Will Obama Select Gen. James Jones for Vice President?

There are a number of folks on the short list of potential running mates for Barack Obama.

Obvious choices are: Evan Bayh, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Tim Kaine, Kathleen Sebelius, Ted Strickland, Mark Waner and Jim Webb.

MSNBC reports that a new name appears to be working its way up the list ... retired Gen. James Jones, the former Marine-turned-NATO Supreme Allied Commander. Jones, a Vietnam vet born in Kansas City, MO, was a career military officer rising to one of the highest posts possible. Now retired, Jones has been appointed to independent posts by both the Democratic Congress and the Republican-run State Department.

Jones currently is the president and CEO of the Institute for 21st Century Energy, which is an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the boards of Boeing, Chevron and Invacare, a manufacturer and distributor of medical equipment.

Selecting Jones would definitely be a break from tradition and would further cement Obama as the candidate of change moving into the general election. It may also blunt the force of McCain's strength in all matters related to the military.

Who do you see as top candidates for Obama's running mate?

Villager on Facebook

I resisted the constant pressure to join Facebook for many years. However, last month I joined Facebook as part of effort to promote the BDPA Foundation. I have been pleasantly surprised by the usefulness of this social network.

I have made connections with AfroSpear members, bloggers, high school friends, college friends, BDPA colleagues and others. However, I haven't found many relatives online yet.

Here are some Facebook groups that villagers might be interested in checking out:

1. Afrosphere Bloggers Association - (visit ABA website)
2. Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA)
3. Blackonomics Million Dollar Club - (see BMDC overview)
4. Blacks Gone Geek - (visit BGG blog)
5. Black Women's Political Exchange - (see backstory)
6. Call on Fox News to Fire Liz Trotta - (see weak apology from Liz Trotta)

I invite you to connect with me on Facebook. Mostly, I would be very interested to learn about your experience with Facebook? Positive? Negative? Or are you simply refusing to check out Facebook at all?

Definition of The AfroSpear

The afrosphere contains thousands of Black-owned and operated blogs. Currently, we have identified over 1,200 of them on our Black Blog Rankings. The afrosphere is growing and becoming noticed more by the media. The many different blog voices in the afrosphere share insights on business, civil rights, education, entertainment, fashion, gossip, politics, science, social commentary and so much more.
Over the past few months we have watched the growth of a small section within the afrosphere. This evolving section of the afrosphere is known as The AfroSpear.

The AfroSpear strives to be an effective advocacy voice for Black people that is heard loudly, clearly and influentially throughout the Diaspora. As the think tank for the afrosphere, the AfroSpear is a collective of Black bloggers from around the world who convene online to discuss, strategize, and develop solutions to national and international problems affecting people of the African Diaspora.
The fuel for success of The AfroSpear is the constituency of readers that stretches around the globe, many of whom are activists in their own local communities. AfroSpear bloggers provide information necessary to organize and mobilize their constituents to take action in bringing our issues to national and international attention.

The AfroSpear seeks to influence and improve the lives of Blacks politically, socially, economically, culturally, and even spiritually. As such, The AfroSpear does not discriminate on the basis of national origin, religion, gender, sexual preference, native language, ethnicity or disability. Share some love with the following roster of AfroSpear blogs:






Well, brothers and sisters ... do you have a better feel for the difference between the afrosphere and The AfroSpear now? Please take a moment to provide your thoughts on either or both group. What say u?

Old School Friday: Sade

The theme for this week's Old School Friday meme is 'Not Another Sad Love Song'. There were many ways to roll with this theme ... however, I am trying hard to discipline myself to no more than two songs per OSF! Anyhow, I thought I would try to bring you some soul that you might not find elsewhere.

Do you remember Sade? Sade is a talented sister with a unique voice. She had many remarkable songs ... here are two songs that evoke sad thoughts of both eros-love and agape-love. Relax for a moment and let her vibe flow over you...

Sade * King of Sorrow



Sade * Somebody Already Broke My Heart

Hillary Clinton Concedes Nomination (Honestly!)

