Michael’s tireless charity work included a generous $1.5 million fund for the UNCF. Through his own Heal the World Foundation, Jackson sent food and medical supplies to Sarajevo and provided education. In 1984, President Reagan awarded the “King of Pop” with a special medal for his contribution toward the campaign against drunk driving. Then just a year later, Jackson released “We are the World” to address world famine. One year later, he was awarded his own postage stamp in the Virgin Islands, requesting that all revenues go to welfare and education. In his lifetime, Jackson contributed to more than 39 charities including the Michael Jackson Burn Center for Children, the Minority AIDS Project and the National Rainbow Coalition.

Michael Jackson made more music history in 1982 with Quincy Jones for his “Thriller” album, which holds the record as the best-selling record of all time. He is the first artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of fame twice and the composite of his music sold over 750 million records worldwide. He is also an inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame – the first from the genre of pop & R & B.

“The King of Pop” has been noted by the Guinness Book of World Records over 30 times, including for the most successful concert series ever, the biggest selling album of all time (Thriller, 1983) and Guinness named him the most successful entertainer of all time. The grand total of his charitable contributions was claimed to be over $50 million dollars, also a Guinness world record.

In 1990, Jackson helped the world recognize the severity of HIV by introducing fans to Ryan White. In dedication to him after White’s passing, Jackson made the hit song “Gone Too Soon” so that others would take notice of the growing HIV epidemic.

Turmoil hit the megastar and his Neverland Ranch when he was accused of child sexual abuse in both 1993 and 2005. He would be acquitted in the 2005 world-broadcast trial. He became a highlight for public and private scrutiny during his trials, which lead to his own public emotional displays of feelings about his allegations.

In an effort to pay off major debts owed by the entertainer, Michael Jackson partnered with AEG Live concert promoters for the “This Is It” Tour, which was due to launch at the O2 Arena in London, England, beginning July 8, 2009. Tickets sold out in only four hours.

Apparently not.

In a new documentary called “Dark Girls, which will be featured on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network, the film “goes underneath the surface to explore the prejudices that dark-skinned women face throughout the world. It explores the roots of classism, racism and the lack of self-esteem within a segment of cultures that span from America to the most remote corners of the globe. Women share their personal stories, touching on deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes of society, while allowing generations to heal as they learn to love themselves for who they are.”

It’s an age-old topic. The documentary explores the deep-seated biases and attitudes about skin color, particularly dark-skinned women. While the subject is not groundbreaking, the approach seems novel by allowing black women to share their stories, some perhaps for the first time.

But in an era where black unemployment remains an unacceptable 13.5 percent, public schools are closing at an alarming rate, millions of black children are living in poverty, and millions of blacks are managing without health care, is a film about dark-skinned black women relevant?

Still, it’s a topic that conjures visceral reactions.

While visiting Cancun several years ago, one African American woman remembers the compliments and attention she received on a trip to Cancun.

“When I got over there, I had the men all at my feet. I got a proposal, I got gifts. I’m like, ‘What is going on?’” she says. “They would tell me, ‘You have such beautiful skin. Is that your hair? Did you dye it? Is that your natural color?’”

It’s an entirely different reaction than she gets from other African Americans. “Black folks look at me like, ‘She’s just black. Why are they tripping so?’” the woman says. “It’s really questionable to me. Why is it that… my own people don’t see any beauty in me at all?”

Also in the video, another African American woman shares her own experience with black men, explaining how they behave one way privately and a completely different way when it comes time to venture out in public.

“We’re glad that people tuned in and that the network took a chance on brining us back for the second season,” Cedric told The Tom Joyner Morning Show. “We had to do a lot of campaigning to make sure that it was recognized. The numbers were really great for the network but we had to get more people over there, more of our folks to watch it on TV Land, so we did a second running on BET to get that awareness up. It’s going to take a great deal of support to make sure that people are tuning in and really loving the show.”

Though she plays a pastor’s wife, Nash’s impressive cleavage has almost become another character. When asked if the saints who watch had any reaction to this blatant display of Nash’s, um, womanliness, Cedric says they did.

“You know how the church is. [Niecy] calls on her blessings so she was just letting people count them,” he jokes.

On “The Soul Man” Reverend Ballentine is best known for his one big hit, but Cedric says there are a few more songs Ballentine recorded we don’t know about.

In “High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society,” Hart draws on his more than 22 years of professional experience and personal observations of people addicted to drugs while growing up in a tough neighborhood.

For years, the study of drugs has relied on animal testing, but Hart contended the best way to determine the effect of drugs on human is to study the people who use them.

Hart’s book is part memoir and part research, including his findings that reveal a new perspective on commonly held ideas about drugs, poverty, race and why America’s War on Drugs is failing.

