By Shawn Williams Everyday there's a new Republican rumored as a potential Presidential candidate and today it's Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. This post will be short, because there is really only one reason why Rep. Paul Ryan will not seek the Republican nomination for President in 2012. Still I went with three so indulge me. 1. The Garfield Effect The only sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives to be elected President was James A. Garfield in 1880. Only two other sitting members (Henry Clay, 1824 and John Anderson, 1980) have run in general elections. Anderson ran as an independent. (Source: Office of the Clerk - U.S. House) Even then, Garfield was U.S. Senator Elect from Ohio. It's hard enough for Senators to move from Congress to the White House. Before President Obama was elected in 2008, John F. Kennedy and Warren G. Harding were the only sitting U.S. Senators elected President. Had Republicans nominated a viable governor in 2008, President Obama would have been in trouble. 2. America hates losers One of the reason so many Republican star candidates won't run in 2012 is because Presidential losers have a hard time coming back. There are very few ...

The Wire (TV ONE) RENOWNED BLACK RELIGIOUS LEADER APPEARS ON “WASHINGTON WATCH WITH ROLAND MARTIN” SUNDAY, MAY 15 AT 11 AM ET ON TV ONE Roland Martin: Rev. Franklin Graham has made some comments on several occasions as recently as three weeks ago really questioning, if you will, the faith of the President. He said the President has told him he’s a Christian, but he basically said that going to church does not make you a Christian. But the President is on record as saying that he walked down that aisle, he gave his life to Christ, so what do you say to folks like Rev. Graham who, frankly, are muddying the water but other people who are questioning the Christianity of this President? Bishop T.D. Jakes: I find it insulting. We didn’t question the Christianity of President Bush when he said he accepted Christ, and I’m disappointed in Rev. Franklin Graham in that regard. I wish he had the diplomacy of his father, who brought the gospel to people without being nuanced by politics because when you do those things you offend people that you are actually called to save and to serve. And I would hope that he would see the ...

The Wire [caption id="attachment_5309" align="alignright" width="140" caption="Rev. Anthony Evans"][/caption] The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), a faith-based coalition of 34,000 churches comprised of 15 denominations and 15.7 million African Americans, strongly supports the class action lawsuit brought forth by female Walmart employees.  This case represents the largest class action gender lawsuit in history and highlights Walmart's systemic discriminatory practices. Lawyers for women suing the nation's largest retailer built their case on affidavits from more than 100 workers and a statistical model showing that, while women make up 80% of the company's hourly workers, they account for only 30% of its managers. They allege pay discrepancies, unequal promotion policies and a male-dominated management.  NBCI abhors discrimination in any form and stands by these women to seek justice. As a national organization committed to eradicating racial disparities, we reached out to Walmart to create a strategic partnership.  As a corporate giant, Walmart has the resources and scope to enact real change nationwide and we were eager to enact programming to benefit African Americans. Unfortunately, we came to discover that Walmart's priority was to brutally crush competition and exploit their workers, especially minority women.  We refuse to partner with an organization whose commitment to their employees and the ...

From Rep. Rangel's office "This is an exciting new experience for me," said Congressman Charles B. Rangel, as he welcomed a core group of bloggers who joined the 21st-term lawmaker in his first-ever bloggers' conference call, on March 8, 2011, Tuesday evening at 8PM ET. "Things are changing every day, and the Congress can't do all that it wants to, especially being in the minority. It's going to take more than Congress -- people like you who has an interest in the country, who can talk with the community," said Rangel. "This is also very helpful to me to see what you're thinking, what my constituents are thinking, and that makes me a better representative." Moderated by Beth Becker, a leader of the progressive movement in the blogging community, the Bloggers' Conference Call was Congressman Rangel's newest attempt to address and champion progressive solutions to our country's problems during these challenging times by working with online activists and bloggers. Participants asked a series of questions, ranging from those concerning the "Republican war on State employees" and collective bargaining, to torture and U.S. foreign policy on Haiti. When asked about his primary goal in Congress, Rangel replied: "Right now, if I had to name one thing ...

