Vanessa: Unplugged!

Bill Press on Newt Gingrich: He's Not a Great Debater [VIDEO]

Here is a video of Bill Press guest hosting the Countdown with Keith Olbermann Show. So, a CNN producer warmed up the crowd at the presidential debate in Charleston, SC. encouraging the audience to make as much noise as possible as if the debate was The Jerry Springer Show? Shame on CNN. 

You know it really doesn’t matter who the Republican presidential nominee is, President Obama will clean their clock. 

 

 

Great Discovery: The Ministry of Marcos Witt

Two days ago I didn’t know who Marcos Witt was. Never heard the name or anything about him. First of all, I don’t know how the television came to be on that particular channel at that time, but there was this guy speaking in Spanish and I recognized the Lakewood Church rotating globe in the background.

The guy was good. I didn’t understand EVERY word he said but he was speaking slowly enough that I knew it wasn’t the Cuban Spanish I’m accustomed to hearing. I called one of my co-workers over because surely she knew who this guy was, he was too good for him to not be super famous, right? But she didn’t know him either. She translated the parts I didn’t understand and then his name popped up on the bottom of the television screen --- Marcos Witt.

Of course I Googled him and found out more about him. He is the pastor of the Spanish speaking congregation of Lakewood and that already numbers about 40,000. Witt is American but was raised in Mexico with his Christian missionary parents and siblings. He is also a Latin Grammy Award-winning entertainer and that is apparent in the delivery of his sermon. He knows how to connect with people even in a foreign language. He has the gift.  

With the Spanish speaking population in the United States continuing to grow, Joel Osteen was smart in selecting Marcos Witt to lead Lakewood's Spanish-speaking congregation. I look forward to watching more of Witt in action. You may want to check him out also; even if you don’t speak Spanish, you’ll understand.

 

Related Links:
Marcos Witt
Lakewood Church

 

The Successful Launch of OWN --- the Oprah Winfrey Network [VIDEO]

 
OK, Oprah Winfrey is my hero --- for real. Her amazing risk to start a new television network and not rest on her talk show laurels has garnered another win. This new network is fabulous. It’s the Church of Oprah 24/7 and that’s not a bad thing especially since so many people watch FOX-News. OWN is the antidote. Yeah, I went there.

The Behind the Scenes show is predictable but still interesting to watch. Some of the other entries on the OWN  schedule: searching for; Kidnapped by the Kids; Enough Already with Peter Walsh and Miracle Detectives are also nice but by far my favorite is Master Class. The first subject/teacher interviewed was Jay-Z and I have to tell you I was impressed. So impressed that I’ve seen it twice and probably on my way to seeing it again.

I know Jay-Z is a music icon; super rich and married to Beyonce. Beyond that, I’ve not been much of a fan. I do like his song “Hard Knock Life.” Since Oprah’s Master Class, I definitely respect Jay-Z. He is a personification of the result of the 10,000-hour theory discussed in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, “Outliers.” This young man, no different from someone like Tiger Woods, started early in mastering his craft. With a boom box purchased by his mom and a semi-handcrafted notebook given to him by an aunt, Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, learned the power of words.

Now, I figure that there are more Jay-Z’s caught up in America’s public housing system; public school system and the penal system. With proper focusing of talent, these young people may be able to transcend poverty and other societal ills if given the opportunity.

Jay-Z made so many profound statements during this hour-long show. He talked of the future of hip-hop; failure and success; goal setting and the power of music to combat racism among many subjects. It will be difficult for anyone to follow Jay-Z in the Master Class series and have the impact that he did. I read Twitter and Facebook comments about his episode and many viewers were impressed.

Some will likely complain that Oprah is too preachy and caters to whites but Oprah is just being Oprah. Everyone should have a purpose in Life and be true to him or herself. Oprah is a brilliant woman. Her messages are positive and most of the time transcend race to show the humanness and sameness in all of us. She knows her audience and knows the formula that works. With the everyday American citizen still reeling from the economy and other challenges, a little Oprah is good and a lot of Oprah is what we need. There is power in words and when combined with action, allows us to overcome anything. Thank you, Oprah. I am grateful to experience my OWN channel during my lifetime. To God be the glory. Now let the Church say Amen.

 

Related Links:

The Official Website of the Oprah Winfrey Network/OWN

Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers: The Story of Success"

 

© 2006-2011, Vanessa: Unplugged!, All Rights Reserved

Tancredo Does It Again and The Truth About La Raza

Former Colorado U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo ignited controversy here in Miami almost three years ago with his characterization of the area as a third world country. He made other statements that were far from complimentary and let's just say things got ugly. He's now surpassed that deed bycalling Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor a racist because she is a member of the Latino civil rights organization, La Raza. He went on to equate La Raza to the "KKK without the hoods or the nooses."

La Raza chief Janet Murguia disputed Tancredo's description of the organization and refuted his translation of the group's name and motto among other things.

The Translation of Our Name: National Council of La Raza

Many people incorrectly translate our name, "La Raza," as "the race." While it is true that one meaning of "raza" in Spanish is indeed "race," in Spanish, as in English and any other language, words can and do have multiple meanings. As noted in several online dictionaries, "La Raza" means "the people" or "the community." Translating our name as "the race" is not only inaccurate, it is factually incorrect. "Hispanic" is an ethnicity, not a race. As anyone who has ever met a Dominican American, Mexican American, or Spanish American can attest, Hispanics can be and are members of any and all races.

