Word From Snob Land!

Snob Status!

Howdy readers! Have I told you lately that you rock? Things are going great at The Black Snob. Last month I hit over 100,000 visitors. That's in six months. And I've gone from averaging 800 visitors a day to 2,500. So welcome new Snob readers! You're awesome too!

I'm sick as a dog today. Dang Mama and Papa Snob gave me their virus. We share everything in the Snob Family! But I'm upright and coherent so that counts for something.

I want to actually thank you for reading. I stopped doing writing for almost two years while I was pondering whether I was really meant to be a writer. This blog brought me out of my writer's block (and my dour mood). And your feedback, good and bad, has really helped buoy my once shattered writer's ego. I get as much enjoyment out of reading your comments and sharing things with you as I get in writing these stories, so thank you. You, like collecting pictures of the Obama family, are my therapy.

Won't you be my friend?

I'm on Facebook. I'm on MySpace. I'm on Twitter. I'm on Plurk. Anyone who reads or likes the blog can totally be my friend and drop me a note or a story tip or some political gossip. Even though I get a lot more mail now, I still try to reply to everyone who writes me. As long as its manageable I'll continue to do that.

I'm also on Black Planet, but man, is that place a meat market? All I get are trolls who hit on me. Very annoying.

I update Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Plurk regularly. I'm a little lazy on everything else and due to the trolls, I only check Black Planet once a month.

But still, feel free to hit me up as a friend (not a homey lover friend) on the page.

Ask The Snob Mailbag!

I haven't done one of these in a while, but I still get posed interesting feedback or questions by readers. Here's some of the most recent mail I've received.

Passion for fashion

Question: So, I've seen this mauve/pink/purple tweed suit in pix of Michelle Obama all over. Lots of comments on how chic and savvy M is to wear it. Question is, does anyone know who designed the ensemble? I'd love to know.

Maurice

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Dear Maurice,

I could be mistaken, but I believe that tweed suit was designed by Maria Pinto, Michelle's favorite Chicago-based designer. She did the bulk of the popular "bell sleeved" suits that Michelle wore during the first three months of the primary.

Pinto has a Web site and has gotten A LOT of attention due to Michelle's fondness for her suits and simple sheaths. Her site lists the places where her high end fashions are available.

The Wrong "Black" Guy

I really can see that the black people in this country want a black president. But couldn't you have found one that is knowledgeable, intelligent, knows how to get things done and is not a jumping, chanting, waving, wannabe rock star?

There are so many black politicians who would make terrific presidents, Rangel to name one. And I get so upset of the hero worship without looking to what he knows how to do. I think it is a shame, like the Democrats they always seem to pick the wrong choice.

Now McCain is gonna win the election and heap more ruin on this country because the DNC couldn't find a really truly "best black man/woman" to run.

Margaret

Palin's Pregnant Daughter

I think that many of you are missing the issue slightly about Gov. Palin's pregnant daughter. It may well be very relevant as it relates to her advocacy of abstinence as the only real sex "education" that our children should receive in our public schools. That's the issue, or one of them -- not the daughter or the family's personal situation or decisions.

Here's the problem that I suspect a lot of people may not fully understand: in many places where the religious right has taken over and abstinence is the centerpiece of sex ed: a lot of emphasis is placed on the lack of 100 precent reliability of birth control methods. As a result, a lot of teenagers come away thinking something like, "Well, if it doesn't work all the time, what's the point of using any sort of birth control?" Daughters of friends of mine have actually stated this to their mothers.

With this mini-background, take a look at what Sam Stein had to say in a Huffington Post article,which juxtaposes the reality of teenage sexual activity with Palin's approach:

But it's not just abortion policy that has Democrats up in arms over Palin. In that same 2006 questionnaire, the soon-to-be governor said she would fund abstinence-only education programs in schools. "The explicit sex-ed programs," she added, "will not find my support." The stance, which reflected the priorities of the GOP, nevertheless led to an incredulous editorial in the Juneau Empire.

"Abstinence may be a laudable goal, but failing to educate teenagers about how to protect themselves from disease or unintended pregnancy is tragically misguided. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, abstinence-only programs do not reduce sexual activity, teen pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease. Every day 10,000 U.S. teens contract a sexually transmitted disease, 2,400 get pregnant and 55 contract HIV. Unintended pregnancies happen to Republicans, Democrats and people of all faiths."

Now, I have no idea, of course, whether this has anything to do with why her daughter engaged in pre-marital sexual relations and ended up pregnant. But I can pretty much guarantee you that if this approach to sex ed continues, we will continue to have large numbers of other teenage girls getting pregnant -- and being forced with the very difficult and very emotional decision of whether to have an abortion.

But if Gov. Palin and Sen. McCain have their way, they will make that choice for each of those young girls. And, again, the ugly reality of the world tells us that many of those will resort to "home remedy" abortions or the like with potentially fatal consequences.

The issues that we face, internally and internationally, are not simple and do not lend themselves to simple "solutions" by simplistic, anti-intellectual people.

William

P.S. With something like 383 more combat missions than McCain, does this mean that I am more than 17 times as "qualified" as he to be our next commander-in-chief?

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You make a lot of great points William, and yes, based on McCain's analysis that his Vietnam experience as a pilot and POW count as proof of his ability to be commander-in-chief, you and countless other military veterans would also qualify, including my Uncle Bubba who served in World War II. My two uncles who served in Vietnam. The various homeless vets who have fallen through the cracks of the shoddy VA system and cartoon character Beetle Bailey.

Thanks for the notes everyone!

The Snob