Robeson's Voice

VIDEO: The GOP’s Racial Politics

2012-01-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

VIDEO: The GOP’s Racial Politics: pOur guest blogger is former Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA), president of Center for American Progress Action Fund. From the subtle to the sickening, this Republican primary season has seen a normalizing of racist and racially-coded language. It was not so long ago that the chairman of the Republican National Committee apologized for his party’s history [...]/p

North Carolina GOP Lawmaker Calls For Bringing Back Public Hangings, Starting With Abortion Providers

2012-01-28T14:43:00.000-08:00

North Carolina GOP Lawmaker Calls For Bringing Back Public Hangings, Starting With Abortion Providers: pThe last legal public hanging in America took place in 1936 in Owensboro, Kentucky. The “event” attracted 20,000 people and turned into such a sickening spectacle that many credit it with ending the practice in the U.S. But one North Carolina Republican believes that as a country we’ve grown soft since banning public hangings and [...]/p

Michelle Obama tired of being portrayed as an ‘angry black woman’ | The Raw Story

2012-01-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

Michelle Obama tired of being portrayed as an ‘angry black woman’ | The Raw Story

Santorum tells Iowans: ‘I don’t want to make black people’s lives better

2012-01-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

By Stephen C. WebsterMonday, January 2, 2012

Speaking to Republicans in Iowa on Monday, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) said his administration would reform welfare to the point that it would offer no welfare at all.
After suggesting that an expansion of Medicare is really just a plot to make voters more “dependent” on Washington, Santorum added: ”I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them other people’s money.”
“I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn their money and provide for themselves and their families,” he added. “The best way to do that is to get the manufacturing sector of the economy rolling.”
One thing he likely overlooked: white Americans account for the largest percentage of welfare payments each month, mostly because they make up the largest sector of the population.
Welfare is defined by the government as benefits funded by tax dollars, meaning that programs like Social Security, food stamps, veterans benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment and corporate bailouts all fall under that term.
What Santorum seemed to focus on, as many conservatives do, is that black people are disproportionately represented in welfare statistics, along with Latinos, as both populations have much higher rates of poverty than whites.
According to the University of Michigan’s National Poverty Center, 27.4 percent of blacks and 26.6 percent of Hispanics were living in poverty in 2010, compared to 9.9 percent of whites. Unemployment statistics between the racial demographics are similarly skewed.
Despite the factually flawed nature of Santorum’s pitch on Monday, the underlying logic of his pitch is abundantly clear: census data shows that over 91 percent of Iowans are white, a community Santorum must desperately appeal to if he wants a win in Tuesday’s caucuses.

Ohio Landlord Refuses To Apologize For Posting ‘Whites Only’ Pool Sign Because It’s ‘Historical’

2011-12-18T00:49:00.000-08:00

By Marie Diamond

In September the Ohio Civil Rights Commission ruled that a white landlord, Jamie Hein, had violated the state’s Civil Rights Act by posting a sign by the pool of her duplex that read “Public Swimming Pool, White Only.”
A black tenant filed a discrimination complaint with the commission after Hein accused his teenage daughter of using chemicals in her hair that made the water “cloudy.” Days later, she posted the sign on the gate to the pool.
Hein has so far been unapologetic, and is asking the commission to reconsider their ruling. “If I have to stick up for my white rights, I have to stick up for my white rights,” she said. She recently defended her actions to ABC News, giving the curious excuse that the sign was merely “historical”:
An Ohio landlord accused of discriminating against an African-American girl with a “white only” sign at her swimming pool told ABCNews.com that the sign was an antique and a decoration.
“I’m not a bad person,” said Jamie Hein of Cincinnati. “I don’t have any problem with race at all. It’s a historical sign.”
The sign in question reads, “Public Swimming Pool, White Only.” It is dated 1931 and from Alabama.
Hein, 31, was unapologetic about the racist origins of the sign that she displayed at the entrance to her pool. She said she collects antiques and was given the sign as a gift. She also said that even though the sign seems to indicate that the pool is public, the pool is on her private property and “everybody has to ask before getting in my pool.”
Landlords and business owners are subject to the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and Fair Housing Act, which prohibits them from discriminating against customers and tenants on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, handicap, familial status or national origin.

