Dear John: No apology is needed.

Before I post tonight, here is hoping that Slick Willie is OK. My man has had some heart issues and apparently it's acting up again. Love him or hate him, the guy is the consummate politician. I met him once a few years back and he made me feel like I was the only one in the room. I bet if I met him again he would remember my name. That's how good the guy is. So get well soon, Willie.

Now to my post: I honestly wasn't going to blog about John Mayer, in spite of all the people e-mailing me and asking me about my opinion about what he said. I have said this before, and it's worth repeating: I am actually happy when famous people (or anyone else) make their true feelings about race, religion, or whatever, known. Don't hide behind the mask of political correctness. Don't be a hypocrite. We need to know how you feel and that you are out there.

It's why when ignorant ass trolls come to this site and drop the "N" word like it's going out of style I let them. Because as ugly as it might seem to you, it's important that you understand what kind of country you live in, and how your neighbors (famous or not) really feel about you.

So that's where I stand on Mr. Mayer. And I wasn't going to blog about him until I heard the latest:

"The same day he apologized for using the N-word and blabbing about his sexcapades with Jessica Simpson in Playboy, John Mayer broke down on stage.
While performing his tune "Gravity" Wednesday at Nashville's Sommet Center, Mayer, 32, stopped playing and apologized to his bandmates.

"In the quest to be clever," he began, "I completely forgot about the people that I love and that love me.".." [story]

Oh stop it! What is with famous people when they are caught dropping the "N" word or some other insensitive s#*t going on the apology tour? Watch, he is going to call Rev. Inc. next and they will absolve him of his racial sins. Trust me, once Rev. Inc. says that you are not a racist, you can assimilate back into the PC version of A-merry-can society. Now that's a gig I would love to have.

Hey Field Negro, it's me, Don Imus. Look, I think I might have f*&^#d up and called some black females some not too PC things. Anyway, can you help me? Sure Don, but depending on what you said this one is going to cost you. I called them "nappy headed hoes" on the air. Oh oh, Don, you better get your check book out....I know Don Imus, I know what's in his heart, he is not a racist. Thank you Field, your check is in the mail. What a country. But I digress.

So all of a sudden Mayer sees the folly of his ways, and poof, just like that, he is not a racist anymore.

Give me a break! The guy is disgusting on a couple of levels. And being a racist is just one of them. Fist, he kisses and tells,which makes him a zero in my book. And second, he is an opportunistic liar. All bad things. Mayer later says, in his public mea culpa, that he is going to "get it together". Translated: I am going to try to keep my big mouth shut about my true feelings in the future.

And that's where I stand on Mr. Mayer. Hopefully I won't have to blog about him ever again.

Newt's truth problem, and Hip Hop Mike's race card.

No work today. I am getting cabin fever thanks to all this damn snow outside. Thank goodness for blogging and my republican friends for the entertainment they bring me during these long dreary days of winter.

Where do I start? I think I will start with my man Newt. You remember Newt, don't you folks? He is the guy who asked his dying wife for a divorce after cheating on her, and then publicly rebuked Slick Willie for getting his whistle wet in the people's house. Newt has a way of losing touch with reality, and, like most republcians, he tends to play fast and loose with the truth. In the republican world "truthiness" (I think that's Colbert's word) is just not in vogue.

Consider the following:

"Tuesday night on the Daily Show, Jon Stewart called out Newt Gingrich for Gingrich's claim that the current Administration was 'radical'. At one point, Gingrich pointed to the Administration's 'mirandizing' of the Christmas Underwear Bomber as an example of the Administration's 'radical' actions.

Stewart took exception, asking Gingrich what the difference was between the current Administration treating the underwear bomber as a criminal and the Bush Administration treating Richard Reid as a criminal. Gingrich answered: " Richard Reid was an American Citizen." http://www.thedailyshow.com/ *click on the 5th video on the right side of the viewing window; 3:06 mark*

Except, as Stewart later pointed out, that's simply not true.
Richard Reid was a British citizen.
"Reid, 29, a British citizen and convert to Islam, was arrested for allegedly trying to light a fuse to set off explosives concealed in his sneakers while on American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami on December 22."
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/10/04/reid.guilty.plea/
This information of course completely nullifies Gingrich's point.

