A super scandal

Governor, what did you know? And when, exactly, did you find out about it?




This year the Super Bowl is playing played in New Jersey, and there is another big game being played in that state as well: The battle between the Governor and his former head of the Port Authority.




"The former New Jersey official at the center of a political scandal dogging Governor Chris Christie said on Friday the prominent Republican knew about a traffic jam orchestrated by his top aides during the blockage, the New York Times reported.


Christie, seen as a 2016 White House hopeful, has repeatedly denied any knowledge of a plan to snarl traffic at the busy George Washington Bridge as political retribution and severed ties with several top aides over their role in the incident.


David Wildstein, who resigned his post at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey late last year, said he had evidence that proves Christie had knowledge of the jams "during the period when the lanes were closed," according to a letter sent to the authority's lawyer and released to the newspaper.


The letter does not indicate that Christie orchestrated the closures in any way, does not specify exactly when he became aware of the jams, and offers no evidence to back up the claim.


The closures last September caused four days of severe traffic jams for commuters and residents of Fort Lee, New Jersey, whose mayor declined to endorse Christie's re-election campaign, and prompted official investigations into the role of the governor's office.


The governor has seen his national support ratings fall as a result of the so-called "Bridgegate" scandal.


"It's the first time a high-level official has contradicted the governor," said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University history professor who specializes in presidential politics.


The key question, he said, is whether Wildstein can produce "smoking gun" evidence proving Christie's knowledge of the events. State Democrats probing the scandal are likely to jump on that vulnerability, Zelizer added.


Wildstein and Christie attended Livingston High School at the same time, but Christie, a former federal prosecutor, has denied knowing Wildstein well." [Source]


If this battle was being played out on the football field, my money would be on the guy built for football. But, sadly for the big guy, it is not.




This Wildstein fellow wants immunity, and he wants the Port Authority to pay his legal fees. He doesn't strike me as a guy who is going to take a knee and let the clock run out. To stay with my football analogy, I think he is going to go into a two minute drill right about now.




It should be interesting to see what the U.S. Attorney does, the governor can deny all he wants to the press and the American people, but let's see what he says if he is under oath.




Finally, I live in a city with some strange people. It's never a dull moment here in Philly. At any given moment anything can happen. Even seemingly normal folks can do some messed up things.




You all have heard about the "Swiss cheese flasher"; dude is one truly sick individual, but fortunately we took him off the streets.




Now, unfortunately, it looks like he has spawned a copy-cat.




"This might be one of the stranger stories you’ll hear this week
 (not to mention seriously NSFW). A New Jersey man crashed his car into a Crown Fried Chicken in Philadelphia this week. That sounds relatively normal, except for the fact that after the car crash, he got out of his car, took his clothes off, and proceeded to pleasure himself. So.


Vincent Wade was charged with DUI, and is expected to also be charged with open lewdness and indecent exposure for revealing himself in public. It should be noted that all this happened just 400 feet from an elementary school.


Wade has, in fact, been arrested for DUI before, so this week’s was his fourth. The police report does not mention the masturbation, but someone who caught video of the scene told Philly Mag, “Oh, he was most definitely making himself feel happy.” [Source]




Needless to say I will not post the picture that goes along with that article.




Some people are just sick.






 








 

Malaga Island and Cheerios.

*I have some strange television viewing habits. One of the series that I like to watch is Aerial America on The Smithsonian Channel. I love the narrator, the knowledge they drop, and the incredible camera shots.

The other night I watched a feature on Maine. (Shout out to Black Girl in Maine.) It's a state that I have always wanted to visit because of its beauty, and because, quite frankly, Boston is usually as far as it gets for me when it comes to New England.




The Mrs. and I keep telling ourselves that we are going to do the whole bed and breakfast thing in that state one day.




Anyway, while watching, I was reminded of the incredible story of Malaga Island* and the interracial families who inhabited it. It was an island purchased after the civil war by a freed slave (Benjamin Darling) with money that his owner gave him for saving his life.




Unfortunately, Maine, like most states in America, has a dark side (no pun intended) to their history.


"AUGUSTA -- A century ago this spring, Maine Gov. Frederick Plaisted oversaw the destruction of a year-around fishing hamlet on Malaga Island, a 42-acre island in the New Meadows River, just off the Phippsburg shore. The island's 40 residents -- white, black and mixed race -- were ordered to leave the island, and to take their homes with them, else they would be burned.


A fifth of the population was incarcerated on questionable grounds at the Maine School for the Feebleminded in New Gloucester, where most spent the rest of their lives. The island schoolhouse was dismantled and relocated to Louds Island in Muscongus Bay.



Leaving no stone unturned, state officials dug up the 17 bodies in the island cemetery, distributed them into five caskets and buried them at the School of the Feebleminded -- now Pineland Farms -- where they remain today.


