field negro

No more fetuses in our food, but we still have dial up.

2012-01-27T22:10:00.000-05:00

When I first saw the headline I thought that it was a gag from The Onion. Honestly, these local republican elected officials are setting this country back hundreds of years with their myopic form of thinking.

"An Oklahoma bill that would ban the sale of food containing aborted human fetuses has some people wondering: What food currently contains aborted human fetuses?
The bill, introduced Jan. 18 by State Sen. Ralph Shortey, prohibits the manufacture or sale of “food or any other product intended for human consumption which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients or which used aborted human fetuses in the research or development of any of the ingredients.”

Shortey declined to give specific examples but said some food manufacturers used stem cells in the research and development process.
“There is a potential that there are companies that are using aborted human babies in their research and development of basically enhancing flavor for artificial flavors,” he told KRMG Radio. “I don’t know if it is happening in Oklahoma, it may be, it may not be. What I am saying is that if it does happen then we are not going to allow it to manufacture here.”

Shortey may be acting on claims that the San Diego-based company Semonyx used proteins derived from human embryonic kidney cells to test artificial sweeteners, NPR reported. The cell line, known as HEK 293, was created from a human embryo in 1970 and has become a staple in biochemistry labs around the world.

Some people are calling the bill a back-door attempt to ban embryonic stem cell research — a ban Shortey said he would support, KRMG reported." [Source]

Now, to be fair, most folks in this country believe that this wingnut has lost his mind. But we have to wonder how this fellow got elected in the first place. And who are the people voting people like this into public office?

Finally, I have been at this minority telecom conference in DC for the past couple of days, and the scariest thing I have learned is that we are running out of broadband spectrum. A "spectrum crunch" they call it. Some of you folks with these smart phones with all these fancy aps. are using up all the space.

There were a lot of big shots here from a lot of big companies: At&T, Verizon, Comcast. And they are all getting in line to buy up all the available broadband. The government is going to have some kind of auction, and if you have the loot you can get a seat at the table. If not....oh well.

Anywhoo, I also learned that you Negroes are not into media ownership. Eight full time television stations just isn't going to cut it. I met some dude who owns a a bunch of radio stations, but they are all low powered stations with limited reach, so he was there to cry a river to the powers that be from the government about the inequity in how this stuff is given out.

I also met some poor lady from rural North Carolina, (shout out to Dr.Donna Sullivan for putting in the work to try and get her people into the 21st century)who spoke of the people in some communities still using dial- up to try and get on the information super highway. Apparently they were on their way when the big wigs from Time Warner stepped in and ~~paid off~~ lobbied the politricksters in their state to set up shop the way that they wanted it done.

But never fear, I heard from the FCC Commissioner today that the federal government is going to try and free up 500 megahertz worth of spectrum. Hopefully that will ease the "crunch", and the poor folks in places like rural North Carolina can join the rest of us while we speed on down the information superhighway.

*Pic courtesy of "Pulling to the Left".

The Negro threat.

2012-01-26T20:06:00.000-05:00

I swear you can't make this stuff up. Did Jan Brewer really say that she felt " a little threatened" by Obama?

“I was in the middle of a sentence and he walked away. I wasn’t angry at all. I felt a little bit threatened, if you will, in the attitude that he had.” [Source]

"Threatened"?!!! Let's see now, he is the President of these divided states. Those football player looking dudes with the earplugs in their ears are protecting him, not your drug addicted looking ass.

Republicans no longer have any respect for the presidency because they don't respect the person currently holding the office. It's that simple. That's sad, because I thought that republicans loved A-merry-ca and what the office of the president represents. *shaking head*

Then there is this new study out of Canada which confirms what I have suspected all along.

"There's no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy.

The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to lead researcher Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario. Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, the study found. Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes that can contribute to prejudice, Hodson wrote in an email to LiveScience.

"Prejudice is extremely complex and multifaceted, making it critical that any factors contributing to bias are uncovered and understood," he said.

Earlier studies have found links between low levels of education and higher levels of prejudice, Hodson said, so studying intelligence seemed a logical next step. The researchers turned to two studies of citizens in the United Kingdom, one that has followed babies since their births in March 1958, and another that did the same for babies born in April 1970. The children in the studies had their intelligence assessed at age 10 or 11; as adults ages 30 or 33, their levels of social conservatism and racism were measured. [Life's Extremes: Democrat vs. Republican]

In the first study, verbal and nonverbal intelligence was measured using tests that asked people to find similarities and differences between words, shapes and symbols. The second study measured cognitive abilities in four ways, including number recall, shape-drawing tasks, defining words and identifying patterns and similarities among words. Average IQ is set at 100."

Social conservatives were defined as people who agreed with a laundry list of statements such as "Family life suffers if mum is working full-time," and "Schools should teach children to obey authority." Attitudes toward other races were captured by measuring agreement with statements such as "I wouldn't mind working with people from other races." (These questions measured overt prejudiced attitudes, but most people, no matter how egalitarian, do hold unconscious racial biases; Hodson's work can't speak to this "underground" racism.)

As suspected, low intelligence in childhood corresponded with racism in adulthood. But the factor that explained the relationship between these two variables was political: When researchers included social conservatism in the analysis, those ideologies accounted for much of the link between brains and bias.

People with lower cognitive abilities also had less contact with people of other races.

"This finding is consistent with recent research demonstrating that intergroup contact is mentally challenging and cognitively draining, and consistent with findings that contact reduces prejudice," said Hodson, who along with his colleagues published these results online Jan. 5 in the journal Psychological Science." [Source] *h/t to Greg Fuller for the pic and story.*

I bet Jan Brewer doesn't have a very high IQ.

Still, the moral of this story is that racism is just a bad thing all around for everybody.

Finally, shout out to David Honig and the folks at MMTC who are once again hosting a wonderful summit here in D.C.

David, I promise that I will try to attend all of the sessions tomorrow.

Uppity Negroes and broke Negroes.

2012-01-25T22:55:00.000-05:00

Memo to Jan Brewer, that Obama fellow doesn't forget s*&^.

"Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer came to greet President Barack Obama upon his arrival outside Phoenix Wednesday. What she got was a critique. Of her book.

The two leaders could be seen engaged in an intense conversation at the base of Air Force One's steps. Both could be seen smiling, but speaking at the same time.

Asked moments later what the conversation was about, Brewer, a Republican, said: "He was a little disturbed about my book."

Brewer recently published a book, "Scorpions for Breakfast," something of a memoir of her years growing up and defends her signing of Arizona's controversial law cracking down on illegal immigrants, which Obama opposes.

Obama was objecting to Brewer's description of a meeting he and Brewer had at the White House, where she described Obama as lecturing her. In an interview in November Brewer described two tense meetings. The first took place before his commencement address at Arizona State University. "He did blow me off at ASU," she said in the television interview in November.

She also described meeting the president at the White House in 2010 to talk about immigration. "I felt a little bit like I was being lectured to, and I was a little kid in a classroom, if you will, and he was this wise professor and I was this little kid, and this little kid knows what the problem is and I felt minimized to say the least."

On the tarmac Wednesday, Brewer handed Obama an envelope with a handwritten invitation to return to Arizona to meet her for lunch and to join her for a visit to the border.

"I said to him, you know, I have always respected the office of the president and that the book is what the book is," she told reporters Wednesday. She said Obama complained that she described him as not treating her cordially.

"I said that I was sorry that he felt that way. Anyway, we're glad he's here, and we'll regroup."' [Source]

Yes Jan, some of these Negroes can get a little uppity. That Obama fellow seems to have forgotten his place. Being the president of these divided states of A-merry-ca will do that to you.

Finally, when are some of you Negroes going to learn how to manage your money?

You shouldn't be able to blow eighty millon dollars even if you try.

"I hate myself for letting this happen. I believed that they had my back when they said, ‘You take care of the football, and we’ll do the rest.’ And in the end, they just basically stole from me.” [Story]

Who is "they" TO? Like WTF?

The next time one of you Negroes out here balling have a few hundred thousand to throw away, please holla at your boy. I promise that I will put it to good use for you, and I will even have some saved away for you after your playing carreer is over. Promise.

The SOTU and Newt's racial stereotype problem.

2012-01-24T21:27:00.004-05:00

I am settling in to watch the SOTU address with O. It should be interesting. Republicans say that it will be nothing more than a political speech, and they are already ready to go with their talking points.

One republican who won't be there is Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado. I guess he is really afraid that some of that tar will fly off his Oness and get on his skin.

Anyway, O is coming in now. There are hugs and kisses all around. Oh ohhh, he is approaching the supremes. ("Smiling faces, sometimes pretend to be your friend...) And now he is hugging "Gabby" Giffords....ohhhh. Now that was a "Kodak Moment". O, you might have just bumped your approval ratings by about five points.

My friends over at Politc365 have a live feed. I think I will check it out.
[Feed]

O was in big time campaign mode. The [right]wingnuts will be foaming at the mouth tomorrow. This election should be fun. The battle lines have been drawn.

Finally, and believe me, I don't even want to bring this up, because I am honestly hoping that Newt comes out on top in the republican primary.

"GOP contender Newt Gingrich has built up quite a record of making derogatory, racially-charged remarks on the campaign trail. He frequently derides President Obama as a “food stamp president” and said he would go to the NAACP and tell African Americans they should “demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps.” Last week he said work is a “strange, distant concept” to Fox anchor Juan Williams, who had the audacity to ask Gingrich at a recent debate if he understood why blacks might be offended by his remarks.

More than 40 Catholic leaders recently challenged Gingrich to “stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes” with his divisive rhetoric.

For Gingrich, perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes is nothing new. Today, the Huffington Post reports that at the height of Gingrich’s power in Congress, one of his major speeches had to be edited to remove a racist characterization of Asians, Latinos, and black Americans:

But before Gingrich could deliver his grand new theory of American civilization to the public in a 1993 speech, his deeply divisive racial stereotypes would need to be removed.

“For poor minorities, entrepreneurship in small business is the key to future wealth,” Gingrich wrote by hand in a first draft. “This is understood thoroughly by most of the Asians, partially by Latinos, and to a tragically small degree by much of the American black community.” [...]

By the time a member of Gingrich’s staff typed up the notes and prepared the speech for delivery at the National Review Institute, the racial stereotypes were gone." [Source]

I smell dirty politics here, but I still can't give Newt a pass. I know exactly where Newt stands on these issues, and it's scary that he could have gotten even this far.

"Doing the right thing?

2012-01-23T20:07:00.000-05:00

"Field, why don't you do something about the comments section on your blog? It's full of nut jobs and racist." Field, I used to read your blog, but your comments section got to be too much."

I get that a lot. And I always tell folks to just read the post and skip the comments. Although honestly, I don't know why they would want to. You can tell a lot about where A-merry-ca is heading by the comments section on blogs like mine.

For instance, tonight I want to blog about Spike Lee going off on Chris Rock, but instead of starting with the article, I will start with the comments section from the article:

"I'd like to know what was the the "controversial twist" that caused some people to walk out? Spike just showed what a big baby he is when Chris Rock cracked a joke at him, he throws a tantrum... I have a title for your next movie, Spike: "Act Like a Man".

Shawn • 37 minutes agoReport Abuse

Racism cuts both ways, my friend!

6 Replies

"Who cares what this racist idiot says anyway?

2 Replies

Garth • 38 minutes agoReport Abuse

"who cares"

2 Replies

2008champ • 38 minutes agoReport Abuse

"Spike Lee is racist."

11 Replies

MJ • 37 minutes agoReport Abuse

"spike "who"??????????"

11 Replies

Powmia • 34 minutes agoReport Abuse

"He is more racist than the people he calls racist"

5 Replies

duntov • 24 minutes agoReport Abuse

"Seems like an Angry african american that continues to prey on racism for his own gain and agenda. Go away until you can talk like an intelligent human. Stop the hate and move on."

etha • 11 minutes agoReport Abuse

"A very angry black midget."

1 Reply

Dawn • Sacramento, California • 23 minutes agoReport Abuse

"I am absolutely astounded by the level of class he displays."

Eric • 35 minutes agoReport Abuse

"Sorry Spike you have no class despite you thinking that you are the best director out there. Also LOL @ watching a picture of you googly eyed taking a picture of Obama with your 1st generation iPad explains alot."

2 Replies

4 Replies

Bob • Cleveland, Ohio • 15 minutes agoReport Abuse

"What a punk!"

13users liked this commentPlease sign in to rate!Please sign in to rate!0users disliked this comment

John • Los Angeles, California • 14 minutes agoReport Abuse

"Another lousy Knicks' team sent him over the edge. And by the way, dress like a normal person! Be a role model, not a race baiter!"

Cali-drew • San Diego, California • 35 minutes agoReport Abuse

"Spike Lee is a hundred pound little #$%$ Talks as if he's the only Black man on the planet."

And what is it that got folks so fired up over Spike? Well it seems that Spike went off at Sundance because he had to bankroll his own film. Chris Rock (who white folks just love) asked Spike a question, and was, in the writer's opinion, "joking around." Spike didn't think it was funny, and gave Rock the business.