2011-12-16T00:55:00.000-08:00

The Tim Tebow Issue Is Complicated ... Favoritism, Football, Race, Religion

by Sandy Gholston

Tim Tebow, of the Denver Broncos, is generally either loved or hated by people who are loyal followers of the National Football League. First and foremost, Tim Tebow is not hated because he is a Christian. That assertion is the biggest bunch of garbage that I have maybe ever heard come out of the media. Turn on pro and college football, watch it for any number of hours, and you're bound to see numerous players (of all races) kneeling in prayer, thanking God and otherwise expressing their faith. It is absolute garbage to say or imply that Tebow is the victim of some anti-religious media bias. Now, as we know, that doesn't stop the right-wing nuts at Fox News from advancing such an absurdity. A panel of the disgraceful and disgracefully-biased Fox News Watch program tried to turn it into a Christian-Muslim issue on a couple of occasions. Again, this is absolutely absurd. In this clip, the right-wing panelists, either through their ignorance of bias, never talked about the many prayer huddles that happen before and after games, prayers that other players have after touchdowns or how players thank God in post-game interviews.They could not do that ... you see, it doesn't go with their agenda to portray Tebow as a victim of religious or Christian bias. Twice in that clip they invoked Muslims and even evoked the black Muslims led by Elijah Muhammad, who was followed by boxing great Muhammad Ali. This was not an accident. It was a subtle injection of race.
Tebow is criticized or disliked for the following reasons:

1. People do not like having stars shoved down their throat before they feel like an individual has truly earned that praise.

2. Defenders of Tebow irrationally shove his modest early success down the throat of people who are either neutral or critical.

3. He is winning with a style that is unorthodox and some people think is unsustainable.

4. He is getting all (or the vast majority) of the credit for the Broncos' success in spite of a strong running game behind Tebow and a strong defense.

5. He is getting praised where black quarterbacks (Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick as examples), historically, have been criticized. For example, University of Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson is "winning" but is roundly criticized while Tebow is "winning" and gets national praised heaped on him. This has caused resentment.

6. Some people tend to want their sports free of religion.
Tebow is having success and I hope it continues for him. I just don't think his style is sustainable, but we will see. History will be the ultimate judge of Tim Tebow.

2011-11-11T00:37:00.001-08:00

Herman Cain’s Campaign Promises with Mike Tyson from Mike Tyson

Herman Cain, Koch Brothers' 'Brother From Another Mother,' Defends Ties To Conservative Group (VIDEO)

2011-11-06T01:44:00.000-07:00

GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain spoke at an Americans for Prosperity event Friday, and proudly claimed to be the "Koch brothers' brother from another mother."

"I'm proud to know the Koch brothers. I'm very proud to know the Koch brothers. They make it sound like that we have had time to go fishing together, hunting together, skiing together, golfing together," Cain told the audience. "Just so I can clarify this to the media, this may be a new announcement for the media: I am the Koch brothers' brother from another mother. Yes. I am their brother from another mother, and proud of it. You see, the reason that I am running for president, folks, is because I want to unite the United States of America, not divide the United States of America."

Billionaire oil magnates Charles and David Koch are the founding benefactors of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group that admitted having controversial financial ties to the Cain campaign earlier in the week.

The Associated Press reported last month that the Cain campaign's deep connection -- or brotherhood, as Cain appears to contend -- to the Koch brothers could undercut the image he has tried to foster as a Washington outsider and businessman who is not part of the politics machine that is so often disparaged by the conservative base.

From AP:

Cain's campaign manager and a number of aides have worked for Americans for Prosperity, or AFP, the advocacy group founded with support from billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, which lobbies for lower taxes and less government regulation and spending. Cain credits a businessman who served on an AFP advisory board with helping devise his "9-9-9" plan to rewrite the nation's tax code. And his years of speaking at AFP events have given the businessman and radio host a network of loyal grassroots fans.
Cain delivered his address as reports continue to flow concerning allegations of sexual harassment brought against him during his time as head of the National Restaurant Association. Three anonymous women have claimed that Cain engaged in inappropriate behavior while he served as their superior. Two of them reportedly received generous settlements in the wake of the allegations. He has denied the allegations.

Tea Party Group Urges Small Businesses ‘Not To Hire A Single Person’ To Hurt Obama

2011-10-21T03:04:00.000-07:00

By Marie Diamond

Congressional Republicans have acted shocked and offended at Democrats’ suggestions that they are intentionally sabotaging the economy to try to win back the White House in 2012. Republicans have refused to pass President Obama’s jobs plan — which experts estimate will create at least 1.9 million jobs — and proposed an alternative plan that Moody’s says “will likely push the economy back into recession.”

