Troy

Claudia Alexander, was the NASA scientist who oversaw the dramatic conclusion of the space agency's long-lived Galileo mission to Jupiter and managed the United States' role in the international comet-chasing Rosetta project, which recently landed a spacecraft on a comet moving through space at more 84,000 mph, died July 11 at Methodist Hospital of Southern California in Arcadia. She was 56. (see LA Times story). Claudia also authored several children's books. "She wasn't famous, although she spoke often to the public and was eloquent and impassioned whenever she did so. She was highly respected by basically everyone who met her, as far as I can tell. She was an extraordinary talent, a committed scientist and but most of all this warm and generous and intellectually curious and energetic person who greeted everyone with a big smile and always had time to talk about whatever you were up to, even as she was busy doing super important things like, oh, running the Galileo mission at its spectacular finale, or being in charge of the U.S. contribution to the Rosetta mission (yes the one that just landed on the comet, the orbiter part anyway). And apparently she was in the first 20 African Americans to graduate with a PhD in an astronomy/physics related field too. It is a shattering loss. I'm not posting this to seek personal sympathy but instead to remind you all -- especially this week as a spacecraft flies past Pluto -- that exploration is a human endeavor and it lives and dies by the people who put their life's work into it, people who largely remain invisible but who leave an indelible mark on our understanding of the universe regardless. And people whose stories will be lost if we don't tell them." -Janet A. Vertesi, Asst. Prof. of Sociology at Princeton University. (More) Question: What advice would you give to someone who wants to take the same career path as you? Claudia Alexander: When deciding on your career you should be aware of the balance of work, personal satisfaction and financial rewards. In the early days of my career I would compare notes with an attorney friend of mine, and I found that each of us were working the same long hours, but she was making about three times as much money as me! Loving your work can sometimes be as important as how much money you make. As a woman it is really tough to make the balance of family time and science work successfully. You have to decide if you want to spend most of your time working at the expense of family time! Having the right partner is an important part of deciding on that balance. Read the full Q&A More on Claudia Alexander, from the Black Community

Well Malcolm and Martin came from and worked within Black organizations. West and Dyson came from Academia, which never served Black people. Sharpton and Jackson, while they have their own organizations, those organizations are dependent upon and serve at the largess of white folks. Coates as was Baldwin are writers, not organizers. The reason Malcolm and Martin were so effective is besides being eloquent speakers, they came from Black independent organizations who worked more to help Black people, rather than enriching themselves. We don't have those types of organizations any more.

I'm beginning to wonder what percentage of the Black community are aware of this, or have read the article the "The Case for Reparations." I teach a class of adult learners this morning and I will ask them. I get the impression that less people are aware of this than we might assume, because we talk about it so much. The other thing about the video is that 75% of the people in Contract Buyers League, ultimately lost their homes. Still many were able to keep them and get legitimate mortgages as a result of the effort. I doubt anyone today would take that kind of risk, knowing the odds. It is always "safer" to keep quiet, don't ask any questions, and do what you are told.

