Monday, September 08, 2008

"Freedom isn't free."


This election season we have heard over and over again, how a certain presidential candidate spent over five years of his life in a North Vietnamese prison. We have heard, time and time again, how brave and courageous he was, and how he was tortured and refused medical treatment by his captors, the Viet Cong. We heard about how he gave up his own freedom when it was offered, all so that he could suffer with his fellow American prisoners of war. That was courageous, and no doubt a certain presidential candidate deserves all the accolades that he has gotten. Senator, thank you for your service. I mean that.



But Senator (you know the but was coming, so don't trip), with all due respect, A-merry-ca has done alright by you, don't you think? This country we love so much has given you two of the things it cherishes most: blonds and money. Yes Senator, not only do you have the blond, but she came with lots and lots of money. That's one hundred million ways we have said thank you senator, and I think you deserve every penny of it.....



Now Senator, I know of some other men who have spent some time in prisons that they didn't deserve to be in as well. In fact, there are quite a few of them. One poor guy, Walter Swift, did 26 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Now I know he wasn't tortured like you senator, and I am sure the conditions he was under were much better than what you had over there in the Hanoi Hilton. But 26 years of state time in Michigan? Hmmmm, let me see now; 26 years as opposed to five. I don't know, that kind of evens it out a little, don't you think? The thing is, and here is the irony of it all: You were fighting the Vietnamese to protect us from Communism, you were fighting for our A-merry-can ideals, our A-merry-can way of life and everything we stand for. And yet people like poor Mr. Swift keep ending up being victims of an imperfect system of laws which those ideals you were fighting for, created. Unfortunately for Mr. Swift, he doesn't have the pedigree like you do senator. You are the son of a four star admiral... Hell, you are the grandson of a four star admiral as well. You went to prep schools and the Naval Academy, you are an A-merry-can hero. Mr Swift's ancestors were slaves. So he was not given a heroes homecoming when he walked out of The Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit. And he sure as hell will not eventually end up being something as prestigious as a senior senator from one of these divided states; succeeding a man like the the famous (or infamous) Barry Goldwater.


"My incarceration of 26 years was just that - my personal adversity,... And to harbor any ill feelings toward anyone because of it would not only cheapen me as an individual, but it would put a remarkable blemish upon the excellent work and the struggle of these people who labored so hard on my behalf."



Well said Mr. Swift. A-merry-ca owes you as well. Unfortunately, all we can give you is your freedom back. It's not much but at least you live in a country where you can be free. I think you are supposed to thank a certain presidential candidate for that.


83 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let's get one thing straight. John Sidney McCain III was never tortured. He may have been subjected to "enhanced interrogation techniques," but he was never tortured. Just ask John Woo, Alberto Gonzales, Richard Cheney, George W. Bush, Condoleeza Rice, or any one of a number of other current and former White House denizens.

Anonymous said...

Well said, sharon!

Anonymous said...

Brilliant post Field.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

I'm sick of hearing about McCain's POW ordeal. McCain has wore the word POW in the ground.

field negro said...

Damn granny, and I thought I was tough.

Thanks gwpriester!

sharon, that was a great comment. And to be fair to Mr. Morton, he opposed the frat boy and his crew on torture. Good for him. He who feels it knows it, I guess.

NSangoma said...

~
Which of our freedoms as guaranteed by the US Constitution, were threatened by the Vietnamese?

All the Vietnamese wanted was for white folke to leave them alone. First the French and then the US; just would not leave those people alone.
`

Anonymous said...

Well,sucking mclame off is definately house negro behavior.
Why is it that every time someone black has to praise the white guy. Fuck that prick, call his ass out!
Do you see them using any discretion when they talk about us?
I will NEVER have anything nice to say about ANY of those crackers. I love my race and my people too much to be deferred by anything those honkies have to offer. Sorry if I offended anyone, but then again, what do I have to be sorry for? Are they sorry? I don't think so.

NSangoma said...

~
If it smells like propaganda...

Mike Allen has the goods on the McCain campaign's plan for Charlie Gibson's "interview" with Sarah Palin:

The [McCain campaign] official said Gibson will have the chance to "speak to her on 9/11 about her ideas for keeping America safe in the future; to speak to her as she goes back to Wasilla, where she grew up, about her life and her views and her vision for the country."

In other words, this is going to be a total puff piece. More details:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will speak at her son's Army deployment ceremony on 9/11 and spend two days with ABC News crews later this week as part of a McCain campaign plan to increase Americans' comfort with her as a leader.
...

http://www.jedreport.com/2008/09/if-it-smells-like-propaganda.html
`

Anonymous said...

Great post field,Damn it feels good to see intelligent brothers grinding these rethugs into fine white powder!

Anonymous said...

I figured it would be a total puff piece. It's up to us to put pressure on ABC to serve the American public. Here's a link to a feedback site for World News Tonight with Charles Gibson: http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3271346&cat=World%20News%20with%20Charles%20Gibson

Tell them there's a lot at stake in this election and we need more information about Palin's foreign and domestic views.

Anonymous said...

"I think you are supposed to thank a certain presidential candidate for that."

I'm not sure who you mean by that.

McCain fought in Vietnam, but that doesn't mean he fought for his country.
Vietnam was about many things, but protecting American soil wasn't on that list.
Crashing 5 planes, and trying to outrun a SAM when he should've evaded(instead he tried to outrun it) doesn't make him a hero. It makes him careless. Being a POW doesn't justify being a racist, sexist, warmongering asshole.

Hugh O'Donnell said...

Okay, let's drop a logic bomb...

Walter Swift acknowledges his misfortune with this statement:

"My incarceration of 26 years was just that - my personal adversity,... And to harbor any ill feelings toward anyone because of it would not only cheapen me as an individual, but it would put a remarkable blemish upon the excellent work and the struggle of these people who labored so hard on my behalf."