“Much of what we are doing in terms of drug education, treatment, and public policy is inconsistent with scientific data,” Hart wrote in his book. “In order to come to terms with what I have seen in the lab and read in the scientific literature, there is nothing else to do but speak out.”

He said that research has shown that only about 10 to 15 percent of those who use illicit drugs are actually addicted and that drugs have been blamed for a myriad of social problems, including crime and domestic violence, which have their roots in areas beyond drug abuse.

“Drugs are not as dangerous as we have made them out to be,” Hart said in an interview with WNYC in New York. “I’m trying to get people to use the data, the empirical evidence, and when you do that, you realize that we have been lied to, the public has been lied to.”

Hart is an associate professor of psychology in both the departments of psychiatry and psychology at Columbia University, and director of the Residential Studies and Methamphetamine Research Laboratories at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

I don’t care what your title is, how much money you make, or how many employees you’re responsible for, parenting children is the most important job you’ll ever have.  It’s evidenced in all kind of ways, particularly in this new study citing the repercussions of sibling violence within families.

Let’s be clear, the kind of bullying the study is referring to goes beyond breaking up an occasional tussle between two brothers, or an occasional insult hurled toward an older sister.  We’re talking chronic physical and verbal abuse, which, according to the study involving thousands of children and adolescents, is linked to increased levels of depression, anger and anxiety.

Parents also play a role too, according to clinical psychologist and author of  “Sibling Abuse Trauma,” John V. Caffaro.  He says they add to these situations by either failing to intervene or by labeling their kids, “the smart one,” or the “athletic one.”

In some families I’ve heard parents contributing to other kinds of name calling like “stupid,” or “ugly” or making negative references to a child’s skin color.   The examples they are setting for their children are horrible.  It doesn’t take an expert to recognize that children that bully their schoolmates are probably coming from a similar situation at home.

We recently received this story via our Text Tom Club:

I am the baby of three girls.  My oldest sister always bullied me. For most of my younger days I had my middle sister as my protector until she died in 1992.  From then until 2002, she had her way of intimidating me until I met my husband.  He told me to stand up to her, which I have been doing for the past 6 months.

As a mom, a former schoolteacher and the product of two loving parents I’ve outlined a few ways to prevent bullying in the home.

Watch your own words

Take the words like ugly, stupid, fat, and hate out of your vocabulary and don’t allow your kids to use them either.

Show respect to your spouse or mate

Children learn what they live.  An example goes much further than a speech.

 Don’t be a bully in your own home

 When you lash out at your kids because you had a bad day at work, an argument with your spouse or are recovering from an alcohol or drug induced hangover, you’re punishing them for some thing that is no fault of theirs.  What do you think they will do with that pent-up resentment they have for you?   Younger siblings might take the brunt.

Be Aware

 There all kinds of ways that your child could be torturing a sibling besides physically or verbally abusing her, anything from drawing pictures to writing nasty things via text, Twitter or Facebook.

Let them know they’re accountable for anything hurtful that they say, do or post.

Good parents make their children believe their eyes and ears are on them at all times.  That isn’t possible but at least making the effort goes a long way. At the very least, we should be their number one supporters and their advocates in areas where they need us to step in.

We can’t do it unless we’re sober and vigilant. And if we are, we can help others too.

If you know of bullying going on toward your child or someone else’s, instead of seeking punishment for that child, take the time to get to know him or her if you can.  The odds are they’re crying out for some positive self-esteem boosters they aren’t getting at home.

If we do this, we’re doing something that can go a long way.

I operate a senior activity center that has been in operation for two years.   Daily we have from 15-25 seniors; ranging in age from 60-94 years-old and the majority of them are seriously ill and disabled.  If it were not for our center, many would be home alone without any interaction with others. I believe they deserve as higher quality of life as possible, so i am taking a chance on writing you with this Christmas Wish.

On Fridays, we have movie day and our clients watch TV on a big butt, 15 inch screen. They get bored because it is hard to see and hear.  I would love for them to be able to enjoy the documentaries, movies and information shows we try to bring to them.

It is my Christmas wish to ask you for a large, flat-screen HD television to enrich the movie and tv experience for our elderly.  Please, take a look at my babies on YouTube doing the Harlem shake on 4/1/13 with their YMCA fitness instructor.   It will make your day.

Thanks,

Laura Richardson, executive director of Oakland Park Senior Activity Center

According to WABC, the Evans domestic dispute occurred on May 4 over a set of keys. Reportedly, the two got into a brawl where Dana hit him with a wooden hanger and scratched her husband’s testicles leaving them bloodied.

Listen to today’s Allstate Old School Vs. New School Challenge and enter to play here on BlackAmericaWeb.com and if you don’t want to play on the radio there’s an option for you too.

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, “all slaves are free.” This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.

The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts, and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

By command of Maj.-Gen. GRANGER.