My dream scenario had Hillary Clinton conceding the nomination back in February.

I was wrong.

She stuck it out through the end of the primary contests. However ... finally ... Hillary Clinton will open her eyes to the obvious ... she lost ... and she can now close down her effort to earn the keys to the White House.

She will shut things down on Saturday. Her aides indicate that she will express support (...that is Clintonese for endorse...) Barack Obama at a party unity event in Washington DC on that day.

Personally, I look for her to concede defeat, congratulate Obama and hold his hand up in the traditional victory salute. It took a ton of bricks, such as Charlie Rangel and others to get Clinton to see through her delusions of grandeur. But, in the end, it appears that commonsense will prevail.

I also like the way that Barack Obama responded in his cool, calm and collected manner about all of the speculation surrounding his vice presidential selection. He announced a 3-person search committee for a vice-presidential nominee. Carolyn Kennedy (JFK's daughter), Jim Johnson and Eric Holder (President Clinton's deputy attorney general) are both on the search committee. Obama made it clear how he plans to run his operation with data, facts and good vetting ... not with emotion, pressure and bully tactics.

Hillary Clinton moves closer to being a footnote in history. It's about time!

Wordless Wednesday: McCain is Next!

Thanks Aaron!

Can Barack Obama Become 44th President of the United States?

The Democratic primary is over. Barack Obama claimed victory tonight.

Hillary Clinton is tone-deaf. It is almost sad to watch her strategize about how to become a vice president. She thanked Obama for running ... but, did not acknowledge that he has won. However, it really doesn't matter. Hillary Clinton became a footnote to history tonight. She did better than any other woman in history. She won a lot of votes while losing the primary election. But, in the end ... she lost.

Tomorrow we can begin talking about the general election and John McCain and vice presidential candidates.

Today ... I join with other villagers as we bask in the glow of a Barack Obama victory. The past five months have been remarkable as we watched this skinny Black guy with the funny name overcome the Clinton machine.

Do you remember how you felt back in January when Obama gave his victory speech in Iowa? I sat with my mom watching this speech. We were both brought to tears as it dawned on us that he could win ... that white people could actually support a Blackman for the highest office in the land.

Do you remember how you felt when you were first introduced to his family?

Do you remember when you first heard Will-I-Am and his 'Yes We Can!' YouTube video?

Do you remember how you felt when he gave the 'More Perfect Union' speech in Philadelphia. It was remarkable to hear a public leader talk with us about race relations in a candid manner.

Do you remember how you felt when he received endorsements from Oprah Winfrey, Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, John Edwards and others?

Now fast-forward your vision to November 2008. Can you imagine how you and your children will feel when Barack Obama becomes the 44th President of the United States?

Care to share your thoughts and vision for Barack Obama at this very critical moment in our nation's history? What say u?

Blog Safari #1

Here are some interesting blog posts that we came across while hunting outside of our village recently. I hope you enjoy the knowledge dropped by these enlightened blogs:

• A Political Season - Obama: The New Gold Standard for Black Leadership


• AfroSpear Think Tank - Support an African American Woman for President


• Keep It Trill - I'm Voting White


• Latino Pundit - Voto Latino 2008: Time to Deliver


• The Wichita NAACP Blog - Sudanese Ambassador John Ukec Lueth Ukec's visit to Wichita

After you visit these other villages I hope you'll come back and share your thoughts!

Barack Obama Nears Finish Line

Asante sana Adrianne!

Bill Clinton Indicates 'Last Day' of Campaign

Bill Clinton offers the first indication that Team Clinton is ready to call it quits.

"I want to say also, that this may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind," the former president said at a town hall at the Milbank Visitor Center.

The writing is on the wall for everyone to see at this point. Barack Obama is only 41.5 delegates away from reaching the magic number of 2118. Hillary is over 158 delegates behind Obama at the time of this writing.

Bill Clinton words and body language concedes that Team Clinton is out of steam.

