"Can't we all just get along?"

The following story was sent to me by Dan Walter of the Center For Independent Media, and it's interesting for a few reasons:

First, there is the sensitive issue of race and journalism: Do journalist have an obligation to report the news no matter what? Or, should they show some sensitivity to certain racial groups given the history of race in this country? Second, do journalist report the news based on their own bias and fears? And finally, given the fact that we just found out that Hispanics are becoming citizens faster than any other racial group, should we pay attention whenever there seems to be a rift between African Americans and Latinos? Judging from this article maybe we should.

"By Gwyneth Doland 4/10/09 1:24 AM.
ALBUQUERQUE — Some African-American community leaders are unhappy with the way a story in Thursday’s Albuquerque Journal may unfairly affect the city’s small black community. The front-page story, which carried the banner headline “Cops Bust Memphis Mob,” featured large mug-shot images of six young black men accused of breaking “every law in the book.”
The Albuquerque Police Department worked with a consortium of law-enforcement agencies, including the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service, to arrest or charge nearly 50 members of the cocaine-dealing gang, nine of whom face federal charges, according to the story. (You can read it online here, but unfortunately the photos are available only in the print edition with the eJournal service.)

According to 2000 Census figures, Albuquerque is slightly over 3 percent black; New Mexico as a whole is less than 2 percent black. There is no mention in the story of the names of the alleged gang members pictured in the mug shots, or the racial makeup of the gang.
While few would disagree that breaking up the gang is a positive development for the city, the image of six young black men’s mug shots on the front page troubled some.
'It’s just another example of — I don’t want to use the regular words like ‘racist’ — but convoluted thinking. It’s just an absence of thought. It’s amazing how people on a major newspaper, who are supposed to be intelligent would do that, unless they’re just trying to sell papers,' Ron Hinson of the African-American Chamber of Commerce told NMI.

Hinson said the story might have bothered him less had it been published on an inside page. He also thought it ironic that the story appeared alongside another item about a bill passed by the Legislature that would create a Department of Hispanic Affairs.'
Not only are we angry, but … today I find that there’s also an article about the governor having some serious thoughts about passing a bill that’s going to make things better for a Hispanic cultural group — which is 42 percent of the population. Now what problems are they having? They just got through stomping a black guy nearly to death, who was supposed to be in protective custody,' Hinson said.

Hinson was referring to a recent incident in which an African-American inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center was beaten so severely by another inmate that he was partially paralyzed. The accused attacker and a correctional officer who is facing charges of intimidating a witness in the case are both Hispanic. Just this week the victim’s family and community groups spoke out about the attack.

'We may have a black president, but we have not changed the hearts and minds of other cultural groups who have been misguided in their zeal to always have someone to step on,' Hinson said."

More here.

Some of you have commented on this before; ---especially you folks who live out West and in the Southwest---the tension among brown people in this country. Well here is my two cents: We really need to get a grip and start recognizing just where we (Af. Americans and Latinos) stand in this country. Because here is the deal: No matter how different we think we are from each other; there are still quite a few Lou Dobbs types in this country who still believe that we are all the same, and they will do everything in their power to keep the status quo.

Keeping up with the Mrs.

"..Her telling her homegirls that he couldn't stay up In the restaurant with her voice way up Please keep it discreet Keep the business out of the street She said "I would if he'll handle biz up in the sheets!"Pop off like a thang thang He keep keep And every time that she bang bang He skeet skeet" ~~ Stay Up by Kanye West~~

WARNING THIS POST CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT!

So anyway, today was one of those rare occasions where our schedules allowed me to drive home from my plantation with the lovely Mrs. Field. As is usually the case, the car radio is on sports talk. It doesn't faze Mrs. Field because as usual she is on the phone with her sister giving her the 411 on the day's events.

And then it comes on: One of those damn male enhancement commercials. The guy is going on and on about improving your sex life and how all you have to do is call this 800 number and they will send you these magic pills for a free trial. The guy is guaranteeing you that their magic bullet pills will drive your partner wild and take your relationship to new heights.

This is when Mrs. Field feels the need to look at the kid with that look that says: are you listening field? She has a smirk on her face and she is totally enjoying the moment. "What is that supposed to mean?" I ask her. "Are you suggesting that I in any way usually come up small in that particular department?" The laughter is harder now, and she is way too into it. "Oh field, relax, how long have we been together now? Have I ever complained before....although there is a first time for everything". More laughter. "Oh you got jokes" I tell her. "Just keep talking to your sister and don't pay any attention to what's on the radio. It's called SPORTS TALK." I wonder if these clowns who do these commercials know what they put us guys through? "Look, I don't need that stuff, I am fine, thank you very much". "Hey, if you say so field". More smirking.