"... Chris Rock asked a question following the Sundance screening for Lee's new film, "Red Hook Summer."

According to Entertainment Weekly, the film was screened for a large audience, some of whom left after the film took a controversial twist. That didn't seem to faze Lee. However, when Chris Rock asked Lee about financing the film, the director went off on a bit of a tirade.
2012 Sundance Film Festival Portraits

Rock, who appeared to be joking around, said, "You spent your own money ... What would you have done differently if you'd actually gotten studio money? What else would have happened? Would you have blown up some (bleep)?"
Lee, apparently unamused, responded, "We never went to the studios with this film. I bought a camera and said we're gonna do this mother(bleeping) film ourselves. I didn't need a mother(bleeping) studio telling me something about Red Hook! They know nothing about black people! Nothing!" Lee then added, "And they're gonna give me notes about what a 13-year-old black boy and girl do in Red Hook? (Bleep) no!" [Source]

Spike, another movie with Red in the title did alright at the Box Office this past weekend. It was about black folks, but Mr. Charlie is the one who made it. And he might not know anything about "black people", but he sure knows how to make money.

Anyway, I have to go now, I have to get ready for my favorite sitcom: the republican debates.

It could be worse.

2012-01-22T17:15:00.001-05:00

"She's tellin' me about the things that her girlfriend's got
What she ain't got, and she wants me to go out and get ‘em for her
But, but girl, I can't be in two places at one time

If you think you're lonely now,
Wait until tonight, girl
(If you think you're lonely now) I'll be long gone
(Wait until tonight, girl) And you'll find another man that'll treat you right" [Video]

O should have been singing that classic Bobby Womack song instead of "Let's Stay Together" the other night at the Apollo. I am hearing a lot of liberals and progressives express disappointment with O lately. Many of them actually say that they regretted giving him their vote.

I love Bruce Dixon over at Black Agenda; fam is a true field Negro in my book. Bruce has been relentless in his attacks of O because he believes that he has been a huge disappointment as president. A sampling:"Next week will mark the third anniversary of Barack Obama's inauguration, and the unveiling of his fourth budget. Already White House spokespeople admit that it will be bad news for black and poor Americans. In three years this president has investigated and prosecuted not a single Wall Street banker or institution, not held up the wave of foreclosures a single week, not addressed the issues of black unemployment or black mass incarceration. But black America has silenced itself to protect the career of the First Black President." [Source] I honestly don't know what folks like Bruce expected from Obama. Those of you who know me and read my writings know that I have said all along that there would be nothing spectacular in terms of progressive changes with an Obama presidency. I have said all along that he is a Democratic politician who is a product of the Chicago political machine, and that he is first and foremost a political moderate when it comes to governing.

His election was historic only for its imagery and the possibilities it represents; not because it was going to bring any fundamental changes in the American political landscape for poor people and people of color.

What Barack Obama has delivered is exactly what I expected. Nothing more, nothing less. In terms of foreign policy, he has kept the country relatively safe and he has improved our standing in the world with our allies. Domestically we have come back from the brink of an economic disaster, and growth has been slow but steady. His justice department has been going after civil rights violators more aggressively than the previous administration, and his single appointment to the Supreme Court so far will act as a voice of reason on a body that is precariously close to being hijacked by a group of right wingnut extremist. (Just imagine how the court would look if McCain and Palin was elected. )

But let me go back to what Bobby Womack was writing about to that woman of his: If you think that Obama is bad, wait until either Mitt or Newt gets into office. I suspect that a lot of you progressives will be crying for the good old days of O again. But O won't be around, he- like Bobby told his woman- will be "long gone". And sadly, it could be a long time before you find another leader that will treat you right.

A win for Newt.

2012-01-21T21:33:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Newt. It looks like he will win South Carolina. (Congrats on your bet Sheldon!) I guess Newt's dog whistle was louder than Mitts.

Mitt, it might be time to release those tax returns. I still think you are going to be the GOP candidate for president come November, but you might want to start focusing a little more on your republican opponents and less on Obama.

Your second place speech tonight sounds like you are already prepping for his O ness. Big mistake. You still have the philanderer to contend with. Before you start battling O for the "soul of America" you better start battling your opponents for the soul of your damn party. All that money, all that organization, and all those party bigwigs, yet you still can't over the top.

So now it's on to Florida. The circus hasn't left town just yet.

*My PSU connect is telling me that Joe Pa has passed away. Stay tuned.*

Finally, I see that the supremes punted on that racial gerrymandering case in Texas. No surprise there. This present court, as it's made up, is never going to protect the rights of minorities (or poor people) in this country. Only corporations get love from this court. If a bunch of republican state lawmakers want to cut up voting districts to hold on to power, then so be it.

Still, it could have been worse, the decision is not as bad as some folks view it. Let's hope that when it goes back to the lower court in Texas they do the right thing.

Channeling his inner Al?

2012-01-20T22:18:00.000-05:00

I caught his Oness crooning at the Apollo, and my man can actually carry a tune. (No hook for you Mr. President) O man, if the A-merry-can people do decide to vote you out of office, you might want to give my homie Kenny Gamble a call.

Still, there was a certain irony to him singing "Let's Stay Together". There are, after all, some folks in A-merry-ca who don't want to stay with him anymore. They think that he is destroying their country, and that their future is uncertain with this "European" style of government. (This is where him singing "Chain of Fools" becomes prophetic.) "Yes, so the N*&&^r can sing, but why does he hate America?" It's funny, when W was running up the nation's deficit by sponsoring his war on terror in Iraq and cutting taxes for the uber rich, A-merry-cans didn't seem to be worried about their future. But now, with this singing Negro in office, there is no telling what our country will become.

I bet Newt can't sing. But he might want to sing after the election results in South Carolina tomorrow. Newt was in rare form last night. My man put a verbal smack down on John King for asking him about his freaky ways.

“I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office,”

Newt, you are not a decent person. And, make no mistake, no one cares about your twisted love life. We just don't like are hypocrites. You led the charge to impeach Bill Clinton while you were getting your whistle wet by your assistant, the current Mrs. Gingrich.

If John King had half of a brain he would have framed the question a different way. It shouldn't have been about your ex giving a sit down interview and telling the world what a bad husband you were. It should have been about you being a first class hypocrite and liar.

Finally, it's time to attack black.

While most cops protect and serve, former East St. Louis police chief Michael Baxton apparently likes to play.

Baxton pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing four Xbox 360 consoles from the FBI, reports St. Louis news station KSDK.

To be clear, the 360 is not standard issue equipment for the Feds these days. Officials had them in the car as part of a sting operation after suspicions arose about the chief's conduct.

Baxton, who faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, came under suspicion of offering preferential treatment to some suspects and stealing/selling items from the evidence locker. That's when the FBI decided to test him.

Agents bought five Xbox 360s, put them in the trunk of a car, then reported the car as being stolen. Baxton and another officer responded to the call -- and sure enough, when they saw the Xboxes, the chief ordered the officer to put four in his car and keep one for himself.

"Unbeknownst to Baxton, the unnamed officer voluntarily came forward to report other acts of misconduct occurring in Alorton and had been assisting the federal investigation from its inception. The unnamed officer was equipped with covert surveillance devices at the time of the theft -- and he audio and video recorded the entire incident," reads the court record.

Officials tracked one of the Xboxes and found it being used in Baxton's basement. But the U.S. Attorney overseeing the case said Baxton lied and tried to frame another officer when confronted.

Baxton's attorney calls the incident a "monumental lapse of judgment." [Source]

I am glad that this Negro was prosecuted and kicked off the force. Sorry Michael, you won't get to play with the Xbox in your cell.

Bad boyz.

2012-01-19T20:41:00.002-05:00

You GOP boys are a hot mess. Open marriages, tax dodging, and lord knows what else. I might actually watch this debate tonight, because it's on CNN. At least we now know that there will be one less person standing on stage. (Goodbye Rick, we hardly knew ya. And, on behalf of every fashion conscious man in America, let me just say that it will be a pleasure not having to look at your cowboy boots and suit hook up ever again.)

Rick Perry has endorsed Newt. Apparently he believes that Newt is the last true conservative left standing with a shot of winning this thing. Personally, I don't see it. Mitt will be the republican nominee who goes up against his Oness in the general election. I don't even think that it will be close. But that's just me. I could be wrong. Wingnuts tend to do strange things, and they can be unpredictable.

One thing that they are not unpredictable about is how they deal with the issue of race. We know exactly where they stand on matters of race, and I suspect that their supporters do as well.

Chauncey DeVega did a pretty good job of summing it all up:

"In South Carolina, where the Confederate flag still flies, there was Rick Perry (a neo-Secessionist that wants a Civil War 2.0 and a renewed fight for states' rights); Ron Paul (a bigot whose newsletters continue to suggest that African Americans are ravenous, craven, criminal, stupid beasts); Rick Santorum (a man fascinated by bestiality and the idea that blacks are parasites who only want to live off of white people); and Newt Gingrich who sees all African-Americans and Latinos as being on welfare and the public dole until proven otherwise. In total, these candidates are a rogues gallery where white supremacist attitudes towards non-whites is a standing rule, one only to be disputed after the fact." [More here]

Anyway, the debate is about to start. This should be fun.....

Oh Lawd! They just started and it has started already. Newt says that the "elite media" is protecting his Oness and he is "appalled" and "outraged" that CNN is choosing to start the debate by asking him about his ex doing a sit down with ABC.

Yes Newt, go on and shoot the messenger. That always works with the red meat crowd....

Did Mitt Romney just talk about changing the tax code? Ahhm, excuse me, why do you care?

"Not very much"?

2012-01-18T20:35:00.000-05:00

Folks are wondering about Flipper and his 15% tax rate declaration. "How could a man who is worth over three hundred million dollars pay a lower tax rate than say a school teacher?" Well, it happens, this is A-merry-ca.

Personally, I am not as upset about Flipper and his 15% tax rate. I understand that he is paying that on capital gains, dividend and interest income, and not on earned income. Flipper has put away a lot of money thanks to all of his investments. The speculating business has been very good to him. Making money at the expense of others is nothing new to the vultures from Wall Street, and Flipper was one of them, we all know that.

But Flipper made a statement yesterday that bothered me even more than his paltry tax contribution:

"Though it's no secret that Mitt Romney's income is made up of residual Bain investments taxed at the low rate of 15%, the candidate admitted it this morning at a campaign stop in Florence, South Carolina. “It’s probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything,” Romney said. According to the Times, he also loses his speaking fees in the cushions of his couch. “And then I get speaker’s fees from time to time, but not very much.”

"Not very much"? Let's see, he made over $374,000.00 in speaker fees last year at a time when most A-merry-cans are struggling to make ends meet, and he says that the money he made "is not very much"? Nice.

Honestly folks, doesn't it just make you want to slap the starch right out of his shirt?

Finally Juan, I tried to warn your black ass, but you wouldn't listen. You went over to the dark side because you thought that the clowns at the news network for dummies and their minions were your friends. Well I guess they showed you.

So now you are pushing back, and you can't understand why those folks were mean to you.

"On Tuesday's "The Five," he explained why he asked the question. When co-host Eric Bolling insisted that Gingrich's comments were about economics and not race, Williams disagreed. He said, "It's very racial and... unless i missed it, black people havent been out there demanding food stamps, or marching for food stamps." ..."I don't think [Gingrich] answered the question at all," [Source]

So now you are sticking up for black folks, Juan? Well I appreciate the effort, and I appreciate the fact that you went into the middle of ~~that Klan Rally~~ the republican debate (in South Carolina no less) and asked a tough question that needed to be asked.

You got your answer, and it wasn't pretty. Sorry Juan, if you are surprised at the answer you got, you just might want to start spending less time over at FOX.

Sometimes it's the little things.

2012-01-17T21:20:00.000-05:00

A lot of you Negroes are upset with Newt for suggesting that black folks are the only ones who use food stamps and rightfully so. His statement was ignorant and misguided. And, to make matters worse, he doubled down at the republican debates by calling out Juan Williams to the delight of the red meat starved wingnut crowd.

"JUAN WILLIAMS: Speaker Gingrich, you recently said black Americans should demand jobs, not food stamps. You also said poor kids lack a strong work ethic, and proposed having them work as janitors in their schools. Can’t you see that this is viewed, at a minimum, as insulting to all Americans, but particularly to black Americans?

GINGRICH: No, I don’t see that." [Source]

Of course he doesn't see it, because he lives in a parallel universe where ignorance and bigotry is accepted.

But here is the thing, as black folks we contribute to this crap by perpetuating these stereotypes our damn selves.

Just today I was in the train station here in Philly, when I saw the pic that goes with this post on a billboard. (I took that pic myself) Are you serious? WTF? WDAS is the most popular radio station here in Philly. They play R&B and "classic soul". And, quite frankly, that billboard is embarrassing. Newt and his ilk would love it. The folks at Clear Channel should be ashamed for green lighting that bull s%$#.

The folks who thought of this billboard are doing to get ratings for the Steve Harvey show, and they are doing it in an ignorant way. Sorry, "We Pay Your Bills" isn't cutting it for me. Find another promotion, or find another slogan for the one you are pushing.