He knows that McCain's imprisonment in a foreign country is not remotely relevant to his false imprisonment.

So the question is, why use Walter as justification to wallop McCain.

Just go for it, and wallop McCain without all the irrelevant window dressing.

I would be so distressed if you fell into the same sloppy logic habits that our current press exhibits.

Field, you know how to kick ass without beating around the bush (oops, unintentional pun). Keep on keeping on.

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

Good post, field.

Sharon: The Sen. McCain of 2000 would have sat up on his Straight-talk express bus and said "Hell yes, he was tortured, and the articles of the Geneva convention says so!" But Sen. McCain the presidential candidates-- after consulting with Bush-- decided that a little "enhanced interrogation" might one day save the U.S. republic (and saying that might help make him president) Uh huh.
field, you're right: All and all, being a prisoner shouldn't qualify him for president, but he just may play it up all the way to the White House.

Black Diaspora said...

I don't know of any one who's gotten so much mileage from his POW status than McCain.

Hugh, I'm gonna let Field ably rebut your statement, and his approach to this blog entry.

But here's the point I'm thinking he's making, and the one that I took away:

"Well said Mr. Swift. A-merry-ca owes you as well. Unfortunately, all we can give you is your freedom back."

One man lost his freedom, and because he was white, he can still partake of the American dream without restraint.

Another man lost his freedom, and because he was black, the only thing he can look forward to is a dubious freedom.

I can only give you my take. I can only speak for me.

Anonymous said...

I think it is a testament to Black people's real deep love for America that they keep on giving of themselves and giving their very best to a country that couldn't care less. I mean look at this election- Black America says 'we will give a Harvard Law grad, professor and senator' and white America responds with a 'University of Idaho communications major and a last in his class Naval captain' and somehow it is a close race. Sometimes I can really see why DuBois gave up on this country and went to Africa to die a communist.
Really if we switched the races in the election would it even be an election or a gutting. Maybe we are wrong and the only reward McCain will be getting will be his blond and her money. Maybe America wont throw in a presidency as well to the 72 yr old 4 time cancer survivor. Gosh I hope we are wrong.

Anonymous said...

George & Dick pulling strings to keep their asses out of Nam wasn't a disqualification, five years as a POW isn't a qualification. H.W Bush was shot down over the Pacific & thank heavens there was an American sub nearby. George McGovern bombed Nazi oil refineries in a B-24 Liberator flying deathtrap. Gerald Ford was nearly washed overboard in a typhoon & spent the next six hours fighting a huge shipboard fire. Those three candidates didn't run for office as "American Heroes."

RiPPa said...

Well said Field. They play so much on his POW experience, its sickening. OK, so yeah, it was heroic. But how come they never talk about the FACT that he crashed 5 planes while serv his country. Or how come they never mention that he graduated damn near at the bottom of his class?

I swear, everytime I hear about his POW stint, I wanna rename him Kunta Kinte. You'd think he had his foot chopped off for trying to run away or sumthin.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

anon @1:36 I hear you. What really ticks me off is Obama's accomplishments are used against him as a negative...you know, he's "elitist".

SandyT said...

I thought Abraham Lincoln was the president who freed the slaves! Wasn't he Republican? Oh yeah, he was! Who is turning their back on his true Party, looks like Obama!
If you support Obama, then you support Innocent Killings! I must comment on the War, Obama and Biden are against it, so they bicker about 4000 ADULT Soldiers that have died for Freedom, killing Terrorists, who hate us(Americans) in the last 5 years. These soldiers on their own accord signed up to make the World a better place and prayers go out to each soldier and their families, God Bless. On the other hand Obama and Biden have no compassion for the 1,210,000 plus INNOCENT lives that were destroyed just last year in 2007, that is over ONE MILLION BABIES THAT WERE ABORTED JUST IN THE U.S. LAST YEAR! Do you see what I'm getting at! You do the math! Oh Yeah, that's above Obama's pay grade...I'll do it for him, TOTAL- 5,000,000 of God's children destroyed in the last 5 years, forgive us Lord! It's McCain/Palin (08) for me. These Innocent babies need someone to speak for them! God Bless America! Reverse Roe vs Wade!

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Sandyt:

I’m against abortion as well. However, Jesus is a gentleman and God granted everyone freedom of choice and did not try to force himself on no one. Either they accepted him and his word or they didn’t. The one great thing about his way is that he gave people the right to make up their own mind—freedom to choose. He didn’t try to shove himself and his word down folk’s throat.

Last time I studied the word, God still sits on the throne above and looks down low, and he is still God. No human being has the right to tell another human being which choice to make. That is something that is left up to each and every individual. I don’t know about your bible but mine says let the wheat and chaff tarry together and God will do the separating. Folks like you don’t seem to grasp that simple message or obey it. That is God’s job and his alone. You, the government, or Republicans don’t have any heaven and hell to put folks in nor do you hold the key to either one. Your job as a Christian is to pray for people not dictate to them what choice to make.

The bible, also, said that in the last days people will rather believe a LIE than the TRUTH. However, you would rather vote to take someone’s right to choose away, then to take a good look at the people that you’re choosing to vote for in this coming election. Both are liars and have been lying left and right to win at all cost. My bible also tells me that if you LIE, your father is the devil. Nevertheless, their lies are catching up with them. One of the commandments has to do with adultery, yet you’re willing to accept an adulterer to lead you, instead of two men who are faithful husbands to their wives. Palin a so-called Christian laughed and made fun of a cancer patient. Again, KJV tells me that you’re supposed to pray for the sick. However, those things are okay with you as long as you can dictate to people what choices to make—this is a right God gave every single human being. Yet, you want to usurp God and take that away.