Now influential Tea Party leaders are throwing caution to the wind and openly lobbying business owners to stop hiring in order to hurt Obama politically. This week, Right Wing Watch picked up on a message Tea Party Nation sent to their members from conservative activist Melissa Brookstone.

In a rambling letter titled “Call For A Strike of American Small Businesses Against The Movement for Global Socialism,” Brookstone urges businesses “not hire a single person” to protest “this new dictator”:

Resolved that: The current administration and Democrat majority in the Senate, in conjunction with Progressive socialists from all around the country, especially those from Hollywood and the left leaning news media (Indeed, most of the news media.) have worked in unison to advance an anti-business, an anti-free market, and an anti-capitalist (anti-individual rights and property ownership) agenda. [...]

I, an American small business owner, part of the class that produces the vast majority of real, wealth producing jobs in this country, hereby resolve that I will not hire a single person until this war against business and my country is stopped.

Brookstone cites Democrats’ support of the Occupy Wall Street movement as proof that Obama, media elites, and the like are “against business, private property ownership and capitalism.” Although she fails to explain how a freeze on hiring would send a bold pro-business message, given that such a boycott would further damage the economy and exacerbate high national unemployment.

But these Tea Partiers are only too happy to put politics ahead of the well-being of 14 million unemployed Americans, not to mention the businesses who are looking for qualified workers.

Cain: ‘I Have No Idea’ How My 999 Plan Would Work

2011-10-14T02:28:00.000-07:00

By Pat Garofalo

Former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain’s 999 plan — which would scrap the current tax code in favor of a nine percent personal income tax, nine percent corporate income tax, and nine percent sales tax (on everything, including food) — was the undeniable star of the GOP’s primary debate this week, with the number nine warranting 85 mentions during the course of the evening. As we’ve been reporting, the plan would entail a huge tax increase on the poor while slashing taxes on the rich.

Cain, when faced with analyses showing how much his plan would wallop the low-income Americans, dismisses them, calling them “erroneous.” But as it turns out, Cain isn’t particularly well-versed in the nuances of his plan. Asked how his proposed corporate income tax would apply to products built in other countries and designed and sold in the U.S., Cain replied “I have no idea“:

Mr. Cain made it clear Wednesday his plan remained a work in progress. Visiting Concord, N.H., he added several new wrinkles. He would preserve the deduction for charitable donations, making the flat income tax not so flat; he would exempt any used goods, including previously owned homes and cars, from the national sales tax; and he would allow businesses to deduct new equipment purchases from their 9% corporate income tax, as long as the goods were U.S.-made.

Asked how that would apply to a computer designed domestically but containing Malaysian components and assembled in China, he replied, “I have no idea.”

Even the Cain campaign’s own economist said the 999 plan “wouldn’t be the one I picked” to run with. Remember, the plan was crafted by a Koch-affiliated financial adviser from a Wells Fargo branch in Ohio, not an actual economist.

As ABC reported today, a long list of economists “say Cain’s plan would be a tax hike for the lower middle class and a tax windfall for the wealthy.” Conservative economist Bruce Bartlett wrote that, “at a minimum, the Cain plan is a distributional monstrosity.” Cain would surely dispute these assertions, but how seriously can his protests be taken if he freely admits he has “no idea” how the plan would even function?

“No Niggers Please”: Michigan State University Rocks with Racial Controversy

2011-10-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

Michigan State University is on fire after a series of racially-motivated incidents have taken place on the campus. Most recently, a sign that says “No Ni**ers Please” put on the women’s restroom has become the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

“The incident that really jump-started this movement was an incident at Akers Hall where someone wrote ‘No Ni**ers, please’ on a door of a young lady’s room,” said Mario Lemons, the president of the MSU Black Student Alliance (BSA). “The residence life staff told us not to talk about. Of course, someone took a picture of it and sent it to one of us.”

Over 1,000 students gathered in Conrad Hall to discuss racial tension on the campus and how to resolve it.

“We put it on Facebook and Twitter and started a dialog about it,” said Lemons. “From that came more stories of other people going through things on campus.”

There was another story of a black doll being hung with a noose outside the chemistry lab in September.

