Rev. Al Sharpton and seven others were found guilty this week of disorderly conduct in connection with a Sean Bell protest earlier this year. The judge in the case said he was "sympathetic" to the cause that sparked the protest but concluded that Sharpton and the others needed to "take a bullet" for the team. They were sentenced to time served plus a $95 fine. A National Action Network rep say that Sharpton and Co. would pay the fines with $50 bills to represent the number of shots fired by the cops who killed Bell. [NYDN]

Al Sharpton recently told the SCLC that just because a person makes a mistake, it doesn't mean that we should forget all of the good things he has done. No, he wasn't talking about himself. He wants black America to apply some Christian forgiveness to Jesse Jackson, who has fallen out of favor after accidentally threatening to violate the sanctity of Barack Obama's balls in front of a live mic.

"We have all made mistakes. We have all erred, and we ought not try to sugar coat when we err," Sharpton said during a meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Kenner, LA.

"But we should not throw away everything when we err, and to say that Rev. Jackson made a mistake is correct, but to act like Rev. Jesse Jackson is not pivotal to our movement, our history … is wrong."

[EUR]

• I'm both pleased and disappointed that Al Sharpton rejected a request from ABC to appear on Dancing With The Stars. [EUR]

• Trina and her boyfriend, NBA player Kenyon Martin, got into a fender bender in Belize. Shrug. Everyone else was writing about it, so I thought I would mention it. [AHH]

• Will Britney Spears send out a memo to all budding pop stars explaining that it's a mistake to announce to the world that you're saving yourself for marriage? [SP]

• New music! From Whitney Houston! [CL]

• Plies has joined the Lying Rapper Club. [RTNY]

It turns out the Teflon Reverend, Al Sharpton, won't be indicted on federal tax charges after all. The feds have dropped their probe of Sharpton and his organization, the National Action Network, in exchange for a promise from Sharpton to pay a tax settlement of somewhere between $2 million and $9 million.

Prosecutors have officially and, I'd bet a million of that tax money, grudgingly, handed the matter over to the IRS. [NYDN]

Al Sharpton pleaded not guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct yesterday. He was arrested, along with about 30 others, during a May protest of the Sean Bell verdict, prior to which he had threatened to "shut down New York City." Sharpton and his National Action Network also threatened to protest at the MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, but decided against it because he is "reasonably confident" appropriate legislation will be passed. "We are not jail freaks. We don't love handcuffs," Sharpton said after his hearing. "We are trying to move toward some kind of permanent change." [EUR]

Al Sharpton is usually the responding to existing controversy or drumming it up himself, but he has had his fair share of personal controversies during his storied career as a civil rights activist and "personality." Most recently, he's under fire for allegedly pocketing big donations from corporations in exchange for giving out stamps of approval for diversity. Sharpton calls it a "fishing expedition," but it's enough to pique the feds' interest. Coincidentally, the one thread that holds all of Sharpton's career black eyes together isn't race or civil rights. It's money.

CONTINUED »

Al Sharpton, who has been getting skewered in the press lately over federal investigations into his tax-paying-habits and a recent article that alleges he took bribes from major corporations in exchange for going easy on them for their race practices. He has now challenged one of the reporters of the latter story, Isabel Vincent on the New York Post, to an on-air debate.

"The New York Post continues its efforts to undermine the civil rights movement with articles that mislead the public," National Action Network VP Rachel Noerdlinger said in a statement. "The New York Post reporter Isabel Vincent writes an article entitled "Sharpton Shakedown; Boycotted CEOs write checks to Rev. Al," even though the article had no evidence of shakedowns or corporations claiming that their contributions to NAN were in any way coerced or intended to buy silence."

CONTINUED »

Lil Wayne on Al Sharpton in "Misunderstood:"

You see, you are no MLK/ You are no Jesse Jackson/ You are nobody to me/ You’re just another Don King with a perm/ Just a little more political/ And that just means you a little more un-human/ Than us humans/ And now let me be human by saying/ F**k Al Sharpton and anyone like him”

Al Sharpton('s rep) on Lil Wayne:

“While some of the rappers don’t like the fact that Rev. Sharpton has been leading marches against the degradation of women in music, a Gallup poll released last week revealed that Rev. Sharpton has a 50% approval rate among African-Americans. So why dignify a response to one rap artist who doesn’t even say anything substantive."

Whose side are you on?

