Spike Lee and Ray Nagin - What do They Have in Common

Spike Lee was born Shelton Lee in Atlanta, Georgia in 1957. He came from good African American stock his father being a jazz musician and his mother a school teacher where he was raised in Brooklyn, New York.

Lee’s When the Levees Broke aired as a four hour long documentary on the Katrina disaster replete with a appearances and comments by Lee himself. The pictures were hard to look at and the stories were heart rending. What was harder for many Americans to withstand was the obvious anti –Bush rant that Lee used the disaster as a platform from which to blast the president.

The IMDb (Internet Movie Database) which is touted as the earth’s biggest movie database quotes Lee for saying “I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to express the views of black people who otherwise don’t have access to power and the media. I have to take advantage of that while I’m still bankable”

Some may like to question whether Mr. Lee can differentiate between an “opportunity” and an “invitation.” Using “power and the media” is just that but must not be confused with an invitation. When someone represents a body of people there are usually some protocols involved. Politicians are elected, executives are hired, speakers are invited, preachers are ordained and teachers are schooled. Movie makers are no different than any ordinary citizen exercising their right to free speech, which means they may or may not be telling the truth and often means they are telling the truth only as they perceive it.

I would not make light of the New Orleans disaster. In fact this writer is a victim of hurricane Katrina. I would be ashamed to use the entire matter as a platform to further my political views. Both the documentary and the many interviews on the media following the airing of the film paint a picture for me that approach the comical.

If I took Spike Lee seriously I could envision the president slinking down in his chair with a devious look in his eye. Around him are his collaborators and staff. He asks them if the military has any weapon or technology with which to direct the hurricane toward New Orleans. They assure him they have no such capabilities. Undaunted the president asks if the demolition experts could possibly blow up the levees thus wiping out the poor people in New Orleans. Far fetched? Not to the mind of Spike Lee. It is a matter of public record that Mr. Lee made just such remarks on CNN on the evening edition of CNN, August 26, 2006.

It is also a matter of public of public record that after the massacre at the Columbine High School Mr. Lee said that Charlton Heston, the president of the National Rifle Association should be shot. He said he would like to take a shot at Heston himself. He apologized later for those remarks. No one may ever know how angry Mr. Lee is with the president but since the White House turned down Lee’s offer to air the documentary there for the president, perhaps discretion won out on that refusal.

At the peak of Mr. Lee’s not so veiled diatribe against the Bush administration for all the blunders that followed Katrina it seems he was suddenly and summarily overshadowed by another of his counterparts. Stand up Mr. Nagin. Perhaps this pair believes that one good foot in the mouth episode deserves another. Near to the anniversary of Mayor Nagin’s famous “Chocolate City” remarks he rose to trump himself yet once again.

During an interview with a CNN reporter Mr. Nagin said that we should be “fair.” His idea of fair was to forget talking about the slow recovery of New Orleans because New Yorkers hadn’t been able to fix one single hole in the ground (9/11) in five full years. He too has been cruising down apology lane ever since.

Has Mr. Nagin gotten too big for his office? Has fame supplanted the need to be level headed and honest for Spike Lee? Unfortunately it looks like yes answers both these questions. Using a natural disaster and a national tragedy for building a political platform is irresponsible and callous. It raises doubt about both Chocolate City politics and terms used in the film industry like “based on a true story.”

Rev Bresciani is the author of two Christian books including An American Prophet and His Message, Xulon Press. He is a contributing columnist for several online news and commentary sites. His articles have been read and enjoyed by millions online and in print. Visit www.americanprophet.org

Related Information of Interest:

Test Your Canine Acumen
1. According to tests made at the Institute for the Study of Animal Problems in Washington, D.C., dogs and cats, just like people…
A. Worry about what they will wear to work in the morning.
B. Enjoy reading while eating breakfast.
C. Need a retirement plan.
D. Are either right-handed or left-handed-or rather favor either their right or left paws.

D. Are either right-handed or left-handed-or rather favor either their right or left paws.
TBD: Very, very, interesting, don't you think?

2. Jackals are different from dogs and wolves in what way?
A. They live on a different continent.
B. They are really alien life forms.
C. They are canids.
D. They have one more pair of chromosomes.

D. They have one more pair of chromosomes.
TBD: Even though they may look like alien life forms, they are Canids just like dogs and wolves.

