Kwame Kilpatrick: Thugnificent Back in the Mix
Take one disgraced former mayor/thug/clown, add a former first lady/thug/clown who beat down a stripper whom she caught/didn't catch in the Manoogian Mansion, stir in the murder of said stripper in a drive-by, sprinkle with a police cover-up, garnish with a multi-million dollar lawsuit and you've got a recipe for a disaster. Who is at the center of this disaster? Kwame Kilpatrick a.k.a. Thugnificent of Boondocks fame. New depositions by ex-cops suggest he was involved in the cover-up. Is that Luda we hear in the background? Whenever we think this guy's situation can't go any lower, it manages to do exactly that.
Arizona Cracks Down on Looking Like an Illegal
Ray Charles could see this coming from the grave. The state with the senator born in Panama is stepping up measures to stop illegal immigration. With the passage of a new act, police officers can now stop people to determine their immigration status with "reasonable suspicion." That's usually code for having brown skin. The legislation also makes it a misdemeanor to lack proper immigration paperwork. Sounds a lot like a pass law to us. Why is it only a misdemeanor? That's right, big business still needs the cheap labor.
Ax Grind Halted: Unemployment Benefits Resume
Angry Republicans, trying to punish citizens for the health care reform bill, have finally eased up a little by ending an impasse on extending unemployment benefits. The jury is still out on whether they will continue to do so long-term. This is exactly what unemployed African-Americans don't want to hear, since our unemployment rate is at 16%. Republicans keep saying that unemployment benefits should not be extended because of the deficit and bad financial decisions made by the unemployed. We're going to stay on the subject and say that unemployment benefits should be extended because people paid into them while working. Funny how people with benefits paid by taxpayers, want to deny those taxpayers benefits.
Karma's Name is Kitty: More Juicy Details From Oprah Bio
Who knew that karma came in the form of exposé queen Kitty Kelley? Kelley has released an unauthorized biography of America's favorite billionaire talk show queen Oprah Winfrey. The book is filled with salacious tales about Winfrey, including the identity of her biological father, allegedly. It also says she fears being offed. The Root was just about to feel sorry for Lady O until we remembered that she was interviewing Rielle Hunter, John Edwards' psychic/baby momma/soul mate. Instead, we propose a celebrity deathmatch to determine the real queen of tasteless media.
Restricted license? Exactly how does one get to keep a medical license when illegally obtaining a drug that is only available in hospital pharmacies? We won't even mention Dr. Conrad Murray's inability to administer or monitor said drug, which contributed to, if not caused the death of Michael Jackson. Dr. Murray wasn't thinking about his medical license or practice when he closed down his office, with no notice, to collect an obscene amount of money as Jackson's private physician/drug dealer. Anyone who values his health should moonwalk as fast as he can away from Dr. Murray.
New Orleans or New Jack City? 18 Shootings in One Weekend
This past weekend, New Orleans had 18 shootings and another 7 on Monday. Nine people were recently shot in DC in one weekend. Pick a city with a large black population—Richmond, New Haven, Chicago, Detroit, Miami—and it seems like black folks are killing each other nonstop. We wished that this madness had stopped in the 1980s, prayed that it would end in the 1990s and hoped that it would cease in the 2000s. At The Root, we've covered enough murder and mayhem to last a lifetime. We're tired of it. Aren't you?
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