men and Americans a like.

by Queon L. Martin

How far are you willing to go? A question I ask myself everyday day, as I work tirelessly towards helping youth (especially the young black men) recognize the world outside of hip-hop. Now I may not be able to drop a dope rhyme like the greatest rapper of all time B.I.G., but I can paint a picture like Norman Mailer to get my point across.

"I have freed a thousand slaves, I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves." -- Harriet Tubman

The direction where hip-hop is heading will become fatal for young black men in America to succeed, unless we educate the disenfranchised youth in hip-hop culture with information that can improve their way of life. This blog will uncover two major issues that has crippled young black men and Americans in general. The PRISON SYSTEM and CENTRAL BANKING better know as the FEDERAL RESERVES.

"None are more hopelessly enslaved, than those who falsely believe they are free."

-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749-1832

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there are about 5 million black men in America between the ages of 20 and 39 losing ground in mainstream American society, despite advances made by black women, presumably part of the same socioeconomic experience. Black men 16 and older are arrested each year, creating police records that hinder future job prospects. Black men may be more likely than whites or Latinos to be arrested on drug charges and subsequently released for lack of evidence.

The Pew report found that judges who would likely opt for community-based corrections programs such as fines, restitution; home detention, probation, electronic monitoring, and drug diversion programs don't because these options are scare. The programs are poorly funded and operated, or are non-existent. For the first time in history more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison. Black males still make up more than half of America's prison inmates. They are four times more likely than whites and twice as likely as Hispanics to be jailed.

As prison populations expand, costs to states are on the rise. Last year alone, states spent more than $49 billion on corrections, up from $11 billion 20 years before. However, the national recidivism rate remains virtually unchanged, with about half of released inmates returning to jail or prison within three years. And while violent criminals and other serious offenders account for some of the growth, many inmates are low-level offenders or people who have violated the terms of their probation or parole.

Putting thousands of black men behind bars for mostly non-violent offenses has had staggering consequences. It has wreaked massive social and political havoc on families and communities. It has been the single biggest reason for the bloat in federal and state spending on prison construction, maintenance, and the escalation in the number of prosecutors needed to handle the continuing flood of criminal cases. This is the modern day slave drive... Capitol and Cattle.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see"
-- Martin Luther King Jr.

There is something behind the thrown, greater than the king himself.

-- Sir William Pitt, House of Lords 1770

There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by sword. The other is by debt. --President John Adams 1797-1801

The bold efforts the present bank had made to control the government... Are but premonitions of the fate that awaits the American people should they be deluded into perpetuation of this institution or the establishment of another like it.
-- President Andrew Jackson 1829-1837

Slavery is but the owning of labor and carries with it the care of the laborers... -- The Hazard Circular, July 1862


J.D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Paul Warburg and Baron Rothschild saute after legislators to put together a central banking system. A Congressional investigation was put together and led by Senator Nelson Aldrich who had ties with the banking cartel and later married into the Rockefeller family, recommended that central banking be put in place to prevent New York's banks from going under. In 1910 the federal reserve act bill was put together not by law makers but by bank owners. And in 1913 the bill was signed by newly elected President Woodrow Wilson already agreed to sign the act. His presidential campaign was heavenly sponsored by the bankers.

The real truth of the matter is that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government since the days of Andrew Jackson.
-- President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933

For ever dollar that is printed, there is an interest rate attached to it. We then have to borrow more money to pay for the interest rate which puts us in deeper dept. Which keeps us in slaved to the Federal Reserves. I'm here to educate the minds of youth with information that is essential to improving their way of life. And I ask those who share the same passion as I, to bring awareness to the system that has caused us all to fail. As Lawrence Fishburne said in School Daze, WAKE UP!

"Slow Down" -- Brand Nubian (Slow Down)

Obesity In Children and Teens in America

from the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

The problem of childhood obesity in the United States has grown considerably in recent years. Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is among the easiest medical conditions to recognize but most difficult to treat. Unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year. The annual cost to society for obesity is estimated at nearly $100 billion. Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.