As Stewart said to Gingrich later in the interview in regard to one of Gingrich's opinions, "don't let reality get in the way". [story]

And his O ness wants to meet these people in the middle? Maybe he should reconsider.

And then, of course, there is the leader of this republican tribe. My man Hip Hop Mike himself. Seems old Mike is not so pleased with some of his fellow republicans and now he too is playing the race card. (I thought black conservatives weren't supposed to play the race card? Isn't that for us progressive "racism chasers" who use racism as an excuse for our failures?) Oh well, I wonder if when a conservative black who likes to preach that racism is so yesterday in A-merry-ca cries race it has as much weight?

"RNC Chairman and designated GOP sparkplug Michael Steele finds himself the center of attention once again this week -- this time for an interview published in February's issue of Washingtonian magazine in which he charges his critics with racism.
Near the end of the story, called "Up In The Air" by Paul West, Steele implies that he and the RNC face more scrutiny because he is black:

Steele acknowledges that at times he has a tendency to take things too far. "And I get checked on that, just as when I was a young boy and I pushed the envelope too far and my Mama was there to check me."

But there's an edge to his voice when he talks about a double standard that he believes has been applied by his critics, and he posits racism as the cause: "I don't see stories about the internal operations of the DNC that I see about this operation. Why? Is it because Michael Steele is the chairman, or is it because a black man is chairman?"' [story]

Sorry Mike, you can't cry racism now. If some of the folks in your party do happen to be just a little racist I think you might have to suck it up. You don't get a do-over. That's why they put you there, to show the rest of us that they aren't racist. At this point you have to just play along.

"This is, of course, the same Michael Steele who had previously vowed not to play the race card. The GOP chairman said last October he didn't take part in race politics in an interview with Univision, during which he declined to condemn Glenn Beck's assertion that Obama is a "racist."'

Yeah, but that was last October. In post-racial A-merry-ca time that was soooo long ago.

Michelle,do you have a racism chasing license?

Oh my, it looks like dueling race cards being played between the folks on the left and folks on the right. Talk about irony; my neuron challenged, brown skinned friend, Michelle Malkin, has some issues with the folks over at MSNBC and their use of the race card against her fellow right wing travelers:

"The indelible whiteness of MSNBC
By Michelle Malkin •

MSNBC host Chris Matthews, MSNBC reporter Norah O’Donnell, and MSNBC guest Joan Walsh shamelessly played the race card against Sarah Palin and her book-buying audience last week.

In Michigan, O’Donnell smugly noted that Palin’s fans were “largely white — almost no minorities in this crowd.” Matthews parroted the line, assailing the “white crowd.” Walsh likened the gathering to a “paranoid tea party.” Matthews hammered away at the “monochromatic” scene.

Ahem. Check out the masthead of MSNBC TV, “The Place for Politics.” Wear sunglasses and SPF 30 lotion. You’ll need protection from the blinding white glare: [What follows are pics of some very white MSNBC hosts]


MSNBC’s p.c. pontificators have some nerve clucking about lack of racial diversity.
After the Don Imus debacle, NBC hired a “diversity leader.” By the left-wingers’ own tallying in 2007, guess which network boasted the whitest programming on cable TV during a randomly selected period? Hint: Starts with “M” and ends with “SNBC.”


Palin-bashing racial bean-counters in monochromatic houses shouldn’t throw stones."



And she even has a race chart. (19% of Hannity's guests were African American. That's a very misleading stat. Most of these people have been completely disowned by the black race.)

Wow! Take that MSNBC. The wingnuts are accusing you of being lily white and racially insensitive. But come on Michelle, do you think it's easy to find articulate Negroes to go on television? Besides, where are your Negroes hiding?

This is bad. What's a racism chasing field Negro to do? Is nothing sacred in A-merry-ca anymore? I guess that when you are in a "post- racial" A-merry-ca everybody can chase race.

Damn you Obama!

"Run Sarah Run".

"When I feel cold, you warm me And when I feel I can't go on, you come and hold me It's you... And me forever Sara Smile.."

OK, the Hall & Oates ode to my girl Sarah is a bit much. But I swear that I don't ever want her to leave the national stage. She is the gift that keeps giving to us bloggers.

