By Debbie Schlussel
First of all, the most offensive thing about Justin Timberlake using the phrase “shuckin’ and jivin'” on ESPN’s always boring ESPY Awards Show is that Timberlake even has a contract with ESPN (and that he was given full hosting duties). Whas’ up wi’ dat?
Second, ESPN edited out the part in which Timberlake used the phrase “shuckin’ and jivin’,” saying it’s offensive to Black people and has a history of being associated with slavery.
But that’s not correct. While it’s incorrectly believed that “shuckin’ and jivin'” was used to describe Black slaves as lazy and fooling around instead of working (and presumably, “shuckin'” corn), in fact the phrase dates back to the late 1800s and was a phrase American Blacks, back then, used to describe clowning around:

Justin Timberlake “Shucks and Jives” @ the Espys, Gets Edited Out

According to a story in Newsday, “The 1994 book ‘Juba to Jive, a Dictionary of African-American Slang,’ says ‘shuck and jive’ dates back to the 1870s and was an ‘originally southern ‘Negro’ expression for clowning, lying, pretense.'”

When Andrew Cuomo used it to describe Barack Obama BS’ing at a debate with Hillary Clinton, in that context it was probably meant as a racist dig. But just ‘cuz Clintonistas used it that way, doesn’t mean the phrase is inherently bigoted.
But here’s how dude-who-thinks-he’s-a-brothah-from-a-White-motha Timberlake used it:

The easiest edit that ESPN made during Sunday’s tape-delayed ESPYs came fairly early in the broadcast when Justin Timberlake was teasing Paul Pierce about his “injured” knee in Game 1 of the NBA Finals during his opening monologue. In describing how Pierce quickly came back after being taken off on a wheelchair, Timberlake joked that Pierce was back on the court, “shucking and jiving.” The comment, which was cut out of the broadcast that aired Sunday night, was met with silence from the crowd.

I wonder if most of that crowd even knew what the very old school–we’re talking ancient–phrase meant. Most of the ESPY audience doesn’t even know who George Washington was. Just ask Voshon Lenard.
Is this another case of non-Blacks not being allowed to use Black vernacular? If that’s the case, why does Oprah get to not only use the Yiddishism “Shlumpedinka,” but also claim she invented it?
And what do you do with a White guy–like Timberlake–who thinks he’s Black?
I never knew that there were objections to the term, “shuckin’ and jivin’,” as I always thought it referred to phonies and clowns. My late father once used an incarnation of it, “shuckLin’ and Jivin'” to describe one of our fellow co-religionists who was ultra-religious and wore their religion on his sleeve, but whom we knew not to be good person. In Judaism, “Shuckling” means shaking back and forth in prayer. Does that mean that my father was a racist? Puh-leeze. The phrase simply isn’t a racist phrase. What the heck do you think “jivin'” means? It means faking, talking BS, lying. “Shuckin'”–now maybe, that’s another thing, with the corn reference.
Still, are we now going to tell Golden Oldie radio stations to stop playing the ’70s BeeGees hit, “Jive Talkin'”? Do I have to take it off my Zune, or I’m a racist? Do we have to contact all producers of the BeeGees Greatest Hits CDs that they must censor it out and that the Brothers Gibb’s kids, especially the dead twin’s kids, will have to miss out on all those “racist” royalties?
And then there’s the issue of what ESPN did? If they really think that Justin Timberlake uttered a “racist” phrase, why did they edit it out, the way “The Tonight Show,” last year, edited out Halle Berry’s jokes about Jewish people’s noses?
Why do these left-wing, hip-hop celebs get protection from ESPN and NBC, but not Rush Limbaugh, who was forced to resign from ESPN for making the perfectly legitimate point that Donovan McNabb was a mediocre NFL quarterback, who enjoyed affirmative action positive press coverage merely because of his race? Why didn’t ESPN “edit” his comments out and protect him?
Because Rush is a conservative. And because we’ve become way too sensitive to every utterance in America?
And that ain’t no jive, bro. Or shuckin’ and jivin’.
***
To my very reasonable Black readers, do you really think that the use of the phrase “shuckin’ and jivin'” is racist? Why?