3. Most dogs have about 100 different facial expressions, most of them made with their ears. However, a few breeds have only about 10 expressions. Can you name those breeds?
A. Bulldogs and Pitbulls
B. Labrador and Golden retrievers
C. Poodles and Dachshunds
D. Beagles and Chihuahuas

A. Bulldogs and Pitbulls
TBD: Due to their breeding, dogs such as Bulldogs and Pitbulls have fewer facial expressions and so are often misinterpreted by other dogs which leads to fights. Poor misunderstood pooches.

4. The fear of dogs and/or rabies is called what?
A. Rabodogophobia
B. Dogophobia
C. Cynophobia
D. Canophobia

C. Cynophobia
TBD: Hey, don't blame us, that's what the research says!

5. Of the more than 300 breeds of dogs that exist worldwide, how many does the American Kennel Club recognize?
A. 300
B. 212
C. 145
D. 101

C. 145
TBD: Gee, I wonder why you would have answered 101?

6. Jack London wrote this story about a dog named Buck. Can you name it?
A. A Dog Named Buck
B. Buck's Marvelous Adventures
C. Don't Pass the Buck
D. Call of the Wild

D. Call of the Wild
TBD: Gosh, we tried to make it easy for those nonliterary types out there… After all, there is even a movie! We read the book, however.

7. The Dalmation was named for the place where the breed first originated, can you name it?
A. Mount Dalmation in Africa
B. Dalmation coast of Croatia
C. Dalmation Island in the Thousand Islands
D. The tiny country of Dalmatia

B. Dalmation coast of Croatia
TBD: The other places are only a figment of our imagination, so far as she knows anyway…

8. Can you name the dog featured in the Grinch Who Stole Christmas?
A. Who
B. Max
C. Rudi
D. Suzi

B. Max
TBD: Phllllbbbttt! To those who didn't know. It was Max who stole the show, don't ya think!

9. The English Romantic poet Lord Byron inscribed this passage on a gravestone "Beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity, and all the virtues of man without his vices." Can you name the object of his tribute?
A. His beloved Newfoundland Boatswain.
B. His wife Anna Isabella.
C. His daughter Augusta Ada.
D. His granduncle William.

A. His beloved Newfoundland Boatswain.
TBD: Come on, be real! This is a quiz about dogs!

10. Can you name the dog who caused so many problems for Foghorn Leghorn in the Looney Tunes?

A. Rufus Wufus
B. Barnyard Dog
C. Just Dog
D. Spotted Dog

B. Barnyard Dog
TBD: That was news to us, too.

11. Which animal was first domesticated by humans?

A. Goat
B. Cat
C. Dog
D. Horse

C. Dog
TBD: Apparently some argument can be made that the goat might have come first in some areas, but the dog is Numero Uno for most evidence of early man!

12. Ralph and Sam, the Looney Tune wolf and sheepdog cartoon character adversaries, would engage in what activity between their bouts?

A. They would punch a time-clock.
B. They would have tea.
C. They would play bridge.
D. They would roller-skate.

A. They would punch a time-clock.
TBD: They would punch in at the beginning of each shift and out at the end as well as for their lunch break.

13. The Beatles son "Martha My Dear" was written by Paul McCartney about…

A. His sheepdog Martha
B. His mother Martha
C. His sister Martha
D. His veterinarian Martha

A. His sheepdog Martha
TBD: If you guess wrong, we sincerely hope you guessed "D" because this is a canine quiz after all.

14. Domestic dogs vary widely in appearance and size, but despite these differences all breeds of the domestic dog are essentially identical in anatomy. Which is NOT an anatomical characteristic of the dog?
A. An average of 321 bones in their skeleton.
B. Thirteen pairs of ribs in the rib cage.
C. A spine with seven cervical vertebrae, 13 thoracic vertebrae, seven lumbar vertebrae and three sacral vertebrae.
D. The presence of a dewclaw, an extra digit on the paw.

D. The presence of a dewclaw, an extra digit on the paw.
TBD: Apparently not all breeds have a dewclaw and this why the average number of bones in the skeleton varies!

15. Can you name the dog on the Cracker Jack box?
A. Jack
B. Bingo
C. Cracker
D. Prize

B. Bingo
TBD: Just think of all the knowledge we share to make your life more meaningful!

You can enjoy more trivia created by Deanna Mascle at Trivia By Dawggone and Fun Trivia Online..

5 Funny Love Poems
Funny Love Poems

When most people think of love poems, they think of serious and soulful expressions of passion. Long sonnets by Shakespeare or romantic poems by Browning and Lord Byron are the norm for love poetry. However, funny love poems can be good for a laugh. They may not be romantic, but they do give your friends something to enjoy.

