Washington D.C. legalizes same-sex marriage

Same-sex couples can start applying for marriage licenses today in the District of Columbia.  The marriage bureau expects as many as 200 additional couples to line up for marriage applications today; there is already a line forming outside the building, which does not open for another five minutes. The same-sex marriage law was introduced in the 13-member D.C. Council in October and had almost unanimous support from the beginning. The bill passed and D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signed it in December.  The law had to undergo a congressional review period that expired Tuesday paving the way for the District to begin accepting applications this morning.  Couples who apply today will have to wait until March 9th to have their ceremony due to a mandatory waiting period.  D.C. is only the sixth place in the country where same-sex marriages can be legally performed; the other are Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.

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BAD subway station to be memorialized

The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership has brokered an agreement to immortalize the subway station where Michael Jackson filmed his 1987 short film BAD. The Scorsese-directed story takes place in the Hoyt-Schermerhorn stop of the G-train. The Partnership plans to have an artist-created mural adorn the side of an office building belonging to real estate company Beneson Capital.

"We see this as a great opportunity to potentially establish Hoyt-Schermerhorn’s role in American pop culture and as a tourist destination to attract people to a part of Downtown Brooklyn already rapidly growing," Joe Chan, president of the partnership told The Post.

The planned tribute comes on the heels of a previously-rejected memorial to the King of Pop. Last fall, the MTA rejected City Council member Letitia James’ suggestion to erect a plaque and to rename the station after Michael Jackson.

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No civil rights charges in the Sean Bell murder case

The United States Department of Justice announced Tuesday that after a "careful and thorough review" it will not pursue federal civil rights charges against police officers involved in the 2006 shooting death of Sean Bell citing insufficient evidence.

 there is not enough evidence to prove that New York Police Department detectives "acted willfully" when they fired approximately 50 bullets at Sean Bell and his friends the night of November 25, 2006.  Bell, 23, had been at a nightclub in Queens for a bachelor party with friends hours before he was to marry the mother of his two young children.  The shooting occurred after an altercation with the plainclothes detectives in a parking lot.  Neither Bell nor his friends were armed.  Two of his friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, were seriously injured when the officers opened fire.

Detectives Gescard Isnora, Marc Cooper, and Michael Oliver -- who fired his gun 31 times that night, pausing to reload his weapon -- were acquitted of all charges in April 2008 prompting a statement from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg saying the acquittal was "inexplicable...and...unacceptable...it sounds to me like excessive force was used."  Rev. Al Sharpton, Bell's fiancee and 200 others were arrested in the ensuing widespread protests sparked by the verdict.

Tuesday's DOJ statement explained that federal criminal civil rights charges hinge on prosecutors establishing that officers deliberately deprived the victims of their constitutional rights, and intended to break the law.

 "Neither accident, mistake, fear, negligence nor bad judgment is sufficient to establish a federal criminal civil rights violation," the statement says.  Rev. Al Sharpton released a rebuttal statement expressing his "extreme disappointment in the decision" and saying he may join with the Bell family in a civil lawsuit "to try and bring some justice...Fifty shots on an unarmed man who engaged in no crime is intolerable."

Source:  CNN

Tennessee House Passes Michael Measure

The Tennessee House of Representatives narrowly passed a measure to honor Michael Jackson on Wednesday, February 3, 2010. The resolution, sponsored by Democratic Rep. G. A. Hardaway of Memphis, squeaked by Wednesday on a vote of 51-22 with 16 lawmakers present and abstaining. Measures need at least 50 votes to pass the 99-member chamber.

The measure has drawn considerable heat amongst the conservative constituency of the Southern state. This general disdain is echoed by the lawmakers who opposed the measure. Democratic Rep. Henry Fincher of Cookeville said he voted against it because Jackson was "credibly accused of child molestation." House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada said he objected to money being spent to honor entertainer, however he tendered an "aye" vote. Nevertheless, the state Congress regularly considers such measures; two years ago a measure to honor Tennessee native Justin Timberlake failed to pass.

If you would like to read the full text of the bill, click here. We ask that you take the time to call or e-mail at least five legislators from this list who voted yes and five who voted against the bill. Contact information on all the congresspersons can be found here on the House Member Website.

FLOTUS Michelle Obama sat down with Matt Lauer

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

First Lady Michelle Obama sat down with Matt Lauer of the Today Show to discuss her husband, her family, and her role as the First Lady.  The take away message of the interview is the Obamas are regular people and the Michelle you have seen over the past few years is the real Michelle.

