Brad Pitt donates to pediatric center in Missouri

I love it when a celebrity and/or entertainer uses their fame or money to help the public. This is even better when the action they take benefits children. Such is the case with Brad Pitt and his family.

Brad Pitt and his siblings have joined together and donated $1 million to open a pediatric cancer center at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Mo. This center will be on of 6 St. Jude's affiliates, and will be the only hospital in the Southwest Missouri that has a child cancer and blood specialist.

The center will be named after the mother of Brad and his siblins. The Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center will open this summer. Obviously Mrs. Jane Pitt instilled a great sense of civic purpose in her children. Which is a great thing.

Brad Pitt has always been a standout among most entertainers. He has helped raise money for those in need in Darfur. He has helped to rebuild homes for families that suffered from Hurricane Katrina in Louisianna. There are multiple donations and organizations that he has given money, time and support to that help children in this nation and across the globe. Even if he was ot a solid actor, I would count him among my favorites just because of what he does.

I wish more celebrities and entertainers could be as thoughtful and generous as Pitt is.

Reader comment: Christy in Utah

I had to stop and catch my breath after reading the comment made by Christy about my post The most dangerous people in America - 11.4.2007.1 (and part 2 - 4.9.2008.1). By this point I would have thought that I was used to these kinds of comments, but sometimes I’m still taken for a loss.

The full comment can be seen at Black & White Blog, where I an a co-author. I am reproducing it here verbatim.

Christy

Perhaps Mike the reason why you always hear of black youth being killed by the police is because they are the violent ones. I live in Utah, which is predominatly white. They dont go around and shoot at eachother, or attack eachother. Yes, they act like boys and yell and tease people. That is hardly killing people or carrying guns.

I think you are in a bit of denial there Mike. Use the recent floods as an example. People are pulling together and working their own way out. They help thier neighbors and help themselves.\\

Then look at New Orleans, when there was flooding they all fell apart, started to rape eachother and shoot eachother. They were shooting at the helicopters trying to help them for hell sake.

It is the mentality that is the problem here. Whites for the most part have the opinion that we need to take care of ourselves and take responsiblity. Blacks, however are of the opinion that they are somehow owed something, and cant pull thier heads out of thier butts long enough to figure out how to take care of themselves.

That is what makes blacks more dangerous then whites. Their inablity to take any kind of responsiblity.

The amount of ignorance being spewed in these few words is enormous. I can say that the friends I have in Salt Lake City, and my experiences in Utah have never reflected the thoughts of Christy. But it reminds me that when any group of people in America is isolated from everyone else ignorance and blatant stupidity is rampant – like Eugene Oregon.

First of all Christy, you ignored all the facts I provided in the post and follow-up comments. Either that is because you chose to ignore factual data provided by the Government, or you could not allow yourself to understand the data’s meaning as it would invalidate your views.

And what views they are. Talk about simplistic racist denial. I am aware that New Orleans had issues after Hurricane Katrina. That is after the flood was over and the streets continued to hold bodies of the dead, and the Government failed to provide the populace with enough food and shelter. I am also aware that the issues that were occurring after the flood were not restricted to a single race, though the major news media had a great time inferring that it was a Black issue only. Had you looked for the full news stories, and not relied on the 15 second news video clips, you would have easily seen that Christy.

And don’t forget the fact that often the media, during the New Orleans floods, showed pictures of Whites and Blacks in the flood waters. The difference was only that when Blacks were shown they were referred to as looters, and Whites were said to be foraging for survival. The bias was blatant if you could look with clear eyes and an open mind.

Still I am unaware of helicopters coming to aid civilians that were being shot at. I’d love to see a link to that news report, provide it if it exists as I never found such a story in all my coverage or following of the story.

Christy, you are as ignorant of history as you are of using a spell check program. You state that Whites take responsibility and care of themselves. Let’s walk through a bit of history. Modern math, which enables Mankind to walk on the moon and have the internet, is all based on the number 0, created and used by the Middle East and Africa. The cradle of civilization, the beginnings of trade, and formal written language, all created in Africa.

Let’s move forward in time. The major wars of the Ancients were virtually all started by White countries needing to dominate the rest of the world. Roman, Greeks, Huns, Prussians, Saxons, ect. It’s a huge list. And how civilized were these hordes? They proliferated the single greatest plague known to humanity, the Bubonic Plague. Who found the cure for the Plague, the Moors – who were African.