“There are people overtly saying the n-word,” said Lemons. “People telling other students that they don’t belong here, saying that they only got here because of Affirmative Action. Very unwelcoming things done to black people on campus.”

The students say that Tinisha Sharp was the target of the chemistry lab incident. She also saw a racial slur written on a dry-erase board.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” said Sharp. “It was very surprising to see a message like that. I really thought this type of discrimination had been ceased by this time. But I guess not.”

A statement was soon released by Lou Anna K. Simon via email:

“The University supports free speech including the use of words that are offensive to most in our community,” Simon said. “However, given the nature of these incidents, the MSU police were immediately contacted and the matter has been turned over to them to investigate, not only as a form of vandalism, but also as potential ethnic intimidation. I am personally awaiting the outcome of the police investigation.”

“In my many years at MSU, this rash of incidents at various parts of the campus in such a short timeframe is unmatched, is extraordinarily troubling and creates a legitimate concern that all of us must address.”

2011-09-17T04:18:00.000-07:00

Because Tom Coburn's single-handed block on the Transportation Bill required even fellow Republicans to go on record against him. And he said, "“The beautification mandate is an indefensible threat against public safety that forces states to prioritize bike paths over bridge repair.” And bike paths mean the terrorists win.

2011-09-16T00:10:00.000-07:00

Former NBA Player Says He Slept with Sarah Palin
September 15, 2011

Former NBA Sharpshooter Glen Rice has revealed that he had a one night stand with Sarah Palin. In the new book, The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin, author Joe McGinniss puts forth quite a few interesting facts about Palin’s past. One of those facts is that in 1987, when Rice was a star basketball player at The University of Michigan, he and Palin had a one-night stand.

McGinniss says that the special rendezvous occurred in 1987 when Rice played in a basketball tournament in Alaska. Palin was a reporter for a local television station at the time. Most interesting was that the author was able to confirm the incident with Rice himself. At least with this revelation coming to the fore, we can no longer say that Palin doesn’t have love for black people.

Racist or Not? Arizona State University Students Wear Black Face to Football Game

2011-09-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World.
September 10, 2011

Arizona, a state that is regularly accused of having a serious issue with people of color, received another stain to its reputation. This week, four white female students at Arizona State University showed up to a football gamewearing black face. The school asked students to wear all-black attire to celebrate the new uniforms in their game against the Missouri Tigers. This is when a few students took it too far.

The game was televised on ESPN, so the entire world saw the action go down both on and off the field. Thousands of people have expressed their anger at the students for their insensitivity. But while many were outraged, some found no reason to be offended.

One has to laugh at the irony that a school with students showing up to a game in black face also happens to be highly dependent upon African Americans to run and jump, thus bringing millions to the university in revenue each year. The idea of black men working up a sweat for white folks in the stands wearing black face is beyond disturbing.

We also cannot forget that Arizona received national attention for being the only state that would not support the Martin Luther King holiday, and also for some of the most Draconian immigration laws in the country. Arizona State University made news itself for refusing to give an honorary degree to the nation’s first black president, even though they’d given a slew of these degrees out in the past. Apparently, they don’t think that being the first black president in American history is all that big of a deal.

One thing we know about racism is that much of it is learned. We also know that young people must also learn racial sensitivity. In both cases, Arizona State University appears to have failed the test. Students are a reflection of those who teach them, and it’s interesting that these four white women made the plan to wear black face, went out and bought the makeup, told their friends about their plan, put on the makeup and went to the game, without anyone even taking a second to realize that what they were doing would be incredibly offensive to millions of people.

That, my friends, is what happens when young people are not educated. Arizona State University should be embarrassed for this behavior. But given the racially-disgusting behavior of university officials in the past, they are probably quite proud.

Dr.Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition.

GOP Legislator: Homosexuality Is ‘More Dangerous’ Than Terrorist Attacks Because We Have To Deal With It Every Day

2011-09-10T04:53:00.000-07:00

By Marie Diamond posted from ThinkProgress

Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern (R) first became infamous on the national stage when she said that blacks “don’t work as hard” as white people. The Oklahoma House finally reprimanded her for those statements, but Kern has yet to answer for a number of derogatory remarks she’s made about gay men and women.

Now, ahead of the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, Kern is doubling down on her claim that homosexuality poses a greater threat to America than terrorist attacks. In 2008, Kern said homosexuality is “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam,” and called it a cancer that is “spreading” across America and “will destroy our young people.”

