Colin Kaepernick is not a very good NFL quarterback any longer. He was benched last year by the San Francisco 49ers in favor or Blaine Gabbert. That says it all. This statement really isn’t up for debate. But the 28-year old has stirred a significant national debate after he refused on Friday night to stand during the pre-game playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. The controversial incident took place prior to a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. Here is a look at Kaepernick on the bench while his country was being honored He’s sitting underneath that giant arrow: What prompted Kaepernick to make this decision? He says it was a matter of conscience, of doing something that would call attention to the plight of African-Americans. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” Kaepernick did not get into specifics, but he is most likely talking about the rash of African-American deaths at the hands of police officers over the past several months. It’s a topic many professional athletes are starting to raise, with Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James opening this year’s ESPY Awards by making a plea for racial harmony. For many, these deadly and dangerous issues culminated in June and July with the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police officers. Both black men lost their lives in confrontations with the police, seemingly in needless, irresponsible fashion. These deaths were followed by the killing of five cops in Dallas by a deranged sniper. The 49ers, meanwhile, issued a statement about Kaepernick’s stance. It reads as follows: “The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pre-game ceremony. It is an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens. “In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose and participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.” And Niners Head Coach Chip Kelly told reporters on Saturday that Kaepernick’s choice not to stand during the national anthem is “his right as a citizen” and said “it’s not my right to tell him not to do something.” The move has created quite a bit of controversy. Many appreciate Kaepernick calling attention to a pressing national topic such as this. Aren’t we always asking athletes to use their platforms for something bigger than sports? Didn’t we just celebrate the life of Muhammed Ali? Possibly the most revered and respected athlete of all-time, Ali refused to be drafted into the United States Army during the Vietnam War. He basically spat on his country at the time for its racist tendencies and misguided international policies. Critics of Kaepernick, however, are saying such asinine things as college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb. He Tweeted the following in response to this controversy: First, the entire point here is that Kaepernick is thinking above and beyond himself. Shouldn’t he be applauded, not criticized, for putting societal problems ahead of his paycheck? What Gottlieb (and others who have written similar things such as this) are essentially saying is that a black man should stay quiet because a very rich white man is paying him a lot of money to do his job… which, in the end, is making that rich white man a lot more money. We have no doubt Kaepernick is grateful for his situation and well aware that America is the best country on Earth. We also hope he’s doing a lot more about the racial strife in this country that just sitting down during the national anthem. But are people really saying that it’s more patriotic to simply stand up during the playing of a song than to make a gesture that aims to help bring about equality? Because that belief is just ridiculous.
Colin Kaepernick is not a very good NFL quarterback any longer. He was benched last year by the San Francisco 49ers in favor or Blaine Gabbert. That says it all. This statement really isn’t up for debate. But the 28-year old has stirred a significant national debate after he refused on Friday night to stand during the pre-game playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. The controversial incident took place prior to a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. Here is a look at Kaepernick on the bench while his country was being honored He’s sitting underneath that giant arrow: What prompted Kaepernick to make this decision? He says it was a matter of conscience, of doing something that would call attention to the plight of African-Americans. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” Kaepernick did not get into specifics, but he is most likely talking about the rash of African-American deaths at the hands of police officers over the past several months. It’s a topic many professional athletes are starting to raise, with Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James opening this year’s ESPY Awards by making a plea for racial harmony. For many, these deadly and dangerous issues culminated in June and July with the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police officers. Both black men lost their lives in confrontations with the police, seemingly in needless, irresponsible fashion. These deaths were followed by the killing of five cops in Dallas by a deranged sniper. The 49ers, meanwhile, issued a statement about Kaepernick’s stance. It reads as follows: “The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pre-game ceremony. It is an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens. “In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose and participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.” And Niners Head Coach Chip Kelly told reporters on Saturday that Kaepernick’s choice not to stand during the national anthem is “his right as a citizen” and said “it’s not my right to tell him not to do something.” The move has created quite a bit of controversy. Many appreciate Kaepernick calling attention to a pressing national topic such as this. Aren’t we always asking athletes to use their platforms for something bigger than sports? Didn’t we just celebrate the life of Muhammed Ali? Possibly the most revered and respected athlete of all-time, Ali refused to be drafted into the United States Army during the Vietnam War. He basically spat on his country at the time for its racist tendencies and misguided international policies. Critics of Kaepernick, however, are saying such asinine things as college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb. He Tweeted the following in response to this controversy: First, the entire point here is that Kaepernick is thinking above and beyond himself. Shouldn’t he be applauded, not criticized, for putting societal problems ahead of his paycheck? What Gottlieb (and others who have written similar things such as this) are essentially saying is that a black man should stay quiet because a very rich white man is paying him a lot of money to do his job… which, in the end, is making that rich white man a lot more money. We have no doubt Kaepernick is grateful for his situation and well aware that America is the best country on Earth. We also hope he’s doing a lot more about the racial strife in this country that just sitting down during the national anthem. But are people really saying that it’s more patriotic to simply stand up during the playing of a song than to make a gesture that aims to help bring about equality? Because that belief is just ridiculous.