What is obesity?
A few extra pounds do not suggest obesity. However they may indicate a tendency to gain weight easily and a need for changes in diet and/or exercise. Generally, a child is not considered obese until the weight is at least 10 percent higher than what is recommended for the height and body type. Obesity most commonly begins in childhood between the ages of 5 and 6, and during adolescence. Studies have shown that a child who is obese between the ages of 10 and 13 has an 80 percent chance of becoming an obese adult.

What causes obesity?
The causes of obesity are complex and include genetic, biological, behavioral and cultural factors. Basically, obesity occurs when a person eats more calories than the body burns up. If one parent is obese, there is a 50 percent chance that the children will also be obese. However, when both parents are obese, the children have an 80 percent chance of being obese. Although certain medical disorders can cause obesity, less than 1 percent of all obesity is caused by physical problems. Obesity in childhood and adolescence can be related to:

• poor eating habits
• overeating or binging
• lack of exercise (i.e., couch potato kids)
• family history of obesity
• medical illnesses (endocrine, neurological problems)
• medications (steroids, some psychiatric medications)
• stressful life events or changes (separations, divorce, moves, deaths, abuse)
• family and peer problems
• low self-esteem
• depression or other emotional problems

What are risks and complications of obesity?
There are many risks and complications with obesity. Physical consequences include:

• increased risk of heart disease
• high blood pressure
• diabetes
• breathing problems
• trouble sleeping
  

Child and adolescent obesity is also associated with increased risk of emotional problems. Teens with weight problems tend to have much lower self-esteem and be less popular with their peers. Depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder can also occur.

How can obesity be managed and treated?
Obese children need a thorough medical evaluation by a pediatrician or family physician to consider the possibility of a physical cause. In the absence of a physical disorder, the only way to lose weight is to reduce the number of calories being eaten and to increase the child's or adolescent's level of physical activity. Lasting weight loss can only occur when there is self-motivation. Since obesity often affects more than one family member, making healthy eating and regular exercise a family activity can improve the chances of successful weight control for the child or adolescent.

Ways to manage obesity in children and adolescents include:

• start a weight-management program
• change eating habits (eat slowly, develop a routine)
• plan meals and make better food selections (eat less fatty foods, avoid junk and fast foods)
• control portions and consume less calories
• increase physical activity (especially walking) and have a more active lifestyle
• know what your child eats at school
• eat meals as a family instead of while watching television or at the computer
• do not use food as a reward
• limit snacking
• attend a support group (e.g., Overeaters Anonymous)

Obesity frequently becomes a lifelong issue. The reason most obese adolescents gain back their lost pounds is that after they have reached their goal, they go back to their old habits of eating and exercising. An obese adolescent must therefore learn to eat and enjoy healthy foods in moderate amounts and to exercise regularly to maintain the desired weight. Parents of an obese child can improve their child's self esteem by emphasizing the child's strengths and positive qualities rather than just focusing on their weight problem.

When a child or adolescent with obesity also has emotional problems, a child and adolesent psyhiatrist can work with the child's family physician to develop a comprehensive treatment plan. Such a plan would include reasonable weight loss goals, dietary and physical activity management, behavior modification, and family involvement.

"If you don't know, now you know" -- The Notorious B.I.G.

Report: Missing school, common in NYC, sets kids up for failure

by Philissa Cramer


High school students are not the only ones missing school. Chronic absenteeism in the elementary grades is a major problem, too, especially in districts with a high concentration of poor and immigrant students (see chart), according to a report released this morning by the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School.

Twenty percent of kids in the city’s elementary schools missed more than a month of school during the 2007-2008 school year, researchers found while investigating whether attendance systems put into place after the death of Nixmary Brown are catching child abuse before it becomes deadly. In some schools, more than 40 percent of students missed that much school, making them “chronically absent.” The numbers vary widely across the city, as the but also within individual zip codes, the report points out.

Why does absenteeism matter? New research shows that kindergarten — which is not mandatory in New York State — is essential to academic success. “Among poor children, chronic absence in kindergarten predicts the lowest levels of educational achievement at the end of fifth grade,” concluded a recent report out of Columbia University's National Center for Children in Poverty.

The Center for New York City Affairs report indicates that patterns of school non-attendance begin early in a child’s school career, said Clara Hemphill, the education reporter who was senior editor for the report (and who was also my boss for a time at Insideschools.org, the Web site she founded).