Now I am starting to think: Am I under performing? Should I see my Doctor about maybe getting a little....ahem, help? Does the old motor need a tune up? And if it does, just how the hell do I tune it up? After all, Mrs. Field is quite a few years younger than the kid. Will I be able to keep up (no pun intended) as father time keeps calling?

Hey, I have friends in their thirties who are popping the pill that starts with a V, and they swear by the stuff. Some of them tell me that they can't leave home without it. Which is exactly why I never even considered it in the first place. Who wants to get too dependent on a chemical enhancer? Besides, it's kind of like cheating. Why use the stuff if you really don't need it? But this isn't even that kind of commercial. There is a difference between male enhancement, and being able to, well, keep it going. I mean what good is a really nice sleek sports car if it can only get you five miles to the gallon. Wouldn't you much rather have a nice solid reliable compact that can get you thirty miles to the gallon? (That's a rhetorical question ladies, but you know where I am coming from)

Mercifully the commercial is over. But Mrs. Field isn't. "Girl you should have seen your boy. But I told him he is getting old." I don't know what's worse, her laughter or the thought of having to ask one of my boys if those little pills have any side effects. :(

Why should we give that Negro our money? You know they like to just spend it.

I have to admit that like most A-murder-cans I don't like paying taxes, and as April 15th approaches I am reminded of just how much I dislike the entire process. I dislike it,but I understand that as a citizen I have an obligation to the country I live in to pay my fair share. (Which the last time I checked is a hell of a share, but who is complaining?)

I enjoy driving on the nice roads my tax dollars help to fund. I enjoy the security that my tax dollars help to provide for me. I enjoy the protections from poisons and other deadly products that could harm me. I enjoy the fact that veterans who serve my country can be taken care of. I like the fact that when I put my money in the bank it is insured. And I like the fact that most children who cannot afford it can get a free education. I could go on but you get the point: Taxes are painful for some of us, but they are necessary.

Which is why I don't understand this "Tea Party Protest" that the FAKE NEWS people and conservatives have been planning for a little over a month now. Yes folks, on tax day conservatives will be getting out their pitch forks and walking shoes, and if FAKE NEWS has their way they will be storming the White House. Ironically, the man who called for a "Tea Party" style revolt against the government and all their bailouts, is distancing himself from the very movement he seemed to have started. (Leave it to conservatives and FAKE NEWS to get an accidental idea and treat it like it's some kind of righteous cause.) But the clowns on the right are having none of it, the troops have been foaming at the mouth ever since his O ness took office and they need to vent.

I sense that history is repeating itself here. I mean back in the day the colonist didn't think it was fair to pay taxes to a government who they didn't believe represented them. They weren't being taxed by their government, they were being taxed by the British. These conservatives are no different, his O ness does not represent them, just look at the guy; he is the total opposite of everything they represent, so why pay taxes to his government? Funny, they didn't seem to mind paying their taxes to fund the two wars that the frat boy started. But hey, the frat boy didn't have a funny name and a.....well, tan.

So wingnut bloggers, reich wing talk radio and the FAKE NEWS people are organizing. They expect to have "Tax Day Tea Parties" in over 300 cities, and according to them the number is growing. Nothing like a little good old fashion revolution against the man to get that red state blood pumping.

I wish them luck, I really do. I hope they get a million people out there on April 15th to stick it to the man. I guess they will be flooding public parks and driving on public roads to get there. Not to mention all those public officials who will be out in force to protect them and make sure that everything goes as planned. I guess Rupert, Rush, Glen and Sean, are going to write checks to cover the costs of all that stuff. Oh wait, they can't do that, they are conservatives, they are supposed to keep their money. Whoops, looks like our tax dollars will be paying for that as well.

What a country.

Now I see why W moved to Texas: He loves their laws.

I love me some Howard Witt, I really do. He is one of the last truly fearless journalist left in A-murder-ca. Anyway, he sent the following article to the Afrospear, and I wanted to share it with you, my fellow field hands and lurkers.

"Tribune correspondent April 6, 2009 HOUSTON - The crime Aaron Hart confessed to was undeniably repellent. Last September, the 18-year-old man was charged with sexually assaulting a 7-year-old neighbor boy behind a tool shed in the small east Texas town of Paris. A relative of the victim said she walked outside and saw Hart with his pants pulled down, standing next to the boy. Police read Hart his Miranda rights and he quickly admitted his guilt. On Feb. 11, Hart's court-appointed attorney entered guilty pleas to each of five related felony counts, a jury recommended multiple sentences and a judge then ruled that the prison terms be served consecutively, for a total of 100 years.