You’ve falsely accused Biden and Obama and said they have no compassion, but they’ve never said that in words or actions. So, did you ask God to forgive you for being self-righteous and judgemental as well?

The Pharisees and Sadducees were self-righteous and had Christ killed. Think about it. If at all possible be at peace with all men...

Anonymous said...

Everyday I sin, every day I repent! I was just representing those millions of babies that can't speak for themselves! Guess shame on me for loving all man kind, wanting every child to have the chance to live, as well as fighting for the world, like the Iraq people to have freedom like us! God Bless!

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

We all sin and fall short of the glory of the Lord. Nothing wrong with loving all man kind, but you seem to have felt short on that love when it came to the soldiers, because in your own words,"so they bicker about 4000 ADULT Soldiers that have died for Freedom". Isn't their life worth something to, and wouldn't you just as much want to put and end to them losing their lives behind a lie? Think about this, those people in Iraq were not the terrorist, Osama Ben Laden and his crew were. If you truly are in tuned with God, surely you knew that going to war with Iraq was wrong. Bush sent our soldiers to die behind a lie. Blood is on his hands and on those who were in agreement with him.

I believe your a good woman and you want to do what's right. We all do. But I'm asking you to think about what I said, because God was not in the decision to go to war in Iraq and a lot of innocent people have died behind it.

Anonymous said...

sandyt, your opinion on abortion is yours to have, but your romanticized ideas about the war are off base. Let me challenge you to expand your knowledge base. Read this article, click on every link, look at every picture, and then tell me if you still feel our government has been fair to children or our soldiers:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/15/1010/24597/728/536258

Great post, field. I love the work their doing down in texas to free folks using DNA evidence. I'm not quite sure I could be as gracious as Mr. Swift after 26 years.

Off topic, for those who are interested, two stories about Palin. One involves Wasilla charging rape victims for rape kits:

http://opedna.com/2008/09/08/wasilla-police-billed-sexual-assault-victims-for-rape-kits/

From the looks of it, Wasilla ain't a good place to live (maybe it's because it's the meth capital of Alaska):

http://www.clrsearch.com/RSS/Demographics/AK/Wasilla/Crime_Statistics

The other WAPO story is about charges to the state for her family's travel:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090803088.html?hpid=topnews

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

BTW, Iraq is the birth place of Abraham and it has been destroyed behind a lie. People have lost their children behind a lie. When Cindy Sheenan lost her son in Iraq, because she dared to question Bush and ask him a question, she was ridiculed, smeared, and labeled crazy. A mother who had lost her only son in a war that began with a lie, who was grieving was treated like dirt. I don't even know that woman personally, but my heart went out to her, because I know what it's like to grieve over the loss of a love one. Our government added pain to her grief as a reward for the death of her son who served to maintain our freedom. Think about that.

Anonymous said...

To bad those 1,210,000 Babies last year in 2007 couldn't have had a choice, at least our soldiers who are adults do! Both my parents served in the military during Vietnam. My father was shot down out of the sky three times, would he do it again, absolutely! It's what needed to be done at the time just like allowing the Iraq people to have freedom of choice. Now I'm fighting for the children, just like our soldiers our fighting for us! If I had to lay dowm my life for these innocent babies, I will! Would you?

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

sandyt

Listen I understand how you feel about the unborn babies, truly I do. Like I said before I'm against abortion myself, but I know that it's not my place to make other people's choices for them. That is between them and God.

I have a long list of relatives in the military in all branches. One of my cousins died in Vietnam. I have cousins over in Iraq right now on both sides of my family. I even have one family member who is active in the military who was stranded on that freeway in Katrina. Another one who was one of the men in military sent home to New Orleans to help with the rescue efforts in Katrina and who had to search for his son. One of my cousins in the military was in charge of the rescue efforts in Katrina. One set of my relatives whole immediate family made the military out of a career. But I happen to value their life and do not feel it should be wasted behind a lie.

Allowing the Iraq people to have freedom? Do tell what type of freedom they have, because being dictated to by the USA president is not freedom, it's called colonization. Wake up! How would you feel if the shoe were on the other foot? The war in Iraq was not started to give the Iraqi people freedom, it was started behind WMD that did not exist and control over their oil.

Granny is gonna say night. I'm not feeling well, and I need to get in my bed. So, I'll say this to you once again, WAKE UP!

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

BTW, War is not a GLORIOUS thing, it is full of horrors, because innocent people die, including children.

Black Diaspora said...

sandyt said...
"Now I'm fighting for the children, just like our soldiers our fighting for us! If I had to lay dowm my life for these innocent babies, I will! Would you?

I belive that you're sincere, if not a bit misguided. Abortion isn't killing people as quickly as hunger, malnutrtion, and diseases associated with these two things, which the nations of the world could end at any time.

We're all innocent at some point or time in our lives. I feel and care for all of humanity, young and old.

Consider:

In the Asian, African and Latin American countries, well over 500 million people are living in what the World Bank has called "absolute poverty."

Every year 15 million children die of hunger.

For the price of one missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for 5 years.

Throughout the 1990's more than 100million children will die from illness and starvation. Those 100 million deaths could be prevented for the price of ten Stealth bombers, or what the world spends on its military in two days!

One in twelve people worldwide is malnourished, including 160 million children under the age of 5. United Nations Food and Agriculture

Nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion - a majority of humanity - live on less than $1 per day, while the world's 358 billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries with 45percent of the world's people. UNICEF

3 billion people in the world today struggle to survive on US$2/day.

In 1994 the Urban Institute in Washington DC estimated that one out of 6 elderly people in the U.S. has an inadequate diet.