"I thought I was out of politics, 'til Hillary decided to run," he said. "But it has been, one of the greatest honors of my life to go around and campaign for her for president."

I anticipate that Obama will be in position to have the confetti flying in victory on Tuesday night during his victory speech in Minnesota. Ideally, Hillary Clinton will finally concede the nomination during her scheduled speech on Wednesday in New York. That is my hope anyhow.

How do you think that this thing will finally wrap up?

Top Ten Black Blogs (Jun 2008)

We continue to appreciate the support that many provide to our Black Blog Rankings (BBR). The San Francisco Chronicle wrote an article last month that noted the BBR has grown from 75 blogs (Sept 2007) to over 1200 blogs (Jun 2008). Also, Prometheus 6 (BBR #92) and Open Entrance (BBR #108) agreed to work with us to automate the data-gathering process with Technorati and other measurement sources.

Today, we are proud to share with you Villager's Black Blog Rankings (BBR) for June 2008 with 1,239 blogs in the mix! We are missing many Black blogs. Please let us know if you see any of your favorites that are not on the list!

• September 2007 - 75 Black blogs
• October 2007 - 300 Black blogs
• January 2008 - 602 Black blogs
• April 2008 - 1,045 Black blogs
• May 2008 - 1,173 Black blogs

I continue to seek somebody that can create a sidebar button that can be used by anyone that wants to help promote the BBR. Please contact me if you have an idea for the graphic that we can use for this sidebar button. Take a moment to see where your blog falls on the list ... then tell your blog readers ... and share some link-love with this post!

Anyhow, with no further ado, here are the Top Ten Black Blogs for June 2008:

1. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 1,099 / Rank: 3,946) - [Entertainment] Bossip.com is BBR #1 for the fourth month in a row. Entertainment (or gossip) blogs appear to have a large claim on the hearts and minds of Black people. This is topic of online discussion here and here. I'm still waiting for the Bossip.com folks to send us a little 'link-love' for our villagers... maybe this will be the month!
   
2. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 1,091 / Rank: 3,986) - [Politics] Truth to tell, I believe that Pam is going to move into the #1 slot over the next few weeks as a result of being credentialed to blog on the floor of the Democratic National Convention. The eyes of the world will be on this year's convention ... especially when Barack Obama gives his acceptance speech on the anniversary of the MLK 'I Have a Dream' speech. Pam and the other Black bloggers at the DNC make us all proud. We appreciate the 'link-love' that Pam provided to our blog!


3. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 997 / Rank: 2,716) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws, a 23-year-old college student in Jacksonville, NC, started this blog as a hobby. Sis. Laws is very well-known in the blog industry as a result of her ability to post about Black celebrity's in a timely and quality manner. Her entertainment blog focuses on gossip, music, celebrity interviews, pictures and such. Angel has been kind enough to visit with us in the past. I suppose she is waiting until she overtakes Bossip.com before she sends some 'link-love' to our blog!


4. ESKAY: Nah Right (Authority: 860 / Rank: 3,430) - [Entertainment] ESKAY is doing some powerful things with this blog began three years ago in May 2005. It is the fastest moving of the top-tier Black blogs last month. There is still some distance before Nah Right catches up to Concrete Loop, however, ESKAY is definitely on the move. Nah Right focus is on Music and Movies. We are very grateful to Nah Right for being included as a post on their blog. It resulted in our blog having record-breaking visits and page views for two days in a row last month.
   
5. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 672 / Rank: 4,907) - [Politics] Oliver began his blog in April 2005. One of the highlights of Oliver's blogging career occurred last month when he was selected as part of the DemConvention General Bloggers Corp. Oliver seeks to have a one-on-one interview with Nobel Laureate Al Gore while he is in Denver. I anticipate that his blog will grow over the coming weeks as we get closer to the Democratic National Convention in August.
   
6. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 645 / Rank: 5,299) - [Entertainment] Natasha is a 25-year old law student in Washington DC. It appears that she successfully completed her transition from blogspot.com domain to her own domain over the past few months. Her blog remains one of the hottest Black celebrity gossip sites on the net since it was created in June 2005. Top tags on her blog are Candids, Parties and Rumor Control. Someone let this sister know about her top ranking on our BBR. Perhaps it will be worth some link-love this month!
   
7. Sandra Rose: Sandra Rose (Authority: 465 / Rank: 8,190) - [Entertainment] Sandra Rose moved up a few notches in the BBR Top Ten this month. Sandra Rose transitioned from her blogger.com platform to her own domain over the past few months. Her fans appear to have found the newer blog location. Sandra's hook is her photography. She is a celebrity photographer with a portfolio of work that includes some of the greats from Janet Jackson to Usher and all points in-between and otherwise. Sandra Rose is Atlanta’s go-to-photographer when it comes to all things celebrity. I understand she only gives link-love to blogs that she follows or posts that she links to. Hopefully, we will make the cut this month!


8. Fresh Crunkjuice: Crunk & Disorderly* (Authority: 452 / Rank: 8,585) - [Entertainment] This gossip blog, created in August 2004, fell four spots to BBR #8 this month. Not to worry. Fresh Crunkjuice bought his own domain a few months ago. This blogspot.com domain is being retired and will continue to fall in the BBR. However, I anticipate that his other blog will crack the Top 10 shortly ... it is currently sitting at BBR #30.


9. Jack Turner and Jill Tubman: Jack and Jill Politics* (Authority: 444 / Rank: 8,800) - [Politics] JJP joins Pam and Oliver as top-ranked Black political bloggers credentialed to be on the floor of the 2008 National Democratic Convention in Denver later this summer. More and more blog readers will begin to take notice of the presidential campaign as the realization of an African American POTUS begins to take hold. JJP provides a uniquely Black bourgeois perspective on American politics. Top tags for this blog are 2008 Democratic Primary, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I noticed that our Electronic Village hasn't earned a place in the JJP blogroll. We'll keep workin' at it ... perhaps that link-love will come soon!
   
10. Tempest: The Angry Black Woman (Authority: 380 / Rank: 10,693) - [Social Commentary] Oddly enough, this blog was in the Top 10 back in September 2007. The Angry Black Woman focuses on issues related to sexism and racism. Her blog provides a safe space for talking about these and other related issues. As the sister says, "We can’t stop being angry until the fight is over. And the fight is far from over, kids."

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): La Shawn Barber's Corner, Real Talk NY Provides The Latest Hip Hop News, The Field Negro*, Love B. Scott, Afro Bella, What About Our Daughters*, How To Split An Atom, Entre mes Lignes, Angry Black Bitch, Keith Boykin, Ill Doctrine, Necole Bitchie, A Hot Mess! and Raw Dawg Buffalo.

---

The only qualification is that the blogger needs to be of African descent. The blogger does not have to be a member of The AfroSpear or the Afrosphere Bloggers Association, although we invite all Black bloggers to join either (or both) of those organizations.

Those blogs with an asterisk after their name are members of The AfroSpear.

Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the person listed and the #1 ranked blog in the world.

We do think that these Black blogs are important spheres of influence. Let them know that you appreciate the work they have put in over the past few months and years to get on this list. My vision is that many of the brothers and sisters on this month's BBR will join us later this year at the Blogging While Brown conference in Atlanta, GA on July 25-27, 2008.

Finally, I encourage all bloggers to provide some link-love to this post so that your readers can learn about the Villager's Black Blog Rankings! Next step is yours ... what say u?

Obama Called 'Inadequate Black Male' by Clinton Supporter

The Democratic Party decided the fate of Florida and Michigan delegates during meeting held in Washington DC. By all accounts, Barack Obama's strength within the party was demonstrated by the outcome of the meeting. It seemed to truly piss off some Clinton supporters. Check out this Clinton supporter from New York as she learns the results of the meeting. Her anger is visible. You will hear her claim that she plans to vote for McCain in the general election...