That might have been the end of Cause No. 22924 in the 6th Judicial District Court of Lamar County, Texas-just another dismal criminal case on the docket of an obscure town. Except that now, less than two months after Hart was sentenced, every court official who had a hand in the case seems to agree that he doesn't really belong in prison for what amounts to the rest of his life.That's because Hart is profoundly mentally retarded. He has an IQ of 47, and his parents say he functions at the level of a 9-year-old. The boy he confessed to molesting is mentally retarded as well. What's more, the judge and the jury never heard any expert testimony about Hart's diminished mental functioning, his capacity to understand his Miranda rights or his ability to assist in his own defense, because his defense attorney never subpoenaed any experts. And since he has been in jail, Hart himself has been repeatedly raped, according to his parents. The first assault, allegedly by an inmate who is serving a far shorter sentence of just 8 years for sexual indecency with a child, so disturbed the alleged rapist's mother that she called Hart's parents to apologize.

'I have nightmares thinking about Aaron in prison and how he is going to survive in there,' said Robert Hart, Aaron's 70-year-old father. 'He's the type of kid who his whole life people beat him up, took stuff from him, and he wouldn't defend himself. He can't read or write. He can't hardly talk.' Hart's complex case is threatening to once again bring unwelcome outside scrutiny to the functioning of the criminal justice system in Paris. The town of 26,000 drew national civil rights protests in 2007 following a Tribune report contrasting the judicial treatment of a 14-year-old black girl, who was sentenced to up to 7 years in youth prison for shoving a hall monitor at her high school, with the treatment of a 14-year-old white girl, who was given probation for the more serious crime of arson. More racial tensions erupted last year after the slaying of a 24-year-old black man, allegedly at the hands of two whites. "

Wow, great community that Paris, Texas. Anyway, I hope that all of you will be as equally outraged when I tell you that there was no racial component to this story, and that both the victim and the accused are white. Sorry house Negroes, you can't accuse the field of racism chasing tonight. Nope, tonight I am chasing just plain injustice, and I will be damned if I didn't find it. I don't give a damn if the person being subjected to this injustice is purple yellow or green; this was outrageous, plain and simple. The good folks of Paris, Texas, once again, have some "splaining" to do. But before they start, they might want to read some law books.

Story here.

On a side note: It looks like our Police Chief apologized to State Rep. Williams for that incident I blogged about yesterday. Now let's see if he fires those two punks.

Even Volvos aren't safe for Negroes.

Whenever a police officer loses his or her life in the line of duty, I am as saddened and appalled as everyone else. I grieve for that fallen officer's family and for the society that he was trying to protect.

On the flip side, when I hear of the people who are paid to protect all of us abusing their power and becoming no better than the thugs that they are paid to protect us from, I will always write about it:

When I saw the story I am about to blog about in the paper, today, I called my friend Wellington Stubbs (It's cool, he said I could use his name.)who is a big shot with the Police Advisory Commission here in Philly. I wanted to ask him if he had ever heard of the two officers who were front and center in the article and to ask him if his agency has had an uptick in complaints of police abuse. Of course I wasn't surprised to hear that he had heard of them, and that the complaints against Philly's finest has been coming in fast and furious of late. I have been blogging about police abuse here and in other parts of the country, so if you read this blog you aren't surprised, either.

Timothy Devlin and Thomas Schaffling in all likelihood should not be Philadelphia police officers. They allegedly have a long history of abusing the citizens who they are supposed to protect. But finally, because of one particular citizen who they chose to fuck with on a windy evening in late March, their reign of terror might be over.

"STATE REP. Jewell Williams lay prone on the back seat of a police cruiser. The metal handcuffs bit into his wrists; his fingers began to swell as a fiery pain spread through his body.
It was about 6 p.m. on March 28, a windy Saturday evening.

Moments earlier, Williams, an ex-cop, stopped his car because a police cruiser was blocking the street in his North Philadelphia neighborhood.

Officer Thomas Schaffling had stopped a 2009 steel-gray Volvo, which looked like a car involved in a drug buy a few blocks away, police said.

Williams said that he watched as Schaffling frisked the driver, an older man, then placed his money on the Volvo's hood, where it began to blow away. When the man tried to grab his money, Schaffling handcuffed him.

Williams said that the Volvo's driver seemed frail. When the legislator heard the word 'hospital' and the thinly built man seemed distressed, Williams exited his car and asked another officer, Timothy Devlin, who was nearby, if everything was OK.

He identified himself as a state legislator. Devlin said, "Get the f--- back in your car before I give you a bunch of tickets," according to Williams and two independent witnesses. Williams said that he asked to speak to a supervisor.

Next thing Williams knew, Devlin had him in handcuffs, crammed in the back of a squad car. Williams was forced to lie sideways because his size 12 1/2 shoes didn't fit behind the cruiser's front seat.