I just read an article "Cornel West Delivers Blistering Takedown of Ta-Nehisi Coates—Michael Eric Dyson Responds" in The Observer which referenced this Facebook post (shared below) which was apparently made by Cornel West. However you feel about West's comments that fact the Facebook (and other major media) will use this to enrich themselves irks me. The very idea that a Cornel West and all of the intellectuals and so called intellectuals who chose to comment and feed into this frenzy irks me to no end --shesh. To Ta-Nehisi's credit he has stayed out of (and above) this social media crap. Further despite Morrison's compliment, Coates, himself, has never elevated himself to the level of James Baldwin. West's assessment of Coates, in my opinion, is unduly, unnecessarily, inaccurately harsh. Paul Coates who I just wrote about above was a Black Panther. This is the sensibility under which Ta-Nehisi was raised. I think West knows this, or he should. I do know West is keenly aware of Coates profound article "The Case for Reparations." West can't reasonably describe anyone with the intellect, sensibility, and desire to write the "The Case for Reparations" in the manner he has. My initial reason was that West's Facebook account was hacked. If anytime is to be taken from West critique it is that fact that we do indeed live in an "...age of superficial spectacle..." and we do "...we all hunger for the literary genius and political engagement of Baldwin." All of this can be true without tearing down Ta-Nehisi. I also get why Dr West might be frustrated. If you consider the example I initially described; whose genesis is grounded in the fact that a successful and important book about the challenges of the Black community, completely ignored the web's largest and oldest website dedicated to Black books. So while books like this are produced the likes of an AALBC.com continues to struggle, and the Black book community, as a whole continues downward spiral. Books are a great start, as the educate and inform, but something much more profound needs to change. All of the arguing on Facebook simply enriches Facebook, while Black owned properties are collapsing. West message of a need for a people's movement was completely lost, by the white noise he generated. ------------------------------- By Cornel West In Defense of James Baldwin – Why Toni Morrison (a literary genius) is Wrong about Ta-Nehisi Coates. "Baldwin was a great writer of profound courage who spoke truth to power. Coates is a clever wordsmith with journalistic talent who avoids any critique of the Black president in power. Baldwin’s painful self-examination led to collective action and a focus on social movements. He reveled in the examples of Medgar, Martin, Malcolm, Fannie Lou Hamer and Angela Davis. Coates’s fear-driven self-absorption leads to individual escape and flight to safety – he is cowardly silent on the marvelous new militancy in Ferguson, Baltimore, New York, Oakland, Cleveland and other places. Coates can grow and mature, but without an analysis of capitalist wealth inequality, gender domination, homophobic degradation, Imperial occupation (all concrete forms of plunder) and collective fightback (not just personal struggle) Coates will remain a mere darling of White and Black Neo-liberals, paralyzed by their Obama worship and hence a distraction from the necessary courage and vision we need in our catastrophic times. How I wish the prophetic work of serious intellectuals like Robin DG Kelley, Imani Perry, Gerald Horne, Eddie Glaude commanded the attention the corporate media gives Coates. But in our age of superficial spectacle, even the great Morrison is seduced by the linguistic glitz and political silences of Coates as we all hunger for the literary genius and political engagement of Baldwin. As in jazz, we must teach our youth that immature imitation is suicide and premature elevation is death. Brother Coates continue to lift your gifted voice to your precious son and all of us, just beware of the white noise and become connected to the people’s movements!"

This video was posted on the Atlantic's website as part of Ta-Nehisi Coates's cover story, "The Case for Reparations." While I shared and read this 16 thousand word article, I missed the attached video. I missed the video because I printed the article a read it offline. After using a program to strip out all the images and ads; the article was still 24 pages long. I just don't like reading articles this long on a screen--consider me old school (I know I'm not alone). I don't think I was the only one to missed the video. The version The Atlantic posted on YouTube was only viewed 1,900 times and it was posted last May, this is a remarkably small number of views given the prominence of this article. So just in case you missed the video, I've shared it belong. If you somehow missed the reading the article, "The Case for Reparations" (consider it required reading) you may follow this link." When Clyde Ross, Mattie Lewis, and Ethel Weatherspoon settled in the West-side neighborhood of North Lawndale, they hoped to achieve the American dream of owning a home. At the time, however, federal policies known as redlining prevented blacks from getting real mortgages, forcing them to buy from real-estate speculators "on contract." The contracts, homeowners soon discovered, turned out to be a scam. In this short documentary, Ross, Lewis, Weatherspoon, and a community organizer named Jack Macnamara recount the story of how they formed the Contract Buyers League and fought back. With the millions of people, who lost their homes during the last home mortgage crisis, caused by predatory lending, which disproportionately effected Black people; nothing was done. The most recent housing collapse was NO DIFFERENT, that what we see depicted so poignantly in the video above. What was different, however, was the fact we did nothing about it in the most recent episode. In fact, we were being robbed blind without even knowing about it. Of course the subsequent Federal Government bailout, using our money, rescued the criminals when their ponzi scheme collapsed. Still today most of use are none the wiser.

I consider Paul Coates, Ta-Nehisi's father a mentor. He really is a deep, conscious, and passionate Brother, who influences many by example. I was speaking to him yesterday, asking for some help on an unrelated issue, and naturally the conversation turned to Ta-Nehisi and his phenomenal success. I thought about this post. Actually, I regretted sharing my feelings here, and almost deleted the post after I made it, but I decided not to remove because the reality is; it often is between me and the world, or at least it feels like it is. I mean think about it, here we have a book like this and Black book platforms (at least AALBC.com) is not on the leading edge in the promotion or marketing... well you see me point. I expressed my frustration with Paul, who of course completely understood where I was coming from and actually took some responsibility for it. While I was frustrated with an entire system which results in the exclusion of an AALBC.com in the promotion/marketing of this book, Paul actually took on personal responsibility (did I say he was a great man). At any rate, he gave me additional insight in the process which helped me understand why these things happen and he said he would call the publisher and see that I'm contacted when the big promotional push starts in the fall. While it feels like it is me against the world, it never really was. If there were no one in my corner AALBC.com would have failed long ago.

