Donate for breast implants or school books, NAACP, and Jerry's kids

Ok, it’s official. America is screwed up in a massive way. I can only come to that conclusion after finding out about a site that I just can’t believe exists. But it does, and it’s real. Not only that, it was a featured as a story on Fox News earlier today. What is the site? MyFreeImplants.com [No I will not link directly to the site – if you need to see it you can get there easily enough]

Only in America is it possible for such a site to not only exist, but to relatively flourish. The goal of this site is that flat-chested women (18 and over) place their pictures and bio on the site. Men (or women I suppose) who find a particular woman interesting, contact that woman and speak with them via email, as I understand. Based on the looks of the woman, and conversations – possibly with reward of “sexy photos” (at the discretion of the ladies involved) – the ‘benefactors’ donate money towards the ladies gaining cosmetic surgery that will augment their breasts.

That’s the basis of the site. Simple direct and legal. Based on the 4 successes listed on the homepage of the site right now this site has raised at least $23,345. Do the women look different? Yes. Better? That’s dependant on your personal opinions.

But the thing that I am amazed by is what I just mentioned. This site raises money for basically nothing. I won’t equate it with porn, nor an internet somewhat interactive version of Playboy, but I don’t think it’s far from it either.

I’m sure the women involved are quite happy with the results of the site. I’m sure that women that want the cosmetic surgery, without the means to afford it, and willing to undergo this process feel justified. I don’t question them at all. But I must say I’m annoyed by it.

Call it a bit of jealousy. I request donations of .50 cents to $1 (more if you want) for the virtually daily efforts I provide on my blogs and sites. I provide t-shirts, mugs, poetry and more, updated several times a year. I use those donations to help fund the cost of the various sites, and my give away contests (like the $1,100 I gave away for Christmas) and efforts to improve the quality of life – like the I Love America That’s Why I Vote! campaign. Effectively I give back a tangible something for the precious and generous donations that I receive from you my readers. And I thank each and every one of you that do this for me.

But this website seems to just receive money for nothing. I don’t get it. I don’t see the value in it. Hell, even going to a strip club has more value and return in it. And why do the male benefactors waste their money in such a manner? Forget my donations, the $23,000 mentioned above is discretionary money that could have gone to AIDS prevention and cure efforts. It could buy new school books for a local public elementary school, or help feed kids in those schools. It can give the homeless meals, clothing, and shelter. It could go to organizations that support the improvement of African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and other people of color in every aspect of our lives. Each of those things is far more worthy of a donation than me, and definitely the breast implant site.

So maybe I’m a bit jealous. Maybe I want to get .50 cents per reader so that I can do a huge campaign to help register votes so that the President elected in November realizes that they need to make substantive changes to improve America for Blacks and Hispanics/Latinos. Maybe I want $1 a reader to be able to give a high school student their first year in college free. Maybe I want to give multiple families across the nation money so they can enjoy a feast on the holiday, have gifts for the kids, and/or pay off a few bills. And yes, having a few extra dollars for myself if possible would be nice.

At least I’m honest. And I strive to give a somewhat tangible return for that, even if I don’t get anything. Hell, if the choice is between me and the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon, give it to Jerry’s kids. But $5,000 to look at pictures of a woman with bigger boobs?

I suggest this to those that would spend their money so frivolously. Buy a DVD for $20, take the remaining $4,980 and split it among a few of the organizations I’ve just mentioned. And if you have .50 cents, or a $1 or 2 extra, I’m happy to receive that as well.

The point is you can do far better, for far more people, than an optional self-respect boost for a single person.

And if you think I’m wrong, I’d love to know why.

Preparing for the TV One Heartland Presidential

This is an excerpt about the TV One Heartland Presidential Forum webcast that will occur latter today.

