The meltdown continues, and chasing the Big R.

Just call Mike Huckabee the Charlie Sheen of A-merry-can politics. Now the man is attacking Natalie Portman, who happens to be an actress. Yes, an actress. Not someone charged with writing laws and implementing public policy in this country, but an actress.

Seems he doesn't like the fact that she is glamorizing having kids out of wedlock. (Yes, kind of like Sarah Palin's family.) Mike, she is an actress. Relax!

It's Friday night, and I have to do a little racism chasing before the weekend. Hmmm, let me see now; where should I turn?

I know, how about that state that has been giving me so much material lately? From a governor who calls a police officer an "idiot", to a judge who locks up a woman for trying to give her child a better life; my friends in the Buckeye state might want to get the number to the closest U-Haul store.

"GAHANNA, Ohio – The mother of a black Ohio fifth grader assigned to play a slave for a social studies lesson says the school should be more sensitive.

Principal Scott Schmidt of Chapelfield Elementary in Gahanna (guh-HA'-nuh) called Aneka Burton to apologize for what happened to her son, Nikko, on Wednesday. Columbus station WBNS-TV reports Schmidt said no harm was intended.

Ten-year-old Nikko says the class was randomly divided into "masters" and "slaves" and that the only other black student got to be a master. Burton says her son refused to take part in a simulated slave auction and was sent back to his desk.

Burton says she appreciates the apology, but the exercise was inappropriate". [Story]

I thought Ghana was in Africa? Of wait, it's G-A-H-A-N-N-A. Sorry. Still, you would think with a name so close to an African name those folks would be more sensitive. But hey, at least they tried to even things out. They allowed one of the little black kids to play the master. *shaking head*

Finally, I see the Judge tossed that lawsuit in Delaware where the theater owner told you Negroes to keep quiet before a Tyler Perry movie. (That guy must follow the 12% rule)

But seriously, in spite of what some of my friends in the house happen to believe, it was not a "frivolous suit". Hard to prove? Yes. (Because everyone knows that there are no racist left in A-merry-ca.) But "frivolous"? I think not.

"The Delaware Supreme Court has ruled that a movie theater manager’s mandate that a screening room full of black patrons be quiet during the film did not violate the state’s equal accommodation laws. This all started with a 2007 showing of 'Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married' at the Carmike 14 Theater in Dover. The manager, David Stewart, told the room’s 23 black patrons to be quiet, remain in their seats and turn off their cell phones. Stewart was then followed out of the theater by a patron, who told him his comments were not well taken. So Stewart went back, explaining he didn’t mean to offend anyone, but he had to make the announcement per the policy of theater owner."

The article continues: "One of the 23 African Americans in attendance was Juana Fuentes-Bowles, who just so happens to be the director of Delaware’s Human Relations Division. She stood up and told everyone that Stewart’s comments were racist. Although Stewart did not use 'racist language' her office conducted a hearing and found that his conduct violated the state’s equal accommodation law. The Delaware Supreme Court had originally found that Stewart did indeed single-out a black audience for the silence demands – since he did not make the same announcement in other theater rooms on the same night. Each of the 23 complainants were awarded $1,500 in damages for being told to be quiet during the movie [nearly $80,000 in all]."

More: "But a Superior Court then reversed the decision, and [on Wednesday] the state’s Supreme Court has affirmed the reversal. According to Supreme Court Justice Jack Jacobs, the theater-goers failed to establish evidence of racial discrimination. The judge accepted testimony by Stewart that his comments were not motivated by race as Stewart evidently would have equally told teenagers to pipe down during a screening of 'Halloween.'"

He "WOULD HAVE " equally told teenagers to pipe down?" Riiiiight. Is there anyone interested in buying an antique bell from me with a slight crack on the side? If you believe that about the theater manager I would love to sell it to you.

Ohio Prayers.

Snow snow snow, and more snow. A brotha couldn't even go to the plantation today.

Anywhooo, a lot of you have been sending me e-mails about the case in Ohio where the African American mother was jailed, fined, and given probation for sending her children to a predominantly white school. I wanted to look at the case a little more before commenting, because things in A-merry-ca are not always as black and white as they first seem.

Folks who know me know that I part company with most of my ideological soul-mates when it comes to school choice. It's one of the few issues where I usually find myself arguing from the right side of my brain. I truly believe that a good education is one of the true equalizers in A-merry-can society, and if our public schools are failing I want our children to get a good education wherever they can.

When I saw the story about this poor lady being punished for trying to get the best for her children it gave me cause for a pause. I am a lawyer, and I respect the law. And, to be honest, Kelley Williams-Bolar did technically break the law by lying about her residency. But Kelley-Williams-Bolar, like any good parent, just wanted the best for her children; so she did what she felt she had to do to get her daughters into a better school. It's that simple.