In the U.S. hunger and race are related. In 1991 46% of African-American children were chronically hungry, and 40% of Latino children were chronically hungry compared to 16% of white children.

The infant mortality rate is closely linked to inadequate nutrition among pregnant women. The U.S. ranks 23rd among industrial nations in infant mortality. African-American infants die at nearly twice the rate of white infants.

One out of every eight children under the age of twelve in the U.S. goes to bed hungry every night.

Half of all children under five years of age in South Asia and one third of those in sub-Saharan Africa are malnourished.

In 1997 alone, the lives of at least 300,000 young children were saved by vitamin A supplementation programmes in developing countries.

Malnutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide - a proportion unmatched by any infectious disease since the Black Death.

To satisfy the world's sanitation and food requirements would cost only US$13 billion- what the people of the United States and the European Union spend on perfume each year.

The assets of the world's three richest men are more than the combined GNP of all the least developed countries on the planet.

Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger.

It is estimated that some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, about 100 times as many as those who actually die from it each year.

Anonymous said...

The U.S. comes in second to Russia for Abortions. Did I forget to mention that, Russia averages 2million + abortions a year. Roe vs Wade is all about the woman's body, it is not about choice, otherwise the fathers would be able to have a say in the matter, which they don't. I wonder what Obama would have said if Michele would have came to him and said., " I'm pregnant but I'm killing our baby because it just doesn't fit in with the Democratic party for pro-choice? Think he would have stepped up and been man enough to say I want our child, don't kill it! I wonder!! This statement makes me cry just thinking that this could happen and does happen...God Bless!

Anonymous said...

The Republican party made this country free, free for the black race and free for choice! Abortion is not choice, it's murder and those that murder should be held accountable and those that support it should be thought of as accomplices. If I was to listen to democrats right now, then we would loose a war and go on killing innocent babies. How would that make me a proud American. A Looser and A Murderer! I stand up for every person in America and all around the world, we supply more financially to other countries and supply them with humanitary needs more than anyone else but we can't even help innocent babies, here in America! McCain/Palin (08) for me this time around! God Bless America!

Black Diaspora said...

sandyt, please exercise your choice and vote for McCain. It's okay, really!

We here will vote our conscience, and for me, that's Obama.

I'm afraid that the ending of Roe vs. Wade will not be the end of abortions in this country.

If you think that that will be the case, then you will be sorely disappointed.

There were abortions before Rv.W, and there will be abortions after Rv.W.

Yes, they will be in the millions, just as they are now, but some under unsanitary, back-alley conditions.

There will still be doctors who will do it under sanitary conditions to supplement their income, just as before Rv.W.

And there will always be those who will use more severe methods: remember the old clothes hanger procedure?

If we really want to save babies, we need to give our young people of childbearing age alternatives, and make those alternatives more attractive than those that are now available.

A lifetime of weeping and gnashing of teeth will not do so much as education, and alternatives.

Also, we must do away with the stigma of having babies out of wedlock. In addition, we need to make the having of babies, and the rearing of children, not just the responsibility of a couple of families and a couple of people, but the responsibility of the entire community, the whole village.

Until that happens, you better keep boxes of tissues handy.

And on the war issue, let's go into Russia, and stop them from aborting children. Let's attack every country that aborts, or hold their people under tyrannical rule:
China should be first on our list, and then Russia.

Anonymous said...

Ok, this is the end for me, we shall agree to disagree but I still believe Obama turned his back on the Replublicans. He chose to run for the wrong Party! I don't care much for no trader, maybe it's his Harvard Education vs my tech schooling! God Bless

PVW said...

Turned his back on the Republicans?

The Republicans were the ones in the wake of the civil rights era who objected to the movement and who used the Southern strategy to get white votes--tell whites that civil rights meant "reverse discrimination."

Yes, the Republicans supported ending slavery in the 19th c., but in the 20th, the Republicans turned their backs on civil rights; the Democrats did not.

If anything, the Democrats rejected their earlier heritage of opposing civil rights and supported it beginning with Johnson.

All those Southerners who hated civil rights became Republicans.

Angela L. Braden, Writer, Speaker, Professor said...

Field: Wonderful post. Hugh O. may not have understood the point you made with this post, but I did. Perfect logic...

Granny: Thanks for repping. You've done a great job here on this thread.

Sandyt: I feel your sincerety. However, I think that you are somehow placing more value on a unborn babies life than an adult that is fighting in Iraq. Yes, the babies are innocent, if you will. And yes, the adults that have joined the armed forces made a choice to do so. But their choice to join the military was made with the understanding that they would be defending the national security of America and Americans abroad. They certainly did not sign up to die in a war that was started and continued based on lies, half truths, and pride.

And by the way, these men and women that are fighting in Iraq are parents. What about their kids?
Don't we care that the children of the men and women dying in Iraq will grow up without their parent?
Don't we care the children of the men and and women fighting in that "false" war are being parented by individuals that have, yes, returned from Iraq; but have returned mentally and physically disabled?
Don't we care that the children of the women and men that are fighting in Iraq will grow up in poverty because their parents don't have access to medical services amd vocational rehab that could significantly impact their ability to improve their medical condition, and then eventually become gainfully employed?

Oh yes, Sandyt. I have one more question. And this question was one that I just asked a minister friend of mine last night, who expressed some of your same concern for the unborn babies.
If you and others feel this strongly about the unborn babies "right to life", I respect that. But why is it, Sandyt, are their so many unwanted children on the foster care rolls?
How many babies have you taken into your home and provided them with the loving arms that children need? You know, these kids not only have a "right to life", but they also have a "right to love, protection, care, and guidance of a parent."
So Sandyt, again I ask: How many babies/children have you and your church members have taken into your homes and offered them the same level of care that you give the children that you gave birth to?