F.W. EMERY, Major, and A.A.G.

]]> http://kissdetroit.com/3553348/little-known-black-history-fact-the-meaning-of-the-juneteenth-celebration/feed/ 0 Cutest Couple Contest ronecrystalo http://kissdetroit.com/3553057/judge-says-iverson-didnt-kidnap-his-5-kids-as-ex-wife-claims/ http://kissdetroit.com/3553057/judge-says-iverson-didnt-kidnap-his-5-kids-as-ex-wife-claims/#comments Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:49:46 +0000 Tom Joyner Morning Show http://kissdetroit.com/3553057/judge-says-iverson-didnt-kidnap-his-5-kids-as-ex-wife-claims/ ]]> So what’s going on with Allen Iverson? Did he kidnap his five kids or not?

A judge finally sorted out the tangled mess and ruled that Iverson didn’t kidnap his kids after all as his ex-wife, Tawanna Iverson, alleged in court.

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Some are now saying that Tawanna, who is clearly a woman scorned, fabricated the entire kidnapping charge just to make Iverson’s life even more miserable.

Here’s what TMZ reported:

We broke the story … Iverson’s ex-wife filed court docs insisting Allen had all 5 of their kids holed up at an Atlanta hotel and refused to hand them over to their mother on the designated swap date.

But TMZ has learned … Allen appeared in Fulton County court in Georgia last Wednesday and told the judge his ex-wife had full access to their kids during their stay at the hotel … and therefore he wasn’t doing anything wrong. We’re told Tawanna also testified that she could have picked up the children from Allen but didn’t want to drive 45 minutes to his location.

After A.I.’s testimony, the judge decided the former Philadelphia 76ers star didn’t deserve to be thrown in jail — despite his ex-wife’s request before the hearing. The kids — ranging from ages 3 to 16 — were returned to their mother following the hearing.

In fact, sources connected to the case tell TMZ … Allen and his ex have worked out some of their issues … and she has already allowed Allen to spend more private time with the kids.

Also on KISS: Allen Iverson Abducted his Kids?- MORNING MINUTE

Considering she also wanted Iverson  thrown in the jail for allegedly being late on child support payments, we’re thinking she has an axe to grind. The two have reportedly worked out some of their issues, but it appears they have a long way to go toward reconciliation.

Also on KISS: ALLEN IVERSON Throw My Wife in Jail!!!

Celebrity Custody Battles

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In 1869, Bruce became supervisor of elections in Mississippi. Then, only a year later, he served as sergeant-at-arms in the state senate, then as county assessor and sheriff. He later served as a member of the Board of Levee Commissioners of the Mississippi River.

Last week, for the first time in my 30-year career as a journalist, I joined 17 African American reporters in the U.S. Capitol for an unprecedented roundtable discussion with 11 U.S. Senators who openly discussed education, jobs, voting right, diversity, health care – and race.

It was a rare opportunity for black journalists to spend nearly 90 minutes with a group of senators who fielded a range of questions specifically about African Americans and economic parity.

Will there be immediate legislation passed to improve the quality of life for African Americans? No. But this was a good start in what should be an ongoing discussion about race in America.

The black unemployment rate is still an unacceptable 13.5 percent, 27 percent of African Americans are living in poverty, one in nine black children in America has a parent in jail, more black children are growing up without fathers in their lives, and inner cities like Detroit are crumbling.

So one of the issues on the table was this: Should there be a black agenda coming from the White House and from Congress?

“The president wasn’t elected to be president of black America, he’s president of all America, the same issue you have in Massachusetts with (Gov.) Deval Patrick. If you’re going to govern, you’ve got to govern for everybody: those who voted for you, who look like you, and those who voted against you,” said Sen. Mo Cowan (D-MA).

“Let me be clear about this as a black American,” Cowan said.  “You know, the black American agenda, as I see it, is the American agenda. We are a huge part of this nation. We are not separate, but equal. We are very much a part of this, and I have faith and confidence in the president and this administration is focused on the things that matters most to black America.”

Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, said congressional leaders haven’t done a good job “forging partnerships” with the African American community and Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, said racial discrimination still exists because quality education should not be decided by zip codes.

I asked the senators about America’s inner cities and serious problems that Detroit is facing with bankruptcy, a state take-over, 80,000 abandoned buildings, high crime – and President Barack Obama’s plan urban revitalization plan.

Trayvon’s parents were robbed of this. They found out their 17-year-old, unarmed son was killed because Zimmerman thought he was acting suspicious and was up to no good.  After a brief statement to the police, Zimmerman was allowed to go home and sleep in his own bed. Trayvon’s parent’s journey for justice had only just begun.