Finally, -and we have been down this road before- can someone please remind Beyonce Knowles where she came from? Girlfriend tends to forget every now and then.

Questions about MLK Day.

2012-01-16T14:29:00.000-05:00

We interrupt a day of celebration for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to give you a few words from an angry Negro here in A-merry-ca:

"Every year around this time, I have to hear this question “If Martin Luther King Jr. was alive today..” and I’m sick of it. Only these coward punk clowns we have in the Black media would let a question like this come out of their mouth and you should look closely as anybody who want to ask this kind of question for discussion. Bottom line is Martin Luther King, Jr ain’t in 2012 but we are here in 2012 and what we going to do while me and you are alive right here and right now?

I’m getting up in age a little bit and to be honest on Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, it brings my attention to all of the fake civil rights, Black socialites and these sideways hustle bloggers we got running around this day and age pretending they something extra or outstanding me and you supposed to admire, real talk. Ain’t none of them willing to die for this like Martin Luther King Jr and I hope they understand where I come from when I let them know I can careless about who they think they are or supposed to be around me.

Every year, they come around and ask this question about “Martin Luther King would have turned 83 today, what would he think if he was alive today?” and not realize I think they are a straight bench and tussy deodorant coward for even asking that ignorant question. We are the only people who instead of honor our past with the present; we use the present to ask stupid questions about past people about if they were alive today.

Every year, we got some little punk well-dressed kid reciting the “I have a Dream” speech trying to sound like Martin Luther King with the audience clapping and some old wrinkled auntie with a smirk on her face as her nephew preaching from the podium. Real talk, I don’t know if that overrated brat and the whole audience participating are mocking Martin Luther King. However, we got kids that age here in 2012 actually building villages in Africa as we speak right now using the Internet to raise money.

Well, Martin Luther King Jr. ain’t alive today and the only thing 83 years old is his corpse and that’s the reality. Me and you are alive today and we know damn well what’s going on around us and affecting our Black community. So what the heck we going to do, that’s the real question! So that’s why anybody who ask what MLK would do in 2012 is a straight punk coward trying to put our current 2012 on 1900s Martin Luther King Jr. who came and went already and did what he done with the life MLK had while living.

I don’t have a dream, I have Dream and Hustle and I put in 2012 work for 2012 issues to solve 2012 problems for our people and our next generation. I do what I do and don’t need anybody approval and don’t care who don’t like me. We all know Martin Luther King had just as much Black people hating on him feeling he is a “rubble rouser”, well some of us know that. And the reason why they hating on Martin Luther King back then is why you see cats hating on stuff like Ed Dunn and Dream and Hustle because I don’t need socialite opinion to go out there and do the right thing for my people, my community and my future.

And let me give my speech, I ain’t Martin Luther King and I know what our own people did to Malcolm X and that’s what I’m a product of and what I really know what’s real out here. In 2012, you got some fake brothas and sistas in the middle class and upper class who are just as about the “same ish, different” day angle as much as those cats in the hood who ain’t going nowhere. Some of you cats ain’t even hip to it and walking around misguided and following the wrong cats who can careless about your future or your hustle or your struggle and just want to brag they have you as their customer. And some of you going right along with that game then get mad at me because I don’t respect your cornball following behind.

Today, we got more people around the world including the Arab Spring cats who honor and respect and study Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement to mimic their own fight for freedom. They getting machine gunned down protesting in 2012 while in 2012, we Black people too coward to take a bullet (or dish out bullets) fighting for ours here in the USA. Today, these emerging countries and economic situation is on the up, while Black people are leaving Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles in droves. Bottom line is our people are falling because cats don’t want to step up and get frustrated and stagnant instead of try to work together and move forward.

Martin Luther King does not know how to create wikis, but we do know how in 2012 to spread the information around and each one teach one. Martin Luther King does not have STEM educational background but we all have that at our fingertips right now to solve the majority or our problems we are dealing with. Martin Luther King did not have a chance to deal with the economic empowerment issue to address the poor people in our communities but we can handle that right now if we want to.

We going to see on Martin Luther King National Holiday, all the cowards we got in 2012 that will ask what Martin Luther King will do if he is alive today instead of being accountable for what they themselves should be doing in 2012 in the same spirit Martin Luther King fought for to reach the goal of equality, social justice and economic empowerment for the oppressed and underprivileged." [Source]

That was real talk. I respect it, and I am republishing it in the fields.

Why? Because we can never get enough real talk.

The republican candidates and the three letters you will never hear them say. (MLK)

2012-01-15T20:39:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the day we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's life here in A-merry-ca. I will wait to hear all the republican candidates for president give us a nice speech about King's contribution to our great republic while they are on the campaign trail. I will wait, but I doubt if I will hear it.

Republicans are running against Barack Obama, and contrary to what you might hear them say in thirty second sound bites, they are not trying to unite the country; they are trying to unite their base. They cannot do that by acknowledging those other people who have voted by a huge majority for the man their base despises and fears.

Sometimes it's subtle, and sometimes it's not. And, sometimes, as in the case of Flipper, the silence speaks volumes.

"In the last few months, the Republican Party has spoken to many ideas. Many of them very important to the GOP. They speak freely on the economy, foreign policy, education and government spending. What they do not talk about very often, is their plan on how to unify an America so much more diverse than what the founding fathers created. They steadily evade any deep discussions on race (unless it is in direct proportion to a cost they don’t approve of).
For many this is frustrating. For others it is proof of their bigotry. But as one New York Times article says, it may be all by design. Especially for Mitt Romney:

Of course, I’m not talking about a strict count of melanin density. I’m referring to the countless subtle and not-so-subtle ways he telegraphs to a certain type of voter that he is the cultural alternative to America’s first black president. It is a whiteness grounded in a retro vision of the country, one of white picket fences and stay-at-home moms and fathers unashamed of working hard for corporate America." [Source]

Mitt Romney knows what he is doing. His constant talk of making A-merry-ca great again, and going back to what it used to be pushes all the right buttons on all the right people.

"In this way, whether he means to or not, Mr. Romney connects with a central evangelic fantasy: that the Barack Obama years, far from being the way forward, are in fact a historical aberration, a tear in the white space-time continuum. And let’s be clear: Mr. Obama’s election was not destiny, but a fluke."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been 83 today, and I am pretty sure that if he were alive the republican candidates for president and the folks who support them would be spinning history to put him in quite a different light than we see him in now. (Martyrdom will do that to you.)

I give the American Civil Liberties Union credit for monitoring how we deal with the issue of race in the upcoming elections, and of course there are no surprises in their study:

Many of the candidates invoke the concept of “states’ rights” in the 10th Amendment to support efforts to undermine Constitutional rights, such as access to the ballot, as well as contraception and reproductive rights.

Paul has not adequately answered deeply disturbing questions about racist comments in newsletters published under his name in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Gingrich continues to make veiled racist references to “food stamp recipients” and ending poverty by putting kids to work in poor “urban” areas. And Santorum said he didn’t want to “make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”

Martin Luther King Jr. said “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” For too many of the presidential candidates, the arc is broken."

"And the church said, 'Amen!'"

We should be Bradying instead.

2012-01-14T23:26:00.000-05:00

I guess the big gal upstairs must like New England and Tom Brady as much as they do Tim Tebow. Although I don't know why. The tight end that has been catching everything thrown his way tonight was hanging out with a porn star for crying out loud! That is not very christ like.

Somehow I don't think that there will be any "Tebowing" on the Denver sidelines tonight. I don't know how I got tricked into thinking this game was going to be close by the A-merry-can hype machine. Tebow is who he is: A below average football player who happens to be a good guy. Brady, on the other hand, has a child out of wedlock, and doesn't strike me as a guy who pays his tithe on Sunday mornings. And yet the big gal allowed him to throw six (Six!) touchdowns so far tonight. (There is still seven minutes left in the third quarter as I write this post.)

Tebow just got sacked again. This is getting ugly. I wonder what the forty three percent of A-merry-cans who believe that God helps Tim Tebow win football games think she is doing tonight? Tebow just got sacked again. I think I will change the channel now. Maybe ESPN is showing clips of the Saints Forty Niners game.

Finally, what would a Saturday night post be without chasing the Big R a little bit?

MJ, I know that you are firmly in the house these days. (Well you always have been more of a house Negro) But I sure hope that you step up to the plate and issue a statement or get with the people at Hanes about the ignorance that went on at that company. As their number one spokesperson you owe us that much.

"Former employee Yunusa Kenchi has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against Hanesbrands — most known for its Michael Jordan underwear commercials — after being terminated from his role as creative designer at the company, according to the Village Voice.

Lawyer Patrick Boyd of the Boyd Law Group said that Kenchi faced “consistent insults and ridicule from a hostile supervisor.” The abuse carried on until Kenchi intercepted an e-mail from his boss describing him as a “N*gger.”
The e-mail stated:

Kenchi is seeking “a meaningful apology from Hanes” and unspecified compensation from the company “in excess of $1 million.

Attorney Boyd expressed his feelings regarding the undergarment company:

A company this large, dealing with a diverse community, is not taking responsibility. [The e-mailer] was a designer for the Michael Jordan line of clothing for many years! It goes to show you that even companies with prominent African-American spokespeople can have racist elements at a high level.

Since then, Hanes has issued an apology:

Hanesbrands Inc. is proud of its diverse worldwide workforce and does not tolerate discriminatory behavior. After allegations emerged of improper conduct in the termination of Mr. Kenchi, Hanesbrands conducted a thorough investigation and found evidence of an offensive attitude and use of language that is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. We sincerely regret that the situation arose and are troubled that Mr. Kenchi’s termination process may have been tainted by unacceptable attitudes. In lieu of these findings, Hanes brands took decisive disciplinary steps, including the termination of a supervisor, and made Mr. Kenchi an unconditional offer of employment to return to the company." [Source]

I'm a Unico man myself.

Mitt's Vick problem

2012-01-13T17:31:00.000-05:00

Say it ain’t so Flipper. Please tell me you didn’t pull a Mike Vick move back in the day.

Personally, you all know how I feel about pets. I think you A-merry-cans tend to be a bit misguided with your unceasing devotion to your four legged friends. So I am not going to totally rip Mitt for strapping the family dog to the top of the car and hauling him down the highway all the way to Canada. (Poor Fido. 12 hours on the roof?! Mitt, are you sure you don't have a little black in you? )

Mitt, I think you just lost the pet lovers vote. But, then again, maybe not. A-merry-cans are very good at selective outrage. Michael Vick is not running on the republican ticket for president.

Anyway, of all the things that Mitt could have done in the past, this might be the worse. A-merry-cans will damn near forgive you for anything except messing with the family pet.

“Mitt is a little bit confused about living things. To him a corporation is a person. But, a dog is a piece of luggage."

Ouch! Mitt, there will be more of that to come.

Look, I know that Flipper would never take advice from the Field, but I would seriously recommend that he forgets about his Vain Capital issues for now and start focusing on nipping his Fido problem in the bud. Get your people to reach out to Vick's people ASAP. (Don't worry, he isn't doing anything right now. In case you didn't notice, the Eagles missed the playoffs.)Ask them to tell you the best way to suck up to the doggy crowd and get right on it.

Remember, Fido can't vote, but his owner can. How can you come home and look him in the eye after you pulled the lever for Romney? You can't. Fido knows that Mitt tortured one of his boys back in the day and he will never let you forget it.

I wonder how long it will be before I start seeing those dog owners for Obama bumper stickers?

Mi Amigo Mitt.

2012-01-12T20:34:00.000-05:00

Well, as it turns out, his O ness isn't the only high profile politrickster whose daddy was born outside of these divided states of A-merry-ca. Unlike O, however, Flipper is trying to use his daddy's birthplace to his advantage. (BTW Flipper, I still want to see proof that you created 100,000.00 "net" jobs while at Vain Capitol and a copy of your tax returns.)

The Real Mitt Romney has launched a bid to win over Latino voters, from noting that his father was born in Mexico to airing a new Spanish-language ad in Florida. But he’s not getting any help from @MexicanMitt, a ribald and unsympathetic Latino alter ego someone has launched on Twitter.

@MexicanMitt started tweeting yesterday, kicking off the account by saying, “Corporations are peoples, my amigos!” “You know you can tell I am Mexican?” Mexican Mitt asked later. “Because I take the Americans jobs!”

After the real Romney’s victory in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, Mexican Mitt exclaimed, “I won, cabrones!” As the GOP frontrunner made his way down to the next primary state of South Carolina, Mexican Mitt tweeted, “Esta noche voy a el Sur de Carolina. Carolina es mi otra esposa, guey!” – meaning, “Carolina is my other wife!”

