The Melting Blog

Newsflash! Country Becoming Less White

In news that is sure to make pouty white people even poutier, Census Bureau estimates released today showed that there are more places around the country that have become "minority majority" enclaves -- since 2000 -- including that one place considered the last bastion for conservative whiteness in California: Orange County.

Denver and Orange County, Calif., as well as remote Yoakum County, Texas, and Barbour County, Ala., are among 26 counties where whites who are not Hispanic have lost their majority status since 2000. That's now the case in 280 of the nation's 3,141 counties, further evidence that diversity has spread.

It means more Americans may have to ask: Who's a minority?

"It's a moving target," says Robert Lang, head of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech. "The majority will be the minority and we'll relabel minorities the majority. It's just a matter of time."

Who is a minority indeed. This may be surprising for those folks who actually think Orange County, CA resembles anything like The OC portrayed on the boob tube (and is probably shocking for many L.A.'s westsiders as well who rarely venture east of the 405), but those of us who have lived down there know better. I spent a good chunk of my formative years behind the Orange Curtain -- I was an undergraduate at UC Irvine (sorry, can't work up the passion to cheer "go Anteaters!") -- and I can tell you that the campus was long ago a "minority majority" university, possibly the most colored in the entire country. It certainly was the most "yellow" by far, and whites comprise only 28 percent of the student body.

(Spare me the play on all the school's acronyms: University of Chinese Immigrants, University of Civics and Integras, and so on and so forth...I know 'em all.)

The university's demographics presaged the changes now coloring the rest of Orange County. By the time I graduated, the Asian American population alone was around 49 percent. Last I heard, it's over 50 percent of the student population, and has consistently hovered above that mark over the past decade. I imagine by the next decennial Census, OC's demographics will resemble UCI circa 1994.

Not that I'm rushing to move down there anytime soon. If wide, wide street lanes, flat suburban landscapes, and master-planned, multiplex entertainment centers are your thing (Dave & Buster's anyone?), then the OC might just be heavenly -- and I'm sure it is for many people. But this post-suburban, would-be paradise is all a bit too bland and "nerdistan" for me -- as my colleague Joel puts it. Furthermore, traffic congestion has inconceivably grown worse than anything in L.A. (locals call it the "Orange Crush") and housing prices now exceed anything found in San Francisco (median: $655.3K vs. $647.3K). Can you dig it? I can't.

More about Orange County's new demographics here.

UPDATE: Latino Pundit links to this story showing similar trends happening in Long Island, NY. It's the same story: a graying white population and emerging immigrant base. Amazingly, Nassau's white population actually shrank by 5 percent since 2000.

And The Feuding Continues

See what I mean?

"This whole situation is ridiculous," O'Neal told ESPN. "I never hang out with Kobe, I never hung around him. In the seven or eight years we were together, we were never together. So how this guy can think he knows anything about me or my business is funny. And one last thing — I'm not the one buying love. He's the one buying love."

Mark your calendars kids. Game One showdown since the trade between the Lakers and Miami Heat is Christmas Day on your local ABC station. Fireworks to ensue.

K-Mart's New Martha

As a part of its makeover to become more street-wise and hip, Kmart -- yeah, you heard right, that's Kmart -- is re-creating itself to appeal to a new urban generation. (I know, it's odd for me to see "hip" and "Kmart" in the same sentence too). In part, this strategy includes co-branding celeb-endorsed products -- including those diverse crews from The WB! Network, E! News Live, and Mexican crossover pop star, Thalia Sodi. As the article suggests, this spells possible doom for Martha Stewart's Westport brand -- the domestic maven's brand of household wares sold exclusively at the discount retailer.

Thalia, a sexy songbird and wife of music impresario Tommy Mottola, is also a centerpiece of the company's plans to reach new consumers. The Mexican singer appeals to the Hispanic and metropolitan markets that are increasingly important in Kmart's customer base.

She's still a tiny player when compared to Stewart's selling power, but Thalia's products have begun to encroach on the domestic diva's housewares turf.

The Thalia Sodi Collection not only includes apparel and perfume, it reaches to the home goods isle.

In the first 39 weeks after its 2003 introduction, Thalia's collection brought in $17 million in sales, according to Kmart documents. This year, the Thalia merchandise is on track to bring in about $100 million in revenue.

