Dorothy Roberts Debunks Race as Biological in "Fatal Invention"

Dorothy Roberts is author of the new book Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century (New Press, 2011). She is also the Kirkland & Ellis Professor at Northwestern University School of Law and a faculty fellow at the Institute for Policy Research, with appointments in the departments of Sociology and African American Studies. Here she discusses the rise in identifying race as biological.

YLW: Why did you write Fatal Invention?YLW: There is this increasing push, fueled by profit, looking at race as a biological structure instead of as political.

DR: I decided to write it because I have noticed resurgence in the use of the term race as a biological category. And also [I noticed] a growing acceptance among colleagues and speakers that race really is biological and somehow genomic science will soon discover the biological truths about race. The more I looked into it, I saw there were more scientists that said they discovered race in the genes, more products coming out showing that race is a natural division.

YLW: But race is not biological, it’s purely a political creation.

DR: I thought this trend [of race as biological] was supporting a false concept of race. But also, I was alarmed that knowing history; the biological construct of race has been used to obscure the political origin of racial inequality, to make it seem as if the reason people of color are disadvantaged in society is natural, as opposed to political and institutional.

It’s a very frightening development. We would accomplish so much more, if all the money that was going into race based genes were going into cleaning up the toxins in black neighborhoods that cause black people to get cancer and die, cleaning up education or basic health care for everybody.

YLW: Many people have a hard time accepting that race is a political creation and not biological, despite the years of proving otherwise.

DR: There are some people who understand this- using economic theory and research showing you that you cannot divide the human race into species. Scientist have known this and proved it definitively for decades. So it’s alarming when you see scientist promoting race as genetic.

YLW: Can you give me examples of the false notion of race as biology that’s popping up in science that your reference in your book?

DR: There are ancestry groups testing customers that say with a cheek swab they can trace your ancestry. Then you have federal and state authorities that are amassing DNA databases that compel people to give up their DNA if they are arrested. As a result these databases are disproportionately made up of black and Latino profiles. Pharmaceuticals targeted people according to race. The food and drug administration has already targeted a heart therapy for black patients. It was only turned into a race specific drug when the original patent ran out.





DR: There are studies to explain racial divisions in health that are actually caused by social inequalities. Yet you have researchers studying high blood pressure, asthma among blacks, etc. and looking for a genetic cause. However, research shows these [illnesses] are the effects of racial inequality and the stress of racial inequality.


YLW: So race based medicines, like a heart medicine for African Americans, are illogical, because since race isn’t biological, you can’t have a medicine targeting this group?


DR: Correct. Of those who say [race is biological], they usually point to sickle cell anemia, as proof that illnesses are race-based. Even if you look at these genetic diseases that seem to run along with race, it’s actually caused by environment. Sickle cell is an adaptation in areas with high rates of malaria. You find it in some areas of Africa, Asia and Europe. It’s not about race at all.

DR: To me it’s so obvious that race is not a political category. Who is considered black, Asian, Indian, all these things changes depending on political circumstances and are determined by political markers. Yet people hold on to this idea that if scientist keep searching and searching they will find the divisions of a human species, and we’ve found it is a false pursuit.

YLW: You argue that the scientific inquiry in looking to genetics to create health remedies has led to an interest in looking to genetics to explain a host of social ills and challenges including race.


DR: Genes can never tell you anything without looking at the environment that they are expressed because of the very cells of our bodies. There is not a gene that causes cancer. That is false. After spending millions and millions of dollars they have not come up with the genes that cause cancer or diabetes or any of these diseases. It’s been a false hope, now they are looking to race as a way to make money off of this failed attempt to make money off of a gene map. Race is a bad way to prescribe drugs. I don’t want some doctor to look at me and say you’re black so you should take this drug. I want it to be based on an examination of me.

YLW: What are the dangers of viewing race biologically?


DR: It’s not just a matter of being wrong. It’s the disastrous consequences, because it sends the message that all the inequalities in who dies earlier and who bears suffering from disease, who gets poorly educated, who fills prison cells- it makes it seem like it’s some biological difference, when it’s the power of advantage and disadvantage. But instead of looking at those implications, they’d rather look at false proof written in our genes.


DR: There is a history of tracing race to a biological pathology. And there is a counter tradition of saying no, we have innate superiority. I don’t think talking about innate superiority or otherwise is the way to go. I think looking at the success in spite of the disadvantages, looking at doing it in spite of the social constraints, makes sense.

DR: I also got resistance from black friends, relatives and colleagues to this idea that race is a political system. I think there are people who realize there is racism in America and the political nature, but they also want to hold on to a biological concept of race. There are conservatives who want to hold on to the fact that there is a biological concept of race to explain inequality. But there are also black people in America who believe this.

YLW: Can you give me an example?


DR: For one, ancestry testing and another in the first race specific drugs targeted to African American patients with heart failure. In both cases these are African Americans who are promoting products to some extent that use the idea that we are biologically different and saying that is important to our identity.

YLW: You’re saying that genetic ancestry testing, say finding the African tribe you descended from is impossible to find genetically?


DR: We cannot, in most cases, trace our ancestry back to Africa. My position is that you’re basing it on an illusion that there is a biological demarcation.

YLW: Ancestry testing is very popular and many people take great pride in being able to identify the African ethnic group they derived from. But you’re saying that genetically, you can’t trace this ancestry. Why not?