"She is back… pugnacious Republican Sarah Palin has made an appearance at the national convention of the “Tea Party” movement; which takes its name from the historic protest against British taxation, the Boston Tea party.

The former governor of Alaska and John McCain

John McCain’s 2008 election running mate took careful aim at President Obama.

“America is ready for another revolution and you are at the heart of this,” she told the adoring audience. “This is about the people and it’s bigger than any King or Queen of a tea party and it is a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter,” she said to laughter and applause."

So let me get this straight; just hours after ripping his O ness a new one for using a teleprompter to give his speeches (BTW, the fake cowboy from California used a pretty mean teleprompter as well) girlfriend resorts to something we all used to do in grade school (at least I did) she had an au natural cheat sheet going on in her hand. Yep, girlfriend, instead of a very public teleprompter, opted for her very private palm......(Sorry, I was thinking about something else there for a minute.) So anywhooo, Ms. Thing felt the need to take a peek at her palm a few times after taking questions from a very friendly audience. Apparently she had some things written down in there that kept slipping her mind: “energy” “tax cuts” (with “budget” in front of cuts crossed out) and “lift American spirits.” Nice. This adds new meaning to the term palm reader.

Oh field stop it, it wasn't like she wrote an entire speech in her palm. What's wrong with taking a quick look every now and then to get her thoughts together? Well, it wasn't such a quick look, and the questions were screened in advance. Oh field, you are so picky. You just don't like Sarah because she is a conservative. No, what I don't like are hypocrites, regardless of their political stripes. Sarah just happens to be at the head of the hypocrite class in A-merry-ca right now.

Still, here is hoping that she sticks around. And as long as there are suckers willing to pay her $100,000.00 to hear the piffle flowing from her mouth, I am guessing that Sarah will be smiling out of that glass house at us for years to come.

SAINTS WIN!

I am watching the Super Bowl halftime show and trying my best to explain to Mrs. Field just who The Who is. (Try saying that five times really fast.) Needless to say, she is disappointed. "Couldn't they have come up with a better band?" she is asking me, as if I run the NFL.

Anywhoo, other than a few dropped passes, it's been a well played game so far, and I have enjoyed it.

The commercials, on the other hand, not so much. I mean it's only the first half, but the CBS promos and that Snickers commercial have been the clear winners. Memo to the folks over at Doritos: Not cool playing into the Bebe's Kids stereotype. What else? Oh, and Latifah did alright with A-merry-ca the beautiful. The woman that sang the National anthem, I am not familiar with. Mrs. Field is into country and western and she says that she is a popular country and western singer. I guess she was OK, but after Whitney did her thing a few years back, the bar has been set higher than most folks can ever hope to reach.

Alright, let me get back to the game. I will finish this post later.

OH MY! WHO DAT NATION HAS WON A SUPER BOWL! Mrs. Field is ecstatic. Good for them. That city and the people down there have been through so much, they deserve this. Folks, the Quarter will be rocking tonight.

This just goes to show you that anything is possible in A-merry-ca. A black man is president and the Saints won a Super Bowl. What's next, the Clippers win an NBA title? OK, that's a stretch. But tonight you have to believe that everything is possible.

Finally, is it me or does it seem like the commercials are getting more lame every year? As usual I liked the E-Trade spots, and the Volkswagen spot with Tracy Morgan and Stevie was alright. But other than that....they need to start firing some ad. executives on Madison Avenue.

Oh well, I am off to bed now. What, you thought I was rooting for the Saints because of Drew Brees? ;)

Are we guarding the Constitution against all enemies?

*

There is 24 inches of snow outside my house. Hey, I love living on the east coast and enjoying the four seasons, but one more winter like this and I could be taking my black ass back to Jamaica, mon.

So tonight I am thinking about threats to our homeland. And not just the ones coming from Middle Eastern men with funny names, or the street pirates who like to terrorize urban A-merry-ca while seeking a quick buck. Nope, tonight I am focusing on those domestic terrorist. The ones who want to take down our republic from within. The ones who have their own ideas about what the republic should look like and who should be controlling it. I want to bring attention to them by focusing on one gentleman (and I use that term very loosely) in particular. His name is Charles Alan Dyer, and heaven help us all if he is the poster child for the Teabag movement.

