You won't have to miss 24 to catch Chris Owens's TV show. At least for now.

Owens, a former Democratic Congressional Candidate and son of former Congressman Major Owens, is the host and executive producer of Inside the Congressional Black Caucus (iCBC, the lower case "i" is intentional and part of the show's logo) which was originally to premiere at 9 PM on Monday April 30 on the Black Family Channel (BFC). That's the same time slot as 24, that addictive TV show that glorifies torture.

However, BFC is now being acquired by the Gospel Music Network and will cease programming next week.

But iCBC won't be homeless long. Owens is close to a deal with a cable property owned by one of the world's largest media companies.

Stay tuned for more info.

Doubt the headline's premise? Check out this YouTube of audio from the Rush Limbaugh show, featuring a rendition of

Barack

Negro

by an Al Sharpton impersonator.

Hello, Federal Communications Commission?

mole333 mentioned Chris Owens's TV show, Inside the Congressional Black Caucus (iCBC, the lower case "i" is part of the logo and intentional), in a December blog, but the launch was delayed until now.

iCBC airs Mondays 9 PM and Midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Black Family Channel (152 on Time Warner in NYC, see your local listings elsewhere). iCBC is scheduled to premiere on April 30 with footage of California Congressperson Maxine Waters and Michigan representative John Conyers and an interview with the Rev Jesse Jackson.

Chris Owens, the Harvard and Princeton educated son of former Brooklyn, NY Congressperson Major Owens and a 2006 Congressional Candidate himself in the frequently discussed in the Daily Gotham 11th CD race, is the co-host and executive producer. Chris isn't the only Owens with a TV career, brother Geoffrey played Elvin on the Cosby show.

iCBC is a joint production effort of the Black Educational Network (BEN, Which he co-founded) through iCBC Productions LLC and historically black college University of the District of Columbia, UDC). UDC also provides production facilities for Washington DC Cable Channel 98.  read more »

When I did an article a few months ago about the possibility of a black borough president in Brooklyn’s near future, it was because I had observed a trend in Brooklyn’s politics over the past five years, whereby blacks and Hispanics were winning borough-wide races for civil and supreme courts, on a regular basis. It started in 2002, when both Delores Thomas and Margarita Lopez-Torres won county-wide races in the same year; something unfathomable to many an old-timer in Brooklyn. Then Chandrya Simpson did it the following year, and it was repeated subsequently in 2004, 2005 and 2006, with blacks and Hispanics making it look mundane, if not simple.

In two years time, Marty Markowitz, the current Brooklyn Borough President will be term-limited out of office; this throws up a vacancy, and it also offers a historic opportunity for a female, or a black, or a Hispanic-or a person other than someone male and Caucasian-to ascend to this office. So, in this the year of Barack Obama (2007), no black candidate has officially declared for the race as yet, but some have made very public statements of their intentions. This group includes the cerebral Chris Owens, Jamaican-born Assemblyman Nick Perry and the controversial NYC councilman Charles Barron. It has also been brought to my attention that over the years State Senator Velmanette Montgomery has openly admitted an interest in this race. Some folks are saying that she is definitely running this time around. Other blacks whose names have been bandied around for this race from time to time, include State Senator John Sampson, Assemblywoman Annette Robinson, NYC council-woman Tish James and Assemblyman Darryl Towns, however, for various reasons, all four seem not inclined to pursue this particular race at present- albeit that could change over the next year or so.  read more »

So Rudy Giuliani has "forgiven" Don Imus:

Embattled radio host Don Imus is getting support from many of the politicians and journalists who frequently grace his show - including presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani. Despite many calls for the shock jock's resignation, Giuliani said he would again appear with Imus, and after talking to him on the phone he believes Imus "understands that he made a very, very big mistake."

"I take Don at his word that he understands the gravity of what he said," Giuliani told the Daily News. "He seems sincerely sorry about it and seems like someone who will endeavor not to do that again and I take him at his word."

Well, that didn't take long.

It's nice of Giuliani to absolve Imus on behalf of his fellow African-Americans. What's that? He's not? Well then, it's hard to see what business he has "forgiving" a repeat-offending racist like Imus, isn't it?

Of course, this is Rudy Giuliani, much of whose mayoralty was premised on channeling white resentment against blacks. The same Giuliani whose malicious reaction to the Diallo shooting only made a bad situation worse. The same Rudy Giuliani who inflamed racial tensions by trashing Patrick Dorismond after Dorismond had been shot and killed by the NYPD. The same Rudy Giuliani whose policy of divide et impera managed to get him re-elected with two-thirds of the white vote but only 20% of the black vote.

Giuliani forgives Imus. The cobra forgives the rattlesnake for its venom.