“The DOE has poured millions of dollars into reforming high schools, but this report shows that by high school much of the damage is already done,” she said.

A letter to the readers of Vibe Magazine from Barack Obama

September 9, 2008

Barack Obama

Dear Vibe Readers,

We are at a defining moment in our history. Our nation is at war. Our economy is in turmoil. More Americans are out of work, and more are working for less. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach. And too many Americans have lost faith that their leaders can or will do anything about it.

That's why this election is the most important of your lifetime. We cannot wait any longer for universal health care, or an affordable college education, or good-paying jobs we can count on. We cannot wait to fix our schools, rebuild our communities, or end this war in Iraq. We cannot wait to change the game to Washington.

I am running for President to take this country in a new direction. But I can't do it alone. I need you. Whether it's the first time, or the first time in a long time, I need you to register and vote on November 4th.

Now, I've heard people say, "My vote doesn't matter," "My vote wont' count," or "I'm just on person, what possible difference can I make?" And I understand this cynicism. As a young man attempting to find my own way in the world, I faced many of the same choices and challenges facing many of you today. I sometimes doubted that my thoughts and actions really mattered in the larger scheme of things.

But I made a choice. I chose to check in, to get involved, and to try and make a difference in people's lives. It's what led me to my work as a community organizer in Chicago, where I worked with churches to rebuild struggling communities on the South Side. It's what led me to teach and to run for public office. And even today, I hear the skepticism. Too often, our leaders let us down. They don't seem to do much to make our lives better. So I understand the temptation to sit elections out.

But this year, when the stakes are this high, and the outcome will be so close, I need you to choose to vote. Not just because so many have fought for your right to, even though they have. Not just because our very citizenship demands it, even though it does.

I need you to choose to vote because if you don't you give your silent endorsement to the way things are. You cast an equally powerful ballot for four more years that look just like the last eight. And at a time when Americans everywhere are hurting, I need you to make a difference.

That's why our campaign has launched a Web site to make the process easy. Votefor Change.com is a one-stop shop to help you register to vote, check you registration status, apply for an absentee ballot, and find out where your polling place is on Election Day.

At defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it-because they rise up to say "enough," and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.

All across America, something is stirring. The change we need is coming. And if you register to vote, and get your friends and neighbors, classmates and coworkers to do the same, and if you stand with me on November 4th, then together, we will win this election and change this country.

"Young Gifted and Black" -- Big Daddy Kane (Young Gifted and Black)

Tyler Perry's Studio is now OPEN! History has been made!

On October 4, 2008 a star studded grand opening event happen. The first major television and movie studio owned and operated by an African-American film producer has arrived, the "Tyler Perry Studio." The world renowned playwright, screenwriter, actor, director and producer of film and stage plays has developed a 30-acre studio facility in southwest Atlanta that will house the Tyler Perry television shows House of Payne and Meet the Browns along with future feature films.

Inside, Perry had a surprise waiting for Sidney Poitier (The first African/Bahamian American to win the Oscar) , Cicely Tyson (The American Emmy-Award winning, Academy Award-nominated actress and successful stage actress) and Ruby Dee (An acclaimed actor who's career in acting has crossed all major forms of media over a span of eight decades, including A Raisin in the Sun) on the movie lot’s Main Street, just past East 34th St, banners unfurled down the brownstones to reveal the Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Stage Three, the Cicely Tyson Stage Two and the Sidney Poitier Stage One.

In front of a cheering crowd, Poitier was overcome with emotion as his likeness unspooled in front of him. He majestically pointed his index finger at the applauding crowd and smashed a bottle of bubbly on the wall to christen it. Champagne sparkled on his black tuxedo jacket as he wiped the tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.

Across the way, a large pond was lit in gold light as a screen appeared in the water to reveal a film hosted by Perry, explaining how he found the abandoned former airline reservations center two years ago.

“I looked at the abandoned buildings and I thought, ‘There’s no way,’ ” Perry said on the film. “Then I saw what I thought was debris on the front gates. I looked closer and realized someone had taped Bible Scriptures on the gate. Then I knew. I jumped in full steam with no fear. Nothing but the grace of God has brought me to this place.”

A singer emerged from a stage on the water to perform “The Impossible Dream” as fireworks blazed overhead.

