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Good information and definitely creates symmetry. As the Gods & Earth's would say, 360 degrees = completion.

Bill Cosby's words seem to be coming back to haunt him what with the release of an old tape of a court deposition. Admitting in it that drugs were his aphrodisiac of choice when seducing young women, seems to be a very self-incriminating act. His career now looks to be irrevocably damaged. Apparently drunk with power, Cosby made his own rules to live by. Catering to his penis instead of listening to his brain has brought about the ruination of his reputation, as has been the case in so many prominent men. And unprominent ones, too. Even Jared of Subway sandwich fame, has been removed from his spokesman position over suspicion of child porn charges. Losing weight on a diet of Subway menus, apparently reduced his ability to exercise good judgment. tsk-tsk. And speaking of "dickheads", Donald Trump is leading the Republican presidential polls, thanks in no small part to his verbalization of racists remarks about Mexican immigrants. Ironically, this ludicrously-coiffed hot air balloon has found an audience because America is full of people who appreciate someone they believe is telling it like it is, even if this exposes their ignorant misguided views. I must confess that even I, in all of my ignorant misguidance, liked how Trump made that twit, CNN anchor Don Lemon, look like an idiot during the portion of an interview with him that focused on Trump calling Mexican immigrants rapists, to which Don informed that it wasn't clear who was raping the women... Making things even more bizarre is black Republican political candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, accusing Obama of trying to start a race war by speaking out against racism. 'Guess this myopic neurosurgeon believes in letting "sleeping dogs lie". Presumably, against the will of "Uncle Ben", South Carolina finally gave up the ghost and its state legislature has voted to take down the confederate flag that flies over its capital. This reminds me of how the Berlin Wall just one day collapsed, - brick-by-brick. And the overwhelming disapproval of same-sex marriage also did an abrupt about-face and just fell apart. All of which reinforces the idea that nothing stands in the way of an idea whose time has come. Makes one wonder about whether the idea of Blacks getting it together will EVER come - its delay undoubtedly stemming from reasons as varied as the black "race", itself. I also find myself wondering about the black religious naysayers insisting that all the bad things happening in this country can be attributed to God being displeased with such abominations as gay marriage. Has it occurred to them to question what message God is sending with the burning of and murders in black churches? Increasingly, I'm beginning to regard political correctness as a caveat whose time has passed because it can also be repressive. I think the trophy for courage that ESPN is awarding former Olympic champion Bruce Jenner for transistioning into a female, is a ridiculous gesture. Gimme a break. This decision didn't take guts, It took having the money to implement a weird whim, and I am coming out of the PC closet by declaring Brucilyn to be a walking, dysfunctional freak show - which I would buy a ticket to gawk at.

I don't know if they remember me, but Quincy was the head of the Lit department at UCSD when I was at SDSU. I actually performed on the same bill as Quincy in San Diego on several occasions. When I coached, I got to watch his son who was a very good basketball player (obviously because Quincy was damn good himself) play in high school in San Diego. I actually hired his son's coach as my assistant. The young Black poets in San Diego threw our weight behind Quincy when his degrees were outed and they ousted him as Poet Laureate of Cali. Then when a lot of us entered the MFA program and were attempting to do certain things in San Diego we got upset when it felt like the blowback against Quincy was hurting us. They have always done incredible work and they have always been very active in the community in San Diego. I had no idea that Margaret was from Mississippi and it's good to know this info. Thanks Troy!

I want to comment on what you wrote about Brucilyn, but I just can't find the words to match what I'm feeling. That was too funny. I don't know what to say about Bill Cosby, but I heard Whoopi's comment and the other girl [can't remember her name] on THE VIEW, but I agree with them. I will wait to see what Bill says. Anyway, who gave the press to right to release some statement like that from some court proceedings? I don't know, it just sounds fishy to me. I mean, if Bill did all of that, I just don't understand why didn't this come out years back? What is so different now as opposed to years ago that would cause these women to speak up now? I mean, is the government going to go after all of these ballers and rock stars and etc. that have also had a reputation for having many women follow them? What if these 'season girls' start saying that the ballers and rock stars encouraged them to have drugs? I just don't get it yet, but I'm listening up though to see how this is going to unfold. I heard that Bobby Brown was being blamed for Whitney's drug use, but it was all cleared up when Whiteney's brother spoke up and said that Whitney was on drugs before she even met Bobby. i think sometimes, the press distorts some issues. I just recently saw a documentary about some girls that were given terrible press as 'the lesbians who beat up a man' yet, they were approached first and seems like to me, they acted in self-defense. As a result of bad press, in my opinion, some of them were sentenced to prison. That man pursued them first and the videotape showed too, that there was another man, that clobbered that guy, yet the girls were prosecuted. Times are changing it seems, for the worse.