That's a fraction of Stewart's estimated $1.5 billion in sales from established consumers who are loyal to her rugs, sheets and towels. But Thalia's products are just beginning to spread across Kmart's stores.

"We initially tested the line in about 300 stores," a Kmart spokesman said. "It's been so successful we're expanding it to all our stores."

Meanwhile, the domestic diva's (Stewart's) staying power remains uncertain as she heads to prison to begin a five-month sentence for lying to investigators about selling ImClone stock.

But as Kmart launches the Thalia Sodi collection en masse, here's some news that should give them pause: Thalia's own magazine -- launched just this past April -- is already folding after three months in circulation. Sheesh, I could've saved Thalia's handlers a lot of money if they had first consulted with me. I mean, how are you going to convince a domestic female audience that Thalia is the next Martha Stewart? Does this look like the kind of woman who sits at home wearing her apron, arranging potpourri and baking brownies?

Of course not. She looks like she wants to party. Hence, her appeal rests with 18-34 year old men. It's red blooded American males, I tell ya. You gotta market Thalia to men! Beer, hot rods, fast food, Steven Seagal's next comeback film, deoderant -- she'd be an instant hit.

I know Mr. Mottola don't like that, but trust me on this one.

There's No Love In Shaq's House Tonight

I'm a *huge* Lakers fan, and was obviously agitated when they lost to the Pistons this year (though my clients in Detroit reveled: "That was the Lakers? I think they forgot to show up!" That's right, I had to endure smack talk from clients.). Since then, however, this drama-prone team has been broken up -- with Diesel headed down to hurricane country. It's just as well too -- because I don't think the team could have survived the latest revelation from the now-released Kobe files:

"Bryant made a comment to us about what another teammate does in situations like these," Winters wrote. "Bryant stated he should have done what Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) does. Bryant stated that Shaq would pay his women not to say anything. He stated Shaq has paid up to a million dollars already for situations like this. He stated he, Bryant, treats a woman with respect, therefore they shouldn't say anything."

In a closed court proceeding before the felony charge was dropped, Bryant's attorneys fought successfully to have the reference to O'Neal declared inadmissible at trial, according to a prosecution source.

Ugly. Almost as ugly as some of Kobe's, er, bedroom proclivities.

Good Reads

What do we really like around here? Well, we dig good reads. Here's some recent stuff that tickled TMB's fancy over the past week:

* From this past Sunday's L.A. Times: Pouty White People. Heh. Yeah, yeah, yeah -- I know the online registration thing is a royal pain in the ass. But just go and read it.

* Speaking of pouty people, the inimitable humorist (and a L.A. national treasure) Sandra Tsing Loh reviews two books in this month's Atlantic Monthly: The Bitch in the House and its companion volume The Bastard on the Couch -- and comes out sympathizing with the fellas! Not to be missed. Heck, while you're there, you might as well read James Fallows' chilling cover story too. Have I told you, I Can't Wait To Vote?

* Not to go stray even further OT than I already have, but this month's Vanity Fair piece on the seemingly odd pairing between the late Johnny Cash and his producer, Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin, is a wonderful study of contrasts. These two individuals might as well be from different planets, yet they struck an intimate friendship that resulted in the most prolific phase of the Man in Black's career (not to mention some of his most haunting tunes). Even if you're no fan of Johnny Cash's music, you can appreciate how the article captures the intruiging spiritual dimension of their partnership. The article's not online, but here's a snippet.

* MayaGate! Alan Keyes' daughter is apparently a "selfish hedonist" too... Modern Vertebrate has all the scintillating details.

* Lastly, this isn't a read, but go and view the Least Likely. Unbenownst to me, this was sponsored by an organization that I'm actually a part of. So imagine my surprise when I learned about it by catching this glossy, high falutin PSA spot promoting the "APIA Vote" on television. And it's for MTV's "Choose or Lose" campaign no less. Hey fellas, if we can pull this off, there's gotta be something we can do about the sorry website, no?

Adam Quan Followup

Okay folks, you can stop leaving comments over at Amazon for Adam Quan's "How To Date A White Woman." Judging by recent comments, all the bandwagoners are not nearly as funny as the earlier posters. Also, it appears that Amazon has eliminated many of the previous reader entries too -- so it's a good thing I included the choice ones for posterity's sake!

