Big Sole Blog (BSB)

I did not watch the CNN report on the n-word versus cracker. I'm too old to waste my time with fruitless discussions; however, this clip from that show with LeVar Burton, Wynton Marsalis, Don Lemon, and Tim Wise came to my attention, and I thought it was worth posting. In the clip Burton tells how he, as a black man, behaves when stopped in his car by police officers. Then Don Lemon talks about

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy In the video above, MSNBC's Professor Melissa Harris-Perry talks about how female sexual desire has been treated throughout history in our male-dominated culture. Pointing to a New York Times Magazine article "Unexcited" about Lybrido, a new pill awaiting FDA approval that's supposed to "stoke sexual desire in women,"

Usually when I link to Huffington Post, I do so because one of its writers has written something worthy of thought or uncovered a political issue that the mainstream media has overlooked. Unfortunately, that's not why I'm linking to that website today. HuffPo is possibly large enough and powerful enough now to be called a mainstream media outlet itself, and due its reach and power, the website's

Most likely, the artist who created the Hurricane Sandy picture (left) did not intend to create confusion, but the picture he or she created that shows a hurricane behind the Statue of Liberty is being mistaken on Facebook (10/29/2012) as “an amazing shot of New York today with the Frankenstorm bearing down.” Some people think it’s a real photo of Sandy, but if you look closely, you’ll notice

Cinéma Vérité By Nordette N. Adams A mother creeps through the streets of New Orleans. Her dress has the hue of fresh blood because her children are dead. She clangs an old cowbell,      shouting: "You thought it was a movie, but the Zombie Apocalypse is here. People fear leaving their homes because the dead-eyed swarm. "I have seen the walking dead. Their teeth gleam as bullets, seeking

When I heard about the horrific shooting at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., yesterday, I immediately assumed it was a hate crime, but I hoped it was a domestic violence incident such as the one in Lakeland, Fla., last year in which a man burst through the doors of a Christian church and shot two people. Earlier he had shot his own wife to death in their home. I had hoped the shooting at

Are there any men out there who will boycott Chik-fil-A because Dan Cathy also downed men who divorce and remarry? He said, ". . . and we are all married to our first wives." (I guess he voted for Obama in 2008, not McCain.) More than likely he disapproves old-school Mormonism, drinking and smoking, and probably scientists who believe in evolution, too. Seriously, it is not news that Cathy is

At the outset, my prayers are with the victims and their families whose lives have been irrevocably changed due to today's massacre in Aurora, Colorado (71 people shot of which 12 are dead). There's no need for me to cover the details here because any reader can visit the websites of the major networks and watch as well as read the coverage of James Holmes's rampage. I'm posting now because I'm

Listening to George Zimmerman's interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, some viewers may wonder if Zimmerman is changing his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. He told the Fox News pundit that killing Trayvon Martin was "God's plan." I heard about the statement on CNN this morning, and later a friend on Facebook posted this link to Think Progress with the same story and the video you see

On one hand, this whole controversy about HBO's Game of Thrones using a fake severed head of former president George W. Bush in episode 10 of season one is silly. It's something that the GOP blew up to recast itself as oppressed for the sake of gaining more power. How Cersei Lannister of them.On the other hand, I've got to wag my finger at the Game of Throne producers and directors. Really?

What can I say about the death of Rodney King at age 47 but R.I.P., accidental and imperfect icon. I wish I could say that his death represents the end of an era, but with the Trayvon Martin case, the Darius Simmons case (not his murder as much as how the police treated the family while his body lay on the sidewalk) and other similar cases, I know any announcement of an end to police officers

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player I know Brian Banks's mother must be overjoyed right now. Her son is free, exonerated of bogus rape charges.I abhor that in court actual victims of rape often unjustly end up on trial instead of the accused rapist, but I abhor equally that a young and confused girl or a disturbed and even plainly malicious woman can accuse a man of rape

When a car accident in your city makes national news, you know it had to be horrific. WWL-TV, other local stations, and CNN reported on the I-10 accident that happened early this morning near the Michoud exit of I-10 in New Orleans East. At least 40 vehicles, including 18-wheeler trucks, collided; two people were killed and 59 injured, say sources. The pictures look like an invisible fist reached

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economyBear with me here, readers. Consider Ratigan's rant and the advice that he gave to President Barack Obama during an August show, and then consider Obama's December 6th "Teddy Roosevelt speech."I haven't had much time to watch TV this semester or pay attention to politics. I avoid politics in particular lately because I don't

Hillary Adams, 23, the daughter of Judge William Adams of Rockport, Texas, Aransas County, appeared on the Today Show this morning to talk about the disturbing video she posted on YouTube that shows her father and mother beating her in 2004. She was 16 years old at the time of the beating and that wasn't the only one, she says. The video sparked anger and outrage on the Internet. It is difficult

Yes, I, too, heard about J.C. Penney's sale of the disturbing T-shirt for little girls with the slogan, "I'm too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me." At BlogHer.com, Shannon L.C. Cate wrote about the controversy expressing the same concern that women and some men all over the Internet voiced as soon as news of the T-shirt broke. The department store has since pulled the

UPDATES, March 22, 2012: Multiple news sources report that the Mississippi teen who drove the car in James Craig Anderson's murder has been sentenced to double life. Deryl Dedmon, 19, pleaded guilty to the murder and to committing a hate crime, and on Wednesday afternoon, March 21, Hinds County Circuit Judge Jeff Weill told him the following:"This craven act isn't who we are. Whatever excuse

Today is President Barack Obama's birthday. He is now 50 years old, and as pointed out at HuffPo, he's still the youngest candidate for president in 2012. HuffPo has posted a slide show of pictures of Obama from a child onward.I'm posting my link to memories of the good times, such as when he was first elected and there was more talk of him being "cool" than of him being a man of compromise.

The bombing and shootings in Norway made me remember an experience I had in 2003 when I worked at an airport kiosk and encountered a Norwegian man taking pictures of workers loading a passenger plane. I wrote about the incident at my old blog, Confessions of a Jersey Goddess, in 2007. Here's my recollection as written then:... I worked for a while at Newark International Airport and noticed a

It used to be that if it sounds too good to be true, then it's probably not true, but today the story opens:If it sounds too good to be true, welcome to the world of penny auctions. It isn't a scam, people actually win, but there are things you should know before you jump in." ... Jonathan Mason from Frankenmuth is the proud owner of a brand new $35K Chevrolet Camaro, and you're not going to