LOL. "It does not have to be that way", huh? No it wouldn't have to be that way if Jesus would listen to the prayers of his faithful black flock. Meanwhile, in "America, The Promised Land", free enterprise is efficiently operating, doing what Capitalism was established to do; exemplify the "greed is good" mantra. So, the rich get richer and everybody else is left to ponder how Democracy turned into a "life is not fair" proposition.

Everything has the potential to be lethal nowadays. Look at how all the automakers are constantly recalling models because they have defective parts that can and do cause fatal accidents, not to mention the danger involved in just driving a car in heavy traffic. Look at all the innocent bystanders killed by stray bullets, sometimes while they are in the privacy of their homes. Hospitals are actually hazardous to your health because they are hotbeds of air-born infections the many surgical and critically ill patients end up dying from rather than what it is they are being treated for. Drugs and alcohol continue to take their toll and STDs are rampant with new strains becoming resistant to anti-biotics, all of these afflictions making victims susceptible to deadly outcomes. Schools and workplaces and public venues can be targeted by dysfunctional misfits of society who spray them with the gunfire that results in mass murder. Airplanes can be shot down or hijacked at any time. The food we eat is dusted with noxious insecticides and fortified with harmful chemicals. The air we breathe is polluted. I could go on and on. What we think is safe, may not be. Poor black people smoke because they are stressed out. Death stalks poverty and racism.

Liquor and cigarette ads were taken in stride. Drinking and smoking were considered cool, and mostly everybody did it, including me. There actually used to be ads claiming 1 out of every 3 doctors preferred Camel cigarettes. Famous athletes also endorsed cigarette brands. But, even back before the "black is beautiful" phase appeared, the ads for skin lighteners didn't meet with a lot of approval. Hair products alternated between hair straighteners and Afro enhancers as the popularity of each style rose and fell down through the years. Fads and fashions came and went, but the quest to exude sex appeal never vanished. When Musk oil first came out, it was all the rage because it really did turn men on. Later, wearing cologne became acceptable among guys and the sale of different brands really took off. Wearing earrings also grew in popularity among men about this time. Yes, back then Blacks were anxious to integrate the white landscape but, they were not entirely compromised. Along the way, the black mystique ended up capitvating white people who came to be impressed with the inimitable hipness and style of soul brothas and sistas.

Unfortunately, Troy, it was during my generation that black resources became under utilized because the drive for integration was on and this meant forsaking what was “all-black” while eagerly embarking on incursions into the white world that was opening up for us. But there was one exception back then. During the infancy of TV and the absence of the Internet, the the print media was the home of literary and intellectual discussion. When it came to a black dialogue on these subjects a showcase was provided by a "Negro" counterpart of LIFE magazine that was relatively new to the field. This upstart publication was Ebony and it quickly became the flagship for black communication, providing a voice for all segments of the African American population which included the successors to the Harlem Renaissance crowd who always found an outlet for their output on the pages of Ebony. So Ebony has, indeed, earned its place among the paragons and pioneers of black journalism. Also worthy of note, is that the book by one of its editors, Lerone Bennett, entitled “Before the Mayflower” is a definitive study on slavery still used as a reference in many classrooms. And to this day, appearing on the cover of Ebony remains an honor and a privilege. As you discovered, Troy, copies of Ebony down through the years provide a pictorial as well as editorial record of black life in America. There was one particular series Ebony ran entitled “The White Problem in America“, a groundbreaking analysis of race that really dispelled many long held assumptions. Do you happen to have a copy of this issue? Incidentally, having been an inveterate contributor to the “letters-to-the-editor” feature of newspapers and magazines, I am proud to say that Ebony always printed letters I wrote to them back in the day.