Now Right Wing Watch reports that a few days ago, she spoke with Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality to promote her new book, The Stoning of Sally Kern. She repeated her claim that homosexuality is “more dangerous” than terrorist attacks because unlike terrorism, we have to deal with it every day:

KERN: Which has destroyed and ended the life of more people? Terrorism attack here in America or HIV/AIDS? In the last twenty years, fifteen to twenty years, we’ve had maybe three terrorist attacks on our soil with a little over 5,000 people regrettably losing their lives. In the same time frame, there have been hundreds of thousands who have died because of having AIDS. So which one’s the biggest threat? And you know, every day our young people…they’re bombarded with ‘homosexuality is normal and natural.’ It’s something they have to deal with every day. Fortunately we don’t have to deal with a terrorist attack every day, and that’s what I mean. It’s more dangerous, and yes I think that it’s also more dangerous because it will tear down the moral fiber of this nation.

Kern went on to say that homosexuality is eroding the “principles of religion and morality” our nation was founded on and “without virtue this nation will not survive.” Perhaps not coincidentally, her words echo the rhetoric of conservatives who blamed the September 11th attacks themselves on homosexuality in America.

It’s difficult to comprehend the sheer heartlessness of Kern’s implication that the gay men and women who were murdered on September 11th were actually a greater threat to their country than the terrorists who killed them. Also insulting — and ignorant — is her claim that homosexuality is solely or mostly to blame for AIDS deaths. Blaming the AIDS epidemic on the gay population is to blame many of its victims.

Eric Cantor: No Federal Earthquake Disaster Aid Without Spending Cuts

2011-08-26T01:27:00.000-07:00

Is there an end to the stupid? It's a rhetorical question, don't answer. Eric Cantor's remarks about federal aid and Tuesday's earthquake centered in his district transcend stupid and go straight to dense.

“There is an appropriate federal role in incidents like this,” Cantor said. That role? The bare minimum. According to Cantor, Congress’s traditional practice of providing disaster relief without strings attached — a policy its followed for years — is going way beyond the call of duty. If Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) asks for federal aid, Cantor insists that the relief be offset elsewhere in the federal budget:

The next step will be for Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) to decide whether to make an appeal for federal aid, Cantor said. The House Majority Leader would support such an effort but would look to offset the cost elsewhere in the federal budget.

But that's not the worst of what he said. It's quite similar to what he said after Joplin, MO was devastated by a tornado. No, the real stupid came after the initial selfish, heartless, disgusting, cynical denial of federal aid.

While touring the damage in his district, Cantor surmised, “Obviously, the problem is that people in Virginia don’t have earthquake insurance.” As the Insurance Information Institute notes, “earthquakes are not covered under standard U.S. homeowners or business insurance policies, although supplemental coverage is usually available.” So, for Cantor, the problem here is that Virginians didn’t have the foresight to predict an exceedingly rare natural disaster and pay out of their own pocket in advance.

Until last Tuesday, the largest earthquake to hit that region was a 3.2 magnitude quake in 2010. Buildings along that corridor are not built to be earthquake-safe. This is because earthquakes are rare. If one were to buy supplemental disaster insurance, it would more likely be insurance to cover damage due to hurricanes, not earthquakes, assuming any insurer would actually sell earthquake insurance in a non-earthquake zone where buildings are not built to withstand earthquakes.

How stupid is this? We all know Cantor is the insurance and financial industry golden boy, but I'd be embarrassed to have bought and paid for such a stupid politician if I were his keepers. What's next? Denying federal aid to people in Hawaii for not buying insurance against blizzards?

Update
Even as Hurricane Irene bears down on the East Coast – Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has already declared a state of emergency in Virginia – Cantor is also refusing to pay for hurricane disaster relief unless Congress cuts spending elsewhere. When asked about paying for potential hurricane damage by TPM, Cantor spokesperson Laena Fallon responded, “as you know, Eric has consistently said that additional funds for federal disaster relief ought to be offset with spending cuts.”

Man Murders His Wife, Says a Black Man Did It

2011-08-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World.
August 22, 2011

Kashif Parvaiz didn’t have a good relationship with his wife, Nazish Noorani. In fact, the marriage had deteriorated so badly that divorce wasn’t enough. Instead, he wanted to see his wife dead.