'I was thinking, 'What are they going to do with me?' because I didn't do anything wrong,' said Williams, D-Phila. '"I came to the aid of a constituent who I didn't even know, and then I get rousted up.'

The Volvo's driver was John Cornish, a Nicetown resident and longtime truck driver for the city's Streets Department. His car matched a description of a vehicle involved in a drug buy a few blocks from where officers stopped Cornish on York Street, between Smedley and Bancroft, near 16th. Schaffling searched Cornish and the Volvo and found no drugs, according to police.

Williams was not charged with any crime. Cornish, who has no criminal record, and his passenger also were released.

Last week, the police Internal Affairs Bureau launched an investigation into the March 28 incident, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said.
Schaffling and Devlin, who did not return calls seeking comment, are no strangers to Internal Affairs investigators. Or to Ramsey.

Ramsey had placed both officers on desk duty in August after similar allegations made headlines:

* On Aug. 9, Schaffling and Devlin clashed with guests at an outdoor baby shower in North Philadelphia.

The guests claimed that Schaffling and Devlin were at the center of a police attack that injured at least six people, including children who were maced, struck with batons and pushed to the ground, witnesses told the Daily News in an Aug. 13 article.

In January, the alleged victims filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against the Police Department.

* On Aug. 24, Schaffling and Devlin pulled over two men, who said they were headed to church, in West Philadelphia. The driver told NBC 10 that Schaffling aimed his gun at him and shouted, "I'm going to blow your f---ing head off." Devlin got nervous and also drew his weapon, the driver said.

The driver filed a citizen's complaint, and the city's Police Advisory Commission wrote a letter to Ramsey asking him to take Schaffling off the street.

Schaffling had also been linked to a May 5 police beating of three shooting suspects. That incident was captured by a Fox 29 news helicopter and broadcast around the world.
In the Fox video, Schaffling is seen pulling driver Brian Hall out of a car. He acknowledged afterward that he had 'utilized foot strikes,' or kicks, on Hall in an attempt to subdue him, police documents show.

Schaffling, 25, an officer since 2003, was cleared of wrongdoing. He wasn't among the eight officers disciplined by Ramsey. Devlin, who joined the force in 2002, was not involved in the May 5 incident. Ramsey said last week that he returned Schaffling and Devlin to the street a few months ago, but ordered supervisors to closely monitor them and to split them up. The officers are part of Strike Force South, an elite crime-fighting unit run by Capt. James J. Kelly III.

'We need [officers], as many as possible, out working,' Ramsey said about his decision. 'They were put on desk duty. They had been on desk duty for several months and there was no evidence that surfaced that would justify [keeping them off street patrol].'
Ramsey said that he "split them up . . . just to make sure that we don't have a problem with either one of them and to give them a chance to work with other people."

Schaffling and Devlin were not working together on the night that Williams, a member of the state House since 2001, was detained. Schaffling was partnered with Officer Donna Stewart, while Devlin was paired with a supervisor, Sgt. Kevin Bernard, police said.
Schaffling and Stewart stopped Cornish.

Cornish, a Vietnam veteran and self-described 'old head' who did not want his age in the newspaper, said that he and his childhood friend, Carl Cutler, 63, had just come from a VFW post in South Philadelphia where they picked up raffle tickets for an Easter event.
When Cornish saw the police lights behind him, he pulled over, thinking the cruiser needed to get by, he said.

Schaffling rushed up to the Volvo and yelled, 'Get out of the car! Get out of the car!' 'The officer seemed 'enraged," Cornish said.

Schaffling rifled through Cornish's pockets and placed about $900 on the hood of the Volvo. A heavy wind blew the cash off the hood. When Cornish tried to grab his money, Schaffling shoved him up against the Volvo and clamped the handcuffs tight on his bony wrists, according to Cornish and two witnesses. 'That money was blowing all the way down the street,' Cornish said. 'I worked for that money. That's no criminal money.'

Both Cornish and Cutler described Officer Stewart, who handcuffed Cutler, as polite and professional. In fact, Stewart ran after the money for Cornish, who said he had recently cashed a winning lottery ticket, his income-tax return, and city paycheck. He only got about $200 back; the rest blew away, Cornish said.

Cornish said that when he complained that the cuffs were too tight, Schaffling said something like, 'Shut the f--- up or I'll f--- you up and take you to the hospital.'
That's when Williams, who was stopped about three-car lengths back, emerged from his state-leased Chrysler.

Williams said that he caught the word 'hospital' and heard Cornish tell Schaffling, 'Son, why are you treating me like this?'