DR: The science of it is matching the customers DNA profile and specific genetic base to a genetic base that was collected in Africa. Each company has a different database. It’s proprietary and based on collections that they did themselves and collected, or publicly available ones they collected. You’re talking about matching a customer’s traits to a database that was collected recently, obviously not collecting those people who were around during the slave trade. They didn’t test anyone 300 years ago.


DR: The most they can tell you is that your traits are the closest to a group they sampled recently, but that group might be different. They might not be in the same location. There have been migrations in Africa sense then. You just don’t know if it’s a match to an ancestor. And because different companies have different samples and different ways of matching, you can go to four ancestry companies and get different results. It is not the definitive answer that many people think it is. It involves a lot of guess work. At the end a lot of people who have results say they came from the Mendi tribe, others say Yoruba or Zulu. Then the customer who has all these results has to pick one. Then we’re back to a political affinity. Which one do I like better? Which one do I want to align with?

DR: I say just pick one. Why take the test? Maybe you like the artwork of that group, or maybe you met someone of that group, or maybe you like the politics. Yes we have ancestors from Africa and from other countries as well, but that does not have to be spliced down


DR: Africa has more genetic diversity than any other continent in the world. We are genetically extremely diverse, but we also know that African Americans are products of mixtures of all kinds of ancestries. There is no biological essence to being African American. We’re extremely mixed. But I believe there is a political solidarity that we can have, not based on our biology, but based on our commitment to fight racism and to have a better world that is rid of political injustice.

For more information on Dorothy Roberts go to http://www.dorothy-roberts.com/

Toastmakers: Happy New Year Fizz Lovers

Happy New Year! Happy New You!


While New Year circles around at the dawn of every Winter Solstice, this time when the clock struck 12 and I was zipping through the street honking my car and bobbing my head to a hot radio mix of the moment in search of that golden parking spot for my party of choice, I felt new. It wasn't some empty promise of great things to come, but rather a refreshing acceptance of living life to the fullest now.

Just moments earlier, I was bumming around in the silence of the bat girl cave, trying to trick myself into believing I of all people could celebrate the New Year in reflection. But as the clock ticked away, I said "What the heck are you doing? Get out there and move something." I grabbed those fur boots I keep closeted away for fab affairs and hit the fast track highway.

Yes, I've been dedicating the last three months to this refabbed me, and I've gotten back to who I really am, who I thought I was striving to be, only to realize I was already there.

A new me, means a new Solpop. Cultural nuances, political foibles, artistic inspirations and some personal insights, too are all here for the taking.

Truly peachy. But why be all brand new by yourself? Take this life and shake it. Solpop can provide fizzy insights to make that 360 a little bubblier.

So drink up, my friends.

One Love,

Ytasha
Solpop Penmiester

Lip Plumper - Shopping Tale of the Exploding Lips

I thought my favorite lipstick had been discontinued three years ago. So imagine my sheer glee when a Sax make up guy with an uncanny resemblance to Brad Pitt found a handful in the samples section. But like any woman who's about to spend an unusually high amount for a tube of gloss, I decided to survey the counter to make sure this was in fact the best bang for my buck. And that's when I ran across The Plumper.

"That's a plumper," Brad remarked, very bright eyed and bushy tailed as I surveyed the rival shimmery bronze. "It gives you full fantastic lips. It's so hot right now."

"What do you mean it gives you full fantastic lips?" Surely, Brad must have found something ironic about sharing the virtues of full lips to an African American woman, but he proceeded to explain anyway.

According to Brad, the plumper had ingredients that made your lips fuller, sexier, hotter to which I responded to myself "Yeah, right."

"Is that safe?" I asked Brad, recollections from killer beauty doc American the Beautiful still haunting me. He smiled that "I guess we'll know in ten years" kind of smile and I agreed.

But with one swab of the plumper, my lips started to tingle and burn, like I'd painted them with liquid Tic-Tacs and acetone. Brad said I'd get used to it and as I waited for the icy fire to a wane I looked in the mirror noticed this plumper had one heck of a gleam. Tingle aside, the plumper gave my favorite gloss a run for it's money in pure shine factor, and after having a bevy of sales guys do a cross cultural lipstick comparison, I said to heck with my discontinued favorite and bought the plumper.

Let me remind you, the plumper was not made for me, my family or any one totally unconcerned with lip size. The whole culture of collagen injected lips is stamped with a does not apply sign in my life world and affairs. So why buy the plumper? Well, I didn't expect it to work. I figured it was another cosmetic industry scheme like at home teeth whiteners or hair growth stimulators, some new product who's effectiveness is hard to measure.

Well, it took all of five minutes for me to walk from the across Michigan Ave. to my car before I realized this Plumper stuff was potent. My lips were ice cubes, stinging into numbness. It felt like the Black Hawks were playing ice hockey on my pucker. My heart started racing like I'd ran a marathon and I could feel the icy hot sheets formerly known as my lips expanding like glaciers. By the time I got to the car and checked the rearview mirror, I looked like a bee had stung me in the kisser. To which I said "I'm taking this crap off."

I ran back to Sax, testing the limits of the 15 minute parking breaks zone, found Brad and made a switcheroo before scrubbed that plumper crap off.

"Dude, that tingly feel never goes away," I said. "And my heart was pounding."

"Yeah, that's what the other customers say. Not everyone likes it"

"No kidding."

