Credit: WENN

From EurWeb

On Friday, former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. agreed to plead guilty to charges of misusing campaign funds.

The plea is seen as an apparent bid to an end a federal investigation that threatens to also implicate his wife, former Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson.

According to the Daily Beast, both had left their offices in recent months, reportedly as part of the congressman’s negotiations with prosecutors.

Read more at EurWeb.com.

Source: WENN

I suppose when it rains, it pours. Last month, we reported that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was under federal investigation due to allegations of him exploiting campaign donations for personal reasons such as decorating his Washington D.C. home, which for a short period of time was on the market for $2 million dollars, and spending $40,000 on a Rolex watch for one of his lady friends. Well, the plot seems to have thickened and only a few days after Jackson was reelected to his Chicago-area district. Rumors have been circulating that the congressman’s plea deal, which is being negotiated by his lawyer with the federal government  is said to include jail time, a guilty plea to the misuse of campaign money, repayment of the misused funds, as well as his resignation from Congress for “health reasons”. It has also been said that he is at risk of losing his $80,000 yearly pension.

Oh, but there’s more: It seems that Jesse’s wife, Chicago Ald. Sandi Jackson is being dragged into the mud as well. The Wall Street Journal reports that the federal investigation has expanded and Sandi’s relation to the financial mishandling is also being looked into and that she has become a subject of interest in the developing plea deal. Apparently the FBI has reason to believe that she too may have been involved his alleged funneling of campaign funds into the upkeep of his D.C. home.

The Illinois Congressman has been on a medical leave of absence from the House of Representatives since June and was treated for six weeks at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for bipolar disorder and has not made any public appearances since.

One can only hope that the allegations are not true, but with the rate the skeletons have been tumbling out of the closets of politicians lately and considering the fact that this isn’t the first time Congressman Jackson has made headlines regarding political scandal, who can really call it?

Unsurprisingly, the family has yet to comment on these speculations.

If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s when American’s love you, you are literally on top of the world. But eff that up, and they will not just kick you when you’re down, they’ll stomp all over you and act as though they never knew your name.

Lance Armstrong is finding that out now as virtually everything that has come to define him in the last 16 years or so is being erased from his legacy following the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s decision to ban him from cycling and strip him of his seven Tour de France titles. Since then, Lance has also been dropped from endorsement by Nike and he has stepped down from his position as chairman of the Livestrong cancer foundation “to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career.” Though those factors alone may make one conclude that the world as he knows it has crumbled before him, it’s really just the tip of the iceberg. He still has one other entity to contend with: the American people.

Despite still being a cancer survivor and his contributions to the awareness of the disease as well as establishing a place online where those affected by cancer can find information, it seems the majority of people feel like Gawker writer Hamilton Nolan, “Take Off Your God Damn Livestrong Bracelets.” Through several expletives, Nolan advises Livestrong supporters to “cut that dirty mother**king bracelet off your wrist and throw it into the trash” now that Armstrong has been disgraced as a “lying cheater.” My question is what does one have to do with the other, while simultaneously thinking, my, how the mighty have fallen.

Armstrong’s situation is not unlike many other fallen American heroes like Tiger Woods, Mike Vick, and Jesse Jackson whom I immediately thought of watching the cyclist’s situation unravel. Because Woods could do no wrong on the green, it was assumed he also could do no wrong off of it, and so he was placed on this idyllic pedestal of perfection and once he made a misstep—albeit a pretty large one—his fame, fortune, and fanbase went the way of the typewriter; bye bye. And so it was with Michael Vick, who is now beginning to see a resurrection in his career, but back in 2007 his last name might as well have been Mike Jones because when someone said his name, Americans were like, “who?” Jesse Jackson suffered a similar fate. Once everyone knew he had a child with his staffer, it didn’t matter what civil rights work he did or what legislation he helped pass. Every career accomplishment was overshadowed by that one critical mistake.

Though I used black men for my examples, Armstrong (and many others who have befallen similar fates) prove this isn’t a racial thing. American’s are fickle in their devotion. I understand from an advertising point of view that endorsing a person whose behavior is not in line with your company values (term used loosely) is not good business, but what is frustrating is the way people turn their backs on these individuals as if they aren’t allowed mistakes. And how an error in one’s personal life comes to overshadow, and in some instances cancel out, their career accomplishments. If Armstrong did in fact use drugs then yes he should be stripped of his titles. But that has nothing to do with his work with cancer.  Michael Vick’s dog fighting had nothing to do with his ability on the football field. And yes, Tiger did his ex-wife terribly wrong by sleeping with women all over the country, but what does that have to do with his ability to get a hole in one? Not a darn thing.