As if most New Yorkers don't already hate Al Sharpton enough, he's planning on another Sean Bell protest — the last one blocked the city's bridges and messed up traffic — during the MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. New Yorkers might be used to horrible traffic, but, seriously, don't mess with their baseball. Sharpton & Co. say the protest will go as planned unless there is some move to pass legislation to curb police violence.

"We have plans to do the same at the All-Star Game," Sharpton said. "We will seriously consider suspending our civil disobedience if we can see some legislative action."

The legislation Sharpton wants passed would reform the Civilian Complaint Review Board, require drug testing after cops fire their guns and ban arrest quotas. What do you think about Sharpton's protests? Do you think they'll bring about change or are they just a nuisance?[NYDN]

Barack Obama is clearly the first black presidential candidate with a serious shot at the presidency, but he isn't the first black politician to throw his or her hat in the ring.

Shirley Chisolm ran for the nomination in 1972, followed by Jesse Jackson and others.

In our current presidential election, former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is the likely Green Party nominee, and Alan (gag) Keyes is the "America's Independent Party" candidate.

REV. AL: SHOW ME THE MONEY? Al Sharpton is denying allegations that he demanded $500,000 from Dr. Dre in exchange for brokering a peace deal between the Game and 50 Cent. According to Bruce Williams, alleged Dre confidant and author of the book Rollin' With Dre, Sharpton said that if the producer didn't pony up the National Action Network would march in protest of his music. "The National Action Network and Reverend Al Sharpton were not involved with and did not attend a press conference held by Hip-Hop artists The Game and 50 Cent to announce their truce and donation to charities," a representative for Reverend Sharpton said in a statement." At no point has Reverend Al Sharpton or an authorized representative of National Action Network met with Dr. Dre."

Chris Matthews, never a big fan of the HRC, shudders at the thought that she would actually deign to mention "white blue collar" voters and play the ugly race card, then proceeds to accuse Clinton of being the "Al Sharpton of white people." Cable news hosts are losing their minds this election season. I'm not sure who would be more offended by this characterization, HRC or Rev. Al. Probably Rev. Al.

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The Reverend Al Sharpton and the National Action Network might owe the U.S. government $1.5 million in back taxes and penalties, but, honestly, even the IRS has to know that it is impossible to pay taxes and plot to shut down major cities at the same time. Cut Sharpton some slack!

Sharpton, who sees the government inquiries into his finances as a witch hunt, disputes the accuracy of the quoted debt, but NAN representatives admit that in recent years the organization has had trouble dealing with its rise in stature and the subsequent jump in income and donations. "The infrastructure was trying to keep up with that pace, and it was not a perfect fit," Executive Director Charles King told the AP on Friday. "The National Action Network may not have been perfect, but nothing was going on that was untoward."

Sharpton also has a personal tax debt of over $1 million, which allies say the IRS has inflated based on the NAN's bookkeeping issues. Sharpton's too busy with Sean Bell and a recent police beating in Philadelphia to care. Plus, the last time he was tried for tax fraud he walked away clean. He should have sent Wesley Snipes his lawyer.

Al Sharpton, his National Action Network, and hundreds of protesters briefly made good on their promise to shut down New York City in the wake of the Sean Bell verdict by blocking traffic at the entrances to Queensboro Bridge, the Triborough Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel this afternoon.

Around 3:30 p.m. they stepped onto the lanes of the Queensboro Bridge, blocking traffic for about 30 minutes. The Rev. Dock Johnson, pastor of Community Baptist Church in South Ozone Park, Queens, kneeling with both arms extended and wearing a pin-striped suit, a leather cap and sunglasses, led the protesters, who sat down in the middle of the traffic lanes. After they resisted police orders to disperse, the protesters — including Mr. Johnson — were placed in plastic handcuffs and arrested. About 100 protesters marched east on 34th Street before turning north of Second Avenue. A group of about 40 formed a line across the entrance to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and formed a line, chanting. They blocked traffic for about 10 minutes until about 20 were arrested; the remainder continued their protest but stopped blocking traffic.

The largest protest occurred outside of police headquarters in Lower Manhattan — it ended about 20 minutes ago when police began mass arresting the protesters. [NYT]

UPDATE: Sharpton and Sean Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, were arrested at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge.

THE SHARPTON EFFECT This from a black woman in her mid-30s on the L train just moments ago: (screamed at nobody in particular) "You have no idea! You have no idea! But Al Sharpton does. Sharpton knows! Y'all better listen. Even I don't know! But I do know about them Apple Bottom jeans and the peach fuzz." [At this point she sang "Low" by rapper Flo Rida while clapping off-beat and staring menacingly at everyone.]