The mentality that has created some of the worst conditions and history in Mankind can be summed up as such – European Whites believe themselves to be elite and superior, thus they fought near continuous wars across every part of the world they found. In each part of the world they brought disease, and with their barbarism forced their system of life onto every other culture they encountered. They stole nearly ever advance they could understand and militarized it. The effects are still reverberating across the world.

That is history.

In more modern times we have seen a slow progression towards understanding other cultures. America lags many nations in this effort. Our separation form the rest of the world has allowed us to be isolated and retard our interactions with other cultures. Thus we have never fully unified as a nation of multiple cultures.

Where, Christy, is the responsibility of Whites for the enslavement of Africans? The Government has never offered an apology – and the mere mention of such an act enrages millions. One of the greatest peacemakers ever known was Dr. Martin Luther King and it took over 20 years to provide him with a holiday, which was fought severely against by politicians in office right now like Senator McCain. It’s still a holiday that is not fully observed throughout the nation. Is that responsible?

Christy, you seem to think that the stereotypes of African Americans are true. Yet you ignore the great actions that African Americans have made throughout the existence of America. It was Blacks who learned how to provide blood transfusions that save millions of lives a year. It was Blacks that created the stoplight ensuring safe travel for tens of millions on our roads each day. The list of inventions and advancements is to long to list, and I bet you can’t name 2 of them.

And I again present you further facts.

“So we get this realization, Whites committed 4,297,146 acts of violent crime against a single person, and 759,079 acts against multiple victims that were White. Including the 40,249 multiple Black victims we get a total of 5,096,474. Thus once we move away from percentages and look at real numbers we learn that Whites are far more likely to commit a crime of violence against anyone, especially other Whites.

...

Crimes of violence 2,010,170 Under age 12 - 0.3% Ages 12-20 - 46.9% Ages 21-29 - 13.9% All over 30 - 5.7% Mixed ages - 25.9% Unknown - 7.2%

Thus 61.1% of all violent multiple crimes are committed by those at or under age 29...“

That says nothing of high school shootings – never committed by a Black or Hispanic child even in inner cities where guns and drugs are easily available – or acts of terrorism by fringe groups – like those that lead to the Oklahoma City bombings.

Christy, you don’t see the truth because you chose not to. You allow the major news media to deceive you. You cannot accept the responsibility in front of you because you are too busy heaping blame on others that aren’t exactly like you.

Christy, I accept that there are some African Americans that are not upstanding citizens of America. I accept that there are some that are not nice. Just as I accept that this is true of every race and culture. Yet I also accept that Whites in America overwhelmingly have more issues with people of color and are more violent –even against themselves – than ANY other group in America.

And the fact is that when given facts and examples of how lopsided the landscape is people like you, Christy, chose to wrap themselves in a blanket of old half-truths and misconceptions rather than deal with the situation.

I’m glad to say that most of the Whites I know are not like you Christy. They are good people that give respect to anyone that deserves it. They do not have rules or criteria for each color of person they meet. They deal with all people in the same manner, and can admit that some people are just trash – even if they are White. You are not among those people Christy.

I have lived or traveled through about 1/3 of this nation, I have lived overseas. I love this nation with every problem we have because it is the greatest in the world. But I am not in denial that through all those travels and experiences in my 40 years on this planet, there are some that dislike me just because of the color of my skin. I have had those experiences up to this year, and in reading your comment I am sure that my nephews will have them as well, sadly.

Christy, the point is not that all Whites are bad. It’s not that Whites have a history of barbarism and violence. It’s not that America seethes with an undercurrent of racism. But it is the point that reality is warped by the media in an effort to disguise the issues facing the nation, and to allow those with a mentality like yourself, a mentality that is better suited for the 9th century than the 21st, to be able to sleep at night.

I sleep well at night knowing the truth. I have no fear of people because I see and know the truth. I have friends of ever nationality and color found on the earth because I accept the truth. I have a full life and success because I do not deny the truth. Can you say the same, Christy?

Rene Marie: An anthem by any other name

Ok, I admit that I had no clue that there was a Black national anthem. Never heard of it, never heard anyone speak about it. IF I had $1 million dollars on the line I would have guessed it’d be a song by James Brown, probably Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud

Of course I would be wrong. But at least I have an idea of a pro-Black song it could have been. All of this comes from a news story that I literally skipped over in my email. [I have various newsgroups that send me information on events] I didn’t read anything in the titles that sounded worthy of noting.

