Tearful apology not needed, and the evolution deniers.

I must say that it's nice to be home. I always enjoy my vacations, but I enjoy coming home after a long time away even more.

Anyway, I caught Melissa Harris-Perry's tearful apology about her comments relating to Mitt Romney's (adopted) grandchild, and I have to tell you that I was incensed.

I know that I was one of the people saying that the panel on her show should have just left the issue of this child alone, but the right has blown this thing way out of proportion, and they are now using it to try and revive Mitt's political fortunes.

I have said this before and it is worth repeating: Nobody plays the victim card like these wingnuts. Sarah Palin has made a career out of it. (I see you Mr. Bashir)

The sad thing is, of course, that the right will vilify their political enemies and their children and they will never have to apologize for their actions. This is called a double standard.

Now quoting my man, Jason Easley:

"Harris-Perry took responsibility for the segment, even though she never said what the right accused her of saying. Her apology was heartfelt, intelligent, and insightful. It was typical of what viewers see on her program every weekend. What it wasn’t was necessary.

MHP brought up a great point about families being off limits, but that is something that the same critics that have called for her to be fired have ignored when it comes to President Obama and his family. The fact that Harris-Perry has now apologized multiple times raises the question why do those on the left have to apologize multiple times for things that Republicans get away with daily?
Please spare me the argument that the left is somehow morally superior to the right, and thus held to a higher standard. The left, right, and center are all the same. Partisans like to think that they are morally superior, but each are still human being expressing political views that should be held to the same standard.

The problem is that there is a basic hypocrisy in the media that allows the right to not be held accountable bad behavior. Not only is the right allowed to get away with worse things than the MHP segment on a daily basis, but no one on the left is ever cut the same slack.

Harris-Perry turned her apology into a teaching moment. She demonstrated once again why she is one of the best on cable news. However, the apology was unnecessary. The left should resolve to only apologize when the right is held to the same standard of accountability for their behavior. The only way that the media will ever treat them fairly is if it is demanded. "
 [Source]

Amen!

Finally, there is a new poll out showing that most republicans do not believe in evolution. Yes, the majority of them indeed believe that man has been in his current form since creation.

To them, evolution, like climate change, is a liberal creation. It is not to be believed because the scientists who come up with these ideas are leftists. They have a hidden agenda. Science is not to be believed. It is your preacher and local Tea Party person who has all the answers. No wonder we keep hearing crazy stories about people like this.

"That's what makes the evolution survey extraordinary: The Republican Party is achieving the seemingly impossible feat of becoming even more theological. Democrats and independents haven't moved much in their views, while Republicans took a sharp turn toward fundamentalism.

As a matter of political Darwinism, the Republicans' mutation is not likely to help the GOP's survival. As the country overall becomes racially diverse and more secular, Republicans are resolutely white and increasingly devout. If current trends persist, it will only be a couple of decades before they join the dodo and saber-toothed tiger."

Now now, apparently there was no "dodo" or "saber-toothed tiger" to begin with.

 

Are some black intellectuals just as bad as the KKK? And can white liberals be racist?

I see that his Oness is continuing to kick ass on the "war on terror". If he was a republican the GOP boys would be calling for some modifications on Mount Rushmore right about now. Now if he can just get us some jobs here on the home front. 

Anyway, I will move on.

Maybe the fact that I like Melissa Harris-Perry so much is clouding my judgment with a story I saw about her recently. I have to agree with Elon James-White who wrote an article for News One about the subject:

 "Race in America is a difficult subject. When it comes to race America has the mental maturity of a 7 year old that, on occasion will plug its ears with its fingers and sing “La, la, la.” Being American and Negro I understand this. I don’t really have any choice but to understand it. I can’t decide that racial matters or discussions are silly because I’m actually affected. I can’t speak of it philosophically and talk racial theory because for me its NOT theory. I’m Black. This is real. End of story.