Having Fun With White Women

Ever since yellow-centric blogger Angry Asian Man noted this bizarre book (it's gotta be a joke, right?) -- "How To Date A White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men" by one Adam Quan -- it's generated some of the most hilarious, gut-busting comments in Amazon this side of the western blogosphere. Really, you gotta check out this hot piece of viral marketing. Here's some choice samples:

I date white women SUPER COOL!, September 16, 2004

Reviewer: William "Very" Hung (Ho-Yip BBQ Duck House, Canal St., New York City)

I buy book, is good. I reed but reed is not great, english of mine so-so. So, anyway I reed what I understand and maybe miss point, but I get black woman! SUPER COOL! I make mistake and end up doing surprise! You don't believe, but Adam Quan teach you how to dance in book too! Is real! Because I shake so good, black woman say "hey you! Asian! Come here and shake for me!". So now I am going to be baby daddy. I am happy for life! Thanks you Adam Quan!

Not quite sure., September 16, 2004

Reviewer: Mike LaCoss "Buffy" (Mustachia, FL)

The book is easy enough to comprehend, but it's hard trying to get your Asian girlfriend to sit still while you cover her with marshmallow paste.

oops! , September 16, 2004

Reviewer: aslan the lion! asian the llon!

oh, my mistake, i thought this was "how to drug a white woman." cause, you know, that was the only way i was able to get white women for the longest time. we asians got it rough. T.T

Why...why...why???, September 15, 2004

Reviewer: Alan -. New Visa "Fart Monstah" (in my bed)

Why you wan date white women? All they do is steal all you money. Drive you fancy car and take them dinner. Marry own kind and be happy. Like my borther William Hung says...SHe bang...she bang.

simply amazing., September 15, 2004

Reviewer: golden boy "golden boy" (korea town)

Well after years of being a total loser, my friends, who seem to get all the ladies, recommended Adam Quan's book to me... After chapter one titled "Stop being a loser", I knew this book would change my life 4ever. I promptly finished the book and before I knew it, I had white women all over me, even the red headed ones with freckles everywhere. Not only had I lost my virginity, I had so much sex I thought I had caught and std. Whew! that was close.

I learned from this book that the white woman, is the most prized possesion of minority men, and that all other women are not only useless, but just inferior to the white woman. And I also learned that the quote "that once you go white, you know it's all right." Isn't only the mantra of this book, but that is also rhymes.

thank you mr. quan. thank you for changing my life. thank you for changing this toad into a P- hound... Needless to say, thanks to Mr. Quan, I'm pretty bad....

Micheal Jackson Bad!!

It works!, September 15, 2004

Reviewer: Fairy Meat

I built the machine according to Mr. Quan's detailed instructions, spliced into the local power grid, and flipped the switch. AMAZING!

My house is now COVERED in white women of every size and age, and more are attracted every day. You can see my house from the expressway now, the pile is so huge.

THANK YOU, Adam Quan! Your machine has truly changed my life, and also the lives of countless others in my immediate vicinity.

-Dr. Lazlo Bonaparte

Go on, have some fun, leave your own book review comments here.

Why The Race Card Didn't Work For Rupert Murdoch

How Nielsen Stood Up To Murdoch Business Week

Fox played the race card to upend a new TV ratings system. It didn't work.

by Anthony Bianco in New York, with Ronald Grover in Los Angeles

Susan D. Whiting knew she was in for a long, hot summer as early as Mar. 30. That was the day Rupert Murdoch, media mogul supreme, interrupted a discussion about interactive advertising to lambaste her in front of many of TV's most powerful executives. Whiting, president and CEO of Nielsen Media Research (VNUVY ), was stunned but maintained her composure. "I'd never met Mr. Murdoch before, but I felt I had to respond," she recalls. "So I did, and then I asked if we couldn't go back to the subject we had all come to discuss."

What incensed Murdoch, the chairman of News Corp., is a Nielsen plan to change the way it tracks TV viewing in the 10 largest U.S. markets.
--

Nielsen, owned by Dutch media conglomerate VNU (VNUVY ), is no stranger to controversy. Complaining about the inflexibility of Nielsen, its arrogance, and, above all, its high prices is a long-standing tradition among the TV programmers and ad agencies that have never really had a practical alternative to buying its ratings data. "The industry has a love-hate relationship with Nielsen," says David Verklin, CEO of Carat North America, a large media-buying agency. "Actually, it's hate-love, and there's not a whole lot of love in it."