According to Cornish and Williams, Schaffling barked, 'I'm not your f---ing son. You address me as 'officer.'

'He wasn't acting like an officer; he was acting like a thug,' Cornish said.'"

Read the rest of the story here.

I know Jewell Williams, and no one is a bigger friend of the police than he is. He is a guy who served in law enforcement for years, and who is always advocating on the side of Philly's finest. But it just goes to show you what happens when you lump people together based on your ignorant perception of their skin color or whatever. These cops thought that this was just another nigger politician trying to throw his weight around, and nothing could have been farther from the truth. The guy just wanted to look out for an elder constituent, something that those boyz in blue should have been trying to do.

The rock star president.

I remember being a kid sitting in my cousin's Vineyard Town home in Kingston, Jamaica, as Tyrone Downie-- a friend of his at the time-- talked about the tour he had just come off of with Bob Marley in Europe. (Downie was the keyboard player for the Wailers for a long time) He was going on and on about how they played to a packed house in Germany and the Germans were rocking and vibing to every song; even though he knew that they didn't understand a word of the songs that they were singing or what the songs really meant. ("Chase Dem Crazy Bald Heads Out Of Town" wasn't meant to be a flattering song to white Europeans)

Later on in my young life as I listened to Fidel Castro give a speech, I could relate to those Germans, because although I didn't understand a lick of Spanish, I found myself cheering with the crowd whose grasp of the Spanish language was no better than mine. And so it is when you have skills as an orator or an artist, you can touch people's souls in spite of language and cultural barriers.

Fast forward over thirty years from that day at my cousin's home and I am watching his O ness give his town hall meeting in Strassbourg, France. I found my mind going back to that day and what Downie said about Bob and the Wailers and how they moved the crowds in Europe. Obama was moving the crowds in Europe and I am quite sure that like the Germans listening to Bob, most of the folks in Strassbourg, France weren't too proficient in the English language. Obama, like Castro and Marley has talent and charisma, and those two things can take you a very long way in life. If you have a message and an agenda those skills can help you convince others to go along with the program, and that is important to a politician, believe me. If you have talent and charisma that can also take you very far as an artist, and people will buy your records and pay to watch you in person no matter what.

Say what you want about his O ness and his politics, you have to admit the the man has some skills. Rethugs will nit pick and cry that he can't do any of his great oration without his trusted teleprompter, but Stevie Wonder and Governor Paterson can both see that it's all just sour grapes on their part.

So now rethugs have to ask themselves: Who will be our rock star? Who do we have with similar skills? Well, let me answer that for you: No one! In fact, you don't even have anyone that can come close. MC MacDaddy Steele? Not! Newt? The thrice married religion switching ,fraud? Not! Slum...(whoops I promised I wouldn't call him that).. Bobby Jindal? He blew his chance on the national stage. Sarah Palin? They really tried with her, but she wasn't ready for prime time and neither was her family. Eric Cantor? Please! In fact, rethugs are so desperate for a star that they created one who wasn't even a politician. But someone ought to tell the rethugs about packaging. I mean really folks; does "Joe the Plumber" really have a face that you want representing your party? Seriously, unless you are going after that all important skinhead vote, you might want to get him off the national stage. Then of course there is Rush, Sean, and Glen. It's not so easy to get them out of the spotlight since they are forever seeking it, but you might want to distance yourself from them as well, because as their envy for the really talented Obama gets greener, they are truly becoming unhinged. If I am going to be truly honest with you, I think quite a few people are becoming unhinged in A-murder-ca (That's my new name for A-merry-ca) these days. I wonder why? I bet if they had some talent and some real skills they wouldn't be so likely to be unhinged,but frustration can cause you to do some seriously crazy things.

“'I want anyone who believes in life, liberty, pursuit of happiness to succeed, and I want any force, any person, any element of an overarching big government that would stop your success – I want that organization, that element or that person to fail,' Limbaugh told the cheering CPAC crowd. "

Of course, frustration can cause you to say some seriously crazy things as well.

Oh King, I think you dropped your pic of you and George holding hands: Let me get that for you.

I was going to blog about yet another mass killing in these divided states, (this time it was police officers and not civilians) by a wacko and a certifiable wingnut who thought that the folks with the black helicopters were coming to get his dumb ass and his guns. I was going to blog about it but what's the point? If you motherfuckers want to load up on your assault weapons and kill each other, please free to knock yourselves out. Thanks to your sacred NRA you can buy as much of them[guns] as you want, and any delusional psycho who happens to have lived below the radar of law enforcement all of his miserable pathetic life can get one. (Blogger alert! Nova is getting hosed as a write this, so I am not in a good mood)

So that's it, you win; you won't hear the field talk about your guns and your precious 2nd amendment rights anymore. Train your kids to use em, arm every person in your town, and just go ahead and strap em on like the old days. Hell, let's just have drive thru gun shops. Why even bother with a background check? I mean who are we kidding? Any minor who wants a gun can buy one easier than they can buy a pack of cigarettes, so let's just go for it.

