Obama Denounces His Pastor's Comments

Sen. Barack Obama, writing on theHUFFINGTON POST, addressed theCONTROVERSIAL REMARKS by his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

“I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy,” Obama writes. “I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it’s on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue.”

Obama's Pastor Is Getting Some Heat

This is Jeremiah Wright, who is Obama's (now retired) Pastor. Now, this Pastor is no where near that "speaker" further down this post, but he has a very strong presence, and what he speaks.....well, listen for yourself. What do you think?

Can You Believe This Was In The Hood?

Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw Mall?? Jeremy how come you didn't call us? We always hear about Improv Everywhere pulling crazy stunts off in New York City, like five-minutes of frozen time at Grand Central or no-pants on the subway. Well, after a small improvised pillow fight at the Glendale mall (video below), the new LA Chapter of the collaborative pulled off their first major mission: a spontaneous musical at Baldwin Hills Mall, starting off with the Hot Dog On A Stick girl.
Eventually a cast of 16 joins her including the janitor who began clearing tables a half hour before and a security guard who entered in saying "What the hell is going on here?" before breaking into song.
The original song was written by writers of the hit Off-Broadway show, Gutenberg! The Musical! especially for this occasion, but the lyrics had to change to fit Hot Dog On A Stick's staple lemonade (originally it was diet soda). Wow!

The Right Way to Confess Sin
by Ted Slater on Mar 6, 2008 at 10:00 AM

So you sinned this week against someone? I'm not surprised. Sinning is what sinners like you and like me do. Instead of being surprised by our sin, or the sins of others, we should learn how to deal with it rightly.

C.J. Mahaney, best known for his passionate awe of the cross of Christ, blogged recently about wrong ways to deal with your sin, and right ways. Wrong ways include using the word "if" (e.g., "I'm sorry if you were offended"), providing lengthy explanations of why you sinned, requesting understanding for your sin, being indignant about being caught, and so on.

Here's how he describes a right way to confess sin:

A confession that is sincere and pleasing to God will be specific and brief. I have learned to be suspicious of my confession if it's general and lengthy. A sincere confession of sin should be specific ("I was arrogant and angry when I made that statement; will you please forgive me for sinning against you in this way?") and brief(this shouldn't take long). When I find myself adding an explanation to my confession, I'm not asking forgiveness but instead appealing for understanding....

Genuine conviction of sin is evidenced by a sincere, specific, and brief confession of sin, without any reference to circumstances or the participation of anyone else. When I sin, I am responsible for my sin, and the cause of my sin is always within my heart and never lies outside my heart.

The thing is, such honest and vulnerable and responsible confession of sin is actually liberating, because there is One who is able to thoroughly forgive sin -- any sin. Because of the death of the only righteous Man ever to have existed, sin may be completely forgiven. And C.J. recognizes the hopefulness of this situation:

I want my confession to express genuine sorrow and gratefulness to God for the mercy I experience because of the substitutionary sacrifice of his Son for my sins on the cross.... I hope my confession of sin is the sincere and specific confession of one genuinely convicted of his sin, sorrowful about his sin, and amazed at the grace of God provided for the forgiveness of sin.

I'm freshly convicted of how I deal with my own sin. I'm looking forward to being specific and sincere as I confess my sin to my wife, and to others whom I sin against. And I'm looking forward to enjoying the benefits of being a child of the God Who Forgives.

David Paterson Takes Over As First Black NY Governor

Did ya'll know?

Paterson and his wife

NY Governor Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation yesterday, thanks to him getting caught up in a prostitution ring.  Since ”allegedly” sexing it up with high priced prostitutes is not becoming of a NY Governor, Lt. Governor David Paterson is taking over as Governor of New York on March 17th and is the first black man (he’s also of Dominican heritage) to do so. Paterson also made history by becoming the first legally blind person to address the Democratic National Convention and the first visually impaired person to become Governor of any state.  Nice.

H.S. FOOTBALL STAR LAID TO REST IN Los Angeles

This is in OUR backyard TYC.  Seventeen year old Jamiel Shaw was KILLED SUNDAY, MARCH 2, just a few doors from his home, close enough for his father, Jamiel Sr., to hear the gunfire. He ran outside and found his mortally wounded son in a pool of blood.

On the same day of Jamiel’s funeral on Tuesday, authorities announced that the alleged gunman, Pedro Espinoza, 19, had been formally CHARGED WITH SHAW’S DEATH.

Several Los Angeles neighborhoods have experienced gang violence in recent weeks. Eight people - five of them children - were wounded when a MAN FIRED INTO A CROWD near a bus stop; a 6-YEAR-OLD BOY WAS SHOT in the head and critically wounded while riding in a car with his family; and an 18-YEAR-OLD MAN WAS SHOToutside of an elementary school.

Jamiel Shaw Sr. said more must be done to combat gang violence:

“It’s a gang problem and they have nothing in their heart for people.”

His mother, Army Sgt. Anita Shaw, who was serving her second tour in Iraq when her son was killed, compared the gang members who killed him to those she’s fighting against in Iraq: “To me, they’re terrorists.”

Fashion "DO" or "DON'T"?

Uhmmm…. wow.
Raven went dressed like that to the Christian Audigier ONE WORLD fashion show in LA on Tuesday night.
Raven's look…?