It took almost two months for Zimmerman to be arrested. Thank God Trayvon’s mom and dad, the public and anyone with a teenage son could imagine or be horrified that this could happen to their son and raised all kinds of hell and the arrest finally happened. Here’s the facts: a grown ass man with a big ass gun followed an unarmed teenager and Trayvon, in fear for his own life, fought back AND he didn’t have a gun . . . so he died.

I have observed that the trials in the year of 2013 are turning out to be ‘Blame the Victim’ and unfortunately, the victims are no longer here to have a say.  They are virtually being murdered twice. Their lives were taken and now their reputations.  Thankfully, this was not the case in Arizona nor in Kansas, and the defendants were convicted, but we’re not in Kansas anymore … we’re in Florida.

Sixteen months ago on Feb. 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old multi-racial Hispanic man who was the appointed neighborhood watch coordinator for the gated community where Trayvon was temporarily staying.

At the time of the shooting, Zimmerman was in his final semester at Seminole State College for an associate degree in Criminal Justice. In late 2011, he was refused an associate’s degree. He had failed at least one class and had not accumulated enough credits to graduate. In one of his interviews with police, he stated his goal was to become a judge (and in this case, the executioner). I find it scary that a person who wants to sit in judgment of others has questionable judgment.

1.    Changing smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries regularly: When you hear the warning beep, don’t ignore it. Replace the batteries as soon as possible.

2.    Create an escape plan and have regular family fire drills. Be prepared.

3.    Unplug electric blankets and heaters when not in use. Fires resulting from heaters are common in the winter so remember to disconnect them before retiring.

4.    Store flammable liquids, such as gas for the lawnmower, cans of paint and charcoal lighter fluid in proper containers.

5.    Invest in fire extinguishers. Keep one in the kitchen and on the second level of your home.

For more tips and money-saving coupons, go to www.pgeveryday.com.

When it comes to matters of the heart and the challenges of making relationships work, someone who has seen and heard it all is “Divorce Court”’s Judge Lynn Toler. Judge Toler has been married for over 23 years. She does more than talk to other people about their relationships. She talked to me about her own.

I asked her directly, “What’s kept you out of divorce court?” She said, “We went to marriage counseling before we got married and while we were married, we weren’t afraid to go back to counseling when we needed it.”

“I didn’t expect to be happy all of the time. So even when things got ugly, and it did get ugly, we were committed to the proposition, we stuck through it. It’s not a fairy tale, but it is a good thing.”

As smart and accomplished as Judge Toler is, she was even smarter to understand that she did not have all of the answers. Everyone, even experts, need help sometimes. If you really want to be successful, don’t be afraid to ask for support. Sometimes based on our positions and pride, we judge ourselves and feel like we should already have the answers. As a result, we don’t communicate our needs and we don’t get the help that we need in order to move forward. But consider this: if Judge Toler, someone who gives advice to others daily about their relationships needs counseling to save her marriage, then maybe you too will realize that smart and successful people understand that they need other smart and successful people to help them win.

Having a successful marriage may be one of the hardest jobs there is. But regardless of what you’re trying to work on or work through, the truth of the matter is that you don’t know how strong you are or what you’re really made of until there’s conflict, a rough patch and things get tough.

Anyone, and I do mean anyone, can say that they love someone, and that they’re down for the cause when things are going well. But who’s your friend when all hell breaks loose? You’re so in love with your guy when he has a job and the gifts and drinks are flowing, but what about when your man loses his job? Are you the first one to say, “I didn’t sign up for this?”

On the flip side, how did people treat you when you lost your job, when you didn’t have any money, when you got a divorce? Did you discover who loved you for you vs. who had love for you because of what you had?

Who loves you from the inside out and who do you love from the inside out? When you consider it that way, these are the people and relationships in your life that are most authentic. They are keepers.

There is a place for various types of relationships in our lives and you need to figure out the roles. It really is okay to have people in your life for a season serving a particular purpose and then they’re gone. Everyone does not need to be nor do they deserve to be in your life forever.

But when you find those people who are ride or die, these are the friendships and love relationships that you preserve and don’t let anyone or anything come between you to destroy it.

You may not always get along nor will you agree about everything – so what? But when you’re between a rock and a hard place, who can you call upon and they are always there?

The big lie: education=financial success.

Or does it?

I have been in school since age six and am a tenured professor turned entrepreneur. It is safe to say I have been in school just about my whole life. As a social entrepreneur who really believes one can make money and make a significant difference in the world, I have been really dealing with myself as well as my clients—purpose-driven high-achieving black women experts, execs, entrepreneurs, PhDs, and professional services providers who have walked through some sort of fire in their life—who are extraordinarily accomplished with credentials and experience out the wazoo, but have difficulty translating their expertise into big bucks.

So I am interested in exploring the dissonance between education and success. My intention with this inquiry is to offer a new paradigm for success I am calling a Ph.D. in business for successful sisters.