Hey, I know that my black conservative friends say that I have more to fear from the "street pirates" than I do from the Glenn Becks and teabaggers of the world, but I don't think so. The street pirates would have no shot against the forces of our government and proper law enforcement techniques, the domestic terrorist of right wing A-merry-ca, on the other hand, could become the new government. In fact, if folks like Dyer and some of the things that have been happening is any indication, they are infiltrating our military as I type this post. So yeah, I would say that they should cause all of us to be concerned.

" CINCINNATI) - Former Marine Sgt. Charles Alan Dyer, continually featured on patriotic videos supporting the Teabagger and Oathkeepers movements is currently jailed for sodomy with a 7-year old. Dyer, “bigger than life” enemy of “socialist” President Obama and major supporter of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the GOP, the darling of YouTube videos featuring weapons demonstrations and endless violent threats is now trying to raise $50,000 dollars for his bond. It is reported that Dyer faces federal charges for possession of a 40mm grenade launcher and state charges for sexual abuse of a minor.

He will be transferred to the Stephens County Oklahoma jail pending arraignment as soon as federal authorities turn him over.

One of the most massive internet cleansings in history is going on as Oathkeeper, Militia and Teabagger websites are searching for the hundreds of entries “July4Patriot” had made. Dyer’s following among domestic “resistance” and “militia” movements may number in the tens of thousands.

Dyer in action during a July 4th "Tea Party" in Oklahoma
It has been confirmed from multiple sources that death threats have been made against any news agency that reports Dyer’s arrest."

Well, since I am not a "news agency" I think I am cool.- Although death threat from Mr. Dyer and his ilk would be nothing new.- So I can go ahead and tell you about Mr. Dyer's arrest.

My friends over at Jack & Jill have been all over this as well. (Although I think that they are more serious about this news thing than I am, so they better watch themselves.)

"He was taken into custody Tuesday by his former employer, the Stephen’s County Sheriff’s Dept, after being charged with committing forcible sodomy on a child in early January. A search of his home uncovered a weapons stockpile and a tip led authorities to search a storage unit rented by Dyer.

A specially trained canine alerted on the presence of explosives in the storage unit, but none were found. It is speculated, however, that Dyer had stored explosives there in the past. Special Agent Brett Williams of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) filed a weapons complaint against Dyer in the U.S. District Court of Western Oklahoma. Dyer was charged with first degree rape and two counts of forcible sodomy in Stephens County. Now in federal custody, Dyer is claiming the stolen grenade launcher was given to him by a friend in California.

Currently Dyer is only accused and stands convicted of no crime.
Dyer, sometimes identified as “Captain Dyer” is also said to have met with militia types in an attempt to buy fertilizer in quantities sufficient to become a major force in domestic agriculture. This same fertilizer was used by Timothy McVeigh to destroy the Oklahoma City Federal Building.

These are also only allegations."

Of course, yes, just "allegations......"

*Pic courtesy of Salem News.com

What happened to "Barry" Mr. President?

I won't be watching the Winter Olympics this year, because unfortunately the Jamaican bobsledding team was eliminated from that competition.

Anywhoo, tonight I want to talk about names. Yes names. It seems that the voice of the wingnuts, Glenn Beck, is at it again. This time he is making a federal case of the president's name. Apparently Mr. Beck really has issues with the name Obama, especially when my man had such a nice Christian name like Barry and ditched it. See folks, it's like this: If you are a true A-merry-can (especially one who was called to lead the rest of us) you just can't go ditching your A.-merry-can name for something so un-A-merry-can. I think they call that "nativism". But Beck and his friends are good at that. (And they call me the racism chaser.)

John Knefel over at True Slant sums things up pretty well:

"Respected race theorist Glenn Beck has made the world a better place, as he is want to do, by — wait for it — stoking White, nativist fears about our crazy black man president and his crazy black man president name. Beck, to his credit, has found what works — stoking White, nativist fear — and he has stuck with it. No point in reinventing the wheel, or, in Beck’s case, the Hood. Welcome to Barack-gate 2010!