Sometimes judges have to use common sense from the bench. And this judge down in Ohio did not do that. I dare say that the punishment did not fit the crime. A judge should always look at the totality of the circumstances before handing out a sentence, and this judge clearly did not do that. Or did she? Maybe the judge was just following the will of her affluent constituents. (Do they elect judges in Ohio?) I also have to wonder what triggered this little investigation into Kelley Williams-Bolar's background. ("Oh oh, here comes field with the racial angle.") Why would the school district hire a private investigator to follow the lady to see where she dropped off her daughters? --That was a rhetorical question. I know why. Akron, that is not cool.

Anyway, my question to the wingnuts would be this: Why the silence on this issue? I thought that you were all for school choice? Why is this story only getting folks outraged on the left? Hey,when it comes to school choice I am all in with you wingnuts; so why am I alone on this one? Where is the wingnut love?

The tragedy in all of this is that our public school system has become so bad that parents who want the best for their children have to make these tough choices. This poor woman lived in a housing project, and she clearly knew that she was taking a risk by lying about her residency to get her daughters into a better school. But she took it. True field Negro behavior if you ask me.

For those of you who believe in such things please pray for this lady. She needs all the help she can get. And, sadly, her daughters now do as well.

We can't always tip toe around it.

It's nice to see that there is a ground swell of outrage here in A-merry-ca against my neighbors at the Valley Swim Club. (Well....some A-merry-cans; excluding self hating Negroes and whites in denial). It's funny how these things happen. Usually we can tip toe around each other and our prejudices never become an issue. We can work together, watch a ball game together, and even socialize on certain occasions, together. But there are times when we just can't avoid our true feelings, and unfortunately for the folks at the valley Swim Club, they just had one of them.

I once posed a hypothetical question to a white acquaintance who I thought was pretty cool. It went something like this: If your daughter were to go off to college and come home her junior year with a black boyfriend what would you do? Imagine with me that the black boyfriend is a pre-med student making straight A's at Princeton and both his parents are surgeons. His grand father was one of the first millionaires of color in America, and the boy himself is a dead ringer for Will Smith. (I used Will because he is one of the few black movie stars white folks would know) He then proceeded to tell me in no uncertain terms that he wouldn't go for it. Sorry field, he said, I am just not there yet. Call me cynical, but I don't think most of us in A-merry-ca are there yet. We know now that some of the folks at the Valley Swim Club aren't there yet, and they probably never will be. But hey, that's their loss not mine.

Now just a few more things about this story and then I am done with it: (Hey, I have more racism to chase)

1. These children were from Oxford Circle (those of you from Philly will know where I am talking about) and it is fairly close to the club. So it was quite reasonable for the camp to call this particular club as it was probably the closest to them. The children were not all black, there were some Hispanic children with the group as well.

2. The members of the club overruled the board and told them to cancel the agreement and give the camp their money back. The folks from the board claim that they [the board members] did not want to do it.

3. I know for a fact (unless kids are lying to their parents) that the children were subject to disparaging remarks when they went into the pool, and that some of the white members started taking their own children out. One woman said that she had her six year old grandson there, but she took him out, not because of race, but because the pool was getting too crowded.

4. The people who were there (including the life guards) all say that the children were well behaved.

5. It's true, Senator Arlen Specter has gotten involved and wants an investigation into claims of discrimination.

6. Girard College (A local high school here) did step up and offer the kids their pool free of charge throughout the summer. The irony is that the founder of Girard College; Stephen A. Girard, specifically wanted blacks excluded from his school. when he founded it. And a Main Line ice cream store, Gumdrops & Sprinkles, also stepped up and gave the kids freebies. (Nothing like some freebies to soothe where racism hurts)

7. This club is not made up of wealthy folks from Huntingdon Valley where the club happens to be located. It is made up of mostly of working class ethnic whites from Northeast Philadelphia, which is just a few miles from the club. (The membership fee is about $400 so that ought to tell you something.) This is not a country club, so we can't even blame the country club set for this one. They are much smarter and classier with their racism.

8. Yes, we can blame the children not having a pool on budget cuts in the Parks & Recreation Department here in the city. (You can thank the frat boy and his accomplished mission for that one)

9. Some of the families of the children are considering some type of legal action.

Finally,to be fair to the folks at the Valley Swim Club, I will leave what is now posted on their website:

"The Valley Club is deeply troubled by the recent allegations of racism which are completely untrue. We had originally agreed to invite the camps to use our facility, knowing full well that the children from the camps were from multi-ethnic backgrounds. Unfortunately, we quickly learned that we underestimated the capacity of our facilities and realized that we could not accommodate the number of children from these camps. All funds were returned to the camps and we will re-evaluate the issue at a later date to determine whether it can be feasible in the future. Our Valley Club deplores discrimination in any form, as is evidenced by our multi-ethnic and diverse membership. Whatever comments may or may not have been made by an individual member is an opinion not shared by The Valley Club Board. "

So that's it then; all is well that ends well.

