Source: AP

From Black Voices

WASHINGTON — Desiline Victor, a 102-year-old Miami woman who waited for hours to vote in the last election, got a standing ovation from the nation’s top leaders during President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. Victor attended the State of the Union as a guest of first lady Michelle Obama.

Check out Victor’s story and video of the standing ovation on BlackVoices.com.

White people are full on bugging out about Barack Obama’s re-election — as if he hasn’t been President for the last four years or something. Just last week we told you about the Virginia man who murdered his wife and kids and then killed himself because he was paranoid about what four more years under Obama’s reign would do to him and his family. Now in Arizona a woman tried to pull a similar move with her husband after she found out he didn’t exercise his right to vote.

As the NY Daily News tells it, Holly Solomon, 28, tried to run down her 36-year-old husband Daniel after she found out he didn’t place a ballot on Election Day last Tuesday. For some reason she single-handedly blamed him for Obama’s re-election and thought the way to rectify his decision was to run him over with her car.

Phoenix News Times has the full details:

In an e-mail to media, Gilbert police Sergeant Jesse Sanger says the argument [between the couple] started in a parking lot Saturday morning over Daniel Solomon’s lack of voter participation.

“According to Daniel, Holly believed her family was going to face hardship as a result of President Obama’s re-election,” Sanger says.

Witnesses told police that there was a lot of yelling before Holly Solomon hopped in her Jeep, and started chasing her husband around the parking lot.

Her husband tried to use a light pole to shield himself, and Solomon drove around the light pole several times as she continued to yell at him.

Eventually, her husband made a run for it, but Solomon hit him, pinning him under the car and on a curb, according to police.

Daniel Solomon’s currently in critical condition at a hospital.

Holly Solomon was booked into jail on charges of domestic violence and aggravated assault, and there are no indications she was impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time, according to Sanger.

Poor Daniel, not only is his wife crazy, she’s stupid. Romney won all of Arizona’s 11 electoral votes, so it didn’t matter whether her husband voted or not. It was those other six swing states Obama bagged that she needed to worry about.  SMH.

Josiah True/ WENN.com

Okay, okay, okay, so maybe rapper, Game, is not so bad after all. Well, at least around election time that is.

According to TMZ, The Los Angeles born and raised MC was actually in NYC during yesterday’s nerve-racking election. And since many residents were still struggling with no electricity, no gas and even being displaced from their homes that were hit by Hurricane Sandy, he decided to step up and try to help folks get to the polls–by any means necessary. The rapper doled out $20 for cab fare to more than 500 people who had no way to get where they needed to be in order to vote, and he also drove people in New Jersey to polling places using his own means of transportation. All in all, he says he spent about $10,000 in his efforts, but says that he planned to do so because he didn’t want the many people he saw affected by last month’s hurricane to lose out. Plus, he says it was “small change” anyway. And while he did vote for Barack Obama via absentee ballot for California, he told TMZ that he wasn’t trying to influence anybody to vote for any particular candidate–he just wanted them to get out there and vote.

Well isn’t that nice! Can’t say whether this was done for publicity for his new reality show “Marrying The Game,” or if he was just that moved by people hurting on the East Coast, but the man deserves some major props for coming through and helping out in such a way. Some claim he was trying to push people to vote a certain way, but I doubt that. Plus, I’m sure those folks riding around in whatever luxury vehicle he was rolling around the city in were appreciative. Check out what he had to say to TMZ cameras:

WENN

And in other rapper news that has to do with the election, according to BET.com, if you’ve been missing Young Jeezy, you’ll be glad to know that he’s got a new single out, and it’s in honor of President Obama and another historic win for the President. I’m sure that in 2008 and after the results came in last night, you were probably banging “My President Is Black” by the rapper out of your speakers, your cars, your computers, etc. And while that track is great, “We Done It Again,” is a bit more calm, cool, and collected and reflective of things that have happened since 2008. Jeezy says the thirst for another four years of leadership from someone like the President–NOT Mitt Romney–is real (“What does Romney know about my ghetto? I say the least”), and he’s hoping the President’s win will help every little boy and girl struggling in ghettos around the country. As Young Jeezy says, “We waitin’ on a savior, maybe Barack.” I’m also digging the fact that this track isn’t so heavy with expletives like “My President Is Black,” but it’s still a dope one. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Casting a ballot at Su Nueva Laundromat in Chicago. Image: AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Were you so excited about voting that you tweeted a picture of your ballot yesterday? In certain states, you might have broken the law.