The VMAs aren't like other award shows. But unlike when someone you met on Tinder tells you they're not like other girls/guys, in this case, the claim is legit. You never know what might happen at the VMAs. Kanye might interrupt someone's acceptance speech. Nicki Minaj might call out Miley Cyrus . Kanye might interrupt everyone's acceptance speeches. You really never know. In fact, the only thing that's certain is: there will be some amazing performances. Check out the gallery below to relive some of the most unforgettable musical moments from 32 years of the VMAs. 1. Beyonce: “Love on Top,” 2011 Beyonce crushed it with her performance of “Love on Top” in 2011. It didn’t hurt that she capped things off by confirming rumors that she and Jay Z were expecting their first child. 2. Madonna: “Like a Virgin,” 1984 The Material Girl was just exploding onto the scene when the VMAs first started confusing parents in 1984. To give you an idea of how different things were then: Herbie Hancock beat out Michael Jackson as the night’s top winner. 3. Britney Spears: “Slave 4 U,” 2011 Britney Spears cemented her place as a VMA icon with her 2001 performance. Giant live snakes are great for when you’re trying to make a lasting impression. 4. Taylor Swift: “You Belong With Me,” 2009 Later that night, Taylor would become an unwilling participant in the most notorious moment in VMAs history. But when she crooned one of her signature tunes to a subway full of fans, she was still just the country girl with a broken heart full of hits. 5. Eminem: “The Real Slim Shady”/”Way I Am,” 2000 There were thousands of Eminem wannabes in 2000. But as Mr. Mathers proved in his unforgettable 2000 medley, there’s only one real Slim Shady. 6. Diddy, Faith Evans, Sting: “I’ll Be Missing You” Diddy’s tribute to the late, great Notorious B.I.G. became a massive success in 1997. It also made for one of the most unforgettable performances in VMA history. View Slideshow
The VMAs aren't like other award shows. But unlike when someone you met on Tinder tells you they're not like other girls/guys, in this case, the claim is legit. You never know what might happen at the VMAs. Kanye might interrupt someone's acceptance speech. Nicki Minaj might call out Miley Cyrus . Kanye might interrupt everyone's acceptance speeches. You really never know. In fact, the only thing that's certain is: there will be some amazing performances. Check out the gallery below to relive some of the most unforgettable musical moments from 32 years of the VMAs. 1. Beyonce: “Love on Top,” 2011 Beyonce crushed it with her performance of “Love on Top” in 2011. It didn’t hurt that she capped things off by confirming rumors that she and Jay Z were expecting their first child. 2. Madonna: “Like a Virgin,” 1984 The Material Girl was just exploding onto the scene when the VMAs first started confusing parents in 1984. To give you an idea of how different things were then: Herbie Hancock beat out Michael Jackson as the night’s top winner. 3. Britney Spears: “Slave 4 U,” 2011 Britney Spears cemented her place as a VMA icon with her 2001 performance. Giant live snakes are great for when you’re trying to make a lasting impression. 4. Taylor Swift: “You Belong With Me,” 2009 Later that night, Taylor would become an unwilling participant in the most notorious moment in VMAs history. But when she crooned one of her signature tunes to a subway full of fans, she was still just the country girl with a broken heart full of hits. 5. Eminem: “The Real Slim Shady”/”Way I Am,” 2000 There were thousands of Eminem wannabes in 2000. But as Mr. Mathers proved in his unforgettable 2000 medley, there’s only one real Slim Shady. 6. Diddy, Faith Evans, Sting: “I’ll Be Missing You” Diddy’s tribute to the late, great Notorious B.I.G. became a massive success in 1997. It also made for one of the most unforgettable performances in VMA history. View Slideshow
Ashley Judd is pushing 50 years old, she’s around 48 or something, yet still looks like this, because I guess not all the family Genetics are Wynonna… You see, because this one went hot chick in Hollywood, while the other one went fat chick in Country music and I’m glad for that, because I’m old enough to remember all her low level work over the decades being the hot chick and I remember always thinking “I’d totally fuck that”…but then again I’ve had the same feeling towards loose meat sandwiches… This movie is called GODO KIDS…where Four high school students look to redefine themselves after graduation…sounds like dog shit…dog shit that fucks hot 50 year olds…unless this is a body double…in which case that’s too bad…you know…stay fit, it’s not like there’s anything else to do when you sit on your pile of country music inheritance.. The post Ashley Judd in The Good Kid of the Day appeared first on DrunkenStepfather .