The earnest folks over at Media Matters noted yesterday that on Beck’s ham radio program, Let’s Get Racial!, the tolerant host voiced his displeasure with this “Barack” (!?) Obama character, specifically this “Barack” (WTF!?) part of his name:

[Barack Obama] chose to use his name Barack for a reason — to identify, not with America — you don’t take the name Barack to identify with America. You take the name Barack to identify with what? Your heritage?" The heritage, maybe, of your father in Kenya, who is a radical? Is — really?"

Hmmm, "race theorist". Is that what what they are calling guys like Beck these days?

Anyway, we always knew that some folks in A-merry-ca were uncomfortable with the president's name. Mr. Beck is just now confirming it for us. And he thinks he really got his O ness with an Aha moment by uncovering what Knefel is calling "Barack-gate 2010".

"Beck has already devoted time on his show to focusing on the super-important-Arabian fact that Obama’s middle name is Hussein, but apparently the fascination with the president’s name hasn’t quite worn out yet. So, okay, let’s pick this xenophobic rant apart.

'[Barack Obama] chose to use his name Barack for a reason — to identify, not with America–'

I’m going to stop you right there. Beck bravely posits here is that there is some set of things called “American,” and that the name Barack, a resoundingly African-sounding name, is not a member of that set. This catalogue of ”American Things” is, presumably, set in stone. WOP-y names such as Giuliani and filthy-mick names such as O’Brien have always been as American as apple pie, whereas weird names like “Barack” will never be.

'You take the name Barack to identify with what? Your heritage? The heritage, maybe, of your father in Kenya, who is a radical?'"

Well let's just go ahead and give Mr. Beck the Peabody Award for excellence in journalism right now. What an idiot.

Having said all of that, I know what I don't want to see; civil rights groups crying a river because Beck is on the radio saying what his listeners want to hear. Please get over it. The Glenn Becks of the world aren't going anywhere, so focus on mobilizing people to vote and to become more involved with the political process. Let them know that the best way to get back at Glenn Beck and other xenophobes like him is to put more people with funny sounding names or who look different than he does into office.

Babies going once, going twice...SOLD! (To the nice A-merry-can with the two car garage.)

This story coming out of Haiti these past few days is troubling. And it has nothing to do with the earthquake. At least not directly. The story I am talking about is the one about the A-merry-cans from potato country being accused of human trafficking.

It's troubling because I initially felt that if these people were really trying to help these poor children and got caught up in something that they had no control over, it would be unfair to them. No one thinks it's cool to punish good people for a mistake.

This is how I started out feeling. But then I started reading more about the story and I learned the following:

" PORT-AU-PRINCE - The leader of a group of American missionaries charged Thursday with kidnapping for trying to take 33 children out of earthquake-ravaged Haiti faces legal troubles in her home state of Idaho as well.

Laura Silsby, 40, is the subject of several lawsuits accusing her and her Boise-based company, PersonalShopper.com, of failing to pay her employees. She also has a history of failing to pay debts, and the $358,000 house at which she founded her nonprofit religious group, New Life Children's Refuge, was foreclosed upon in December, according to a report in her hometown newspaper, the Idaho Statesman.

The Boise newspaper said Silsby has been named in at least eight civil lawsuits and 14 unpaid wage claims. "

That's Ms. Silsby looking like she is in a line dance with the Haitian policeman. Now I am thinking that the Haitian authorities might have had their ducks in a row after all. Apparently this is a real problem (child trafficking) and it has the Haitian authorities and world relief agencies concerned. An earthquake and subsequent total devastation of a country should not be an excuse to break its laws. Just as the looting of property and lawlessness should not be tolerated, neither should the looting of the countries most precious resource; its children. If Ms. Silsby and company were trying to pull a fast one, shame on them. Trying to profit from tragedy is never cool.

"On Thursday, she and nine other Americans appeared in a Haitian court, following their arrest on Jan. 29 for allegedly trying to cross into the Dominican Republic with a busload of Haitian children they said were orphaned by the quake. A prosecutor forwarded their case to a judge to determine their fate.

Silsby said at the hearing: "We simply wanted to help the children. We petition the court not only for our freedom but also for our ability to continue to help."'

Ms. Silsby, I sure hope you weren't trying to help the children by selling them to the highest bidder. [Story] Let's see now, $10,000 per kid, and there were 33 of them, that's not a bad pay day. I wonder if they would have donated the money to any of the Haitian relief funds?

They hate their government,but they love A-merry-ca.