With love and fairness on my mind,
AB

Anonymous said...

How many children has Obama taken in and how many has McCain? Another point for the Republican Party! Thanks for your comments, I am a mixed Southerner who loves to hunt with my white daddy and my Lumbee Indian husband along with my three children, my oldest a Junior at a prestigious Southern College. God Bless the unborn babies of the World.

PVW said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121598863003949317.html?mod=opinion_journal_federation

Wall Street Journal:

Civil Rights and the Conservative Movement
How the right got it wrong.
By WILLIAM VOEGELI
July 14, 2008

field negro said...

"Well,sucking mclame off is definately house negro behavior.
Why is it that every time someone black has to praise the white guy. Fuck that prick, call his ass out!"

blackisback, maybe you should read the post again. Sometimes, what I am saying will hit you the second time around.

black diaspora, if I were your professor, you would have gotten an A for that analysis.

sandyt, here is my view on abortion: As a man, I shouldn't even be involved with this discussion. If we (men) could have babies, please believe that there would be drive through abortion clinics. No one should tell another human being what to do witht THEIR body. Period. End of story.

And are Iraqi babies different than A-merry-can babies? I was just wondering if all life is equal in your eyes. Republicans seem to have some issues with that.

boib, great point about Gerald Ford, and McGovern.

And as for ABC and Charles Gibson; please! The beauty queen would have gotten tougher questions on Oprah.

brohammas said...

Seriously,
If you are the white person who says, "why should I be punished for something my ancestors did? I never had anything to do with slavery and niether did anyone else who is alive today.", than you can by the same argument SHUT UP about what party ended slavery... unless you were alive then.

To be fair, the Repubs did not oppose the civil rights movement at first... but they did welcome in dissenfranchised southern white Demos who felt "abandoned" by thier party. Ya know, I think some of them are still alive today, let them take credit for that.

Anonymous said...

"prisoner"

"president"

They only differ by a few letters. Just another hint that it's God's will.

Yes, macdaddy, McCain was against torture before he was for it. Much as I disagreed with the old McCain, the new McCain makes him look good. Heck, the new McCain makes Barry Goldwater look good. (Barry's granddaughter thinks so, too. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/27/goldwaters-granddaughter_n_103725.html. Ike's granddaughter likes Obama, too. http://www.truthout.org/article/ikes-granddaughter-calls-obama-future-america. I don't know if this is a measure of how far right the rethuglican party has drifted, or how far right the Democratic Party has drifted. Probably both.)

Anonymous said...

sandyt, if you want to reduce the number of abortions in this country, then work for comprehensive sex education, including but not limited to abstinence, and easy access to contraception. Study after study shows that abstinence-only sex "education" leads to an *increase* in the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions. Access to effective contraception leads to reduced pregnancies and reduced abortions.

Anonymous said...

I think I love you. That.Is.All

David Sullivan said...

Who out there thinks that Palin reminds them of Dustin Hoffman's character "Tootsie"?

Read here:

http://sullsblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/tootsie.html

Jody said...

While I greatly admire Mr. Swift's generosity, I am not feeling so generous.... I sincerely hope that the lawyers who worked so hard to free him will also then work to sue the shit out of the state.

Fact is, it is very difficult to be incarcerated for so long and come out and be accepted, even if you were innocent. And, is his record expunged? No, it will show a felony conviction, which precludes him from getting many jobs. Mr. Swift deserves to live in the lap of luxury after what he has endured.
And, if every wrongfully incarcerated person were to successfully sue for MILLIONS, maybe DAs would be a bit more careful in their zeal for convictions.

Fun fact on wrongful convictions: Even after attorneys successfully show a wrongful conviction, the state often pressures for a deal saying, we will fight your release and we will re-charge you unless you agree not to sue. The state does not admit it is wrong and in most wrongful conviction cases, they will fight tooth and nail to keep that person locked up, no matter the DNA or other evidence. So, the no suit is another weapon in their arsonal of injustice. And, many, seeing the perverbial light at the end of their very long, hellish tunnel, agree.

NSangoma said...

~
McCain has sprouted a halo and wings to become America's POW-hero presidential candidate.
`

NSangoma said...

~
Don't get Spun by the Spin
`

NSangoma said...

~
where are the SwiftBoaters
`

Kristin said...

Hey Field thanks for this story. Too often we as Americans forgot those that are truly suffering and focus on those few individuals that clamor for the spot light and attention. I can only hope and pray that Mr. Swift gets the type of President that will make adjustments to the law so that men like him who are wrongfully convicted will have better laws in place to protect them.

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

Bravo.

Anonymous said...

What the hell is wrong with that Sandyt chick??? This is the kind of shit I read from the extreme right. She is willing to vote for an old coot and a lying whore just because they don't believe in abortion???!! I'm sorry I don't care for abortion either but, and call me an asshole, we have much more serious stuff to deal with else we might not even have a country to debate about abortion...Vote for McCain and his jump off and get their ass elected, I can gaurentee you'll regret it later.

Anonymous said...

The reality is that middle America is going to eat up McCain's story, and they are not going to pay attention to the issue. Mr. Morton will tell his story ad nauseam, and it doesn't matter if we are tired listening to him.

I wouldn't bother disputing or swiftboating McCain because it will probably backfire. However, Obama needs to stay on message and drive home it's the economy stupid. He has to make it very simple like your gas is high than saying alternative energy which quite frankly most people do not understand, but understand bread and butter.

Anonymous said...

The reality is that middle America is going to eat up McCain's story, and they are not going to pay attention to the issue. Mr. Morton will tell his story ad nauseam, and it doesn't matter if we are tired listening to him.

