Getting paid is not for everyone.

 My father- in- law is a humble and hard working man, who built a pretty good life for himself and his family. He did it by working hard and persevering in South Louisiana at a time when racism and ignorance was rampant.

He likes to tell me the story of when he bought his first home. He was working on a very large pecan farm as a manager, and he was the person charged with keeping the tractors running. He went to the owner of the farm (a man who he thought he had a good relationship with and who he had worked with for years ) and told him of his plans to buy his first home, because he had saved a substantial amount of money. He went to the man, he said, because back then in the small Louisiana town were he lived, just having money to put down on your home and a history paying your bills on time was not enough; you needed someone of a certain hue and stature to co-sign for you. He said his boss changed after he expressed his plans to him, and soon after that the man fired him.

The moral of his story to me was this: Never let certain folks know how successful you are. Because, if you do,  they will try to take it from you. Never show your wealth or be too boastful about the things you acquire in your life. He lives by that credo.

Anyway, I have been thinking about my father- in -law a lot lately. And I have been thinking about him because of all the hand-wringing and consternation over the former president getting $400,000.00 to speak to a Wall Street firm. And, to be honest,  most of the chirping has been coming from the left. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were both  expressing their displeasure of president Obama getting such a large amount of money from Wall Street.

Go figure.

Since when does someone who served as president does not get to go into private industry and profit from his time as president? Every previous president has done it. George W. Bush has been quietly making millions from speaking fees, and yet no outcry. Why do you think that's the case? It's a rhetorical question. I know why. (I see you father-in- law)

Mr. Orange Hair has been president for 100 days, and he and his family has been already profiting in numerous ways  because he holds the office, and yet no outcry from those on the left or the right.

Let's not forget that former president Obama is now a private citizen, and the last time I checked this is America, and he should be free to earn as much money as he can.  It's what every president before him has done.

I heard Van Jones on CNN today talking about how America needs a Bobby Kennedy like poverty tour to places like Appalachia and South Central. "Poor white people in West Virginia and Kentucky are suffering from a serious crisis of opiate addiction" he moaned, "who is going to speak to them?" He later said. "President Obama should do a poverty tour for them before he starts collecting speaking fees."

This debate, of course, is laughable. As president Mr. Obama did a lot to try to help some of those very same "poor white people", but they voted against their interest and put a guy in office who, as of this date, has kept zero of his promises to them.

I read a funny tweet today, and it's worth repeating: "If you are a middle aged blue collar white guy and you have not yet been interviewed by the New York Times, you are doing something wrong in your life."

It seems like everyone wants to reach out to the poor blue collar white guy, including people like Bernie Sanders and other folks from the progressive left.  They think that the dems lost the election by ignoring them and their concerns. Forgetting, of course, an organized voter suppression effort of minorities by those on the right.

"Elizabeth Warren isn't too keen about former President Barack Obama's $400,000 fee to address a Wall Street conference on healthcare this fall.

''I was troubled by that,' the Massachusetts senator said Thursday during an interview with the SiriusXM show "Alter Family Politics" on Radio Andy.

 

She then proceeded to discuss her disdain for "the influence of money" in the nation's capital.

 

"One of the things I talk about in the book ["This Fight is Our Fight"] is the influence of money," she said. "I describe it as a snake that slithers through Washington. And that it shows up in so many different ways here in Washington. People understand the money that goes into campaign contributions. And when I say 'understand.' I don't mean they think it's okay, but at least people see it.

 

The money that goes into hiring lobbyists, but it's also the money that goes into bought-and-paid-for experts, the money that goes into think tanks that have these shadowy funders."'

 

Ms. Warren said all of that, but then this happened:

 

"Also in the interview, Warren was informed that her new book reached No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list. This pleased the Senator. But she was far more excited to hear that the person she replaced in the top spot was none other than Bill O’Reilly.

“Oh! Sweet!” Warren said, clearly overjoyed. “Sweet! Oh, you just made my morning!” [Source]

Of course he "made your morning", Elizabeth, you will be making even more money now. See how that works? 

*Pic from twitter.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

         

That Katrina thing was Obama's fault, and the right wing conjures up a racial lie.

