Prop 8 The Musical...

Funny, and points well made....

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

[ [ [Straight Outta Compton] ] ]

Pictured: King Drew Medical Center turned King Harbor Medical Center turned destined for failure... A familiar sight to King Drew Magnet High School students (circa 2003), and area residents.

DISCLAIMER: This blog is by no means *current* news. It was merely inspired by the newfound media frenzy over the case of Edith Rodriguez, who was left writhing in pain in the King Drew ER for about 45 minutes without ever receiving medical attention. She was arrested in the ER for an outstanding warrrant, and died. SMH...only on the east side. (Side note: there is a link to an article about her case in the 2nd paragraph.)

Health care has been a hot button issue for many Americans, especially in light of moves toward privatization and scores of job losses and benefit cuts sweeping across the country.

But the residents of South Los Angeles have been concerned about access to heath care long before Barack Obama introduced his plan, or even his bid to run for office. In fact, one may argue that there is indeed a hole in President-elect Obama's plan. Affordable, universal-esque health care is nice and all - but what am I supposed to do when the closest medical facility to me is more ill than I am?

For over 35 years, King Drew had existed as the only public hospital to service the greater portion of South Los Angeles - with the closest medical centers to it being County USC and the UCLA Medical Center. The trauma unit specifically, while barraged with thousands of near-death, and critically injured patients annually, had over a 90% survival and success rate. Yet, in October 2004, LA County officials voted to close the trauma unit so the hospital could focus it's energy into fixing other egregious flaws. IMPORTANT NOTE: The ER and trauma unit are not the same. So all the new media spotlight about the Edith Rodriguez case really has no bearing here. In fact, the trauma unit was closed in 2004, and this tragedy occured 3 years later. The sad reality is the members of the communities of South Los Angeles, Lynwood, Compton, Watts, Willowbrook, and other surrounding are as good as dead - in the event of a traumatic occurrence. And let's not forget this particular area has once of the highest incidences of homicide in the state, and nation.

The plight and travesty that is King Drew Medical Center (I don't care what the name gets changed to...why was Charles Drew's name taken off anyway? Shady biz...) pre-dates the more widely known January 2004 U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) inspection results exposing negligent and down right heartless practices of some nurses. The myriad of reports, statements, and records that have surfaced throughout the near 4 year period of scrutiny and inspection are abhorrently disheartening, and disgusting. From falsified charts, to ER negligence, it was readily apparent that K/D was seriously afflicted. But I can't help but wonder - where were these inspectors and county officials prior to 2004? It's not as though in December of 2003 the hospital was just fine, and as soon as the calendar hit '04 , shit hit the fan.

Throughout the over 3 1/2 years of failed, last-minute, last-ditch efforts of outside agencies and county officials, one thing was apparent - K/D had been diagnosed incorrectly, and the treatments were improper and insufficient. Everyone presumed the hospital to be cancerous - and proceeded to cut away vital units in an effort to "preserve" what was left. Too bad K/D was bleeding - and had been doing so for a very long time. Instead of injecting more life blood into the hospital, in August of 2007, CMS pulled the plug.

The impending closure (due to a complete loss of federal funds) of King Drew Medical Center isn't just about shitty hospital administration, shady funding, and stupid nurses. Ultimately, a definite price tag has been placed on the lives of the South Los Angeles residents who now are re-routed to more distant (albeit, "better") facilities to seek treatment. In fact, I remember attending a wake for the friend of a friend a few years back, who died from blood loss en route to Harbor UCLA because the trauma center at King Drew was closed. He was shot a few blocks from K/D - and could very well still be alive today if the ambulance did not have to re-route to a more distant facility.

Census and academic data from 2006 speaks volumes to why K/D (and the surrounding economically impoverished area) ble(e)d helplessly for so long. With around 30 percent of South Los Angeles residents living below the poverty line (which by the way, is over double the national average of 12.5 percent), and Compton ranking as the 6th most dangerous city in the U.S., it is apparent that the east side is, and has been in trouble for a very long time. A lack of economic development, employment, homelessness, and rampant gang violence (amongst other community conditions that I could spend all day listing) since the 1980's echoes the mantra of "kick 'em while they're down". They're all just gonna shoot, rob, rape, and smoke themselves to death anyways right - who actually needs a hospital in that area?