I was corrected on that today. A friend of mine informed me that a Jazz singer, Rene Marie, decided to make a personal statement by not singing the national anthem, but instead substituting the Black anthem. My friend, of similar age to me, was taught the song in elementary school in Philadelphia. That was news to me.

But to the controversy. On its face I think Rene Marie insulted everyone with her uncalled for, underhanded substitution of words.

There is a time for artistic expression, or to make a voice for an unheard cause. I may not always agree, but it can be done. Like with Kanye West. I disagreed with his use of national airtime dedicated to raising money for Hurricane Katrina relief for his personal political preferences, but I understand his motivation and outrage. For those that can’t just call a press conference [which West should have done after helping those in need] I understand the need to use their time in the limelight wisely.

Here is the video of the event. Watch all the faces during and after the event carefully.



Now you notice that everyone is confused. Even the casual listener noticed the song was paced right, but it sounded wrong. There were some applause but that was being polite.

So what did Rene Marie say?

“I am an artist. As such, if I wait until I am asked to express myself artistically, or if I must ask permission to do it, it would never get done. I wanted to tell them what I was going to do, but I couldn’t because I knew the answer would be ‘no’. I knew that, even if I asked to do my version of the national anthem, the answer would be ‘no’. There are times, artistically speaking, when an event chooses us, a door is opened to heal ourselves and others through our artistic expression, so to speak. When that happens we can trust our instincts and walk through it or we can shrink back in fear. It is my firm belief that artists have the responsibility and privilege to walk through that door every single time it opens to them.”

Bullshit.

This wasn’t a performance; it was an honor that was given to her just as it is for anyone singing the anthem at an event. Her artistic expression wasn’t asked for, nor needed beyond singing the proper words. That’s why she didn’t ask, because she knew this was not about expression or art, but honor.

If she wanted to make a statement, then make one. But don’t use those that are helping you out (I think most would agree that she is a relative unknown) by slapping their face. Her actions have hurt the political aspirations of those around that event. She has created divisiveness where there was none. She has impeded any positive progress that was proposed that day. I mean you’ll find a lot of news and blogging about her, but what was the speech made that day? Did anyone pay attention?

“I viewed the invitation to be a door opened to me to sing this version of the Star Spangled Banner”

Hello, this wasn’t the Star Spangled Banner. That’s the American national anthem. What she sang is another song, and might as well have been James Brown’s Say It Loud. Or anything by Snoop Dogg. Because what isn’t the anthem just isn’t.

“As for offending others with my music, I cannot apologize for that. It goes with the risky territory of being an artist.”

That’s just a rude cop out. Being an artist is no excuse for bad taste.

“Sometimes, the simple act of ‘doing’ is accomplishment enough.”

That can be true, if you truly do something. When people march to a Government office and burn a flag that is a statement. When Americans rally that is a statement. When Americans were attacked by police in the South, or students were shot by the National Guard in Kent State they made statements. All of these things were “doing” something.

The Black Panthers, the Guardian Angels, Public Enemy, the cable television show Black.White, all of that and more ‘did’ something. They all accomplished something. And of course the 1968 Olympics did and said a lot!

All Rene Marie did was embarrass everyone that was connected to her. She benefited no one. She improved nothing. She promoted no cause. In fact she did NOTHING.

Actually she did do something. She made problems for the Mayor, the city, and probably the next dozen Black artists and entertainers that may not get work or recognition after her stunt. She has placed a wall up and hindered progress of all forms, because she wanted to make an artistic expression at everyone else’s expense.

Do I think Rene Marie will get more work because of this? I hope not. I hope she has a great day job, as I would be shocked to see her career as an entertainer take a single step forward after this. She did it to herself. I have neither pity nor remorse.

There’s my opinion. Sorry for being late.

President Bush and Darfur now - not the movie - 2.19.2008.2

In 2005 a category 5 hurricane named Katrina struck New Orleans and devastated the city. The United States government, lead by FEMA, failed the city and its citizens in a catastrophic manner. This is fact and there can be no dispute of it.

Some have argued that the failure of the government was in part because of the personal beliefs of President Bush in regard to African Americans. It is not the purpose or goal of this blog or me to delve into the heart of the President, but I will state that as the Commander-and Chief and highest elected official of the nation he ultimately is responsible for those that died and suffered. That being said, this failure should not have been a surprise since 2 years prior, and continuing to date, America allowed the deaths of hundreds of thousands.