I did some reading on the phenomenon, and apparently the plumper is the rage in make up circles. There are a host of review and product sites. Some formulas use a traditional lip-plumping ingredient that stimulates collagen and boosts hydration. Others use ingredients that help retain moisture, which gives lips the appearance of being fuller. Some work, some don't.

But don't expect any more plumper updates from me. I'm done with the icy hot bee sting.

A Voters Headache: Terrorists, Bradley Effects and McCain's Defense

All these rumblings regarding Sen. Barack Obama and his mythical terrorist ties now have Sen. John McCain nervous. After launching a Republican lead smear campaign with Gov. Sarah Palin tying Obama to radicals and rumer mills falsifying a Obama Muslim upbringing, it appears that the nastiness of it all and the increased racially cloaked remarks from audiences at McCain affairs caused McCain to defend his opponent.

If Obama does win, McCain said, reassuring a voter, you have nothing to fear. "He's a decent man, a family man."

Gee, thanks.

I can't commend someone for taking an action they're supposed to take, but there is an irony in that the McCain campaign stoked these fears intensely over the past week and after some disturbing commentary with news cameras in attendance, had a change of heart and decided to back off.

I'm not sure if this was sincere or just another ploy to win voters. But I can say that the fear tactics are highly aggravating. And they're not working.

When people are worried about their retirement savings, keeping their jobs, and trying to figure out how to keep up with mortgage payments, they could care less about a connect the dots affiliation between a presidential candidate and a former radical.

Speaking of being annoyed, I'm also bothered with the new found media infatuation with the Bradley Effect, a phrase coined after the former L.A mayor was predicted to win as governor of California. Pollsters later found that many white Americans reported they would vote for Bradley but changed their minds in voting booths due to Bradley's race. Some argue that the Bradley effect could play a role in Obama's race and that his slim lead in the polls is not due say an upswing in Obama voters tired of the economic downturn, but rather a result of some indiscernable number of white voters lying to pollsters.

But the Bradley race was 20 years ago. While I get that their aren't many high level races with African American candidates to compare Obama's campaign, too, I think the analysis of the Bradley Effect is totally misleading and that the same elements aren't applicable in the Obama race. While a casual debate on the matter may be entertaining to some, there is no quantifiable data to substantiate or explain its relevance in this election.

Frankly, between these terrorist charges and Bradley effects fears, I've been highly annoyed by recent campaign tactics and coverage. Rehashing old news to fan fears is a strategy we were all familiar with in the primaries.

The real issue is the economy. Obama's position on the economy was strong before the current market flip flop and it's ironic that his knowledge on this matter may be the key to victory.

VP Debates- The Non Answer to Your Own Question

Expectations for Gov. Sarah Palin's debate performance were so low, that short of her collapsing on stage, she'd be applauded by her supporters.

Really, is she supposed to get points because she can pronounce Ahmadinejad?

However with debate strategy now topping the headlines, I too have a question.

When did not answering the question become a suitable debate strategy?

Palin was incredulous in her decision to answer what she wanted to answer and in some cases not addressing the question at all.

While one could possibly get away with changing the subject on a question or two, to design an entire game plan around avoiding the question and instead raising your own questions to answer is perplexing. Knowing how confusing her non answers would be she remarked and 'that she might not answer the questions the way Biden or the moderator may want her too but will speak directly to the American people.' Yeah, well, the moderator is there because the American people can't exactly get their questions answered by yelling at their flatscreen.

But in an attempt to take control, Palin decided to ask her own questions, which she didn't bother to answer either.

Furthermore, when did winking at the camera become acceptable in a debate format? Call me observant, but Gov. Palin winked at the camera at least three times. Coy flirtatiousness may work fabulously for actresses on Leno, but to inject the wink in a vice presidential debate is absurd.

Sen. Joe Biden proved himself to be knowledgeable, wise and passionate on foreign and domestic affairs. Some feared that his style might be too overbearing for Palin, another backhanded smack to the progress of women (implying a that a woman can debate a man 'aggressively.') However, Biden was incredibly diplomatic, flipped McCain's 'Maverick' monitor on it's head, and linked McCain's policies to President Bush's. Palin, oddly didn't rebut any of Biden's attacks on McCain, seeming to stick to tried and true info she'd memorized instead. She also made some very odd remarks regarding the expansion of the Vice President's role that were diametrically opposed to the U.S constitution.

I don't want to be a Palin basher. I would hope that despite differences in ideology, she would at least prove herself to be a capable leader on the world stage. I too am a woman. But while she may have guts and drive, that alone is not enough to lead our nation.

Don't Take My Debate TV

I thought my ears were deceiving me when I heard that John McCain aimed to cancel the presidential debate and suspend his campaign.

I flipped to WVON, caught a snippet and ran to my laptop to verify. There is was, confirmed on the New York Times website.

McCain wants out.

So much for those ballroom, bar and hall rentals. I have received more emails for debate parties and viewings in the past two weeks than I can count. News radio, tv and web banners are hyping the debate like it's a heavyweight champion fight.

I guess it is, well, if it happens.

Supposedly, McCain wants to take these precious two days to work on the economy. Wisely, Barack Obama stated that with just 40 days left until the leader of the free world takes the reigns, the American people deserve to know the candidates' views on the matter and wants the debate to go on.

The story goes that Obama initiated the call to McCain, suggesting that they make a joint statement regarding the economy. Six hours later, McCain jumped the gun and made his crash and rash announcement, taking Obama's good intentioned jesture a step further and recommended ending the debates.