I could go on and on and on and on and on forever about societal ills, and on even further about how to rectify them... but I'll spare you my rantings. I just find it amazing (although unsurprising) that while one desperately needed medical facility dies on the east side...another one expands on the west side (UCLA Medical Center). Thinks that make you go "hmm..", eh?

In thinking about this post, and all the statistical data and reports for the shit that we already knew, one song comes to mind...let it marinate. I thought the video personally did the song NO justice, and (again, unsurprisingly) dumbed down the heavy contents of the lyrics.

Lupe Fiasco feat. Jill Scott - Daydreamin'

Never Stop Playing With Crayons...

I woke up this morning feeling colorful, despite the gray skies....

Art comes in all forms and uses an array of mixed media - which makes it interesting. I'm personally a fan of graffiti, photography, and installation art...but I appreciate fresh shit in other forums.

Herb Williams, a Nashville, TN artist created a picture of Barack Obama using Crayola Crayons...and not in the way that you think. Check the NBC vid of his piece:

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/weird/Crayola_Obama_All__National_.html

After watching that - I felt inspired to go back, and dig up some of my favorite pieces of Obama inspired art... Heeeere they are!!! Most of them are street art, which to me, makes them even more fresh :)



This one is actually from inside of the Obama LA headquarters....

I'm very rarely uber enthused about a pair of shoes... they're just not my thing. I spend 95% of my time in flip-flops anyways (yes sadly enough, sometimes even in the rain). But these shoes are hella fresh, and I STILL want them!!! Any buyers?









File these under Fresh :)

Hello Darkness...Hello Sunshine....

I remember sitting in my room on November 4th, BBMing, AIMing, GChatting, and texting with a large number of my friends as the numeric ass-kicking of John McCain cemented the future of Barack Obama as our next President. During our usual political play-by-play conversation my good friend, business partner, and fellow Obamaniac proclaimed, "Obama never woulda made it this far if he was my color." I started to immediately fire back "that's not true!", but I stopped myself - because I didn't know how true or untrue his statement was. But I do know, that for as long as the issue of racism has been an external oppressive force on Black people, colorism, has been a self-inflicted wound with no signs of healing on the horizon.

I usually give in to my friends musings of me being hella yella, manila, paleskin one, beige, mother of pearl, light bright, and any other allusion of brightness you could imagine. And of course, I have spent an absorbed amount of my time in the sun, trying hard to jack up my melanin count. In addition to that, my usual defense is "it's funny how making fun of light skinned people is laughable, but the second I make a joke about you being dark, its cruel, insensitive, and an exhibition of self hatred", to which the reply is almost unanimously, "shut up...you're people got to be in the house while mine were out in the field." (Sidebar: amazing how we can make light of some of the most damaging times of our people and our own history, huh? I'm not on my soapbox, because I'm guilty of it too. Just pointing it out...)

I had a friend in high school and throughout my early college years who was very pretty, and very brown. She had everything I wanted - huge boobs, a small waist, and a huge ass, and nice brown skin. We used to joke about trades and exchanges all the time. I noticed that during our morning-after-clubbing re-caps, she would make comments like "I hate going out with you, all the guys wanna talk to you because you're light skinned and have long hair." I laughed it off then, saying "yea they talk, til they realize I've got no ass....then they go to you." But more and more her comments became a reflection of serious self esteem issues of a woman of color - living in a world where the values of beauty are as conflicted as the people that created them. Its been long held the standard that, the closer to white you are, the more beautiful you are. If this is true, how did this syndrome of spending ridiculous amounts of money tanning, botox lip injecting, booty and breast implanting begin?

But I digress. I also have an ex, who fell on the far light end of the spectrum - light eyes, sandy brown hair and all. Our own friends and families made fun, saying out kids would come out clear...and if they're any darker, I cheated (lol). But all too often, I caught musings from darker male friends of mine, with their Kanye'd musings - "Ima make sure these light skinned n----s never ever ever come back in style". More often than not, during our intimate, intellectual conversations, he would reveal how he felt and dealt with the same feelings of rejection experienced by my other friend, but on a more 'universal' level. He felt rejected by Black people, and felt that he was never taken seriously because his skin color undermined any good work or positive words he would commit.

