Indiana Jones sequel is the most mistake-ridden film of 2008
December 31, 2008
The new Indiana Jones sequel has topped a list of the year’s most mistake-ridden films.
read more | digg story
Cynthia McKinney SLAMS Israeli Navy
December 31, 2008
Israel once again bullying others utilizing vehicles and weaponry we provide them.
The most moral military in the world? I don’t think so.
read more | digg story
Twitter Me This: Atlanta Falcon causing a Buzz?
December 31, 2008
Slow Your Scroll: Twitter Poll – This page contains real time public opinion. Refresh page for new opinions
You just got the buzz… behind the buzz from DryerBuzz (dot com). To see more opinions, refresh this page.
Time Warner, Viacom talks at standstill; blackout looms
December 31, 2008
By Yinka Adegoke and Paul Thomasch NEW YORK, Dec 31 (Reuters) – Viacom Inc (VIAb.N) and Time Warner Cable (TWC.N) remained at a standoff on Wednesday, but were hopeful that top executives would step in to resolve a dispute that threatens to…
read more | digg story
‘Jena 6′ figure shoots himself.
December 31, 2008
MONROE, La. – A teen convicted in the “Jena Six” beating case shot himself in the chest and was taken to the hospital Monday, days after his arrest on a shoplifting charge, police said.
read more | digg story
When it comes to Black Males…Who Cares?
December 31, 2008
Yalanda ask What’s Up with that Brother? and like the Black Star Project says “Who Cares?” After the day’s headlines, Yalanda Lattimore of DryerBuzz & Company gets into a discussion about the topic – at the end of 2008 – what’s ahead for that brother?
In a recent press release, The Black Star Project asked if “Under Obama, Will We Lose More Black Males?” As you will hear in the podcast, this is a sore subject for DryerBuzz & Company
The previous generation of young Black males was destroyed between 1985 and 2005. No amount of crying, cursing or hand-wringing can change this because that generation is gone! We need only walk down any city street in almost any predominantly African American community to see residue of the broken lives — millions of young Black men nationwide. Few people spoke out effectively and even fewer engaged in actions to prevent this silent genocide. The mass destruction of Black American males has been effectively ignored by almost everybody—the government, the media and most of the philanthropic community. Even most of our Black churches and Black communities still stand by and watch the horrific loss of our young Black men.
The resulting negative educational, social, spiritual and economic impact of a generation of Black males’ shattered lives is also ultimately a devastating loss to our entire society. Of course, every single young Black man will not be lost, but here are the facts: Only 2.5 out of 100 of the 102,000 Black males in Chicago public schools are projected to graduate from college by age 25 with at least a bachelors degree (From High School to the Future, Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago 2006). And only 19 percent of Black males in Indianapolis and 20 percent in Detroit even graduated from high school in 2006 (Given Half a Chance: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males, The Schott Foundation for Public Education).
Testimony before the U.S. Congressional Joint Economic Committee in 2007 revealed that only 50 percent of Black men in New York City were employed and that, nationally, 72 percent of Black male high school dropouts were unemployed. Recent crime data from Youngstown, Ohio, a city with a 44 percent Black population, showed that young Black men between 15 and 25 years old were either perpetrators or victims of 90 percent of Youngstown’s murders. In 2008, Chicago had more than 500 murders, mostly of young Black and Latino men. The Justice Policy Institute predicts that one out of three Black males born after 2001 will spend time incarcerated.
All of these statistics, representing the general condition of young Black men in America today, forecast an abysmal future for Black America. These inexcusable catastrophic outcomes constitute an unnatural disaster. Black America, along with all of America, pays dearly for its collective ineptitude and willful neglect of the nurturing, mentoring, educating, developing and saving of young Black men. No plausible justification exists for a country as great as America to lose another generation of Black youth.
Ask yourself: Who are young Black women going to marry? Who will be good fathers to tens of millions of Black children? Who will build and maintain the economies of Black communities? Who will be the anchor upon which to build strong families in the Black community? Who will young Black boys emulate as they grow into men? Will Black America be a viable and valuable community in 20 years? Or is the better question: Who cares?
Will the election of America’s first Black male president cleanse its conscience for destroying a past generation and absolve it of guilt for annihilating the next generation of young Black males? What a cruel hoax to believe that if a Black man can become president, then Black men do not have problems that America is obligated to address. Yet Black America cannot trade one Black man in the White House for the million-plus Black men languishing in American jail houses and millions of Black boys failing in American school houses.
In the absence of broad public policy ushering in comprehensive systemic changes, future generations of young Black males are destined to continue destroying themselves, their families and their communities. American social, economic and governmental systems have greatly contributed to the destruction of young Black men who have, in turn, become weapons of mass destruction against Black American communities. All the while America continues its moral high-ground façade concerning international human rights.
Those voices who call for Black men to “step up and be men” are not only wasting their breath but are also part of a seemingly intractable problem. Correcting the issues of Black men will require a comprehensively structured, sufficiently financed, professionally managed, ethically led and committed multi-pronged effort to systemically address and shift the cascading negative outcomes for Black men and boys.
The real shame of this catastrophe is not that America can’t save young Black males; it is that America won’t save young Black males! The resources required are miniscule compared to recent governmental bailouts and expenditures. Saving young Black males is an investment in America! It is as much a spiritual battle as it is a physical and emotional battle. A successful effort to save young Black males must also address habits, attitudes and behaviors that have pushed Black men to the precipice of irrelevance, obsolescence and nonexistence. To date, precious little is in place to stop the on-going destruction and annihilation of young Black males.
You just got the buzz from DryerBuzz (dot com). Spread the Buzz
BREAKING: Broncos Fire Coach Mike Shanahan
December 30, 2008
sportsillustrated.cnn.com – Collapse at end of season the undoing…
DENVER (AP) — Mike Shanahan became the latest and most stunning victim of the NFL coaching purge, fired Tuesday by the Denver Broncos after a late-season collapse knocked the team out of the playoffs for the third straight year.
read more | digg story
Jazz Giant Freddie Hubbard Dies
December 30, 2008
Influential jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard has died in Los Angeles. The 70-year-old, who played with the likes of Herbie Hancock and Thelonious Monk, was regarded as one of the foremost hard-bop trumpeters in the US.
Obituary | Memorial Guest Book | read more | digg story
Diddy Offers Free (Sort Of) Taxi Rides on New Years Eve
December 30, 2008
jossip.com – “The 39-year-old music mogul and Ciroc premium vodka have teamed up with city Taxi & Limousine Commission and E! Entertainment to distribute thousands of debit cards, valued up to $15…
Sphere: Related ContentCaroline Kennedy repeats ‘you know’ 142 times in interview
December 30, 2008
Caroline Kennedy’s campaign to claim Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat has taken another downturn after an interview in which she said “you know” 142 times.
read more | digg story
Sphere: Related Content