Tears streamed down the faces of the attendees as waiters quietly offered tissues in red velvet boxes.

Both former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young and former Brave and home run king Henry Aaron expressed how thrilled they were that Perry chose an often neglected section of the city for the multi-million dollar facility.

“It’s an absolute blessing for Atlanta,” Young said.

Added Aaron: “It’s wonderful to see him giving back to this neighborhood. Even when the city hosted the Olympics, this area never received this kind of assistance.”

History in '08 has been made...

"You Must Learn" --KRS1(You must learn)

Madame C. J. Walker

America's first self-made woman millionaire, Madame C. J. Walker, helped style the Harlem Renaissance.

When an opulent, 34-room mansion went up on the banks of the Hudson River in 1917, the neighbors were worried. They didn't mind that the owner, Madame, C. J. Walker, was a successful businesswoman; they didn't mind that she came from the South or that she had once been a washerwoman.

They minded that she was black. "One of the race," a newspaper reported, "is invading the domains of New York's aristocracy." And according to "The New York Times," one neighbor exclaimed, "No woman of her race could own such a place. Does she really intend to live there?"

Mme. Walker, who had made a fortune selling beauty products for black women, was unfazed. From her mansion just north of New York City, she planned to continue her mission to inspire black culture and business. With her backing, black writers, artists, and activists would go on to play a key role in the creative outpouring of the Harlem Renaissance. And with her support, thousands of working-class black women would become economically self-sufficient.

Mme. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove on a Louisiana cotton plantation in 1867, just two years after the abolition of slavery. As a child, she worked alongside her sharecropper parents; she was orphaned when she was seven. Determined to provide an easier life for her own daughter, she took in laundry, but always searched for a better way to make a living. One night, she later recounted, "God answered my prayer. In a dream, a big black man appeared to me and told me what to mix up for my hair. I made up my mind I would begin to sell it."

Mme. Walker developed Vegetable Shampoo, Wonderful Hair Grower, Vanishing Cream, and other beauty products for black women. Like most beauty products of the time, which promoted white standards of beauty, Mme. Walker's products and treatments promised fairer complexions and straighter hair. At the time, explains A'Lelia Bundles, Mme. Walker's great-great granddaughter, "there was a tremendous amount of pressure [on black people] to be 'acceptable.'"

But while Mme. Walker complied with style, she didn't turn her back on her race. She funded scholarships for black students, helped support young writers, donated thousands of dollars to Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, gave money to Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association, and lobbied politicians for civil rights. In 1917, she even led a group of women to Washington, D.C., to protest President Woodrow Wilson's segregation of the military.

OFFERING A HAND UP

Mme. Walker also offered black women a rare opportunity to get ahead. Graduates of the Walker College of Hair Culture were trained to style hair, sell Walker products, even open their own beauty salons. "I am not satisfied in making money for myself," she told a 1914 convention of the National Negro Business League. "I endeavor to provide employment for hundreds of the women of my race."

By 1916, Walker employed 20,000 agents throughout the country. Women who had toiled for pennies at arduous jobs were earning more money than ever before. "You have opened up a trade for hundreds of colored women to make an honest and profitable living," a Walker College graduate wrote Mme. Walker. "They make as much in one week as a month's salary would bring from any other position they could secure."

When Walker died in 1919, her daughter A'Lelia stepped into her shoes. Almost. Although A'Lelia continued to host black intellectuals at lavish parties, she withdrew her financial support. "A'Lelia Walker did not subsidize specific writers," Ms. Bundles says, "but she provided a place for all kinds of people to gather. She was one of the few blacks who had the money to allow her to entertain in the large scale." When A'Lelia died, more than 10,000 mourners paid their respects. The Reverend Adam Clayton Powell Sr. delivered a sermon. A mourner read, "To A'Lelia," written by Langston Hughes. The tribute was not only a farewell for A'Lelia, but a celebration of two mythic women who had styled the creative and economic accomplishments of the Harlem Renaissance.

"Hey young world, the world is yours"-- Slick Rick (Hey young world)

Allan Houston Legacy Foundation

Tiffany Joseph dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. With the help of a program supported by the A.B. Freeman School of Business, she is one step closer to making her dream a reality.

Joseph, 22, is a student in the Tulane School of Continuing Studies and one of 25 young entrepreneurs selected for the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation's Business Education and Development Program.