Some of the best funny love poems are limericks. Limericks started in Ireland and follow a standard form of five lines and a rhyme scheme of aabba. Here are a few limericks written by anonymous authors:

There once was an old man of Lyme
Who married three wives at a time
When asked "Why a third?"
He replied, "One's absurd!
And bigamy, Sir, is a crime."

There was a young fellow named Hammer
Whose had an unfortunate stammer
"The b-bane of my life"
Said he, "Is m-m-my wife
D-d-d-d-d-d-damn ‘er!"

She made friends with a young undertaker;
Her last boyfriend had forsaken her.
But she started to curse
When he turned up in a hearse.
She said next time I’ll date a baker!

There was a young lady named Constance,
From boys she wouldn’t stand any nonsense.
If her partners grew deft
She would lead with her left;
The results would not weigh on her conscience.

My sweetheart and I are just wed.
Already I wish I were dead.
Two weeks she’s been spending.
It was time never ending.
We are thousands of pounds in the red!

Limericks are fairly easy to write if you can rhyme well, so you might try writing a limerick yourself that includes the name of your friend or loved one. This is a good way to make a funny love poem that is personalized.

You can find more information about funny poems at:
www.love-poems-quotes.info/funny-love-poems.html

Art Hill is an internet poet who operates an independant poetry publishing company.

Advertising Divas and Consumer Queens
In the past, the saying has always been “don’t underestimate the power of branding” but now the best advice seems to be “don’t underestimate the power of women!” Ignore it at your peril.

If statistics out of the US are any guide for the rest of the world to follow, and in the past this has been the case, then everyone in the advertising industry should give their serious attention to this fact. Jupiter Research has concluded that women influence 83 percent of all purchase decisions. There are more women online today than men.

And looking forward, 70 percent of all US women will be online in 2006, and looking even further ahead, 85 million women will purchase products and services online by 2010.

These statistics are huge by anyone’s measurements. Does anyone out there still have doubts as to the potential of ecommerce? Or more importantly, guys, how do your doubts hold up as to the influence of women on the internet?

US women over 40 are devoting more time online per week than running errands, eating or preparing meals, relaxing, or spending time with friends. Their internet time outweighs watching TV, listening to the radio and other media activities.

So what does this really tell us?

Fact #1 Advertisers in both traditional and new media, have up until now, been seriously underestimating women power
Fact #2 Women are the dominant gender when it comes to online spending
Fact #3 Women know women better than men know women (I’m sure most husbands would agree.)

Who better to understand the consumer behavior of women than women themselves? This last fact should lend itself to a rush to employ or promote females into the positions of advertising executives and creative directors. Now guys, don’t get us gals wrong, sensitive men can still create great ads for women and vice versa, but if the above statistics can be believed, then surely you should be eagerly encouraging the women in your industry to play a greater role in both decision making and creativity.

This makes such common sense to me, nothing biased about it.

Penny Archer, herself a “Consumer Queen”, is a Director of SmartDames FZ LLC, an international email List Broker based in Dubai Media City, Dubai. Other articles that she has written can be found at http://www.smartdames.com or http://www.listownerlimbo.com

The best of the best I have ever watched
Watching DVDs is one of my most favorite past times. It relieves my stress, brings me to a lighter mood and can even ease the problems I have. Three of the best stories from the past that really catch my attention and even touch my heart are The Six Million Dollar Man, Married with Children and Voltron the Defender of the Universe. These three have different themes, each of this DVDs have its own original stories that could give impact to your lives and make you learn things, no matter how simple or complex it may seem. The Six Million Dollar Man DVD focuses on the story of Colonel Steve Austin. As he was testing an aircraft, he crashes and got badly injured. He is an astronaut and test pilot. OSI, a covert government agency is willing to help him and pay for all the expenses for his prosthetics. He lost his legs, eye and arm. The new prosthetics which is made of Bionics will make him faster, better and stronger. But in return OSI want him to become their cover agent. Married with Children focuses on the life of Al Bundy who is a former High school player, who is now a salesman. Peggy his wife always terrified and nag him. They have two children namely Kelly who is gorgeous and attractive and Bud their son who is not so popular but indeed very smart. Voltron the Defender of the Universe focuses on the legend of Voltron. He was a mighty robot, who is loved by good and feared by evil. Peace invaded the galaxy and as well as the planet earth. An alliance was formed at Earth, The Galaxy Alliance. You can get original copies of these DVDs and other stories from the past at TvDvdPlanet. In addition, you can expect high quality products from them with a 100% guarantee. Affordable prices of these DVDs await you.

Donna Dyan Dayrit is a member of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialists for TvDvdPlanet www.tvdvdplanet.com