LeBron James-An Ape With A Grip On A White Woman????

Basket Ball Superstar, Lebron James of The Cleveland Cavaliers, will be appearing on the front cover of vogue’s April issue with Super Model Gisele Bundchen. Famed photographer, Annie Leibovitz, took the photo. James is 1 of 3 men who have appeared on the cover with super models in the 116-year history of the magazine.

The other 2 men who have appeared on the cover with super models were: Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford in 1992, and George Clooney who appeared with Gisele Bundchen in 2002.

The difference here is that: the photo of Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen, (unlike the other couples), has created a heated debate, and is fueling controversy.

As a matter of fact, it has stirred up so much controversy, that it was a featured story on “The Today Show”.

I wonder why?

In addition, James is not only 1 of 3 men that appeared on the cover with a super model, but in 116 years, he is the first African American to be featured on the cover with a (White Supermodel).

Here we go again! Talking about a nonexistent problem in America. The one that most people ignore, rather then address:

RACE!

When I first heard the story; without immediate investigation, I knew the controversy was smothered in racial overtones, like a chicken-fried steak with country gravy.

Let’s check the statistics to confirm my intuition.

Richard Gere-Cindy Crawford 1992- No Problem!

George Clooney-Gisele Bundchen 2002-No Problem!

Also in this same April addition are:

Olympic Swimmer, Michael Phelps-Caroline Trentini-No Problem!

Snowboarder, Shaun White-Daria Werbowy-No Problem!

Speed Skater, Apolo Anton Ohno-Doutzen Kroes-No Problem!

Of course, this also is not LeBron James’s first magazine cover appearance.

He is indeed a superstar in many arenas.

Sports Illustrated, 2002-When he was a high school senior-No Problem!

1 of 11 athletes on ESPN’s 10th. Anniversary issue-No Problem

Recently Featured On:

Fortune-No Problem!

Men’s Health-No Problem!

Black Enterprise-No Problem!

Vogue April 2008 Issue: LeBron James-Gisele Bundchen-PROBLEM!

The comments are coming in, and there are not very positive about this picture.

Some commentators say that the photo is perpetuating racial stereotypes. James strikes a gorilla-like pose, baring his teeth, with one hand dribbling a ball and the other around Bundchen’s waist. They say it is a depiction of the movie” King Kong”, in which the ape grabs Fay Wray around her waste and picks her up.
Tamara Walker, age 29, from Philadelphia said:” It conjures up this idea of a dangerous black man”.
Damion Thomas, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Maryland Said: Images of black male athletes as aggressive and threatening “reinforce the criminalization of black men”.
In my personal opinion as a black male, I would have to say that if the intent was to foster and spread further, the image of the angry, dangerous, criminal black man, I did not see it that way, because I don’t identify with that, and I know that all black males are not like that. I just seen an African American man doing something that no other African American man had done before him.
And if the intention of the magazine’s publishers was to perpetuate this negative stereotype of the black male, then the message was targeted to ignorant white people who are going to think what they want to think about black people anyway, so I don’t think this cover really makes that much of a difference.
We know that the reason for all of the controversy on both black and white people’s part is because he is an African American, and because of the interracial element of the magazine cover.
The problem for some people is just the fact that a black man is on the cover with a white woman.
For some illogical reason, there are some people who believe that they have the right to tell other people who to hang out with, who to talk to, who to have sex with, who to pose with, who to do business with, and also, who to marry and have a family with. This is especially true, once a person reaches a certain level of success and fame. If a man or woman is hooked up with somebody other then somebody from their race, some people feel that these people belong to them, and that this is a violation of their rights.

However, what I have found is: that the people who have these types of attitudes towards these people, are the very people that would have not given these people the time of day, if it were not for their fortune or fame. However, if someone suffering from this malady would like to be healed, all they need to do is, turn the situation around and think! What if someone told me? Who to hang out with, who to talk to, who to have sex with, who to pose with, who to do business with, and also, who to marry and have a family with. Would they live and die, according to someone else’s purpose.
I don’t think so.
For me, I am just happy to see this black man on the cover of vogue, and to see his level of achievement in his professional life. His personal life is his.
But I guess that the most important statements made about the cover were from the people who were on the cover.
Bundchen, (who is the girl friend of New England Patriots Quarterback, Tom Brady), wasn't intimated by James's frame.
"He doesn't really make you feel small, even though he is big," she says in the magazine. "I think my leg is like the size of his shoe."
LeBron James told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer he was pleased with the cover, saying he was “just showing a little emotion.”
“Everything my name is on is going to be criticized in a good way or bad way,” James told the paper. “Who cares what anyone says?”
And that’s just fine with me!


http://www.gregcoleman.com/

English Speaking (Only) Restaurant

I think that the owners decision to take orders in English only is a wise one, that needs to be followed by more businesses in America.