The real problem here is the heroism and the god-like qualities we attribute to mere men simply because they can dribble, shoot, pass, putt, catch, or throw a ball (or ride a bike really freaking fast). We give these individuals so much power and put them on such a high pedestal that when they tangentially disappoint us, their place in society, and our minds, is reduced with equal speed and  agility and so they fall, almost instantaneously, to the very bottom. For some reason we like to make people perfect, only to tear them down when they prove what we, in some capacity knew all along, they are not. I get feeling cheated, I understand feeling lied to, but why does everyone forget they too are human when they point the finger at someone else’s mistakes. Why do fans and onlookers act as though these people asked to be praised and exalted and proclaimed role models simply because of athletic or political prowess and take these individual’s perfection in one arena as an indicator they are perfect overall.

Part of being a self-proclaimed admirer, fan, etc. of a person is accepting who they are totally. And if you’re only going to appreciate them for one aspect of their person then you shouldn’t shame them when they mess up in other areas. It’s easy to let the negative outweigh the positive in the moment of scandal but at the end of the day if we were all being judged with that same measure that we use on these public figures we’d be at the bottom of the totem pole too. They say you find out who your true friends are when you’re down and I’d extend that same thought to fans. If you completely turn your back on these individuals when they falter then you have no business being there when they rise again.

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

Source: thegrio.com

From The Grio

Rev. Jesse Jackson would perform a same sex marriage if he was asked to. During last week’s Democratic National Convention, Jackson told conservative outlet Human Events that he sees “no problem” with gay marriage.

“Beginning with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to the inclusion of blacks, Hispanics, 18-year-olds, and women, opportunities are now unlimited,” Jackson said.

When asked if he would perform a marriage ceremony between two people of the same gender, without hesitation he replied, “If  was asked to.”

This spring, Jackson called for federal protections for gay marriage,s just as  civil rights are protected by the federal government.

Read more at The Grio

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jusflippin.com

Ever take a moment to check up on the latest and greatest with your favorite stars and always see the same people with issues? The media, of course, is always to blame for how they act and are portrayed and not them.  *blank stare* For some stars all may be good but there’s one thing you wonder: “Does he ever smile?”

Well these men, for many different reasons have not always been in the high favor of the media or public opinion….let’s see why they are always mad…

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not a good day for fathers. First Rick Ross was hit with a paternity suit, now Jesse Jackson’s former mistress says the politician owes her $12,000 in back child support.

Revered Jesse fathered his daughter Ashley with his former mistress Karin Stanford 12 years go, but according to court papers she filed, the Rev failed to pay support from December 2010 until August 2011, including minimal monthly fees of $400.

According to Eurweb, a source told the National Enquirer, “Karin has tried so many times to work with Jesse on their financial agreement but he was only paying when he felt like it, so she’s taking him to court.”

The 70-year-old may need to make some adjustments if retirement is making it too difficult to keep up with child support, otherwise he better pay up!

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing protest that began September 17 2011 in New York City’s Zuccotti Park in the Wall Street financial district. The protest’s purpose is to take a stand against social and economic inequality, rising unemployment, corruption, high unemployment, greed, corruption, and the influence of large corporations, particularly from the financial services sector, on the government.  The demonstrators use the slogan: ‘We are the 99 per cent’, which refers to the growing difference in wealth between the wealthiest 1 per cent and the rest of the population.  However, some of the top millionaires and celebrities in the world are also taking stand, even though they tend to fit in with the 1%.  Check out who out of the 1% is fighting back and supporting the protests.

(Chicago Tribune) — A coalition of African-American civil rights groups is seeking to join Illinois Democratsin defending a newly drawn legislative district map that Republicans are challenging in federal court.  In a request to a special three-judge federal panel considering the GOP lawsuit, the organization African Americans for Legislative Redistricting asks to be added as a defendant because its members helped Democrats craft new boundary lines for the state’s 59 Senate districts and 118 House districts.  The organization is made up of the Chicago Urban League, the Rainbow Push Coalition founded by Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., the Woodlawn Community Development Corp. led by Rev. Leon Finney and the Cook County Bar Association, an African-American lawyers’ organization.  The coalition said it offered testimony to legislative committees, consulted with groups that focused on minority rights relating to new boundary lines and created its own redistricting plan that was submitted to the General Assembly.