The other thing on my mind tonight is the Obama bow and how my friends on the right are all in a huff over his bending at the waist to a foreign leader, a leader who happened to be a....gasp, MUSLIM! "DID OBAMA BOW DOWN TO SAUDI KING?" (Are his knees touching the ground?Oh wait, that would be kneeling, not bowing) Is that all the wingnuts want to know these days? Not how can we fix the economy; not how can we reduce crime; not how can we get A-merry-cans working again; and not how can we better fight the war on terror. No, the wingnuts want to know if Obama took a bow to a Saudi King. And their reasoning for this is so illogical, nonsensical and absurd, that only a wingnut mind could process it: "No US president is supposed to bow down to a foreign head of state because it indicates submission, and the American president does not submit to anyone". Well, not anyone that looks like a Saudi King. I am pretty sure it would be cool if he bowed to the Queen of England, or even the King of Spain, but this Muslim guy, not so much. And who says the A-merry-can president doesn't submit to anyone? Didn't the frat boy submit to big oil? Didn't he submit to the bankers and Wall Street? Didn't he submit to the neocon-artists in his party? Looks to me like A-merry-can presidents submit all the time.

Honestly, this bow heard round the conservative world has me laughing to myself at the stupidity of these people. Michelle Malkin has got the video up on her blog to dissect it for her wingnut friends. And she wants everyone to know that it was a "deep bow" and not just a curtsy or a slight knee bend. No, it was a BOW. (I could say something here, but I will leave it alone. I don't need the sexist label tonight) Ok Michelle and others, you win, it was a bow. So fucking what?

I swear I love you wingnuts so much that I wish I could bow for you like Obama allegedly did for King Abdullah. But there would have to be two conditions: First, my back would have to be turned to you, and second, my pants would have to be down.

Apple Pies, Chevies, and Massacres.

I was going to blog about his O ness knocking em dead in Europe, but the tragic reality of A-merry-can life interrupted my thoughts and I decided to blog about yet another A-merry-can massacre, instead.

First, I want to thank my man Greg Fuller for sending me the following story:

"Published Mon, Mar 30, 2009 2:06pm ET by Eric Boehlert
And that the press, aside from downplaying what have now become routine, gun-related killing sprees that dot the nation, has completely walked away from even raising the issue of gun control in the wake of the rampages?

The latest proof came in the wake of the carnage that unfolded in Carthage, North Carolina, on Sunday when a heavily armed suspect, Robert Stewart, entered a local retirement home and began randomly shooting patients and employees with a high-powered rifle. Eight were killed and three others were wounded before police subdued the man. The local police chief described the killing scene as "unimaginable, horrific, everything you can possible imagine that is bad in this world."

The thin coverage the story has received nationwide has been rather astounding. According to TVeyes.com, in the 24 hours since news broke about the bloody killing spree, it has received just 180 mentions on cable and network television, combined (i.e. ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, CNN Headline News, MSNBC, and NBC.)

By contrast, the flood that didn't materialize as feared in Fargo, North Dakota, over the weekend received nearly 250 mentions during the same time span. So the flood that didn't happen got more coverage than than the killing rampage that left eight people dead in North Carolina.

Also, TV mentions of General Motors in the last 24 hours, prompted by the news its CEO is being forced out, far outnumbered the news mentions of the nursing home killing spree.
As for a discussion of gun control in the wake of the nursing home massacre, forget about it. It never came up on TV. The press has no interest in dissecting our Rampage Nation.
UPDATE: As a reader notes, there was another killing rampage over the weekend. This one inside a Santa Clara, California home; 6 dead (including three children), one critically injured.
To date, there have been just seven mentions of the story on cable and network news, according to TVeyes.com"

UPDATE AGAIN: Now we can add Binghamton, New York to this ugly mix of depravity and apathy. (Isn't it ironic that this latest massacre was carried out in place where people studied to become citizens?) Although maybe because it was a slow news day, this shooting seemed to have gotten a little more publicity than some of the others we have had recently. Even his O ness commented about it all the way from Europe. Poor O man, he has got to be so embarrassed for his country and its culture of guns and violence. Not to say other countries don't have their share, lord knows they do.--Just look what happened in Germany not to long ago-- But here in A-merry-ca it just seems like the norm. And we have a billion dollar lobby group in this country known as the NRA who will stop at nothing to keep the status quo: Murder mayhem and massacres. At least in other countries you get a sense that there is true outrage when something like this happens and the governments in those countries take pro active steps to prevent it from ever happening again. Not here, our poli-tricksters need money to get elected, and if that money comes from the NRA with their facile arguments for more guns, well, then, so be it.