Obviously, this is just another way to attract Prime subscribers. Who is going to see this film in theaters when it will be available online in a few weeks. Spike gets paid and Amazon gets more Prime subscribers no matter how bad the film is. We, the easy marks, get stuck holding the bag. Funny of all the Spike Lee films the NY Times slammed, the 2015 film Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, which did about $5 at the box office, was left overlooked, as it was by everyone else. I guess as Hollywood continues to focus all of its money on movies derived from comic books, serious filmmaking for the large screen will increasingly become a thing of the past. Needless to say Black filmmakers will be hurt the most.

Lisax please post information about your book. Describe it or explain readers here be interested in it.

In the wake of all of this Black readers, authors, and business professionals have suffered the most from all of this. The adverse impact is hard to see unless you look at the situation collectively, because individual successes cloud the picture. In my almost 20 years in the Black book business here is what I've observed: Black people will buy the lowest cost book. Sure there are a few exceptional, conscious consumers who see the bigger picture, but they are exceedingly rare. We will watch Black owned bookstores, even Black owned websites, disappear to save a few bucks. All the while failing to realize by not investing in these Black owned business you relinquish control to folks who don't give a damn about you other than your money. But more importantly control over our very culture is handed over the these very same folks. I have plenty of anecdotes. Here is one from the National Book Club Conference a few years ago: A couple of sisters proudly told me how they did not buy books from the bookseller at the conference (who also owned an indie brick and mortar store), because they were able to buy the books more cheaply at the BarnesandNoble down the street! This is what I mean by individual success. The readers saved some money but the cost is one less Black bookstore. The bookseller was Brownstone Books which had two stores in Brooklyn, NY. Brownstone Books closed a few years ago (I never even told the owner that story). Here on AALBC.com and on my Power LIst website, I have sold books every way possible, but people only buy from Amazon (not even B&N). I'd be willing to bet, though I don't have actually data to support it, that better than 75% of all books Black people buy, that was written by a Black person, was purchased on Amazon. I say this because B&N and the white independents carry very few Black titles (a Target will probably carry more). Since we don't have very many Black owned independent stores, and many of those remaining to carry don't a large inventory of new books, our options are limited. Amazon is literally the only place most Black people can go to buy a book written by a Black author. Of course not every Black reader is active online, where do these readers go to buy a new book written by a Black author? I won't even address the issue of how quality books are discovered today, given our collective unwillingness to support the platforms that cover Black books. AALBC.com is very fortunate, but certainly not immune. The depressed Black book ecosystem does not allow AALBC.com to publish as many book reviews as I would like. Indeed where else (serious question) does one read critical reviews of new Black books? Black writers have been be so cut off from traditional publishing everything Amazon offers is welcome relief to these writers. There will be a never ending supply of authors for Amazon to publish. This is particularly true when Amazon is willing to publish anything whether regardless of quality or commercial viability--they still make money on the process, not unlike a vanity press. This is a success of the individual author. But the cost to the reader is a sea of books uncurated and impossible to sort through to find the ones worth reading --despite Amazon's biased reader reviews and algorithms. Unfortunately individual success are what make this entire situation impossible to change from the consumer or writer's side. So approaching the Justice Department seems like the best tactic. But given the likelihood the Justice Department has been brought off, this tactic seems doomed to failure as demonstrated by Apple's efforts. The only real option would be for the big 5 to cut off the direct supply of books to Amazon. But given these are all publically traded companies, the financial hit is one they will not be willing to take. So we can look forward to watching Amazon exert increased influence over publishing, and COMPLETELY control over the Black book world.

You may download the pdf files of the full text of these documents: Authors Guild’s Call to Investigate Amazon We once again request the Department of Justice to investigate Amazon for its anti-competitive behavior, a far more dangerous variant than that of Apple. Below is a letter to the Department of Justice, written by Douglas Preston and Barry Lynn in cooperation with the Authors Guild. Preston is a Council Member of the Authors Guild, which from the beginning has been a partner in this initiative. Last summer he spearheaded a grassroots protest against Amazon’s punishment of authors during its dispute with the publisher Hachette. Under the rubric “Authors United,” he gathered over 900 authors’ signatures and took out a two-page advertisement in The New York Times, in a public challenge to Amazon’s actions. The following letter addresses the larger issue of Amazon’s control of the book market and requests an investigation of the company by the Department of Justice. The Authors Guild supports Preston’s actions and endorses his request, as do the American Booksellers Association and the Association of Authors’ Representatives. Roxana Robinson President The Authors Guild The Authors United Position Paper on Amazon’s Book Selling Practices (24 Pages) The Hon. William J. Baer Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division United States Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Assistant Attorney General Baer: We believe that Amazon has gathered unprecedented market power over the world of books, which many experts have asserted make it both a monopoly in its role as a seller of books1 to the public and a monopsony in its role as a buyer of books from publishers. We believe Amazon has been misusing that power in many ways, and we seek the benefit of your office to address this situation.

