Do You Really Care?

It's time to Break It Down!

I mean, do you...really?
 
The great “Miley Twerks” caprice has become all the rage over the past couple of days.  The long and mostly short of it is Miley Cyrus performed a duet with Robin Thicke, in the MTV Video Music Awards (VMA's) Sunday night.  Mr. Thicke currently has his own issues, of course.  Reference his lawsuit againstthe family of Marvin Gaye.  However, that is a conversation for another time; maybe even another forum.
 
Ms. Cyrus, a former child star rose to fame in her role as Disney’s Hannah Montana.  Born Destiny Hope Cyrus (that's Miley to you), Country Music singer Billy Ray Cyrus' daughter Twerked her way into the latest media frenzy during her rambunctious performance Sunday night.  The media has hardly been able to contain itself in rendering critiques, mostly negative, about young Ms. Cyrus’ antics.  It seems the sexually explicit nature of the Country Music scion’s act drove many to near apoplexy.
 
Twerking is the name of the dance, which she was not particularly good at, by the way.  In the rare event you do not know what it is, check Google, Bing, Urban Dictionary, Twitter, Vine, FaceBook, or some other search engine or social networking tool.  It is a well-documented contemporary art form.  More over, if you ever watched videos of Islanders (Jamaicans, Barbadians, Trinidadians, etc.) dancing, chances are you have seen the precursor to today’s Twerking.
 
Some folks have speculated that Miley's father must be mortified, and is off hiding in some dark corner.  That may be the case, but I have my doubts.  Instead, I imagine Ol’ Billy Ray, Lil’ Miley, and every other member of the Cyrus Clan are all somewhere jauntily monitoring the trending Twitter feed, and contemplating the many ways to monetize this latest faux furor.
 
Want real news? 
 

1. Egyptian General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi removed President Mohamed Morsi in a coup & Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is gassing his countrymen
2. The Obama Administration is readying war-making apparatus in response to Assad
3. The NSA has been spying on Americans…since 1983
4. George Zimmerman is seeking reimbursement of court costs from the State of Florida
5. North Carolina is bringing back Jim Crow era voting policies
6. The GOP is threatening to shut down the United States government
7. Today is the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington!

Now tell me, "Do You Really Care aboutMiley’s Twerking?" 

I’m done; holla back!

 

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday.

 

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”  Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

 

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miley_Cyrus

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Montana

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/vmas-2013-celebs-react-miley-cyrus-robin-thicke-performance-article-1.1437027

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Ray_Cyrus

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Thicke

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Thicke

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twerking

 

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2013/08/26/exp-erin-nsa-officers-spied-on-spouses.cnn.html

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Egyptian_coup_d'%C3%A9tat

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323407104579036173795495190.html

 

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/27/20203855-george-zimmerman-wants-state-of-florida-to-pay-for-defense-expenses?lite

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/25/black-america-2013_n_3647789.html

 

http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/07/25/gop-senators-threaten-government-shutdown-to-derail-obamacare/

Another Republican, Another Private Fundraiser, Another Perfect Storm of Controversy

It's time to Break It Down! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BREAK IT DOWN!

Tempest fugit (Time Flies)!  Yesterday was another significant milestone in the life and development of “Break It Down!”  I initiated this blog August 20, 2007, on a lark…almost a dare.  That was Six years (and 320 editions) ago.  Having related the story several times over the past several years, I will not repeat the complete details today.

I will note that on that summer’s eve, I contemplated, in five paragraphs, the experience, in reality the lack thereof, of then Senator Barack Obama, as he navigated the early stages of his historic Presidential Campaign.  The prodigious parameters of that history were not evident at the time.  To be sure, over the next 14 ½ months, he bested the odds and won not only the Democratic Nomination, but also the Presidency.  In so doing, my lack of conviction, along with that of many others, in Mr. Obama’s ability to claim the nation’s biggest political prize exposed for what it was; a patently errant assessment.

Briefly, before moving on to the gist of today’s topic, I want to make one more note about the blog.  In addition to this week marking the Sixth Anniversary of Break It Down, this week’s post commemorates the One-year Anniversary of my using WordPress as my primary Host Site.  The link, http://TheSphinxofCharlotte.com  is simpler and more straightforward than the Blogger (Blogspot) link, http://TheSphinxofCharlotte.blogspot.com.  The site design and presentation at Word Press is cleaner, less busy than the one at Blogger.  Please note, I may migrate Break It Down exclusively to WordPress, the blog remains available at both sites for the foreseeable future.

Moving on to the topic du jour, Maine’s Republican Governor, Paul LePage, has denied he said President Obama hates white people.  According to reports in the Portland Press Herald and the Bangor Daily News, two GOP lawmakers from Maine, and one unnamed source in attendance, confirmed the Governor made the comments a private political fundraiser.  If the setting sounds familiar, it may be because it sounds a lot like the environment that served as the launch pad for Governor Romney’s now infamous 47% comments.