Today, President Bush was visiting Rwanda. During this visit he went to the site where thousands were buried from the atrocity that occurred in that nation. It was obvious that when questions were asked the foremost would be why America, under his leadership, has allowed genocide to occur that will one day create a similar site. The answer was polispeak and paltry, in my opinion.

“I still believe it was the right decision,” Mr. Bush said. “But, having done that, if you’re a problem solver, you put yourself at the mercy of the decisions of others, in this case the United Nations. And I’m well known to have spoken out by the slowness of the United Nations. It is — seems very bureaucratic to me, particularly with people suffering.”

America has become a policeman of the world in my lifetime. We have entered multiple nations as a peacekeeping force and in wars. Yet, for some reason America has turned its back while the equivalent of Orlando, Florida (or possibly Cleveland, Ohio – the exact number is unknown) have been killed since 2003. Let me make this clear, that’s between 200,000 to 400,000 men women and children that have been killed and counting.

If you are wondering where this is happening, the place is called Darfur and it’s in the Sudan.

Today President Bush stated that he supports African nations taking care of African problems. That is a first, since America and Europe have meddled and created problems in Africa for millennia. President Bush has stated

“White soldiers are a target for both sides of a conflict [in Africa] and are counter-productive to resolution.” – as stated on Fox News via news clip

While that may well be true, this has never prevented America from doing anything before. Such an answer is paltry in my opinion. It leads me to believe that if this mass murder of children was occurring in Europe or affecting Whites, America would be there in gangbusters.

And lest anyone think that President Bush is alone in this decision, I refer you to HR 180 IH. Congress has failed to act on this matter for multiple years, and has facilitated the blind eye America and the major news media have given this genocide. Republicans and Democrats share equally in this failure. The President may be responsible for his actions as the Chief Executive, but Congress is no less complicit.

President Bush went on to say,

“We are cooperating to address violence and genocide in Darfur.”

To that end the President has pledged $100 million dollars to those African nations that will help to end the 5 year long conflict in Darfur. Rwanda is to receive $17 million with Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, Burkina Faso and Malawi also to receive funds. Yet American businesses continue to do business (and thus fund the murder of women and children) with Sudan unabated. And Congress seems too busy with holding meetings about steroids with baseball entertainers or investigating why individuals that are employed at the pleasure of the President were fired (a situation that was never illegal and known to have violated no laws).

America has acted too late and far to hands off in this matter. The major news media have ignored the issue though individuals like George Clooney and more prominently Don Cheadle have tried to being it to the spotlight. I mean Mr. Cheadle even was involved in a movie (Darfur Now) specifically to draw attention here. Yet none of the media paid attention, or the elected officials of the nation.

Thus I must ask why. When the action in Kosovo draw immediate attention and comment, and the problems in Israel are in our headlines. When the politics of Russia and the various nations of the CIS (many of which are only slightly less chaotic) are fodder for pundits. What is the difference?

I can tell you what Kanye West thinks (stated inappropriately in a format that deserved better)



Considering the actions of America about Darfur over the past 5 years I would have to say that his claim has merit. And the Congress along with the major news media is no better.

If you’d like to prove me wrong, write to President Bush and demand more action at:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

FAX: 202-456-2461
comments@whitehouse.gov

president@whitehouse.gov
vice_president@whitehouse.gov

You can write to Congress to request action in preserving the lives of thousands of women and children via your local Senator or Congressman:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Or

http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

Venus Williams joins the Starbury trend - 11.14.2007.1

I love it when I can revisit a post I made in the past to update the news and events, especially when the news is positive. I don’t get to do this as often as I would like, but today I can. What is the good news? Well it involves Mr. Stephon Marbury, Ms. Venus Williams and Mr. Ben Wallace.

For those that have not seen the original post in May of this year [Starbury sneakers from Stephon Marbury - 5.1.2007.1] I discussed the benefit of the Starbury sneaker line, sold by Steve & Barry exclusively. For $15 dollars a celebrity entertainer endorsed sneaker can be bought, and according to comments by B-Esq (from the original post)

“The new Starbury line of sneakers are much better and more comfortable than my nikes, reeboks, filas and sauconys.”

While there was some news on this story, major media didn’t focus on the positive news, or the other positive actions by Mr. Marbury. Even now there is more attention to is sex life and initial comments about Michael Vick. But that takes away for the real story I think deserves attention.