So, Kashif took matters into his own hands, setting up a murder-for-hire situation that left his wife’s dead body in the street. Reaching for every angle he could find, Kashif first used America’s anti-Muslim sentiment to his advantage, telling police that the assailants had called him a “terrorist” as they killed his spouse.

In addition to the first lie, Parvaiz also used the prototypical media-driven blueprint for the kind of men who might choose to kill an innocent woman for no reason: He said that they were African American. While he initially stated that the three assailants were of mixed race, he eventually changed his story, stating that they were all black.

To the credit of the Boontown police, they weren’t going for it. They were initially suspicious because Nazish had sent her brother a text message stating that she “can’t talk to him cuz he abuses me … I’m so tired of this. … Someday U will find me dead, but it’s cuz of Kashi … he wants to kill me.”

Parvaiz’s decision to kill his wife and lie about it is similar to that of Charles Stuart, a Boston man who murdered his pregnant wife in 1989 and said that an African American committed the crime. This led to a city-wide manhunt in which scores of black men were harassed by police. Susan Smith, a South Carolina woman, killed both of her children and also said that a black man did it.

The Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi, says that Parvaiz plotted with a woman, Antoinette Stephen, to commit the murder. He said “there is obviously a relationship” between Stephen and Parvaiz. “I am not saying it is a physical relationship,” he said. “I am not saying it is a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship.”

After telling Stephen about the trouble in his marriage, Parvaiz received a text from her stating that she would “think of something.”She also said, “You hang in there. Freedom is just around ur corner.”

Situations like this one are clearly disturbing, particularly to people of color. There are thousands of black people who’ve been incarcerated for crimes they didn’t commit, in many cases because they were the most convenient suspect. I spoke just yesterday to a friend about a young man who was falsely accused of murder. His struggling family mortgaged their home and spent $30,000 on his legal defense, only to have the jury deliberate just five minutes to find him not guilty. Unfortunately, there are too many other cases where the man could not raise thousands of dollars for a legal defense, and there is no financial recourse for those who’ve gone broke trying to defend themselves.

One has to also give the police force credit for thoroughly investigating the crime and not believing the simplest story that was presented to them. This is a reminder that there are good law enforcement officials across America who are determined to do the right thing. At the same time, we must stop and consider how many cases there have been in which the public nature of a crime has led officers to go into the community to arrest an innocent black man with a criminal record, knowing that he won’t have the ability to defend himself.

America is no post-racial society.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World coalition.

Perry Claims Federal Stimulus ‘Didn’t Create Any Jobs,’ Ignoring The 50,000 It Created In Texas

2011-08-19T00:38:00.000-07:00

By Marie Diamond and Travis Waldron

ThinkProgress filed this report from Pembroke, New Hampshire

New GOP presidential contender Gov. Rick Perry (TX) continues to get a free pass from the press for his stimulus hypocrisy on the campaign trail. Last week the governor claimed that the Recovery Act signed by President Obama had “failed” — conveniently forgetting that he accepted more stimulus money than any other state besides California, and used the funds to close 97 percent of Texas’ massive budget deficit.

The Houston Chronicle reported that as of July 2010, federal stimulus funds created or saved 47,700 jobs in the Lone Star State. Yet today during a question-and-answer session in Pembroke, New Hampshire, Perry once again feigned ignorance of the indispenable benefits his state received from stimulus money. In fact, he claimed that the stimulus “didn’t create any jobs, as far as I can tell”:

QUESTION: If the stimulus plan didn’t work, then what do you think would help for unemployment?

PERRY: He asked, “If the stimulus didn’t work” – and the stimulus did not work, obviously all it did was create more debt in this country. It didn’t create any jobs, as far as I can tell, except for maybe those federal regulators that were increased.

So far, Texas has used $17.4 billion in federal stimulus money to keep schools open, ensure Medicaid coverage for children, and put more people to work on infrastructure projects. About half of that was spent on “shovel ready” projects — “things we would not have done with our own money,” says a senior budget analyst for the Center for Public Policy Priorities. Texas benefited disproportionately from the stimulus, using it to balance its budget two years in a row.

Ironically, Perry once aggressively pursued the federal aid he now denounces to pander to the far-right base. According to Time Magazine, in 2003, “lobbyists under Perry’s direction went to Capitol Hill to lobby the Republican Congress for more than a billion dollars” in stimulus-type funds. Over several years this lobbying campaign won funds for programs “Perry now says he opposes as fiscally irresponsible intrusions on state responsibilities.”

