A new book we've not read about culture in the United States argues this famous paradoxical maxim: the more things change, the more they stay the same. To clarify: statistics show that millions of Americans are gradually proving that they want to live around people that look, behave and believe like them. Despite what you may think, studies say it didn't used to be like that.

Bill Bishop, the author of The Big Sort, cites one major example we imagine typifies those used throughout the book: "In 1976, less than a quarter of the American people lived in so-called 'landslide counties' – that is, counties in which the spread between the two major presidential candidates was 20 percentage points or more. By 2004, nearly half of us lived in this kind of politically tilted territory."

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The dismal "State of Black America" report released yesterday by the National Urban League speaks largely to the fact that blacks, in general, are finding it hard to succeed in today's America. But the report also specifically addresses the plights – and successes – of the black, American woman.

Like their white counterparts, black women tend to earn less than black men – $566 a week compared to $629 – despite the fact that they comprise a larger part of the workforce. And according to Andrea Harris, president of the North Carolina Institute for Minority Economic Development, the subprime loan foreclosure crisis rattling most real estate markets in the United States is disproportionately affecting black women.

Then there's the issue of pop culture:

Julianne Malveaux, the president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C., contends in the report's opening essay that the image of black women in popular culture has barely improved in the year since the Imus incident.

White men continue to dominate on TV's Sunday morning news shows, she writes, while "the gyrating, undulating image of African-American women in rap music videos and, by extension, on cable television is as prevalent as ever."

There is some good news: Between 1997 and 2006, businesses owned by black women increased by 147 percent, while the overall business growth rate was only 24 percent. There's also been a noticeable increase in black women in the Democratic electorate since the last presidential election.

Now how to make voting and business owning as attractive as having Fat Joe throw sweaty dollar bills at you?

In a move that is so awesome, the arguable birthplace of hip hop – an apartment building at 1520 Sedgwick in the west Bronx – has been given a stay of gentrification by New York housing authorities.

The city rejected a $9 million bid on the property by the Mitchell-Lama real estate development group, calling that price "inconsistent with the use of property as a Mitchell-Lama affordable housing development."

DJ Kool Herc, a godfather of hip hop music and onetime performer in 1520's community room, was on hand for the celebration following the decision. "It’s not just about 1520, it’s about all affordable housing," said Herc. "Every family needs a piece of the American dream."

The residents of the historic building are hoping this rejection will spark discussion about a tenant-led purchase of the property.

50 Cent is putting his Farmington, CT, home, which formerly belonged to Mike Tyson, on the market for $18.5 million, but not before he shows it off on MTV's Cribs.

"I like the look of an Architectural Digest," 50 said of his designing style. "There's a lot of good living going on, and it ain't based (on) the actual money that's being spent, it's the choices that people make. You don't have to buy a $50 million home to build a lifestyle that's equivalent."

Of course, that's coming from a man with a house so big there are times he has guests — and doesn't even know it…

But 50, who owns several homes, said he's grown weary of the two-hour plus commute from Farmington to New York City. Plus, he's looking to downsize.

"It might be a lot smaller," he said of his future house. "The basics — maybe four or five bedrooms."

Disregard that last statement — 50 Cent's not going to live in a four-bedroom house. I guarantee it.

The special airs tonight, but you know MTV. It will be on every night until 2009, so, even if you're moderately interested, there's no rush. Plus, if you've seen one room in an obnoxious rapper's Architechtural Digest-inspired home, haven't you seen them all?

• A federal judge in Boston takes a stand (and gives a speech) against mandatory drug sentencing guidelines. [USAT]

• Rep. Julia Carson, a Indiana secretary turned U.S. Congresswoman, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. [WIBW]

• Fabolous is wanted for questioning regarding the stabbing death of one of his good friends at a "trendy" NYC club. [NYDN]

• Racists with too much time on their hands are really bringing it back to the good ol' days. [PPG]

• The housing crisis? It's hitting blacks the hardest. No surprise there. [Reuters]

• As blacks continue to buy homes during a real estate slump, the racial disparity in home ownership will continue to shrink. [BS]

• Indonesia doesn't care if Beyonce lets it all hang out. [Reuters]

• Can we blame the racism Jamie Foxx experienced as a child for his attention issues? [Now]

• Morgan Stanley gets slapped with a racial bias suit some African American brokers and managers. [CNN]

Snoop just sold the house featured in this Cribs clip for $1.8 million. Even though he hasn't lived in the Claremont, CA, mansion since 2000, locals probably think the sale of his house is the best thing to ever happen to them.