President Obama's first State of the Union Address

Yeah, we know it's long as hell, but this is important; pay attention dammit!

You might be a Negro

Controversy has erupted because the United States Census Bureau continues to include "Negro" as a racial designation on its census forms.  The Census Bureau is gearing up to mail out the forms for its once-a-decade nationwide count.  The forms traditionally include questions about household income, ages of occupants, and race.  Under this year's question, "what is this person's race?", choices include "Black, African Am., or negro".   The inclusion of a word that is now practically only found in the names of one our oldest civic organizations, The United Negro College Fund, has drawn the ire of some civil rights organizations.  Personally, I usually respond with curiosity whenever someone uses the term "negro" to describe someone's race; utterance of the term "colored" elicits the same reaction as would the appearance of the now-extinct Do Do bird.  The Census Bureau is toying with deleting the term along with deleting or rearranging several other questions about race and ethnicity.

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It took 40 years for justice

More than 40 years after her family was forced from their home to make room for whites, Michigan resident Sallie Sanders received vindication.  She now holds the keys to a new house built to settle one of the longest-running cases of housing discrimination in the United States.  In 1971 a judge ruled the city of Hamtramck, Michigan showed a clear agenda by forcing Blacks to move out from its city limits.  In 1980, the city agreed in 1980 to develop 200 family housing units to make up for violating the civil rights of blacks whose neighborhoods were targeted by white officials to make way for urban renewal projects in the 1960s.  They started building some of the units, but did not begin construction on others until 2004, more than 24 years after the agreement was reached.  Now, 60-year-old Sanders and four children are moving into a brand new 4 bedroom $164,000 home.  Justice at last.

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Rod Blagojevich apologizes for racial remark

Controversial ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich apologized for making a remark saying he's "blacker" than President Barack Obama.

Should Sen. Reid resign because of his racial remarks?

U.S. Senator Harry Reid is taking considerable heat in the fallout of revelations of racial remarks he ade about then Presidential candidate, Barak Obama in 2008.  Reid, in a private conversation during the presidential race, said "I can still remember the meeting that took place in my office with Sen. Barack Obama, telling him that I think he can be elected president"

A new book quotes Reid, D-Nevada, as saying privately in 2008 that Obama could be successful as a black candidate in part because of his "light-skinned" appearance and speaking patterns "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

A number of prominent African Americans have come to Sen. Reid's defense including Attorney General Eric Holder and NAACP President Julian Bond.  President Obama has come out in defense of Reid saying he has always been on the right side of history, has supported him (Obama) from the beginning, and that he is a good man.




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NYC wants to control what you eat

New York City used to be known as the city where you can see anything, be anything, do anything, and EAT anything you want to.  Now, following on the heels of its health initiatives like counting calories on menus and banning trans fats, the city's health department aims to reduce the sodium content of food sold within its boroughs by 25% over the next 5 years.  According to their statitstics, the average American currently consumes twice the recommended daily intake of sodium.  Elevated sodium intake has been linked to hypertension, heart attacks, and strokes.

Wear your good underwear

The Netherlands will immediately begin use of its 15 full body scanners to analyze passengers flying to the United States.  The increased security comes in the wake of Friday's failed attempt by a Nigerian passenger to detonate an explosive device aboard Northwest 253 from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to Detroit, Michigan.  Umar Farouk Abdulmuttallab passed through a security checkpoint which included baggage scanning and a metal detector during his layover in the Netherlands.  The full body scanners have not been used there due to privacy objections; the scanners show security personnel the body contours of passengers.  Authorities in the Netherlands say they will employ new software that only highlights areas of the body where items are stored, such as pockets.  Still, authorities advise all passengers to wear their good underwear for their flight.

We hope you had Mele Kalikimaka just like the Obamas

The United States' first family, the Obamas, spent the Christmas Holidays in Oahu celebrating quietly with their extended family.  President and Mrs. Obama did not exchange gifts this year, according to White House spokesmen.  Instead, they focused the holiday on giving to the children and service to the community.  Mrs. Obama, along with her daughters Malia and Sasha, and the First Dog, Bo, delivered cookies to the Children's National Medical Center earlier this week.  The Obamas celebrated the holidays with the President's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and her family and will extend their Hawaiian trip into January.