The tweets from Mexican Mitt have come one after another in the past two days.“I am so Mexican I don’t have a Super PAC, I have a Super PACO!” he tweeted.Taking aim at one of Romney’s rivals, Mexican Mitt said, “Niut Gringorich, shut up about my business practices – you sound like a pinche OCCUPY HIPPIE!!”The Twitter alter ego comes as Romney makes a serious push to court Latino voters, the nation’s fastest-growing voting bloc and a minority that could prove crucial in upcoming GOP primary states such as Florida and Nevada. At a campaign stop in Rochester, N.H., on Sunday, Romney referenced the fact that his father, George, was born in Mexico and came to the United States at age five." [Source]

Hmmm, five...not so sure how much calle cred Flipper can get with the Latinos for that one, but I give him credit for the old college try.

Hey, at least I have someone else to follow on twitter now.

Finally, poor Luis Gonzalez, the guy got his wig split and they are charging him with a hate crime. Come on now, the poor guy has an issue with Negroes and was just letting them know about it.

"MIAMI-Luis Gonzalez a 50-year-old man from Hialeah, Florida has been charged with a hate crime and attempted murder after police determined he was lying after he told them he was shot in the head in an attempted robbery.
Police found out that there was no attempted robbery and that Gonzalez was shot after trying to run over two African American males after he yelled racial slurs at them and told them to leave his city.
CBS Miami reports:

As Hialeah detective dug deeper they were able to determine that Gonzalez had indeed lied to investigators and was not the victim of a robbery, but instead the aggressor.
As for why he did it, Gonzalez said he was a crime victim during the 1980 “McDuffie Riots” and “has held resentment for black people ever since.” [Source]

Luis my friend, it might be time to let it go.

Warren Buffet, and human zoos.

2012-01-11T21:01:00.000-05:00

Warren Buffet is putting his money (and there is lots of it) where his mouth is. He is throwing down the gauntlet to the wingnuts in Washington.

"WASHINGTON/BOSTON (Reuters) - Warren Buffett is willing to put his money where his mouth is, if only congressional Republicans would join him.
The American billionaire investor, in the new issue of Time magazine, says he would donate $1 to paying down the national debt for every dollar donated by a Republican in Congress. The only exception is Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell - for whom Buffett said he would go $3-to-$1.

The idea stems from a New York Times opinion piece Buffett wrote last August in which he said the rich ought to pay more taxes. It sparked an instant controversy, with some Washington conservatives calling on the 81-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" to voluntarily pay extra.

McConnell said at the time that if Buffett felt "guilty" about paying too low a tax rate, he should "send in a check." This was quickly followed by introduction of a bill to give taxpayers an option on tax forms to make voluntary donations.
"It restores my faith in human nature to think that there are people who have been around Washington all this time and are not yet so cynical as to think that can't be solved by voluntary contributions," the Buffett told Time for an article hitting newsstands on Friday.

An aide to McConnell suggested that the Berkshire Hathaway CEO should expand his matching offer to President Barack Obama and his Democrats."

Mitch needs to quit. He isn't going to donate one red cent towards helping the nation's economy. Why would he? He has just a little longer to go of trying to make sure that the economy totally goes into the tank.

Finally, I want to talk about a story out of India which has me scratching my head.

"British newspaper The Observer released the undated video showing Jarawa tribal women - some of them naked - being lured to dance and sing after a bribe was allegedly paid to a policeman to produce them.

Under Indian laws designed to protect ancient tribal groups susceptible to outside influence and disease, photographing or coming into contact with the Jarawa and some of the Andaman aborigines is banned.

The tribe, thought to have been among the first people to migrate successfully from Africa to Asia, lives a nomadic existence in the lush, tropical forests of the Andamans in the Indian Ocean.

India's Tribal Affairs Minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo on Wednesday said an investigation had been ordered.

"An inquiry has been ordered and it is being headed by the chief secretary and director-general of police of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands," Deo told the Press Trust of India news agency.

"It's deplorable. You cannot treat human beings like beasts for the sake of money. Whatever kind of tourism is that, I totally disapprove of that and it is being banned also," the minister added.

Survival International, which lobbies on behalf of tribal groups worldwide, said the video showed tourists apparently enjoying "human zoos."

"Quite clearly, some people's attitudes towards tribal peoples haven't moved on a jot. The Jarawa are not circus ponies bound to dance at anyone's bidding," said Stephen Corry, the group's director, in a press release. [Source]

Oh my! Human Zoos? What's next, paying people to perform for our pleasure while we cheer them on? Wait.......

Inhale that spliff, and a win for Flipper.

2012-01-10T22:13:00.001-05:00

Let me start tonight's post with some good news:

"CHICAGO (AP) — Smoking a joint once a week or a bit more apparently doesn't harm the lungs, suggests a 20-year study that bolsters evidence that marijuana doesn't do the kind of damage tobacco does.

The results, from one of the largest and longest studies on the health effects of marijuana, are hazier for heavy users — those who smoke two or more joints daily for several years. The data suggest that using marijuana that often might cause a decline in lung function, but there weren't enough heavy users among the 5,000 young adults in the study to draw firm conclusions.

Still, the authors recommended "caution and moderation when marijuana use is considered."

Marijuana is an illegal drug under federal law although some states allow its use for medical purposes.

The study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham was released Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The findings echo results in some smaller studies that showed while marijuana contains some of the same toxic chemicals as tobacco, it does not carry the same risks for lung disease.

It's not clear why that is so, but it's possible that the main active ingredient in marijuana, a chemical known as THC, makes the difference. THC causes the "high" that users feel. It also helps fight inflammation and may counteract the effects of more irritating chemicals in the drug, said Dr. Donald Tashkin, a marijuana researcher and an emeritus professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Tashkin was not involved in the new study.

Study co-author Dr. Stefan Kertesz said there are other aspects of marijuana that may help explain the results." [Source]

Now folks, please don't think for a minute that I am encouraging the smoking of something that is illegal here in A-merry-ca. I am, after all, an officer of the court. I am simply trying to pass on some information to help you people become better informed. Because you never know when you might have to use the stuff for......medical purposes.

Finally, congrats to Flipper for winning New Hampshire. I caught his speech on CNN, and I had this funny urge to break out with a verse of "One Bad Apple".

So anywhoo, Mitt says that some of us progressives are envious of rich folks, and that we want to change A-merry-ca. Mitt wants to restore A-merry-ca to what it was: that "shining city on a hill". (Was that the Gipper or Flipper?) Flipper, some of us weren't too welcome in that city, so pardon me if I am not too enthusiastic about going back.

Flipper is right about one thing, we do want to change A-merry-ca. We want to make sure that folks like him don't continue to get rich on the backs of other people, and that everyone will have a chance to "lead the fabulous life" like the one that he has enjoyed ever since he was born on third base.

"Free enterprise will be on trial,” Mr. Romney said in the final hours of campaigning here. “I thought it was going to come from the president, from the Democrats, from the left, but instead it’s coming from Speaker Gingrich and apparently others. And, you know, that’s just part of the process. I’m not worried about that.”

Flipper, I am glad to know that you are not worried, because it will come from the left and the right. Why? Because your version of "free enterprise" will only serve you and the few people in A-merry-ca who have enjoyed the benefits of your shining city.

"Fire them!"

2012-01-09T22:09:00.001-05:00

I remember when I was just a little Rugrat my father uprooted the family from our wonderful Jamaican home and took us to live in East Lansing, Michigan. He did it so that he could work on his post graduate degree while being surrounded by his family. I also remember the governor of Michigan for a short time that we were there being a man my father always spoke glowingly about long after we left the Great Lakes state. The man pushed for civil rights when it was not popular to do so, and he clashed with his own church on the issue. Well, unfortunately, the apple in this case, has fallen very far from the tree.

Flipper Mitt is no George Romney. Flipper, unlike his father, doesn't seem to understand the working man and woman very much. Flipper lives in a bubble, and he only comes out of it whenever he wants to win an election.

The latest news out of New Hampshire is that Flipper, once again, has shown his true colors.

"With just one day to go before the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary, Mitt Romney -- the former Massachusetts governor and frontrunner for the nomination -- described his faith in the free market with words that might come back to haunt him.

"I like being able to fire people who provide services to me," Romney said at a Monday breakfast in New Hampshire, when talking about health care. "You know, if someone doesn't give me a good service that I need, I want to say, 'I'm going to go get someone else to provide that service to me.'"

The candidate is already facing criticism from his Republican rivals about his record as CEO of Bain Capital LLC, a Boston venture capital group that invested in struggling companies in an effort to turn them around.

In the remarks, about his belief in providing people with options, Romney -- who in Massachusetts enacted an individual health care mandate while governor -- spoke about the need to incentivize insurance companies.

"I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means if you don't like what they do, you can fire them," he said." [Story]

"Fire them"! Sure Flipper, because, after all, they are just workers.

"Self destruction."

2012-01-08T20:40:00.000-05:00

No racism chasing for me tonight, although I could. The chase is always on here in A-merry-ca. (WTF is wrong with school teachers in Georgia? Slavery to teach math? h/t to Reena for this story.)

Tonight, thanks to an article written by David Gayle that I found over at Politc365, I want to put some focus on black on black killings.

"The very first mention of Philadelphia in the national news for 2012 was not very encouraging. We actually made number one in a significant statistical category, but it’s nothing to write home about. Residents of the City of Brotherly Love murder each other more often than anyone else in America’s ten largest cities.

Heck, the mayor of Washington, D.C. is already bragging about losing the “murder capital” status to Philly, and using it to push his public safety agenda. When the numbers were announced last Friday, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray called a press conference, where he crowed, “The days when the District was known as the nations ‘Murder Capital’ are long behind us, and the plans we are announcing today will enable our police to continue this progress.”

There were 324 homicides in Philadelphia last year, up from 306 in 2010. Sure, that’s down from 2007’s high water mark of 391, but 324 murders in one year is ridiculous no matter how you parse the numbers.

As if to drive that point home for the nonbelievers, already there were six murders in 2012, and we’re only a couple of days into the new year.
About 85 percent of those murdered were young Black men, almost the exact percentage of the murderers themselves. Simply put, young Philadelphians are so hopeless and filled with shortsighted desperation that they’ve engaged in what could well be the first case of self-inflicted genocide in human history.
Our young men are willfully doing what nearly a hundred years of Ku Klux Klan raids could not do — what the night riders, cross burners and skinheads have only dreamed of in their wildest fantasies: the slow, deliberate extermination of the Black race.

Think about it for a minute. For every murder, there are two Black men taken out of the picture: the victim, who was deprived of life itself, and the killer, who is then deprived of any chance at a productive life by rotting in prison for dozens of years. Two sets of children are deprived of their fathers. How many of those children will then grow up in poverty and despair, repeating the same cycle of victim/perpetrator for yet another generation?

Fortunately, these facts are not foreign to the powers that be. In his second inaugural speech Monday morning, Mayor Michael Nutter called the phenomenon of young Black boys murdering each other “the epidemic not sufficiently talked about.”

Nutter is brainstorming with city, state and federal law enforcement agencies to come up with a strategy for combating handgun violence. Handguns are the weapons of choice for urban killing, used in more than four out of five of last year’s 324 Philadelphia murders.

The devil, as always, is in the details.
Any solution will require an entire sea change, a paradigm shift on two fronts: first, laws must be changed or amended to specifically target people who have no business with guns.

Not as easy as it sounds, given that anywhere outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, you’ll be hard pressed to find even a handful of state legislators willing to talk about gun control. Our local leaders have tried for years to implement common sense controls in Philadelphia, only to be shouted down by the rural gun nuts that hate Philadelphia anyway, and don’t much care if Black folk shoot each other until the cows come home.

The second hurdle, sadly, is internal. There are those among us — decent, enlightened, aware Black people — who bristle immediately at any notion that part of the blame lies squarely on our kids and what influences them. This is a mistake, because burying our heads in the sand won’t help them. They need to understand that their future (and ours) lies in their hands, and that future is determined by whether they’re carrying a book — or carrying a gun.
Sure, you can blame the white man for manufacturing all those guns, and legislators for allowing the guns to proliferate in the Black community — but while that’s true, we have to admit, at least to ourselves, that it isn’t the whole story.

White men are not driving in from the suburbs to gun down our children every weekend in our communities. State legislators are not shooting up bars, nightclubs, bowling alleys and house parties in Black neighborhoods.
Our children are doing that. The mayor was right when he correctly identified it as an epidemic. And it’s up to us — all of us — to stop it." [Source]

Because of my criminal law practice, I always have to be careful when talking about crime in Philadelphia. But I have to give the author credit for not only writing about the problem but offering solutions as well.

Still, I would like to add a couple: There has to be a rethinking of the drug laws in this country. Most of the murders in Philadelphia are committed because of drug turfs, the drug trade,or money associated with the trade. Drug dealers do not form commercial contracts, they do not take their disputes to court; they settle scores and disputes in the streets. Drug dealing can be profitable because A-merry-cans love their drugs. (When was the last time you saw a drug dealer offer a two for one sale?) Laws to decriminalize certain drugs, and offering alternative sentencing for users could put a serious dent in the profit margins on the street.

Finally, our urban schools should have programs in place to address anger and behavioral issues with some of these young black males. If the schools don't have the resources, black men who consider themselves positive role models should find the time to volunteer.