Accusing Amazon of Antitrust Violations, Authors and Booksellers Demand Inquiry from today's NY Times Technology Section The Authors Guild, the American Booksellers Association, the Association of Authors’ Representatives and Authors United said in letters and statements being sent this week to the Justice Department that “Amazon has used its dominance in ways that we believe harm the interests of America’s readers, impoverish the book industry as a whole, damage the careers of (and generate fear among) many authors, and impede the free flow of ideas in our society.” Here are the actual letters that were sent to the Justice Department. These letters, incidentally, were copied from Amazon's cloud servers! American Booksellers’ Letter to the Justice Department July 14, 2015 The Hon. William J. Baer Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division United States Department of Justice Washington, DC Dear Assistant Attorney General Baer: On behalf of the American Booksellers Association, a 115-year-old national trade association representing America’s independently owned bookstores, which do business in more than 2,200 locations nationwide, we are writing to urge that you give careful consideration to the letter sent to you on July 14, 2015, by Authors United. A central tenet of the ABA’s mission is to ensure that a broad array of books is as widely available to American consumers as possible. The greater the number of books, the greater the number of voices and ideas; the greater the number of voices and ideas, the richer the lives of our citizens and the stronger our society. As with our author colleagues, we are concerned that the mega-book-retailer Amazon.com has achieved such considerable market power with such questionable business tactics that it is undermining the ecosystem of the entire book industry in a way that will be detrimental, especially to mid-list authors, new authors, and minority voices. A May 2014 study from the Codex Group, a respected industry research organization, found that Amazon has a 64 percent market share of e-book sales and a 41 percent market share of all new book sales [Troy's Note: The NY Times article cites 33%]. Given Amazon’s dominant market share, no publisher — regardless the size — can afford to not do business with them [Troy's Note: This belief is why Mainstream publishing is doomed to remain at Amazon's mercy] NY Times article cites 33%], whatever the cost. And no one knows this better than Amazon, which has ruthlessly cut off the sales of publishers large and small when they have not yielded to Amazon’s strong-arm negotiating demands. While independent bookstores have done well the last few years [Troy's Note: This comes across as completely disingenuous otherwise what are you complaining about?] by becoming vital centers of their communities, and by providing literary experiences and personalized service that cannot be replicated online, their continued viability and growth will only be possible if they can continue to offer their customers the unparalleled opportunity to discover new authors, especially debut authors and authors from smaller publishing houses. We fear that Amazon’s business tactics directly threaten publishers’ ability to support these authors and publications, which take time to identify, edit, market, and support — business activities previously supported by publishers’ profits on bestselling works sold by mega-retailers such as Amazon. We have already seen fewer titles published by the major publishing houses each year. And while it might be tempting to chalk this up to a changing economy, the truth is that these changes have been manipulated by one retailer, which uses scorched-earth tactics to extract concessions and kickbacks from publishers in exchange for offering their books for sale. Last year’s dispute between Amazon and Hachette, pursuant to which Amazon decimated Hachette sales and author royalties in order to extract its preferred payment terms, is but one example of the company’s misuse of its extraordinary market power. Other examples include: Predatory Selling: Huge numbers of book titles appear to be sold below cost, and indeed it is not clear whether Amazon makes money on its book sales at all, or simply uses the category as a loss leader to entice sales on other segments of its websites. Discounts of 50 percent or more on leading new titles are the norm in circumstances where the wholesale price is typically 50 percent of the recommended retail price. [Troy's Note: Yeah this seems pretty obvious unless I'd be willing to bet publishers are selling to directly amazon at a steeper discount than other retailers. The real problem is that Amazon is supported by a Wall Street bolstered share price; indie bookstores have to depend upon actual profit to stay in business.]Abuse of Monopsony Power Over Publishers: In addition to the Hachette dispute, Amazon has engaged in various punitive tactics designed to force major and smaller publishers to do as Amazon dictates. Measures include delisting books, delaying delivery, removing books from pre-order, discriminating by saying a specific title from a particular publisher is not available but similar titles are available from others, etc. [Troy's Note: Hachette simply should not have folded, there are other channels to make books available online, including the ABA member stores]Closed Kindle E-book System: Unlike other e-readers, Kindle e-readers and the Kindle app are configured to allow readers to only read books sold by Amazon and using its proprietary format. E-pub and PDF formats, which are industry standard formats widely read on other devices, cannot be displayed on a Kindle, further enhancing and perpetuating the retailer’s 64-percent e-book market share. [It is not clear to me that dedicated eBook readers are the end of the story. A better product with more potential is a multifunction tablet that has an eBook reader build in. The that ebook reader software is non-proprietary, those ebook can not be dominated by Amazon, and anyone could sell them]Free Riding: Amazon is the classic free-rider. Amazon has long enjoyed three major competitive advantages over its brick-and-mortar counterparts: Without any physical stores, Amazon has low fixed costs, which enables it to offer lower prices than brick-and mortar stores, even when not selling below cost. Amazon can and does free ride off the sales and promotional efforts of brick-and-mortar stores (consumers browse the books at brick-and-mortar stores and then purchase them online at lower prices), greatly encouraging “showrooming.” Showrooming is the phenomenon whereby customers go to a physical bookstore to make a purchasing decision but actually purchase the item from an online retailer, in most cases Amazon. Amazon has even created an app to facilitate this practice, which allows a customer to scan the barcode of a book in a brick-and-mortar shop and complete the purchase from Amazon’s website through their smartphone. Multiple industry research studies demonstrate that this is occurring, and publishers themselves have noticed increased Amazon sales during author events at bricks-and-mortar bookstores. State governments have subsidized Amazon with sales taxes avoidance. (Unlike bookstores, Amazon does not have to collect sales taxes in many locales.) [Troy's Note: Yeah I've scanned books in B&N stores, saving $14 and having the book delivered to my front door the very next day. As long as this option is available to