The Wire Michael Baisden's attorneys, Daryl K. Washington and Aubrey "Nick" Pittman, announced on Monday, a jury in Houston Federal Court reached a verdict in the copyright lawsuit filed by nationally syndicated radio and TV personality Michael Baisden.  The mixed verdict allows for the return of Baisden's copyrighted rights and allows the best-selling author to proceed with upcoming movie and television projects. In the lawsuit, Baisden claimed damages from past conduct of I'm Ready Productions and Image Entertainment for the unauthorized distribution of DVD's based on two of his best-selling novels. According to Baisden's attorneys, I'm Ready Productions filed a counterclaim against Baisden seeking compensation related to a movie based on one of Baisden's best-sellers that Baisden had originally planned to write and produce. According to the original lawsuit, I'm Ready argued that it had all rights to the stage-play versions of Baisden's best sellers, The Maintenance Man and Men Cry in the Dark.  Documents filed in the case also showed that I'm Ready Productions was marketing movie rights to these best sellers and entered into an agreement with Image Entertainment to do a film from one of the stageplays.  In earlier arguments to the Court, the Court rejected I'm Ready's arguments that ...

The Wire A trial date has been set in a lawsuit filed by best-selling author and nationally syndicated radio and TV personality Michael Baisden. Documents filed in the lawsuit allege that Defendants I'm Ready Productions, Inc., Image Entertainment, Inc., ALW Entertainment, Inc., Je'Caryous Johnson and Gary Guidry conspired to tour a stage-play without Baisden's permission and sold DVD's based on Baisden's best-selling novels, The Maintenance Man and Men Cry in the Dark, in violation of the Federal copyright laws. The lawsuit also alleges that I'm Ready Productions and Image Entertainment made millions of dollars using Baisden's name, likeness and popularity to sell the DVD's by implying that he was involved in, or endorsed, the distribution.  Baisden did not authorize the sale of the DVD's. "This is my day in court in my fight to recover my intellectual property rights and prevent these Defendants from continuing to infringe upon my copyrighted novels," said Michael Baisden.  "These novels are like my children.  They reflect years of hard work in writing them and promoting them to the level where they became best sellers.  In the end, I hope I can also send a message to other copyright holders that they have a right to take a stand ...

From The Wire Wiley College will celebrate Religious Emphasis Week February 7-11, 2011, with a slate of community worship services and activities that will be led by three prominent clergypersons, Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., Reverend Otis Moss, III, and Minister Vanessa Winbush Gatlin. Each speaker’s presentation will be inspired by the week’s scripture-focused theme, “The Cross- The Power and Purpose Behind our Praise and Worship.” This theme is based on the scripture 1 Corinthians 1:18, “The teaching about the cross seems foolish to those who are lost. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” All events will take place in the Julius S. Scott, Jr. Chapel unless otherwise noted. Religious Emphasis Week will open Monday night at 6:30 p.m. with a sermon by The Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., who is often called one of America’s most influential religious leaders. Theologian, pastor, and civic leader, Dr. Moss is also one of America’s most sought-after public speakers. Dr. Moss earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in 1956, his Masters of Divinity degree from the Morehouse School of Religion and Interdenominational Theological Center ...

This gets funnier everytime I see it.  Not his ignorance of the internet, because I didn't learn about "internet" until 1995.  It's just funny how far we've come in such a short period of time.

The Wire Readers of The Root.com have already weighed in on their opinions of President Barack Obama just in time for his State of the Union adddress tonight. The Root.com recently released the results of its extensive reader survey gauging how people assess President Obama's achievements, exactly two years after he took office. With more than 400 respondents identifying themselves as African-American, the results bring about a clearer picture than ever before of the African-American opinion of Barack Obama, as well as shine a light on the sharp divide between respondents of different races on how they view Obama and the overall racial climate in the country. Some of the survey findings and data snapshots include: OVERALL LEADERSHIP Solid majorities of both blacks (89%) and whites (74%) rated his leadership as either "very effective" or "somewhat effective." Still, 23% of whites rated the Obama's leadership as either "somewhat" or "very" ineffective, versus 8% of blacks. 75% of blacks and 62% of whites said that Obama was addressing their needs. 29% of whites said that he was not, compared with just 15% of blacks. MEDIA AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF OBAMA The media had a stronger impact on how whites see President Obama, compared with blacks. 65% of ...

From The Wire Delino DeShields, Jr released the following statement after being arrested for Driving Under the Influence on Sunday Morning. "I take the responsibility of being a role model seriously and apologize to my fans and community, who continue to support my family and I during this unfortunate incident. I look forward to putting this matter behind me and sincerely appreciate the respect of privacy during this personal matter."