Oh, before I go I want to comment on a couple of things that has been bothering me today: First, O man I know you are the president, and you have to practice a certain amount of decorum. But please just say the word and I will kick Matt Drudge's scrawny ass for you my damn self. Putting Malia out there like he did today calls for a serious beat down. So the child wore a t-shirt with a peace sign on it. LEAVE HER ALONE. SHE IS ELEVEN!

The other story that pissed me off is the one where some ignorant Negroes in Ohio allegedly attacked a white family who were out celebrating the fourth. That shit is not cool. I doubt it was racial, because knowing some of these thugs, they would beat down there own mamas if they thought they could impress their boyz.

Still, the shit gives every person who likes to play tit for tat with racism (like some of the folks who leave comments here) an excuse to play the you do it too game. But think about this: Maybe some of those gang bangers in Akron were kicked out of a white swim club when they were younger.

Just an accident?

Add me to the list of bloggers who are saying hmmmm about this story.

I really hate the Bush republican cabal for making me think this way, but here I am, a living breathing skeptic of all things Bush and Cheney.

Please read below and tell me if you aren't just a tad bit skeptical yourself:

"At 3:31 PM Friday, December 19, Michael L. Connell, a top Internet consultant for the Republican National Committee and for the Bush and McCain presidential campaigns, left Washington from the small airport in College Park, Md. Alone at the helm of a single engine Piper Saratoga, Connell's flight plan anticipated arrival at his hometown Akron-Canton Airport in a little over two hours, at 5:43 PM.


Instead, about three miles short of the Akron-Canton Airport, Connell's plane crashed to the ground in an upscale section of Lake Township, killing Connell instantly. "I was standing in the kitchen and I looked out the window and all I saw was fire," Taylor Fano told The Akron Beacon Journal. "It took out the flagpole and the cement blocks surrounding the flagpole . . . . It skidded across the driveway and right in-between a line of pine trees and a small fence around an in-ground pool."


The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the accident and has not yet filed a report, but there was no immediate evidence of wrong-doing or sabotage.
Many in the blogosphere have called for further investigation of the crash, suggesting that Connell was about to provide crucial information in the case of alleged vote fraud in the 2004 Ohio presidential contest, and that that information would implicate Karl Rove and others in the Bush administration. [see update below]



Just last month, Connell was deposed in the ongoing case, King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell. According to accounts of the November 3rd deposition, Connell denied any knowledge of attempts to fraudulently manipulate 2004 Ohio vote counts.


There is, however, a more immediate and relevant question: How much will Connell's death, even if the accident was entirely without malfeasance, impede congressional committee investigations into the more controversial activities of the Bush administration over the past eight years - including the ongoing investigation into thousands of missing White House-RNC emails sent and received by some 22 White House political aides, including Rove. These emails are believed likely to shed light on the political firings of U.S. Attorneys, and to show if the White House had any role in controversial decisions to prosecute former Alabama Democratic Governor Don Siegelman.



After first emerging as a web consultant during the 1998 gubernatorial campaign of Jeb Bush, Connell quickly became a key member of the Republican brain trust and quickly became part of a small network of political consultants and lobbyists favored by Rove. He advised both Bush-Cheney campaigns, and was a regular consultant to the RNC and other GOP committees.



Connell, and his firms - New Media Communications, Govtech and Connell Donatelli Inc. - were part of a universe that included such other GOP operatives as Tony Feather and Jeff Larson of FLS Connect, Tom Synhorst of the DCI Group, and Jeff Averbeck of Smartech. Their companies have received millions of dollars from the Bush-Cheney campaign committees of 2000 and 2004 from the three major - national, congressional and senatorial - Republican Party committees; from such conservative interest groups as the National Rifle Association and Citizens Against Government Waste; from a host of corporations and trade associations seeking to remain in the administration's good graces; and from dozens and dozens of Republican House and Senate campaigns."



More here.



Oh field, has it ever occurred to you that it could all be just a big coincidence? Actually, no. Not with this bunch. But I will take a wait and see approach. I just hope that no stone will be left unturned in this investigation. And if there is no investigation, we will scream loud enough for every reasonable person in A-merry-ca to hear and then demand one.