It's this assumption that the American people are idiots that I take issue with. Obama's numbers are up, McCain has repeated frequently that the economy is his weak point, he's not the most intriguing speaker in the world and the haste to cancel the debate makes McCain look like he's running scaird.

There is no spin to make this action look lofty. Citizens deserve to see their presidential candidates debate during this unique time.

The debate should go on.

Economy Matters- Dumb it Down

With the economy being the talk of the town, I've found myself either talking to people who are de facto economy experts or explaining to people just what the heck is going on.

I've probably done a little more of the later than the former. In fact, I found myself in a circuitous explanation on the whole affair with my mom for like an hour. In my attempt to be as simple and thorough as possible, I realized that I had a hard time explaining it in part because the concept of a mortgage backed security doesn't really make any sense. How can you create an industry that people invest in backed by a debt bundle with no actual or liquid value? But that's another conversation.

At any rate, while watching political pundits on TV turned economic experts, I've discovered something else.

Explaining the mortgage backed security fiasco cannot be done in a sound-bite.

There's no condensing this stuff. Forget making the whole matter neat and easy for the common man. There are no winning sports analogy, no bare knuckle moose wrestling metaphors, and no patriotic slogans to explain this mess.

While I've heard a few commentators manage to at least de economize the language, I still hear people tossing in peanut gallery remarks that have nothing to do with the matter at all.

Politicians with any savvy know that if you can't say it in a soundbite, you might as well not say it at all. That's in part what's happening. People are trying to spoon feed an elephant. If you're talking to an audience who get skittish when explaining stocks, well you still owe them a hearty expression on the matter. Pull out some charts, make some graphics, anything but don't act like a few cowboy quips will put those who don't know at ease.

There are so many misguided catch phrases tossed around to sway the masses on the government Wall Street bail out blaming "overcompensated Wall Street CEOs" or "they're giving money to the people who got us in this mess and not the people who lost their homes." There's even a proposed march planned on Wall Street, which I don't understand either.

Oddly, Pat Buchanan was one of a handful of political pundits turned economist who explained the whole deal in a comprehensive three sentences. I was impressed. Barack Obama proposing that American citizens be viewed as investors and should benefit from the upside of their tax dollars in a bail out. A smartly worded statement as well.

While, the television medium is not typically the home for complex brain activity, when it comes to explaining the economy in this day and age, it has to be.

Family That Preys - The Return of the Smack

I saw The Family That Preys Together last night.

I won't review it. And I won't ruin the ending, but I do have a question which analyzes a scene, which implies the trajectory of one of the characters, which could be a spoiler, so read with caution.

That said, drum roll please . . .

Is there ever a justifiable reason for a man to smack a woman? Is the movie smack back?

Sanaa Lathan's character, a savvy corporate woman who loathes her blue collar husband (Rockmond Dunbar) is having an affair with her high profile boss. She makes some pretty heated comments, spewing some lines that no woman with any sense would ever say to a man without either a can of mace in her hand or her foot on a gas pedal, bags in the trunk, while pulling off on a drive way. At any rate, she makes these mind blowing revelations to her husband in front of the rest of the fam and POW, her mild manner husband smacks the beejeezes out of her and she goes flying over the counter. No one runs to her aid, no family tackles the husband. The next scene, her mom is icing her down and I believe the sister, played by Taraji Henson says something like "Wow, I never saw him that angry before."

I'm not saying her revelations weren't worthy of a smack. I'm not saying that the do good husband didn't have his reasons. I'm just saying I didn't exactly like the repercussionlessness of it all. Domestic violence is domestic violence, justifiable smack down or not. And I was uncomfortable with the fact that all is fair in love and war, including a heavy handed man knocking out a woman.

Before you answer, I have to refer to that comic genius Chris Rock who said no one is above a beat down, just don't do it. "There's a good reason to kick an old man down a flight of stairs," he said. "Just don't do it."

Back in the 30s flicks, women were smacked all the time. With the changing of the times, education on domestic violence, the justifiable man smack had disappeared from film imagery.

So while, the smack might move along the plot, I echo my comedic hero. "Just don't do it."

TKO - Economy sends lipstick gate packing

The economy trumps lipstickgate this week.

Thank goodness.

Despite my self imposed temporary exile from 24 hour cable political news viewing due to last week's Palin overdose and the global pig attack, I am still avidly listening to radio and of course reading. And it's great to see everyday people having hearty water cooler conversations about financial instruments and institutions and actually wrestling with some of the real causes of the overhauls in the market instead of being the ra ra squad for political propaganda football.

It's a thumbs up to the Democratic process that analysis of strategy for the moment has taken a back seat to the real issues that citizens of all walks of life are experiencing - issues that our presidential candidates should be addressing in the first place.

But Obama for the most part has been trying to divert the conversation back to the economy for some time now. But news outlets treated his speeches as a teaspoon of cod liver oil compared to the cotton candy antics of the Palin/'McCain camp (My inversion's intentional). He had to toss in some rogue small town metaphors about a pig to wedge his economic arguments back into the limelight. Too bad it took the sudden closing and sale of some of the nations oldest financial institutions for the economy to top the news line up.

That said, I think it's the problem solving aspect rather than the dooms day angle of the economy that concerned people should be engaging themselves in. To quote Melody Hobson of Ariel Capital who spoke on Al Sharpton's show earlier today, the worst is over and done with. Now it's time for the work.