I am very sick and tired of the U.S. Government allowing the take over of this country by people of other countries who do not want to abide by our laws, do not want to take the citizenship test, do not want to do what is necessary to become a legal citizen, and do not want to learn our language.

I am also very sick and tired of calling a companie’s customer service department, only to have to ask for a representative that I can speak to in my native tongue, which is englilsh.
This is America, and English is what is spoken here.
If I expect to spend a large amount of time in France, I need to learn French. If I expect to spend a lot of time in Spain, then I need to learn Spanish; and if I want to spend a lot of time in China, I need to learn Chinese.

I don’t see their countries trying to change their way of life for us.

Why should we have to change our way of life for them?

Especially since there is a certain segament of society who has been here for over 400 years, and are still not treated evenly, even though we have laws on the books saying that they should be.

Besides, in over 400 years, I have not seen Swahili written on anything in America.

Bullshit For President

Hello America!

The national presidential elections are in full swing; which means it is time to take a deep breath of fresh air, (while there is still some fresh air left), put on your oxygen mask, and hold on tight for the ride that we are about to be taken on over the next few months.
I know that those who are hip to the game know what politics are all about. But, for those who buy into the myth that it’s all about truth, justice, and the American Way, and is done only for the benefit of all Americans are still asleep.
What politics is about is bullshit.
It’s about who can sling the most bullshit with the least detection of stench. And there is so much bullshit, that it is spreads throughout the entire system on all levels of government: municipal, state, federal, and now they are even spreading it into other people’s business in other people’s countries, (to our detriment); so now there is so much of it that it is now stinking internationally.
So if you are hoping for an election year that you don’t have to hold your breath for, then you are not in the right place. Because as long as we have elections, and the people running in those elections don’t really care about the people that they claim to represent, or the issues that they have to live with on a daily basis, you are going to be smelling bullshit.
Now the question becomes, what type of bullshit do you want to settle for? Because as I have said many times before, you are probably not going to get to choose an honest common man, or woman for president, who truly understands what common people are dealing with on a daily basis: the drugs, the crime, the violence, living from paycheck to paycheck, being discriminated against when you apply for a small business loan from the many so called small business assistance entities, unemployment, foreclosure, etc. etc. etc.
Oh they will come to your church (election time), to give the impression that they like being with you, and that they are just one of the members of the congregation who normally attend.
They will go to hospitals and nursing homes, and work with the sick to make you believe that this is what they have been doing long before the elections.
(Are there still people in America that fall for this bullshit?) – Probably more then you would want to believe.
They will do all of this bullshit to make you think that they are just common everyday working class people. However, let me tell you something in case you don’t know; a common working person cannot run for president, because of the system requirements and the financial requirements. First you have to be a professional politician- (bullshit Artist), and you also have to be well connected to the many special interest groups that give these politicians millions and millions so that they can run for president. (You know, the special interest groups that politicians say are so evil during the elections), the same groups who give them money for their campaigns behind closed doors. Yea! -Those groups.
The only time that these people try to appear to be a common man or woman is around election time.
And this My Fellow Americans is bullshit.
So after very careful and diligent, intellectual analysis, I have divided the 3 leading contenders into 3 different categories, and it will be up to you to decide who is who, and whose bullshit you are willing to smell for the next 4 years.
And the nominees for President of The United States of America are:
Ancient Bullshit
Same Old Bullshit
New Bullshit
What type of bullshit can you tolerate for the next 4 years?
No matter who you choose, you can depend on one thing, you’re going to get bullshit. Why? – Because the American Public has been conditioned to think that this is okay. It’s just the way it is.
And until the American People realize that just because this is the way that it has been, does not mean that it is good for the country.
Until we start calling our politicians out on this bullshit, and bring it to the attention of our fellow Americans who are still asleep-This situation will remain the same, as it has for far too long.
(Only) Around Election Time By: Greg Coleman A make you think song about our politicians. When was the last time that you compared what your candidates promised during their campaigns, with what they actually delivered once in office???The answers may surprise you, and is the main reason that the problems that they have promised to solve year after year, have not only not been solved, but are now problems of epidemic proportions. Think About It!

