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The pendulum will swing back.

I think his followers will like this one. When did the hippie white Jesus come into vogue?

He IS the embodiment of the American spirit -- THAT is why he is a 2-time president and multibillionaire.

OK I'm glad the regular logins work-- maybe that is for new accounts. I'll update my post. @ProfD There are some features of the main part of AALBC that require a login like following an author or adding a book to you bookshelf. My goal was to have a single login but to get over that tech hurdle is not something I'm not keen or starting right now.

Should I Feature first post? Basically featuring the first post by showing it at the top of every page in the topic? Sometimes on multipage conversation who forget the what the original point of the conversation was supposed to be. Maybe this will keep conversation on track -- maybe it does not matter.

Thanks, man. This whole website upgrade has been a challenge, but things will be much better overall.

There are a bunch of thing I need to work through, but the most important thing is that one. Resetting your password does not work yet (did it ever?). I hope to have that working sometime this evening. If you can login you are free to use the forum. After I get the password reset working I'm begin making some esthetic changes. Fun facts: We have been using this software since Sunday, September 13, 2009! The last time I upgraded to a new server was in 2019 and the forum was down for 10 days (at least)!

Really? I was an adult before I learned to do this. It is liberating 🙂 This is funny in this context. Otherwise it is not... at least not to me. Was the murdered? The he start the altercation?

...well they the ones paying him. Were it not for y'all I would know nothing about pop-culture. I would not worry about the promoter too much. You gotta buy insurance. T-Boz and Chill lbetter squash their beef and make that paper! "Independent thinker" Is a euphemism for arrogant ignorance. The idiot who does "his own research" in fringe corners of the WWW.

Yeah, I just read that year-long conversation that states 23 years ago! I pose the question to kick the conversation off and didn’t really express my personal opinion until a while into it “Hi Ruby I don't buy into the concept that Black people are attempting to mimic white standards of beauty. Black women do so many different things to their hair. Many of the styles, textures and colors used don't belong "naturally" to any racial group on this planet. Nor do I buy into the concept of self hatred. Simply because, as Cynique pointed out several months ago, white people also go to great length to modify the natural color and texture of their hair. However white people are not accued of self hatred to the same degree as Black people and they may go to greater extents to change their natural hair. A great many people (Black and white) are victims of consumerism. Marketers have figured out an way to make many women want to change their hair -- often on a regular basis, at significant cost and time. In much the same way that someone figured out how to convince women that 50 pairs of shoes is not too many to own, someone has convinced women changing their hair style is just as important. Men are increasingly victims of this as well; more and more of us are spending too much time in beauty salons, jewlery and shoe stores.” After almost a quarter of a century, my opinion on this matter has changed a little: I think we need to take more responsibility and how we are so easily manipulated by marketers it’s not just a matter of buying things we don’t need or doing things to ourselves that aren’t necessary like getting butt lifts. Today It’s a matter of letting others tell us what to think. Manipulating what people think has always been around, but it became more aggressive and more pervasive as social media became popular, which wasn’t the case 23 years ago. Now, AI promises to put this on steroids. Today we have reasonably intelligent people who believe vaccines are bad or who believes it was a good idea to vote for our current president. I don’t think this could’ve happened 23 years ago, so my opinion has changed.

Well I'm impressed @aka Contrarian You don't seemed to have lost a beat intellectually. I don't know anyone close to your age actively engaging with AI.

While looking for coverage of today's celebration look what I found: https://www.nationaldayarchives.com/day/national-black-bookstore-day/ Left on Read apparently founded a National Black Bookstore Days last August! Of course this is the first I heard that Black bookstore day. That is a powerful logo.

The city of Tampa recognizes National Black Bookstore Day.

I'm going to stick with this software. As I plow through all the problems on the rest of the site. I don't think the trade off of moving to new software is worth the the learning curve. Besides this forum's posting capabilities are better than most other solutions I reviewed. This software has a major upgrade available. I think I will use it. I also want to better integrate this forum with the design of aalbc I also want to use the same login for the forum as well as the rest of the site. I'll try to get all of that working with the new version of the forums software. I'm also getting rid of the Google Analytics code and Google ads (they don't generate enough revenue to be worth the headache and it made using the forums on a phone more difficult. So things will actually be getting better around here 🙂

I'm sorry @ProfD and everyone else. I was waiting around for the techs to download a backup of my site to move it to the new server they did not tell me in advance and I discovered Thursday morning that it was done the previous afternoon! I spent 12 hours yesterday fixing problems with this version of the site (I'm still not done) and it simply did not occur to me to lock down this forum so that no one could post. So we are on a new server now I'm still searching for a fixing residual problems. Fortunately the forum did not experience an issues that I have detected -- save the lost of roughly 36 hours of posts, and sign up requests. Technically the old posts are still on the old server, but restoring them would be a real main in the butt.

She has a tattoo on her face. Why should we care about anything? She has to say… seriously? It’s a word anybody’s free to use it. Shoot white people invented the word. Black Comedians and rap artist use the word liberally. I think it’s dumb but that horse left the barn during the latter half of the 20th century. If it wasn’t for those two groups, one would probably really if ever hear the word in public.