Books Ink - Knight in a Shining Bookstore

I'm a bookstore addict. Give me a cup of tea, a magazine rack and a couple of bookcases and I'm in readerholic's paradise.

So imagine my excitement when I attended the reopening of Books Ink, a quaint bookstore in the Beverly area of Chicago. I was knighted to teach a screenwriting class there at the end of the month (SHAMELESS PLUG at the end of the story).

In the age of Amazon and the omnipresent chain store it's cool to see someone who is dedicated to the cause of the independent. Nearly 100 people came out. It was very community friendly affair with tables for self published authors promoting their works a host of raffles, and the chipped in services of a coffee shop. After my hunger induced visits to the cake and pasta line, I made my bookshelf rounds and was surprised to find a unique collection of books including a novel on Ira Aldridge, the Shakespearean actor who toured Europe in the 1800s; a biography by fashion editor Andre Leon Talley; a self published book on the first black catholic priest, and a children's book on Barack Obama.

It was a reminder that independent bookstores are incredible relevant and versatile, despite the competition, - a fact, that futurist, I'm sure, are boggled over.

The concept of the book on demand, online orders has revolutionized the book business. While searching online for books works great if you know what you're looking for it's totally overwhelming for browsers.

Books Ink, founded by Constance Shabazz featured mostly hard to find readers on African American life. Although most major bookstores have popular titles, rare books are still hard to come by. They are even harder to find if you don't know they exist.

Moreover, there are a watershed of self published writers looking for homes and launching pads for their work. While Internet presence is a must, a brick and mortar site can't hurt, and is a great companion tool for grassroots marketing.

But the coolest thing is that Books Ink doubles as a community resource hosting book readings, book clubs and classes (SHAMELESS PLUG: I'm teaching a screenwriting class there beginning Monday, Sept. 29th).

After doing a series of writers workshops, I've found that the need for accessible writing/book friendly classes are a must have in our communities.

So during a time when technology connects us more than ever, opportunities to bond in person are increasingly precious.

Cheers to the indie bookstore. May they continue to thrive.

Books Ink is located at 1835 W. 103rd. Call 773-445-9984 for details on Screenwriters Ink Courses.

Lipstick Politics and the Pytharorean Theorem

Feeling shut in by the McCain/Obama lipstick debates, I decided to cruise through the aisles of Borders and find something intellectually stimulating to take me away from the absurdity of the political sphere.

It was a bit difficult at first, trying to find the magazine without Gov. Palin and the shotgun, so I made a hard left to a section where I could be modern day election free - The Greek Classics.

I flipped through Antigone, as if reading it for the first time and found it to be unusually refreshing considering it's a Greek Tragedy. Antigone was bold one and prone to giving life or death "keep ya head up" kinds of speeches. The section was home to the Iliad and the Odyssey. I think subconsciously I was looking for the impossible dream of Greek writing - - - a new ancient Greek story. My search beat hearing rehashed opinions on barracudas and pit bulls and pigs and make up, so I decided to hang around the section a little longer.

That's when I discovered The Music of Pythagoras, by Kitty Ferguson.

Being an HBCU grad, Clark Atlanta University to be specific (GO PANTHERS), Greek history lessons were always buffered with the reminder of its Egyptian and Babylonian influence. So any mention of Pythagoras and his theorem was always quickly followed with "well you know the Babylonians knew that 2000 years before" or "he studied it in Egypt." Naturally, the book did nothing to contradict this. But Pythagoras was always a point of curiosity for me. Whenever I read up on ancient middle eastern history, Greek culture, or early Christian history, a sect of Pythagorean followers always popped up, so I figured I should read up on him.

Plato referenced him as the original philosopher king, a guy who's teachings changed Croton society and ultimately influenced Greek and eventually Roman culture. He was also in a quest for the mathematical order to everything.

On another day, I might have looked right past it, but the day before, I was talking to a friend of mine and we glossed over higher level math and joked that if I taught a math class I'd probably wind up making the kids do a play on formulas (not quite sure how we got on that topic), so when I saw the book I figured it was synchronicity.

And it's pretty doggone interesting, in part because there's so little known about Pythagoras, and what is known falls in the realm of folklore. But not only do they know very little about his personal life, there's also a total information gap regarding what this Samian taught. Pythagoras had a school and followers that lasted for centuries. What they taught exactly is a mystery.

The book came out this year, so it's the latest of the latest on Pythagoras. I give it a thumbs up.

It beats lipstickgate any day.

My Nightly Love Affair - Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews

I've been trying to ween myself off of my political news junkie syndrome and was hoping I could write something on bikram yoga, leadership frays, the falling of the leaves.

But just as I was about to write some diatribe on the blight of orange on the city's foliage, my heart skipped a beat. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews were removed from their nightly political coverage beats. They will do commentaries for the rest of the presidential election.

I was surprised.

Obviously Olbermann, a little more than Matthews, were Barack Obama supporters. But with right wing charges of overt liberalism, media elite Obama bias and Sarah Palin criticisms paraded by spinmasters as sexism, these two journalists were ripe for the blame.

I always thought of Olbermann's Countdown show as the anti Bill O'Reilly. Reilly, a right wing zealot is on at the same hour, and a segment of each Countdown show was dedicated to his demise. But during a time when virtually no political coverage isn't washed over in bias, I thought Olbermann's wit and honest criticisms, though favoring liberal thinkers was a nice counter balance to other coverage I've watched. Olbermann had a left leaning, usually younger audience that found another home away from reports via Internet, that addressed concerns from their perspective.