Let’s start here. In 1991, Chris Argyis published an article in the Harvard Review, Teaching Smart People How to Learn, where he notes how success is directly linked to a person’s ability to learn. Well, smart people, particularly leader types, suck at learning. Learning requires failing, and smart people identify their sense of self with winning. So if they fail, their behavior becomes defensive and they are not open to feedback, suggestions or help. To accept such overtures would signify to the smart leader that she or he is not enough.

I think about my clients—smart, passionate, committed, beloved Type A personalities sisters with hearts as big as Texas—who limit their success because they can’t fail. A failure to them makes them a failure at the core level. My client base is diverse, yet we all have the same sort of experience. How? Why? Where did we get this sense of ‘failure/I’m a failure’ propensity as a culture of high achieving sisters? The answer is obvious: school.

I know there are many other factors involved in identity theory—trust me; it’s my area of expertise as a theorist and philosopher—but walk with me for a moment on this one. North American education is rooted in an Enlightenment notion of learning:  deductive logic and repeating facts. Meaning, if you work hard and do well, you can expect to be rewarded with a good job, which leads to success. Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk, How Education is Killing Creativity, explains how traditional education is obsolete in the 21st century because the old Enlightenment Period model of education is completely outdated for a globalized economy and a hyper-connected world.

Think back to your educational experience. In school, you were rewarded for getting the answers right. In school, you learned how to play by the rules or there were consequences. In school, you learned to work hard, be congenial, get along, not rock the boat and beat the competition.

Can you see where this is going?

All of those behaviors directly undermine your business success. If you want a sustainable and profitable business, you have to be willing to fail in order to succeed. You have to break the rules to be successful–especially the self-imposed rules that limit your performance. You have to work smart, not hard, to have your business grow. You have to be creative and flexible instead of trying to do it right.

Let me say it like this: the traditional education paradigm teaches students how to land a ‘good job’ where your skills, talents, experience, and personality save the day. Yet most MBAs, marketing programs, and sales trainings didn’t account for the economy tanking. What do you do when you have spent a fortune on an education that is just about obsolete in a globalized, Internet-connected world?

Even if you haven’t dropped bucket-loads of cash—or student loans—on your MBA, you have poured the equivalent in sweat equity into your business, career, or job, working countless hours and sacrificing health, family time, and peace of mind in order to ‘make it.’  But when you look at where you are, you realize you have gone no where fast. No traction. Just incremental movement at a snail’s pace.

This dependency on ‘a good education’ puts a glass ceiling on one’s income, fighting for clients from the competition, and thousands and thousands of dollars poured down the drain into trainings, sales courses, and marketing programs that haven’t worked. The result for high achieving sisters is that they are so not where they thought they would be by now. The feeling of impending failure lurks just under the surface.

Here’s the thing. It’s time to get into the 21st century by upgrading your most valuable asset—YOU. It’s time for you to go back to school— a different kind of school that offers a different kind of education.

“People tweet me all the time or they’ll come up to me saying ‘I thought you were so nice and I’m like ‘I am nice!’” Sumpter says.

The Long Island, NY native went to Marymount Manhattan College to earn a degree in communications, but modeling and acting gigs soon took over those initial ambitions. Sumpter, now 32 (she turns 33 this week) may seem like an overnight success but she’s been steadily working for some time.

“I’ve always wanted to do this since I was a little girl,” she says. “Since I sat in front of “The Cosby Show” and said ‘Omigod, I don’t know what that is, but that’s what I want to do.’ It’s always something that I wanted to pursue. I’ve been doing it for a while now, it’s just now that people are starting to get to know me in the last few years and it’s exciting.”

The soap opera elements of “The Haves and the Have Nots” are nothing new to Sumpter who got her start in daytime soaps on “One Life to Live.” But as Candace, the scheming daughter of the Cryer’s longtime maid, Hanna Young, she’s playing a role much different that the one she appeared in on the daytime soap.

If you can complete not just this sentence, but the verse before and the rest of the song, then you know the seminal hip-hop classic “Rapper’s Delight,” perhaps the most addictive sing-along song ever recorded. Big Bank Hank, Master Gee and Wonder Mike have been immortalized in hip-hop history as the trio who delivered one of hip-hop’s most enduring and pioneering recordings.

The original record, recorded by The Sugarhill Gang, on one of hip-hop’s first labels, Sugarhill Records, has been entertaining fans since its release in 1979 and has gone on to sell over 6 million copies.

In a new documentary “I Want My Name Back,” two of the performers on the original track, Master Gee and Wonder Mike, are now prohibited from using the Sugarhill Gang name. Joey Robinson, owner of Sugar Hill Records after founder Sylvia Robinson’s passing, owns the Sugarhill name.

