DWTS New Season Celebrities

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A boxing great, a model who survived an Indian Ocean tsunami and a grown-up "Karate Kid" will be hoofing it on the 12th season of "Dancing With the Stars."  "Dancing" hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke announced next season's line-up on ABC's "The Bachelor".


Former welterweight champ Sugar Ray Leonard, model Petra Nemcova and Ralph Macchio of the hit 1984 karate movie will be among 11 celebrity contestants.  Also hitting the dance floor will be Kirstie Alley; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward; professional wrestler Chris Jericho; "Loveline" radio show co-host 'Psycho' Mike Catherwood; one-time rap prodigy Romeo (former Lil' Romeo); Chelsea Kane of Disney Channel's "Jonas"; talk show host Wendy Williams and reality star Kendra Wilkinson.

The DWTS show returns March 21 on ABC.


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• Sugar Ray Leonard to Hoof It on 'Dancing' Series (abcnews.go.com)
• Four sports stars to be on new DWTS (msn.foxsports.com)
• It's Sugar Ray Leonard vs. 'Karate Kid' and others on 'Dancing With the Stars' (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Falsely Imprisoned 18 Years-Denied Compensation

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Wrongly convicted, Anthony Graves spent 18 years in Texas prison, 14 of which he spent on Death row. The prosecutor's office decided to dismiss the murder charges they originally filed sgainst Graves, instead of retrying him all over again and finding him innocent.  That decision and two missing words caused Anthony Graves $1.4 million dollars in compensation.

The words "actual innocence" were not included in the judge's order that secured Graves' release from prison.Thus, the Comptroller's office decided the omission means that Graves gets zero dollars even though the prosecutor, judge and defense all agreed at trial Graves is innocent. Texas Governor Rich Perry says Graves is not eligible for a pardon because he is no longer accused or convicted of any crime.

Burleson County District Attorney William Parham "declined to sign an order asking District Judge Reva Towslee Corbett to amend Graves' order of release to include the words 'actual innocence'. If Graves sues the state of Texas in civil court, tort laws there limit any compensation to $200,000.

The state of Texas has paid more thsn $30 million dollars to 67 wrongfully imprisoned Texans. Although $1.4 million dollars would not ake up for the loss of freedon for most of his adult life, Anthony Graves should be the 68th wrongly imprisoned person compensated according to the state's formula.

Related articles

• Judge's bias blocked his compensation, Graves says (chron.com)
• Texas man wrongly put away for 18 years after legal glitch (thegrio.com)
• Perry: Graves deserves restitution (chron.com)
• Actual Fairness? Missing Words Mean Big Loss For Exoneree (blogs.wsj.com)

Borders Files Bankruptcy

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The Borders Group, iconic bookstore chain, founded in 1971 by brothers Tom and Louis Borders, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization Wednesday morning, weighed down by more than $1 billion debt and unable to navigate rapid changes in consumer behavior. The Ann Arbor, Mich., company said in court filings that it will close about 30 percent of its more than 600 stores, including several in the Washington region. Thousands of employees will lose their jobs.

"This is the biggest bankruptcy in the history of the book business," said Albert Greco, senior researcher at the Institute for Publishing Research. "This is really a depressing day."

Michael Rosenwald, staff writer, The Washington Post writes:

Borders' problems have been mounting for years.

Analysts say it made numerous mistakes: outsourcing its e-book business to arch-competitor Amazon.com for years; a costly overseas expansion; and an expensive stock buyback program that rewarded shareholders but left the company low on cash as changes in book buying behavior mounted.

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• Borders files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (marketwatch.com)
• Borders Bankruptcy Filing: It's Official (blippitt.com)
• Chapter 11 for Borders, New Chapter for Books (online.wsj.com)

Coach Gives Player the Gift of Life

Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter donated his kidney to one of his players. Kevin Johnson, freshman outfielder, suffered from a disease that can lead to kidney failure. None of his family members matched and could not give him a kidney. Both Walter and Johnson are recovering from surgery at Emory University Medical Center in Atlanta.

In a time when the media focuses on the negative, Walter should be applauded for this incredible gesture. He takes the meaning of family and teamwork to a whole new level.

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Whoopi Goldberg Blasts the NY Times

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Did you notice that there were zero black acting nominees for the Oscars this year?

The New York Times did an article on the subject entitled “Hollywood’s Whiteout”, in which they discussed the very small amount of winners over the years. They listed most of the previous winners …except for Whoopi Goldberg.

This morning , in response to a question from Barbara Walters, Whoopi expressed her deep hurt at the omission and accused them of sloppy journalism.