I know we've all seen this clip a thousand times, but look/listen with a new pair of eyes as you continue reading....

We all understand the crux and foundation of color values, dating back to slavery. But how do we do we move past these seemingly ingrained notions and stigmatizations of color, and begin to absorb and value beauty for the myriad of shades and flavors it comes in? Is my claim to Blackness less valid because I happen to be a mutt? If we keep it real (which we always do at LB anyway), no descendant of enslaved Africans in this country is 100% anything. I'm not - but I don't walk around wearing it on a t-shirt either. My dad is half German, and my mom's parents are Creole. I get mistaken for being every kind of mix, for some reason. My sister and I have the same biological parents (although you'd never be able to guess...we look nothing alike), and she is never mistaken for anything other than Black (well maybe sometimes Ethiopian). I'm slightly uncomfortable in my own skin - but who isn't really? We all have things we'd like to change about ourselves. I've never mistaken myself to try to understand the challenges of another person, I don't know what its like to walk in their shoes. I don't know how it feels to be invisible to the opposite sex, because you're a darker-skinned woman. I can't tell you how it is to have everyone fear you as a tall dark man. I can't tell you what its like to be a light skinned male that is apparently now 'out of style'. I can only tell you me - and I can only halfway do that, at best. Everyone thinks oh, life is so easy for you, the light skinned curly/wavy haired girl with a normal name. Truth be told, I don't know what my "perks" are - and perhaps it is of the same vain as white privilege - not fully understanding/recognizing its existence when you have lived within its confines and nowhere else.

Would have Obama had the same galvanizing effect, if he were perhaps, five shades darker? In the Jim Crow south, did Dr. King's color work to his advantage with Black people, or to his detriment with whites, (given that many revered black leaders and scholars, with the exception of Marcus Garvey have by and large been of lighter complexions)? Does my skin color open more doors than it closes?

This is one of those blogs for me, that is very limited by my personal experiences, and ends on a rather open note. So, on behalf of LB I am opening the floodgates of commentry - post your thoughts, feelings, comments and experiences... I look forward to hearing what everyone has to say, and engaging in an interesting dialogue.

Go forth, drop knowledge, tell your friends to do the same....

Shut Down the West Side... Just NOT During Rush Hour (When I'm Trying to Get Home)

First and foremost, I would like to SINCERELY AND HEARTFELTLY (is that even a word? probably not, lol) apologize to LB faithfuls that have been disappointed in the lack of new material... specifically Ralph & Chris :) The school year has begun for Bonita (she's the new Editor in Chief of NOMMO Newsmagazine), and I'm juggling a bunch of acts (working, hooking dope interviews, launching my own business and career). But we can't forget about LuvBomb - so look forward to new blogs, and links to the great ish we've been working on while away.

Now that we've got that out the way...
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I'll spare my thoughts on the presidential election (at least for now) - everyone and their mom has released a statement on the historic and legendary epic milestone Obama's victory has brought forth. I'm just as excited as the next person (and yes Ralph, I WILL take those celebration shots this weekend...I didn't forget). But what I WILL urge is that we as a collective, push forward and fight the desire to become complacent with one accomplishment - albeit one large accomplishment, and continue to do the work we know is necessary to actually create the positive change we so desperately seek. Onward to controversy....

Proposition 8 has been one of the most divisive, telling propositions this state has seen. As much as I wanted the Prop to go down in flames (no pun/derogation intended, honestly), I knew in my heart of hearts that conservative ass California wouldn't go for it. You read right - conservative ass California. California has such a laid back, liberal, everyone-does-drugs-and- chills-at-the-beach ass reputation and aesthetic, that we blindly assume ANYTHING can get passed here. But we forget one thing - although this ain't the deep south, and despite the diversity, Californians still hold on to a core set of biases. And by and large, those biases are religious in origin - regardless of ethnic background.