As the TV One webcast of the Heartland Presidential Forum at 2:30 today approaches, I want to review some of the main issues that I think it will and will not cover. Overall I think that the candidates, of both parties, will seek to avoid a large number of issues most people really care about. Expect a good deal of deflection and moves to tangent issues rather than answering the actual questions posed. I doubt that it will be as obvious as the dramatic and highly covered yes, no, and maybe answer Senator Clinton offered on driver’s licenses for illegal aliens in New York State but I believe they will happen none the less.

First off there are the issues that the candidates will avoid speaking about. The issues are widespread and party specific. For the Democrats there is the fact that for 9 months of this year virtually every candidate vehemently stated that the surge in Iraq could not and would not work. They coupled the disbelief in the surge with they demands for immediate withdrawal of troops.

In the past couple of months, the most liberal pundits, reporters, and politicians have verified that the surge has in fact worked. Iraq is safer and more stable now than since Saddam Hussein was removed. Thus we have seen the debates and the public speeches of the candidates have moved from immediate withdrawal and failure, to a need to withdraw most troops (leaving an unspecified amount of troops for an unspecified amount of time) and failure, to not speaking about the subject at all as much as possible. Kind of funny how that went.

In addition Democratic candidates have moved into the subject of national healthcare as their primary talking point. Though all the plans are not fully explained, and the cost (upwards of 100 billion dollars at the least) has no explanation where it will receive funding from (extra taxes from the rich is the general answer. What is rich is a floating income number ranging from 200,000 at the top and 90,000 near the bottom).

For Republicans the key early issue was again Iraq and supporting the surge (and thus highlighting the Democrats willingness to retreat) and being against terrorism al la 9/11. After several months of each candidate mentioning how strong they are against terrorists they all have shied away from using the single greatest attack on American soil in past 60 years for their political gain (mostly).

The new line of discussion, now that the surge has been shown to be working and President Bush has mandated that surge troops will be slowly phased out of Iraq, has become illegal aliens. Each candidate has claimed they will resolve this issue, though there is no plan stated that will deal with the 12 million plus illegals that are in this nation right now, nor any that will be coming in the future. There are half thoughts of paths to citizenship, documentation, healthcare and deportation but no real plans. And lots of one-upmanship over who is tougher on the subject and who has the best past performance. Oh and there are arguments over who is more devoutly religious, and who can do more to prevent higher taxes. Again no real plans though.

So that is what they were all talking about, and what they want to discuss now. It’s a very short list. And yes I do realize they spoke about other things. But that was/is the focus.

Continued at Preparing for the TV One Heartland Presidential Forum Part 2 - 12.1.2007.1

Help prevent AIDS - 6.23.2007.1

I always enjoy speaking about celebrities and entertainers that are promoting a cause or helping to improve the lives of the general public. Too often the focus is on the negative aspects of these individuals, and the positives get glossed over by the general news media. Even rarer are reports on the positive actions of Black entertainers and celebrities.

Well here is something that needs more attention. While many may know that AIDS is a major epidemic in the world you may not know that there are more than 1 million people in America afflicted with the disease. It’s estimated that 40,000 people get infected with AIDS every year. It is also the leading cause of death among Black women between the ages of 25 – 34. That is unacceptable to me.

I’m happy to say that many others feel the same way. Several well known African American actors and actresses, as well as other celebrities, and institutions are helping raise awareness of this disease and to help motivate more people to get tested. The goal is to get 1 million African Americans to get an AIDS test between now and December 2008.


I think it’s a good cause. I’ve been tested every year since I was in the military back in 1986, my most recent test being this February when I got my annual physical. Knowing what is going on is critical to good health. One of my sisters caught a cancer in the initial stages because of a regular check-up. Checking is important.


On June 25th, Ms. Regina King, Mr. Henry Simmons, Mr. Hill Harper, Ms. Vanessa Williams, and many others will be getting public HIV screening tests to help promote awareness and prevention of this disease. Institutions involved in this event include the Screen Actors Guild, Black AIDS Institute, and The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists among others.

Do your part in protecting yourself and those you love. Get screened and know your status. Celebrities, entertainers, and I have done it, you can too.

This is what I think, what do you think?