So there is this poll out that found that Louisiana republicans split as to who is to blame for the hurricane Katrina disaster. 28 percent of them blame George Bush and 29 percent of them blame president Obama. Then there is the other 44 percent who are not sure exactly who to blame. [Source]

This would be funny if it wasn't so sad. But these are the same people who have made folks like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul political rock stars. The same people who, when polled, said that interracial marriages are wrong, and who consider president Obama a racist because he got his children another dog that happens to be black.

Honestly, this takes the phrase "low information voter" to a whole different level.

Finally, some last words on that killing in Oklahoma. The one where FOX NEWS tried to create a racial conflict by lying about the facts in the case.

Hats off to Tommy Christopher:

"On Wednesday morning, Fox and Friends aired a segment in which they ostentatiously wondered why Revs. Sharpton and Jackson “haven’t come forward and said anything,” and even though they displayed a photo of the three suspects, which clearly showed that one of them is a white male, they quoted an Allen West tweet that said “Three black teens shoot white jogger.”
The Daily Caller actually improved on F&F. Initially, they ran a photo of the wrong Michael Jones, and issued this “correction”:

This, of course, changes everything. Edwards and Luna are being charged with first-degree murder, whereas Jones is charged with “using a vehicle to facilitate the discharge of a weapon and accessory after the fact of murder in the first degree.”
There’s your angle, Rev. Al. The one with the lightest skin got the lightest charge. The one who looks the least like Obama will get the least punishment. Let the racebaiting begin.

Here’s the photo The Daily Caller originally ran, with the wrong Michael Jones:

 

A Duncan police source confirmed to Mediaite, Wednesday morning, that 17 year-old Michael Jones is not “the one with the lightest skin,” he is a white male. It is true that 15 year-old James Edwards and 16 year-old Chancey Luna have been charged, as adults, with first-degree murder, while Jones is charged as an accessory after the fact, but Jones is also reported to have said “I pulled the trigger” in court Tuesday:

As the boys appeared in an Oklahoma courtroom, a 17-year-old blurted out, “I pulled the trigger,” then wept after a judge told him that Tuesday’s hearing wasn’t the time or place to sort out the facts of the case.

The three teens allegedly shot and killed Chris Lane “for the fun of it,” as infuriating a motive as there is, but so far, there is no indication that race played a role in the selection of the victim, and unlike the Trayvon Martin killing, the alleged perpetrators in this crime were almost immediately arrested and charged. Like other crimes that have been posited as “double standards,” there is no factual basis for comparison, and no one has explained what, exactly, they would expect Rev. Al to say.

That there is a chance to continue the Zimmerman defense team’s contention that it is reasonable to profile young black men, an opportunity to present young black men as products of an inherently violent culture. That one of the suspects is white is a complicating factor that some, it appears, are choosing to ignore.

To be clear, their premise would be equally false if all three suspects were black, but the fact that they’ve chosen to ignore Michael Jones’ race indicates a commitment to that premise no matter what the facts say. The oldest of the three suspects, who declared in open court that he “pulled the trigger,” is a white male, so perhaps these conservative outlets ought to be praising Al Sharpton for not coming out and saying that the lesson here is for black kids not to hang around with white kids. If he did, he would be rightly condemned, but such a declaration would be no more absurd than the idea that he should weigh in on a tragedy that, thus far, appears to be taking as just a course as is possible.

There’s definitely something wrong with the people who killed Chris Lane, but it’s not the color of their skin."

"I want them to rot in hell". That was the sentiment of the deceased man's girlfriend.

Mam, I feel your pain, but there are a few other people who I would love to see rot right beside them.















 

Friday Rant: Lazy Ex President, Ignorant Talking Heads, and "Colored Girls".

Happy Friday to all of you field hands! I hope massa gave you a break from all that plantation work you have been putting in all week.

Anywhooo, I have some thoughts:

First, I see that some things never change. My man "W" is as lazy now as he was when he was president. Seems he lifted a ton of stuff for his new book. BTW, is it just me, or were you all as offended by him saying that the Kanye West rant was the lowest and most disgusting moment of his presidency? Ahhm, excuse me; what about the war in Iraq and all the poor souls (Americans and Iraqis) who lost their lives because of it? Don't even get me started again on this guy. I am trying hard to forget him.