consumers, and Amazon can sell the books this activity it will persist. What is more interesting is that I learned about the existence of the ap from someone complaining about it's existence!]We are pleased to join with our colleagues from Authors United in urging that these matters receive the attention of the Department of Justice. Sincerely, Oren J. Teicher, CEO American Booksellers Association Betsy Burton, President American Booksellers Association The King’s English Bookshop Salt Lake City, Utah ---------------------------------------------------------- The Authors United Letter to the Justice Department Authors United P.O Box 4790 Santa Fe, NM 87502 July 14, 2015 The Hon. William J. Baer Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division United States Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Assistant Attorney General Baer, From the beginning of our nation, Americans have understood the central role that open and competitive markets play in promoting freedom of expression and protecting our democracy. The country’s founders, Congress and the Supreme Court have repeatedly made it clear that a concentration of private power over any marketplace of information is incompatible with American ideals of liberty, free speech, and the unfettered flow of ideas. Today a single company, Amazon, has gained unprecedented power over America’s market for books. We are not experts in antitrust law, and this letter is not a legal brief. But we are authors with a deep, collective experience in this field, and we agree with the authorities in economics and law who have asserted that Amazon’s dominant position makes it a monopoly as a seller of books and a monopsony as a buyer of books. According to published figures, this one corporation now controls the sale of: More than 75 percent of online sales of physical books.More than 65 percent of e-book sales.More than 40 percent of sales of new books.About 85 percent of ebook sales of self-published authors.With its own traditional imprints and its near-total control of self-publishing, Amazon has also become the largest publisher and distributor of new books in the world. In recent years, Amazon has used its dominance in ways that we believe harm the interests of America’s readers, impoverish the book industry as a whole, damage the careers of (and generate fear among) many authors, and impede the free flow of ideas in our society. Amazon, to pressure publishers over the past eleven years, has blocked and curtailed the sale of millions of books by thousands of authors; [Troy's Note: Book Retailers ALWAYS did this].Amazon, during its dispute with Hachette in 2014, appears to have engaged in content control, selling some books but not others based on the author’s prominence or the book’s political leanings; [Troy's Note: Book Retailers ALWAYS did this too].Amazon has used its monopsony power, and its ability to threaten punishment, to extract an ever greater share of the total price of a book from publishers; this has resulted in publishers dropping some midlist authors and not publishing certain riskier books, effectively silencing many voices; [Troy's Note: Hummm... welcome to the Black Author's world].Amazon routinely sells many types of books below cost in order to acquire customers for unrelated lines of business and to drive less well capitalized retailers – like Borders – out of business. This practice, extending over many years, has caused price deflation across the industry and reduced the amount of revenue available for publishers to invest in new books, thus depriving readers of wider choice; [Troy's Note: True Dat].Amazon routinely uses its market power to steer readers toward its own books and away from books published by other companies; [Troy's Note: Naturally].Amazon dictates pricing to self-published authors, requiring them to price their books within a specific range or be subjected to a 50 percent cut in royalties. [Troy's Note: Still for the vast majority of authors, this is still preferable to not being published at all].The present inaction by regulators is not in keeping with the history of government response when a single company has come to dominate a venue for communication. In the 20th century, Congress repeatedly passed laws that prevented a concentration of ownership in vital informational markets, including newspapers, radio and television. But the precedent for this thinking extends back to the First Amendment and in 19th Century law. In 1866, long before the creation of antitrust law, Congress passed the Telegraph Act, which blocked a private company from gaining monopoly control of this very first electronic medium of communication. The courts have regularly found that existing antitrust laws can and should be used to protect information markets from private monopoly. Justice Anthony Kennedy, in the 1994 Turner Broadcasting v. FCC case, articulated the reasoning. He wrote: “Assuring that the public has access to a multiplicity of information sources is a governmental purpose of the highest order, for it promotes values central to the First Amendment… The First Amendment’s command that government not impede the freedom of speech does not disable the government from taking steps to ensure that private interests not restrict, through physical control of a critical pathway of communication, the free flow of information and ideas.” Americans are just as opposed as ever to seeing private interests gain control of any marketplace of information. In February this year, the FCC, responding to the strong consensus view of the American people, ruled that no private interest should be allowed to manipulate the flow of information across the Internet, and established rules for “net neutrality.” Only a few months ago, your Division was reportedly among the regulators who opposed excessive consolidation of ownership in broadband Internet, which halted the merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable. As recently as 1999, the FTC made clear that such principles also apply specifically to the book business, and blocked the purchase of Ingram Book Group, the country’s largest wholesale book distributor, by Barnes & Noble, the country’s largest retail bookstore. For two centuries, America’s book business was the freest, fairest, and most competitive in the world. More than a business, it was a marketplace of ideas, with publishers acting as venture capitalists, advancing funds to give authors the freedom to write books, and thereby hoping to make a profit. In this way the profit motive was put in service of a vital national interest and our fundamental rights. “The best test of truth,” Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote in 1919, “is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market.” What Americans seek, Holmes said, is “free trade in ideas.” Over the years, Amazon has benefitted readers and authors in many ways. But no temporary price cut can compensate for the costs to free expression and the health of America’s book industry that have resulted from Amazon’s abuse of its dominance in the world of books. Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Antitrust Division investigate Amazon's power over the book market, and the ways in which that corporation exercises its power, bearing in mind the very special constitutional sensitivities that have historically been applied to any business that has established effective control of a medium of communication. Sincerely, The undersigned authors:

Dude I did not realize that you went back that far in the literary world. I would definitely go if I were you, you have a strong connection. If I were in FL, as I normally am this time of year, I would drive up and meet you. Tell 'em AALBC.com sent ya! :-)

John A. Williams, perhaps known best for the 1967 novel “The Man Who Cried I Am,” passed on July 3rd 2015. He was 89 years old.

Not exactly a day trip though. Margaret, the director of the project, is cool people. She and her husband, Quincy, host readings in their home all the time. At one reading I recall thinking to myself that there was on Nobel laureate, at least two MacArthur foundation Genius prize winners, a couple of Pulitzer Prize winners, and the apartment was full of Black folks.

Meh, I'm stickin' with Google adsense versus Amazon CPM ads. I submitted 6 sites to the program and Amazon rejected one of them. So I'm bailing... Actually I take that back I'll use them on the site that Google banned (Thumper's Corner). My average CPM so far is over $, but the fill rate is very low, so the effective CPM is about 50 cents, which is horrible, and far worse than what Google pays. Once my site has relaunched, I'll be able to nix Amazon, if I wanted, as I'll have the flexibility to use any bookseller, or even be the bookseller myself. Unfortunately experience demonstrates that people only buy if I sell via Amazon--but at least I'll be ready if folks change their minds :-)