“It’s crazy, man,” says Master Gee. “We can’t use the name Sugarhill Gang. You announced us as Sugarhill gang. We can’t do that. Our former record company people trademarked the Sugarhill gang name and according to what’s going on they said we can no longer use the Sugarhill Gang name. We can’t say we’re Sugar Hill Gang, we gotta say we’re Wonder Mike and Master Gee. You know all our hits – “Rapper’s Delight,” “Apache,” “8th Wonder,”  - all those good records, but we can’t bill ourselves as Sugarhill Gang because the record company took the name from us. “

- The baby came five weeks early, the same length of time as Kim’s marriage to Kris Humphries.

- When the doctors delivered a healthy baby Kanye got down on his knees and said, thank you “Yeezus”.

- Thanks to Kim’s many sexual encounters that baby slid right out without even touching the sides.

- While Kim was in the hospital giving birth her step dad, Bruce Jenner, was in the bed right next to her getting another facelift.

- So now there’s another Kardashian girl more popular than Khloe.

- In the delivery room again Kanye denied cheating on Kim, but after seeing that baby come out he’s thinking about it.

- On the birth certificate under race they check the box that said rich.

- And so that all the memories of delivering their first child will be captured for all of prosperity, Kim and Kenya had the entire birth videotaped, by Ray J.

A great love song has to be the kind of song that makes you stop in your tracks when it comes on and for just a moment, whether it’s your personal romantic song or not, make you feel what that writer was feeling and what that singer was expressing. Interestingly enough, the younger generation has yet to make quite that enduring a song and men, unemotional creatures though they can seem to be, have a majority of the classics on this list. The only thing we excluded was duets, at least for this poll, and songs that were primarily about sex or heartbreak.(Yes, we know “Sweet Thing” is borderline, but Chaka’s straight out love ballad “Everlasting Love” is the lesser known of the two songs, so we went with the one that has been more of a part of the cultural landscape.)

Out of these great love songs, which gets your vote as the best all-time? Hit the poll and let us know.

Mr. Marcus claims that he did not know he had syphilis at first, insisting that he thought a different ailment was affecting his body.

The porn star told the website:

“I did not go out there and try to f***ing intentionally get anybody infected. From my heart man, up to God, I thought it was something that was just a skin rash. I went out and bought some damn Carmex lotion (it’s an everyday hydrating lotion), I put it on [my private part] and I thought it made it look better. That coupled with things going on with my hands, little brown spots or whatever, I looked things up on the internet and I’m telling you, only thing that came up was a vitamin deficiency and that I need more vitamins. I went out and bought vitamins and Carmex.”

So where do we start?

It’s a personal decision figuring out how much of your finances you and your partner want to merge, but hopefully, you’ve come to some sort of agreement about this before the I do’s.

There are many different methods of going about the pooling process. Some couples like keeping everything separate—individual bank accounts for their individual paychecks—and each person is responsible for paying specific household bills. If that works for you, Godspeed, but today we’re talking about merging, which is more common.

You could choose to merge absolutely everything under one joint account or you could go with the three-pot system. In the three-pot system, you keep your individual accounts and open a new joint account. Each person puts a designated percentage of their respective salary or a fixed flat amount into that joint account, and the money goes toward the payment of joint expenses like rent, utilities, and groceries. A lot of couples like this approach because they have their own accounts with their own earnings for discretionary spending.

There is no right or wrong choice here and I leave it to you and your partner (and maybe a good financial planner) to hash out the details. But the common denominator is that you must, always, ALWAYS start with honesty and full disclosure. Do not let a partnership start out with financial secrets. Sit down and have the “money talk.” Come clean about any outstanding credit card debt you may have and devise a plan to pay it off.  Be clear with your partner about all your assets and liabilities—and that includes potential future liabilities, like paying for graduate school or caring for an ailing parent.

What if one person has bad credit? Does getting married merge credit reports?

Just getting married doesn’t merge your credit. For instance, a groom’s bad credit doesn’t automatically lower his new bride’s good credit score. Your credit history is your own, and each of you always will have separate credit histories.

But when a couple applies for credit jointly, the lender will consider both of your credit histories. While one person’s history may be squeaky clean, the other’s more blemished credit could cause the couple to be declined or to pay higher interest rates and fees.

This is particularly true when it comes to getting a mortgage. Because a home purchase is such a large debt, both of your credit histories, as well as income and other financial obligations, will be considered to determine if, as a couple, you qualify for the loan.

On June 17, 1775, at the height of the war on Bunker Hill, Salem killed British Major John Pitcairn. When the major asked Salem and the other colonists to surrender, Salem opened fire on the major. The British lost 1,000 men in the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Americans lost 400. Salem’s gun was preserved and is on display at the Bunker Hill Museum. Salem re-enlisted the following year and also fought in the Battle at Saratoga and Stony Point. He was honorably discharged from the Continental Army on December 31, 1779.