Why does she call Barack Obama an 'inadequate Black male'?

Jena 6 Want Judge Mauffray Removed From Their Case

Drumbeats from ColorOfChange tell us that we may have some news flowing from the Jena, LA in the coming days. Citing powerful evidence of Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr.'s bias against them, five of the African American youth known as the Jena 6 went back in court seeking to remove Mauffray from their cases. You may recall that the sixth member of Jena 6, Mychal Bell, took an 18-month sentence as part of a plea-agreement.

Legal documents filed in the proceedings reveal Judge Mauffray's personal vendetta against the Jena 6. Among other incidents, Mauffray characterized the young men as violent trouble-makers and confessed his intent to incarcerate one of the youth—regardless of the strength of the evidence. Given Mauffray's documented inability to preside over a fair trial for these youth, their legal teams have requested that a new judge be appointed to handle all Jena 6 related proceedings.

"Judge Mauffray is the man at the center of Jena's broken justice system and now he is forced to justify his bias in a court of law with the entire nation watching," said James Rucker, Executive Director of ColorOfChange.org, the 400,000 member group that has advocated on behalf of the Jena 6. "These proceedings are an opportunity to redeem Louisiana's justice system in the eyes of the nation and provide the Jena 6 with their constitutional right to a fair trial."

On May 30, Judge Thomas Yeager ruled to take evidence offered by the Jena 6 legal teams under advisement, putting off a final decision on the motion to recuse Judge Mauffray until July 18, 2008. In the interim, lawyers for the young men have until July 4 to provide additional information to support their case. After that, DA Reed Walters, representing Mauffray on behalf of the state of Louisiana, has two weeks to respond to the new information before Judge Yeager offers his final ruling.

If Mauffray is recused by Judge Yaeger it means a chance at a fair trial and an indictment for biased judges (and District Attorneys) everywhere.

Villagers, we haven't talked about Jena 6 on this blog for awhile. What are your current thoughts on the Jena 6 today?

Old School Friday: Philly Sounds

The theme established for this week's Old School Friday meme is 'Philly Sounds'. This opened up a wide range of artists including Billy Paul, Blue Magic, Delfonics, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Stylistics and The Intruders.

Brothers and sisters, you may want to put the children out of the room. This is sho' nuff Grown Folks Music!


Sideshow (Blue Magic)


Me & Mrs. Jones (Billy Paul)



Do any of you have memories of these songs when they were originally on the air back in the day? What say u?

Diverse Blogger Pool Selected for 2008 Democratic National Convention

It turns out that a record number of blogs will receive credentials for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. And it appears that the DNC leadership took time to consider the issue of diversity in this round of selections.

I am very proud of the African American bloggers who raised the red flag when the State Bloggers Corp was announced earlier this month. I am very proud of the private discussions and the very public discussions that allowed the DNC to correct a potential controversy from extending further into the summer. The end result is that our powerful politically-based Black bloggers in the afrosphere will be connecting the rest of us to the sights and sounds of a truly historic event in Denver later this year.

Villagers -- WE WON! Never before have blogs been included in such strong numbers and provided with resources that will enable them to be the eyes and ears of so many at the Convention.

The following blogs have been credentialed:

1. 2008 Democratic Convention Watch - http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/
2. 43rdStateBlues.com - http://43rdstateblues.com/
3. AFL-CIO NOW Blog - http://blog.aflcio.org/
4. African American Political Pundit (BBR #87) - http://aapoliticalpundit.blogspot.com/
5. AMERICAblog.com - http://americablog.com/
6. Asian American Action Fund Blog - http://aaa-fund.com/
7. Badlands Blue - http://badlandsblue.com/
8. Bagnews Notes - http://bagnewsnotes.com/
9. Beliefnet - http://beliefnet.com/
10. Bitch Ph.D. - http://bitchphd.blogspot.com/
11. Blogger News Network - http://bloggernews.net/
12. Blogging For Michigan - http://bloggingformichigan.com/
13. BlogHer - http://blogher.com/
14. Blue Hampshire - http://bluehampshire.com/
15. Blue Indiana - http://blueindiana.net/
16. Blue Jersey - http://bluejersey.com/
17. Blue Mass. Group - http://bluemassgroup.com/
18. BlueGrassRoots - http://bluegrassroots.org/
19. BlueNC.com -http://bluenc.com/
20. BlueOregon -http://blueoregon.com/
21. Buckeye State Blog - http://buckeyestateblog.com/
22. Burnt Orange Report -http://burntorangereport.com/
23. Calitics - http://calitics.com/
24. Campus Progress - http://campusprogress.org/
25. Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis -http://divasblueoasis.blogspot.com/
26. Change to Win -http://changetowin.org/
27. Colorado Confidential -http://coloradoconfidential.com/
28. Cotton Mouth Blog -http://cottonmouthblog.blogspot.com/
29. CracktheBell.com -http://crackthebell.com/
30. Crooks and Liars -http://crooksandliars.com/
31. culturekitchen -http://culturekitchen.com/
32. Daily Kingfish -http://dailykingfish.com/
33. Daily Kos -http://dailykos.com/
34. Dallas South Blog (BBR #84) -http://dallassouthblog.com/
35. DCist.com -http://dcist.com/
36. Democracy Arsenal -http://democracyarsenal.org/
37. Democracy for New Mexico -http://democracyfornewmexico.com/
38. Democratic Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands -http://groups.yahoo.com/group/democratvi
39. Democratic Underground -http://democraticunderground.com/
40. Democrats Abroad Argentina -http://yanquimike.com.ar/
41. DemoOkie -http://demookie.com/
42. Digby's Hullabaloo -http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/
43. Disaboom.com -http://disaboom.com/
44. Doc's Political Parlor -http://politicalparlor.net/
45. DoubleSpeak -http://doublespeakshow.com/
46. Eschaton -http://atrios.blogspot.com/
47. EverydayCitizen.com -http://everydaycitizen.com/
48. Fired Up! -http://firedupmissouri.com/
49. Firedoglake -http://firedoglake.com/
50. Florida Progressive Coalition -http://flaprogressives.org/
51. Future Majority -http://futuremajority.com/
52. Georgia Politics Unfiltered http://georgiaunfiltered.blogspot.com/
53. Green Mountain Daily -http://greenmountaindaily.com/
54. Grist Magazine -http://grist.org/
55. Group News Blog -http://groupnewsblog.net/
56. HispanicTips.com -http://hispanictips.com/
57. HorsesAss.org -http://horsesass.org/
58. HummingbirdMinds Blog -http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/
59. iLind.net -http://ilind.net/
60. Indianz.com -http://indianz.com/
61. Jack and Jill Politics (BBR #9) -http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/
62. Jusiper -http://jusiper.blogspot.com/
63. Keystone Politics -http://keystonepolitics.com/
64. KnoxViews -http://knoxviews.com/
65. Las Vegas Gleaner -http://lasvegasgleaner.com/
66. Left In Alabama -http://leftinalabama.com/
67. Left in the West -http://leftinthewest.com/
68. Michigan Liberal -http://michiganliberal.com/
69. Minnesota Monitor -http://minnesotamonitor.com/
70. MOMocrats -http://momocrats.typepad.com/
71. My Left Nutmeg -http://myleftnutmeg.com/
72. MyDD -http://mydd.com/
73. New Nebraska Network -http://newnebraska.net/
74. NewsOne.com - http://newsone.com/
75. No Rest for the Awake -http://minagahet.blogspot.com/
76. NorthDecoder.com -http://northdecoder.com/
77. Obsidian Wings -http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/
78. Ohio Daily Blog -http://ohiodailyblog.com/
79. OliverWillis.com (BBR #5) - http://oliverwillis.com/
80. Open Left -http://openleft.com/
81. Pam's House Blend (BBR #2) -http://pamshouseblend.com/
82. Political Base -http://politicalbase.com/
83. Political Wire -http://politicalwire.com/
84. PoliticalLunch.com -http://politicallunch.com/
85. PolitickerNJ.com -http://politickernj.com/
86. PoliticsOnline -http://politicsonline.com/
87. Pop and Politics -http://popandpolitics.com/
88. Prairie State Blue -http://prairiestateblue.com/
89. RaceWire (BBR #75) - http://racewire.org/
90. Raising Kaine -http://raisingkaine.com/
91. Raw Story -http://rawstory.com/
92. Rhode Island's Future -http://rifuture.org/
93. Room 8 -http://r8ny.com/
94. Rum, Romanism and Rebellion -http://rumromanismrebellion.net/
95. RuralVotes -http://ruralvotes.com/thefield
96. Scholars & Rogues -http://scholarsandrogues.com/
97. Seeing the Forest -http://seeingtheforest.com/
98. Sepia Mutiny -http://sepiamutiny.com/
99. SquareState.net -http://squarestate.net/
100. Talking Points Memo -http://talkingpointsmemo.com/
101. TalkLeft -http://talkleft.com/
102. Taylor Marsh -http://taylormarsh.com/
103. The Albany Project -http://thealbanyproject.com/
104. The Center for Emerging Media -http://centerforemergingmedia.com/
105. The Iowa Independent -http://iowaindependent.com/
106. The Natchez Blog -http://natchezms.blogspot.com/
107. The Seminal - http://theseminal.com/
108. The UpTake -http://theuptake.org/
109. The Utah Amicus -http://utahamicus.com/
110. The Washington Independent -http://washingtonindependent.com/
111. Think Youth -http://thinkyouth.org/
112. Thought Theater -http://thoughttheater.com/
113. TommyWonk -http://tommywonk.blogspot.com/
114. Tondee's Tavern -http://tondeestavern.com/
115. Towleroad -http://towleroad.com/
116. Turn Maine Blue -http://turnmaineblue.com/
117. Under The Dome.com -http://underthedome.com/
118. Uppity Wisconsin -http://uppitywis.org/
119. USAmerica Vota '08 -http://usamericavota08.blogspot.com/
120. VivirLatino.com -http://vivirlatino.com/
121. West Virginia Blue -http://wvablue.com/
122. What About Our Daughters? (BBR #16) -http://whataboutourdaughters.com/
123. Working Life -http://workinglife.org/
124. Zennie's Zeitgeist (BBR #257) - http://zennie2005.blogspot.com/