Then there are those wonderful news Anchors over at Radio Rwanda. Go ahead and make fun of someone who has a heart attack on the air. Nice. Stay classy wingnuts. It's getting harder to differentiate between the Radio Rwanda news folks and these guys. Actually, I think The Onion is more credible. (Their stuff on Biden was classic.)

Also, I see that Glen Beckkk is f&^%$#g with another group of people. ---Slowly but surely, other groups of people are starting to find out how us black folks feel when this clown channels his inner klansman. Let's see how he survives this latest dust up.

Finally, there has been a lot of discussion about the latest Tyler Perry flick, "For Colored Girls". I never saw the play, and I am not a big TP fan, but I know that the day is coming when I will have to watch this bad boy. (Don't ask.) I can't give my honest opinion as yet, because I haven't seen it. But I do want to hear yours. (Especially the sisters out there.) Folks have weighed in with various opinions, so obviously the theme of the movie struck a nerve with us black folks.

It's all good as far as I am concerned. Sometimes us black folks just need to talk.

I'm out.

The truth about Harry. And maybe George.

I won't lie, I hate bumper stickers. A car should be for driving, not telling us about what religion you belong to, how smart your kids are, or who you vote for. Sometimes I see bumper stickers on very nice new cars and I just have to shake my head. I just don't get it.

Still, as much as I despise bumper stickers, I don't think I would do what this guy did. What the hell is A-merry-ca coming to when just having a bumper sticker declaring your love for his O ness can cost you a trip to the body shop? Oh lawd! These wingnuts are off the chain. I bet the guy was listening to Beck or one of those right wing talk show nut jobs and just got fired up. The poor guy just took out all his pent up rage on the first thing he saw with his O ness on it.

"After picking up his 10-year old daughter from school yesterday afternoon, Nashville resident Mark Duren was driving home when he was suddenly and intentionally rammed from behind by Harry Weisiger. Enraged at the sight of Duren’s Obama bumper sticker, Weisiger gave Duren “the bird” and then hit him from behind, leading to a violent series of events. Nashville’s WKRN report"

The guy didn't even care that there was a 10 year old child in the car. No sir, all he had to see was the face of the beige man in the people's house to go all Toyota on poor Mr. Duren.

“He pointed at the back of my car,” Duren said, “the bumper, flipped me off, one finger salute.”
But it didn’t end there. Duren told News 2 that Weisiger honked his horn at him for awhile, as Duren stopped at a stop sign. Once he started driving again, down Blair Boulevard, towards his home, he said, “I looked in the rear view mirror again, and this same SUV was speeding, flying up behind me, bumped me.”

Obama supporters, I think you are all going to have to start driving bigger cars. Or, just leave your bumper stickers at home. This is crazy. It's not worth losing your lives over this love you have for his O ness.

Finally, I am going to shock some of you tonight. I am going to defend the frat boy. Yes, defend him.

You all know about the video making the rounds on the Internet of the frat boy doing a quick wipe after playing touch with some Haitians. He has been getting killed for it in some circles. Hey George, this is what happens when you diss an entire city of poor suffering black folks by doing a fly over. These kinds of things tend to stay with you. Let's face it; you Bush folks tend to be Crips when it comes to your blood. So for many people it was easy to believe this story.

But don't worry George, even though I am no fan. I am going to lean to The Guardian story on this one and say that the whole thing just seemed a lot worse than it really was. And, that looks, in this case, was deceiving. Besides, the frat boy, like his daddy, has an issue with touching strangers, period. So I don't think it was a Haitian thing.....I don't think.

How is that? Field taking the high road. It must be the weekend.

This lady, to the GOP, is a tramp.

Never in the history of mankind has one lady done so much damage to a political party. The lady in this particular instance is Katrina, and she is still hurting the republican party. Her most recent victim was one Bobby Jindal, the governor of the great state of Louisiana. It seems Jindal stretched the truth a little when he gave the republican response to his O ness Tuesday night. Bobby bragged about being in the middle of the action during the big storm, and standing shoulder to shoulder with Sheriff Harry Lee while the action went down.