If you’re a dad, let me know how you spent Father’s Day Friday or how you fantasize about spending it, in case you missed it this time around. After all, I just invented it Thursday. But, I anticipate it being around for a very long time. In fact, I’m working on a parade for next year.

Riding on “The Best Dads” float will be Eddie Levert, Quincy Jones, Muhammad Ali, Rodney Peete and Brad Pitt, Sinbad and J. Anthony Brown. These aren’t perfect dads. No dad is. But they’re always getting props from their wives and kids and other people that know them…and that’s good enough for me!

On “The Best TV Dads” float will be Cliff Huxtable, James Evans, Carl Winslow and posthumously, Bernie Mac.

If you’ve surmised that I’m referring to the recent American Civil Liberties Union study about marijuana, then pat yourselves on the back and go to the head of the class.

Yes, our ACLU friends did a study in which they found that black folks get arrested for marijuana possession more than whites do.

Now I’m pretty sure that not one black American passed out from shock upon hearing that the weight of law enforcement, when it comes to arrests for marijuana possession, come down harder on black folks than on white folks.

If you’re black, then you already knew that. If you didn’t know it positively and conclusively, then, at the very least, you had an inkling that it was true.

Or a hunch. Or a sneaking suspicion. But you sure as hell weren’t surprised. Nor was the result of the ACLU study anything like a startling revelation.

That’s because, deep down in our hearts, most black Americans know what the deal is with the nation’s law enforcement agencies, at least when it comes to us.

And what we know is this: there is not one police department, anywhere in America, that can be called a “friend of the Negro” organization.

I’ve written this before, but it’s one of those things that bears repeating, and should be repeated often.

And loudly.

American police forces are not “friends of the Negro” organizations. That goes for the ones in large cities, and the ones in small towns and counties like Armpit, fill-in-name-of-state here.

Proof of that axiom shouldn’t be needed, but some examples might be in order. Anybody remember Kathryn Johnston?

She was 92 years old, black, law-abiding and minding her own darned business when three Atlanta rogue cops raided her home on Nov. 21, 2006.

Johnston had her own gun and fired a shot at the cops. They returned fire, ripping off 39 shots that killed Johnston.

An investigation revealed that the cops lied to obtain the search warrant used to justify raiding Johnston’s home. And they lied about finding – you guessed it – marijuana in Johnston’s home.

Members of a police force that supposedly took an oath to protect, not murder her, killed Johnston. If there is any one group of black people in this country that needs no convincing of the axiom that police departments are not “friends of the Negro” organization, then it’s Johnston’s surviving relatives.

I am a huge Daddy’s Girl and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Always have been and always will be. He is my hero; larger than life to me and still what I want to be when I grow up. He was my first love and has set a very high standard for every man that has followed.

That’s not to say that I don’t recognize his weaknesses as well. I do. But this blog isn’t the place for that.

I could probably expound upon on all of his exemplary qualities for much longer than I care to write or much longer than you care to read. So I’ll cut to the chase.

The fondest memories I have of my father are centered around baseball and beer – the crack of the bat, the muffled sound of the ball hitting the glove, the laughter, cheers and good-natured bickering all set to the backdrop of the smell and sounds of the Budweiser Brewery are as vivid now as they were when I was ten. Best of all, it was usually just him and me and I basked in my father’s love.

Yes, my daddy set the bar high when setting the example of how I should expect a man to treat me.

So high in fact, the men in my life have had to take a running start and a flying leap just to get close to reaching it. It’s a blessing – and sometimes, I’m beginning to think, a curse – to have lived in a home with a father who did everything he was supposed to do and then some. A blessing for the obvious reasons; I always felt safe and secure. I always had everything I needed. I had his love and attention and didn’t have go out seeking it from other “father figures” I see women going after.

The downside is kind of obvious too. I thought that finding a man that did all the things my daddy did would be easy..

I’m not by myself. I’ve talked to a lot of women who had extremely high expectations from their husbands and children’s fathers based on their own experiences. They didn’t realize that a lot of what their fathers were had plenty to do with the women who was by their side helping them, loving them and supporting them along the way.

Thank you, Mama.

So if your man isn’t the man you think he should be, or your daddy wasn’t the daddy you thought he should have been, it could have been that you or the woman in his life wasn’t willing or able to give him what he needed to become the best man he could be. Not trying to ruin the mood of this blog, but I’m just saying …

And since I’m using this space to salute the fathers who always found a way to dig deep and put their families first, I’m going to do something that is against the TJMS rules. I’m going to shout out some of the daddies who have made a difference in my life:

Uncle Harold, whose nickname was Moose and whenever he wanted to talk to you, would invite you to step into his “office;”

Uncle Patrick, who is one of the most selfless, caring and kind men I know. Love him so much I named my oldest son after him.