There is the massive, NBA leading donations to Hurricane Katrina relief, the gift of sneakers to New York City high school varsity basketball players, and free haircuts to youth at Coney Island. Yes, negative news grabs headlines, but only when that is the focus of the news. The positives may be less sensational, but have far deeper impact.

And that impact in terms of the Starbury sneakers has grown. As I mentioned in the beginning, Mr. Marbury is now being joined by Ms. Williams and Mr. Wallace. Both of these star athletes are coming out with their own $15 endorsed sneakers. In fact Ms. Venus Williams will also be coming out with an entire line of clothing, each piece of which is priced at or below $20. And I think it’s about time.

I said before,

“I don’t fault anyone for making or endorsing a product and getting paid for it. Even better if they actually support and/or believe in the product. But ripping-off kids is wrong no matter what the reason. And it’s insulting when a multi-millionaire exploits fans, especially those in the least economically capable communities, to make another buck. Even the worst stockbrokers I worked with or knew of in the market would NEVER take money from kids and orphans. To make it blunt, profits in excess of 200% for a piece of sporting equipment that can’t survive the wear and tear of daily use beyond 6 months or so, and targeted to children and young adults, is exploitive.”

At $140 the new LeBron James’ Nike sneaker is exploitative, to me. It’s not worth the price. It’s taking advantage or the status and celebrity youth see in Mr. James. I again say I don’t fault him for getting paid, I just think he and others can do it more affordably for the very targeted African American community consumer.

I support the efforts of Steve & Barry, Ms. Williams, Mr. Wallace, and Mr. Marbury. I hope that their efforts make an impact with other companies, and gain massive popularity among African American kids. I suggest that on Nov. 15, everyone goes out and checks out the EleVen debut, which is the clothing line from tennis star and celebrity Venus Williams.

There are things in life that we want that cost a lot of money, like an education. A basic and essential item, clothing and footwear, should not be one of them. And I’m happy to say that a trend appears to be growing that agrees with this thought.

Dr. King message part 2 - 1.15.2007.3

Continued from part 1...

...

In a less quoted part of Dr. King’s speech he stated, “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’”. In ways that note is still unpaid. The failures from Hurricane Katrina, the injustice of the murders of Mr. Sean Bell and many others, and multiple other events confirm this.

But there has been some payment made. Minority businesses are not just the ‘crazy dreams’ of ‘those muslims’, but an encouraged reality in virtually every city in the nation. Where the military was highly segregated, now we have seen an African American reach the highest levels. Where there were political offices devoid of any persons of color we now have Cabinet members and Secretary of State. Today we even can see Black Americans as millionaires and billionaires in business and serious consideration of the potential of a Black President. Not long ago (a mere 20 years) such a thought could only be the fodder of comedians.

Yet for all of that there is still what Dr. King called, “…the tranquilizing drug of gradualism,” in that same speech from 1963. And like all drugs it is addictive. Today the youth fail to take the educations that are available to them. With desegregation, the internet, and yes mediocre schools there is the potential to expand our minds; yet the dropout rates have risen to unheard of levels. In the past we were barred from learning, today it is abandoned. In the past there was degradation placed upon us, in restrictions on where we could live, sit, and eat. In the past there was dehumanization placed in the words used to describe us. Today we degrade ourselves in words used to greet and converse with ourselves or others. Today we belittle our women as props and possessions in music videos, song and movies. Today we insult and destroy our families with terms like ‘baby-mama’ or ‘baby-daddy’, and actions such as creating families and not providing the resulting children with a father. We divert ourselves in a quest for wealth by any means, without concern of what those means and their resulting consequence cost.

These are the things we have done and allow to exist. There is no question that problems exist, beyond our causation. These serve only to compound the issues that we place on ourselves. Dr. King said, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

I humbly add to these important words, we cannot be satisfied to pretend that our ghettos are treasures, somehow known only by ourselves. We cannot be satisfied to allow our children to grow up without knowing both their parents. We cannot be satisfied with the unspeakable brutality enacted by African American on African American in the name of whatever gang or petty monetary gain. We cannot be satisfied with the lodging provided by prisons and jails as a second home. We cannot accept the platitudes of politicians, offering us the ability to continue in this lifestyle without enabling us the ability to improve our lives, and returning them votes to continue this process.

... continued in part 3