Uncategorized
-
Deamonte’s Toothache
Two black boys died in the span of a week in 2007 because their mothers didn’t have health insurance. Deamonte Driver, 12, died of a toothache because his mother couldn’t afford to pay $80 to have a tooth extracted; the tooth abscessed and bacteria spread to his brain. After two surgeries and six weeks in…
-
Francophone Funk
“You may not think I’m French, but I am,” said a latte-colored man with frizzy hair over a loud speaker hidden in a sculpture garden on the Mall in Washington, D.C. At the performance last fall, there were no signs leading to the concert where French harmonica player Frédéric Yonnet performed. The only giveaway was…
-
Are Those Really Your Kids?
Sometimes people are well-intentioned but need to think before they speak. Comparing children they’re standing right in front of you (“the older one is really cute! her sister must be at that awkward age”), questioning their ancestry (“are they mixed?”), commenting on their hue or hair (see “are they mixed”?), asking if they’re a blended…
-
Weird Science
Modern medicine never ceases to amaze The Buzz. The latest shocker? A recent kidney transplant, detailed by William Saletan in Slate’s “Human Nature” blog, in which a 48-year-old woman had the organ removed through her vagina. Yes, you read correctly! Vagina. And if BBC News reported the story, then you know that it’s more than the setup for a…
-
Kilpatrick to Detroit: Over and Out
Sporting a business ‘fro and a pronounced beard that gave him the look of an ‘80s Marvin Gaye or a ‘70s Orson Welles, Tuesday, while his one time paramour Christine Beatty still serves out her 120-day sentence, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was released from jail and headed directly to his family’s new home in…
-
Playtime is Over
Finally, the Ty company (of Beanie Babies” fame) yanked the “Marvelous Malia” and “Sweet Sasha” children’s dolls that had been doing a brisk business since Barack Obama, the father of the namesakes was sworn in as President. Michelle Obama reportedly led the White House crusade against the image appropriation. The Buzz is all for dolls…
-
Whoopi Goldberg Defends Marijuana Smoking
Gold medalist Michael Phelps was allegedly caught at a party using a bong and the View’s Whoopi Goldberg defended the use and confessed her history with smoking trees. Now this could a perfect opportunity for me to comment on Phelps marijuana use or the so-called role model factor, or even Whoopi’s pride for admitting something…
-
A-Million Here, A-Million There
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy “My Bad” Geithner will announce on behalf of Sen. Claire “They’re Idiots” McCaskill and a fed-up Main Street, U.S.A., that going forward, financial institutions receiving federal funds via the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) will be required to limit employee salaries to $500K. The Buzz would…
-
The GOP’s Last Chance
Today, 12 p.m.: Join the washingtonpost.com Live Online discussion on MICHAEL STEELE AND THE GOP’s FUTURE with The Root’s deputy editor Terence Samuel. ***** I’ve been a Republican for a long time, more than two decades, and I have always been concerned about the poor relationship between the GOP and black voters. But I must…
-
Damned If You Do…
I can hear it now. Better still, I have heard it already. “Michael Steele is nothing but a token pick by the Republican Party.” “Republicans only did this to have a black leader to match Obama.” Well, true and false. Michael Steele is the new chairman of the Republican Party in some part (if not…