The program, initially implemented in Harlem, N.Y., is offered in New Orleans for the first time this year. It provides six months of entrepreneurial mentoring for young adults from 18 to 25. Program participants learn about the ins and outs of the business world including negotiations, networking, economics and marketing.

The Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship in the Tulane School of Business joined other supporters such as the National Basketball Association and the technology company Lenovo to kick off the program in January.

Lina Alfieri Stern, director of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship, says that the institute's goal is to teach participants to not only become successful business entrepreneurs, but also social entrepreneurs — those who use their businesses to encourage social change.

"We are partnering with the Allan Houston Foundation to provide social entrepreneurship training and the social entrepreneurship fund," says Stern. "We are providing an opportunity where the participants get to implement a social entrepreneurship program for a real New Orleans business."

According to Stern, participants are working in groups on ways to improve a New Orleans business. During the program, the team with the best plan will implement it using $10,000 provided by Tulane and Lenovo.

At the conclusion of the six-month program, the foundation will present two $18,000 grants to two participants who will start their own businesses. The award recipients also will have their businesses incubated for one year by the Lenovo Small Business Incubator Program, where they will receive help with finances and early business decisions.

"When I found out about this program I knew that it would provide the knowledge and experience that I need to become an entrepreneur," says Joseph, who plans to open a banquet hall in New Orleans. "It's teaching us how to take risks because, after all, entrepreneurship is always a risk."

Stern says the program will run continuously in New Orleans, recruiting a new class every six months.

"Can't Truss It!" -- Public Enemy (Can't Truss It)

Upstate New York county lists Obama as 'Osama' on absentee ballot. "Can't Trust It!"

An upstate election board sent out hundreds of absenteeballots that misspelled Barack Obama's last name as "Osama" - as in the first name of terrorist enemy No. 1 Osama Bin Ladan. The Rensselaer County Board of Elections issued a statement Friday confirming a "typographical error was made in the name of one of thecandidates."

The error was included on 300 of the more than 4,000 absentee ballots that will go out, commissioners Larry Bugbee, a Republican, and EdwardMcDonough, a Democrat, said in the joint statement. "The Board of Elections acted quickly to correct the typographical error," the two said. "The error was not deliberate and the Board of Elections is continuing to fairly manage the upcoming general electionin a bipartisan and cooperative manner."

Remaining "Osama" ballots were shredded and new absentee ballots with the correctspelling were sent to the 300 people who received the bad ones. They will be able to send in either one and have their vote count, officials said.

"We're glad officials are working to correct this error and we assume it won't happen again," Obama spokesman Blake Zeff said.

"You must learn!" -- KRS1 (You must learn)

"The Real McCoy!"

Elijah McCoy (1843–1929) invented an oil-dripping cup for trains.

Fact: Other inventors tried to copy McCoy's oil-dripping cup. But none of the other cups worked as well as his, so customers started asking for "the real McCoy." That's where the expression comes from.

"The Gas Face" -- 3rd Bass (Gas Face)

Michael Bloomberg gets the Gas Face!

While the nation's voters are focusing on the biggest decision in this nation's history for the next President of the United States of America, Michael Bloomberg is going behind voter's backs making a deal with billionaire cosmetics heir Ron Lauder (who in the 1900s bankrolled two successful referendums on the question) to extend his term limit as mayor of New York. This is totally disrespectful to voter's here in New York and those who are registering voters for the first time.

I want you to way in on this topic and voice your Hip-Hopinion?

"We can never go nowhere, unless we share with each other" Tupac Shakur (Changes)

Step up to the podium and voice your Hip-Hopinion!

We want to hear form... The next generation of hip-hop leaders, the young men and women. What are your concerns about the well being of your future as we Hip-HopTV24/7.org work vigorously in getting the message out to your peers and parents so we can come together for CHANGE!

"If you don't know, now you know!" -- The Notorious B.I.G. (Juicy)

John McCain's Real Record on MLK Holiday

John McCain today brought his effort to reinvent himself for the general election to a new low by misleading the voters on his full record on a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King. McCain tried to suggest that his opposition to a holiday honoring Dr. King was limited to his 1983 vote against a federal holiday. In reality, McCain maintained his opposition to it until at least 1989, voted against funding for the commission working to promote the King Holiday in 1994, and used divisive language about state's rights to defend himself. McCain even supported Republican efforts to repeal a holiday in his state in 1987.