Well, not so fast. It turns out that Bobby, like a certain frat boy, was not exactly in the heat of the action when things were going down, and his recollection of that day was a little shaky at best. And talk about irony. The man and the party who perpetrated a fraud on the A-merry-can people and had us believing that they were competent and efficient were exposed while in office by Katrina. And the man who would be the parties standard bearer in 2012, was exposed as a liar thanks to the big storm as well.

Thanks to Katrina A-merry-ca saw the real George Bush. They saw a man whose presidency was guided by having political control and power, and whose decisions were made for political expediency. Flying over New Orleans and looking down from Air Force One might have made for a nice White House picture, but it exposed a side of the "compassionate conservative" that most A-merry-cans did not know existed. He came across as aloof and out of touch. Just like the party he was leading. The repubs have never recovered from that. The vast majority of independents and middle of the road voters started leaning blue and never leaned back. Now they are left with the likes of Rush to give them marching orders and be the face of their cause. (And what a face! Did you see him in that black outfit yesterday at the conservative [CPAC]convention? He was the rock star, the one they came to see and he didn't disappoint with the red meat. Rush said FOX did a broadcast of the entire thing so it was his first ever "address to the nation") And somewhere in California the gipper is turning in his grave.

God, guns, and Obama.

Think this election doesn't matter to some folks? Consider this poor guy; he helped to build his own firearms company, and he is a huge Obama supporter. When the poor guy's love of his O ness became public knowledge, the shit hit the fan. Now he is on the outside looking in, and trying to figure out what hit him.

It wasn't always like this in A-merry-ca. It used to be that if you were a dumbocrat or a rethuglican, you could agree to disagree with each other, and move on with your lives here in the land [where some] are free. But not now. Now you are either for us or against us. If you are with that skinny Negro with the funny name you are the enemy, you do not have A-merry-ca's best interest at heart. If you are with the old man and his aging porn star looking side kick, you are on the side who wants to preserve the status quo here in A-merry-ca, and you truly believe that your Ozzie and Harriett existence is in jeopardy.

Honestly, I kind of like it this way. Fuck bi-partisanship! I don't want to reach across the aisle to do shit. I hope Pelosi, Reid, and Obama do become a triad in Washington. (Like it can get any worse?) I didn't see George Bush, Newt Gingrich or Ronald Reagan doing a whole lot of reaching out. No, they were pretty much carrying out their agenda. An agenda, by the way, which pretty much screwed the poor and middle class in this country. Maybe that's why many of the folks on the red side of this battle are so afraid of his O ness. They don't believe he will reach across to them. They think that his change mantra might really mean change, and that they will be left out in the cold. The irony is, those people I mentioned didn't help these red state folks either. But they were slick enough to wrap their message in a package that they [the red state folks] would buy. Us against them. We are protecting your interest, not theirs . Our values are different from theirs. They want abortion on demand, they want to let the criminals run free, they want a welfare state....you get the picture. And it worked. It always has, and it always will.

That is why this election is so fascinating. How many of these sheep are going to be willing to break away from the shackles of identity politics? How many of them will think about their own pocket books first, and not follow the ideological dogma of their leaders? I am guessing not a whole lot. Fortunately for the folks on the other side, this country is about 45% to 45% when it comes to party registration and hardened political affiliations. And the 10% of the folks in the middle who actually think about both the options presented, will be the ones to decide this election.

"The employees, shareholders and board of directors of Cooper Firearms of Montana do not share the personal political views of Dan Cooper. Although we all believe everyone has a right to vote and donate as they see fit, it has become apparent that the fallout may affect more than just Mr. Cooper. It may also affect the employees and the shareholders of Cooper Firearms. The board of directors has asked Mr. Cooper to resign as President."

Poor Dan Cooper belonged to that middle, and now he has cast his lot with the O man. But he is starting to learn what I always knew growing up as a kid on the rock: Politics can be a nasty business.