At the polls on Election Day, many Instagram users uploaded their completed ballots. But it is only natural that folks did so in this day and age when we digitally document our every move. But laws against photographing or filming inside of a voting booth are there for a reason.

“[F]or one, the laws are in place to prevent people from selling their votes and taking a photo of the ballot as proof. Secondly, it’s to prevent voter intimidation,” reports Forbes. And it does carry a punishment of up to a year in jail, although, according to CNN, experts say actual prosecution is unlikely.

The laws are actually confusing on this issue. “We have 50 states, and they go in many different directions on this,” Jeff Hermes, director of the Citizen Media Law Project (CMLP) at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society told CNN.  “Some have no laws, some only concern particular times and places. And they all vary in terms of penalties attached.” CMLP actually compiled a chart  outlining the rules in each of the 50 states.

States, such as Rhode Island, have no problem with you posting photos of your ballot.

Anticipating the issue, there were some news reports prior to the Election Day about the potential legal problems voters may face when taking pics of their ballot. But some of it led to misinformation. Even Toni Braxton misunderstood. She tweeted Tuesday afternoon: “Make sure you guys don’t post pics of your ballot! They will be voided if you are caught, you don’t have to prove who you voted for! ” While your vote could be voided in Hawaii and Michigan, other states have no such prohibitions. In fact, a Pew Research Center report found that 22 percent of registered voters did indeed tell others how they voted via posts on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

One major plus of the electronic age is that many people used it to report polling problems. AS CNN reports, “…one Pennsylvania voter’s YouTube video went viral on Tuesday after he captured an electronic voting machine that appeared to mark for Mitt Romney a vote he was trying to cast for President Obama. CNN later confirmed that the machine, located in Pennsylvania’s Perry County, was recalibrated after the voter pointed out the problem.”

Source: Youtube.com

If you’re anything like me, the election has probably got you on pins and needles at this point in the game. Like Clarke Gail Baines said, I’m just ready for it to be over. And I know I’m not the only one who feels like this. So in order to calm your nerves and mine, check out this satirical video about how we, women, can make sure the election plays out in our favor.

Check it out.

Funny, right? I’m sorry but the punk azz beyotch line had me cackling. Of course, it’s all in good fun. People, of any gender, can vote for who they’d like. Are you anxious about the results of today’s election? Did the video give you a good chuckle?

Source: iStock

I’ll spare you the whole “this is your civic duty” speech people tend to throw out when it comes to voting because that phrase always reminds me of those history of the judicial system videos that play at the courthouse when I’m called in for Jury Duty and no one wants to think about that daunting task right now. But what I would like people to think about today is that of all the lines you’ve ever waited on in life, from financial aid lines in college and lines outside the club to ones in the grocery store and possibly even some for food stamps ( if that’s you, you know you ought to be extra patient making sure your vote counts today), this would be the one that’s most important. So, if it takes a little time for you to get through the whole electoral process today I’m going to need you to simply smile, grin, and bear it for the cause. Mmmmkay?

This morning I woke up at my normal time to head out to my voting locale, conveniently located a block away from my house. I was pretty confident that at 7:15 am there might not be too many people in line and if there were, hey, what did I have to do that was more important this morning? Not everyone shared my mantra, and unfortunately the most vocal opposer to being silent and still was standing right behind me in line. Truth be told, I couldn’t make out much of what the woman next to me was saying between the hacking up of spit and the “ya’ll mother f***ers” and “sit yo a**es down” she would throw out every so often when she didn’t understand why the line wasn’t moving as fast as she would have liked, but it was clear from my point of view she was all turnt up with nowhere to go. Part of me wanted to ask, “mam, where else do you really have to be this morning in your brown velour sweatsuit and skully” because I was pretty confident once she fulfilled her civic duty she was headed right back to her apartment to smoke another pack. But by the time she had to bust out her inhaler because she’d worked herself up so much over a line that was actually moving pretty quickly, I realized it wasn’t even worth it.