Several islanders spent the rest of their lives in this state-run mental institution. One couple, Robert and Laura Darling Tripp, floated from place to place in a makeshift houseboat, but, unwelcomed, wound up moored to another scrap of an island. Malnourished, Laura fell sick during a gale; when her husband returned with help, he found the couple's two children clinging to her lifeless body.


 Many others suffered from the stigma of being associated with the island.
"After the island was cleared, people did not really want to talk about this incident, especially the descendants, because to raise your hand and say you were from Malaga supposedly meant you were feebleminded or had black blood in you or both," said Rob Rosenthal, whose 2009 radio documentary "Malaga: A Story Better Left Untold" helped draw attention to what is one of the most disgraceful official acts in our state's history. "Nobody wanted to declare that." [Source]


I am glad that this story is being told and that the people of Maine are now finally coming to grips with this ugly side of their history.


The story of Malaga Island is apropos given the latest political bru ha ha here in America. It also involves interracial issues, but this one has to do with a popular cereal and not an Island.


MSNBC was forced to apologize to wingnuts because of a tweet that they sent out taunting them about that controversial Cheerios ad featuring an interracial family.
 
"The Republican National Committee is calling for supporters to boycott MSNBC, after the network posted a tweet taunting conservatives over the Cheerios ad starring an interracial family that will air during the Super Bowl.


"Maybe the rightwing will hate it, but everyone else will go awww: the adorable new #Cheerios ad w/ biracial family," read a tweet posted late Wednesday on the MSNBC account, providing a link to a short article on the news website about the ad.


MSNBC apologized for the "offensive live tweet" and then deleted the message.
"The Cheerios tweet from @msnbc was dumb, offensive and we've taken it down. That's not who we are at msnbc," MSNBC.com Executive Editor Richard Wolffe tweeted." [Source]


Why is it that everyone has to apologize for their "offensive" actions except the right wing and the folks over at FOX?


Anyway, all I will say is this: Is there anyone out there who does not believe that if Gov. Frederick Plaisted was around today he would be a republican?

Tough guys.

  I caught the O man's speech last night, and it was, as is to be expected, presidential. I didn't feel the earth moving, but it was solid, and you can tell it had its required effect by how the wingnuts responded.




On MSNBC the man with the dead intern was beside himself with rage about O raising the minimum wage. And over on Fox the usual suspects were foaming at the mouth and shaking their fists at the president for not being willing to work with republicans as much as they would like him to.




Honestly, I am pretty sure that after six years this president realizes that no matter what he does republicans will never work with him. They hate everything he stands for and represents, and they are not afraid to show it.




Last night, for example, there was the following:


"..Randy Weber, a Texas Republican called President Obama the “Kommandant-In-Chef” ahead of the State of the Union Tuesday. He also misspelled chief as “chef.” A spokesperson for Weber confirmed the tweets are his.
 




I wonder where all this anger,  acrimony, and vitriol is coming from.


One of them even threatened to throw some poor reporter over a balcony last night for crying out loud. (And they call Richard Sherman a thug. Go figure.)


It's all about tone. We can disagree with each other about our politics, but our tone is so important. If you look at the elected officials in the republican party I think that you will find that setting the proper tone is not very high on their list of priorities. I mean these people just all seem so angry.


I suppose that this is to be expected when Chris Christie, of all people, is the leading contender to be their party's nominee for president come 2016.


I guess this is why the republicans gave us the very calm and motherly Cathy McMorris Rodgers last night to deliver their main response to the president's address.


Her tone was fine, although I felt like I wanted some milk and cookies after watching her.


"Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this f-----g balcony....No, no, you're not man enough, you're not man enough. I'll break you in half. Like a boy."


Or, like I would do to that Obama fellow.

What is really the state of our union?

I am watching the state of the union (SOTU) address.


Please tell me what you think of it, and of the 1..2..3..4..5 (and counting)republican responses that are supposed to follow.


And please try to educate me and not give me your standard trolling points.


Thank you.

They can't stand to look.

Nothing sends those of a certain political stripe -or pigmentation- into state of anger and histrionics like the sight of a certain person of color assuming his position as the most powerful man on earth, and delivering his state of the union (SOTU) address to a nation that elected him twice.


I have always looked forward to this ritual since Barack Obama became president of these divided states of America, because I find the pomp and circumstance and imagery that goes along with it to be quite amusing. If only because I know that it drives those on the right a little nuts.
 

Now, let's be clear, I, like other progressives, have not been a big fan of some of the things that this president has done. But if we are going to be totally objective, he hasn't been that bad. (Read this excellent article from my friend Will Bunch). And, actually, given what we had to endure for the eight years prior to him taking office; his image should probably be put up on Mt. Rushmore.

"As undignified as it is unedifying and unnecessary, the vulgar State of the Union circus is again at our throats. The document that the Constitutional Convention sent forth from Philadelphia for ratification in 1787 was just 4,543 words long, but this was 17 too many. America would be a sweeter place if the Framers had not included this laconic provision pertaining to the president: “He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union.

