I am sad. I’ve loved Beastie Boys for as long as I can remember. I saw them in concert in D.C. the night before President Obama’s inauguration. Paul’s Boutique is hands down one of the best albums ever made.

Adam Yauch, one-third of the pioneering hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, has died at the age of 48, Rolling Stone has learned. Yauch, also known as MCA, had been in treatment for cancer since 2009. The rapper was diagnosed in 2009 after discovering a tumor in his salivary gland.

Yauch sat out the Beastie Boys’ induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, and his treatments delayed the release of the group’s most recent album, Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2. The Beastie Boys had not performed live since the summer of 2009, and Yauch’s illness prevented the group from appearing in music videos for Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2.

So sad.

Update: Beastie Boys and The Pharcyde — it doesn’t get better.

Oyez! Oyez! The RSS Feed for ABLC at The Raw Story is here: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/category/angry-black-lady/feed/. Hopefully I’ll get a button of some sort soon.

All of the archives will remain here for the time being, but all new content will be at The Raw Story at angryblacklady.rawstory.com. The URL is not working quite yet (it should be up this evening), so for now you can find our new posts by clicking this link or by heading to the front page and looking for the ABLC tab at the top.

Huzzah!

UPDATE: The URL is live! Click here.  As a result of my move, all  comments on this blog are being moderated.  

Today, I yammered about the Trayvon Martin case on the AlterNet Radio Hour, hosted by Joshua Holland.

Actually, I yammered via Skype on Friday, but the show aired this afternoon on We Act Radio in D.C.  I, of course, streamed it on my iPad while tweeting about it, because it’s the twenty-first century and I’m nothing if not a slave to my iCrap.

The show is a good one, and has the added bonus of being fully-estrogenated.  Three guests. Three women.

I’m second up (at around the 28 minute mark), after Dahlia Lithwick and before Sara Robinson. So… semper uteri! — or something.

Just roll the damn tape!

Check this out on Chirbit

You’re welcome.

[via AlterNet]

I recorded my appearance on the Hal Sparks Show on my computer on the off-chance that U-Stream decided to act up.  Good call on my part!

I have to say, the amount of time it took me to put this together is flat-out ridonkulous.  I suppose I could have read the directions for the program I used, but that would have deprived me of the opportunity to be unnecessarily frustrated.

In any event, if you missed it, here it is!

You’re welcome.

Also?  Fundrayzah!

Also, too? Team Uterati Wiki Project!

The nerds are upset***

The Arizona state legislature passed a bill (H.B. 2549) that would make it a crime to communicate via an electronic device any speech that is intended to “annoy,” “offend,” “harass,” or “terrify” — and some other stuff too.  Pretty vague stuff.  I’m sure I’ve fired off some tweets from one of my iThings that annoyed, offended, harassed, and terrified a few people. In fact, that’s sort of my raison-d’être.

So, dang. Why won’t Arizona just let me be great?

The Arizona state legislature apparently finds it difficult to tell the difference between a telephone and the Internet and has passed a bill that would extend the definition of harassment originally devised for phone conversations to anything communicated or published online.

As summarized by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, “The bill is sweepingly broad, and would make it a crime to communicate via electronic means speech that is intended to ‘annoy,’ ‘offend,’ ‘harass’ or ‘terrify,’ as well as certain sexual speech. Because the bill is not limited to one-to-one communications, H.B. 2549 would apply to the Internet as a whole, thus criminalizing all manner of writing, cartoons, and other protected material the state finds offensive or annoying.”

~snip~

“H.B. 2549 would make it a crime to use any electronic or digital device to communicate using obscene, lewd or profane language or to suggest a lewd or lascivious act if done with intent to ‘annoy,’ ‘offend,’ ‘harass’ or ‘terrify,’” the letter notes. … ‘Lewd’ and ‘profane’ are not defined in the statute or by reference. ‘Lewd’ is generally understood to mean lusty or sexual in nature and ‘profane’ is generally defined as disrespectful or irreverent about religion or religious practices.”

Internet trolls, beware! The Wicked Witch of the Southwest is tired of your online bullshit.

***Oh hush.  Some of my best friends are comic book nerds.

[via The Raw Story]

A week or so ago, my best friend, Kat, sent me a FB invite to the Minneapolis Trayvon Martin rally, and I immediately accepted – though it meant missing my tai chi class.  I really didn’t know what to expect as I haven’t been to a protest in a long time – and we Minnesotans are all decorous and shit.  I highly doubted things would get out of hand, but who knows when tensions are running as high as they are over the Trayvon Martin injustice?

Last night, I put on my hoodie and took pics of me looking suspicious in preparation for the rally.  I headed for my best friend’s house to hitch a ride with her and her daughter, Kitten, who was attending her first rally/protest.   Kitten’s eight, and I was worried about how the rally would be for her, but I think it’s important to get kids involved in social justice issues at a young age.