"Michelle and I were shocked and deeply saddened to learn about the act of senseless violence in Binghamton, NY today..."

Get used to it Mr. President, there will be more to come.

With friends like these.....

This post is going to pain me, but in the spirit of keeping it real, I have to do it.

Growing up I didn't have a brother, I am one of only two children and obviously the only boy. So when I tell you that the man I am going to to write about is like a brother to me you have got to understand where I am coming from. I was in his wedding, he was in mine, and I can't begin to tell you the stuff that we have done together. We have been as "thick as thieves" ever since we met some twenty years ago. And since I know that he will read it, I just hope this post doesn't change the nature of our relationship.

So anyway, Tony Clayton is the chairman of the board of the Southern University System, the largest land grant African American system of higher learning in these divided states. They are charged with educating thousands of our young people who are primarily from the state of Louisiana. The board consists of 16 people who were all appointed by powerful political people down in Louisiana, and who are, themselves, players in the very complex political world that is the Bayou state; a world I know all too well.

The Southern board recently voted 11-5 to give the System President, Ralph Slaughter, the Donald Trump treatment. (Yes Ralph, "you are fired") And no one was more surprised than Slaughter himself. I hear from very good sources that Slaughter was making nice with Clayton over dinner not too long ago, and that he was assured by the Chairman that he wasn't going anywhere. "You are my man Ralph, I am with you all the way." Well, not so fast.

“This had nothing to do with the president’s evaluation,” said Clayton of Port Allen. “Just like the president of our own country, sometimes it’s time for a change."

But why now Mr. Clayton? Why when you are going before the state legislature really soon to beg for more money for a very important HBCU? They are already telling you that they are going to slash your 30 million budget by 18%, and you are possibly taking an interim president to go and meet with them? Why not take the man who has been at the helm of the University, and who, by all accounts, have been doing a good job? "Oh field, come on, who cares about what happens at some HBCU down in crawfish country?" Well I will let student Jamal Taylor answer that for you:

"Student board member Jamal Taylor, who is the student body president of Southern’s Baton Rouge campus, also backed Slaughter.'This is the wrong time,' said Taylor, noting that the Southern system is facing about an 18 percent cut in its state funding. 'We’re putting ourselves in a predicament where we may be sending an interim president down there (to the State Capitol).'There is no place for politics in higher education, ' he added. Taylor said Slaughter scored a 3.64 in his evaluation on a scale of one to five, with one being poor and five being excellent. Southern Faculty Senate President Sudhir Trivedi said he is disappointed the board acted against Slaughter without faculty input."

Thank you Jamal, you nailed it! "There is no place for politics in higher education". And faculty member, Sudhir Trivedi, nailed it as well. But isn't this typical of some of you Negroes here in A-merry-ca? You get a little power and you get drunk with it. You forget how and why you got that power in the first place. Memo to Southern University board members: Your job -and only job- is to look out for the welfare of those children who you are supposed to be educating. Your job is to give them a good education and send them out into the world to become better citizens and human beings. Your job is not to play politics with the lives of these young people.

And another thing: I know Bobby Jindal had his plant on the board as well, and I am going to bet that Al Kaline baseball card of mine that Jindal's guy on the inside had something to do with the vote to remove Slaughter. Let's see what he has to say for himself:

" Board member Patrick Magee of Lafayette, who was named to the board by Gov. Bobby Jindal last July, offered the motion to remove Slaughter from office. But Magee declined comment and directed questions to Clayton after the meeting. "

Hmmm, so was it you who offered the motion to remove Slaughter Mr. Jindal appointee? Now I am really pissed. Because I know damn good and well that "slumdog" Governor does not have the Jaguar Nation's best interest at heart.

Something else about this story stinks: A couple of years ago a young lady was allegedly sexually harassed by a former board chairman while on an alumni retreat. The terrified young lady came forward and reported it to President Slaughter. What followed was an embarrassing attempt by the University and the board to cover up what happened to the poor young lady. (I wonder why I didn't hear any of this from any of the blogs that always advocate for women?) It took Slaughter coming forward to expose the alleged serial harasser; but instead of praising him the board closed ranks around the scumbag who allegedly harassed the young lady in the first place. It took a lawsuit and public pressure to prevent the university from getting rid of him, but unfortunately for Slaughter, like Napoleon, his Waterloo was bound to come.

"Clayton also said the decision had nothing to do with Slaughter’s 2007 lawsuit against the board.."