No not exactly. Think of the algorithm's goal -- to maximize revenue (show you more sponsored content and ads) and it does this by keeping you engaged showing you what you "view most often" is simplistic. You view most often what you are shown and you are shown what keeps you engaged, so there is a strong bias to rage bait, celebrity gossip/scandal/humorous content, that is quickly consumed over things things requiring thought, contemplation, nuanced, or simply reading. Consider the heading, "Boris Kodjoe Told “Soul Food” Costar Nicole Ari Parker She Was Going Be His Wife While She Was Engaged to Someone Else." Scandal and when you layer on colorism it is a great way to attract attention. This stuff does not interest me at all, but I can see where other would be. Solange's son, 21, sparks dating rumors with reality star Tommie Lee, 41. You have what whiff of celebrity pedopilia, with man who looks like a woman with a mustache... Look I know none of us spend hours scrolling through a TikTok feed, but a great many other people do. Our best and brightest strive work for these companies. But the problem is this is just human nature; we wanna see car wrecks. everything else is boring. Black-owned platforms trying to do serve people will have to compete with the celebrity scandal and that is hard.

What does the sign say on the front of the building? AP better get with the program, if they wanna remain in business... fake news 😉 I have to believe the vast majority of the country would not want to live under theocracy let alone a fascist one. Of course we only need an organized minority to make it happen, and it is not outside the realm of possibility, though it is highly unlikely.

You can also raise the subscription price. Period, 'nuff said.

"WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, hosting his first monthly Christian worship service at the Pentagon..." AP got this wrong Hegseth is technically the the Secretary of War. All of this just sounds crazy to me. Less than three years to go 🙂

EVs are the future... The current administration only has 2y 9mo 22d 2h 30m 27s left -- a mere blink of an eye, and things will improve on a global scale. My smart speaks says the nation average for the cheap stuff $3.98 for the cheap stuff and $4.87 for the premium; stuff which I have to buy as a driver of a Volkswagen I have to buy, so it is close to $5 now. Here in Florida gas tends to be cheaper than the national average. When I went to the pump a few days ago I paid $3.89 for premium. If it cost twice that I would still fill u I would just drive ALOT less maybe ride my bike more and get my kid to drive me around she and her boo both drive Teslas.

Thank you. I'm struggling with fixing bugs on the website so I did not read the rest of the conversation but just for kicks I ask Gemini to summarize it for me and this is what I got. Let me know if you think the summaries of you positions are accurate: This discussion forum conversation, initiated by Pioneer1, explores the psychological impact of colorism within the Black community and debates strategies for reversing centuries of “anti-Black programming” regarding beauty standards. Core Arguments and Perspectives Pioneer1 (The Proponent of Radical Counter-Programming): Argues that Black women dyeing their hair blonde is a symptom of psychological damage from White-centric media that associates dark skin and kinky hair with being “ugly.” Proposes “reversing the hypnosis” by aggressively promoting dark skin and African features as the primary standard of beauty. Contends that in 2026, the community should see people in tanning booths trying to get darker and dyeing their hair black rather than blonde. Believes that “medium to dark” skin must be given priority over light skin to “balance the scale” after 500 years of lopsided preference for whiteness. ProfD (The Historical and Social Realist): Notes that movements for Black pride (James Brown, 70s Soul, 90s Hip-Hop) have existed but were often short-lived. Identifies colorism as a deep-seated issue rooted in the “slave plantations” that requires extensive time to undo. Suggests that interpersonal love—specifically Black men actively loving and choosing dark-skinned women—is a primary solution to the self-esteem crisis. Chevdove (The Moderate and Nuanced Critic): Expresses indifference toward Pioneer1’s proposal, arguing that while dark skin should be highlighted, light-skinned individuals should not be “suppressed” or “downplayed.” Raises concerns about the systematic exploitation of the term “Pride,” suggesting the “Black Pride” movement has been merged with or co-opted by the global LGBT movement. Believes education is key to understanding that traits like blonde hair are not exclusively “White.” Frankster (The Advocate for Education and Equality): Argues that education is the most effective way to destroy colorism. Advocates for a “spectrum” approach: saturating media with all shades as equally as possible rather than creating a new discriminatory hierarchy. Maintains that beauty standards should be viewed as universal (based on symmetry and balance) rather than political or racial competitions. Major Themes of Debate Theme Pioneer1’s View Frankster/Chevdove’s View Strategy Aggressive Counter-Programming: Preferencing dark/medium skin specifically. Equality: Celebrating the full spectrum of all hues and shades. Logic The “Reparations” Model: You don’t add weight to both sides of a lopsided scale to balance it; you add only to the lighter side. The “Universal” Model: Teach that all people are beautiful to avoid shifting the problem to a different group. Education Intellectual reasoning is insufficient for psychological wounds; entertainment and religion are needed. Systematic education in psychology and history is the primary tool for healing.

Be intentional: Support your favorite Black-owned bookstore (Online, Brick & Mortar, Pop-up, etc) that day and the rest of the year 🙂

Content is never free Bruh. I'm sure those stations have tons of commercials. Today my tolerance for commercials is zero. YouTube is unwatchable without a paid subscription. I rather just go on a pay for a subscription of commercial free quality content. I'm just Glad you no longer have to pay for a ton of stuff you never watch the way it was with cable. I'm sure you tech savvy folk know Amazon sells these boxes that allow you to watch pretty much anything you want for free. I don't use that because I don't watch that much TV.

Oh my friend in some part of the country like California gas lives above $5 a gallon. I paid over $7 once. Still in the rest of the country it is not uncommon to see $5+ for premium gas. Diesel gas is already well over $5 in many places. which will translate into a lot of things being more expensive. I will pay whatever it costs man, but I will just do a lot less driving. I don't drive everyday as it is I feel for people who have to commute by car. What is really jack is the removal of tax incentive for EVs and charging infrastructure.