The Back to Africa movement: For You?

Spurred on by a dogged economic downturn in the United States, many African-Americans are considering going back to the Motherland: Africa.
But what if white people, fed up with the humiliating heist perpetrated by the U.S. banking system, went with them?
Surely it could be no worse than what the American family is enduring now, right?
There reasons could range from indifference toward the American financial system to a longing to go to a place where there money can buy more.
For African-Americans, the back-to-Africa movement originally became a political force by the musings of activist Marcus Garvey in the early twentieth century. Garvey saw the disillusionment of people of color and organized a platform in which black Americans could aspire to own land and settle in Africa.
Of course, today there is great emphasis on reparations to African-Americans as well. But in Africa, where will we go? Liberia, where many black Americans in fact already moved, and Ghana offer dual citizenship with black Americans to make it easier to settle.
But can we leave?

Do You have to have it?

In this current recession, few things have tempted us like luxe items we may have gotten accustomed to. But it's a new reality.
It's real now. We. Can't. Spend. Like. We. Used. To.
You'll just have to do without or save up until you have the cash. Another option is layaway (do they even still have layaway?).

Unemployed and Lovin' It

while the stereotype of the jobless man or woman is usually one of a lazy, shiftless no-account, there is alot of anecdotal evidence that points otherwise.
Tired of the rat race, many people who are out looking for work right now are relieved in a sense from having to batter the workplace forces of injustice, corruption or downright discrimination.
The new face of the unemployed is in fact the face of the upper-middle class. Many of them are college-educated, professional and, well, laid off.
They have a little money but not much. They enjoy the finer things but make do with the nice things. They are unemployed, and loving it.

Are People Losing Their Minds ... Or What?

The daily news has become a comedy of the absurb these days. Just when you've thought you've seen it all something lowers the bar.
I thought 2008 was bad but 2009 seems worse.
It's no secret that with the economy, crime and the wars overseas that people are losing it.
Downtown Atlanta has more people talking to themselves than there are people talking to people. But when did this gradual psychosis happen?
Used to be a time everybody had common sense, if not some book knowledge. Now, there's little of either. WTF is going on?

Guess What: We're All A Little Crazy

Touched.
That's what they used to call it back in the day.
If you were "touched," then it just meant that people had to excuse you, give you more of a cushion socially speaking. Oh, we've all got a relative, or somebody we grew up with like that. Now, of course, there's a gazillion technical terms - compulsive, obsessive, manic-filled superfragiliciousness. And stuff.
Chris Rock said it best, "Whatever happened to crazy?"
We're all a little crazy, you know?
We've seen the recent headlines lately with people getting killed by family members and co-workers and what not. And we wonder, "Wow, how could they do that?"
None of us is that far, ya know. Real talk. We pray that we never snap, but that's what snapping is.
Next time you see or read about somebody that has lost it, just remember what it takes for you not to.

Amidst Recession, The Most Spoiled Girl in the World

There used to be a hit song "She Got It From Her Mama." In this case, she gets it from both her Mama and her Daddy. Sigh.

Kelly Rowland Denies Home is in Foreclosure

Former Destiny's (step)Child Kelly Rowland says media reports that her Miami crib is in foreclosure proceedings are far from real.
Rowland, who bought a home in London last year, is said to be cutting loose the property because she's simply not there. Unlike many celebrities, Rowland has publicly cut back on her expenses during the economic downtown, including cutting Matthew Knowles loose as her manager.
Rowland has been trying to sell the house for a minute now, and has slashed half-a-million dollars off the $1.9 million house.
If she is having "foclo" difficulties, she won't be the only one.

Help. "I'm Losing My Home!"

In a record foreclosure year in 2008, states and cities, none more disturbing than like what's happening in Georgia, had record numbers of people losing their homes. But this year shows that last year was just the tip of the ice berg: a recent report says Georgia will have more than 8,400 homes auctioned off in the next month. That's a staggering increase, and does not bode well for the many families, school districts, churches and communities that house these people.
We're not talking about people who were not watching their money; we're not talking about idiots: we're talking the greatest number of displaced young black professionals since the Great Depression (and even then the segments that willingly migrated were by and large laborers).
Imagine getting a letter from the mortgage company saying that your home will be foreclosed. I actually know several people this is happening to right now. And there's no end in sight.
Again, this is going on not just in Georgia put in several cities across the nation as people - middle-class, working, yuppies, buppies - lose their homes. Do you know anybody losing their home?

Related stories: 'I'm losing my home' Horror stories

'It's making me physically ill'


'Lose my boyfriend ... now my flat'


an A.R.M. and a leg'


'Losing it, my home ... my life'


'Lost my wife, kids, now I'm losing my home'


'Help! I'm losing my home to foreclosure'

Getting Married in a Recession: Feasible?

I know of two people who are gearing up for big weddings amidst the worst economic times any of us can remember. One of the wedding will cost upward of $20,000 and that doesn't include the honeymoon. This is the one who's fiance just got laid off. The other one, I hear, may skip out on the reception because of the high cost. An expensive wedding these days. Is it worth it? Or do we even have a right to advise someone how they should get married?