The Constitution’s mild requirement has become a tiresome exercise in political exhibitionism, the most execrable ceremony in the nation’s civic liturgy, regardless of which party’s president is abusing it. You worship bipartisanship? There is not a dime’s worth of difference between the ways the parties try to milk partisan advantage from this made-for-television political pep rally.


Tuesday evening, Barack Obama probably will concentrate on inequality as a way of changing the subject from his inconvenient triumph, the Affordable Care Act. So he probably will again propose partial public financing of Democratic candidates’ campaigns, by again calling for “high-quality” universal preschool. This adjectival phrase is code for: Now we will do better because we will employ more certified — and unionized — teachers.


......In 2010, Chief Justice John Roberts said: “The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court — according to the requirements of protocol — has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling.


Justice Antonin Scalia no longer attends what he calls “cheerleading sessions.” Justice Clarence Thomas, who says “there’s a lot that you don’t hear on TV — the catcalls, the whooping and hollering and under-the-breath comments,” will not be there Tuesday night. Will Roberts attend? No justices or senior military officers should stoop to being props at these puerile spectacles." [Source]

   

Mr. Will is calling for us to do away with this "puerile" spectacle. Yeah OK, I wonder if he would feel the same way if a member of his political gang was giving the SOTU address tomorrow night.

Why wasn't it "troubling" when members of another branch of government would have to sit through cheer leading for other presidents in the past? Rhetorical question; I know why.

I guarantee you that if it was Mitt Romney giving that address, George Will, along with his friends over at FOX News, would be cheering louder than everyone else, and he would be hanging on to every poll tested word from his political soul- mate.

 

Thomas Perkins and the victims in the one percent.

So there is this very rich dude (a venture capitalist who has contributed zero to society), and he is comparing himself -and his fellow very wealthy travelers- to the Jews in Nazi Germany.


Apparently he blames this all on radical progressives who are all of a sudden convincing the rest of America that it's not cool to rip off other people to stash the bulk of the American pie, while they leave the rest of us with just the crumbs to fight over.


I guess it all started with the Obama dude. All that talk of "hope and change". Of course there hasn't been much change, but now the people are hoping, and folks like our billionaire friend are getting a bit worried. 


"... there is a "demonization of the rich" in America....the attacks on the rich reflected a "very dangerous drift in American thinking.....Kristallnacht was unthinkable in 1930; is its descendant 'progressive' radicalism unthinkable now?"


Guilty as charged. 


Hopefully I can contribute to that "dangerous drift in American thinking". That "drift" was needed a long time ago. I think the American people are starting to realize that the game is rigged, and folks like my billionaire friend are never held accountable for their actions when they grift the rest of us. (See the bankers on Wall Street)


No my rich friend, we are not quite at the "Kristallnacht" stage just yet. No one is attacking your business or breaking into your home.


Not yet. But a few more outbursts like this and one night you just might wake up to the sound of broken glass.


*Pic from Salon.com








 

Again.

Another day another mass shooting in NRAmerica. This one was in a mall in one of my favorite areas in the country. I have a lot of friends in the Columbia, Maryland area, and so this one felt particularly close to him.


This is the sixth day in a row that we have had a public shooting- or scare of a shooting- of this sort. The previous five involved schools.  Widener University. Purdue University. South Carolina State University. The University of Oklahoma. The shots just keep coming.


But back to the shooting today in Maryland.


"Two employees of a skate shop were killed Saturday when a gunman armed with a shotgun and “a large amount of ammunition” opened fire in the store in a shopping mall in Columbia, Md., near Baltimore, before apparently killing himself, police said.


At a news conference, Howard County, Md., Chief of Police Bill McMahon said that the gunman was believed to be one of the dead and that the shooting took place in a single store on the upper level of The Mall in Columbia. Police later identified the shop as a skate store called Zumiez.


The employees were identified by police as Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park, Md., and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Ellicott City, Md. The male shooter, whose body was found nearby, had a shotgun and “a large amount of ammunition on and about him,” McMahon said. He has not yet been identified."


Damn, you can't even go the mall anymore without keeping your head on a swivel. This is not good for American businesses, or, for that matter, the popular pastime of shopping on weekends.


In the meantime we will keep the latest victims in our thoughts, and we will continue to hope that one day, here in America, we will figure it all out.


A metal detector is coming to a store near you.


 

Celebrating "The Beeb".

Justin Beiber's arrest is the biggest news in America these days. (BTW, to all the racists who were calling Richard Sherman a "thug", you need to check your boy "beebs" to see what a real thug looks like.)

"Respected journalists" like Andrea Mitchell were cutting into real news to give us breaking news accounts of Beiber's arrest. Sadly, this is what's considered major news in America these days, and it is a poor reflection on our shallow, celebrity obsessed, culture.