The following is Kam's review of Ex Machina. I'm sharing it here, rather than the film review section, because the film does not involve Black people, or culture (I think there was one Black extra in the flick), but it is a really good flick. It was though provoking and one of the most interesting films I've seen in a long time. I've spoken to a few people about the film, most never heard of it and not every one agreed with me, still I highly recommend Ex Machina. I'd give it ★★★★★ (out of 5). Ex Machina In Theaters: Apr 24, 2015 Wide On DVD: Jul 14, 2015 Rating: R (for graphic nudity, language, sexual references and some violence) Runtime: 1 hr. 48 min. Genre: Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy Directed and Written by: Alex Garland Box Office: $25.2M Kam's Review Caleb Smith (Domnhall Gleeson) works as a computer programmer for Blue Book, the most popular internet search engine in the world. As the winner of a staff lottery, he is summoned to the secluded, hilltop retreat of the company’s reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Only after being brought there by corporate helicopter does the nerdy 26 year-old discover that his billionaire boss has a hidden agenda. As it turns out, the place is less a home than a high-tech facility dedicated to conducting research in artificial intelligence. But before Caleb is allowed to stay, he’s forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement promising to keep secret what he’s about to witness. Nathan next explains that it’s an invention, an android he wants Turing tested, meaning examined for any software flaws revealing it as non-human. He then introduces his curious guest to Ava (Alicia Vikander), the fetching fembot he wants studied over the course of a week. Caleb is surprised by her level of sophistication, since her brain is complex enough to discern the connotation of idioms like “breaking the ice.” He’s even more impressed by her non-deterministic nature, as she appears to have been successfully programmed with free will. The plot thickens several days into the project when Ava senses Caleb has developed feelings for her. At that point, the attractive automaton quietly confides her fears about being expendable in the eyes of Nathan who wouldn’t have a second thought about wiping her memory banks clean once she’s no longer considered state-of-the-art. After all, that’s what he’s done to each of her mothballed predecessors in his relentless quest to build a better cyborg. Where does Caleb’s loyalty lie? With the callous employer he suddenly sees as a heartless tinkerer? Or with the flesh-covered machine exhibiting a full range of emotions, including a seductive vulnerability? That is the dilemma confronting the anguished protagonist in Ex Machina, an intriguing sci-fi adventure marking the splendid directorial debut of Alex Garland. Best known as the scriptwriter of 28 Days Later, the gifted Brit more than proves his mettle as a filmmaker, here, with a thought-provoking thriller guaranteed to keep you enthralled while reassessing the meaning of consciousness.

Here is something worth mentioning with regard to the Confederate Flag in SC. SC raised Confederate flag in 1961 to insult nine black protesters — and took it down to honor nine slain South Carolina put Confederate flag above capitol in 1961 after 9 students held sit-in at segregated lunch counter. A peculiar historical symmetry exists between South Carolina’s decision to raise the Confederate flag in 1961. A Children's book was penned about this story. No Fear For Freedom: The Story Of The Friendship 9 by Kimberly P. Johnson (Author), Vanessa J. Thompson (Illustrator) Many of the icons of the Civil Rights Movement will never be forgotten. However, we must also make sure that the work of other activists will be remembered too. They were ordinary people who fought against discrimination and prejudice. Unfortunately, they may never find their names in a history book, on a display board or in a museum. As communities, we must discover these amazing citizens and honor them. The Friendship 9, a group of college students and activists in Rock Hill, South Carolina, claimed a rightful place in history by challenging inequality and unfair laws. In 1961, their decision to help place into motion the Jail, No Bail strategy empowered many communities. As we continue to learn from our struggles and most importantly create a world free of racism and social injustice, we will inspire our future generations to do the same!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - JULY 2015 Danny Glover, Terry McMillan, Sterling Plumpp in Glosteralong with The Gloster Project's visiting artists on Friday, July 17, 2015, at 7:00pm at The Wagon Wheel Cafe.Gloster, Mississippi. The Gloster Project presents an evening with Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon, The Color Purple, Witness, Predator 2, Beyond the Lights), novelist Terry McMillan (Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back), poet Sterling Plumpp, a Mississippi born Chicago blues poet, and visiting artists Kelvyn Bell, Ebony Golden, Nambi Kelley, Quincy Troupe and Carlos Uribe, at the Wagon Wheel Café, 320 East Main Street, Gloster, MS 39638 on Friday, July 17, 2015 at 7:00PM. Admission is $25 per person and includes a reading by Ms. McMillan and Mr. Plumpp, performances by the teaching artists, a keynote address by Danny Glover, and dinner. This event is a benefit fundraiser for The Gloster Project. For reservations or other information, call (917) 843-7571 or email theglosterproject@gmail.com. The six visiting teaching artists include guitarist and musical theater director, Kelvyn Bell, performance artist, Ebony Golden, poet & photographer Rachel Eliza Griffiths, actress and playwright Nambi Kelley, poet and Miles Davis biographer, Quincy Troupe, and visual artist Carlos Uribe. The Gloster Project Free Summer Arts Camp is serving over 45 kids aged 7-17 years old. For five hours a day, five days a week, over three consecutive weeks in July, the artists teach the basics of writing poetry, playing guitar, drawing, painting, and musical theater production. At the end of the three weeks, the kids will stage a public performance that brings all their learning and talents together on Thursday evening, July 23, 2015 in the auditorium at the Gloster Elementary School, 154 Cassels Street, Gloster, MS 39638. About The Gloster Project The Gloster Project is founded by Margaret Porter Troupe, director of Margaret Porter Troupe Arts Projects, LLC. Ms. Porter Troupe is a native of Gloster, Mississippi. Major funding for The Gloster Project has been provided by Drax BioMass USA, a manufacturer of wood pellets for renewable low-carbon power generation from sustainable biomass.Margaret Porter Troupe Arts Projects LLC is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Margaret Porter Troupe Arts Projects LLC must be made payable to "Fractured Atlas" only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Donate. Media Contact Name: Margaret Porter Troupe Title: Director, The Gloster Project Phone: (917) 843-7571 Email address: theglosterproject@gmail.com