The three of us took off, all of us in our hoodies.  As I said, I didn’t know what to expect as the rally had been started by a  U of M student who, Kat told me, was disorganized about the whole thing from the start.  The student  put the wrong time on the invite, for example, but prominent organizations were quick to add their support, and the event ended up with nearly 1,500 “I will be attending” responses.

Would there really be that many people?   I couldn’t quite believe it because first of all, we all know more people will say yes than actually attend.  Secondly, it was a chilly (for most people) Minnesota night, and the rally would be held outside, naturally.  Thirdly, who the hell ever knows how well-attended a protest/rally will be?

When we reached the Northrop Plaza on the U of M campus, the place was heavily populated.  I am really bad at estimating crowd sizes, but I thought there were at least several hundred.  I snapped as many pics as  I could, taking in the atmosphere surrounding me.

The crowd was mostly African Americans with a few white people sprinkled in here and there.  I could count on two hands the Asian people, and two of them were speakers.  Kenya McKnight  Ahad was MC for the event, and she was, as she said, rocking the hijab.  ”Hijabs and hoodies!”  Indeed, Kenya, indeed.  She kept the speakers cracking, which was good because there were so many of them.  Brother Ali rocked the house, speaking truth about white privilege and how he benefits from it simply by existing.

There were several speakers,  and the topics ranged from racism of society in general to the outrageous idiocy of the Stand Your Ground law in Florida.  Kitten, who had been sitting on the ground playing with rocks, looked up as one speaker described the law and said, “That’s a stupid law.”  From the mouth of babes.

I scanned the crowd as I listened to the speakers.  More and more people came, and I asked Kat if she thought there were a thousand people there. She is as bad at estimating as I am, but I was fairly sure we had reached at least a thousand.  Most of the people were dressed in hoodies, as was this really cute and well-behaved dog (named Riley) pictured below.

People were holding signs ranging from, “Justice for Trayvon Martin” with his face on it to “AM I NEXT?” to “Hoodies and Skittles don’t kill people.  People with GUNS do!”  and many others besides.

The mood was angry and upset, of course, but there was also a sense of fierce determination that Trayvon’s death would not go quietly into the night.  As many of the speakers noted, Trayvon was by far the first to be killed for existing while black, but we had the opportunity to try and make sure he is one of the last.

Some speakers spoke of social media and how none of this (coordinated rallies around the country) would be possible without it.  Others mentioned how hard it was on the black family and the black community in general to have their men constantly being viewed as eternally suspicious.

The crowd kept growing and growing as the night went on.  We were packed in the middle of a burgeoning crowd, and it did my heart good to see all those Minnesotans out on a chilly Thursday night, rallying to support a teenager who had been killed in the race wars of America, yes, but also rallying to change our country in general.

A guy from Occupy Minneapolis spoke and did his mic check, but I must admit I tuned out.  Later on, a woman from Occupy the Hood spoke, too, as well as two reverends, a few poets, and a couple students.

The energy was amazing, and I kept seeing more and more people every time I looked.  I found out after later that the police estimated 5,500 people attended.  FIVE THOUSAND PEOPLE!  I can believe it after seeing the crowd, but how awesome is that?

People were passionate, but peaceful.  Kat, Kitten, and I had to leave after the speakers because Kitten hadn’t eaten dinner yet and it was nearly her bedtime, but we watched as the people started marching around the Plaza.   The picture below is not great, but if you click on it and make it bigger, you can kinda see how big the crowd was.

We gathered last night for a heartbreaking reason – the death of Trayvon Martin, a young, black boy who was killed and died way before his time.  I cried during some of the speeches, but I also laughed, cheered, and hollered during others.  The main message I got was that we can’t let this be a one-night rally.  We have to continue pressing on for justice for Trayvon and for a change in our criminal system in its entirety as well.

I left feeling energized and determined to continue focusing on Trayvon Martin until he receives justice.  If only half the people who attended the rally continue to do something for Trayvon, as Kitten said last night, that’s still a whole lot of people.   My Angry Black Readers know my mantra by now – when we stick together, we win.  Let’s stick together and make sure Trayvon is never forgotten.

Bonus pic of me looking suspicious in my hoodie and shades.

I find myself singing this song a lot these days.

You’re welcome.

Open Thread!

***We’re moving to The Raw Story on Monday, but all my archives will remain here.  Do join us at our new digs! I have no idea what the URL will be, but there will be a redirect page here.

 And check out my new logo!

And donate to my fundraiser!

Presented without Comment…

…or a Special Comment.

@KeithOlbermann I can teach you WordPress if you want.

— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) March 30, 2012

Today is Land Day in Israel/Palestine, a memorial day commemorating the March 30, 1976 deaths of six Palestinian-Israelis, killed while protesting Israel’s practice of expropriating Palestinian-Israeli land.

Since then, Palestinians both inside and outside of Israel-proper have marked March 30 as a day on which to protest not just issues concerning land within Israel’s internationally-recognized borders, but also Israel’s generally discriminatory practices toward its Palestinian citizens, and the occupation/settlements.

So far (1:45 pm, CST) one protester, Mahmoud Zaqout, has been killed in Gaza, but at least one other person has been critically injured by Israeli fire, so it’s likely that the number of dead will rise by at least one. Many others have been injured and/or detained.

Such a day seems a particularly good day to run Billy Bragg’s “The World Turned Upside Down,” about a 17th century land protest.

There are, of course, myriad differences between any and all 17th century realities and those of our century, and certainly between that of peasants claiming land for common use in England, and a nationalist war over a scrap of land in the Middle East. Indeed, the Diggers of whom Billy sings would likely not have begun to know what to do with the notion of nationalism, an idea born in the late 19th century.

Never mind. Some words, some ideas, some suffering is, in fact, universal, and carries down through the ages. And the echoes are frighteningly close to what we still see today, nearly 500 years later.

May this Land Day be the last, and may Israelis and Palestinians alike soon know peace and justice, amen amen.

In 1649
To St. George’s Hill,
A ragged band they called the Diggers
Came to show the people’s will
They defied the landlords
They defied the laws
They were the dispossessed reclaiming what was theirs

….

From the men of property
The orders came
They sent the hired men and troopers
To wipe out the Diggers’ claim
Tear down their cottages
Destroy their corn
They were dispersed
But still the vision lingers on

full lyrics;What is Fridays with Billy?

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

This makes me hate people.

Anna Brown had visited several hospitals complaining of pain in her legs. When she was ignored at St. Mary’s Hospital, she refused to leaved, screaming and yelling that she was in pain. The hospital had her arrested. The police dragged her out of the hospital and into a squad car. At the Richmond Heights Police Department, she cried that she couldn’t stand up or get out of the car, so the officers dragged her out of the car, into a jail cell, and left her there.

Fifteen minutes later she was dead from a pulmonary embolism:

RICHMOND HEIGHTS • Anna Brown wasn’t leaving the emergency room quietly.

She yelled from a wheelchair at St. Mary’s Health Center security personnel and Richmond Heights police officers that her legs hurt so badly she couldn’t stand.

She had already been to two other hospitals that week in September, complaining of leg pain after spraining her ankle.

This time, she refused to leave.

A police officer arrested Brown for trespassing. He wheeled her out in handcuffs after a doctor said she was healthy enough to be locked up.

Brown was 29. A mother who had lost custody of two children. Homeless. On Medicaid. And, an autopsy later revealed, dying from blood clots that started in her legs, then lodged in her lungs.

She told officers she couldn’t get out of the police car, so they dragged her by her arms into the station. They left her lying on the concrete floor of a jail cell, moaning and struggling to breathe. Just 15 minutes later, a jail worker found her cold to the touch.
Officers suspected Brown was using drugs. Autopsy results showed she had no drugs in her system.

Six months later, family members still wonder how Brown’s sprained ankle led to her death in police custody, and whether anyone — including themselves — is to blame.

There seems to be no simple answer.

St. Mary’s officials say they did all they were supposed to do for Brown. Richmond Heights police said they trusted a doctor who said she was fit for jail.

Brown’s mother, Dorothy Davis, isn’t sure what to think.

“If the police killed my daughter, I want to know,” she said. “If the hospital is at fault, I want to know. I want to be able to tell her children why their mother isn’t here.”

Davis also faults the St. Louis County Family Court, which she said forced her into a heartbreaking dilemma after the state took away Brown’s children on a claim of neglect. Davis could take in her grandchildren or her daughter, a judge said, but not both.

“I’m mad at myself because if I hadn’t listened to the courts, she would still be here,” Davis said. “If she had been here at this house, she would be here today.”

(read the rest and watch the video of her arrest)

They did all they were “supposed” to do for her.  Not all they could do for her.  Horrific.

Just in case the past three weeks of the Trayvon Martin affair hasn’t demonstrated exactly how invaluable black lives are to some people, Anna Brown should cement the notion. She was profiled, deemed to be a drug seeker, and cast aside as if she were irrelevant; dragged away from life-saving care to her death on a cold floor in jail, in the same way that the Sanford Police Department left Trayvon Martin face down in the grass while they tried to figure out how to absolve George Zimmerman of blame.

Somebody should make Scalia watch this video.  Anna Browns will be de rigueur should the ACA be repealed.  It’s unfathomable.

*** See Youth Revolutionary Council for action items.

[via SandraRose]