Racial tensions are running at an all-time high right now with everything that is going on in the country, which means that hyper-sensitivity is also more prevalent than it has been in recent memory. When you add those two together you have to be very careful what you say, post and in this case tweet, […]
Terri Williams Addresses Questions About Black Banks, One United In recent weeks we’ve seen tremendous growth in the number of new accounts being opened by black people at black owned banks. We reached out to Terri Williams, President and COO of One United Bank — the largest U.S. black owned bank to discuss what their institution offers account holders and to address fears people may still have about opening an account with a black owned bank . BOSSIP: Talk to us about the upsurge in business as of late? Are the reports being exaggerated or is this real growth you are seeing? Terri Williams: Website visits, branch visits, account generation have all increased tenfold. It’s really fabulous not just for us, but really part of a broader message and vision that we as a community are having a broader awareness of the importance of our dollars. BOSSIP: How does banking black help the community? TW: It’s not just banking black it’s actually buying black. It’s the broader point of buying black. I try to share with people that having dollars circulate through a community is how wealth is built… In any community, not just the black community. In our community, our dollars circulate for six hours on average before they leave. In the Asian American community, they circulate for 28 days. In the Jewish community, 19 days. Within six hours we’re spending our dollar in other communities and building the wealth of other communities. Whereas they’re visiting Asian restaurants, using Asian-American plumbers, etc… We’re the largest black owned bank, but the largest Asian American owned bank is worth something like 19 billion dollars. So other communities understand this much better than we do as a community. To some degree it’s understandable because we had to fight you know, going back to slavery and Jim Crow. I like to focus on the positive and look at how far we’ve come as opposed to looking at it as a negative. We have made a lot of strides from where we’ve come, but we still have a ways to go. And this particularly, the awareness of the importance of our dollars, is so critical to building wealth in our community. So it’s more than putting money in a black bank it’s also buying black. Circulating our dollars more in our community. What a bank does, and this is the other thing that people don’t understand is a bank actually recycles dollars. That’s what our role is. You put your deposit in the bank and those dollars are re-circulated throughout the community by who we hire and the lending that we do, and the investments that we make. So all we do is take the funds that are deposited and deploy them back into the community, that’s what banks do. It is more than banking black it really is buying black. BOSSIP: How have you worked to get that message out? We noticed you offer financial literacy classes. TW: We offer Financial literacy classes, but what I will say is that the message that I have just provided is more important to get that message out even more than financial literacy ,such as how to help yourself build your credit or how you can help prevent getting scammed. Those are more personal messages. But this call to action by Killer Mike , as well as others like Solange is really to me providing an opportunity for us to have a broader conversation about the fact that black money matters. And that it matters to us as a community and it’s just important to us again to not just bank black but buy black. BOSSIP: Are all of the One United Branches located in primarily black poor communities? TW: Yes. All of our branches except for one are located in black minority, low to moderate income communities. In Boston we are in Roxbury and Dorchester; in LA we are in South Central and Compton; in Miami we are in Liberty City. We employ people from the community and we are involved in a lot of community organizations in each of our markets. And we offer products and services that are affordable and that help the community in