Matthews, on the other hand, who in my opinion gave keen, honest assessments on Hardball, a benefit from his days in the political trenches, seemed to merely find Obama's efforts more genuine than the McCain campaign. He was equally vigilant in questioning both sides, but was more impressed with team Obama in the end. Either way, I don't think this took away from his reporting ability, and frankly I'll miss his laser direct questions.

But I do look forward to their commentaries. No longer tied to walking the line of journalistic balance, I'm sure their zany opinions will be even more pointed. The dogs, so to speak, have been let loose.

Can't wait to tune in.

Palin Overdose - Escape from Alcatraz

I officially had a Palin Overdose, yesterday.

I think I might petition the American Medical Board or whatever organization you reach out to when it's time to report an undiagnosed ailment, because this thing is serious.

It's my fault, really.

Yesterday, I hopped to the laptop piping early and made the crucial mistake of turning on cable news and never turning it off.

As the news unfurled with analysis after juicy analysis, a 12 hour preshow to Sarah Palin's career defining speech, I think I heard every possible spin and strategy assessment repeated a gazillion times, each time with a slightly different twist to keep me hanging and wanting to hear the next analysis and rebuttal.

And it's not like I did nothing all day. On my way to my morning meeting, WVON had a lively discussions about the condemnation of teen pregnancy.

After the meeting NPR was talking about Palin's extreme conservatism.

When I got back to the office, it was more nonstop- Palin. The investigation regarding her brother, new revelations about her husband, her pastor; photo ops with McCain with her pregnant teen daughter and boyfriend.

It was inescapable. I wrote maybe two stories or so, did some interviews and had some conference calls. But in between every working moment I heard a new twist on Palin.

Her name must have bounced off my ear drums at least 12,000 times. Which is odd because it had never bounced off my ears before.

As the hour of the speech grew near, I found myself feeling claustrophobic.

Someone reminded me that Venus and Serena Williams were playing tennis as well.

"You've gotta be joking?" I said, speeding through the streets looking for an impenetrable Palin zone, shocked that something else was actually going on in the world.

I drove to my self proclaimed workout cottage and did several dozen butterfly kicks. I almost forgot this Palin fever. I felt refreshed, renewed. There is, apparently, something else going on in the world besides Palin's pending speech. But just when I thought I'd escaped the web of political spin I went to to freshen up and her speech was blaring on the TV screen.

So I watched it. I felt it was my duty after all the hype to have an opinion on it.

Obviously, I didn't agree with any of it. But that's not the point.

The point is, that when I returned to my fair laptop, my TV set was still on and the analysis was in full steam. But I was too deluded from stream of consciousness politico clouds in my brain that I couldn't turn it off. Weary, I fell asleep. But the news was still on, rewiring my dream sleep with enough political strategy to make me conjure up a few during REM zone myself.

I should probably call a campaign manager and share them.

Nevertheless, when I woke up, I felt like I hadn't gone to sleep.

Calm was only restored when a self imposed silence doubled as my aspirin and I was able to regain consciousness.

Boy, what a nightmare.

Marie the Flame, McCain and the Pin Drop

I really don't think I should know Marie the Flame of Florida.

But thanks to my devotion to political conventions, now I do.

I was editing some business stories last night while former Tennessee Senator and actor Fred Thompson was praising John McCain at the convention. The TV in one room and me in another, it was my preventive measure to stay work focused while still hearing convention rhetoric without being fully devoted to it.

Nevertheless, with a southern drawl and humor tinged commentary, Thompson elicited riotous applause. He said what I would expect him to say until roused by a canon ball of enthusiasm he threw in a quip about McCain's stripper girlfriend on the convention floor.

“In flight school in Pensacola, [Sen. John McCain] did drive a Corvette and date a girl who worked in a bar as an ‘exotic dancer’ under the name of ‘Marie the Flame of Florida,’” he said.

The crowd went silent.

Then he added "And the reason I'm telling you these things, is that, apparently, this mixture of rebellion and honor helped John McCain survive the next chapter of his life:

Now he followed this with a heartfelt tale about McCain's POW days and was able to rebuild excitement. While the pundits questioned a line Thomas made stating that McCain's POW experience didn't mean he should be president but showed his character (a line certain Democrats would be pummelled for) or a line Thompson misquoted regarding Barack Obama and abortion, I was still stuck on Marie the Flame of Florida.

I was stuck because I couldn't believe I actually heard it.

In fact, I text my editor, who was up rereading the stories I was editing to see if he heard the same thing. Surely, my ears hadn't deceived me. And he had.

Not one to stay on smut, I'm less amused by McCain's stripper dating days than I am by the need for either Thompson or some speechwriter to toss it in. Where exactly does this fit in the party platform? I'm assuming this wasn't in the approved speech or was it? Was this an ill advised effort to make the nominee one with the legions of men who spend their nights in strip clubs? The new "common man approach?"

How did that line make it past an editor?

I'd like to think that Thompson got excited by the attention of it all and thought he'd throw in some off the cuff folksy insight. But what was he trying to say? It was very boys club and conflicted strongly with McCain's efforts to woo women. By the sounds of the pins dropping after his raucous comment, I'm sure the audience was shocked, too.