The term "La Raza" has its origins in early 20th century Latin American literature and translates into English most closely as "the people" or, according to some scholars, as "the Hispanic people of the New World." The term was coined by Mexican scholar José Vasconcelos to reflect the fact that the people of Latin America are a mixture of many of the world's races, cultures, and religions. Mistranslating "La Raza" to mean "the race" implies that it is a term meant to exclude others. In fact, the full term coined by Vasconcelos, "La Raza Cósmica," meaning the "cosmic people," was developed to reflect not purity but the mixture inherent in the Hispanic people. This is an inclusive concept, meaning that Hispanics share with all other peoples of the world a common heritage and destiny.

Tom Delay adds to the mayhem and foolishness and injects the name of LULAC. Hmmm...

While I Was Sleeping: Kris Allen Won American Idol?

What in the world happened last night? I intentionally missed the American Idol finale last night but I hadn't planned on sleeping through the evening. It was a foregone conclusion that Adam Lambert would be crowned winner so watching the show wasn't a big concern for me. I can’t say that I’ve paid very much attention to American Idol since Fantasia won but the finale is usually a great show.

Anyhoo, I was able to keep up with American Idol via highlights from my local FOX affiliate, WSVN-7. Lambert has an over the top style while Allen is understated.  I did like that other guy better. I think his name is Danny Gokey or something like that.

Lambert’s Goth-rock style complete with jet black eyeliner and big voice obviously didn’t cut it with the majority of the American Idol voters but don’t feel sorry for Adam Lambert; he and his big voice will do just fine.

I missed all of last night's performances and I usually like the guest performers. Oh, well; there’s always next year.

Jon Stewart Skewers Tea Bag Protests

Try as some folks might, no one is really fooled about the actual intent of last week's nationwide Tea Bag protests. Clearly, the protests were aimed at President Obama and not about his policies, so to speak. Some folks also tried to paint the effort as highly successful, which it was not.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Nationwide Tax Protests
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Roland Martin’s New Gig and My Top Ten Political Commentators

A couple of offline friends reminded me that I'd neglected to mention Roland Martin's new gig on CNN serving as host of "No Bias. No Bull." while Campbell Brown is on maternity leave.

It goes without saying that Martin is one of my favorite political commentators. Yeah, I probably should have written something about his new gig and to that I say, my bad. I do wish him the best in this new role (I really don't know how he has the energy for so many jobs.) although I'm not really feeling the Saturday night time slot that Martin is slated to get for his own show.

Anyhoo, the Roland Martin discussion got me to thinking about other folks that I like watching and listening to. I don't always agree with their opinion but I do like hearing what they have to say and the delivery of the logic behind their position. Here's my list of faves. Who's in your Top Ten?

My Top Ten Political Commentators

1. Rachel Maddow
2. Donna Brazile
3. David Gergen
4. Keith Olbermann
5. Roland Martin
6. Ed Schultz
7. Ed Rollins
8. Alex Castellanos
9. Jamal Simmons
10. Jeff Johnson

Robin Williams and the Presidential Elections

I've always like the comedy of Robin Williams. Even when he was Mork from Ork, his brilliance was evident. Here's just a taste of him in action on the Jay Leno Show.

Here's classic Mork and heyyyyy, The Fonz.

   

© 2008, Vanessa: Unplugged!, www.vanessabyers.net

Vote for this blog for Best Political Blog and for Best Blog Design in the 2008 Bloggers Choice Awards. 

   

Presidential Debate II: McCain – 0, “That One” - 2

John McCain could not have been a happy camper going into last night's debate with Barack Obama's growing lead in national polls and increasing projected lead in claiming states on the Electoral Map. McCain should have been looking forward to the town hall format because that's his specialty when reaching out to voters.

What actually occurred was more of an Obama smackdown than anything else. You can watch it for yourself but Obama was the clear winner and anyone who says otherwise is just kidding themselves and trying to kid you too.

McCain came across as an angry old man and Obama was, well, "too cool for school." It was actually a lot like watching Obama debate Hillary Clinton and her getting her panties in a bunch. You'd think the McCain folks would have learned that lesson already but obviously they haven't.

Senator McCain was not in control and performed as one would expect a rookie debater to do. He was condescending to Obama and a young black man in the audience who asked McCain a question. McCain insinuated the young man didn't know who Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were until recently. It was a dismissive comment and something I would expect to hear from someone who addresses almost everyone as "my friend".

McCain needed to win this debate to turn the tide rolling in Obama's favor. Perhaps he can change that over the next 27 days but I don't think so. His one trick strategy for the rest of the campaign is negativity.

 

© 2008, Vanessa: Unplugged!, www.vanessabyers.net

Vote for this blog for Best Political Blog and for Best Blog Design in the 2008 Bloggers Choice Awards.

   

Tina Fey Scores as Sarah Palin --- Again!

The folks over at SNL (Saturday Night Live) are on a roll with their political satire skits. No doubt Tina Fey will win all kinds of awards and accolades for her spot on portrayal of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Each week's skit seems better than the previous week. Last Saturday's opening skit was a parody of the vice-presidential debate with Queen Latifah joining the cast as Gwen Ifill. You're really missing out if you don't watch it all the way through to its conclusion. Enjoy.

   

   

© 2008, Vanessa: Unplugged!, www.vanessabyers.net

Vote for this blog for Best Political Blog and for Best Blog Design in the 2008 Bloggers Choice Awards.