The newly remodeled house sits on an acre of land, contains 6500 square feet of living, 8 bedrooms, a swimming pool and spa, a pool house, a basketball court and a tennis court.

"There were regular parties, and they were loud," Claremont Capt. Gary Jenkins told the Claremont Courier. “So we would receive a lot of noise complaints. There were a lot of cars in the neighborhood and people loitering around in the streets, but no major problems.”

See, no major problems. Those Claremont denizens will miss the billows of weed smoke rising from the chimney and the sing song bark of pit bulls lulling the neighborhood to sleep.

[AHH]

If greedy real estate developers weren't taking advantage of programs meant for the poor, the disenfranchised, or, say, the victims of horrifying natural disasters, then it wouldn't really be America, would it? I mean, that's what we're all about here in the U.S.A. It certainly explains why developers are using tax benefits created as part of the Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) Act of 2005 to build luxury condos in an area that only got heavy rain during Hurricane Katrina.

Tuscaloosa, hundreds of miles away from the Gulf Coast, but incidentally the home of the University of Alabama football stadium, is benefiting from a bunch of brand new million dollar condos built with money that should have gone to actual hurricane victims. How did this happen? It might have to do with a certain Republican Senator from Tuscaloosa who sits on the Appropriations committee.

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East Coast is not the first thing I think of when I hear the rather flamboyant Michael Jackson's name, but, apparently, I'm wrong. This part of the country, specifically Maryland's Eastern Shore, has been calling to him for quite a while. He's in the market for a vacation home and spent some time in Maryland checking out property. The residents there are thrilled, no doubt.

Jackson, 48, is not limiting his search to the Chesapeake region. He has since "gone up the coast" to look elsewhere for a vacation place, Bain said.

"He's always admired the properties on the East Coast because they have a lot of land," Bain said in the story published Wednesday. "Neverland has 3,000 acres - he likes privacy. You can't find as many properties like that on the West Coast."

Funny. He's mentally fit enough to purchase and build on a large plot of land (not to mention raise three masked children), but the responsibility of presenting an award to Diana Ross at last week's BET Awards was too much to handle. Rumor has it he, not Alicia Keys, was supposed to present the lifetime achievement honor to Ms. Ross, but his handlers informed BET producers that he was too "incapacitated." Someone throw the man in an asylum and put us all, particularly Maryland residents, out of our misery.

[Forbes, EUR]

Dwyane Wade's Florida home is so personalized (some might say ridiculous) that he will probably have a hard time selling it for the $8.9 million asking price. Maybe he should have painted over all the murals of his face before he decided to put it on the market. More pictures of the 12,000 square foot mansion, which defines the phrase "new money," after the jump.

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Sam Leccima was one of the only black cast members on A&E's most popular show, the real-estate-themed Flip This House. Presumably, he was also the only one who was just pretending to own and sell the houses he was (also not actually) renovating on the show.

"This is, indeed, a con artist," said Sonya McGee, an Atlanta pharmaceutical representative who says Leccima took $4,000 from her in an investment scheme.

McGee and others say Leccima's episodes of "Flip This House," A&E's most popular show, were elaborate hoaxes. His friends and family were presented as potential homebuyers and "sold" signs were slapped in front of unsold houses. They say the home repairs — the lynchpin of the show — were actually quick or temporary patch jobs designed to look good on camera.

Leccima says he never claimed to own the homes. While not acknowledging his televised renovations were staged, he didn't deny it and suggested that A&E and Departure Films, the production company that makes the show, knew exactly what he was doing.

Leccima also claimed to be a real estate agent, when the Georgia Real Estate Commission actually revoked it in 2005, "with the panel ruling he 'does not bear a good reputation for honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, and competence.'" Sigh. With Congressman Jefferson and now this loser, I've had enough dishonest black people for today. Only positive news from here on out.

In other words, I'm not going to make a big deal about how the Game was charged with three felonies in connection with a February incident (which involved guns, a schoolyard, and poor sportmanship) I told you about a few weeks ago. Yeah, I'm not mentioning that at all!

[BV, BS]

When a mega hip hop star is willing to sell his 8 bedroom mansion for the cost of about two of his cars, you gotta wonder what's going on in his personal life. Snoop's 6,500 square foot mansion, located about 30 miles outside LA, is on the market for just $1.9 million. $1.9 million? I mean, Eddie Griffin movies make twice that amount in one weekend.

I wonder what's wrong with it. Maybe they couldn't get the weed stench out of the wall-to-wall.

[People]