I don't know where Marie the Flame is now, but I'm sure she never expected to get a shout out at the Republican Convention.

Katrina Shadows- A Convention and Gustav

I was writing during most of the Labor Day break.

During my escape from the laptop, I watched some of the Republican Convention. To prioritize the possible impact of Gustav, convention organizers scaled back and dedicated much of the convention to addressing relief efforts.

Politics, it was noted, was put aside.

Each of the states impacted by the storm have Republican governors, most of whom did video packages on the state's relief effort for the convention. But it was odd that Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, the state hardest hit by the storm a Republican rising star of Indian did not do such a video. At one point, he was a likely vice presidential candidate.

Either way, Gustav was an eery reminder of the federal administration's failures regarding Katrina which hit just three years ago. New Orleans and much of the coastal towns in Mississippi are still ravaged by the storm. Thousands of Katrina victims can't return home. And the efforts to rebuild one of the nation's greatest city's has been unbelievably slow.

Katrina was one of the Bush Administration's greatest failures to its citizens. With all the controversy over Iraq, memories of Katrina had taken a back seat, until now.

So while the conventioneers storm efforts were noted, it was nearly impossible to shelve those awful horror stories from years past - a city drowning before our eyes and a president who allowed it to.

Katrina can't be forgotten.

Women for Hire - Palin's Crowning

I wonder if it's really progress when a woman gets a job simply because she's a woman.

As the media scrambles to get more info on Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, I take issue not with her capabilities but the fact that her sex and positioning alone put her above other worthy contenders both women and men.

Would a guy who was mayor of a city with 85oo strong and lead as governor for 18 months be tapped to be a VP contender?

Of course not. He wouldn't even be in the running.

Even if the VP selection was limited to Republican women, it's Palin's image and the spin of her story, that of a young driven mother of five with one kid headed for war and another with Downs Syndrome, that's stronger than her national credentials.

She's not even an advocate of the core issues that define the woman's movement, including equal pay and reproductive rights.

While she might be a great lady, smart and capable, none of that was a deciding factor in the decision.

The selection is an insult to women everywhere.

Palin's in for quite a ride. The political buzzards are swarming and I wonder in the hype of it all if she has any idea what she's just walked into.

Palin is charged as running as a maverick, waving the banner for working women while supporting a candidate who's proposed policies mimic the much maligned Bush administration. She benefits from the women's rights movement while simultaneously undermining the very rights the movement's fore bearers fought for. And she's about to go under one heck of a microscope.

It reminds me of Obama's Senate bid when the Republican party nominated Alan Keyes, a African American serial candidate who didn't even reside in Illinois but was propped up as a worthy opponent. I suppose the hope was that he'd split the black vote. Keyes probably figured that if nothing else, he's build some solid relationships in the party. That never happened. He only embarrassed himself.

Palin is expected to woe women. While she's no Keyes, she is a political pawn.

And that's not progressive.

Where's My Flag? - ObamaRama, Pat Buchanan's pride

I was headed to Kung Fu class last night when I realized that I would miss arguably the most important moment in Barack Obama's campaign thus far. With history pending, I called my instructor and prepared for the moment to unfold.

I watched MSNBC as an excitable Keith Olbermann, with a released version of the golden speech in hand, read three powerful paragraphs nearly spoiling the whole surprise of it all. Granted, he was caught up in the magnitude of history, too. But imagine some giddy reporter on that memorable day before the Lincoln memorial "teasing" the audience with King's "I Have A Dream." "Oh, this is amazing. And then he says' Let freedom ring . . "

I called my girl Gina and complained that this guy was reading the speech before the speech, but my rants were putting me off focus. History was on speed dial and I needed a videotape to record it all. I hit the streets and rushed to a drug store and like Superbowl night or the legendary Bulls Championship games, the far South side was a ghost town. Not a kid or a straggler in sight. And no one was at Walgreens either, which is why I bought the tape in two minutes flat, catching Joe Biden's intro on NPR as I raced to get back home.

The speech was amazing. And lest I be criticized for mimicking Michelle Obama's misread comments on being proud of her country for the first time, I will say that I felt uniquely American and felt a rush most people get from watching action flicks. But this wasn't Morpheus' speech to Zion in the Matrix, it was real life. The sentiment was echoed by Gina who called me afterwards yelling "Democrat's, What?" And then we agreed to buy U.S flags.

Sometimes with the racial and class issues we tackle in this country, we can forget that our struggle and quest for civil rights is born in the promise of a Constitution that promises so much, including the pursuit of happiness. Every struggle and protest in our history was an effort to make good on that promise. Obama spoke of the American Spirit. He said our nation's wealth isn't in how many millionaires we have or the might of our military or our culture. It's in the American Spirit.

And it's this American Spirit that we all buy into. The belief is that if you work hard you can be whatever you want to be, you can live the life you choose, you can provide for your family. It's a core belief echoed by ministers, teachers, rappers, parents, and volunteers alike.

But the icing on the cake was watching Pat Buchanan, a staunch Republican who in his previous commentary on the election walked a tight rope between party punchlines and glee over the gut fighting of the race, was stunned by Obama's speech. Buchanan, who in watching these pundits, I've come to respect as a savvy guy with key insights into campaigning despite his politics, had been criticized Obama during much of the race for not sticking it, so to speak to McCain. Obama wasn't tough enough. Buchanon wanted Obama to go for the juggular. And with speech in hand just minutes before Obama took the stage, Buchanan was flabberghasted. A former speechwriter, he remarked "this is a speech."