Not the uprising brewing in Kiev; not the growing crisis of income inequality in the world; not the mad man in North Korea threatening to blow his neighbors to the South out of the water; or, for that matter, the plethora of real problems we have in this country such as what to do with the NSA and controlling the proliferation of assault weapons on our streets. No, what we want to hear about is what a strung-out Justin Beiber happens to be doing with his money and his time.

I just wish that there were more people like me out there who could give a damn about what goes on with "The Beeb".


Finally, it looks like the Secret Service decided to pay a visit to my slave catching friend down in Florida. Sorry Joshua, you can't make such a high profile threat against the life of the president of the United States and not expect your threats to be taken seriously.


You, of all people, should realize that this particular president is more vulnerable when it comes to these types of threats than others who came before them. We all know that Americans have no problem with taking out their presidents, so making these types of statements in public was dangerous and irresponsible.  


"It was not a threat," said Black, insisting that his tweet — "I'm past impeachment. It's time to arrest and hang him high" — was merely expressing outrage over the president killing U.S. citizens with drone attacks and without due process."


Oh but it was a threat. And the boys in the dark suits were just making sure that you weren't going to follow through with it.

   

A muzzle is needed for two.

I really didn't want to waste my time blogging about that slave catcher down in Florida, who called or the lynching of our president.




I mean it is one thing to disagree with the president on policy, or even to criticize him in a very open and vociferous way, but calling for his lynching is a bit over the top.




I expect this kind of behavior from the boorish Neanderthals who post on right wing websites, but not from a man of color who happens to be running for political office. Honestly, the word insane comes to mind.




Not only did the guy do this on MLK Day, but he actually doubled down on his outrageous comments the next day.

"To everyone who was offended that I said that the POTUS should be hanged for treason, this is the man who droned Al-Awaki on “suspicion of terrorism"--not proof--and later killed his 15-year-old son for nothing more than being his son.
This is also the man who sought to have Bradley Manning and Eric Snowden executed for treason when they didn't kill anyone, nor does the US government pretend to believe that they cost any spies their lives.


This would be exactly what the President has done to others, and, as Jesus said, “the measure ye mete, it shall be meted to you again." I make no apologies..."


Somebody call the "Drop Squad".




Finally, the republican "war on women" continues. This time a former presidential candidate is leading the charge.




"And if the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it,"




That "Uncle Sugar" comment won't go over so well. I know that Mr. Huckabee thought that he was defending the republican position on women in a positive  and principled way, but somehow, as is always the case with these poor guys, it didn't quite come out that way.




The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Republicans would do well to think about that quote the next time that they weigh into the debate about the female reproductive system. 

Sorry Claudius, you ain't no George Zimmerman.

Unfortunately the people of Florida are starting to realize that when you have bad laws you get bad results.


The latest high profile "stand your ground" case from that wacky state should be quite interesting.


In this particular case, unlike the case of Trayvon Martin,  both the shooter and the victim were people of color.


Most of the Zimmerman supporters will not give the shooter in this case the benefit of the doubt, because this shooter is not a white [Hispanic] neighborhood watch guy, who shot some "young black punk" in self -defense.


And then there is the flip side: The same people, who called for an arrest and thorough investigation of George Zimmerman, should be asking that the same level of scrutiny be placed on Claudius Smith.

"The gunman accused of chasing and killing a 21-year-old man at a west Orlando apartment complex on Thursday told police he was pursuing a suspected burglar and acted in self-defense after he was attacked.


A police account of the shooter's self-defense claim obtained by the Orlando Sentinel suggests this could be the latest local homicide in which the state's controversial "stand your ground" law becomes a factor.     
  
Police were called to the shooting just before noon Thursday at the Fountains at MetroWest apartments. They arrived to find 21-year-old Ricardo Sanes dead in the grass, surrounded by six .45-caliber shell casings.


The alleged shooter, 32-year-old Claudius Smith, was caught later Thursday. Smith told detectives that he had shot someone "in self defense," according to a police report.


Smith said he was inside his house on Carter Street when his girlfriend, looking at a outdoor surveillance monitor, spotted someone in dark clothing "walking around his yard," who "was last seen climbing over the fence into" the apartment complex.


Smith told police he had been having "a recent problem with burglaries at his house ... and he was certain the unknown male was responsible," a police account states, so he "began chasing the unknown male."


According to police, Smith admitted jumping the fence into the apartment complex, armed with a .45-caliber handgun, where he said he saw Sanes "looking into windows of apartments as he walked past them."


Smith admitted pulling his gun and confronting Sanes, and when Sanes tried to walk away, Smith said he grabbed Sanes' hooded sweatshirt and tried to force Sanes back to his house "so the police could be called."


Smith told police Sanes "punched him in the mouth and grabbed for his gun."
"[Smith's] immediate response was to pull the trigger and fire shots at [Sanes],"   [Source]  


I bet that if he is arrested Claudius Smith will not be getting thousands of dollars from supporters all over the country to pay for his legal defense.