I'll be interested to see how others respond to this list of DemConvention Bloggers. Personally, I feel good! What say u?

New AfroSpear Member: Universal Blackness

The AfroSpear added a new voice over the past week. Universal Blackness (BBR #659) is owned/operated by Mr. Shadow. His blog focuses on issues relevant to the Black community and other cultural communities in the United States and throughout the world.

Mr. Shadow is a FAMU graduate currently teaching 8th grade english at a middle school in the Los Angeles area. He also fancies himself as an actor and entertainer who loves to talk and debate the various issues of the day.

Mr. Shadow wrote, "I think the purpose of The AfroSpear is to highlight and promote the various opinions, writings, activities and other positive acts of Bloggers of color. I will contribute to this process by using my blog to talk of matters that are important to Bloggers of color. Not just politics but also entertainment, the arts, culture, education and history."

I encourage all villagers to check out his blog today! With any luck, we may even talk Mr. Shadow into adding the Electronic Village to one of his dozen blogrolls!

Wordless Wednesday: Obama's Car

Am I Not Human? * Hunger in Haiti

Our blog joins with others to share information about human rights violations in Darfur, Tibet and around the world.

Often we think that our day-to-day trials and tribulations are worthy of headlines. We want others to stop and listen to our complaints about this or that. Our problems are like a gnat on an elephant's ass when you really get down to it. There are men, woman and children all over the earth that are dealing with horrendous human rights issues. On the 27th of each month we hope to blog for those that cannot do so for themselves.