http://www.gregcoleman.com/

Eliot Spitzer Gets Some Of What He Deserves

Once again, a politician has been discovered to be not what he appeared to be to the voting public.
This is such an acceptable phenomenon in this country, until I often wonder why the public takes so many of these crooks at their word, without investigating or challenging the promises and claims that they make during their election campaigns.
Why do I feel that he has gotten some of what he deserves?
Why do I feel the punishment should definitely fit the crime?
Why do I think that he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law?
Because anyone who deceives the voting public like he did under the guise of upholding and protecting the voters from crooked politicians and business people, and all illegal activities, and then turns out to be a hypocrite-should be.
It’s not because he made a mistake in judgment. All of us as human beings do that from time to time.
It’s not because he went outside of his marriage and cheated on his wife with a prostitute. He is not the first man to do this, and I am almost 100% sure that he will not be the last, (not that this makes it right).
And it’s not because he broke the law.
It is because of his proud history of unmercifully stoning other human beings who had made the same or similar mistakes, or bad decisions in judgment like he just did.
If it is one thing that I hate, it is those who are so self righteous and judgmental of others who have made mistakes, and who are sincerely sorry for what they have done, and who want to not have the offended forget, but to at least have them practice forgiveness;(and I say practice, because forgiving is a process, and it is not something that will take place overnight for those who have been hurt). I know personally that it is a process, because I myself am still working through years of offenses that I have not yet learned to forgive. And, one more important point: there are a lot of people who commit offences that say that people should forgive and forget. However, this is a statement of what should be, and not a request for the offended to forgive. So if you want forgiveness, it has to be requested.

Even GOD requires that you ask for forgiveness.

But anyway! - The main reason that I feel that he should pay dearly for his offense(s) is because of the many lives that he destroyed, not because he did his job, but because he overdid his job without the human element of mercy for the human being who committed the offense. And I have learned (the hard way), that the only way for a person with no mercy for another human being can learn how that feels, is by showing them no mercy in return.
Hard people can only understand the pain that they inflict upon others when it is inflicted upon them. And guess what? It appears to me that those are the very people who cannot tolerate the same type of pain that they have been inflicting upon others. It’s funny that these same people suffer the most when faced with the punishment that they have been administering to others.
Eliot Spitzer, did not admit to any wrong doing in his initial statement to the public. It suddenly became a private matter, (according to him). However, he proudly made the pain and suffering of those that he prosecuted a matter of public record, and made sure that he displayed his trophies to the public so that they would be awed and amazed by his legal prowess, and his self righteousness
Eliot Spitzer is one among many powerful men who have put their righteousness on display for the public, and who have harshly judged others for being human, and prone to error, and have found themselves in the same positions as those that they were willing to crucify. Some others are: Idaho Senator, Larry Craig, Presidential Candidate, Gary Hart, DC Mayor, Marion Barry, Florida Congressman, Mark Foley, New Jersey Governor, James McGreevey, and President Bill Clinton, (who did not have sex with that woman Monica Lewinsky), and Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, who insisted upon Bill Clinton’s impeachment as a result of his lack of moral judgment, and shortly after his insistence, his own skeletons came out of the closet to haunt him), to name just a few.
It seems to me that those who make the most noise about someone else’s shortcomings are the one’s who have the most sin to hide.
And it is very important to note that politicians are not the only ones who have been found guilty of being immoral, or who have been caught committing illegal acts.
Of particular interest are the “Men, (and woman), Of GOD”, who claim to have a direct connection to GOD that places them far above the common man or woman, and therefore not prone to sin like us mere mortals are: Reverend Jimmie Swagger, Jim Bakker, Tammie Fay Bakker, and now, faith healer Benny Hinn, Georgia megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar, and one of the nation's most prominent women preachers Joyce Meyer are all under investigation by the Senate Committee because of their lavish spending.
You see! - The point that I am making is that: only GOD is perfectly righteous, and that you should be totally suspicious of any other human who claims to be; especially, politicians and preachers. A brief study of history will validate this viewpoint.
Eliot Spitzer is a prime example of what I am saying now, and what I have been saying for years. Don’t listen to what people say. Watch what they do.
Eliot Spitzer should not expect to receive any lesser punishment then the punishment that he has insisted on inflicting upon others who he proudly prosecuted unmercifully during his career.
It’s the law of the universe. You get back what you put out.