*


“Politics is a pendulum whose swings between anarchy and tyranny are fueled by perpetually rejuvenated illusions.”
~Albert Einstein~

If you are looking for me Friday don't look in Philly. I will be down in Dallas for the first ever Tea Party convention.....OK, I think you all know that's a lie. But the teabaggers will be gathering in Dallas (down conspiracy theorist) Friday to vent about big government and the beige King in Washington. It looks like the Tea Baggers are finally trying to organize into a cohesive political unit, but as is the case with all new groups; they seem to be having some growing pains.


"Organization for the convention in Nashville has been plagued by in-fighting, pullouts and criticism of an attendance cost of more than $500 and a glitzy dinner that evokes Wall Street rather than Main Street.

It also brings together activists who make for an awkward fit, mirroring wider divisions in a movement which seems united in little but its opposition to big government, especially under Obama's Democrats.

Conservatives ascribe the movement to grass-roots frustration with the big spending ways of both Democrats and Republicans. Liberals counter that it is a Republican Party or corporate front.

"Some have tried to portray this movement as a commercial endeavor rather than the grassroots uprising that it is. Those who do so don't understand the frustration everyday Americans feel when they see their government mortgaging their children's future with reckless spending," Palin wrote in an opinion published on Wednesday in USA Today.
Palin said she will donate her fee as keynote speaker at the convention to the cause and its candidates."

Hey, I am all for "grass-roots," but a populist grass-roots movement in a democracy which seeks to "throw the bums out" confuses me. I mean didn't we just elect the people in power by a majority vote from the general population? And hasn't it only been a year since the beige King has been in office? I can't believe that the "natives" are getting restless already. I mean honestly, the guy has been governing from the extreme center and the tea baggers are outraged. What if he had been governing like he should have? I guess we would have already had a full blown revolt on our hands.

Actually, when you consider that 58% republicans don't believe that O was born in A-merry-ca, 24% believe that O wants the terrorist to win, 31%-who worship at the church of Glen Beck- believe that O is a racist , and over 30% of them want him impeached, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that a revolt could be just around the corner.

"It takes its name from the historic protest against British taxation, the Boston Tea Party, one of the triggers of the American revolution against colonial rule."

I know that O has been staring down his political opponents lately, but he had better stay out of Dallas. These new revolutionaries scare me.

*Pic from the AP.

The R Word: No, not that one.

Let me say right off the bat that I do not have a lot of expertise in the area of the learning disabled. I do not work in the field professionally, and I do not have a social connection to anyone who is developmentally impaired. (Well, I take that back. I have a few friends who happen to be attorneys and you could make a pretty good argument....never mind.) But I do know that the word retarded is offensive, and it should not be used by people who should know better.

So I was surprised to learn that O's right hand man, Rahm Emanuel, used the word when referring to some left wing groups last summer. Seems my man was pretty ticked off that they were going to fund some ads against some blue dogs, and old Rahm let it fly.

"Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Emanuel, exasperated upon learning that liberal special-interest groups were planning to run ads against conservative Democrats not supportive of health care reform, blasted the plan as "f------ retarded" over the summer.."

Shame on you Rahm, be more careful with your language next time. And apologize to all the folks who are involved with the learning disabled here in A-merry-ca, be it professionally or personally.

Now, having said that, I have to get with our girl Sarah again. Apparently she sees a political opportunity here, and she isn't wasting anytime before taking advantage of it.

"Naturally, some outrage ensued after Emanuel's words came to light, with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin taking to her Facebook page to call on President Obama to fire him for what she saw as the equivalent of a racial slur.Palin, whose son Trig is afflicted with Down syndrome, said she was informed of Emanuel's comment by a fellow parent of a special-needs child and pleaded with the president to "show decency" to the political process by "eliminating" the Chicago native from his inner circle.In a post titled "Are You Capable of Decency, Rahm Emanuel?," Palin wrote, "Just as we’d be appalled if any public figure of Rahm’s stature ever used the 'N-word' or other such inappropriate language, Rahm’s slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities — and the people who love them — is unacceptable," adding, "it's heartbreaking."