Stay tuned.

Snowed in, but still chasing the big R.

I feel like I am living in Northern Minnesota right about now. Snow is all around me. *Memo to self: Buy a really nice snow blower this weekend*






This is crazy. I knew this was going to be a rough winter, but this is getting to be a bit too much for my Jamaican blood.








So anyway, snow or no snow; the racism chase must go on.








Tonight my first stop takes me to the state of North Carolina, a state where they are fast becoming as loony as some of their neighbors to the South.








How about this head scratcher?








"A North Carolina mother is reeling after an elementary school rewarded her black son with a Confederate Army hat.


When Natasha Lea's 9-year-old son Jacob got off his Reidsville school bus last week, she said she was absolutely floored by what she saw him wearing on his head.


"I said, let me see that hat," Lea emotionally recalled to MyFox8.
Jacob obediently handed her the grey flat-topped cap, which didn't have any outside markings on it. But when she looked inside, she saw the damning proof.
Its tag read "Confederate."




Of course, the clueless folks in the elementary school didn't seem to think that there was anything wrong with their contribution to this sad bit of irony.






Rockingham County Spokesperson Karen Hyler confessed that the hat was given away to Lea's son as part of a class prize in exchange for "big bucks," a kind of academic currency rewarded to their students." [Source]


But the gift wasn't given in a "malicious way" by his teacher, she said.


"Before winter break in December, the class had an auction where students could bid on different items using their 'big bucks,'"


No, it might not have been "malicious"; just incredibly stupid and insensitive. And, if you ask me, a little bit racist.




Speaking of racists, conservatives, in an effort to do away with the rights of minority voters, are now falsely claiming that the Voting Rights Act discriminates against white people. Yes, they really said that.



"Conservatives insist the congressional effort to strengthen the Voting Rights Act (VRA) unfairly discriminates against white voters. The claim rests on evidence that’s shaky at best—but could still make it harder for the bill to win the Republican support it needs.


The Voting Rights Amendment Act, unveiled Thursday by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, aims to update the formula used to determine which areas of the country must get federal approval before making any changes to their voting rules—a system known as “pre-clearance.” In June, the Supreme Court struck down the law’s existing formula, under which almost all the southern states were covered, ruling that it was out of date.


In an interview last week with msnbc, Center for Equal Opportunity president Roger Clegg argued that the VRA’s pre-clearance system unfairly advantages those claiming discrimination. Clegg’s organization has fought to narrow the application of civil rights laws.


“They don’t like these laws, and so they’ve brought lawsuits, that’s fine,” Clegg said, referring to voting rights advocates. “If they can prove that there’s been racial discrimination they’ll win those lawsuits. Why would the deck be stacked further in their favor?”


Writing last week in National Review, Clegg made an additional argument against the new legislation. Clegg called the bill “color-conscious,” charging that it “offers protections for ‘minority voters’ that it withholds from ‘nonminority’ voters.”' [Source]


Look, I know that some of you white conservatives believe that you are losing your country to brown and black people, and that if you don't find ways to keep them away from the voting booth they will take away whatever power you think you have.




But here is the deal: Voting with people of color on some of the major issues of the day, might actually be more in line with your own best interest-- and better for you-- than voting with the party ---and for people--- who you believe have your best interest at heart.




Sorry, but unless you happen to be a major corporation, or you have enough money to own an NFL team; they are just not that into you.




In case you didn't notice, the wealth gap is really growing in the world. (The poorest 3.55 billion people must live on what the richest 85 people possess.) And every politician and every lobbyist ---who owns these politicians--- want to be with the guys with the big bank accounts; not the rest of the people. 




"Hans von Spakovsky, a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation and a persistent critic of aggressive enforcement of civil rights laws, has gone further.


“For the first time, [GOP Rep. James] Sensenbrenner’s bill actually says that the protections of this amendment will only apply to racial minority groups, and they defined them in the law, and it specifically excludes white voters,” von Spakovsky told the Washington Times.


He added, “They’re basically giving a ‘get out of jail free’ card to black elected officials in the South, where they can discriminate all they want against white voters.”




Wouldn't it be nice, if, just for once, "white voters" and "black elected officials in the South" would come to realize that they all want the same thing?

She says, she says, and a new low for the NRA.

This battle of dueling accounts about whether Chris Christie strong-armed Hoboken Mayor, Dawn Zimmer, is getting interesting.




On one side is the aforementioned Zimmer, and on the other side is the New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno who flatly denies it. Guess who I believe.




"As they pursue this investigation, I will provide any requested information and testify under oath about the facts of what happened when the Lieutenant Governor came to Hoboken and told me that Sandy aid would be contingent on moving forward with a private development project...."




Yes, and the Mayor actually has a journal with an entry at the time of the incident surrounded by other entries  before and after the alleged conversation.