This current contretemps, however, is something new for Nielsen Media -- in the virulence and breadth of the attacks directed against it. News Corp.'s (NWS ) attack transformed an intra-industry dispute over research methods into a racial and ethnic cause célèbre. This strategy was cleverly conceived to exploit Nielsen's unpopularity and inexperience in the dark arts of political string-pulling and public relations spinning. "They were totally caught off guard when Rupert came out, guns blazing," concedes Angela Mariana Freyre, a partner at Coudert Brothers LLP, outside counsel to Nielsen.
--

It was not until VNU acquired Nielsen Media for a hefty $2.5 billion in 2001 that the company and newly appointed CEO Whiting announced ambitious plans to also begin using people meters to measure local audiences in the top 10 U.S. cities, beginning with Boston in 2002. The advent of the local people meter was a particularly ominous development for News Corp., which is much more heavily weighted to broadcast and lighter on cable than are the corporate parents of CBS (VIA ), NBC (GE ), and ABC.

Nonetheless, in October, 2003, Fox Television Station Group signed a comprehensive new service contract with Nielsen covering all 35 Fox stations in the U.S. Under this agreement, Fox agreed to buy people meter data in all 9 of the top 10 markets where it owned a station. By February, though, News Corp. had become so alarmed by the people-meter test-run data from New York that it demanded that Nielsen postpone the scheduled start of commercial service on Apr. 8. Whiting refused. A few weeks later, News Corp. issued a statement by Lachlan K. Murdoch, Fox's chairman (and Rupert's son), that framed its objections in a racial context: "People meters could undercount
viewership by as much as 25%, especially when quantifying viewership among minority and young viewers."

About the same time, a newly formed group called the Don't Count Us Out coalition began going after Nielsen. News Corp. has acknowledged that it supported Don't Count Us Out "financially, organizationally, and morally" but denies Nielsen's accusations that the coalition is a front for Fox. "This is a group who saw that [Nielsen's] data wasn't accurate and rose up against it on their own," says News Corp. spokesman Gary Ginsberg.
--

By all appearances, Nielsen now has the whip hand in its struggle with News Corp. Whiting's public relations offensive has blunted the threat of federal oversight of the ratings business, and the company scored a crucial legal victory when a state judge in California declined to halt Nielsen's people meter rollout in Los Angeles. As for News Corp., it continues to do business with Nielsen -- incontrovertible evidence that the company's lucrative monopoly is intact.

Cornel West's "Eccentricities of Tone"

I like Cornel West, I really do. When I approached him several years ago at a conference, he graciously -- and genuinely -- opens up to you. The brother loves to banter. But apparently he's no fan of TMB. From Caleb Crain's New York Times review of West's upcoming polemic "Democracy Matters":

Then there are West's eccentricities of tone. For the ''soul murder'' of American youth, West blames cocaine, Ecstasy, oral sex and -- Weblogs.

Who knew that blogs were so vile and potent?

For those unfamiliar with West's schtick, this graph from the book review gives you a glimpse into his intellectual, and ideological, eclecticism:

Writing in the aftermath of the 1992 riots in Los Angeles triggered by the Rodney King verdict, West was concerned about what he called black nihilism -- ''the profound sense of psychological depression, personal worthlessness and social despair so widespread in black America.'' He felt that the psychology of despair was a better way of explaining the black predicament than either ''liberal structuralism'' (i.e., blame socioeconomic conditions) or ''conservative behaviorism'' (i.e., blame lapses in morals). West's language had a Marxian flavor, but his answer was predominantly Christian: he proposed a ''politics of conversion.'' And he seemed uninterested in playing the race card. He made a point of disowning misogynist and anti-Semitic strains in black political culture, unsqueamishly contemplated black and black-and-white sexuality and criticized what he called the ''closing-ranks mentality'' threatening to homogenize black political thought.

Despite the bad review, I'll still pick up Democracy Matters. West never fails to at least tickle the mind. Read the whole review.

An American Icon That Missed the Hip Hop Revolution

The woes of jean maker, Levi's, are pretty well documented. Once an American fashion icon, the San Francisco-based apparel brand is now wallowing in the discount bins of your local mass merchandiser, most likely Wal-Mart. Moreover, they've finally buckled under pressure (the financial kind), and will be outsourcing the manufacture of their wares outside the U.S. Subcontracting issues aside, any kid trying to achieve any measure of hip street cred these days generally avoids 501's like they avoid country music and the confederate flag.