"It's frankly disingenuous for John McCain to try and reinvent himself for the general election by distorting his record of opposing a holiday honoring Dr. King," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. "John McCain should be honest about his full record of opposing the federal holiday, opposing a state holiday four years later, using divisive language to defend himself, and voting to cut off funding for the commission working to promote the King holiday as recently as 1994."

John McCain on MLK Day

1983: McCain Voted Against Law Creating National Martin Luther King Holiday. In 1983, McCain voted against passing a bill to designate the third Monday of every January as a federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That was the year the holiday was passed into law, supported by 338 members of the House and 78 members of the Senate. [1983 House Vote #289, 8/2/1983; 1983 Senate Vote #303]

1987: McCain Supports AZ Governor's Effort to Rescind Martin Luther King Day As State Holiday. In 1987, Arizona Governor Evan Mecham rescinded "what he termed an illegal executive order by his predecessor, Democrat Bruce Babbitt, to establish a state holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr." Speaking to the Arizona Teenage Republican Convention, when asked about Mecham's decision to rescind the holiday, "McCain said that he felt Mecham was correct in rescinding the holiday." [Washington Post, 1/14/1987; Phoenix Gazette, 4/13/1987]

1989: McCain Urged Lawmakers To Create State Holiday, But Expressed Opposition To Federal Holiday. In 1989, McCain expressed his support for a state law recognizing an Arizona Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. But, McCain said, "I'm still opposed to another federal holiday. . .but I support the (Arizona) Martin Luther King holiday because of the enormous proportions this issue has taken on as far as the image of our state and our treatment towards not only blacks but all minorities." [Phoenix Gazette, 5/2/1989]

1992: McCain Endorsed Proposition Creating State Holiday. "McCain endorsed Proposition 300, which would establish a paid state holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr." [Phoenix Gazette, 10/28/1992]

1994: McCain Voted To Strip Federal Funding From the MLK Federal Holiday Commission. In 1994, McCain voted to prohibit federal funds for the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission. The Commission was established in 1984 "to encourage the observance of King's birthday." According to Al King, head of the California chapter of the commission, the organization "helped keep 'senators' and representatives' feet to the fire to recognize the holiday.'" [1994 Senate Vote #127, 5/24/1994; Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/24/1995, 5/26/1995]

John McCain on the Confederate Flag

Late 1999: McCain Said He Wasn't Offended By the Flag. In 2000, McCain said of the flying of the Confederate Flag in South Carolina, "To me personally, I understand how it could be offensive to some people, but I had ancestors who fought in the Confederate army and I thought they fought honorably." [AP, 11/5/1999]

Early 2000: McCain Called The Confederate Flag "Offensive" And A Symbol Of Slavery. McCain appeared on "Face The Nation" and recognized the offensive symbolism of the Confederate flag. McCain said, "The Confederate flag is offensive in many, many ways, as we all know. It's a symbol of racism and slavery." [CBS News, Face The Nation, 1/9/00]

A Day Later, Aides Say He Misspoke. The next day, "McCain reversed himself and called the flag 'a symbol of heritage'…Aides said he had misspoken in the television interview." [New York Times, 1/12/2000]

2006: McCain Conceded He Lied In 2000 To Win Political Points With The Confederate Flag, Called It "An Act Of Cowardice." Following the 2000 South Carolina primary, McCain admitted that he had lied about his position on the confederate flag in order to win political points while battling George Bush in the South Carolina. McCain admitted, "I feared that if I answered honestly, I could not win the South Carolina primary, so I chose to compromise my principles. I broke my promise to always tell the truth." Speaking on the incident in 2006, McCain went further, saying, "The flag in South Carolina. I said that that was a state issue [in 2000]. It's not a state issue. It's a symbol that should not fly over the state capitol anywhere in America. … I said that it really wasn't any of my business, was basically what I said. That was an act of cowardice." [New York Times, 4/20/2000; CNN, 5/24/2006]

"Develop a negative into a positve picture" -- Lauryn Hill (Everything is Everything)

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