Set your DVRs and Tivos for Wednesday and Thursday night as Soledad O' Brien gives a ranging view of what it means to be Black in America. The program starts each night at 8 P.M. Central. I'll have a review of the show up at Dallas South on Wednesday morning. I will say that I enjoyed the presentation very much and on Wednesday I'll let you know why I think everyone should see this special report.

Some of you may remember that the issue of tasers aka stun guns has been a hot topic at Dallas South in the past. Last December, the Dallas Morning News reported the details of a Waxahachie man (African-American) who was tasered by police after calling 911 (in April of '07) for help with a diabetic seizure. Well there have been more cases of taser abuse across the nation as of late, and Howard Witt of the Chicago Tribune details another such instance. In his article Taser death ignites racial tension, Witt chronicles an incident that occurred in a small Louisiana town. At 1:28 p.m. last Jan. 17, Baron "Scooter" Pikes was a healthy 21-year-old man. By 2:07 p.m., he was dead. What happened in the 39 minutes in between--during which Pikes was handcuffed by local police and shocked nine times with a Taser device, while reportedly pleading for mercy--is now spawning fears of a political cover-up in this backwoods Louisiana lumber town infamous for backroom dealings. Even more ominously, because Pikes was black and the officer who repeatedly Tasered him is white, racial tensions over the case are mounting in a place that's just 40 miles from Jena, La. Jena is ...

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday Nancy Pelosi had some choice words for the President. "God bless him, bless his heart, president of the United States -- a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject," Pelosi told Blitzer. I guess Speaker Pelosi doesn't realize that a well placed "her" "hers" and "Speaker of the House" could be substituted in that sentence if Congress doesn't change courses in the very near future. It was all good when she and her party were in the minority, but now that they hold an advantage in both Houses of Congress. As a matter of fact I'd like to revise her comments a bit. The President has LOST all credibility on the subjects that she mentioned. It's Congress that continues to lose credibility every daily. President Bush is a lame duck to put it mildly.  I can get with Obama using Bush as a punchline but Ms. Pelosi needs to move beyond that.  It's time to offer solutions not critiques.

Does anyone else miss Lauryn Hill as much as I do? Here are some other Old School Friday joints. Electronic Village - Fresh And Fab - Kim - Ms Grapevine -Quick -Marcus LANGFORD - Cassandra - Danielle - iriegal -Hagar's Daughter - Lisa C -Chocl8t - DP - Dallassouth - Kreative Talk -Marvalus One - Regina - Clnmike - Vivrant Thing -AJ ...

I'd like to introduce another voice to Dallas South - and its a good one. Please welcome Jazzy, our newest guest blogger who I hope will drop by once a week. Jazzy publishes the blog Because I Said So so make sure you check out her site. Thanks J for agreeing to share your thoughts. By Jazzy Which comes first my womanhood or my blackness? This is a debate that I have had within myself since my sophomore year in college. A debate that I discuss often among my friends. Can you be a woman of color and differing ethnicity and separate these traits from your womanhood or must one take precedent above the other. I remember reading the Invisible Man in college and often felt invisible myself and wondered who if anyone has so eloquently written the story of the invisible black woman. Who do I belong to first? Who am I? Who needs me the most: the black community or women? I have come to the conclusion for me the two are inseparable. I am not one without the other; my womanhood is shaped by my race. I am unable to ...

by Earnest Gates We are beginning to embark upon a series of centennials for Black organizations. If the founders of these organizations could have looked 100 years into the future and see what we see now, they would have closed their doors and accepted second class citizenship. Look where we are today. The goal of the civil rights movement and movements before that one was not integration, it was equal opportunity and equal rights. The goal was not just to be able to go where White people can go and stay where White people can stay. Does integration mean come and join me and shut down what you have? Of course, it doesn't. In many ways "Black America" is worse off now than it was back then. Look at the number of Black men that are incarcerated, on parole or on probation. Look at the Black family today. Sometimes I wonder if there are people who are Black who benefit from Black misery. We can not afford to wait another 100 years. Hell, in 100 years we may not even exist! It is either now or never. There is no waiting until tomorrow.

Washington, D.C. – (July 15, 2008) Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson will hold panel discussions on wrongful convictions and DNA exonerations this Saturday, July 19. The event will consist of two discussion panels, one featuring three Texas exonerees and one featuring Michigan Congressman John Conyers, state Senator Rodney Ellis, District Attorney Craig Watkins and Jeff Blackburn of the Innocence Project of Texas. The discussions will be moderated by Judge John Creuzot.   Texas has more wrongful convictions proven by DNA evidence than any other state in the country, and of the 32 in the state, 19 were overturned in Dallas County.     A press conference will immediately precede the first discussion.     What: Panel Discussion: Wrongful Convictions and DNA Exonerations   Date: Saturday, July 19     Time: 4:00 – 4:15 PM – Press Conference 4:15 – 5:00 PM – Panel One – Discussion featuring three Dallas exonorees 5:00 – 6:00 PM – Panel Two – Discussion featuring Michigan Congressman John Conyers, State Senator Rodney Ellis, District ...

For months I've championed Mozilla's Firefox as my internet browser of choice. So you can imagine how excited I was when I read an article in USA Today touting Window Snyder's role in the release of Mozilla's Firefox 3 Web Browser. Read "Geek" girl helps keep Mozilla safe in scary times Snyder serves as Chief of Security for Mozilla, though her official title is chief security something-or-other which is displayed on her business card. Here are some highlights from the USA Today article: In setting out to elevate Firefox's basic security, Snyder is also compelling Microsoft and Apple, maker of the Safari browser, to follow her lead — or get out of the way. "The fun is in deconstructing where the security holes are," Snyder, 32, says with a wry smile and knowing laugh. But don't let her youthful facade fool you. Snyder's career path includes co-founding a security company and consultant work at At Stake, which was sold to Symantec for $49 million in 2004. Dave Goldsmith, who as president of Matasano Security has worked with Snyder in various capacities, calls her an "online security rock star." Adds Eva Chen, CEO and co-founder of security company Trend Micro: "It's gratifying to see other women ...

Some of you may have noticed that along with the new look Dallas South has a new comment tool called Intense Debate.  This allows for threads within a comment where you can reply directly to someone's original comment. Even if you don't comment you can vote on a comment left by another reader with thumbs up or thumbs down.  Eventually we will be able to see who the group feels is contributing the most to the discussion. Just something a little different, we'll see how it goes.