Read More…

I turn on the television and see Jesse Jackson marching with Walmart workers, Al Sharpton is doing the 24-hour news circuit, and the leader of the New Black Panthers is somewhere defending young black boys against the latest outrage de jour.  As nice as that seems, every protest is centered around the plight of black men, to address the racist penal system, or complain about government entitlements, unequal education, lack of jobs–the list goes on.  There are marches and picket lines for the latest offense, but virtually none of them directly involve the mistreatment of black women through rape and sexual abuse that happens more and more often these days.  Most of the offenses are perpetrated by the boys and men they love and know–many who look like them.  No longer is the bogeyman without. He is within.

By Alexis Garrett Stodghill

In a recent interview with the German publication Der Spiegel, Jesse Jackson outlined his severe disappointment with President Obama’s service to the African-American community. Noting that black Americans were among his first supporters and that 96% of us voted for him in 2008, Jackson slammed the president for completely failing to address our political needs. He called Obama on his naivete in dealing with the Republican party, which has been ruthless in cutting programs benefiting working Americans while deflecting tax increases for the rich. From black unemployment to our deeper mortgage crisis, the president has failed — according to Jackson — to implement a single plan to ameliorate the black community’s troubles. Meanwhile, billions of dollars are being pumped into foreign nations like Afghanistan and Iraq to support democracy. What about the lack of fair opportunity here at home for African-Americans?

Jackson believes Obama is giving away too much affecting blacks and the poor, wrongly anticipating that the GOP will play fair in return. He elaborated to Der Spiegel on the president’s miscalculations in appeasing the right:

[Obama] underestimates how ideological the other side is, and how determined they are to destroy him, even when their actions harm the nation’s economy and millions of people. I think reconciliation is Obama’s goal — but the fight with the Republicans is like a fight with pit bulls, they never let go. Even worse, now the Republicans feel they can keep pushing and he will keep giving. They have not seen a stiff resistance on his part. The American people on the ground need a clearer, stronger, Lyndon B. Johnson-type voice from their president. Obama has that voice. It has to be used. For instance, I hear he will be taking a bus tour around the country now. I think that should have happened before the debt ceiling negotiations, so that people in every state know what they have to lose if the federal budget is cut even further.

Jesse Jackson goes on to offer some sympathy for Obama, claiming to understand that he is in a difficult bind as our first African-American president. Bringing up Bill Clinton — who many affectionately call the “real” first black president — Jackson details how this former POTUS was free to court blacks directly because being white  released him from possible accusations of favoritism. But Jackson does not see Obama’s race quandary as enough of an excuse for  abandoning the community that made him.

To this point he told Der Spiegel: “The black community was essential for Obama’s victory. He must nurture that base if he wants to be re-elected.”

Numerous African-American leaders have voiced the same sentiment. Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West have been two of the most prolific Obama haters on the scene, having recently joined forces to trash the president’s debt ceiling compromise. Tavis recently called the deal a “declaration of war on the poor” while seated side-by side with West on CNN’s “American Morning.” We can only expect Obama’s negative performance ratings regarding blacks and the poor to increase in number during the months leading up to serious 2012 campaigning.

Yes, it is true that the president has failed to address blacks’ needs directly. While Obama has thrown us a couple of bones through symbolic gestures like making an appearance at Al Sharpton’s National Action Network conference, on the record he has stated his belief that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” The president seems certain that any systemic racism blacks face can be thwarted by increasing overall opportunity. This certainty precludes the creation of special programs to address blacks’ issues.

That is an ironic stance in light of last week’s announcement by Mayor Bloomberg of sweeping measures to help black and Latino men specifically in New York City. Despite the many opportunities in what many consider the capital of the world, these youths are among the most excluded from the city’s social, economic and intellectual life. Rather than waiting for the environment to automatically “lift” these young men of color — which hasn’t happened after many years of status quo policies — Bloomberg decided to help this community which was clearly being underserved. Some might see this as favoritism now, but when these men are steered away from a life of crime because they have better avenues of growth, all of society will benefit.

President Obama could learn a lot from Mayor Bloomberg in this regard, which is utterly shocking. Bloomberg is a registered Republican, but is less interested in the rhetoric of his party than doing what practically right. If a billionaire GOPer can see the need for programs that target the needs of black men, Obama should realize that blacks nationwide need the same assistance.

If the president does not address blacks’ needs in a similar fashion, many might jump ship instead of waiting for a theoretical tide to give us a boost.