I wouldn't bother disputing or swiftboating McCain because it will probably backfire. However, Obama needs to stay on message and drive home it's the economy stupid. He has to make it very simple like your gas is high than saying alternative energy which quite frankly most people do not understand, but understand bread and butter.

? said...

I wouldn't count on lower class whites not voting either, they do, every election. Why do you think the republicans win the south every time? The least likely to vote are the most liberal, including college kids. Why do you think the democrats almost always lose?

Anonymous said...

I never understood the view of those people that are against abortion but are for capital punishment and war, hmm. Isn't it all killing? if your are against killing babies, then why aren't you against killing all people, babies die in war too? these Bible totters always want to bring up want it says in the Bible but ignore thou shalt not kill, it doesn't say thou shalt not kill unless it's war or capital punishment. The argument never made sense to me and what the fuck does that have anything to do with the economy and the falling dollar or anything? It just goes to show how stupid so many voters are, nothing but followers instead of independent thinkers.

Anonymous said...

All things may not what they seem to be when it comes to the bullshit polls that the msm keeps shoving in our faces. Check out this site to get a more realistic (and encouraging) view of what is going down.

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield

Kim said...

John McCain:

A noun, a verb, POW.

apologies to Joe Biden

vanishing point said...

The Westchester Guardian has some really good articles about the experience of the wrongfully convicted.

Anonymous said...

I friend and me were "porching it on the clouds". She is from Germany and can't vote in the U.S. and of course she doesn't really pay attention to our politics, even though they effect her too, but she really didn't understand the fascination with Palin especially when she getting caught in lies (she doesn't lie so she just hates off that alone) I explained it to her like this (hope I explain it right because I was I **g* as hell last night.):
I said you have to think of this particualr election as high school..Sarah is pretty, "smart" and popular so other white females of the student body aspire to be or just hang out with. I went to a diversified high school in CT and let me tell you the pretty white girls hung out together and the homely white girls wish they could be with the pretty white girls.. The American white woman are identifying with her, so she can do no wrong. And the white men forget it, this is the girl who is just plain hot - and that's it. They probably want to kick her husbands ass just cuz he's hitting it.
I'm sure I explained it better last night to my friend because she got the picture. My guess she wasn't probably part of the popular bunch in high school because now she hates her.

Anonymous said...

I don't know, Field. I have a heart for these types of scenarios..and I know this rings with you as you defend the rights of people. (I even applied to the law school that sponsors the Innocence Project that helped Mr. Swift.) But, I would have preferred that you compared/contrasted Mr. Swift's tragedy with someone like a crack-smoker such as Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. of Washington D.C. who deserves to see more time behind bars...or better yet, the beloved Kwame Malik Kilpatrick who womanize and embezzle while the people of Detroit suffer daily....
These are the people who abuse their privilege and need to see some serious jail time.

McCain is extremely wealthy...no doubt. He has had numerous privileges...no doubt there. Yes, the RNC is playing the POW Card to its fullest...without question. But I would think that Mr. Swift, being the caliber of man he is, would be very uneasy if he read this.

I would have preferred that you simply elevated Mr. Swift to the status of a HERO and stopped there.

Nonetheless, you do great job of raising awareness, and I tip my hat to you on that.

Anonymous said...

Classical One:

Republicans typically win due to low voter turn out. It's the reason why Democrats seeks out to get new voters in every election. This country in general has low voter turn out. There are 8 million African Americans alone who are not registered to vote. I can guarantee that there is low voter turn among voters from 18 to 35, Latin Americans, and working class. Demographics are very important in elections, more married women vote than unmarried women. I know some people who do not want to register to vote because they do not want to be in jury duty, but do not realize that the state also checks driver's licenses as well. It's one of many excuses why people do not vote.

Anonymous said...

McCain rides his P.O.W. status like Rudy rides 9/11. At least 9/11 was 7 years ago. I really wish republicans would quit this pissing contest over patriotism.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

sandyt:

"The Republican party made this country free, free for the black race and free for choice!"

Granny is shaking her head. Whelp, I guess ole granny needs to just think the Massa, even though, my relatives fought in the Civil War as well, and even though I was born with a God given right to freedom of choice. When Jesus frees you, you’re free indeed and he freed me when I was still in my mother’s womb. I’m sorry but I refuse to serve the Republican god and man. I serve a God Almighty, the one and only TRUE LIVING GOD, I AM that I AM, the Bread of Life, Fountain of Living Waters.

“Abortion is not choice, it's murder and those that murder should be held accountable and those that support it should be thought of as accomplices.”

Excuse me, but murder is a choice as well. For example, you choose to kill or choose not to. Everything you do in life is a choice. Well, I’ll overlook that asinine statement of yours due to your immaturity.

“If I was to listen to democrats right now, then we would loose a war and go on killing innocent babies.”

What in the world does killing innocent babies have to do with loosing a war?

“How would that make me a proud American. A Looser and A Murderer!”

Granny is shaking her head. Oh, but you don’t seem to think that Bush is a looser and murderer, huh? He put millions of people’s families in harms way behind a lie. Innocent men and women are dying behind this lie. An innocent country has been destroyed, innocent people of that country have loss their loved ones as well, he has practically destroyed America, and McCain and Palin plan to finish the job. However, the right to have control over a woman’s body has blinded you to that fact. Child, don’t you understand that a woman’s body belongs to her, and she can haul coal in it if she wants to. Once again, that’s between her and God. God is not dead and you’re not God. Child you need to be working out your own soul’s salvation.