By Debbie Schlussel
Now that it’s too late and Italy is overrun by Muslim immigrants (been to Sicily, lately? It’s no longer Cosa Nostra, it’s Cosa Muslima), Italy is finally doing what Americans–ie., the U.S. Congress, the President, DHS, and ICE) won’t do.
Yesterday, the Italian Parliament gave final approval to national security package that includes toughened rules on illegal aliens. In Italy, it’s needed as a response to the increased street crime the mostly Muslim aliens have brought upon the geographic boot on the Mediterranean.
Not only is Italy increasing jail sentences by a third for criminal offenders who are also illegal aliens and expelling all foreigners who’ve been sentenced to more than two years in prison, but Italy is now making it illegal to rent an apartment to illegal aliens.

Italy’s PM Silvio Berlusconi Gets Tough on Illegal Aliens
Well, whaddya know? This is the same law–prohibiting apartment rentals to illegal aliens–that several cities from Pennsylvania to Texas have enacted, but which our courts have aborted. It’s also the same law that the Congress refuses to enact and that the President opposes.
Here are a few stats from Sandro Mazzatorta of Italy’s Northern League Party:

Foreigners committed 60% of the attempted homicides, 60% of the robberies (and) 82% of the muggings [in the city of Brescia, Italy, last year].

Unlike some other politicians running for leaders of their countries who shall remain nameless and obvious, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi actually followed through on his re-election campaign promise to crackdown on illegal aliens in his country. Viva Silvio. Bravo.
Italy . . . Doing the Work that American Just Won’t Do.

By Debbie Schlussel
. . . This should be the theme song of the Edwards campaign. After all, while the mainstream media won’t cover it, I clearly think a man who was a U.S. Senator, ran for President, was the Veep nominee for a major political party, remains a major political figure (in the press’ eyes), claims he’s for the downtrodden, and whose wife has cancer, having another kid he has little to do with, is very much news. Don’t you? If there were an R after his name, it surely would be.

My father left, he never even married Mom.

By Debbie Schlussel
**** SCROLL DOWN FOR UPATE ****
Usually, celebrity magazines gush over celebrities, from what they’re wearing to the stupid political causes they pimp.
But I must hand it to Us Magazine. While the glossy celebrity tabloid is guilty of featuring a several-page spread in its July 28th issue, with quotes and essays from myriad celebs telling us what they do to be green, Us does devote almost a a full page at the end to slam them for their hypocrisy.
I believe it’s TMZ, which has no prob slamming and dissing celebrity hypocrisy, that finally pushed Us and other magazines to tone the drooling down a notch.
Here’s the Us Magazine “Hollywood Carbon Footprint” analysis, followed by its “Eco-Hypocrites Hall of Shame.” The mag forgets to include studios and the energy they use to make shows and movies in its footprint comparison:

The John Travolta thing isn’t really a stark example of eco-hypocrisy the way the other two are. BTW, “Grey’s Anatomy” actress Kate Walsh is a double Eco-Hypocrite. She’s also a spokeswoman for Cadillac. That’s not eco-friendly, either. But it is, indeed, “green”–the kind of green that is stashed in her big, fat bank account.
**** UPDATE: Reader Ari points to this UK Daily Mail article, which notes Sting’s hypocrisy on a number of issues, including the environment (something I’ve written about before, but not with these specific details) and his marriage (he was spotted at a brothel). Very interesting reading.
As Ari says:

Man, That Stings!

By Debbie Schlussel
**** SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATE ****
Wow, I never thought I’d take the side of vapid airhead Jessica Simpson, but in this case it’s warranted. I like the T-shirt, too. From Us Magazine:

Low class, as usual, for this peroxided aging human flotation device.
Um, is it just me, or is walking sperm depository Pamela Anderson clearly the last person who should be calling anyone a “whore”? And because the person eats meat? Huh? By that definition, most women in the world are whores . . . but not Pamela Anderson?
So, to summarize:
* Making sex videos, sleeping around and getting Hepatitis C from it, posing nude in Playboy a million times, getting a gazillion tattoos and size Double Z breast implants–Not a Whore.
* Eating meat–Definitely a Whore.
Hello . . . ?
What a hypocrite and a sleazebag Pamela Anderson is–as if we didn’t already know. Very typical of the animal rights movement attitude.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, you can purchase the “Real Girls Eat Meet” t-shirts here and here. It’s surely an improvement over Simpson’s past confusion over “Chicken of the Sea.”
Please, Pam, go back to making great TV masterpieces like “Baywatch” and “Stripperella.”
**** UPDATE: Reader David from Alaska writes:

Does Pamela Anderson understand that animals eat meat too? Or is this something that while representing PETA missed her grasp?
I am willing to send Pamela a bumper sticker from Alaska if she would like, “Eat Moose-One Million Wolves Can’t Be Wrong”.
Pamela is just jealous of Jessica since Jessica does not have a C.D.C. rating of “bio-hazard”.

Exactly. And don’t forget, her breast implants ain’t exactly biodegradable. That’s in addition to her being the most used piece of equipment in the gym and a walking disease incubator.

By Debbie Schlussel
Aren’t you glad that George W. Bush speaks Spanish? It’s worked wonders in welcoming more and more illegal aliens into our midst, via the Mexican border.
Now, Mexico has decided it will no longer jail illegal aliens in that country because, hey, most of ’em are only crossing Mexico into the U.S., en route from Central America.
So, from now on, Mexico will consider illegal immigration a minor offense, with fines only of up to $500. Until now, illegal aliens caught in Mexico faced up to ten years in prison and most were deported. Now, none of that will happen.

Oh, and get this. Mexican legislators who successfully pushed the loosening of laws against illegal aliens did so because they felt that tougher penalties against aliens “complicated” Mexican efforts to loosen laws against Mexican illegal aliens on our soil.
And this is supposed to be our “ally” and “friendly” neighbor? Thanks a million, cabrons.

By Debbie Schlussel
The John McCain campaign has two videos–which are essentially the same but set to different music–of Chris Matthews, Tucker Carlson, and many other media figures sucking up to Barack Obama. It’s really sickening. And many of the comments–sad to say–border on gay, some cross over the boundary. Matthews talking about the thrill going up his leg, Carlson talking about the love a ninth grade boy feels. Barf:

Good video, but would have been better if they set it to this song:

Or the Charo version of it:

By Debbie Schlussel
So, Barack Hussein Obama is on a world tour that, today, includes Israel. So, he’s doing the obligatory photo ops at various Jewish religious sites to pretend he’s really not as anti-Israel as his years of association with Edward Said, Ali Abunimah, Louis Farrakhan, and Rev. Jeremiah Wright tell us. Ditto for his multiple Nation of Islam staffers and desire to meet and negotiate with Iran–Israel’s most lethal enemy–without preconditions.
Well, guess what? Contrary to the host of American Jews falling for and supporting this fraud, smart Israelis ain’t buyin’. They’re no dummies. They know this is a BS photo-op diplomacy trip by a man who really doesn’t wish them well, but very desperately wants to become Prez:

Israel says “Lo” (No, in Hebrew) to Obama
(Nobama Image from Josh Leone)

A poll published in a right-wing Israeli newspaper in June found 36% of Israeli Jews surveyed preferred Sen. McCain, compared with 27% who favored Sen. Obama. In a separate survey published this month by Tel Aviv University, 46% of the Israeli Jews polled thought Sen. McCain would be “better for Israel,” vs. 20% who said the same about the Democrat. . . .
The concern doesn’t seem partisan, but rather specific to Sen. Obama. Before she suspended her campaign, fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton was wildly popular with Israelis. . . .
As of Tuesday morning, “Israelis for Obama,” had about 57 members. Mr. Jassen says only six actually live in Israel.

That’s significant, since there are many Israelis with U.S. citizenship, and they’re not voting for B. Hussein O.
But, as we all know, throughout the world, there are hundreds of millions of Muslims for Obama. Gee, I wonder why. Because they all know that, under Islamic law, he’s a Muslim, they consider him a Muslim, and they know on which side their pita is buttered–with Obama in the White House.
But part of the article (from the Wall Street Journal) simply isn’t accurate. First, there’s the headline, “Obama’s Tour of Israel Confronts Skeptics.” It does no such thing. We all know, as I said above, that this is a photo op meant for Jews and pro-Israel Christians in America to distract us from Barack Hussein Obama’s real record on associating with Israel- and Jew-haters.
Then, there’s this BS–the second sentence of this paragraph–by the article’s authors, WSJ reporters Cam Simpson and Jay Solomon:

Israelis see Iran’s nuclear program as a threat to the existence of their state, especially given the rhetoric of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And Israelis strongly backed the Bush administration’s campaign to oust former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was considered the Arab world’s fiercest foe of the Jewish state.