Unless Ms. Zimmer could look into a crystal ball and tell the future, that entry is pretty strong evidence to back up her allegation.




"I deny any suggestion made by Mayor (Dawn) Zimmer that there was ever any condition on the release of Sandy funds by me," Guadagno said Monday at a news conference in Union Beach, N.J.




"The diary entry read: 'She pulls me aside with no one else around and says that I need to move forward with the Rockefeller project. It is very important to the governor.


'"The word is that you are against it and you need to move forward or we are not going to be able to help you. I know it's not right – these things should not be connected – but they are," she says, and "if you tell anyone, I will deny it."'


Well at least she (The Lt. Governor) was being truthful about one thing.


Finally, some Negroes have no shame. (See my HNOTD) I still can't believe that some dude agreed to be used on MLK Day to send a promotional message for the NRA. (As if Sarah Palin choosing to denigrate this day by her petty and ignorant comments wasn't enough)




"The NRA tends to stay silent in the immediate aftermath of a high-profile shooting incident, but the organization evidently felt enough time had passed since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed in 1968 that they could put out the video below connecting the civil rights leader to the push for less restrictive gun laws. To mark today’s holiday, the NRA enlisted its hip, young, black “commentator” Colion Noir to deliver a video message about how much King loved guns.


Noir begins with a message that is unlikely to resonate strongly with the NRA’s many members, saying if King were alive today he would “look at our current president and smile, not because of his politics, but because of what his presence in the White House represents.” After explaining that President Barack Obama would have been “arrested or even beaten for drinking from the wrong water fountain” 50 years ago, he adds, “notwithstanding some of President Obama’s policies on gun control, that’s a hell of a lot of progress if you ask me.”


Quickly, Noir shifts his message to gun control, pointing out the fact that he was granted a concealed handgun license, while historical record shows that King applied for one and was denied. “Let’s not forget, the first forms of gun control were created to keep people like me from having guns,” he says, invoking his shared race with King.


Noir goes on to try to reconcile King’s “non-violent” reputation with his apparent desire to protect himself with a gun. “When Dr. King was denied [the firearm license],” he says, “he did the next best thing and surrounded himself with people with guns.” Presuming to know what King believed, he adds, “In my heart, based on Dr. King’s own actions, I don’t believe that Dr. King would ever advocate leaving a family, or anyone for that matter, defenseless in the face of violent life threatening danger.”


In his role as the most visible civil rights leader of his time, Dr. King knew that he was in danger and evidently took steps to try to protect himself. But even though he “surrounded himself with people with guns,” as Noir explains, it didn’t stop him from being gunned down by his assassin James Earl Ray from across the street while he was standing on the balcony of his hotel room. Noir does not address how a concealed weapons permit would have helped King in that particular situation." [Source]




Unbelievable!












 














 

Hater nation

Happy MLK Day everyone. I won't be doing my usual "day of service" chores because I am a bit under the weather. But to all the folks (black and white) who will be out and about in impoverished neighborhoods today and putting in work on behalf of your fellow citizens, my hat comes off to you.




Anyway, I am glad to see that president Obama is finally stating publicly what we all knew that he thought when he is alone with Michelle. That some people here in America hate him ---and his policies---- simply because of the color of his skin.




Not everyone Obama hater falls into this category. I am sure that there are people on both ends of the political spectrum who disapprove of his policies and his leadership on its merits. But we can usually differentiate those voices and the type of criticism that they bring from the foam at the mouth, spittle on the chin, racists, who actually call for his assassination  because of the color of his skin. 




Of course, Obama, ever the politician, had to play both sides of the coin. He went on to say....




“'Now, the flip side of it is there are some black folks and maybe some white folks who really like me and give me the benefit of the doubt precisely because I’m a black President,' Obama added."




Ahhhm, I don't think so Mr. President. Black folks, maybe. White folks, on the other hand, not so much. Trust me; you are not getting the "benefit of the doubt" because you are black.




I am quite sure that you know better, but hey, you have to keep playing the game, so play on. You are, after all, the president of all the people.




Speaking of playing the game, congrats to the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks for making it to the big game. (I see you big sister. You and the folks in the Northwest must be really proud of your Hawks.) Everyone is talking about Richard Sherman and his talk and taunt after his big play to win the game.




Personally, I love a little swag in my football players, especially defensive backs. I would love to have Richard Sherman playing for my birds. Having said that, he went a little too far with the butt slapping and embarrassing of Michael Crabtree on national television right after the game.




Sherman is no dummy. He is a Stanford educated guy who has actually worked to cultivate this image and brand for himself. It helps that he is a hell of a football player.




Of course, as is always the case, the racists will come out. (They already have. Just read some of the tweets in the link. ) And they will make this all about race rather than the makeup of one very talented football player.




I am sure that Barack Obama can relate.




The days leading up to the Super Bowl should be interesting.