Funny, we've actually worked with the San Francisco-based apparel brand before to help them understand today's new multi-ethnic youth generation -- as an approach to restoring some of that hip lustre they've since lost once hip hop came onto the scene and swallowed up everything. Judging by the results, they're not pretty:

"Levi's was the jean of the rock 'n' roll generation. We certainly haven't been the jean of the hip-hop generation," Chief Executive Officer Philip Marineau said in a recent interview. --

The company missed the urban jean revolution of the 1990s that favored the baggy look over Levi's more slim-tailored fits. Its response last year, the launch of "Type 1" jeans with big stitching and a bolder look, fizzled.

Facing what are among the most severe financial woes in its history, Levi's now is retailoring its clothing lines, trying to stem a 40 percent slide in sales since 1996. For fiscal 2003, the company posted a $349 million loss, offsetting the combined profit of four previous years.

The company is auctioning off its Dockers unit, which launched the khaki craze that dressed a dot-com generation. After years of coasting on its iconic image, Levi's now is pushing cut-rate jeans at discount retailers, for as low as $19. And in the latest symbolic blow, Levi's seven months ago closed its last U.S. factory.

My colleague David actually spent a number of years as a brand manager at Levi's, so I'm sure he'll weigh in with some perspective. But if I were Levi's (disclaimer: my personal opinion only), I would jettison the low-end, price-competitive, volume-driven strategy. It may offer an easy revenue stream, but it's no way for a one-time American brand icon to recapture any of its former glory. Selling off Dockers is a good start. Consumers once aspired to what Levi's represented: a certain rugged, American individualism (with a little maverick cowboy sensibility thrown into the mix). Going down the price-slashing discount wars route dampens the brand's integrity and is a course for suicide. It'll bring you the "heartland" market, but little else (and we all know that "urban" is where it's at).

Instead, Levi's needs to recognize what it represents and gradually scale up its operations to exploit its brand's retro-vintage possibilities. There are orange-haired Japanese hipsters I know who deliberately seek out vintage, used-and-faded 501's at garage sales and bargain bins and will pay top dollar for them. They sell these jeans at $200 a pop back in Japan.

See, they recognize there's something quintessentially cool -- a uniquely American kind of cool -- that comes from 501's back in their heyday. It's coolness reappropriated -- in both a nostalgic and postmodern sense. These sensibilities can be tapped if Levi's decides to re-launch and re-brand a retro-line for a whole new club-and-DJ-oriented generation, much in the same way that Puma resurrected themselves from the dead. In the case of Puma, the shoe-maker eschewed the sports-athletic end of the market -- already dominated by Nike, Reebok, New Balance -- and instead focused their niche in the fashion-conscious, sixteen-seasons-in-one-year, loft-dwelling demo. That formula helped them climb back from the bargain bins and into the forefront of cool.

It's not too late for you, Levi's.

(Oh, and it wouldn't hurt if a Kanye West spun a verse about you either)

Here's another good report on the jean maker in the San Francisco Chronicle.

People Meters Are Back

For nearly the entire month of June and a good chunk of July, this blog had discovered a new religion: a crusade to exploit the anti-People Meter campaign as a bastion of lies and deceit concocted by a powerful media conglomerate -- one News Corp -- under the guise of grassroots community opposition. Essentially, the tools of identity politics were used as a way to rue liberal rage among minorities populations -- in order to stop a new audience measurement technology. Fox played the race card basically.

The issue over whether Nielsen's new measuring technology undercounts minority households really captured my fancy because a number of issues intersect under TMB concern: ethnic media, ethnic media representation, and the debate over the right methodology in researching ethnic minority households (though I'm sure this latter subject really only dazzles the geek contingent). As an ethnic market research firm, well, the fascination is obvious: we're in this line of work. But let's face it -- the political machinations behind this campaign were just way too darn interesting to pass up (and they bear more than a passing resemblance to the way the Bush administration spins bad press and flings mud against opponents).

After Senate hearings on Local People Meters back in July, it seemed like the issue died down a bit -- or, at least it did from the media perch where I sit.

Until today.