On This week, the South Carolina House of Representatives voted 94-20 to remove the Confederate battle flag from public spaces, including state Capitol grounds. The NAACP is urging everyone to send their governor a letter urging them to create and support legislation banning the sale and display of the Confederate flag and its many representations from public spaces. It is easy enter your name, zipcode, press a button and you are done--it is a breeze! Online activism is fun and easy! That outta rid our nation of racists. Who needs a boycott, or even bother to vote, when you can email your governor with an email they will treat like spam. Who knows, New State might just get a bee in their bonnet and decide to foist a Confederate battle flag on us in Albany (our state capital). Seriously Karen Hunter already started a petition to Remove the Confederate Flag From All Government Places. Is the NAACP bored?

Classic Cynique! I'm not surprised Trump made Don look like an idiot (though I'm not familiar with the specific circumstance). I just stumbled across this video of Don interviewing Ben Carson, and I think this video illustrates precisely what is wrong with Don Lemon's interview and reporting style which is a reflection of what is wrong with mainstream American journalism as a whole. Don focused so much on Ben's statement about Obama Care being worse than slavery, so much so that we never got an understanding of why Ben feels that way. Don wasted time trying (and failing) to trip Ben up on a controversial sound bite, which Ben explained away, that we have no idea what Ben specifically finds wrong with government run health care. As far as Bruce Jenner is concerned, it is a slippery slope. Some view gay marriage the way you view Bruce Jenner. You know better than I, that there was a time when all of it was considered bizarre, aberrational behavior. Today in places like NYC everything goes, something is wrong with you if you think Bruce is dysfunctional. This was not always true. When I was a kid, boys that acted like girls were called sissies, which, at the time, was considered an insult. Today sports platforms gives them trophies. But we now live in a world where everyone gets a trophy, so they really don't mean much? All the Black religious people who claim to know the mind of God are the worst. No matter that happens good or bad these folks claim to know why this is God's punishment for for some specific sin. These are also the same people who would know what would appease an angry God as well.

This aired on the Chris Rock show sometime between 1997 and 2000. It is interesting that back in 2000, then State Senator, Pastor Clementa Pinckney, who was murdered in the massacre at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina, voted for the Confederate flag’s display at the Statehouse on May 3, 2000. Six of the seven black senators voted for the measure; one did not vote. Apparently, the vote was a compromise despite strong opposition by the NAACP.

BCALA; SELF-e partner for new self-publishing literary award to promote diverse books in libraries The Black Caucus of the ALA (BCALA) and BiblioBoard announce the creation of an annual self-publishing award. Following the model of the current BCALA Literary Awards, the new award will honor the best self-published ebooks in fiction and poetry by an African American author in the U.S.

Man, the vast majority of what I have on iTunes is what I copied from CD. Interesting would would describe iTunes as the devil. Indeed by comparison Amazon make them look saintly. That said, Amazon has written my a check every month since the late 90's. Which is much more than I can say for itunes.

Man I stand corrected I actually do have an Amazon Business Prime account which does not expire until next March. I better start taking advantage of some of the feature I'm paying for. I still think I deserve a free Prime account considering how many books I've sold on there behalf. Of course Amazon is all about stackin' dat paper; they know nothin' 'bout the hook up, and they sho ain't takin' no shorts.