Sarah, stop it! You wouldn't be outraged if Rahm used the N word anymore than you were when Trent Lott longed for the days of segregation. I swear you wingnuts can use the race card when you think it benefits you. The R word as used by Emanuel was a bad word. The N word as used by___[fill in the blank], is wrong. But please, let us not compare them when you want to score cheap political points. We all know that if this had been a republican president and his chief of staff had said these things, you would have been silent. Trig would have not had mommy standing by him. Besides, it looks like Rahm reached out to some folks.

"A Politico story today reports that an administration official informed them that Emanuel had already reached out to Special Olympics chairman and CEO Tim Shriver, who recently launched a campaign to end the use of "the R word.""Rahm called Tim Shriver Wednesday to apologize and the apology was accepted," the unnamed official said."

Story over? Sarah, if Trig had a say, I am guessing that he would say, yes. [Story]

Is it my man Racism? Or is it just a decoy?

*

I was going to blog about Obama's 3.8 trillion dollar budget tonight, and about the republicans chirping about our children's future. (Like they really care.) But then I got an e-mail from a regular reader who wanted to know what I thought about a little problem that they are having up at one of our suburban high schools. (His alma mater no less)

Oh boy, how do I present this one? Alright folks, it's like this: It seems that some of the black parents of the high school basketball team are pissed because their kids aren't getting enough playing time. As a result, they are threatening a lawsuit.

I don't know; my racism meter isn't going up with this one. Why would a coach jeopardise his chances of winning by not playing his best players? So he thinks the best players happen to be white. Hello black people! You aren't the only ones who can play basketball. Have you ever heard of a fellow named Larry Bird? I am sorry, I smell an overly protective parent with this one. Of course I don't live in the area, so I am not familiar with the every day racial dynamic up there. But man this seems like a stretch.

Story by Mike Cabrey and Christiaan DeFranco

"FRANCONIA — A group of North Penn parents, angry over their kids' lack of playing time on the boys basketball team, will seek action from the school board as early as Monday and will file an anti-discrimination lawsuit if the board doesn't meet its demands.The group, led by Eric Stephens, wants North Penn coach Ron Hassler to both start and give significant minutes to five black players — Sheldon Stephens, Blair Alston, Thomas Scott, Dexter Shy and Janeus Somers — for every game the rest of the season.Otherwise, the group will name Hassler, the North Penn School District, principal Burton Hynes, athletic director Don Ryan and possibly others in a lawsuit alleging racism."Why not name everybody? ... They're all complicit," Eric Stephens said Friday night after North Penn's 53-36 loss at Souderton. "The black players have not been given anything approaching a fair opportunity to play this season.

All we want is fairness."Somers' family is not on board with the other parents and would not be involved in a suit."I've been coaching 26 years and, believe me, I put the best players out on the floor," Hassler said. "It has nothing to do with race."I love every player on this team, they're all great kids," Hassler said. "There isn't one kid I wouldn't take home to spend a weekend with my family. ... I feel really bad because there are kids being put in a situation they shouldn't have to handle and make decisions about."Hassler, whose brother Robert is the district superintendant until he retires Feb. 15, added that on North Penn's JV squad, for which he also determines who starts and who doesn't, six black players get the majority of the on-court minutes over four white players.

On Thursday, the Stephens-led group already made its demands for the varsity squad known in a meeting that involved principal Hynes, Ryan and the players in question. They had a similar meeting with assistant superintendent Curtis Deitrich. If those playing-time demands weren't met in the Souderton game Friday, four of the players (all except Somers) were planning to walk off the court in protest.Stephens even contacted NBC 10 News, which sent a reporter and film crew to the game. But the plan was scrapped after Hassler caught wind of it and told his players that anyone who walked off would be dismissed from the team." [More here]

Hmmm, not exactly the Greensboro Four are they. I don't know, if I were the parents of these kids I would be telling them to keep hitting their books and not the backboards. I am guessing that they will have a much better chance at an academic scholarship than an athletic one. But that's just me.

Sometimes my man racism likes to f%*k with me. He dresses someone else up to look like him and sits back in the cut to see what I will do. He wants to see if I will take the bait and chase his look-alike. Sorry "R", I have been chasing you long enough to know when it's really you. I am not going to chase your decoy. I am getting too old for that. I have to pick my chases wisely.

Thanks for the story Walter.

*Pic from the North Penn Reporter.