My focus today is on the island nation in our hemisphere ... Haiti.

Rising food and fuel costs have left the most vulnerable populations hungry. The recent rioting in Haiti speaks to the devastating impact of the global food crisis on the poor and hungry. Already facing food shortages and eating mud cakes, the people of Haiti have been particularly susceptible to the skyrocketing prices. While rising prices mean less food for the hungry, a new face of hunger is emerging. Even where food is available, more and more people simply cannot afford it.

Hermite Joseph, a mother working in the markets of Port au Prince, told journalist Nick Whalen that her two kids "are like toothpicks. They're not getting enough nourishment. Before, if you had a dollar twenty-five cents, you could buy vegetables, some rice, 10 cents ofcharcoal and a little cooking oil. Right now, a little can of rice alone costs 65 cents, and is not good rice at all. Oil is 25 cents. Charcoal is 25 cents. With a dollar twenty-five, you can't even make a plate of rice for one child." [SOURCE]

One of the main causes of the food shortages in Haiti is agricultural policy in the United States. The U.S. and other international financial bodies destroy Haitian rice farmers to create a major market for the heavily subsidized rice from U.S. farmers. This is not the only cause of hunger in Haiti and other poor countries, but it is a major reason that Haiti, a country that was self-sufficient in rice-production 30-years ago, now has hungry families all across the island.

Haiti has become one of the very top importers of rice from the U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture 2008 numbers show Haiti is the third largest importer of US rice - at over 240,000 metric tons of rice. (One metric ton is 2200 pounds). Rice is a heavily subsidized business in America. Our government provided $11 billion in rice subsidies to American businesses from 1995 to 2006 . One producer alone, Riceland Foods located in Stuttgart, Arkansas, received over $500 million dollars in rice subsidies between 1995 and 2006. [SOURCE]

The people of Haiti ask us, "Am I Not Human?"

Drumbeats from CLNMike told us about the efforts of Wyclef Jean to raise $48 million in the next six months to combat the hunger crisis in Haiti.

Villagers, I hope you will take a moment to sit and reflect on our blessings in this country. Then decide how you can make a difference to help the human condition in Darfur, Tibet or Haiti. Here are some options provided by Cry Haiti blog for Villagers that want to take action right now:

1. Anyone who wants to assert compassion can contribute to feeding programmes in Haiti.
2. Anyone who stands for justice can join the fair trade movement.
3. Anyone who wants action, not words from our politicians can call for the agricultural policies of developed countries to be reformed, to help combat world hunger.
4. Anyone who believes in dignity can support long-term, sustainable agricultural development in Haiti.

On a more global level, we encourage you to read or download the Am I Not Human? eBook for May 2008. Kudos to PurpleZoe for pulling this document together!

You can learn more about our ongoing blogging campaign from our virtual headquarters.

Is there anything that you can do where you are with what you have? What say u?

Summer Blu-ray Blowout: Save up to 50%

I want Villagers to know about great bargains on Amazon’s wide selection of discounted Blu-ray titles, including “300”, “The Terminator”, “Bladerunner (Five-Disc Complete Collector's Edition),” and “Weeds – the Complete Second Season.” Summer has officially begun and all villagers can use our special promotion on over 100 Blu-ray titles at up to 50% off. This promotion ends June 9 so don't procrastinate.

In addition, Amazon will be celebrating graduation season and Father’s Day with “High Definition Week” in the Gold Box from June 2-6. Check back daily for exciting deals featuring HighDef consumer electronics, video games, and Blu-ray Movies and TV at unbelievable prices.

Pressure Builds on Democrats to Diversify Convention Blogger Corps

The firestorm continues to build on the lack of diversity in the blogger pool being given credentials to report on the upcoming Democratic Party Convention in Denver, CO. Today, we see that the Washington Post is weighing in with coverage on the controversy.

What are thoughts on the situation? How do you see it being resolved?