    

N- word girl.

Some of you Negroes seem a little surprised and are taken aback to hear that the "Material Girl" dropped the N-word while talking about her white child. You figure that before she got her AARP card she was this hip rocker who the left embraced and therefore couldn't be a racist.






I would like to know why you are surprised.






If you haven't learned by now how some folks view you and how good they are as hiding their true feelings, you deserve to be ridiculed by us in the know every time there is one of these revelations.






"Noooo" you say, "Not my girl Paula. That sweet down home Southern gal who bakes like my mama"?






"No, not the dude who played Kramer. Dude seemed so cool, though."






"After she was bombarded with complaints about use of the N-word from fans, she deleted the image, only to re-upload it with another risque comment. She added, "Ok let me start this again. #get off of my d--- haters!"'




Poor Madonna thought she had a black pass because...well, let's just say that she has gotten more of the black ....you know than most sisters.






"The singer later apologized in a statement, saying, "I am sorry if I offended anyone with my use of the N-word on Instagram. It was not meant as a racial slur...I am not a racist."'




Yeah we know. And some of your best friends are black. We can start the countdown now to one of your black friends appearing and saying that they know what's in your heart and that you are definitely not a racist.




Honestly, I can't wait to see all the black and Latin dancers on your next tour.


















  

"School Daze."

You gotta love these thin skinned republican governors. If you think the big guy across the bridge is having some problems, you ought to get a load of the guy we have here in Pistolvania.


Our governor was so afraid of lawful protesters that he actually canceled an event at one of our public schools here in Philly. Keep in mind that this is one of the best public schools in America, and my man was in zero danger. (Although, believe it or not, there was a shooting at a high school today in our fair city.)


The governor says that he was "saddened and disappointed" that he didn't get to go, but we all know better.

"Gov. Corbett originally planned to spend the morning presenting educational achievement awards at Central High School - his first visit to a traditional Philadelphia public school since taking office.

But a large protest over education cuts during his administration caused him to divert his plans.

Corbett, speaking to reporters at the Bellevue in Center City, said he was "saddened and disappointed" he couldn't go to Central. 

"Today wasn't supposed to be about politics, it wasn't supposed to be about contracts, it wasn't supposed to be about negotiations. It was supposed to be about the students," Corbett said. "I decided not to engage in the theatrics that have been designed by adults."

The column reported that Darrin Manning said he was walking to a basketball game with about a dozen Mathematics, Civics & Sciences Charter School teammates Jan. 7 when they were stopped by police at Broad Street and Girard Avenue.
Police said the students were wearing ski masks and ran off. Manning and other players said they were wearing hoodies, hats and scarves that the school had given them to keep warm on a record cold day.
During the arrest, Manning said, a male cop roughed him up, and while he was handcuffed, a female cop pulled on his genitals so hard while frisking him that a testicle ruptured. Doctors who performed emergency surgery told his mother they didn't know if he'd be able to father children.
Manning has been charged with resisting arrest and assault on a police officer, which he denies.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140117_Boy_s_damaged_goods_raise_ire_on_both_sides.html#HZlTUQlt95zIWv9l.99

Finally, the po po here in Philly have taken this "stop and frisk" thing to a whole different level.


One poor straight A student was profiled and arrested and the female officer helping to make the arrest grabbed his...ahem ahem, manhood so hard that he ruptured his testicles and it required surgery. 


The poor kid more than likely will never be able to have children.


Although honestly, given the kind of world that we live in and the dangers that young black men face on a daily basis, I am not sure why he would want to.

Gov. Corbett originally planned to spend the morning presenting educational achievement awards at Central High School - his first visit to a traditional Philadelphia public school since taking office.
But a large protest over education cuts during his administration caused him to divert his plans.
Corbett, speaking to reporters at the Bellevue in Center City, said he was "saddened and disappointed" he couldn't go to Central.
"Today wasn't supposed to be about politics, it wasn't supposed to be about contracts, it wasn't supposed to be about negotiations. It was supposed to be about the students," Corbett said. "I decided not to engage in the theatrics that have been designed by adults."

More coverage

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/cityhall/Corbett-blames-protesters-for-politicizing-Central-High-School-event.html#mie5LJo1GrfSKf34.99

Gov. Corbett originally planned to spend the morning presenting educational achievement awards at Central High School - his first visit to a traditional Philadelphia public school since taking office.
But a large protest over education cuts during his administration caused him to divert his plans.
Corbett, speaking to reporters at the Bellevue in Center City, said he was "saddened and disappointed" he couldn't go to Central.
"Today wasn't supposed to be about politics, it wasn't supposed to be about contracts, it wasn't supposed to be about negotiations. It was supposed to be about the students," Corbett said. "I decided not to engage in the theatrics that have been designed by adults."