 

Imagine if some interloper had not taped those remarks.  Would Presidential candidate Romney ever have conceded he said that?  It is doubtful.  It is possible that those comments changed the trajectory of the campaign.  In retrospect, isn’t it funny how no one ever accused Mr. Romney of being an “Angry White Man?”  Alas, I digress.  The reality is it is not surprising that Governor LePage has declined to take ownership of his alleged colorful commentary.  Can you blame him?  Really?

 

Two of the Governor’s fellow Republican lawmakers confirmed Mr. LePage made the comments, but asked that the paper withhold their names, out of fear of retribution.  Would His Honor really do something like that?  I will let you be the judge of that.

 

I do not know, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the Governor said what his colleagues-in-arms say he did.  Moreover, to be fair, there are people who were present at the event who say they did not hear him say it.

 

In constructing and presenting a defense for the Governor, also known as the official response, Brent Littlefield issued a statement that suggested it was farfetched for anyone to insinuate the Governor is racist, given his life history…a history that, according to the Mr. Littlefield’s statement, includes caring for Devon Raymond, Jr., a Jamaican who attended high school in Maine.  The statement also referenced the Governor’s years of attending the Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast.

 

After just reading that, I find the accusation stunning.  I mean, how much more conclusive could evidence possibly be?  Well, without rushing to judgment, it may be worth noting that Governor LePage has made a few controversial statements in his time.  Earlier this month, he “joked” that he wanted to blow up the headquarters of the Press Herald.

 

According to the Sunlight Foundation, the paper’s majority owner, billionaire Donald Sussman, is a major donor to Democratic Super PAC’s in 2012, and over the years.  Mr. Sussman is married to Maine Democrat, Rep. Chellie Pingree.

 

In June, the Governor made a crude sexual reference having to do with Vaseline (or the lack thereof), when speaking of a Democratic lawmaker.  Last year, he referred to the Internal Revenue Service as the "Gestapo," in his weekly Radio Address.  In other words, even while not rushing to judgment, the alleged sequence of events is conceivable.

 

If Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or any of the Fox News analysts claim President Obama hates white people, it really is not a story.  The typical response is those men do not operate as the Party’s “thought leaders.”  In other words, the people did not elect them.  This is true, so I say, meet Paul LePage!

 

Naturally, the papers contacted the White House for a response.  They did not provide a reply.  Congress members may be home for its five-week end of summer break.  In the interim, it looks as though other GOP Office holders are determined to ensure there is no deficit of inflammatory commentary.  This week, we have…”Another Republican, Another Private Fundraiser, Another Perfect Storm of Controversy!”

 

I’m done; holla back!

 

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”  Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/20/maine-governor-obama-hates-white-people-reports-say/?hpt=hp_t2

http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2012/08/22/double-play-legitimate-rape-augusta-national-shows-its-feminine-side/

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/19/4248440/moral-monday-protesters-gather.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/08/20/lepage-denies-saying-obama-hates-white-people/

http://www.pressherald.com/politics/LePage-is-heard-to-say-Obama-hates-white-people.html

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/08/20/politics/lepage-denies-telling-gop-donors-that-obama-hates-white-people/

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/08/paul-lepage-obama-comments-report-95716.html

http://www.kjonline.com/news/LePage-is-heard-to-say-Obama-hates-white-people.html

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/08/20/paul_lepage_obama_maine_governor_reportedly_tells_gop_donors_that_president.html

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/08/americas-most-outlandish-governor-says-obama-hates-white-people/278854/

"O," The Bag Lady!

It's time to Break It Down!

Chances are you have never heard of Jonathan Goldsmith.  More likely, at least you think you have not.  However, had I introduced him as “The Most Interesting Man in the World," you might have a better shot at recognizing him.  Moreover, if I told you I was speaking of the lead actor in the Dos Equis beer commercials, you would probably ask, "Why didn’t you say that in the beginning?"

Mr. Goldsmith, AKA, "The Most Interesting Man in the World," executes, in each commercial, a series of hard to imaging, if not straight-up unbelievable feats, before intoning, as only he can, “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.”  This post, however, is not about Mr. Goldsmith.

I am confident you gleaned, based upon the Title this post is about Oprah, Inc.  In an odd sort of way, Ms. Winfrey’s recent Purse Incident reminded me of Mr. Goldsmith’s character.  Ms. Winfrey is one of the world’s wealthiest and most recognizable figures.  Shopkeepers do not always deny her service, but when they do, she prefers to air it publicly…and air it she did.

In an Entertainment Tonight interview last Monday (August 5, 2013), Ms. Winfrey shared that she was in Zurich, in a (obviously very posh) shop that she declined to name.  She did go on to say a clerk declined to show her a purse she was interested purchasing.  In her version of the story, she asked several times, and indicated her interest in buying the handbag.  The salesperson, as “O” explained it, never did get the purse, and/or allow Oprah to see it.