(Only) Around Election Time By: Greg Coleman A make you think song about our politicians Coming soon to the stores below. I-TunesU.S. Australia/N.Z. Canada UK/European Union Japan Rhapsody Napster eMusic Sony Connect GroupieTunes Amazon Distributed by G.R.C. Records, LLC.Visit Greg Coleman@http://www.gregcoleman.com/

Down To "The Wire"

The last episode of my favorite reality tv show, and the local politicians least favorite reality tv show, ("The Wire"), will end it's 5 year run on Sunday-March 9th, @9:PM, on HBO. All of the season 5 shows have been available on HBO On Demand, prior to the scheduled showing on sunday.
However, the producers of "The Wire", have denied us access to the final episode until March 9th, and state that "It will be worth the wait". Based on what I've seen the last 5 years, I do believe that it will. 5 seasons have gone by too fast, and I am sad to see such an eye opening, informative and educational program leave the airwaves, since there are so few.
Do I like the violence?-No!, Do I like the drugs?-No!-The profanity?- sometimes, Do I like the fact that all of these depressing things are occurring in my home town, Baltimore, MD?-No!
Why do I hate the fact that it is about to end?-Well! first of all, the show really increased the entertainment economy in and around Baltimore, MD; which it desperately needs.
Second: It provided many jobs for people in and around the baltimore area, as extras, security, catering, stage hands, etc.
Third: It really pisses off a lot of local politicians, because it is too close to the truth for them.
And finally:-Most of all, it told the truth to the nation about problems in areas that the powers to be would like to make pretend does not exist, not just in Baltimore City, but in inner cities all around the country.
So for those reasons, I am very sad to see the show ending. Now if the problems that it has brought national attention to, were effectively being dealt with by the people in the negborhoods, the police departments, and the politicians, then I would have no further need for "The Wire", but unfortunately, this is definitely not the case.
So you can rest assured that I will be ready and waiting to get the past seasons on DVD, that are already available, and will be patiently waiting for the rest.
Because I still truely do believe that it is the perfect education for children who are mature enough to make choices.
. I know that many people would say that mature, responsible, and intelligent children should not see "The Wire", because of it's gritty realities, but I say that they should see it because of that.
I would like to say once again to the staff, cast, writers, directors, and everybody else who worked hard to bring this reality show to tv: Job Well Done!
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Everything About "The Wire"..>

3 Reasons Why Obama Is Doing So Well

I must give the candidate credit first for being an african american presidential candidate that carries himself in such a way as to be taken seriously.With the exception of Martin Luther King JR, (who was removed by those who did not want to see him become president), there really has not been many african american candidates that were viewed by white america specifically, or black america in general, as viable candidates.Of course, Colin Powell fits into this catagory as well. He was an excellent soldier, so excellent a soldier, that he became a general. So that would mean that he would definitely have to have a strong stomach to advance that far in the business of war.However, after spending so much time with George W. Bush, he could no longer stomach the business of politics, so that took him out of the race by personal choice. And, at the rate that the members of the Bush's Cabinet have been cutting and running before criminal prosecution; I think that he made a wise decision. The 2nd reason is that he exhibits a sense of newness that many voung voters, both black and white, (who are still optimistic about the polictical process), really like.
Finally, I think that black america has raised it's conciousness to a new level. A level of being able to visualize an effective black president in the white house.During my youth, having a black president, or even considering it, was unheard of. It was considered to be a social evil that would cause the end of the world by blacks as well as by whites. Sadly, many black americans had been trained by white america to think this way. Remember, it really has not been that long ago, when it was illegal for black americans to enter into a restaurant to eat, use the same public restrooms as whites, set in the front seats of a bus, take a swim in a public swimming pool, or for that matter, vote.Although most younger people associate these types of behavours with the deep south-I am here to tell you that I was born in the late 50's, and raised in the early 60's in Baltimore City; and I can still remember the signs saying "White Only", "No Coloreds", "White Trade Only". I also remember when black people had to go in the alley of the S&H Deli right in the heart of Fells Point, in order to have their food handed out the back door to them like an animal, (not like a person).So through the process of negative socialization, which was the norm for america at that time, (rather those who did not live through it want to admit it or not), it would be impossible for any black man to become president."It's just not in their DNA", So it was said.I can tell you from experience, that being white is not an immediate determination of success in the "White House". Just look around now, and then reflect upon the pass.I said all of that to say this: These are the reaons why I think that Barack Obama has done so well during this election year.One more thing.No matter who becomes the next president of the Untied States, male or female, black or white; please compare their performance after gettiing the job, to their campaign speechs, and make notes, compare the 2, and then call them out on their lies and shortcomings. The reason that the government is the way that it is, and the way that it has been for so many years is because, the american public continues to fall for the same old bull-shit, time and time again.If there is going to be truth in government, then it is up to the citizens to hold their elected officials accountable for what is said, and what is done.

(Only) Around Election Time By: Greg Coleman
A make you think song about our politicians
Coming soon to the stores below.

I-Tunes


U.S.


Australia/N.Z.


Canada


UK/European Union


Japan


Rhapsody


Napster


eMusic


Sony Connect


GroupieTunes


Amazon

Distributed by G.R.C. Records, LLC.
Visit Greg Coleman@
http://www.gregcoleman.com