Despite not being born with a patient bone in my body, voting is just one of those things that one, I expect will take some time to do, and two, I know is worth every minute. I don’t know what had hoodie ma so amped up this morning but coming from a person who didn’t have the best start, I needed her to chill out. See, I was literally pooped on by a pigeon as I walked to my polling location today, and I brushed it off — with the paper towel I just so happened to grab on my way out the door no less. Unfortunately, when I made it to my district line indoors, a different woman behind me pointed out that I had some white stuff in my hair and asked could she get it out for me. I then had to deny her generous offer and explain that it was bird poop in my hair and not Pink Luster’s moisturizer as she thought, and then proceeded to take her napkin and wipe the gunk out of my head shamelessly. See if I could be chill in line after that, I don’t really see what everybody else was bugging about.

I know it’s in New Yorkers’ nature to be impatient but I’m sure people across the globe are experiencing all sorts of “my time is more valuable than yours” characters at the polls who for some reason can’t fathom more than 20 people in their neighborhood wanting to exercise their democratic right just like them. Now if someone is trying to suppress your vote or give you the runaround about casting a ballot, then by all means crank up that 2 Chainz and start a riot, but if you find yourself asking why isn’t there a VIP line at the polls I’m going to need you to get yourself together and remember what this process is all about. Besides if you think like that, you’re probably not voting for the right guy anyway.  Just kidding *wink, wink*

Have you come across any angry, impatient voters this morning?

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

Source: WBBH/NBC

For anyone who is second-guessing standing in line to vote tomorrow just think, if a 99-year-old woman can make her way to the polls to cast her ballot, you can too.

This year, Fort Myers, FL, resident Rosie Lewis voted for the first time in her life. She overlooked 24 elections, including the historic one of 2008, but the election of Barack Obama is what Ms. Lewis says motivated  her to vote this year.

“I said I’m going to vote if the Lord spares my life this time,” she told WALB of her choice. “I made it up to my mind to vote.”

A family friend registered Lewis to vote and her grandson, Nelson Lewis, cosigned his grandmother’s momentous decision, saying:

“She’s an amazing person, 99-years-old and still has her right mind,” he said. “She completely understands what she just did. My grandmother never forgets anything.”

As local WALB points out, Lewis was 7-years-old when the 19th Amendment passed giving women the right to vote, and by the time Jim Crow laws were abolished she was in her 50s. Nelson says that’s likely why she hasn’t bother to cast a vote before now.

“She was already set in her ways, and wasn’t really thinking about politics,” he said.

This year, Lewis is definitely thinking about politics and one man in particular. As the woman who is just one year away from marking 100 years on this earth, plainly told reporters:

“I love Obama.”

WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Jimmy Kimmel is crazy and Chris Rock has no sense so when these two funny men get together you know to expect lots of inappropriate laughter. That’s exactly what you get in this new voting PSA spoof Rock put together for an episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

Poking fun at all the “he’s not really black” cracks that have been thrown at Obama, Rock put out a special message for white people heading to the polls to vote. Essentially he’s reminding them of just how white Obama is and why they should be happy to vote for him instead of the other guy. Cracking jokes at Obama’s dancing, his dog Bo, and his white grandparents, Rock points out that Romney might be more black than him since everywhere he goes he has to bring out every last cousin, brother, aunt, uncle, niece and nephew in his family tree.

Of course Rock is being facetious, unlike some of his comedic counterparts who think Barry really is white (ahem D.L. Hughley), but his approach still might rub a few the wrong way, although I think it’s all in good fun. Check out the video and tell us what you think. Too much or hilarious?

Source: iStock

At this stage in the game, the only thing that should be undecided about the election is whether people on the east coast will be able to make it to the polls next Tuesday. As for the rest of the world who can’t decide which box they’ll be checking when it comes to determining the next President of the United States, I just have one question: What can you possibly be undecided about at this point?

