Thursday's Daily Brief

Thursday, August 4, 2011 Arianna Huffington: Introducing HuffPost BlackVoices: Covering Black America's Split-Screen Reality Arianna Huffington: Surveying the current national and international landscape, I often feel that we are living in a split-screen world. And depending on what part of the screen you are looking at, you will have a very different perception of where things stand. Nowhere is this split-screen reality more pronounced than in the African-American community. On one side, it's a bleak picture: crushing unemployment, widening income and wealth disparity, and a disproportionate number of people in jail. But there is an equally compelling reality on display on the other side of the screen, where we can watch our first black president, our first black attorney general, and the overwhelming influence of the African-American community on fashion, music, sports, and the rest of popular culture. HuffPost BlackVoices, launching today, will cover both sides of the screen, focusing on current events and cultural trends from a black perspective. Check it out and let us know what you think. BLACK VOICES Color Blind Or Just Blind? How Economics Misses Reality MEDIA Obama Presidency Hasn't Turned Media Spotlight On Black Issues MEDIA Heather Mills Alleges Her Phone Was Hacked By Piers Morgan's Paper POLITICS THE SPOILSMEN COMETH: How Congress Corrupted Patent Reform CELEBRITY Ashton Kutcher's 'Two And A Half Men' Character Revealed BLOG POSTS Heidi Klum: Caring For My Kids' Hair Having four children, with one having straight hair and three curly, it's a bit of a new world for me. Growing up with straight hair myself, that was all I really knew how to work with. It was pretty straightforward: wash, air dry, done. Michael Steele: Taking Ownership of the American Dream African-Americans' 21st century reality is simply this: it's time to stand for something different. The debate we're having is no longer productive. It's time for solutions that come from us, from within our house, our family and ultimately our community as a whole. Bob Cesca: The American People Lost the Debt Ceiling Debate We lost. Middle and working class Americans. We're the losers in the debt ceiling debate. Not President Obama or the Democrats. And it was always going to be this way. As soon as deficit reduction became the only game in town. Cecile Richards: Birth Control You Can Afford -- It's About Time! Affordable birth control means better birth control. When cost is not a concern, women are more likely to choose more effective birth control methods. Imagine -- making your birth control decision based on what fits you rather than what fits your wallet! Larry Flynt: Why I Asked Casey Anthony to Pose for Hustler The media has spent the past three years making Casey Anthony into a media star. Without that, no one would even know who she is.

MOST POPULAR ON HUFFINGTONPOST.COM LIVE UPDATES: Debt Ceiling Deal Reached J. Lo Talks Marc Anthony Divorce Man Acquitted Of Friend's Murder Confesses To Police, Walks Free ON TWITTER Watch: Casey Anthony Surfaces Progressive Despair: Austerity Top Priority As Economy Sputters, Americans Suffer Endangered Sumatran Tiger Dies in Trap While Bulldozers Rip Rainforest Nearby (VIDEO) ON FACEBOOK 'Wigger Wednesday': Black Student Sues Minnesota School District For Racism America's 10 Sickest Housing Markets Obama Gets His Birthday Wish