Last we left off, Fox News Corp. and Univision modified their initial goal of simply preventing the LPM rollout -- opting, rather, to launch a full-on frontal assault against Nielsen Media Research's position as a monopoly and calling for the feds to regulate the ratings beast. This culminated in the July 15 testimonies to the Senate communications committee, which resulted in... well we're still trying to figure that out.

One thing is becoming clear though: Nielsen is now winning the PR war. Here's the latest:

* Jesse Jackson now officially endorses Nielsen's Local People Meters. While the Reverend had previously expressed skepticism toward the anti-Nielsen faction (which includes his buddy Al Sharpton), his support to Nielsen has been made formal. Under Rainbow/Push Coalition stationary, he writes (excerpt):

We all want to be counted, but the count must be as fair and accurate and inclusive, and as scientifically sound as possible.

We make the analogy to a boxing match, when the “winner” is announced who has been beaten and battered for 10 rounds – that’s because the judges kept their own personal, and highly unscientific, score cards or “private diaries” of the match. Now, there is “punch count” technology – much like the People Meter - that accurately and scientifically counts the number of punches landed. So the results are clear and accurate.

* Nielsen today also announces a research partnership with the William C. Velasquez Institute. Like the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, which was commissioned by Nielsen as an objective third-party evaluator of their sampling methodology, the WCV Institute legitimizes Nielsen's research efforts to the Latino market -- something that was absent prior.

* So now that Nielsen has both bases covered -- the African American and Latino communities -- how will Rupert Murdoch respond? Well, the early response from his faux community coalition Don't Count Us Out is pretty tepid. You can read DCUO's response to the Jesse Jackson endorsement and their response to the Velasquez partnership for yourself. Now that their cover is blown, you gotta wonder if their hearts are in it anymore. On the other hand, you never count out Rupert.

More to come...

Bullet Points

Back from hiatus y'all -- and with a new fiance in tow (yes friends, it's official: I've finally taken the plunge). As you can imagine, my mind is wading in too many personal -- not to mention work-related -- affairs for me to be concerned about indulging in too many diversions these past few weeks, least of all this blog. (Think it's bad now, wait 'til marriage! -- ed).

But now that I've resigned myself to the fact I may never catch up to the massive pile of work proliferating on my desk (it's an endemic condition for us scattered brained entrepreneurs I've learned) and a now burgeoning list of marriage-related errands, I really need an outlet. So here's a few running items on the TMB radar I've been distracting myself with:

* Are you skeptical that California's immigrant action hero governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, aspires to, nay, lusts after the highest office in the land? Will never happen you say? Don't tell these people. Interestingly enough, Schwarzenegger's 23 minute, prime-time speech at the RNC last week -- i.e., his introductory platform for a future run at the Presidency -- mentioned America 47 times but only mentioned Bush by name 6 times. Hmm...

* My favorite Spanish-language media mogul, Univision's Jerry Perrenchio, was so enamored of Arnold's RNC speech, he dropped a cool quarter of a million into the Governator's campaign.

* A few weeks back, Debra Dickerson (author "End of Blackness") became the source of consternation around some quarters of the blogosphere with her Slate piece "Racist Like Me". No doubt her latest missive about raising her own biracial children will ruffle a few more feathers. Sample:

I make my living writing about race, but once I'm home with my family, I'm just a wife and mom. No one is more surprised by that than I am. When I was pregnant the first time, I subjected my husband to long lectures about being the father of black children. I gave the man homework, like reading Toni Morrison's books and watching my bootleg Eyes on the Prize video history of the civil rights movement. Then, when each child was born Klan-robe white, my husband turned the tables: "Debra, we have to talk about you being the mother of white children."

* UCB Linguist Prof, John McWhorter, in the L.A. Times: "Why I'm Black, Not African American". Excerpt: "Since the late 1980s, I have gone along with using "African American" for the same reason that we throw rice at a bride — because everybody else was doing it. But no more. From now on, in my writings on race I will be returning to the word I grew up with, which reminds me of my true self and my ancestors who worked here to help make my life possible: Black."

* Chino Latinos? It's more common than you think. Now I wonder if that's what my future children will be called. (credit: Hispanic Trending)

* Lastly, from the Damn-Did-He-Really-Say-That? Dept: Jesus himself would not vote for Obama, says Keyes. What in the world were Illinois Republicans thinking (smoking) when they nominated this guy to represent them in the Senate?