They should find the time to teach them the importance of reacting in the right way to a perceived diss. They should teach them how to control their anger, and to make them understand that reacting without thinking can bring a lifetime of terrible things. And, as the author alluded to, carrying a book is much easier than carrying a gun.

I agree with you Mayor Nutter, it is an epidemic "not sufficiently talked about". But folks like me will keep talking, because at some point someone will have to listen.

Is he a liar? Is he a racist? Or is he just misunderstood?

2012-01-07T20:30:00.000-05:00

I am going to be channel surfing tonight between watching those who dats play the Lions and the republican presidential debates. This is because I really want to hear what these republicans are saying. I haven't made up my mind who I will vote for come 2012 just yet....

Anywhoo, you gotta love that sister in New Hampshire who confronted Rick (I should be in a) Sanitarium.

"At a campaign event outside a pharmacy in Hollis, New Hampshire Saturday afternoon, an African-American woman confronted Rick Santorum over recent comments he made that the NAACP and others have called racially insensitive.

While speaking about welfare reform last week, Santorum was quoted as saying, “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.” The candidate now denies that he said “black,” claiming instead that he said “blah.”

At the campaign stop Saturday, the woman — who slipped away from the event before ThinkProgress was able to get her name — asked, “Why do you have a problem against black people?”

WOMAN: Mr. Santorum, why do you have a problem against black people? We are the only ones who need aid? The statistics show that it’s not the popularity [sic] that’s the most needy.
SANTORUM: I didn’t say that. I understand that.
WOMAN: OK, then why’d you say that?
SANTORUM: OK, we gotta go. I didn’t say that. " [Story & Video]

Honestly, I think people are focusing on the wrong issue with Rick's statement. It's not so much that he said something that was racially insensitive while speaking to like minded people. (Welcome to A-merry-ca) The bigger issue is that he is flat out lying about what he said. If a man can lie about something as obvious as this, what else will he lie about?

Still, there are some folks who do not believe that Ricky was being racist. They believe that he was merely trying to reach out to us Negroes.

"NAACP President Benjamin Jealous denounced the comments as "outrageous," and even Fox News host Bill O'Reilly had to remind Santorum that his comments were specious when you consider that "most of the people, as you know, on welfare are white people." Then Santorum made the whole thing worse by denying that he'd even said "black" and insisting instead that what he'd actually said was "blah."

Blah, indeed.

In this weekend's Saturday-and-Sunday New Hampshire primary-debate double-header, if he doesn't take the opportunity to -- in Senate-speak -- revise and extend his thoughts on blacks and welfare, he'll just wind up being the latest in a long line of GOP politicians who not only can't connect with the black vote, but can't even make a convincing case that they've tried. Santorum tried -- and awkwardly failed -- to articulate a position that you hear all the time from black conservatives: that government assistance hurts African Americans over the long term. The problem for Santorum is that it doesn't sound as if he truly understands that message." [Source]

Yes, reaching out is nice. And I would more than welcome an open and honest dialogue on matters of race. The problem is, of course, that when you are talking about republican politicians, it's a thin line between scapegoating and reaching out.

Ghetto apps, and the C word.

2012-01-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

One of the beautiful things about being a black man in urban A-merry-ca, is that you can take really cool shortcuts through certain neighborhoods during rush hour. Neighborhoods that other people desperately try to avoid, which always make the commute so much easier.

Look, if you are a white person living in A-merry-ca, I strongly suggest that you try to get your hands on the following device:

"REDMOND, Wash. (CBS Seattle) – Microsoft has been granted a patent for its “avoid ghetto” feature for GPS devices.

A GPS device is used to find shortcuts and avoid traffic, but Microsoft’s patent states that a route can be plotted for pedestrians to avoid an “unsafe neighborhood or being in an open area that is subject to harsh temperatures.”

Created for mobile phones, the technology uses the latest crime statistics and weather data and includes them when calculating a route.

Created for mobile phones, the technology uses the latest crime statistics and weather data and includes them when calculating a route.
The patent, written in a combination of tech-speak and legalese, was awarded to Microsoft earlier this week. " [Source]

Yes, I suppose that knowing "crime statistics" is important. Because you can never be too careful when navigating your way around A-merry-ca. (h/t to centauri for sending me this story)

Finally, I have to attack black a little bit tonight.

Hey, it's like this, if I am going to defend you Negroes when white folks get all racial with you during the heat of an athletic battle, you are going to have to restrain yourselves as well.

It is not cool to make racial remarks to your opponents. It's just not. Find another way to try and get under your opponent's skin without making ignorant and derogatory racial remarks.

"Ohio State linebacker Tyler Moeller, complained about racial slurs being used by Florida towards him in Ohio State’s 24-17 loss in the Gator Bowl.
Moeller claims that several Florida players called him “cracker” which led to tensions between the two teams.
Yahoo Sports reports:

“They’re classless. That’s the way I’d put it,” Moeller said, according to Marcus Hartman from Buckeye Sports Bulletin. “I’ve never seen more people swing at our players and call us racial slurs. I’ve never been called a ‘cracker’ more in my life than I have today. So I don’t really have much respect for them in terms of that but they’re a good team. They came out and outplayed us today.” [Story]

Tyler, I agree with you, and those Negroes who did that to you deserve to be in the house.

He is just trying to make the "bluh" people's lives a little better.

2012-01-05T20:55:00.000-05:00

"Well, you, you have to have someone you can work with, and this president has done more to divide than any other president that I've ever witnessed in my lifetime. This president goes out and gives speech after speech after speech trying to divide America between class, between income group, between racial and ethnic groups."

Pot meet kettle.

Rick ( I should be in a) Sanitarium told John King that he is pretty sure that he didn't use the word black when speaking to his white friends in Iowa. He says that he started saying something and in mid sentence it "changed" and something else came out. (I wonder why the change?)

“I looked at that [video] and I didn’t say that,” the candidate asserted. “What I started to say was a word and then it sort of changed and ‘bluh’ came out. And people said I said ‘black’ and I didn’t.”

"We won't make "bluh" people's lives better with welfare"? I don't want to give welfare to blah people? Blue people, maybe?

Well I listened to Rick's speech in its entirety, and I really have to wonder who is the "they" and "them" that he kept referring to. There just aren't too many blue and blah people running around these days.

My friend Marc Morial isn't please, and he represents dem professional black folks from the Urban League.

"Senator Santorum is perpetuating a thoroughly false and destructive racial stereotype in a desperate attempt to score political points," Morial said in a statement released Tuesday. "He is appealing to the lowest common denominator within the electorate and quite frankly should be ashamed of himself." [Source]

Come on now Marc, why are you surprised? I know that Rick worked with you and your organization on a couple of occasions, but you should know by now that this is what republican politicians do; they play the majority against those evil minorities who want to take what they (the majority) have.

“We looked at it and it is a little blurry,” O’Reilly explained. “I’m going to take you on your word.”

“I don’t use the term ‘black’ very often,” Santorum insisted. “I use the term ‘African American’ more than I use ‘black.’ And I as someone who did more work for historically black colleges, I used to — every year I used to bring all the historically black colleges into Washington, D.C. to try to help them.”

“You don’t have to convince me, senator,” O’Reilly replied. “I don’t think you’re a bigot.” [Source]

Maybe not a bigot Senator, just a despicable politician who will do anything for power.

Speaking of despicable politicians, I see that Newt has also jumped on the bash black parade.

"Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said today he is willing to go before the NAACP and urge blacks to demand paychecks, not food stamps.
Gingrich told a town hall meeting at a senior center in Plymouth, N.H., that if the NAACP invites him to its annual convention this year, he'd go there and talk about "why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps."

Newt, I am thankful that the government doesn't have to give you food stamps, if it did, I am sure that we wouldn't have enough money to do anything else.

God's candidates.

2012-01-04T20:47:00.000-05:00

You know what pisses me off about some of these powerful Christians here in A-merry-ca? The fact that they have all this access to the big gal and they won't share it with the rest of us.

"Christian leader Pat Robertson is claiming that God gave him insight regarding who America’s next president will be. But the conservative media mogul isn’t willing to name names.

'I think He showed me about the next president, but I‘m not supposed to talk about that so I’ll leave you in the dark — probably just as well — but I think I know who it’s gonna be,” Robertson said on Tuesday‘s episode of the Christian Broadcast Network’s “700 Club.'

Aside from making this proclamation, he went on to read the message, word-for-word, that he claims to have heard directly from God. Here it is, in full:

Your country will be torn apart by internal stress. A house divided cannot stand. Your president holds a radical view of the direction of your country which is at odds with the majority. Expect chaos and paralysis. Your president holds a view which is at the odds with the majority — it’s a radical view of the future of this country, and so that‘s why we’re having this division. This is a spiritual battle which can only be won by overwhelming prayer. The future of the world is at stake because if America falls, there’s no longer a strong champion of freedom and a champion of the oppressed of the world. There must be an urgent call to prayer." [Source]

At least Pat is sharing God's thoughts with the rest of us. Pat must be a good guy. Can you imagine what some of us would do with that type of power?
"Pssst..., God, sorry to bug you again, but could you give me the numbers to that Powerball ticket?".

So anyway, the guys who I am sure that "God" would like to see in the White House are really going at it these days.

Ron Paul called Newt a "chicken hawk", Newt called Flipper a liar, and Flipper called Newt an abortion supporter. (Definitely a no no for a God candidate.)

Finally, it's time to say goodbye to Michele Bachmann. She gave it the old wingnut try, but, in the end, it just wasn't enough.

Sarah, it might be time to show off that new hairdo. The Tea Party needs you.

The Iowa Three.

2012-01-03T22:34:00.000-05:00

Man it's nice to be home. It's been a long holiday.

So anyway, I am watching the election results come in from Iowa, and CNN is saying that it's going to be close between three candidates. (Poor Newt and Michele.) So far the turnout has been lower than expected. Hmm, I wonder what that means?

There is Soledad O'Brien. Poor thing, she is trying so hard to look comfortable in the land of corn. (She"tussled" with Michele Bachmann on her show.) Soledad claims her black side,but she might want to hold back a little on that until she leaves Iowa.

Thanks to one of the candidates, folks in corn country might start giving her the fuzzy eye ball because they think she wants a handout.

"Rick Santorum was responding to a question Sunday about how he would get the country back on track, and he was telling a group of Iowans that President Obama wanted to make them more dependent on programs like Medicaid.
There was little or no reaction from an audience that appeared to be all, or overwhelmingly, white. And perhaps as a result, Santorum continued with this gem of scapegoating:

'“I don’t want to make black peoples’ lives better by giving them somebody else’s money,” Mr. Santorum said. “I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money and provide for themselves and for their families.”'

Now that's special. A guy who stole money from the people of Pistolvania is lecturing a race of people about handouts.

"Asked about it later, Santorum told Sean Hannity on Fox News: said: “I haven’t heard it; all I can say is that I don’t single out any group of people– that’s one thing I don’t do,” Santorum explained. “I don’t divide people by group and race and class.” [Source]

And people wonder why I say that Rick is crazy. Rick, are you saying that you didn't hear what you said? "I haven't heard it"? Yes, I think that's what you are saying.

Folks, I rest my case.

This just in: Santorum is leading with 49% of the votes counted. Hang in there folks, it could be a long night.

Now it's Rick's turn, and Obama is just like Kim.

2012-01-02T10:03:00.000-05:00

Congrats to former Pistolvania Senator, Rick [I should be in a] Sanitarium, for being the latest republican presidential flavor of the month. I am from Pistolvania, so I know a thing or two about Rick. (Even met him once.) And, how do I say this? Rick is crazy!

'"One of the criticisms I make is to what I refer to as more of a libertarianish right...This whole idea of personal autonomy, well, I don’t think most conservatives hold that point of view. Some do. They have this idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do, government should keep our taxes down and keep our regulations low, that we shouldn’t get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn’t get involved in cultural issues. You know, people should do whatever they want. Well, that is not how traditional conservatives view the world, and I think most conservatives understand that individuals can’t go it alone. That there is no such society that I am aware of, where we’ve had radical individualism and that it succeeds as a culture.” '

'I’m a pretty tolerant guy, but beyond his ideology, some of Santorum’s behavior is just a little bizarre. For example, Santorum has six children. In 1996, he had son born prematurely who lived for only two hours. He and wife brought the child home and introduced the dead infant to the rest of their children as “your brother Gabriel” and slept with the body overnight."' [Source]

Yesterday, on national television, Rick pretty much confirmed to the rest of A-merry-ca that he should not be the man we trust to hold the highest office in the land and the most powerful position in the world.

"Rick Santorum said today he would bomb Iran's nuclear plants if international inspectors aren't allowed inside, the Wall Street Journal reports. "You can't go out and say, 'This is what I'm for,' and then do nothing," Santorum said on Meet the Press. "You become a paper tiger." [Source]

Oh ohhh, we have seen this movie before: No "international inspectors" means we will have to take "action". Well we just pulled our troops out of a country after taking "action" against another one of those "evil" Middle Eastern countries.

Rick, you might want to start loading up those B2's right now, because Iran might have already started.

Another one of those republican candidates just compared his Oness to Kim Kardashian.