terms of, we didn’t do any sub-prime lending; we do first time homebuyers lending, we don’t charge outrageous overdraft fees. We are for responsible products and people can trust us. We could make more money if we were doing what the other banks were doing, but our role is not to make the most amount of money, it’s really to serve the community. BOSSIP: We noticed you guys offer secure credit cards as well. Are those rates reasonable? We’ve heard negative things about the rates for prepaid cards and Rush cards TW: The difference between a prepaid card like a Rush card and a secured card, is a secured card can actually help you rebuild your credit, because we report to the credit bureau unlike the Rush card. In addition we don’t charge all of those fees that prepaid cards charge. Our interest rate is a reasonable rate for someone who doesn’t have great credit – cause that’s why you’d get it, to improve your credit. And it’s a fixed rate. A lot of banks that offer these secured cards have a variable rate which can go up, but our rate is fixed. I think another thing that is important for our community is we need to start to trust each other. We are FDIC insured. People can put their money in the bank and not have to be concerned about it’s safety. We offer online banking and mobile banking.You can pay by text with us. You can take a picture of your check and deposit it. People think ‘oh the bank’s Black, I have to accept less services,’ when the reality is we actually have better services than most banks. So we as a community have gotten to a point where we actually do offer things that are better for our community than others, but we’ve come from a history of not trusting each other and we do have to get over that. BOSSIP: What is the fee to have a checking account with One United? TW: With a direct deposit it’s free. Same with savings. No limit on transactions per month. And like I said we have wonderful services. We have free online banking, we bill pay, we have great customer service. If customers are having an issue they can call us, send us a message. People have even sent us messages on Facebook and we’ve gotten right back to them. We also offer interest bearing checking accounts. Now the amount you have to deposit is higher, but we offer one of the highest interest rates on a checking account in the country. BOSSIP: When it comes to the other black owned banks is there any type of community organizing with each other? TW: Yes. The National Bankers Association is a trade organization that is really for minority banks, but it includes all of the black banks, and we meet regularly, at least once a year, but sometimes two or three times a year. So we all know each other. And we’ve all been doing this for many years. Most of the black banks were created during the civil rights era when other banks used to not work with us at all. This idea of banking black and garnering our spending power and channeling it back into our community is age old. You can go back to Marcus Garvey. Our civil rights leaders have been talking about this for decades. It’s just now we have the technology to actually do it. So now if you’re black in America but you live in a small town, you can still bank black. BOSSIP: What would you advise someone who doesn’t live in a city where there is a local black bank? TW: Go to OneUnited.com and open up an account to participate in this movement. It’s very simple. You can open up a savings account and deposit $100. And if we can get a million of us to do that, that’s $100 million dollars. So that’s a great way for people to participate. It’s easy to do. FDIC insured. And become a part of what I’m calling this Black Money Matters Movement. BOSSIP: Just one last question for people who still might be hesitant. The number of black banks has decreased from 48 to 21. Is it decreasing because they weren’t FDIC insured or the doors are actually closing because they don’t see the business? TW: No one has lost money by banking with a FDIC insured bank. There’s no way to lose your money by putting your money in a black bank. We are all FDIC insured. So that shouldn’t be a concern, that should really be off the table. Your money is safe. Banks in general have declined and consolidated. One United Bank is actually four banks that have been rolled up to be the largest black owned bank. So banks are consolidating. Some of them are closing but when they do, people don’t lose their money. What do you think about Ms. Williams’ answers? Have you started banking black yet? Do you plan to?