“ I stand up for every person in America and all around the world, we supply more financially to other countries and supply them with humanitary needs more than anyone else but we can't even help innocent babies, here in America! McCain/Palin (08) for me this time around! God Bless America”

Now, see there, your blindness has made you stretch the truth, because you’re not standing up for me. Nor are you standing up for millions of other people. You’re standing up for people who want to have control over a woman’s body, and dictate to people what choices to make in life. I guess you skipped over that verse in the KJV, that CONTROL is the spirit of WITCHCRAFT.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

The media must really think that all people are just plain ole stupid and incapable of thinking. I sat and watch how some of the commentators ask bias questions that are constructed to get an answer that has no choice to it.

I wish CNN would get rid of Lou Dobbs, he needs to be on Fox News, he would fit well with them. He is so mean-spirited and full of hate until it is obvious. Whenever, he comes on, I turn the channel, because he is so obviously biases in his reporting, until it's disgraceful. Every time I see him on television it reminds me of that old sitcom with Jackie Gleason when Gleason would say, "One of these days, pow, right in the kisser."

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

BLOGGERS ALERT!

THIS BLOG BELONGS TO FIELD NEGRO AND HE CAN WRITE WHATEVER AND HOWEVER HE CHOOSES TO WRITE ABOUT A TOPIC. I mean come on now, do you let people come to your house and tell you how to run it? Hint...hint!

? said...

Hennasplace,

I agree with you about low voter turn out but believe me, those conservative, religious voters will indeed be out in force in November, time for those left wingers to get in the game.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Freedom to education is not on McCain's agenda. He wants to abolish The Board of Education.

McCain Voted Against Funding for After-School Programs. McCain voted against additional funding for after-school programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. (S.Amdt. 1609 to S.Amdt. 1542 to H.R. 2660, Vote 340, 9/10/03)
McCain Voted Against Funding for Head Start. McCain has voted repeatedly against funding for Head Start programs, as recently as 2005. In 2003, McCain voted against increasing spending on Head Start programs by $24 billion and on after-school programs by $18 billion over 10 years. That year, he also voted against a Democratic effort to add $350 million to Head Start, the federal program for poor preschool children. In 2001, McCain voted against fully funding Head Start to ensure that all eligible children have access. (S.Amdt. 2254 to H.R. 3010, Vote 272, 10/26/05; S.C.R. 23, Vote 86, 3/25/03; H.R. 2660, Vote 333, 9/9/03; H.R. 1836, Vote 154, 5/22/01)


McCain Opposed Efforts to Increase Funding for Special Education and Education and Health Programs. McCain voted against allowing an amendment to increase funding for special education and against $7.1 billion for education and health programs. (S.Amdt. 2292 to H.R. 3010, Vote 273, 10/26/05; S.Amdt. 3048 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 58, 3/16/06)

McCain Voted Against Funding for After-School Programs. McCain voted against additional funding for after-school programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. (S.Amdt. 1609 to S.Amdt. 1542 to H.R. 2660, Vote 340, 9/10/03)
McCain Voted Against Funding for Head Start. McCain has voted repeatedly against funding for Head Start programs, as recently as 2005. In 2003, McCain voted against increasing spending on Head Start programs by $24 billion and on after-school programs by $18 billion over 10 years. That year, he also voted against a Democratic effort to add $350 million to Head Start, the federal program for poor preschool children. In 2001, McCain voted against fully funding Head Start to ensure that all eligible children have access. (S.Amdt. 2254 to H.R. 3010, Vote 272, 10/26/05; S.C.R. 23, Vote 86, 3/25/03; H.R. 2660, Vote 333, 9/9/03; H.R. 1836, Vote 154, 5/22/01)

McCain Voted Against School Repairs and Construction. McCain voted against $1.6 billion in school construction funding to repair the most dilapidated school buildings. (S. 1, Vote 108, 5/16/01)
McCain made private school vouchers the centerpiece of his education platform. Private school vouchers divert public education funds to private schools instead of building a system that benefits all students. In a recent speech, McCain stated, "School choice for all who want it...will be part of a serious agenda of education reform." (NAACP Convention 7/16/08)
McCain Has Voted Repeatedly for Voucher Programs for Almost 20 Years

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Please don't give up Hope, everything is gonna work out. Obama will be the next President. YES WE CAN!

Anonymous said...

Prediction-

Palin calls him a socialist nigger during the Charlie Gibson interview.....and the crowd goes wild.....

Anonymous said...

Wait..granny, no you didn't break out with "child"...:):) Thank you for that..you just made me flashback to when my grandmother was alive and as a young girl I would sit with her in the kitchen every summer down south in N. Carolina while she would tell me stories while she made homemade buttermilk biscuits. Ummm Ummmm Ummm. Sorry I know that was off topic, but I needed to thank granny, with all the craziness going on with this election, I'm sure we could all use a smile now and then. :)

field negro said...

granny, ay to drop knowledge with your 5:18PM comments!

"THIS BLOG BELONGS TO FIELD NEGRO AND HE CAN WRITE WHATEVER AND HOWEVER HE CHOOSES TO WRITE ABOUT A TOPIC. I mean come on now, do you let people come to your house and tell you how to run it? Hint...hint!"

Ahhh granny, I am used to it, since someone else does actually run my house :)


"Prediction-

Palin calls him a socialist nigger during the Charlie Gibson interview.....and the crowd goes wild....."

Or a socialist Sambo maybe:)

Yes innercityrose, what would we do without granny?

Anonymous said...

Classical One:

Now that Palin is on the ticket, evangelicals will come out. It's going to be a close race as Obama strategically managed to voter registration as part of the grassroots efforts earlier ing the campaign. Obama is 26 electoral votes away from winning, but we are going to have watch States like Michigan, Florida, Ohio, Colorado, Field's home state. Even Virginia is a battleground state.