I’ve been asking this question since before the Debates began this month, but I figured maybe some people approach their presidential candidate choice like sports and for them the Debates were like a championship or Super Bowl or World Series. Each man’s slate was wiped clean at that time and whatever he and his VP said and did during those four games/debates would be the basis for their choice. That’s not exactly how I would approach my decision, but hey, there are different strokes for different folks. Still, for as many people who made their voting decision based on the debates, we still saw a hefty number of individuals the very next day after the final debate and even up until today who claim they have no idea who’s the best man for the job. Really people?

Now one theory I have is these people just need attention and pretending they don’t know right from left is the only way they can get on TV. The way narcissism has run amok in our society, I wouldn’t be surprised if 99% of these so-called undecided Americans didn’t fall into that category of trying to make the candidates sweat in their boots and prove their worthiness down to the last minute because there’s no way after all of the campaigning and media coverage, you couldn’t at least be leaning far to side or the other. But as the Wall Street Journal points out, there are a good number of people who make their decisions at the last minute and for good reason.

Though a Gallup poll found overall just 4 percent of all likely voters were undecided at the beginning of the month, 22 percent of protestant pastors were undecided at that time, according to Lifeway Research. Scott McConnell, Director of the organization said:

“Most Americans wind up having to compromise something they want when choosing candidates, and that includes the presidential race. But pastors tend to be pretty definite in their beliefs and in the advice they give people from the Bible. They are not used to gray areas.”

I can certainly understand the religious element for ordained individuals but are there really that many gray areas when it comes to the average, everyday American? As political analyst and MSNBC host Alex Wagner hilariously pointed out on a recent episode of W. Kamau Bell’s “Totally Biased,” the choice for women is essentially, do you want to have control over your va-jay-jay and what goes in and comes out of it or not? For men who don’t have those same concerns I’d think the choice would boil down to, do you want to know what to expect for the next four years or do you want to just wing it and give Romney time to figure out his game plan somewhere down the line. Or for any undecided voters who are a part of that 47% of Americans that the Republican candidate said he doesn’t care about, I’d just like to know what the heck you’re thinking period.

Obviously I’m showing my political bias, but from the other side you could ask some iteration of those same questions. Do you want women to be able to get abortions when God intended them to have their baby and they weren’t legitimately raped? (Please read sarcasm.) Do you want to approach American life, i.e. economic growth and health care, the same way we have for the past four years? Do you give a eff about that 47%, or heck, do you want to take care of the 99%? Some of these questions are quite concrete as are the answers to them. If you’ve established a list of priorities and actually paid attention to this presidential race those questions should have been answered long before now.

Rectifying one’s religious beliefs with the stance of governmental leaders is no easy task, nor is it one that should be taken lightly – particularly if you are of a faith that believes when the earth and all things in it pass away, you still have God to answer to. But for other people who are just sort of out here winging it before Election Day, please let me into the mind of an undecided voter. Do you need attention or are you really that indecisive?

Voters waiting in line on Election Night 2008. Image: AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

How many of you watched the presidential debates? Many of you it seems. According to  the Nielsen ratings, black TV viewers are tuning in to watch politics rather than their usual programming.

“The second Presidential debate that aired on Tuesday, Oct.16th, was the real ratings winner among TV shows for the third week of October. 4.8 million of the more than 10 million Black viewers watched on ABC, CBS and NBC. (Another 5.3 million tuned in on cable). ABC’s “Scandal” returned to the lineup and came in at No.3,” reports TargetMarketNews.  “NBC edged out CBS as the most watched TV network, carrying 13 million Black viewers for eight of its shows. CBS dropped to second place with 12.8 million for ten shows. ABC had 8.5 million for six programs.” The ratings stats for the final debate were not available yet at press time.

African Americans are the largest group of TV viewers, comprising “approximately 13 percent of the 109.6 million TV households. African-Americans generally watch more television than other segments of the population,” reports Nielsen. African-American adults are avid TV watchers, averaging 210 hours per month, more than whites, Latinos and Asians by quite a bit. And black children aren’t just exposed to television that they’re watching, but TV that plays as background noise for hours on end.

Now if everyone who watched TV voted, that would be interesting.  Only about 58 percent of the eligible voters in America  actually vote, according to voting and registration data US Census 2008. And according to USA Today, this November about 90 million Americans who can vote won’t.