As Winfrey added, the staffer tried several times to steer her to something "more affordable."  As it turns out, the subject of Purse-gate was a bag created by American Fashion Designer, Tom Ford, valued at upwards of $35,000.  Ms. Winfrey related this episode, when the interviewer asked if she ever experienced racism.

To be sure, this kind of thing is a rarity in Oprah World.  After all, she is known on multiple continents, and few who know her would doubt she could afford to purchase a purse, even if it cost nearly $40 grand.  Alas, perhaps in Switzerland, she managed to meander into one of the few alcoves in the modern world where someone in a posh establishment might actually not recognize her countenance on sight.

To Oprah, it apparently seemed logical to conclude that a white clerk who declined to show a black woman an object that cost tens of thousands of dollars did so because she thought the black woman couldn’t afford it, and that qualified as racial profiling; i.e., a racist and discriminatory act.

For the record, Ms. Trudie Goetz, head of the establishment, subsequently identified as Trois Pommes, denies the establishment discriminated against Ms. Winfrey.  She calls the matter a misunderstanding.  She said the clerk simply explained that the bag Oprah wanted to look at was beautiful, but very expensive.  She therefore suggested lower priced models in leather and ostrich, rather than the crocodile model she asked to see.

Last night on a certain cable news program, that shall remain unnamed, a guest, who shall also remain nameless, suggested that Oprah had acted recklessly, by claiming racism in this incident.  Not coincidentally, the party who made this assertion is white, as is the clerk, who has denied her behavior was racist, as is the aforementioned establishment owner who called the incident a misunderstanding.  Well, at least they had a meeting of the minds.

Anyone who knows me well can attest that I am not an Oprahphile.  However, in this case, I find "It walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck!  President Obama noted in his remarks following the Trayvon Martin verdict that most African Americans have experienced such moments...many times.  It's probably been a while, but it sounds like Oprah had herself "a moment."   I agree with ““O” The Bag Lady!”  Stamp this one with a big Scarlet Letter R...for racist.  

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”  Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/13/showbiz/oprah-winfrey-racism-switzerland/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/oprah-winfrey-accuses-trois-pommes-clerk-of-discrimination-brand-rep-denies-it-201398

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/local-attractions.mi?marshaCode=zrhdt&cityId=122&attractionId=138396

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Most_Interesting_Man_in_the_World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U18VkI0uDxE

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/57/1907

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Ford

http://www.google.com/#bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&ei=lAcLUrDeFva84AO9i4GwBQ&fp=faeff18174a03a04&q=trudie+goetz+pictures&revid=1973365158&sa=X&ved=0CH8Q1QIoAQ

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/20/us/politics/transcript-obama-speaks-of-verdict-through-the-prism-of-african-american-experience.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_Tonight

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

"George W. Bush: Get Well 43!"

It's time to Break It Down!

During the past 5 years, George W. Bush was frequently the target of off-color jokes and often of accusations of culpability for, among other things, the Great Recession (AKA the Lesser Depression, the Long Recession, and theGlobal Recession of 2009).  This short post is of the kinder, gentler variety.  It neither roasts, nor lambasts the former President.  In fact it is, in effect, a get-well wish to former Commander-in-Chief.

Yesterday, during his routine annual physical at the Cooper Clinicin Dallas, Texas, doctors discovered a blockage and immediately prescribed and scheduled surgery to place a stent to keep the artery open.  Bush 43 then went to Texas HealthPresbyterian Hospital, where he underwent the surgery, which officials have described as successful.  The former President expects to resume his normal slate of activities tomorrow.

By most available accounts, Mr. Bush was not experiencing symptoms prior to his physical.  It is likely that a stress test revealed information that led to the rapid action.  Of course, the fact that he is a former President of the United States undoubtedly also played a role in executing the nearly instant post-diagnosis procedure.

Heart surgery is obviously a matter of serious consequence.  It is a procedure conducted only after considerable, even if quick thought.  For doctors, the decision to choose between bypass surgery and implanting a stent is complicated.  It may depend upon the perceived seriousness of the blockage, and of course, the health of the patient.  The most severe cases likely result in bypass, while the less invasive stent is the probable choice for less severe cases.

With that said, I will close with this… “George W. Bush: Get Well 43!”  I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”  Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-06/former-president-bush-gets-heart-stent-to-open-artery.html

http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/06/19893707-former-president-george-w-bush-gets-heart-stent?lite

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/08/george_w_bush_gets_a_stent_for_heart_blockage

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/wp/2013/08/06/george-w-bush-gets-heart-stent/

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/national/former-president-george-w-bush-gets-stent-surgery-to-ease-heart-blockage

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23592169

http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/06/president-george-w-bush-has-stent-procedure/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/06/us-usa-bush-idUSBRE9750LI20130806

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Recession

http://www.cooperaerobics.com/Cooper-Clinic.aspx

http://www.texashealth.org/dallas