Quvenzhane Wallis Is "Annie"

The Oscar nominee will replace Willow Smith in the title role of the Will Smith/JAY-Z produced musical, "Annie". Ain't such a hard-knock life, after all.

White House Immigration Reform Plan Leaked

WASHINGTON — A draft of a White House immigration proposal obtained by USA TODAY would allow illegal immigrants to become legal permanent residents within eight years.

The plan also would provide for more security funding and require business owners to check the immigration status of new hires within four years. In addition, the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants could apply for a newly created "Lawful Prospective Immigrant" visa, under the bill being written by the White House.

The draft was obtained from an Obama administration official who said it was being distributed to various agencies. The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release the proposal publicly.

The bill is being developed as members in both chambers of Congress are drafting their own immigration bills. Last month, four Republican senators joined with four Democratic senators to announce their agreement on the general outlines of an immigration plan. In the House, a bipartisan group of representatives has been negotiating an immigration proposal for years and are writing their own bill.

In his first term, Obama often deferred to Congress on drafting and advancing major legislation, including the Affordable Care Act. He has openly supported the efforts in Congress to move immigration legislation, and just this week met with Democratic senators to discuss their proposals.

But two weeks ago in Las Vegas, while outlining his immigration plans, Obama made clear that he would not wait too long for Congress to get moving.

"If Congress is unable to move forward in a timely fashion, I will send up a bill based on my proposal and insist that they vote on it right away," he said.

White House spokesman Clark Stevens said Saturday that the administration continues to support the bipartisan efforts ongoing in Congress.

"The president has made clear the principles upon which he believes any common-sense immigration reform effort should be based," Stevens said. "We continue to work in support of a bipartisan effort, and while the president has made clear he will move forward if Congress fails to act, progress continues to be made and the administration has not prepared a final bill to submit."

According to the White House draft, people would need to pass a criminal background check, submit biometric information and pay fees to qualify for the new visa. If approved, they would be allowed to legally reside in the U.S., work and leave the country for short periods of time.

Illegal immigrants would be disqualified from the program if they were convicted of a crime that led to a prison term of at least one year, three or more different crimes that resulted in a total of 90 days in jail, or if they committed any offense abroad that "if committed in the United States would render the alien inadmissible or removable from the United States."

People currently in federal custody or facing deportation proceedings also could be allowed to apply for the Lawful Prospective Immigrant visa. Application forms and instructions would be provided in "the most common languages spoken by persons in the United States," but the application and all supporting evidence submitted to the federal government would have to be in English.

They would also be given a new identification card to show as proof of their legal status in the country.

The immigrants could then apply for legal permanent residence, commonly known as a green card, within eight years if they learn English and "the history and government of the United States" and pay back taxes. That would then clear the path for them to apply for U.S. citizenship.

To combat fraud, the draft proposes a new Social Security card be developed that is "fraud-resistant, tamper-resistant and wear-resistant." The Social Security Administration would be required to issue the new cards within two years.

A major requirement for many Republicans is enhanced border security. The bill calls for an unspecified increase in the Border Patrol, allows the Department of Homeland Security to expand technological improvements along the border and adds 140 new immigration judges to process the heavy flow of people who violate immigration laws.

It also orders U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to study whether a land-border crossing fee should be implemented to help offset border security costs. The draft also proposes raising many inspection fees that border-crossers already pay.

The draft bill proposes a new plan to allow Homeland Security to "accept donations" from citizens, businesses and local and state governments to improve ports of entry and security features along the border. And it would require CBP to begin collecting statistics on deaths along the border and report them quarterly.

The draft also expands the E-Verify program that checks the immigration status of people seeking new jobs. Businesses with more than 1,000 employees must begin using the system within two years, businesses with more than 250 employees within three years and all businesses within four years.

Homeland Security, working with the U.S. departments of Labor and Agriculture, the attorney general and other agencies, would engage in a $40 million-a-year program to educate business owners and workers about the program.

Homeland Security also would be required to submit a report within 18 months showing how the worker verification system is working, and specifically explain how it is affecting the nation's agriculture industry, which relies heavily on illegal immigrant workers.

The draft obtained by USA TODAY does not include sections that would alter the nation's legal immigration system to adjust the future flow of legal immigrants, which is expected to be a critical component of any immigration overhaul.

Linda Johnson Rice of Johnson Publishing Lends Her Support of Marriage Equality

The publisher of Ebony and Jet Magazines expressed her support of marriage equality in a poignant Chicago Tribune op-ed on Valentine’s Day.

In the very personal piece, Johnson Publishing Company Chairman Linda Johnson Rice described her support of equality as having been inspired by her late mother.

“I have always drawn strength from my late mother’s life," she wrote. "When Eunice Johnson set up the first major fashion show for African-American audiences more than 50 years ago, she did so at a time when black Americans, especially black women, were still fighting for a seat at the table, any table."

The divorcee said that her mother’s words on equality were with her when Jet Magazine featured its first same-sex couple in August 2011 and then again in March and December of 2012.

“When the December magazine hit newsstands, I received dozens of calls wondering whether our readers or advertisers protested. You know what? Not one did. They celebrated right along with us because they were celebrating fairness and equality,”Rice wrote.