I learned this, in conducting my own private research, and by research I mean arguing with about 10 of my friends. The overwhelming majority of these laid back, chill, funny, and diverse friends voted yes on Prop 8. Their arguments ranged from it goes against God, to gay rights are not civil rights, and everything inbetween. My absolute favorite arguments revolved around what I call the 'Save the Kids Syndrome' - "They're gonna teach gay marriage in school! You can't raise a kid in a house with 2 of the same parents, they will grow up gay...and that's not natural or fair." Word? You remember learning about marriage in third grade? I don't. I remember times tables, the 7 continents, and paper mache volcanoes, but not life lessons in marriage. And about the gay parenting thing.... in my book, two daddies are better than none! If I were a foster kid, I'd rather hear "ha ha ha you have two daddies" than "ha ha ha you don't have a home...or a family".

I'm not here to challenge anyone's belief systems (after all, we all need a higher power to answer to and have faith in), but I feel as though most people - particularly people of color, hold closely and blindly to a system of religious beliefs that at one time or another, were used to oppress or objectify them. White slave owners used the bible to justify slavery, and keep slaves in their place. Spanish Conquistadors used religion and violence to conquer the land and the native peoples of the Americas. You already know who's land this country is built on, so we won't even go there. Even with this knowledge, we become some of the most devout purveyors of Christianity (of whatever denomination) and hold so closely to these rules without a question or a conscious thought. Like I said, I'm not here to shake your base of faith, we all need one. I just have a problem with so much of the face-value, literal interpretation, Bible thumping that many of us are accustomed to.

Last but not least, America, on the state and federal level, touts a separation of church and state, at least theoretically. If we are to believe this is so - why is there essentially government control over some of the most private facets of our life? Religious beliefs should not dictate who I marry, or whether I decide to have an abortion (we'll jump on abortion in another blog). The fact of the matter is, 60 years ago, Blacks and Whites couldn't intermarry legally...how is this any different? Even if you don't buy into all the civil rights jargon, I urge you to call into question the moral grounds of a state that condemns the wedding of gays, but thinks it's okay to execute people.

I know you probably think I'm so adamant about this, because I might be lesbian...but I'm not. I rock the rainbow (metaphorically) in solidarity, because I understand and recognize that discrimination takes on many ugly forms. If you leave this blog with nothing else, leave with this awareness: there is always an "it" group. Somebody is always the target of some sort of bigotry. If its not criminal and licentious Black people, its our Chicana/o brothers and sisters stealing all the jobs, or some Muslim "terrorist" holding up our flights leaving LAX. Right now, gays just happen to be the "it" group. The same biases, insensitivities, and ignorance are just redressed and perpetuated to suit the needs of the time.

I hope I made you think.

'til next time....

Crown Royal On Ice

LuvBomb...YouTube Edition

The moons and stars have aligned and Beyonce Season is upon us, y'all! Just when we forgot who the Queen B is, and started jockin' this chick...

I don't care what you think of the songs (eh), Bey is the flyest chick in the game. Check the choreography in "Single Ladies."




The song is whatever, but the video's concept got me a lil pissed at all the times my girls and I have been severely under appreciated...

Beyonce - If I were A Boy (New) [HQ]
by Le-Tour-2Lor

Bey's dude in the car is aiight, but the chick he's rollin' with is a major downgrade...I know it's a video, but ain't it always a downgrade for the brothas who mess up with us?

In Case you Missed it...YouTube Edition

My best friend and I were YouTubing the other night, and came across these videos of Barack Obama dancing on Soul Train and in an old school music video. In the Soul Train clip, fast forward to the last 20 seconds or so of the video for Obama in a brown suit. Or if you're really bored, just watch the whole clip for some extra laughs.

P.S., isn't it nice to know that Palin brought "shout outs" to the mainstream? Now, when I'm writing my Shakespeare final, I can give a shout out to da big homie Othello 'cause his pimp hand is way strong with that Desdemona chick.

Soooooooul Train!



The Realness...



Say Whaaaat??



Sidebar: Who knew that White people actually knew the phrase "shout out?" Since I'll bet they eliminated the idea that it was a stain remover, I'm sure that it came up on google's most searched for terms this week.


Ok, I know that neither are Obama and the second video is just a Rick Roll, but hey...with the economy in the state it's in and Sarah Palin winkin' and talkin' all folksy so damn much, I figured it'd be nice to have a few lighthearted moments with respect to politics. Good Times.