There is nothing else like Christmas in Hawaii.  If you ever have the opportunity to visit Oahu at the holidays, jump on it.

Breaking News: The U.S. Senate has passed its health care reform bill

The U.S. Senate has passed its version of a health care reform bill this morning.  The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed theirs.  Now all that remains is to reconcile the two versions for the final push.  The Senate voted 60-39 along party lines (with Democrats voting for the measure) to pass the controversial bill.  The measure will now go to a conference committee.  Democratic lawmakers hope for President Obama's signature before the State of the Union address in January.  Republican lawmakers contend parts of the bill are unconstitutional and were achieved through backroom buyoffs.  Aren't most political deals negotiated this way?

Maine might require cell phone cancer warnings

Maine is considering legislation making it the first state to require all cell phones carry a cancer warning. Under the proposed bill, manufacturers would be required to place labels on phones and phone packaging warning of the potential for brain cancer. The cancer risk arises from electromagnetic radiation emitted by all cell phones. The warnings would recommend that all users, especially pregnant women and children with developing brains, keep the devices away from their head and body.

Whites will no longer be the majority

The U.S. Census has predicted whites will no longer be the majority in the United States of America by 2050 based upon rates of birth, death, and immigration. The U.S. population is currently 308 million; two-thirds of those are non-Hispanic whites. By 2050, the total population should climb to 399 million, under the new projection, with whites making up 49.9 percent of the population. Blacks will make up 12.2 percent, which is the same or slightly lower than today's percentage. Hispanics, currently 15 percent of the population, will rise to 28 percent in 2050. Asians are expected to increase from 4.4 percent of the population to 6 percent. Figures for Native Americans were not available.

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Washington DC legalized gay marriage

Washington D.C.'s city council voted to legalize gay marriage. Openly gay city councilman, David Catania, introduced the bill and the council voted in favor of it; only two opposing votes were made, one of which was cast by former D.C. mayor Marion "Bitch Set Me Up" Barry. You might recall Mayor Barry was caught on tape smoking crack in a sting operation in the 1990. The bill ws signed into law by D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and will take effect next Spring.

Angelina Jolie criticizes the Obama administration

Angelina Jolie, a staple on OTHER gossip websites, recently criticized the Obama administration in an editorial for Newsweek Magazine. "Their policy, though, raises a number of questions," the top box office star wrote. "How is the Obama administration's approach to Sudan an evolution of justice? In addition, when the administration says it intends to work to 'improve the lives of the people of Darfur,' I would like to know what that means, besides the obvious point that their lives could hardly get worse."

Now, I was sucking my teeth and thinking she should sweep outside her own door and explore her relationship issues before I read it was about Darfur. The problems in the Sudan, South Africa, Kenya, and other places really touch my heart. I think there is always more we can do. I admire her for doing the unpopular thing by speaking up in an attempt to spur the President to re-examine his timetable for addressing the problems of the developing world.

For more information on what YOU can do, visit http://www.savedarfur.org/

Lawmaker says "RedNeck Rap" wasn't racist

Kansas Rep. Bill Otto apologized for offending anyone by criticizing President Barack Obama while wearing a cap that calls opossum "the other dark meat." Otto said during a meeting with the NAACP on Saturday that he had "absolutely no thought of anything racial" in his online video, "RedNeck Rap." Otto still stands by his criticism of the Obama administrations decision to bring Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the U.S. and the economic bailouts. Rep. Otto says his cap refers to his roots and "The Beverly Hillbillies" television family that dined on opossum. His intended message is that anyone can see Congress' failings. The NAACP demanded an apology after the video was posted in September. In a sequel, Otto offers some praise to Obama.

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The Obamas held their first State Dinner last night

President and Mrs. Obama held their first State Dinner last night at the White House. The Obamas hosted the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, and his wife Mrs. Gursharan Kaur and entertained them with music sung by Oscar Award Winner Jennifer Hudson.

Mrs. Obama received many accolades for her strapless, elegant gown by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan. The floor-length gown boasted a muted gold tone and a fitted bodice. Mrs. Obama accented the classic dress with dramatic chandelier earrings, gold and diamond bangles, and a coordinating shawl.

Looking glamorous in an elegant strapless gown by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan, Michelle Obama welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Mrs. Gursharan Kaur to the White House Tuesday night and ushered in the Obama administration's first official state dinner.