"I’ve been looking at some video clips on YouTube of President Obama, then candidate Obama, going through Iowa making promises," he said at a campaign stop in Iowa. "I think the gap between his promises and his performance is the largest I’ve seen, well, since the Kardashian wedding and the promise of 'til death do we part."

Poor Flipper, he is trying so hard to come off as being in touch with popular culture.

"The Huffington Post notes that Romney has lately been making more attempts to seem in-touch with pop culture, referring to I Love Lucy last week and Twilight (his favorite book, apparently) in May. He also recently compared Obama to Marie Antoinette."

"I Love Lucy"? OK, I guess if you are still jonesing to live in 1950's A-merry-ca, using "I Love Lucy" to make a point would make sense.

Finally, you have to feel sorry for Newt. I actually saw the poor guy crying the other day after talking about his now departed mama.

Newt says that he has been "Romney-Boated". I guess that's kind of like being "swiftboated" without the military connection.

"I probably should have responded faster and more aggressively,’’ Mr. Gingrich told reporters here Sunday. “If somebody spent $3.5 million lying about you, you have some obligation to come back and set the record straight.’’

Mr. Gingrich acknowledged that his campaign had underestimated the damage inflicted by ads and mailers that accused him of influence-peddling because he had earned $1.6 million in consulting work for Freddie Mac.

The Iowa race, he said, was still in flux, and his “experiment” in staying positive – a promise he has not always stuck to – could still pay dividends at the caucuses on Tuesday.

As the campaign moves to New Hampshire and South Carolina, Mr. Gingrich said he would direct ads that point up Mr. Romney’s relatively moderate record as governor of Massachusetts — not attacks, he insisted, but a look at the record.
“I think you can do very calm, very pleasant ads,’’ he said. “The nature of the Republican Party is such that a calm, pleasant ad that says he was for tax-paid abortions, I’m against it” would have an impact." [Source]

You gotta love these "calm and pleasant" republicans. I can't wait to see the "calm and pleasant" campaign the republican nominee runs in the general election.

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-01T07:47:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012 everyone! No resolutions, please. I am pretty sure that most of you are going to forget whatever it is you promised to do by March.

Every day should be like a new year for you, and those promises to yourself should be made every morning when you wake: I want to be a better husband, a better father, I am going to eat right, I am going to take care of my body, I am really going to help and advocate on behalf of people who are less fortunate than I am...you get the picture.

I know one thing, 2012 will be very interesting. There is a national election here in A-merry-ca, and there is continuing economic and political instability in Europe and the Middle East.

A-merry-cans will continue to be "color aroused" (thanks Francis) and I will be here to observe and write about it every step of the way.

I haven't found Lark Voorhies, (Hey, I saw the recent pics, so maybe that's not such a bad thing. Besides, there is always Debbie Morgan.) so I guess I will keep on blogging. Pissing off the haters, sharing ideas -and thoughts- with like minded individuals, and learning from others who are willing to engage and discuss things in an intelligent and logical manner.

So goodbye 2011; it was fun while it lasted.

Obama, the leftist Americans like.

2011-12-30T11:17:00.000-05:00

So most A-merry-cans believe that O is to the left of them politically. And given how A-merry-cans feel about leftist, it's shocking that his Oness is stacking up so well against each of the republican candidates for president of these divided states. Even the right wing leaning Rasmussen Poll can't put O away just yet.

Maybe it's because most of them admire him so much personally that they can look past his political leanings.

I also wonder if this curious contradiction has something to do with the economy picking up in the last quarter of 2011. The housing market is picking up. Unemployment numbers are down. And there has been growth in the manufacturing sector.

This, of course, is bad news for Flipper Mitt and company. No one is praying for a failing economy harder than my republican friends. Four years of power is at stake. A-merry-cans, as is usually the case, do not care about foreign policy. All they care about is their pocket books, and that is what will influence their vote in 2012. If a leftist commie helps to put steak and potatoes on the table; well then so be it.

Speaking of Flipper Mitt; I see where he recently compared O to Marie Antoinette.

"Mitt Romney says President Obama is out of touch with average Americans and compared the man he'd like to replace with the former French queen who came to symbolize extravagance.

"When the president's characterization of our economy was, 'It could be worse,' it reminded me of Marie Antoinette: 'Let them eat cake,' " Romney told The Huffington Post in an interview Thursday."

Hmmmm.....this is an interesting observation from Flipper. I say that because I just read the following:

"DAVENPORT, Iowa--I'm told the reason it remains illegal to raise chickens in Iowa City, where I live, is because Iowans moved to our relatively cosmopolitan college town to get away from the country people and, by extension, their chickens. Twentysomethings from bigger cities, where it is fashionable to raise your own chicks and harvest fresh eggs and place them decorously on gingham dish towels, come to Iowa thinking they will live the country life for a little while, only to find their neighbors shutting them down. I mention this by way of explaining my first impression of the 400 people who came to see Mitt Romney in a hotel in Davenport, Iowa, on Tuesday night: These are the people who would call the police on your illegal chickens.

The women have accessorized. They're wearing foundation, bronzer, silk scarves, pearls. There are men in ties, men in Banana Republic sweaters, over-scrubbed little blond boys in blue fleece. It is a crowd in which it is possible to linger on a face that seems remotely recognizable and wonder if you're staring at a news anchor whose name you used to know." [Source]

Mitt, those all sound like folks Marie Antoinette would love to me.

Finally, shout out to the folks over at the Black Weblog Awards for recognizing the field for the best political or news blog. That is serious FNB on your part.

The imperfect revolution.

2011-12-29T09:17:00.000-05:00

And so the "Arab Spring" continues. In Syria, the tyrant Bashar Assad, continues to mercilessly crack down on his people. And, in Washington, Hillary and company continue to do a delicate dance: Disposing of a brutal dictator which could lead to unanticipated consequences, or allowing democracy and the will of the people to take hold.

The ouster of Assad could open the door for more extremist groups (see Yemen), and, believe it or not, could lead to more instability in the region. Syria is a country of mostly Sunnis being led by a Shias who is in the minority. If the Sunnis take control of the country they might suppress the minority Shias, which could lead to a conflict with their neighbors in Iraq. A neighboring country made up of mostly Shias. Are you confused yet?

Then there is the Israeli problem: Syria shared a border with Israel at the Golan Heights region. Not good. Believe it or not, the man everyone loves to hate recently, has actually showed that he is a moderate when it comes to Israel and has shown a willingness to sign a peace agreement over the Golan Heights region. Who knows what will happen when real democracy takes hold?

I know one thing, Assad, like the other tyrants before him; will soon be gone as well. A-merry-cans can only watch so many images of innocent folks getting their heads bashed in on CNN before they start saying enough. The pressure is already on the Arab League to act and even Syria's other allies, such as Russia, are starting to waiver in their support. The world will not stand still while "massacres" occur in the Syrian countryside. If I were Bashar Assad I would be looking for a nice peaceful country to retire with the rest of my family.

Finally, I, like the rest of you, have been hearing the buzz about my girl Condi appearing on the republican ticket as a candidate for VP. As Robert Traynham wrote in the Philadelphia Tribune, it would be interesting.

"...Youthfulness, bona fide conservative credentials and diversity. Condi Rice, the first female African-American Secretary of State, brings diversity to the ticket and of course crackerjack foreign policy experience.

As I mentioned before, my money is on Mitt Romney becoming the next Republican nominee. His steadiness in the polls (yes, I know this has been a rollercoaster of a ride), his firm grasp of the issues that are demonstrated in the debates, and his ability to show considerable fundraising might compel me to believe that the primary race is still Romney’s to lose. His challenge will be whether or not he can convince conservative primary voters that he is not going to waffle on social issues if he wins the White House. Senator Rubio, as I have stated before, could be the reminder that conservatives may want in the White House; but Condi Rice could also serve in that role.

First, the drawbacks: Rice having never served in elected office, many Americans may think she is too inexperienced and naïve in the ways of the rough-and-tumble politics to actually assist Romney on the ticket.

The upside: Rice has always been and will continue to be an interesting public policy figure. She’s smart, engaging and unflappable. A debate between Rice and Biden would be must-watch television as each would be ready to better the other on hot-button issues such as North Korea, Pakistan, China and Cuba. Rice would also give African Americans a real clear choice as to which they want to represent them in the executive branch."

Calm down Robert, she would be running as the VP, not the HNIC. Besides, don't cross your fingers in anticipation of Flipper Mitt selecting the concert pianist with the shoe fetish just yet. We are still a long way from Tampa.

Kentucky therapy.

2011-12-28T08:54:00.000-05:00

I don't have kids, I pretty much satisfy my kiddy jones through Mrs. Field's nieces, and my now older nephew.

But this story out of Kentucky has me wondering what I would do if I were one of the parents of this poor child. (h/t to the folks at Color of Change for turning me on to this story.)

"A 9-year-old autistic boy who misbehaved at school was stuffed into a duffel bag and the drawstring pulled tight, according to his mother, who said she found him wiggling inside as a teacher’s aide stood by.

The mother of fourth-grader Christopher Baker said her son called out to her when she walked up to him in the bag Dec. 14. The case has spurred an online petition calling for the firing of school employees responsible.
“He was treated like trash and thrown in the hallway,” Chris’ mother, Sandra Baker, said Thursday. She did not know how exactly how long he had been in the bag, but probably not more than 20 minutes.

Mercer County schools Interim Superintendent Dennis Davis said confidentiality laws forbid him from commenting.

“The employees of the Mercer County Public Schools are qualified professionals who treat students with respect and dignity while providing a safe and nurturing learning environment,” Davis said in a statement.
State education officials said they were investigating.

Chris is a student at Mercer County Intermediate School in Harrodsburg in central Kentucky. The day had barely begun when his family was called to the school because Chris was acting up. He is enrolled in a program for students with special needs.

Walking toward his classroom, Baker’s mother saw the gym bag. There was a small hole at the top, she said, and she heard a familiar voice.
“Momma, is that you?” Chris said, according to his mother.

A teacher’s aide was there, and Baker demanded that her son be released. At first, the aide struggled to undo the drawstring, but the boy was pulled out of the bag, which had some small balls inside and resembled a green Army duffel bag, Baker said.

“When I got him out of the bag, his poor little eyes were as big as half dollars and he was sweating,” Baker said. “I tried to talk to him and get his side of the reason they put him in there, and he said it was because he wouldn’t do his work.”

Baker said when school officials called the family to pick him up, they were told he was “jumping off the walls.” Days later, at a meeting with school officials, Baker said she was told the boy had smirked at the teacher when he was told to put down a basketball, then threw it across the room.

At a meeting with school district officials, the bag was described as a “therapy bag,” Baker said, though she wasn’t clear exactly what that meant. She said her son would sometimes be asked to roll over a bag filled with balls as a form of therapy, but she didn’t know her son was being placed in the bag. She said school officials told her it was not the first time they had put him in the bag.
So far, almost 700 people have signed a petition on the website change.org. Lydia Brown, an autistic 18-year-old Georgetown University freshman from Boston, said she started it after reading a story about Chris.

“That would not be wrong just for an autistic student. That would be wrong to do to anyone,” Brown said.

Advocates for the autistic were outraged.

Landon Bryce of San Jose, Calif., a former teacher who blogs about issues related to autism, said the school’s treatment of Chris was “careless and disrespectful.”'[Source]

"Therapy Bag"? WTF? I know we are talking about Kentucky here, but at some point certain folks in A-merry-ca will have to join the rest of us in the 21st century.

The real scary part of this story is that school officials seemed to be aware of this practice. If true, some of these folks should pay with their jobs.

Don't blame Santa.

2011-12-26T22:35:00.000-05:00

Oh Lawd! That gunman in Texas was dressed as Santa.

If stuff like this continues, "St. Nick" is going to have to hire a big- time PR firm.

I shouldn't be feeling like this after such a tragedy, but something about that Connecticut fire story doesn't sit right with me.

The kids and grandparents all died but mommy and her boyfriend made it out?
I sure hope my gut is wrong about what it is trying telling me.

"A fire that broke out in the early morning in an exclusive Stamford, Connecticut neighborhood has claimed the lives of three children and two adults. Stamford mayor Michael Pavia told reporters, "It’s a terrible, terrible day for the city of Stamford. There probably has not been a worse Christmas day in the city of Stamford." Update, 12/26: The victims were the three daughters and parents of homeowner Madonna Badger.

The fire department received calls at around 4:52 a.m. about a fire at 2267 Shippan Avenue, a home purchased last December (for $1.725 million) which was undergoing months of renovations. Two adults escaped, but the fire was so consuming that firefighters were unable to reach other occupants in time. A neighbor said, "We heard this screaming at 5 in the morning. The whole house was ablaze and I mean ablaze." He told the Times, "The flames were coming through the top floor, and I thought, ‘Nobody could possibly survive this.’"
Fire officials said it would be days until fire marshals would be able to get clues for what caused the fire and they didn't know the condition of the two survivors, "We had our hands full from the moment we arrived on the scene." The home's previous owners said they sold the property to Madonna Badger, a fashion branding consultant in NYC, "She was living there with her children. She has three children."