After the speech, fellow pundits stood silenced as Buchanan gushed over the magnitude, the power, the reach of the speech. He sounded like a proud father reading Obama's speech point for point and his fellow pundits were speechless. Chris Matthews, another reporter who once reported that Obama's speeches made his thigh tingle, said "to hell with his critics" and hailed this moment as a great in American history. Matthews even thanked Buchanan for crossing party lines and admitting to the glory of the hour.

And for a moment I could feel people putting politics, decorum and special interest aside as they stood receptive to change.

I'm glad I stayed home to witness history. Even if it came live via the small screen, it was a big moment that I'll remember.

Impossible Dreams- Barack's Grace Under Pressure

In a few hours, Barack Obama will give his acceptance speech, securing the Democratic nomination and becoming the first African American to represent any major party for President.

I missed the emotional roll call yesterday, but I did see the aftermath - veteran civil rights leaders in tears, longtime party members with reddened eyes and it brought home to me just how impossible some people thought this moment would be.

I never thought it was impossible. I'd say it was a generational thing, but little over a year ago, before Barack's prominence, many people my age didn't think it was possible either. "We'll never see a black president in our lifetime," they'd say. It was such a self defeating belief, so entrenched in fears stoked by our nation's past, that it was sad to see the pessimism so alive in people so young, the very people who would determine the shape of our tomorrows.

There's a fear to hope. A fear of the mountains to climb and mental blocks to slay. A fear of the disappointment, the racism. But without vision, the people perish. Without hope our future looks like yesteryear.

Obviously, I want Barack to be president. It will be interesting to see what impact his race has on people's belief in their own possibilities and limitations. Many still probably can't quite wrap their brain around what it means. What does it say about our nation? Our neighborhoods? Our lives?

For starters, I can say that any strife I've experience doesn't compare to the ridiculousness he's had to deal with recently. His patience and ability to rise above the mess is mind blowing. He was never anchored by the hater machine, which in some cases came from the people he least expected.

And obviously, cable news doesn't ruffle his feathers, either.

Barack is the ultimate modern day example of focus, inspiration and grace.

He's also an example of a leader who operates in integrity. I don't know why some wannabe
leaders believe conniving, backstabbing, duplicitous behavior well intentioned or otherwise
is the way to achieve. While it may seem effective in the short run, it always ends in their own unravelling.

In my own daily squabbles, whenever I feel the tug of the mudslingers and that playground instinct inches to the surface, I just think on how Barack dusts off his shoulders with a smile and I switch gears, too.

Grace under pressure is possible.

Cheers

Democratic Convention - Family Junkies

Watching the Democratic Convention is a treasured past time in my family. We look forward to it the way others look forward to the Olympics, the Black College Classic.

Some years its better than Christmas.

It stokes the fires of the American Dream, somehow connecting the political struggles of the past with hope for the future. With all the political, historical analysis that's tossed around the family table as I grew up, there's also a bit of nostalgia, too.

I remember my family huddled around the table watching Jesse Jackson deliver his convention speech in 84'. I remember my dad video taping it with our spanking new VCR, and I remember how we, dad, mom, little brother and me played it over and over again, jumping up and down with every and ebb and flow of Jesse's fiery words - as excited about his campaign as we were about our ability to play it again and again. "Keep hope alive," he said.

Then I remember my dad saving that same video tape a whole four years and taping Jesse's next speech in 88'.

I would sit in front of that TV screen watching the endless speeches, the crowds in American flag pins and hats, the people from every corner of the nation . . . fully believing in the promise of America and my responsibility to do something and be somebody.

My generation didn't have the same kind of freedom fighting stories my parents had. We didn't have those personal memories of Martin Luther King; I was too young to vote for Harold Washington; and the opportunity for marches and protests to prove our meddle in the hard won fight for human rights were few and far between.

But that rush of historical significance could always be found watching the Democratic Convention. And I looked forward to the day when I could vote.

I thought about that today while I was watching the convention with my mom. She teared up as Teddy Kennedy took the floor. And after Michelle Obama spoke she jumped up to give me a high five.

In the legacy of Democratic Conventions, this is certainly the most exciting one.

As far as family viewing goes, it's the Superbowl, NBA Championships and Martin Luther King's B-Day all in one.

Go Obama!

Straight No Chaser- Writers & the Bottle

The New York Post just did a funny story on writers and drinking.

Apparently, the writers love affair with the bottle that was the hall mark of legends like Hemingway and others, has gone the way of the typewriter.

Gone are the days when writers cohort at the local dive - the days when tortured souls clutched a pen in one hand and brandy in another channelling their life through ink.

Gone too are the days when publishers, editors and the like felt like accommodating such folks.

The article featured my friend Kenji, who confirmed that writers nowadays are more into yoga and juice. The lush life having gone old school, he says, hard drinking is "something your parents do."

Which isn't to say that writers don't drink, they just don't drink to write. Or they don't drink to write and then write about drinking. Or if they do drink to write they don't write about it, they just drink and think about it and write about something else.

The only drink I guzzle while writing is a cup of green tea. I have some wildflower honey I'm really digging. And in this green is cool world, doling over my favorite teas doubles as the perfect libation for self indulgence.

Funny how times change.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08202008/entertainment/writers_on_the_rocks_125199.htm