More coverage

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/cityhall/Corbett-blames-protesters-for-politicizing-Central-High-School-event.html#mie5LJo1GrfSKf34.99

Gov. Corbett originally planned to spend the morning presenting educational achievement awards at Central High School - his first visit to a traditional Philadelphia public school since taking office.
But a large protest over education cuts during his administration caused him to divert his plans.
Corbett, speaking to reporters at the Bellevue in Center City, said he was "saddened and disappointed" he couldn't go to Central.
"Today wasn't supposed to be about politics, it wasn't supposed to be about contracts, it wasn't supposed to be about negotiations. It was supposed to be about the students," Corbett said. "I decided not to engage in the theatrics that have been designed by adults."

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/cityhall/Corbett-blames-protesters-for-politicizing-Central-High-School-event.html#mie5LJo1GrfSKf34.99

Home of the brave, land of the Glock.

Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins.
Ayn Rand
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gun.html#1v8Hry6fATrMtyEQ.99

Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins.
Ayn Rand
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gun.html#1v8Hry6fATrMtyEQ.99

Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins.
Ayn Rand
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gun.html#1v8Hry6fATrMtyEQ.99

Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins.
Ayn Rand
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gun.html#1v8Hry6fATrMtyEQ.99

"Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins". ~Ayn Rand~


What's with all the mass shootings in America?


It seems like every day there is another one.


New Mexico; Utah; Indiana. Oh, and let's not forget Florida; there is always some craziness jumping off in Florida.


And we shoot each other everywhere: In the mall; in school; in church; the movie theater; the barber shop; the grocery store..... Heck if you are a beautiful little five year old girl , just minding your business in your own home, you can lose your life. Whatever happened to just shooting up the crack corner ?


I thought we were a "God fearing" nation.


Of course it all doesn't matter anymore. Hearing about all the latest killings is  like getting the scores from the NBA and NHL games the night before. A little interest but not much. I am safe and sound in my little part of the world, so it does not matter to me. This is until, of course, some random act of violence comes your way.


"Not me Field. I will be ready for em. I have something in my home stashed away and I can use it. If they know what's good for them they better not try to come my way."


I hear ya Dirty Harry, and I bet this poor woman felt the same way.


Anyway, I prepared a little list for you:

"12/1/13 Topeka Kan­. Shooting Family killing 4

11/23/13 Tulsa Okl­a. Shooting Other 4 ­

11/7/13 Jacksonvil­le Fla. Shooting Oth­er 4

10/29/13 Callison ­S.C. Shooting Family killing 5

10/28/13 Terrell T­exas Shooting Other ­5

10/26/13 Phoenix A­riz. Shooting Other ­4

10/26/13 New York N.Y. Stabbing F­amily killing 5

10/9/13 Paris Texa­s Shooting Other 4

9/20/13 Rice Texas­ Shooting Family killing 4

9/16/13 Washington­ D.C. Shooting Publi­c Killing 12

9/11/13 Crab Orchard Tenn. Shooti­ng Robbery/burglary ­4

8/14/13 Oklahoma City Okla. Shooting ­Family killing 4

8/7/13 Dallas Texa­s Shooting Family killing 4

7/26/13 Clarksburg­ W.Va. Shooting Othe­r 4

7/26/13 Hialeah Fl­a. Shooting Public Killing 6

6/7/13 Santa Monica Calif. Shooti­ng Public Killing 5

5/13/13 Fernley Ne­v. Shooting, Stabbing Robbery/bur­glary 5

5/11/13 Waynesvill­e Ind. Shooting Othe­r 4

4/28/13 Ottawa Kan­. Shooting Family killing 4

4/24/13 Manchester­ Ill. Shooting Famil­y killing 5

4/22/13 Federal Way Wash. Shooting F­amily killing 4

4/18/13 Akron Ohio­ Shooting Robbery/bu­rglary 4

4/15/13 Boston Mas­s. Blunt force Public Killing 4

3/13/13 Herkimer N­.Y. Shooting Public Killing 4

1/19/13 Albuquerqu­e N.M. Shooting Fami­ly killing 5

1/7/13 Tulsa Okla.­ Shooting Robbery/bu­rglary 4"

Finally, someone shot me an e-mail, and wanted to know how he can tell if he is a racist.

He seemed sincere, so I will give him six signs that should clue him in to his inner David Duke.

1. If you find yourself having to constantly explain why you are not a racist, well then you might be a racist.

2. If you always use the NBA analogy to argue against affirmative action, you might be a racist.

3. If you are in denial about slavery in our history and like to claim that your ancestors didn't own slaves, you might be a racist. 

4. If you find yourself feeling anxious when there is a large group of black people, even if it's a bunch of old church people, you might be a racist.

5. If you know where every black person in your neighborhood (town) lives, you might be a racist.

6. If you just can't find yourself being attracted to Nia Long and you don't know why, you just might be a racist.

There are more. But work on these six things and let me knows how it goes.

If you got six out of six you might want to lose my e-mail address.