In other news, I guess poor John Hithon won't be seeing that 1.4 million he had planned to spend this past Christmas.

"Certain words mean different things to different people. Depending on where you are from calling someone “boy” can get you in a ton of trouble. That’s what happened to a supervisor at Tyson Chicken.
The New York Times reports:

Last year, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled that there were no racial overtones when a white manager at a Tyson chicken plant in Gadsden, Ala., called adult black men working there “boy.”
“The usages were conversational” and “nonracial in context,” the majority wrote in a 2-to-1 decision that overturned a jury verdict of about $1.4 million in an employment discrimination case brought by a black Tyson employee, John Hithon.

Civil Rights attorneys decided to file a brief on the matter:

The brief urged the court to reconsider, making the case that “boy” retains its venom. For evidence, the brief drew on personal experiences, history, literary classics like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Native Son,” and the writings of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Boy,” the brief said, is either a proxy for or “at the very least a close cousin” of the most charged racial epithet.

On Dec. 16, more than a year after the initial decision, the appeals court reversed course. The new ruling was opaque and grudging, but Mr. Clemon said he welcomed it, particularly since it is very unusual for a federal appeals court panel simply to change its mind. “I don’t recall it ever happening,” said Mr. Clemon, who graduated from law school in 1968." [Story]

Now why would Tyson Chicken, of all people, want to f&^% with black folks? Don't they know which side their ~~bread~~ chicken is buttered on?

Finally, what's all the fuss about a TSA agent taking cupcakes from a woman last week?

"A Massachusetts woman who flew home from Las Vegas this week says an airport security officer confiscated her frosted cupcake because he thought its vanilla-bourbon icing could be a "security risk."

Rebecca Hains told ABCNews.com today that a Transportation Security Administration agent at Las Vegas- McCarran International Airport seized her cupcake, saying the frosting sitting atop the red velvet cake was gel-like enough to violate regulations.

The incident took place Wednesday.

Hains, a teacher, said the cupcake was a gift from one of her students. She was traveling with her husband and toddler, and thought her young son might get hungry on the long trip home.

The cupcake was packaged in a glass container with a metal lid, which was why it attracted the attention of the scanner in the first place.

The TSA agent didn't know what to do with the cupcake, so she called over her supervisor, Hains said.

"The TSA supervisor, Robert Epps, was using really bad logic - he said it counted as a gel-like substance because it was conforming to the shape of its container."

"We also had a small pile of hummus sandwiches with creamy fillings, which made it through, but the cupcake with its frosting was apparently a terrorist threat…I just don't know what world he was living in," said Hains, speaking of the TSA officer." [story]

This story has been on every major news show. Why?
The TSA agent was doing his/her job, and I say good for them for taking the damn cupcakes. They probably weren't even any good. That "frosting" could have been a terrorist threat if enough people ate it.

Seriously, who cares? Are they really going to miss the damn cupcakes that much? Better safe than sorry is what I say.

Besides, if that was an Arab woman flying with a box of mammouls, the TSA agent who confiscated them would have been on the news network for dummies all week being praised for being vigilant.

Texas Scrooge!

2011-12-26T09:24:00.001-05:00

"It appears they had just celebrated Christmas. They had opened their gifts,"

Man it's the day after JC's birthday and seven people lost their lives in one horrific act in a Dallas area home.

There is just no holiday spirit here in A-merry-ca.

"The victims have not yet been identified, but Eberling said it appears they all died of gunshot wounds. He said authorities still don't know what sparked the incident.

Grapevine Police Lt. Todd Dearing said investigators believe that all the victims were related, but that some were only visiting and didn't live in the apartment. He said police are looking for other relatives to inform.

"Seven people in one setting in Grapevine, that's never happened before. Ever," Dearing said.

He said police were performing a "meticulous" search of the apartment and he expects them to be on the scene for many hours.

Police and firefighters first rushed to the Lincoln Vineyards complex after receiving an open-ended emergency services call at about 11:30 a.m., Eberling said.

"There was an open line. No one was saying anything," he explained." [Story]

These are tough economic times, and given where we put our priorities in A-merry-ca, it's going to be even tougher. When you care more about material things than everything else; bad things tend to happen.

Finally, it's not all bad news here in A-merry-ca. In my city the po po did a nice job of making sure that one poor soul enjoys the rest of the holiday.

"Christmas came early for a Boston music student who was reunited with the $170,000 violin she forgot in the overhead compartment of a regional commuter bus she rode last week, police said.

Muchen Hsieh, a student at the New England Conservatory in Boston, had traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, arriving at roughly 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

Christine O'Brien, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia police, who helped Hsieh track down the missing instrument, said then came a moment of sheer panic for the student.

O'Brien said Hsieh realized she had forgotten the instrument after she was picked up from the bus station. She blamed her absent-mindedness on travel fatigue.

Hsieh called the bus company, Megabus, roughly 30 minutes after she arrived but the bus had already left the Philadelphia station, O'Brien said. Hsieh also notified police, making a plea for the instrument's recovery, O'Brien said.

The 176-year-old instrument, on loan to Hsieh from a Taiwanese cultural foundation, was found by bus cleaners in the same compartment in which Hsieh left it. They put it in storage, and police returned it to Hsieh on Friday.

Hsieh joins the ranks of esteemed musicians who have mislaid or forgotten their valuable and sometimes priceless instruments. World renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma once left his in a cab.

One German string player required medical attention from the stress caused when he left his violin, worth roughly $1.4 million, on a commuter train in 2010.

It is not unusual for students at Hsieh's school to have such valuable instruments, Ellen Pfeifer, spokeswoman for the New England Conservatory, told the Boston Globe.

"Most of our string players, whether violinists, cellists, or violists, have pretty expensive, old, rare, instruments," Pfeifer said. "They frequently get them on loan from wealthy foundations."

The violin, which is in pristine condition, was made in 1835 by Vincenzo Jorio in Naples.

"This is certainly one of the most expensive items I have ever heard of and we were so relieved to get it back to the owner," said Megabus spokesman Bryony Chamberlain, adding that people often forget stowed-away items after long trips.

Hsieh had traveled from Boston to New York City and then to Philadelphia, Chamberlain said, a trip that could have taken more than six and a half hours.

"Each division has incidents of lost items that rare -- but this is probably one of the most unique," police spokeswoman O'Brien said, adding that Hsieh put on a mini-concert for the officers who organized the recovery.

"She is very talented," O'Brien said."

Yes, and very lucky.

Happy B-Day JC!

2011-12-25T09:28:00.000-05:00

I hope you all haven't been naughty.

Enjoy your families.

"The Donald" rethinks a run and we rethink Santa.

2011-12-24T01:09:00.001-05:00

Oh ohh, could Mr. Bad Hair cause the republicans to lose the next election because of his big ego?

"NEW YORK (AP) — Billionaire businessman Donald Trump has changed his voter registration in New York state from Republican to unaffiliated.

A spokesman for Trump says the businessman and television host changed his affiliation to preserve his option to seek the presidency in 2012.

Special Counsel Michael Cohen said Friday that Trump could enter the race if Republicans fail to nominate a candidate who can defeat President Barack Obama.

He said Trump probably would use his substantial wealth to even the playing field with Obama's re-election campaign.

Cohen said Trump's commitment to hosting TV's "The Apprentice" will keep him from doing anything until May, when the show's season wraps up.

He said Trump filed his voter registration paperwork Thursday." [Source]

I wonder what makes Trump think that he can defeat Obama? That man has been getting some bad advice from somewhere. Donald, stick to building casinos that lose money and tacky television shows.

Finally, as we approach Christmas eve, I have some uncomfortable thoughts about Santa: With all these sexual abuse scandals hitting us one after another and shattering our perceptions of institutions and individuals that we previously held in high esteem, could it be.....noooooo, I don't even want to think about it.

Santa, we will still have milk and cookies out for you; we just won't allow little Johnny to give them to you by himself.

"Baby got back!"

2011-12-23T07:52:00.008-05:00

"A Republican congressman from Wisconsin has offered a personal apology to First Lady Michelle Obama after he was overheard at an airport lounge criticizing her "large posterior."

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner was overheard loudly complaining on the phone in the Delta Lounge at Reagan National Airport outside Washington about Obama's healthy food initiative.."

First of all, why were you looking at Mrs. O's moneymaker? As old time people used to say: "Stay out of black folks business".

Some of us happen to like a nice* "moneymaker".(Why do you think Kim Kardashian dates so many brothers?) Still, it's nice to know that O still has a little brother left in him.

Anywhoo, I have seen the good congressman, and, believe me, he is in no position to make fun of Mrs. O's physical appearance. Just sayin.

"According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Daniel Bice, Sensenbrenner made a similar remark at the Wisconsin church he was referencing in his phone call, telling attendees there that Obama has a "big butt."

The Wisconsin lawmaker—who, it must noted, is a bit rotund--sent a personal note to Obama apologizing for his remarks, his spokeswoman Amanda Infield tells Yahoo News. She declined to go into detail about what the note said.
In a statement to reporters, the lawmaker reiterated his apology. "I regret my inappropriate comment, and I have sent a personal note to the First Lady apologizing," he said."

A spokesman for Obama did not respond to a request for comment."

"A bit rotund"? Ya think?

I swear, republicans can be so petty. Eight years of first lady **Barbara Bush and I never heard a comment from the dumbocrats about her physical appearance.
And lord knows....let me stop.

Finally, this is all you need to know about Flipper Mitt: he waits until signs of violence in Iraq to attack O for pulling out of that country. He didn't have the courage or the "stones" to make a statement and take a position when the withdrawal was in full effect. But we have come to expect no less from Flipper.

"I hope that risk is not realized. I hope that we're able to see stability there but the president's failure to secure an agreement and maintain 10,000 to 30,000 troops in Iraq has to be one of his signature failures," he told Reuters.

Romney was speaking in an interview on his campaign bus in New Hampshire. The former governor of Massachusetts is among the top two candidates to win the Republican nomination to take on Obama in November, 2012.

In widespread comments on foreign policy, Romney rejected the transfer of Taliban prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison into Afghan government custody as part of a secret dialogue to end the Afghan war.

He also accused Obama's of falling far short in his handling of the economy despite some signs of strength such as a drop in the unemployment rate to 8.6 percent from 9 percent.

Republicans will use Iraq against Obama in the election campaign if the country descends into violence again after the recent U.S. withdrawal. Thursday's attacks there are the first sign of rising violence since Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki moved to sideline Sunni rivals." [Source]

So now I know what wingnuts want for Christmas: a dead Iraqi or two.

*Black model courtesy of SodaHead.

**Correction: Barbara Bush was First Lady for eight years, not four as I wrote in my post. Thank you.

Flight delay.

2011-12-21T19:16:00.000-05:00

On the road again folks. I am sitting in Philly International waiting on a plane that's delayed from Boston so that I can skid marks out of here. (Two hour delay!)Memo to self: Avoid US Air in the future. They can keep their dam "frequent flyer" miles.

"Ladies and gentlemen. there has been a gate change" Great!

Anywhoo, I am watching the television and CNN is all over this tax cut debate.
Republicans are really looking foolish. Their own bible; The Wall Street Journal, slammed them today in an editorial for not voting to extend the tax cuts. Mr. Tan Man refuses to bring it to a vote, and I suspect that his candidate for president will pay a price at the polls come election time.

No matter how they try to spin this, it all comes back to them not voting to extend the tax cuts past the January1 deadline.

So ten days to go, let's see who blinks first.

I'm off the ranch for a few days, but I will be posting from the road. Sorry wingnuts; truth never takes a day off.

How can a crack dealer get to that man?

2011-12-20T22:27:00.000-05:00

Before I drop this next post, let me just say for the record that I do not want to inhibit free speech. And the young [right] wingnut who made the following comments on her Twitter account has every right to say what she did here in A-merry-ca.

"The University of Texas Austin College Republicans President recently posted an offensive message on Twitter about President Obama.

Cassie Wright tweeted “My President Is Black, He Snorts A Lot Of Crack,” Sunday.

This isn’t the first time a leader of the organization has made offensive remarks about the president. The former President, Lauren Pierce, tweeted last month, “Y’all as tempting as it may be, don’t shoot Obama. We need him to go down in history as the WORST president we’ve EVER had! #2012.”

That Tweet, which Wright’s grandmother has theorized may be the result of hacking, was also re-Tweeted by Wright’s predecessor, the current secretary of the statewide College Texas Republicans, Lauren Pierce." [Source]

Now maybe she really does think that Obama smokes crack. (Yes, and I thought that George Bush snorted meth just because he was...you know.) Maybe she is not an ignorant racist who is the personification of the southern white republican these days. Maybe she really believes, that Obama, with his small frame, and hailing from the city of Chicago, just fits the profile of a crack smoker. Maybe.

But should we give her the benefit of the doubt? Or, should we look at the past history of a certain party and their standard- bearers? (Ron Paul comes to mind.)

I have a question for my wingnut friends: Why is it that it is always republicans who seem to engage in this seemingly racist and insensitive type of behavior?