 "it was 70 years between Hattie McDaniel, the first black woman to win, and me. "

The Times responded by saying their intent was to spotlight the lack of diversity of this year’s nominees and they never intended to mention all the winners. (There were thirteen African American winners.)  I understand why Whoopi is upset and maybe she does she have a right to be angry. But, with all due respect to Whoopi Goldberg, the question to focus on is why no African American talent nominated this year and why only thirteen awards in all these year.  Think back on the great movie "The Color Purple".  Eleven nominations for academy awards and none given.  Come on Hollywood, you should be ashamed.

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• Whoopi Goldberg slams New York Times for Oscar 'snub' (guardian.co.uk)
• Whoopi Goldberg Criticizes New York Times Again (huffingtonpost.com)
• Whoopi Goldberg Attacks 'New York Times' for Oscar Snub; Did She Misread the Article? (okmagazine.com)
• Whoopi Goldberg Livid Over Inaccurate New York Times Oscars Article (popcrunch.com)
• Manohla Dargis: Whoopi's 'Perceived Slight' Misses the Point (observer.com)

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

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I first heard talk on "The View" and then I read an article from a blog in the Nation Magazine on line.  The subject was Amy Chua's book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. The material about the pressures mothers' place on kids to succeed sounded familiar.  The author is Chinese, but the situation is relived in families of any ethnic background. Mothers everywhere worry about how to be the best possible parent to ensure your children a happy life in their future.

  The question seems to be can kids be happy now moving at their own pace or should they be pushed in order to ensure a successful future...and if so, how much pushing is enough.  As a parent, I made my decision to follow in my mother's footsteps and I made every effort I could to push my children on the path to success.  I'm comfortable with my decisions, some good and some not so good.  You only go around once, so do what you think is best with the information you have each day. hopefully, you'll find comfort in those decisions.

There are related articles listed below that will provide more information on this debate.

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• "Tiger Mother" Amy Chua Defends Herself to Stephen Colbert [Video] (tv.gawker.com)
• 'Chinese Tiger Mother' Amy Chua -- Is Her Parenting a Form of Child Abuse? (politicsdaily.com)
• The battle hymn of the befuddled parent (cbc.ca)
• Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother (npr.org)
• Does Science Support the Punitive Parenting of "Tiger Mothering"? (scientificamerican.com)

Essence Celebrates Black Women

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"Tall ones, short ones, black ones, brown ones...I like the girls"  Remember that song?  Well what about this one..."she's a bad mamma jamma".  Songs like these remind us that women come in all shapes, sizes and hues, but all of them are beautiful.

Essence Magazine did a tribute to thirty Black Women in a recent issue.  When I first became aware of the tribute, I couldn't wait to see who would be featured. Would you believe it if I told you I looked for my name and photo as soon as I found the material?  Okay, stop laughing!

Reviewing the photos, I took a trip down memory lane.  I went from Pam Grier to Dorothy Dandridge, from Jayne Kennedy to Lauryn Hill, and from Josephine Baker to Eryka Badu. Photos of the First Lady, Michelle Obama mixed with Susan Taylor, Lena Horne, Whitney Houston, and Beyonce. Florence Griffith Joyner, Sade, Iman, Leslie Uggams and Phylicia Rashad...the names and faces spanned the years.  Each was unique and beautiful in her own way. It was a great way to spend sometime in reflection during Black History Month.

Most Disliked NFL Players

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Well, it's that time again.  Football fans are ready for the biggest game of the season. In the midst of Super Bowl XLV fever, I read an interesting article listing the most disliked NFL players.  Okay, first make your pick for the top 4 in this category.  Take your time...you know this is really important (not).

Yahoo Sports News detailed the results of a poll by the Hollywood Reporter that listed my pick for number one actually ranked number four.  I couldn't believe Ben Roethlisberger trailed behind Brett Favre, Michael Vick and Tom Brady.

Read the article below about people hating Brady. Then, go figure it all out.

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• Tom Brady: How Do People Hate Brady (bleacherreport.com)

Meet the New Ms America: Tracy Broughton

After being abducted as a small girl, losing her mother to cancer and spending over a decade in a wheelchair, Tracy Broughton has had a life crammed with adversity.


She’s been paralysed and wheelchair-bound twice and has raised twin boys as a single mother while also modelling, working with charities and running a legal aid business.

But the 36-year-old’s incredible resolve and determination has now been officially recognised with the award of the Ms America 2011 title.

A big sister of sorts to the Miss America pageant, entrants in the Ms America competition are all 26 and above and have no restrictions on their marital status.

The pageant’s mission statement is to ‘empower women across the nation and around the world’ and now Ms Broughton has been selected as the latest woman to don the crown.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1352226/Mother-spent-11-years-wheelchair-crowned-Ms-America.html#ixzz1ClvLISfS