St. Patrick’s Day, also referred to as St. Paddy’s Day, began on March 17th, 461 A.D. with the death of St. Patrick. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland although he was not born an Irishman. The day has been celebrated in Ireland for over one thousand years. Although he was not born an Irishman, but was British, St. Patrick and the celebration of his day as a National Holiday in Ireland; and as a day of celebration for the Irish and all things representing the Irish in the United States can be attributed to his years of service to the Irish in Ireland in which he converted the predominantly “pagan” people to Catholicism. “Pagans” are people who either do not believe in God, or those who worship false gods. St. Patrick believed in the Trinity comprised of God-the-Father, God-the-Son, and God-the-Holy Spirit.

The story of St. Patrick is an interesting one. He was born in 385 AD in either Scotland or England. Patricius Maewyn Succat was his given name at birth which was shortened to Patrick. His father, named Calpurnius, was a Roman-British Army Officer. One day, as he was playing in Great Britain with a group of other children, he was kidnapped by pirates who sold him into slavery in Ireland.

In Collapse, Michael Ruppert, who is a former UCLA College Student; a former Los Angeles Police Officer; and a CIA employee, offers his explanation of, in a March 2009 Interview, why The United States’ Economy and, ultimately, The Government “collapsed.” Often interesting but, for the most part, far too willing to offer simplistic explanations of highly complex concepts, Collapse is an extremely confused attack against the misuses and abuses of natural and man-made resources (Oil, Energy, Electricity, Transportation, Food) by the World.

Perhaps, if he had been less pro-Saddam Hussein and anti-Obama, as well as less intent upon passing himself off as a modern day “Deep Throat” who emerges from the shadows, Mr. Ruppert would have been more convincing.

Happy Valentine’s to all, even to those who visually have no Valentine, like myself. Just because you are not in love does not mean that you need to mope around being sad and it also does not mean that you can’t feel like you are in love, you can love yourself. If you want to indulge in chocolate, you can still do this and remain healthy and be even healthier than you were before consuming chocolate. The reason why I am stating this is because there has been scientific research that states chocolate is healthy. You may ask in your mind, why is chocolate healthy? Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease.

Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body by Mark Stibich, Ph.D., About.com Guide. I have always joked around and said, imagine one day they discover that all bad foods are good for you and that your life can be extended as a result of eating them. Well, that has not happened, however, partially it has. Of all foods, chocolate, one of the best tasting, dark, rich and enticing foods has been confirmed to be good for you, who ever knew. It seems as if we have died and gone to heaven (chocolate lovers, of course).

In The United States’ Government versus Thomas B. Chong, a/k/a Tommy Chong, filmmaker Josh Gilbert presents a documentary about the 2002 conviction of Cheech n’ Chong’s Tommy B. Chong for selling drug paraphernalia over the internet. The documentary, which highlights the formation and the rise of Cheech n’ Chong as cult legends from the Counter-Culture Revolution in The United States; the events leading up to Tommy Chong’s 2002 conviction; and his rehabilitation after a nine month prison stay , seeks to make some sense out of the 2001 search, seizure, and arrest of Tommy Chong.

The center idea behind my paintings is environment. In this case having moved to Chelsea, NYC in late August, Running Man (24×37, mixed media on paper, 2009) is from a series of abstract paintings about or, around the neighborhood as it is currently developing.

A trial has recently concluded in a California Federal Court over the issue of same sex marriage. The plaintiffs in Perry v. Schwarzenegger seek to overturn California’s gay marriage ban (Prop. 8th) Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The case is unique on many counts including the fact that the Judge conducted a full courtroom trial rather than a bare exchange of paper arguments. It is also unique in that the plaintiffs are represented by a well-known conservative attorney who has used the case to shape a fascinating conservative argument for same sex marriage.

Ted Olson is a conservative’s conservative. He was counsel to George W. Bush in Bush v. Gore and served as Bush’s Solicitor General. He defended Reagan in the Iran Contra scandal and assisted in the Paula Jones case against Bill Clinton. He is a founding member of the Federalist Society and a longtime critic of judicial activism. And he believes he has constructed a conservative case for gay marriage that can prevail before the current Supreme Court.

Some years ago, George Carlin was regularly featured on television and on the radio. It did not last for long. For although Carlin, has been called one of the funniest men in the World only rivaled by Richard Pryor, and even considered to be funnier than the legendary Lenny Bruce, he incurred the wrath and the scorn of the FCC when he used four letter words over the air in his skit entitled Seven Dirty Words You Can Never Say on Television.

He was fired and fined and arrested on July 21st, 1972 for violating the Nation’s obscenity laws.

Don’t Ask Don ‘t Tell, challenges conservatives to come to terms with their idea of a strong military. Who should and should not serve? Should gays and lesbians in the military be allowed to speak out about their personal lives? Can they marry on base like straight soldiers? Currently, many gays have been discharged from service who were excellent soldiers and offered valuable skills such as weapons or language capabilities which should under ‘normal’ circumstance render them indispensable. Despite President Obama pledging to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the pink vote has noticed his annoying tendency to waffle as he has done with so many other campaign promises he made to liberals.”

In Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, Producer and Director Clint Eastwood, demonstrates how, through the use of the South African Rugby Team, Nelson Mandela unified the Nation.

In South Africa during Apartheid, at least eighty-five percent of the population was Black while only six percent of the population was Afrikaner. For decades, however, the wealth and the political power of the Nation remained in the hands of the White Afrikaner Government. Extremely similar to the predicament of African-Americans in the United States before the Civil Right’s Movement, a symbol to the Blacks in South Africa of their oppression was the Rugby Spring Box (Rugby Football Team). So menacing was the predominantly all White Rugby Team to Black South Africans that Blacks routinely cheered against The South African Team.

As Mandela in Invictus, however, Morgan Freeman, through the Rugby Team’s Captain, handsomely played by Matt Damon, uses the National Rugby Team of South Africa to unify the polarized races in the Nation.

The Blind Side is the true story of how orphaned Michael Oher was befriended, taken-in, and finally adopted by a wealthy family during his last year of high school. With his mother addicted to drugs, and his father deceased, Oher becomes a male Cinderella, not only because he is adopted and treated like Royalty by his new family, but also because he becomes a major talent in football guiding his small Christian Academy, were he is a student, through a championship year.

What this means for Michael Oher is , if he can raise his grades to an acceptable Grade Point Average, he will be able to attend college on a football scholarship. Seemingly over sentimental and sometimes hard to take because of the racist sentiment otherwise conveyed, I needed to keep reminding myself that The Blind Side was not a fictional story but a true one in which the real life Michael Oher really met such people as The Touhys’ family.

Inspired by his concern for the self-concepts of his two pre-school aged daughters, Good Hair starring Chris Rock, is an insightful look into one aspect of The Black Hair Care Industry. The aspect of the Industry which Chris Rock explores is that which can give a woman “good hair”. Good hair is a euphemism in the Black Community for long, silky, straight hair. Through a series of interviews with actors and actresses, models, musicians, writers, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, civil right’s activists, beauticians, and other men and women having their hair done in beauty salons and barber shops producer, writer, and comedian Chris Rock examines the self-concepts of those people who prefer the more Eurocentric look which “good hair” can give to them as well as a few people who have found the beauty in wearing their own natural tresses.

To be fair, Rock does speak to some people who are willing to concede that “nappy” or coarse and curly hair is not “bad hair”. For the most part, however, the film investigates those aspects of Black Hair Care which straighten “nappy” hair. The documentary examines the hair relaxer (chemical) business as well as the sodium hydroxide found in crème relaxers, weaves, the process by which the hair for weaves is obtained, and African-American Hair Shows. Rock also examines the preference of Black Men for Caucasian Women by associating this preference with the concept of Caucasian Hair and the fact that Black Men can run their fingers through it.

For most Republicans the history of abortion extends back no further than the Supreme Court’s 1973 judgment in Roe v. Wade that struck down state laws banning the practice. A better sense of where we came from might help us understand where we are and why we have been unable to reach a legislative compromise on this issue.

Abortion has been practiced for millennia and we have literary evidence of it going back to ancient Egypt and India. Classical doctors and philosophers wrote about abortion and the early Christian Church wrestled with the practice. It has been variously banned, approved, encouraged and curbed at different times and among different cultures.

Teddy Pendergrass’ soul has taken flight. The buttery smooth R&B singer died today in Philadelphia (hat tip: Booker Rising). Mr. Pendergrass, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident in 1982, underwent surgery for colon cancer eight months ago and had a “difficult recovery,” according to his son, Teddy Jr. A Philly native, Mr. Pendergrass came to fame in the early 1970s as lead singer of the Blue Notes, responsible for hits such as “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” and “Wake Up Everybody.” He released his self-titled debut in 1977 and enjoyed a successful solo career, siring velvety singles like “Close the Door” and “Turn Off the Light.”

The Daily Caller made a huge splash Tuesday night at the official launch party in Washington, DC and HHR Blog was there to rock the house!!

I don’t have a problem with a black American-specific holiday, but my main issue with Kwanzaa concerns authenticity. Kwanzaa isn’t rooted in black American culture and experience. While the official Kwanzaa website calls it a “celebration of family, community, and culture”, why is the holiday a mishmash of East African cultures when the overwhelming majority of black Americans are of West African origin? Nor is it even a holiday that resides with Africans. Kwanzaa thus contributes to the stereotype that Africa is just one big blob, with few if any inter-country differences. This viewpoint is ironically a strange bedfellow of many white attitudes towards Africa, as if one can switch African cultures in and out at will. Black Americans should certainly learn more about Africa. However, Kwanzaa - with its misinformation about our African heritage - falls short of this goal.