Yeah, Okay, and I don't find Lark Voorhies in the least bit attractive. Come on Tony, I love you man, but you have to start keeping it real. Stop playing politics with our children's lives and tell your buddies on the board to do the same. You are the student's last defense against the poli-trick-sters in Louisiana who would love nothing more than shut SU down, or change its mission completely. Don't let the "slumdog" Governor influence what goes on in Jaguar Nation, he doesn't care, but you should.

Oh, and one more thing before I go: Can someone tell me why Matt Drudge featured this story today? Hey Matt, we get it, I know it's an inside joke, but us black folks aren't laughing.

I'm out.

IT'S OVER.

Today is a sad day for the field, and I will tell you why: When I started this blog I decided that I would continue blogging until I found Lark Voorhies. Well, I am both happy and sad to announce that I have found her. Yes my friends, my hunt for the elusive Lark Voorhies is over; so now,unfortunately, I must stop blogging. Why? Because there is nothing left to blog for. This whole blogging thing was just a desperate and pathetic attempt to try and get Lark's attention.

One of her people found out about the blog, told Lark about the field, and thankfully, she has reached out.

So sorry folks, it's been real, and I enjoyed every minute with you. But I must move on to bigger and better things; Lark calls.....

Okay can I say April Fools now? APRIL FOOLS!!!

Now that I got that out of the way, let me get serious for a minute: We are just a couple of days away from the 41st Anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, and I saw an interesting essay about King and his movement over at TPM. The author, Clay Risen, seemed to be suggesting that King only included poor whites in his fight against injustice for tactical reasons. In other words, white A-merry-ca would not have accepted his movement if it did not include poor whites.

"Now, it is true that this position does not preclude the idea that poor whites also deserved something. But the debt America owed to poor whites was, in his view, clearly of a lesser magnitude. And as the quotes Rick presents make clear, his belief that the poor of all colors should be helped was in part a tactical, political move: Whites will block significant assistance to blacks unless that assistance can be explained in color-blind terms. "

Interesting. I can't help but think of his O ness and his quest for "change" and a new "post racial" A-merry-ca. Is this just a political strategy as well? And if it is, did it work? It sure looks like it. But who did it work for? Is his O ness and his political soul-mates the only ones who will benefit from his vision, or does he have a grand scheme to uplift black and poor people as King did? I know I know, lots of questions, and I hate to break up the spirit of the day, but they are serious ones.

April Fools is only one day; we have 364 where we have to get real.

"TNS"?

I swear, this must be boys in blue week here in the fields. The hits just keep coming from some of those who have taken an oath to protect all the citizens of these divided states but don't always seem to do so.

Anyway, have you ever wondered what some police officers are thinking when they are in the privacy of their patrol cars? Well thanks to a Temple University student, who went for a ride along with one of Philly's finest, you can now get a glimpse of what goes on in the minds of some of our officers.

"By DAFNEY TALES Philadelphia Daily News
talesd@phillynews.com 215-854-5084
A college class assignment may have gotten a Philadelphia police officer into some hot water.
William Thrasher, a white cop in the 22nd District, at 17th and Montgomery, has been put on desk duty after an article written by a Temple University student quoted him describing his disgust for black people in the district where he works, likening them to animals and calling their problems "typical n---- s---," or "TNS," during a ride-along with the student Jan. 30.
The article enraged The Guardian Civic League, an organization of black Philadelphia police officers, which is calling for his dismissal.

'[Thrasher] took an oath to protect all people,' said Rochelle Bilal, who heads the group. 'If that's the way he feels about black people, then he needs to be off our streets.'
The police Internal Affairs department is investigating. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said that that kind of inflammatory rhetoric will not be tolerated within the department.
'I'm not happy with this at all," he said. 'I take this very, very seriously. It's not supposed to happen. You can't serve people you don't respect.'

Thrasher, 24, of Tacony, joined the force in February 2007, and was assigned to the 22nd District, a mostly black area of North Philadelphia."

More here:

Hmmm, so that's what "TNS" means. And here I thought it was an acronym for one of Ted Turner's TV stations...oh wait, that's TBS, sorry.

Seriously folks, this has not been a good week for Philly's finest. Oh field, relax, so one poor cop out of thousands slipped and made some off color remarks, and a Dominican drug dealer claims the cops violated his civil rights, what's the big deal?

It's no big deal; not if you happen to live in Mexico, but this A-merry-ca, and it just might be a big deal here. The people who are paid to protect us should protect all of us, and there are laws that they should follow like the rest of us do. No one is above it. (Unless your name is Bush or Cheney of course) If police officers are going to be my last defense against the Barbarians at my gate, I want to have the comfort of knowing that they won't be one of the Barbarians trying to get in.