Texas received $4.3 billion in stimulus funds for Medicaid and $3.25 billion for public education. Without the generosity of the federal government Perry now decries, Texas would have had to lay off 565 caseworkers who investigate child abuse. Stimulus-funded child care and job training programs would also have ended. In short, Texans would have been much harder hit by the recession if the Recovery Act hadn’t been there to cushion the blow.

Facing Ninth Deployment, Army Ranger Kills Himself. 'No Way' That God Would Forgive Him For What He'd Seen, Done, He Told Wife

2011-08-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

By Susie Madrak

The people who should be worried about going to hell are the bastards who sent these soldiers over there for no good reason, and then refuse to pay for the help they need when they come back:

JOINT BASE LEWIS MCCHORD, Wash. - A soldier's widow says his fellow Army Rangers wouldn't do anything to help him before he took his own life - after eight deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army found Staff Sgt. Jared Hagemann's body at a training area of Joint Base Lewis McChord a few weeks ago. A spokesman for the base tells KOMO News that the nature of the death is still undetermined. But Staff Sgt. Hagemann's widow says her husband took his own life - and it didn't need to happen.

"It was just horrible. And he would just cry," says Ashley Hagemann. Ashley says her husband Jared tried to come to grips with what he'd seen and done on his eight deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. "And there's no way that any God would forgive him - that he was going to hell," says Ashley. "He couldn't live with that any more."

More U.S. soldiers and veterans have died from suicide than from combat wounds over the past two years.

And as a special way of thanking those who served, Texas Republicans want to make it harder for young, homeless and traumatized veterans to vote.

Russell Brand: Don't Let People In Power Tear Apart The Values That Hold Communities Together

2011-08-13T01:28:00.000-07:00

By Susie Madrak

I always thought of British comedian-actor Russell Brand as an amusing, mindless twit, but between this and the recent eulogy he penned for Amy Winehouse, I see he's actually a thoughtful writer. This is part of the piece he just wrote for the Guardian about the London riots:

Politicians don't represent the interests of people who don't vote. They barely care about the people who do vote. They look after the corporations who get them elected. Cameron only spoke out against News International when it became evident to us, US, the people, not to him (like Rose West, "He must've known") that the newspapers Murdoch controlled were happy to desecrate the dead in the pursuit of another exploitative, distracting story.

Why am I surprised that these young people behave destructively, "mindlessly", motivated only by self-interest? How should we describe the actions of the city bankers who brought our economy to its knees in 2010? Altruistic? Mindful? Kind? But then again, they do wear suits, so they deserve to be bailed out, perhaps that's why not one of them has been imprisoned. And they got away with a lot more than a few f**king pairs of trainers.

These young people have no sense of community because they haven't been given one. They have no stake in society because Cameron's mentor Margaret Thatcher told us there's no such thing.

If we don't want our young people to tear apart our communities then don't let people in power tear apart the values that hold our communities together.

As you have by now surely noticed, I don't know enough about politics to ponder a solution and my hands are sticky with blood money from representing corporate interests through film, television and commercials, venerating, through my endorsements and celebrity, products and a lifestyle that contributes to the alienation of an increasingly dissatisfied underclass. But I know, as we all intuitively know, the solution is all around us and it isn't political, it is spiritual. Gandhi said: "Be the change you want to see in the world."

In this simple sentiment we can find hope, as we can in the efforts of those cleaning up the debris and ash in bonhomous, broom-wielding posses. If we want to live in a society where people feel included, we must include them, where they feel represented, we must represent them and where they feel love and compassion for their communities then we, the members of that community, must find love and compassion for them.

As we sweep away the mistakes made in the selfish, nocturnal darkness we must ensure that, amidst the broken glass and sadness, we don't sweep away the youth lost amongst the shards in the shadows cast by the new dawn.

Putting an Antebellum Myth to Rest

2011-08-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

Op-Ed Contributor
TERA W. HUNTER
Published: August 1, 2011
Princeton, N.J.

WAS slavery an idyllic world of stable families headed by married parents? The recent controversy over “The Marriage Vow,” a document endorsed by the Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, might seem like just another example of how racial politics and historical ignorance are perennial features of the election cycle.

The vow, which included the assertion that “a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President,” was amended after the outrage it stirred.

