Housekeeping.

A few random notes from the management.

Minor Facelift - You may notice that AB.com is now rockin' a slightly different look. We've now made the transition to 3 columns. This means more space for ads! click some doggonit! I need the money! content. I realize this wider layout may not jibe with some folks' browsers. I'm open to making nips and tucks if needed. Holler at me with suggestions. You'll also notice the cool new Story recommendations widget that follows every post. Nice, huh?

Comments - I went back to the old pop-out form for posting comments. When viewing them, you'll see some nice new modifications for the sake of clarity.

No More Soundtracks - It was nice while it lasted, but SeeqPod, the service I used for the cool embedded music player, recently went bankrupt due to (what else) excessive litigation from the RIAA. This unfortunately also likely means the end of the Channel Your Inner White Guy series. Poor out a lil' liquor.

Vacation - Yes, I am taking a fullblown, out-of-country vacation in a couple of weeks. For those of you used to your daily fix, don't worry, things will be on autopilot while I'm gone. I just won't be here to moderate comments (as if), or provide any of my own.

AverageNation Week - Speaking of vacations, I am still taking submissions for the next exciting edition of AverageNation Week. If you wanna be down, hit me on email and send me your personal piece. As long as it fits the typical flow of the blog, I'll run it.

Less AB, Mo' Guests - You've likely noticed an uptick in the number of guest posts of late. This is intentional. My Day Job has me on the road a lot recently, which means less time for this blog. I hope you are digging the assembled team of AverageContributors™. Get used to em'.

Settle Down - I've noticed a sharp, combative tone to many of the comments of late. This could be primarily because I've been on the politricks grizzly a lot recently, which tends to draw in lots of lurkers and generally gets folks all riled up. This is fine, but calling folks out of name, resulting to personal attacks, and putting people down for their general beliefs is not. I don't play that sh*t here! I haven't been able to moderate/delete certain comments because I haven't had the time, but trust me, I will if this keeps up. I am still on the fence about restricting Anonymous comments. We'll see.

Politricks-Free Week - Next week, no politricks. I don't care if Obama actually does issue Reparations checks (not to be confused with free KFC Grilled Chicken) or if the GOP fires Magic Mike. You won't see a post here the w/o May 18th! I need a break from this nonsense, and so does the blog. Expect lots of sports and Negro Nonsense next week. Get your politricks fix elsewhere for the time being.

Spellchecking/Grammar Police - Fall back! This ain't a paid publication. This is one Negro with lots of opinions and limited free time. If you got an issue with the occasional typo, feel free to sign up and be my full time editor. The job pays Free 99 an hour.

We now return to our regular scheduled program...

Question: What do you think of the recent "facelift"? Do you even notice anything different? Any comment on the other bits of housekeeping?

The Latest GOP Defection... Joe The Plumber?!?

As if Joe "The Unlicensed Plumber" Wurzelbacher's 19 minutes of fame wasn't absurd enough last Fall, the way he's managed to stretch a single pointless question into nearly 8 months of employment is even more amazing. First dude went on the campaign trail with JohnnyMac (and bombed). Then he wrote a book (which bombed). He somehow got a gig as a "correspondent" and a free trip to Israel (where he dodged bombs). And now, with his party of choice suddenly out of power (another bomb, see a pattern here, Joe?), and those Obama stimulus funds not headed to Ohio quick enough, Joe is pulling an Arlen Specter to keep his "career" on life support until the next hustle presents itself. Cause, you know, that's sorta what hustlers do. Hustle, and whatnot.

Big Government is never popular in theory, but the disaster aid, school lunches and prescription drugs that make up Big Government have become wildly popular in practice, especially now that so many people are hurting. Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber, tells TIME he's so outraged by GOP overspending, he's quitting the party — and he's the bull's-eye of its target audience.

But he also said he wouldn't support any cuts in defense, Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid — which, along with debt payments, would put more than two-thirds of the budget off limits. It's no coincidence that many Republicans who voted against the stimulus have claimed credit for stimulus projects in their district — or that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal stopped ridiculing volcano-monitoring programs after a volcano erupted in Alaska.

So, never mind the fact that this was the same guy who was railing against "redistribution of wealth" merely months ago (never mind the fact that he was once on welfare) is now against cuts to programs that by design do that very thing. We knew this fella was no genius all along. So did he. But he, much like Miss California, saw an opening from some very desperate people willing to overlook his flaws to make their own pointless point. And he, like you and I if we gotta be serious, took advantage. I ain't mad at this dude, not one bit. I damn sure woulda gone for the free ride myself. I sure hope he saved some of those paltry book royalties though. This recession is a b*tch. I done had to cut back my Jamba Juice visits from twice a month to once a month. It's hard out here.