I am guessing that if this was not the case you would probably get more than 8% of the black vote come election time. Just a guess.

Finally, I see where a 22 year old Russian, thanks to her billionaire daddy, just purchased an 88 million dollar crib in Manhattan. She did this because she wants to kick it there part-time while attending college. Nice.

Isn't capitalism great? I bet the Russians are glad that they discovered it.

From Kim Jong to Newt.

2011-12-19T20:31:00.000-05:00

There are a few things on my mind tonight.

I could, once again, chase the Big R, but I will leave him alone for now. I am sure that he will keep me busy over the coming year.

Anyway, I would like to congratulate Donald Trump for having the world's most f^%*d up hair cut now that Kim Jong Il is dead. Congrats Donald! I know that it was killing you all these years to be number two.

The headlines have been screaming out at me about that horrific killing in a New York elevator. It has "outraged" and "shocked" New Yorkers, and it is front page news damn near everywhere in the country.

We all know about that monster, Jerome Issac, by now, and we are collectively horrified by his actions.

But how many of us know about Sara McCeen? I suspect not many. Because what Sara McCeen did was not caught on camera, and it didn't happen in New York City. But, make no mistake, it was every bit as barbaric and depraved.

"An Illinois woman shot each of her three children, including a 10-month-old baby, in the head before apparently killing herself, authorities said Monday. Investigators arriving on the scene found their bodies in the backyard, the woman's hands stained with soot from firing the gun.

Authorities released new details on the shootings in Emington, a farming community with 117 residents about 85 miles southwest of Chicago. Neighbors have said the gunfire erupted moments after McMeen's two older children got off a school bus on Friday.

Investigators found the body of her live-in boyfriend, Daniel Warren, 29, inside the couple's rented home. They found McMeen, 30, and her three children in the backyard.

Next-door neighbor Annelise Fiedler told The Associated Press on Saturday that she ran out of her house when she heard the first burst of gunfire. She saw McMeen hovering over her baby as if she had dropped her.
Fiedler asked McMeen if everything was all right.

"She looked at me and said, 'No, everything is not all right,'" Fiedler said. Then, McMeen shot the baby.

Autopsy results released Monday said 10-month-old Maggie Warren had two gunshot wounds in the head and a separate wound where a bullet grazed her neck.

McMeen's two older children, 8-year-old Skyler Lemke and 7-year-old Ian Lemke, also were shot in the head. Autopsy results showed Skyler died of two gunshot." [Source]

Yep, shooting your own ten month old child at point blank range rates pretty high up on the f*&^%$ up scale.

There is a big vote tonight in Washington. But beware A-merry-ca; the republican congress is doing its best to make sure that some of you working class stiffs in A- do not have a merry Christmas.

The grownups in the senate voted on a bipartisan measure to extend the pay roll tax cuts for another couple of months. But the republicans in Congress said not so fast. They want to show the beige man in the people's house who is in charge.

"I expect that the House will disagree with the Senate amendment and instead vote to formally go to conference, the formal process of which the House and Senate can resolve our differences between our two chambers and our two bills," Boehner said."

In other words; more bull s%$#!

Finally, goodbye Newt, we hardly knew ya.

It looks like Newt, like Herman, Michele, and Rick before him; was just another flash in the pan. The latest flavor of the month for restless and unsatisfied republican primary voters. And now, just like the others, his once bright star is fading.

Sorry Newt, at the end of the day, you had too much baggage. Republicans should be glad you are dropping in the polls. You had no shot against Obama, and deep down I think they know it. It's why they are turning away from you.
You might be more conservative than Flipper Mitt, but Flipper Mitt can beat Obama; you can't.

Oh well, maybe you can go back to pronouncing your name GING-rick again:

"We used to play out there -- cowboys and Indians," Swartz said. "We would also go around and explore the woods."

Even as a boy, Mr. Swartz said, Mr. Gingrich "could always talk."
He recalls that the Gingrich name was pronounced GING-rick, the German way. Newt started calling himself Ging-rich after he went to school in the South and took up his career there, first as an academic and then a politician." [Source]

So Newt has a little German in him.

Auf Wiedersehen Herr Gingrich.

The end of W's war.

2011-12-18T20:49:00.000-05:00

The pretzel logic being used by my right wing friends these days is stunning. They say things like the Iraqi war was successful because it led to the "Arab Spring". Then why is it that with the Muslim Brotherhood on the verge of taking over in Egypt , and with radical anti- American elements having a greater influence in places like Libya and Yemen; you [right] wingnuts blame his Oness for not walking across the Atlantic Ocean and bringing peace and harmony to the region?

You can't have it both ways. If the invasion of Iraq led to the Arab Spring, well then whatever flows from those uprisings is also a result of the Iraqi invasion.

Anyway, the neocons and right wingnuts are upset because Obama is bringing home the troops. Thankfully, the troops rolled across the Khabari Crossing into Kuwait with no incident early this morning. The wingnuts, of course, are not happy about these developments. They wanted more war not less. The narrative now, from the right, is that Obama is an appeaser; he is making America look weak, and he is not finishing what W started in the right way. The same W, BTW, who declared that the mission was accomplished about eight years too early. Sadly, there was still almost 4,500 American lives and over 100,000.00 Iraqi lives to be lost. Not to mention ~~770 billion~~ one trillion in American dollars to be spent.

W's war was foolhardy and misguided from the start. He should have listened to one of his father's advisers: "Besides arguing that Iraq was not the top strategic priority in the war on terrorism or in the Middle East, critics of the war also suggested that it could potentially destabilize the surrounding region. Prominent among such critics was Brent Scowcroft, who served as National Security Advisor to George H. W. Bush. In an August 15, 2002 Wall Street Journal editorial entitled "Don't attack Saddam," Scowcroft wrote that, “Possibly the most dire consequences would be the effect in the region... there would be an explosion of outrage against us... the results could well destabilize Arab regimes”, and, “could even swell the ranks of the terrorists.." Mr. Scowcroft, do you give tips on betting football? I might have to give you a call.

Iraq and the region is worse off now than when W and his merry men of neocons decided to invade almost nine years ago. And saying that President Obama, by ending it, is at fault for what continues to happen in Iraq, is like having someone come into your home, s*#ting on your carpet, and then blaming Stanley Steemer for not getting the stain out. Just today I read that a boycott of the Iraqi parliament by a political coalition of Sunnis and secularist is threatening to derail the year long governing coalition in that country. So things are not even looking good on the political front over there. I guess the [right]wingnuts wanted us to stay until the Iraqis could come to their Kumbaya moment. Sorry, that would have been a hell of a long wait.

Thanks to W, we lost this war when the first American soldiers stepped foot on Iraqi soil in 2003. Our mission there was never defined, and their strategy for success was a political and not a military one. The reason that we went there turned out to be either a lie or a mistake ------depending on who you want to believe. And we stayed too long to achieve something that we all know could not be done in such a simplistic way in that part of the world: nation build.

And if you still don't believe me about the foolhardiness of this war, consider the following:

"The Pentagon has spent nearly $770bn since 2003 on operations in Iraq. Categorized as overseas contingency operations, the sum is treated separately from the main defence budget, which has also included some funds for the Iraq war.

The World Bank estimates that Iraq's GDP fell by 41% in 2003.

The Iraq war and reconstruction is also projected to have cost US taxpayers $256m per day from 2003 to 2012, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Any accounting of the war's price tag also has to include billions in US civilian aid to Iraq, as well as the cost of care provided to wounded soldiers and veterans.

US government statistics do not distinguish between veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan, as a large number of the 1.25 million veterans were deployed to both wars.

By the end of 2010, the United States had already spent nearly $32bn on medical treatment for wounded troops and payments for disability pensions, a benefit veterans receive for life.
The future cost of medical care and pensions for veterans will grow exponentially in coming decades. Linda Bilmes, professor at Harvard University, estimates that pensions through 2055 for veterans will reach $346bn to $469bn, mainly due to health care costs." [Source]

So welcome boys and girls. Hopefully you won't have to fight as hard at home for things like jobs, proper health care, and all the benefits that you are entitled to, like you fought the "enemy" over there.

Ms. Hein's "cloudy pool" problem.

2011-12-17T18:41:00.000-05:00

You Negroes are going to have to stop putting all these chemicals in your hair. It can cause all sorts of problems.

These white folks in A-merry-ca are trying so hard to live up to our new "post- racial" narrative and you all are making it so hard for them.

"A landlord in Ohio is claiming that not only is her “White Only” pool sign not racist, but that the state’s civil rights commission was wrong in declaring it discriminatory.

The landlord, Jamie Hein, posted the sign on a fence near the pool when an African-American teen was visiting her parents, who were then living in a duplex owned by Hein. After seeing the “Public Swimming Pool, White Only” sign, the parents filed a discrimination charge with the state civil rights commission and moved out of the duplex to “avoid subjecting their family to further humiliating treatment,” the commission said in a release announcing its finding. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission determined that Hein, who is white, violated the Ohio Civil Rights Act by posting the sign at the pool.

Hein, however, disagrees. As reported by the Associated Press, she claimed that she only posted the sign to prevent the chemicals in the girl’s hair products from rendering the pool “cloudy.” Somehow the commission managed to see past that statement and concluded that the posting of such a sign “restricts the social interaction between Caucasians and African-Americans and reinforces discriminatory actions aimed at oppressing people of color.”

Hein is appealing the decision, and is now saying the sign is just an antique, and nothing else. If the Ohio civil rights commission upholds the findings, penalties in the case could include a cease-and-desist order and even punitive damages, commission spokeswoman Brandi Martin told the AP. If only the commission could also penalize Hein with a very very cloudy swimming pool." [Story]

Oh Lawd! Who wants to swim in a cloudy pool? Ms. Hein, maybe we can just tell the Negroes to bring a swim cap.

*H/t to Robert Garrick for sending me this story.*

Farewell to Hitch, crime news in A-merry-ca, and a rapist gets his "just deserts."

2011-12-16T20:27:00.002-05:00

I will miss Christopher Hitchens. I didn't always agree with him (I thought he was wrong to support the war in Iraq), but I appreciated his honesty, his lucid writing style, and his perspicacious insight on certain subjects.

He was an atheist, so I am sure that he figured that this was it for him. But hey, I gotta give it to him; the guy made the best of it while he was here.

What is it about trailers that cause folks to go nuts when they are living in them?

"GARGATHA, Va. — Authorities investigating the deaths of five people found in a trailer on Virginia's Eastern Shore say the person responsible is among the dead.
Accomack County Sheriff Todd Godwin said Friday the five were found dead Thursday after deputies responded to a call of an attempted suicide in Gargatha.
Police are attempting to identify the victims.

A brother of one of the victims, Omar Colon Matias, said his sister Evelyn,
her husband, their two children, ages 9 and 11, were living in the trailer
with another woman.

The trailer is located along a dirt road in a wooded remote area of the
Eastern Shore between Parksley and Bloxom. It's among a handful of trailers in
the area." [Source]

*shaking head*

And then, out in Cali, some dude wasn't getting along with his bosses and decided to go all postal. Or, in this case, all utility company on his co-workers.

"IRWINDALE, Calif. (AP) — Three people were killed and two more injured Friday in a California office complex shooting, police said.
The suspected gunman was among the dead and is believed to have self-inflicted wounds, Baldwin Park police Capt. Michael Taylor said.

"As far as we know there was one shooting suspect, period," Taylor said.
The shooting occurred around 1:30 p.m. Friday at Southern California Edison offices inside a larger office complex in Irwindale.

There was no immediate word on what prompted the gunfire. Authorities were not saying whether the gunman worked at SoCal Edison or might have been a former employee.

Multiple media reports said the gunman was an Edison employee and his two victims were believed to be company managers. Police said they could not confirm those reports.

One of the dead was discovered inside the building during a sweep, and police were continuing their search for more victims, said Taylor.

Another victim died en route to a hospital. The two wounded have unspecified injuries and their conditions are not known.

Taylor said police have not accounted for everyone in the building yet and were doing a sweep.

No gunfire was exchanged after officers arrived.
The building was quickly locked down and dozens of people were seen streaming out with their hands raised.

Gil Alexander, a spokesman for Southern California Edison, said the company has about 200 employees at the facility." [Story]

Folks, always keep an eye on that strange co-worker.

Finally, this is why I love my yawdie sisters:

"KINGSTON-Patrick Drysdale, who was convicted of three separate cases of rape, including one where he forced a woman to perform oral sex on him by gunpoint before she almost severed his penis by biting it has been convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Drysdale was convicted of robbery with aggravation, indecent assault, wounding with intent and illegal possession of firearm.
The Jamaica Star reports:

The police found Drysdale at the hospital suffering from an injury to the penis. When questioned he said that he was in bed with a woman when her jealous lover came home and hit him with a piece of chain on his penis. The penis which was bandaged was almost severed.
The Crown led evidence that on June 20, 2008, Drysdale committed the offences in Stony Hill, St Andrew. He went to the homes of three women, robbed and raped two of them, indecently assaulted the third woman and then wounded her." [Source]

Rapists beware; don't f^%* with a yawdie.