Florida Man Arrested After Orlando Police Mistake Doughnut Crumbs For Meth A Florida man who was arrested for drug possession when Orlando police thought glazed doughnut crumbs were methamphetamine remnants according to ABC News : “It’s a terrible feeling to go to jail when you have not done anything,” Dan Rushing, 64, of Orlando, told local ABC affiliate WFTV. “I just don’t want this to happen to somebody else.” He said police found the crumbs of his biweekly Krispy Kreme treat in his car and mistook the icing flakes for drugs after he was pulled over for a traffic violation. “Every other Wednesday, I stop at Krispy Kreme and get a doughnut there, and they found little — four little flakes of the icing,” Rushing said. “They said, ‘We found what we thought was crack cocaine in the beginning, but now we think it’s methamphetamines.’” He told ABC News today that he had just dropped his friend off at chemotherapy when he was pulled over by the police. “They said, ‘Would you mind if I search your car?’ and I said, ‘I don’t have anything to hide.’” “Then they said, ‘Well, do you want to tell me about anything illegal in your car?’” he said. He said he told them he had no idea what they were talking about, and then they produced four doughnut crumbs “no bigger than your thumbnail.” “I kept telling them that’s from a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut,” he told ABC News. He said the police officer insisted that it was drugs and that it had tested positive as a controlled substance with a field kit. He said he was then arrested, jailed for 11 hours, strip-searched and denied his spinal injury medication, which he needs to take every six hours. “I’m not mad at this officer, but I just don’t know where her judgment was,” Rushing said. He said that he has retained an attorney and will be filing a lawsuit against the police department. “The sad thing is I’m finding out a lot of people have gone through this all over the country. A lot of these tests are giving false positives,” he said. A cop can’t recognize a doughnut when she sees it?!?!
We hate to admit this, but… … the Kardashian might not be entirely terrible. They are mostly terrible, don’t get us wrong. They mislead young fans into thinking that waist training is actually an effective thing… they think that posing naked on social media is a lot of work… and they brought Tyga into our lives. But still. Consider the following: On Friday, Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian – along with Kris and Kendall Jenner – attended a private lunch with men and women who have lost relatives due to gun violence. The event was organized by Moms Demand Action and Everytown. Both are organizations that push for various gun control measures to be passed in Congress. “Having lunch with the families of loved ones who were killed by gun violence. I learned a lot from listening to their stories,” Kim wrote as a caption to the above image. She added: “Life is so precious! What will it take for this to stop? #NotOneMore #Everytown #MomsDemand.” View Slideshow: 13 Times Kim Kardashian Suffered from Serious #FirstWorldProblems Gun control appears to be one real issue that Kim takes seriously. After the massacre inside an Orlando nightclub that killed 49 patrons in June, Kim Tweeted: “Under current federal law people on terror watch lists can legally buy guns – this is called the Terror Gap,” Kim tweeted yesterday. “We have repeatedly called on Congress to close this loophole that makes it easy for dangerous people to get guns & kill. “Nothing has changed!!!! People continue to senselessly die. When will these gun laws be changed?!?!?!?!!!!?????” Those who watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians online will see footage from this luncheon on a future episode, so of course the family used the occasion as a fodder for their TV show. But whatever. If they made any difference at all in helping to get some common sense gun control laws passed in this country, we can’t say anything negative about them at this time. Erica Smegielski, whose mother was killed in the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, also shared a picture she took with Kendall and Kourtney on Twitter, writing along with it: “Awesome to hang with these gun sense champs.” Also, Khloe posted the following on Instagram: “Was able to spend the afternoon with the families of victims of gun violence. Today was so very moving and impactful. “I learned so much and i’m so grateful to everyone who was brave enough to share their very traumatic stories.” In late June, Kim Kardashian went on a rant against the government after four new gun control measures failed to get passed. “So terrorists on fbi’s wanted lists can legally still buy guns. Oh & mentally ill people can buy guns without a background check too,” she wrote, adding: “The fact that anyone can so easily access guns is so scary & after all of the devastating loss the Senate should have not failed us!!!” Again, we shudder to write it, but… She makes some good points. We’re sort of frightened here. We’re not sure how to react to this. Here. Let’s post some Kim Kardashian nude selfies so everyone feels nice and normal again about these reality stars: View Slideshow: Kim Kardashian Nude Selfies: A Birthday Suit Breakdown