But you know, off the subject a bit, I was reading the Mudflats blog today. There is a story in the Washington Post today that Sarah Palin "billed Alaskan taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business." A quote from the Washington Post, I do not want to be accused of copying someone else's words. I don't know if information will change the campaign, but I did not think so. However, does question her ethics.

Anonymous said...

Brother Field... I wish Amerikkans would stop using phrases "saving our freedom" and figthing for "our freedom". This is a nation that no one on this globe at this time can come here to take "any" thing from it. If not.. will someone please write a script that will explain how and who can take the freedom of these 300 million plus scary souls. They can write me at above name with aol.

Anonymous said...

Luving Obama


Latest Obama Ad - No Maverick


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBtbG5xjFBY

David Sullivan said...

By your side bar I see you like my "Tootsie" reference.

Black Diaspora said...

@StillaPanther2: "...will someone please write a script that will explain how and who can take the freedom of these 300 million plus scary souls.

Stilla, I can do it in just a few words: our own nation, our own American government who these "300 million plus scary souls" trust unquestioningly.

That's who.

"I have seen the enemy and he is us." --Pogo, one variant.

Anonymous said...

The quick answer is: Republicans don't believe in ethics for themselves, only other folks. And Big Media will try their damndest to let them get away with it.

Mooselini needs to be blasted out of her Big Media bullshit bubble. Keep bloggin the noize!

Jibreel Riley said...

Henna...

Did you read the whole Wash Post article or just the headline? Gov Palin acculity use 80% less of the state budget than the previous Gov.

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/09/09/new-palin-scandal-she-billed-the-state-for-stuff-she-was-allowed-to-bill/

p.s. When has Obama done something to go against his own party?

Najmah said...

Granny - you are the best - my foster Grandparent online! "child..." Love it!

Field, KUTGW (thats great, not good).

Anonymous said...

I am definitely Obama fan and will be voting for him and his VP in November...but just in case my candiate does not win...

Trying to prepare my family and friends for the outcome...War, Depression, NO MONEY, or good paying jobs, Securization, lack of colleteral, Increasing household expenses, outragous school tuition including daycare, skyrocketing food prices, more gender racism, and gas........

Tootsie and McOld are running a sham campaign...all about perception and deception...I know Obama want to take the high road...but darn..throw some dirt (heck losing by one point is still losing by a million points).......

I have never seen a election like this one...So if everyone is ready for 4 more years of backward thinking (Slavery, Jim Crow, or post slavery) get ready here it come...

Only three more weeks and couple of days to get register to vote or we are to live to regret it....

field negro said...

David, that's all you. I swear you were my inspiration for that one :)

Okay mesha, now you done it, you done made me scared. 0:

Anonymous said...

It's a sad day in America when you have to rely on the National Enquirer and Jon Stewart to do some actual reporting. Many of you, I'm guessing, have seen this clip from Stewart, where he perfectly illustrates the hypocrisy of the Republican party: http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=184086

This hypocrisy reached epic proportions during the RNC convention when Mitt Romney, whose worth about $350 million, got onstage and called Obama an elitist. Unbelievable. Their true colors came out when they mocked and ridiculed community organizers.

It's time to swiftboat THEM. Karl Rove is a genius because he goes after the eneomy's strengths. What's the Republican party's greatest strength? They sure do know how to convince the masses that they're just like them. Except they don't play by everybody elses rules (See: Palin's knocked up teenaged daughter)I don't know why the Obama campaign doesn't call them on this. If I worked for the campaign, I'd have a commercial starting with George Bush back in 2000, calling himself a "uniter, not a divider," along with all those promises he made to end the partisanship in Washington. Then we'd move to a clip of a conservative talking about how moms ought to stay home and take care of their kids. Remember: These were the same folks that have led a decades-long assault on working moms. Suddenly, these folks have become the champions of the very same women they've been trying to shame. Feminism? What do they know about feminism? Does this mean Rush is no longer usign the term "feminazis"? Move in to Bill O'Reilly, who just a few months ago said he blamed the parents of pregnant teen Jamie Lynn Spears for not controlling their daughter. Now, this smug, arrogant bastard is suddenly singing a different tune. And the list can go on and on and on. Somebody, other than Jon Stewart, really needs to call them on this. Because, unfortunately, there are a whole lot of dumbasses in this country who don't understand what these people are really like. Dumbasses who are gullable enought to think that a man worth several hundred milllion dollars could be calling anybody but himself an elitist.

Sheila

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Mesha:

Trust me they do not want Granny to be no mammy. No mam and no sir!

Stop thinking like that. Y'all need to learn how to believe. Believing is knowing without a doubt that what you believe in is going to happen. You follow me? Stop thinking negative, because I don't care how the situation looks right now, anything can happen before the election. Granny believes that Obama is gonna be the next President of the USA. Remember the hare didn't win the race, the turtle did.

Right now, the MSM and GOP call themselves trying to break Obama's spirit. It's not gone work. He is a very intelligent and wise young man and has their number. McCain is using Hillary's tactics, but you all know how that turned out.

Stuff coming out right now is just the tip of the iceberg, wait until the cream off the top is served. Little Ms pitbull will be transformed into a poodle.

Anonymous said...

black race and free for choice! Abortion is not choice, it's murder and those that murder should be held accountable and those that support it should be thought of as accomplices. White woman are the biggest group of baby killers in this country,they are having these ghastly acts,do you think abortion would be an issue if it was just minority woman having them?If the palin girl was knocked up by tyrone jones,you bet her funny lookn ass would be up in sturups gettn that black baby out.go ahead &marinate on that for a minute.

field negro said...

"..If the palin girl was knocked up by tyrone jones,you bet her funny lookn ass would be up in sturups gettn that black baby out.go ahead &marinate on that for a minute."

........yeah I thought about it, and I do believe it's true.