She added:

“Yet if the couples we featured walked into an Illinois courthouse and tried to get a marriage license, they’d be turned away. The same goes for couples in dozens of states. For millions of committed and loving same-sex couples, including African American couples, fair and equal access to marriage is still a dream. For these couples, they can’t show their true colors in the way my mother believed was absolutely essential.”

In a previous Chicago Magazine profile, Rice was described as “politically savvy, tough-as-nails with significant influence and clout in Chicago’s civic and cultural life." So her support of marriage equality definitely has the potential to carry a lot of clout.

In the midst of Rice’s op-ed being published, the Illinois State Senate approved same-sex marriage legislation by a vote of 34-21 and now awaits a House of Representatives vote.

Taking Account of One's Friends

When taking account of one’s friends

For those that are real, you will always bend.

To sway and swing like a willow in the breeze.

Being a good friend comes without having to aim to please.

Through thick and thin, tragedy and ease

The mere presence of that friend should always appease.

You dare not put price on that which is friendship

To have good people around is always a gift.

How can one measure the fullness of a laugh?

After calling out their fuck buddies when you know their trade is just trash?

You dutifully tell little white lies, cooing, “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

Then share in their sadness over 3 bottles of cheap wine.

We all know to judge or criticize is friendship gone wrong

Never badmouth the one who first taught you to smoke from a bong.

It was those weed filled nights generously sprinkled with shots of liquor

We both pledged undying loyalty, then, with cell phones took ungodly amounts of pictures.

We should take the time to go back and revisit those crazed, fun filled nights

You’d realize you forged bonds of steel. Made memories of a youth lived right.

Hold those flashes of remembrance close

And when you catch one, make sure you hold it tight.

J.J. Abrams, 'Star Wars' Director: 'Star Trek' Boss Reportedly Chosen To Helm 'Episode VII'

(As reported by HuffPo)

The Force is strong with this one.

J.J. Abrams has reportedly been selected to direct the upcoming seventh installment of George Lucas' legendary "Star Wars" series.

It's shocking news because Abrams -- who successfully re-launched the "Star Trek" franchise for Paramount in 2009, and has been hard at work on a sequel, "Star Trek into Darkness," set for release on May 17 -- had previously told Entertainment Weekly that he would not journey to a galaxy far, far away to continue the saga Lucas began back in 1977. In an interview with Empire Magazine last year, Abrams said he was approached to direct "Episode VII," but nothing came from the discussions.

"[T]here were the very early conversations and I quickly said that because of my loyalty to 'Star Trek,' and also just being a fan, I wouldn't even want to be involved in the next version of those things," Abrams said to Empire (via Coming Soon). "I declined any involvement very early on. I'd rather be in the audience not knowing what was coming, rather than being involved in the minutiae of making them."

According to The Wrap, which broke the news of the Abrams deal, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy led the mission to recruit Abrams to direct "Episode VII," which is expected to hit theaters in 2015. The sequel was a centerpiece of Disney's $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm, announced last October.

The question of who would direct "Star Wars: Episode VII" has prompted wave upon wave of speculation, and Thursday's report by The Wrap adds another name to the pile: "Argo" director Ben Affleck, the site claims, had also been considered for the job. Other rumored directors included Matthew Vaughn ("X-Men: First Class"), Colin Treverrow ("Safety Not Guaranteed") and Joss Whedon ("Marvel's The Avengers").

Abrams will work from a screenplay by Michael Arndt, who won an Oscar for writing "Little Miss Sunshine," but it remains to be seen whether the story will continue that of the original three films or tell an altogether new one.

Click over to The Wrap for more. The news of Abrams accepting the position was also reported by Deadline.com and Variety.

My take:

This isn't right. What about his so-called loyalty to the 'Star Trek' franchise? I'm a fan of both franchises but come on....J.J. Abrams is NOT the only capable director out there. What about Nolan, Fincher, Snyder and a slew of other worthy directors? I like Abrams' I-wanna-be-like-Spielberg-when-I-grow-up approach to filmmaking, but come on.

In Regards To Claims Obama Is Trying To Decimate The Republican Party

If embracing the ideas of true equality, both of personal rights and opportunity and access to healthcare and education results in an end to the Republican Party, then it is time the darkness of this blight that calls itself the GOP is driven from the halls of Governing, ... for in their headlong pursuit of obstructing all functions of government to prove its ineffectiveness they have shown merely that they only embrace those parts of our Constitution that speak to the darker angels of avarice and hoarding, while denying the fundamental collective bargain that is at the very foundation upon which we all may reach for nobility as a Nation.
If the GOP will demise, then let it be soon, for all our sake.

                                                                      

Beyonce Pulls A Lil' Milli Vanilli

So....about this furor surrounding whether or not Beyonce lip-synced the Star Spangled Banner at President Obama's inauguration: who cares? 

Have we all forgotten when Whitney Houston lip-synced the same song at the Olympics over a decade ago and it was released as a single which went on to sell millions of copies? Nobody minded then.

And just maybe her vocal chords aren't acclimated to singing in such frigid temperatures because it was freezing that day in Washington, D.C.

Kelly Clarkson sang live? Who cares, again. That's Kelly Clarkson.

Beyonce did in fact sing. She just didn't sing live. And as we continue to buy her albums and sing her catchy hooks, the sun will continue to rise.