In California, residents were using their welfare debit cards in casinos. Over 1.8 million dollars were withdrawn from ATM’s between October 2009 and last month. According to mydesert.com and Los Angles Times,  Governor Schwarzenegger became fed up and banned it so money can not be withdrawn from EBT cards using ATM’s in any gambling establishments.

My question is why are people on welfare gambling?

I think Schwarzenegger made the right choice by banning it. I feel it’s wrong to be able to use tax payers money in that way. That money is for people that can’t afford the basic needs, not for a night out at the casino. It sounds like those residents need to get their priorities in check or maybe they are being given to much money to spear.

However, I know there are plenty of casinos that don’t allow EBT cards to be used in their ATM’s. So why is it just now being banned in California’s casinos? It looks to be that those establishment took money anyway they can get it. But clealy, it’s starting to catch up with them.

From The Beautiful Struggler – I got hip to The Boondocks comic strip when I was in high school. You know that feeling Roberta Flack described in “Killing Me Softly”, the whole “singing my life with his words” thing? Yeah, Aaron McGruder gave me alla that. I’d read the strip online daily, print it out and share it with my parents, hang it up in my locker. I bought every collection of strips that came out and totally obsessed over all things Boondocks. I was extremely hyped about the animated series…until it aired. It’s funny, where the strip was hilarious and smart, where the print comic was brilliant. I have some other complaints too, but overall, I just find the show to be decent.

But then you have this week’s episode, “Pause.” McGruder takes on both Tyler Perry and the “pause”/”no homo” phenomenon in one fell swoop. Brilliant. Hilarious. And, most of all, courageous. The writer isn’t hardly the first one to criticize Mr. Perry’s work publicly; Spike Lee has done it and lesser known writers go at him all the time. But McGruder goes in quite differently than anything I’ve seen or read thus far.

The plot: Granddad decides to audition for a “Winston Jerome” play. We learn through Huey’s narration that Jerome’s plays typically feature an educated, successful and virtuous Black woman trapped in an unhappy marriage to an abusive dark complexioned man, until she is saved by Jesus and the love of a light-skinned blue collar man.  Granddad is chosen as the “light-skinned, good haired” leading man in “Ma’ Finds Herself A Man” because he’s Jerome’s type. He then finds himself forced to join the playwright’s “homo-erotic Christian theatre cult” (I TOLD YOU HE WENT IN!) and temporarily abandons his family for the chance at stardom.

McGruder nails the likely reason a lot of actors reduce themselves to the Perry factory via a brief appearance by Kadeem Hardison as himself. Sitting next to Grandpa at the audition, he quips “What, I’m supposed to wait for the next Akeelah And The Bee to pay my mortgage?” He also lampoons the way in which Perry seems to use his relationship with Jesus as his line of defense for any criticism of his work:” …(I) would never ever kiss a man. That would be homosexual and against my Christian faith. But Jesus wants us to be actors first and heterosexuals second…but when I go on stage, Jesus wants me to become (Ma’Dukes)…“, quoth Jerome in his attempt to convince Grandpa to kiss him on stage.

Read the rest of the post at The Beautiful Struggler !

Ever since Khloe Kardashian married Laker Lamar Odom, Vanessa Bryant, Kobe  wife, has disliked her. According to In Touch Weekly , she thinks Khloe is a fake wife and wants nothing to do with her.

“She won’t sit anywhere near Khloé at Lakers games,” the insider reveals, adding that because of Vanessa’s dislike of her, Khloé has been shut out of the tight-knit circle the other Lakers’ wives have formed. “At a dinner for the wives, Vanessa didn’t want to invite Khloé,” the insider shares.

Seriously? Doesn’t she have other things to worry about?

First of all, remember that time when Kobe Bryant was on trial for, what was that again, rape?? Worry about your husband first before you worry about the wife of another player. I’m not saying that you’re not worried about the basketball groupies, but start there first. And wait a second… Where were you when Kobe did that atrocious photo shoot for The LA Times Magazine? Clearly, you don’t have the best judgment.

Second, it might be good to have a Kardashian in your life. The Kardashians have been on a lucky streak lately. If they’re with someone from your team, you just might win the championship. Reggie Bush and the New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl earlier this year, and Lamar Odom got his ring last week. Come on Nessa, if what they’re saying is true, your man might not have gotten his ring this year. I know, it’s a bit of a stretch, but the Kardashians are two for two right now.

Third, if it weren’t for Khloe Kardashian, we wouldn’t be talking about you right now. The last time we talked about you was years ago when we were wondering if you were going to take Kobe’s cheating ass back and we knew it was inevitable when we saw you sport that big ass “I’m Sorry Take Me Back” rock you were sporting. Remember that? But since then, your name has pretty much escaped us. Fake wife or not Khloe Kardashian is there to stay (for the time being). It’s so much easier to be nice than to hate. What exactly is being gained? #arishrug

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino of MTV’s Jersey Shore is teaming up with label Dilligaf by Bohica Hill, according to People Style Watch. Just because you wear T-shirts doesn’t mean that you should design them. Call me a hater. I don’t care. Read the rest of this entry »

From Black Voices – Lauryn Hill said it best: “Miscommunication leads to complication.” Being able to verbalize your thoughts and feelings is key to any healthy relationship. However, as Ms. Hill has pointed out, words lost in translation can cause major issues in a relationship. Read the rest of this entry »