My Grandpa – who didn’t have much more than a third grade education, but seemed like the smartest man in the world.

My Grandpops – who answered every letter I wrote. I received his last letter on a Friday night. The next morning we got the news that he died. I still have the letter.

To all the Hinsdale Court fathers for stepping in and being surrogate daddies, whether us kids liked it or not.

My boss – Tom Joyner – who created a legacy for his children and talks about his sons with such pride that you can’t help but be proud to be a small part of what he’s created.

J. Anthony Brown – for always putting the humor in child rearing, like hanging up on moms whenever he hears their kids in the background.

Willis – for always working to be a better man and a better father.

Bill Cosby and “The Cosby Show” reruns for showing a lot of men and women who grew up without daddy figures what to shoot for and for reminding us NOT to give daddy ugly sweater.

Roland Martin for stepping up and raising his six, count em, six nieces.  He definitely has earned the name “Uncle Ro Ro.”

President Barack Obama for showing the world a beautiful portrait of a black husband and father.

And finally to my Daddy – for being all of the above and then some. In Sade’s “Baby Father,” she says, “Oh child, don’t you know your daddy love come with a life time guarantee?”

So, whether you have daily daddy duty or give 100-percent the 50 percent of the time you have access to your children, you are to be commended for giving your children something no on in the world can give them or take way: Their Daddy’s love. And I wish for all the children to truly feel their Daddy’s love.

Happy Father’s Day!

Tanner in February and March was seen posting various anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist posts on both his Twitter and Facebook accounts. Check out examples below:

“To the f—-t who stole my dirt bike from the church parking lot, I will find you, and I will beat the crap out of you”

“I’m down to own some f—-ts”

“Say something hilarious, and I guarantee that … will say it louder and get all the credit. Jew”

Tanner reportedly also used the screen name “N1—-killer” in an on-line gaming account. His Facebook posts and twitter posts were also reportedly filled with the use of “f—-t” and “n—-r”.

Tanner’s father, a devout Mormon, released a statement apologizing for his son’s behavior after people began to remark on his son’s upbringing and question Senator Blake’s true beliefs.

The statement reads, “This language is unacceptable, anywhere. Needless to say, I’ve already spoken with him about this, he has apologized, and I apologize as well.”

Do you think Tanner developed these beliefs on his own? Or did he possibly learn it from his family?

(Photo: Facebook)

The campaign encourages women to do something very simple – keep aspirin in their handbags in the event of a heart attack. As heart disease is the number one killer of women in this country it makes sense to be prepared, especially when it involves doing something so easy.

‘This campaign encourages women to put aspirin in their handbags every day to prevent some heart attacks,” Williams told The Tom Joyner Morning Show. “If you have a heart attack or feel the symptoms, you should pop aspirin and obviously call 911, but taking asprin immediately can reduce the risk of death and reduce damage to the heart muscle, which is fantastic. For every person who takes the pledge to carry aspirin in their handbag, Bayer will donate up to $200,000 to Women Heart, which is the national coalition for women with heart disease, to help raise awareness.”

Williams is currently on Broadway doing 8 shows a week with Tony winner Cicely Tyson and Cuba Gooding, jr. in the latest adaptation of “The Trip to Bountiful.” The play stars Tyson as a woman who wants to return to see her childhood home against the wishes of her son and daughter-in-law played by Gooding and Williams respectively.

“Cicely Tyson is Mother Watts and is just tearing it up every night, hasn’t missed a show yet and is remarkable at 80 plus, which is incredible. The two of us are kind of getting on each other’s nerves when the play starts. It’s one of those things that everybody can relate to. In terms of Jessie Mae and Ludie, they’ve been married for 15 years and have had their mother in the next room their entire marriage. Close quarters and family relations, you know how that goes.”

Williams, now 50, says she owes her youthful appearance and on-stage stamina to exercise.

“Hey I am on that treadmill every day. If I’m not on that treadmill, I am in the gym. I just started doing this heavy bag MMA class. You gotta mix it up and keep it moving, I’m telling ya.”

How to Know If Your’re Having a Heart Attack:

She also attributes her ageless beauty to this must-have list of six products:

Real Housewife of Atlanta Kenya Moore has got a new gig.  Kenya will be a judge for the Miss USA competition this weekend.  And it makes sense because Kenya herself is a pageant queen.  Oh, yeah.  Kenya was Miss USA back in 1993.  And more recently she was named Ms. Stallion Booty 2011, Ms. Fake Relationship 2012, and Ms. Eviction 2013.

And speaking of the Atlanta Housewives, cast member Cynthia Bailey has teamed up with the One World Doll project to create a fashion doll in her likeness.  NeNe Leakes was also going to create a doll in her likeness.  But they were afraid of a copyright lawsuit from My Lil Pony.