Anyways, not (at all) surprisingly, the very pundits who once exalted Joe as the personification of hard work, hustle, and determination to strive for the attainment of the American Dream are the first ones to dropkick him on his way out the door.

This might be funny it it all weren't so damn predictable. And sad. And pathetic.

Note to the GOP: Kill the faux populism, cancel the pizza parties, and do some soul searching. I repeat, for the 918th time: the problem ain't the message, it's the messengers. Why is that so very difficult to comprehend?

Question: Is Joe The Plumber an all-American douchebag or did he merely game the system before it gamed him? Does the GOP have some really odd addiction to choosing poor spokespersons?

GOP disaster: First Specter and now Joe the Plumber? [CSM]

Cutting HBCU Funding? Aww Sh*t? Barry Done Effed' Up!

I've mused here many times about exactly what it would take to get President Obama squarely on the bad side of Black America. The theories were many, but most agreed that cheating on Michelle (especially with a White chick) would be the ultimate betrayal. Otherwise, it's darn near impossible for The Beige One to not be Black America's Darling. Im-freakin' possible.

That said, I wonder what the fallout of this latest news will be.

Leaders of historically black colleges say they'll fight a reduction in a federal program they call a financial lifeline at a time of economic distress for the schools and their students.

President Barack Obama's education budget, unveiled Thursday, included major spending increases in many areas — but didn't include an extra $85 million that black institutions have received annually for the past two years thanks to a 2007 change to the student loan laws.

That two-year-old program provided direct funds to federally recognized HBCUs — historically black colleges and universities. Other direct federal support to the schools would increase from $238 million to $250 million, but with the expiration of the HBCU fund the schools effectively would see a $73 million cut.

A program supporting Native American tribal colleges would also see decreased funding, while one for institutions serving large numbers of Hispanic students would see an increase from $93 million to $98 million.

Education Department officials emphasized that all such institutions stand to gain from other parts of the budget, notably the proposed increase in the maximum Pell Grant for low-income students by $200 — to $5,550.

Still, the move could suggest that even as the administration pushes big education spending increases focused on low-income and minority students, direct support for institutions isn't the most favored method. The HBCU program is unusual; most federal help for higher education goes to students, and thus only indirectly to schools.

The historically black colleges and universities have been hit particularly hard by the recession, and HBCU leaders said this is no time to cut back on programs offering direct support to institutions that play an outsized role educating the neediest students.

The 105 federally recognized HBCUs make up just 3 percent of U.S. colleges but account for nearly 20 percent of undergraduate degrees awarded to blacks, according to UNCF, the United Negro College Fund. However, some have struggled with low graduation rates. An AP analysis earlier this year found that, overall, black students at four-year HBCUs have lower graduation rates than black students at other schools.

HBCUs have about 132,000 students receiving Pell grants, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal figures collected by the nonprofit group The Education Trust. Even if all got the maximum $200 Pell Grant increase, that would provide HBCUs new revenue totaling only about one-third of the funding cut outlined in the budget.

Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina — home to 11 HBCUs — questioned the administration's priorities, considering its decision to spare $9 million in funding for whaling history museums.

Education Department officials said the additional $85 million the HBCU program enjoyed the last two years was temporary and that HBCUs shouldn't have counted on it continuing.

I never thought I'd agree with an NC Republican, but Senator Burr is absolutely correct. Let's keep it 100, there's no way to spin this nicely. Clinton increased funding for HBCU's each year. Ditto for W. Bush. Barry, 5 months into office, has already taken out the knife, and I say there's no logical excuse for this. Side with him all you want about not needing blacks in the Administration, or in the Cabinet, but lets not even remotely consider giving him a pass on this. This, is inexcusable. Period.

Not surprisingly, a similar program benefiting Hispanic students saw its funding increased. Chew on that.

[Editor's Note: If ya'll wanna call me hypocritical for being upset about this, yet in agreement with Obama's decision to end school vouchers for DC schoolkids, go right ahead. The shoe fits.]

Can we please not try to excuse this reduction as a "difficult decision in difficult economic times"? It's a f*ckup, let's call it exactly what it is. This is not even $100M, roughly the cost of some highwway repaving projects in the stimulus package. In these economic times, getting an education is about the only way out the ghetto for many young blacks. Yeah, I realize that marginally increasing the maximum Pell Grant is helping, but losing $73M when many of our schools are already reeling from a lack of state funding is inexcusable. Period.

Major f*ckup, Barry. Major.

Question: Is there any logical explanation for Obama cutting funding to HBCU's?!? Will Black America give Obama a pass on this too?

Black colleges will fight cut to federal program [AP]