Remaking Condoleezza Rice

She was just so, I dunno, before her time.
The historic saga this year that became the election of the first African-American to the nation's highest office also became a year of what might have been for Condoleezza Rice.
If only her star rose eight years later than it did. Then she too could be enjoying a meteoric rise to Washington as a super-fresh, smart secretary of state.
If only she were younger, and more bright-eyed.
When the history books turn their attention to Condi Rice will they remake her? Will she be known as an assertive black woman who stood by her principles and morals? Or will she simply be seen as a scapegoat, a willing puppet that did the bidding of geeky neocons in office?
In any event, as Barack Obama considers an A-team Cabinet to work along side him in the Oval Office, Condi's about to get shut out of the most celebrated Cabinet a president has ever assembled.
Perhaps if she followed her conscious more, maybe there would have been a respite for her instead of the one she's about to get. Condi Rice held on to the only coattail she ever reached for: George W. Bush.
While a professor at Stanford, she caught the eye of Washington insiders and became the Soviet and East European Affairs adviser during the demise of the Soviet Union and German reunification. She soon parlayed the post into a regular position with the first President Bush's circle.
When Dubya went to Washington, it was a duty, a privilege for her to go with him.
As a result she's leaving Washington when the most joyous celebration is coming in.
What will she do? Where will she go?

Demise of the Sugar Daddy

He bought you candy when you were little; bought you clothes when you got older. Some of them even paid that rent.
Sigh, those were the days.
But it's over now.
The sugar daddy, you know, that older man that showered you with "gifts" namely monetary for the pleasure of "knowing" you, is unemployed.
Blame it on a teetering economy.
The loose change and small bills normally kept in his front right pocket and the larger ones kept in his billfold are history, gone with the proverbial winds of the stock market.
(I feel a poem coming on)
His pimpish ways - at the phat crib - have been replaced with hotel stays.
Where his money once ran like a flood, he's resorted to selling his blood.
But you can't act all brand-new, or even in the know; for you sold yours a long time ago.
(end of poem)
But seriously, the give-get relationship has come to an end. NSA relationships are on the fritz. The new question: What can you do for you?

5 Things NOT to do if You're Unemployed

Let's face it: It's real in the field, aka it's sooo tough to find a job right now. The unemployment rate is surging with every week that goes by. If you are jobless there are things to do, and there are things NOT to do. However, by simply letting the time pass by we could be making things alot worse. So, here's how not to get the winter doldrums as your job search lengthens:

DON'T PANIC: Take a deep breath, and breathe ..... Okay, losing your mind will not make a job magically appear. Now is the time to remain calm, collected and think through your plans.

DON'T TURN TO THE BOTTLE: Yeah, we know, it's so so easy to go to the corner liquor store and get a bottle of what ails you, but it's not the answer. When you sober up, your job situation will still be there, only you will have lost time, money, and possibly gagged on yourself. HOwever, if you've got to have a drink, we'd suggest an Atomic Cocktail (vodka) as the drink of choice.

AVOID THE POLE: Making ends meet as a stripper is fast-money,
big money and easy money, but it's also a vicious trap and dangerous as heck. To the vast majority of women who strip, they are propositioned by countless con-artists, scary geeks and pedos that try to lure them home, prostitute them or just plain rob them. The strip club is a den of thieves. Don't ever think it's an option. HOwever if you want to
install a pole in your house there are resources available.

NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK: The adage "it's who you know," is never more true than when it comes to employment. Network in your social circle. Get out and meet people at the social hangouts that you frequent. If not in person, then do it online. There are countless job resources online that can help you, including a ton of job sites (monster, indeed, yahoojobs, etcs.).

REALIZE YOU'RE NOT ALONE: Don't be depressed because you can't find a job. Millions of people are just like you. Millions don't have the skills, experience or schooling that you have. Don't give up.

Nightmare on Wall Street

Word is that the bars are full most every weeknight around the corner from Wall Street. Full of investors tossing back shot after shot. They've never seen anything like this before. And who can blame them? T'was the nightmare on Wall Street Stocks dropped off dramatically late Monday, and all through the land closing at their lowest levels in 5-1/2 years while the term "global recession" was batted around by pundits the world over. Not a creature was flush with cash not even "the Man" In the unfunny words of Ice Cube: "Are we there yet?" The dire outlook for profits has gripped investors like no other time in history. The stocks were being hung out to dry without a care Well, there was that one time in 1929, but we'll get to that. What's going on in the market today may be good. In hopes that Uncle Sam (bailout) would soon get there
Last week saw Goldman Sachs raising the axe to come down on about 10,000 employees. The children were nestled all snug in their beds Most say that's a bad thing, but there's a contingent out there that applaud the bloodletting out there as a reawakening.Before parents came in with boxes, "We've been foreclosed, we're dead!"
Wall Street 2.0, they say, will be a kinder, gentler place to do business. Yep, Mamma, with her shotgun, me with a nightcap Gone will be the shady investors looking for backdoor deals, loopholes and abstract trading strategies. Trying to stay calm, perhaps sneak in a nap In other words, Wall Street will have a heart. Believable? When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
Either way, Monday's trading was volatile. I sprang from the bed to see what's the matter? The S&P 500 is bracing for its worst month ever, save that time in 1929. Away to the window I flew in a flash; tore open the shutters and threw open the sash
Wall Street's horrendous fight is coinciding with the anniversary of the crash of 1929 in strange ways. And what to my wondering eyes should appear
The dramatic selling of Oct. 28-29 of 1929 - just like this month - kicked off widespread panic and helped spark the Great Depression. But a bald man named Paulson with a doe-eyed steer
Today, government finds itself more of a hand-holder rather than savior; Hedge funds and mutual funds have been shedding stocks like a sheep sheds wool.
What does it all mean?
We'll know soon enough, until then. Do what they don't want you to do: SAVE.