WRONG. Israel never wanted America to go into Iraq. Israeli leaders repeatedly said Saddam Hussein was not a big threat to them, that their biggest threat at the time was terrorists within Israel and on its borers. Israel opposed the Iraq war because the Israelis knew that Bush used Israel giving up land to the Palestinians as an incentive to get Muslim nations to support the Iraq War. That only harmed Israel.
Ditto for the result, which was Bush completing the contiguous Shi’ite crescent that spans the Mid-East, by removing Sunni Saddam Hussein and putting Shi’ites in power. This strengthened Iran and Hezbollah, Israel’s biggest enemies now.
Bottom Line: You won’t see many Obamaka wearers in Israel, the Jewish State.
As reader Sean writes:

Do you find it odd that people in Israel are better than Americans at figuring out the security threat that Obama poses as a Presidential candidate?

Yup. Even odder that while they’re, sadly, not very good at picking the best guy for their own security threats (Sharon, then Olmert), they’re, indeed, really good at indicating who’s the best for us.

“F— Obama” Phonetic Hebrew Bumper Sticker Reflects Israeli Sentiment

By Debbie Schlussel
Here’s a question for a modern-day Confucius: If two men who pretend they’re women get in a fight, is it a “catfight”?
Or is that two women who pretend they’re men? In the case of the WNBA, only their gynecologists know for sure. But last night, two WNBA players, DeLisha Milton-Jones and Lisa Lesbo-lie, er . . . Lisa Leslie got into a brawl at a WNBA game.
When two “women” who look like men who play in a league that no-one watches, they have to resort to brawls and violence to get noticed. Every year, I used to write a humorous column attacking the WNBA, but I gave up a couple of years ago because I lost interest even in mocking this irrelevant Waste of National Broadcast Airtime, this Weird Nuisance Brought on America a/k/a the WNBA. Unless you buy NBA tickets or buy products of NBA sponsors–both of which subsidize the unpopular WNBA (with lower ratings than the one-season XFL), it takes this to get you to notice:

Some of the “women” players were beating on giant, former Piston Rick Mahorn’s back. As if . . . . So what was it WNBA fans have been e-mailing me over the years about how these “women” don’t act like male athletes? Uh-huh.
New League Slogan: The WNBA . . . Man Up. Or is that, Woman Up? Hard to tell.
Some of my past WNBA coverage here, here, here, here, and here. More here. All of them still apply today, and I think you’ll appreciate the humor.

By Debbie Schlussel
Remember this old school hip-hop from the ’80s–“Breakin’“–brought to you by the silver screen Israeli producing team of Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan a/k/a Golan-Globus and Cannon Films/The Cannon Group? While the music may not stand the test of time (it does in my view–both songs are part of my work-out music (including the Chaka Khan song), so sue me), the breakdancing moves still do. I remember in the ’80s when we had breakdancing contests and parties (I went to a Black high school).
None of the stars of this movie went on to big careers, but if you notice at about 1:03 in the first video, Jean Claude Van Damme is in a cheesy, black wife-beater tank top and shorts, dancing and clapping. The cheesy part as an extra paid off, since Golan-Globus produced a lot of his starring role films. Pro-cop-killing Ice T was also in the movie. In the first video, you can see that this movie had the same formula as all the ’80s dance movies, like “Flashdance,” where the stereotypical “uptight, stuffy,” old White people are at first stern and disapproving and then start dancing and cheering. Second video shows the Black dancers teaching the stiff White chick how to be hip.

(You can see a better view of Van Damme at 1:20 in this higher quality version, which can’t be embedded here.)

Even the trailer was cool:

And, no, I was not a fan of “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo.” So, I’m not that cheesy.