Last night I came across an article that I was so offended by that I reserved comment until I had a full nights sleep. I thought to myself that it was so insulting, so idiotic that it couldn’t be as bad as I was perceiving it to be. I needed to literally go to bed, take a mental break, and come back. That article was Gene Lyons “Obama’s Bridge too Far” on Salon.com. The article, a poorly thought out and terribly executed piece which wasn’t even cohesive as a whole should have been axed in the editorial process. But it wasn’t. Take a look.

This just in: Not all the fools are Republicans. Recently, one Melissa Harris-Perry, a Tulane professor who moonlights on MSNBC political talk shows, wrote an article for the Nation titled “Black President, Double Standard: Why White Liberals Are Abandoning Obama.”
See, nobody ever criticized Bill Clinton, another centrist Democrat who faced a hostile Republican congress. Indeed, he was “enthusiastically re-elected” in 1996. Therefore, “[t]he 2012 election is a test of whether Obama will be held to standards never before imposed on an incumbent. If he is, it may be possible to read that result as the triumph of a more subtle form of racism.”

You can like Dr. Harris-Perry’s theory or not, but 1) its a theory not an etched in stone condemnation and 2) it’s based in reality. It’s based in feelings many in the Black community have wondered when hearing attacks from White liberals. It’s based in issues that have been previously pointed out within the progressive movement. You could make the argument that race has nothing to do with White liberals issues with Obama and I wouldn’t have an issue with that. But to dismiss one of the great Black public intellectuals of our time because it made you feel uncomfortable is completely ridiculous.

And that’s the problem. Dr. Harris-Perry made folks feel uncomfortable.
White liberals enjoy the concept that they are immune to accusations of racism. They’re LIBERALS. They obviously are totally and completely not racist so how could you ever dare even pose the possibility of such a thing? Matter of fact? Since White liberals are so “obvi” not racist they can dismiss this feeling amongst Black folks as silly and tell them to stop it. You can even get all Dave Sirota on us and say how this hurts the civil rights movement. Because questioning the possibility of racism obviously makes equality harder right? Thanks sir!
But Mr. Lyons isn’t done.

The professor actually wrote that. See, certain academics are prone to an odd fundamentalism of the subject of race. Because President Obama is black, under the stern gaze of professor Harris-Perry, nothing else about him matters. Not killing Osama bin Laden, not 9 percent unemployment, only blackness.
Furthermore, unless you’re black, you can’t possibly understand. Yada, yada, yada. This unfortunate obsession increasingly resembles a photo negative of KKK racial thought. It’s useful for intimidating tenure committees staffed by Ph.D.s trained to find racist symbols in the passing clouds. Otherwise, Harris-Perry’s becoming a left-wing Michele Bachmann, an attractive woman seeking fame and fortune by saying silly things on cable TV. (emphasis mine)

Lyons actually wrote that. To question possible racism is to be the photo-negative of the KKK. To dare question White folks who were nice enough to treat you almost fairly is to be the Black equivalent of the KKK. And to possibly question race is only helpful in gaining tenure–because you know. Blacks and tenure at colleges? We gotta play that race card right? And PHD’s find race in everything. It’s not that they might have studied history and race long enough that they actually understand the systemic problems within our society based on race and privilege–they just see it in EVERYTHING. Silly educated people.

Lyons compared the Scholar Harris-Perry to the publicly mocked known idiot Michelle Bachmann. How did Lyons think that was going to work out? You mock the concept that as a White man you might not always understand everything about racism, then you degrade a brilliant Black mind and compare her to a wilful White idiot who has said websites full of dumb shit. Oh yeah. You’ve just won me over. White Liberals are sooooooo not racist." [Source]

Oh yes, liberals can be racist,too. I consider Mrs. Harris-Perry a friend, and there is nothing about her that says KKK to me. Nothing.

I suspect that Mr. Lyons knows this, (or maybe not) but let's be honest folks; some people just can't change who they are. It doesn't matter if their political ideology leans left or right.