However, this was not a harmless gaffe; it represents a resurfacing of a pro-slavery view of “family values” that was prevalent in the decades before the Civil War. The resurrection of this idea has particular resonance now, because it was 150 years ago, soon after the war began, that the government started to respect the dignity of slave families. Slaves did not live in independent “households”; they lived under the auspices of masters who controlled the terms of their most intimate relationships.

Back in 1860, marriage was a civil right and a legal contract, available only to free people. Male slaves had no paternal rights and female slaves were recognized as mothers only to the extent that their status doomed their children’s fate to servitude in perpetuity. To be sure, most slaves did all that they could to protect, sustain and nurture their loved ones. Freedom and the love of family are the most abiding themes that dominate the hundreds of published narratives written by former slaves.

Though slaves could not marry legally, they were allowed to do so by custom with the permission of their owners — and most did. But the wedding vows they recited promised not “until death do us part,” but “until distance” — or, as one black minister bluntly put it, “the white man” — “do us part.” And couples were not entitled to live under the same roof, as each spouse could have a different owner, miles apart. All slaves dealt with the threat of forcible separation; untold numbers experienced it first-hand.

Among the best-known of these stories is that of Henry “Box” Brown, who mailed himself from Richmond, Va., to Philadelphia in 1849 to escape slavery. “No slave husband has any certainty whatever of being able to retain his wife a single hour; neither has any wife any more certainty of her husband,” Brown wrote in his narrative of his escape. “Their fondest affection may be utterly disregarded, and their devoted attachment cruelly ignored at any moment a brutal slave-holder may think fit.”

He had been married for 12 months and was the father of an infant when his wife was sold to a nearby planter. After 12 more years of long-distance marriage, his wife and children were sold out of state, sundering their family.

Slave marriages were not granted out of the goodness of “ole massa’s” heart. Rather, they were used as tools to keep slaves in line and to increase profits. Many slaves were forced to marry people they did not choose or to copulate like farm animals — with masters, overseers and fellow slaves.

Abolitionists and ex-slaves publicized excruciating details like these, but the world view of pro-slavery apologists like James Henry Hammond, a senator from South Carolina, could not make sense of motivations like Brown’s. “I believe there are more families among our slaves, who have lived and died together without losing a single member from their circle, except by the process of nature,” than in most modern societies, Hammond claimed. Under the tutelage of warm and loving white patriarchs like himself, slave families enjoyed “constant, uninterrupted communion.”

Hammond’s self-serving fantasy world gave way to reality during the Civil War, as slaves escaped in droves to follow in the footsteps of Union Army soldiers. Although President Abraham Lincoln had promised that he would not interfere with slavery in states where it already existed, he and his military commanders were faced with the unforeseen determination of fugitives seeking refuge, freedom and opportunities to aid the war against their masters. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler developed a policy of treating slaves as “contrabands” of war, inadvertently opening the door for many more to flee. In early August 1861, Congress passed the First Confiscation Act, which authorized the army to seize all property, including slaves, used by the rebellious states in the war effort.

“Contrabands” became the first beneficiaries of a government appeal to military officers, clergymen and missionaries to marry couples “under the flag.” The Army produced marriage certificates for fugitive slave couples solemnizing their marriages, and giving legitimacy to their children for the first time. But it was not until after slavery was abolished that marriage could be secured as a civil right. Despite resistance from erstwhile Confederates, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which extended the right to make contracts, including the right to marry, to all former slaves.

Why does the ugly resuscitation of the myth of the happy slave family matter? Because it is part of a broad and deliberate amnesia, like the misleading assertion by Sarah Palin that the founders were antislavery and the skipping of the “three-fifths” clause during a Republican reading of the Constitution on the House floor. The oft-repeated historical fictions about black families only prove how politically useful and resilient they continue to be in a so-called post-racial society. Refusing to be honest about how racial inequality has burdened our shared history and continues to shape our society will not get us to that post-racial vision.

Tera W. Hunter, a professor of history and African-American studies at Princeton, is the author of “To ’Joy My Freedom: Southern Black Women’s Lives and Labors After the Civil War.”

R Pig Coburn: Budget Cuts Will Only Hurt "The People Sucking Off The Program"

2011-07-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

This week, the so-called Gang of Six — composed of Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Kent Conrad (D-ND) — released the outline of a plan that would reduce deficits by about $3.7 trillion over the next 10 years, with about $3 trillion of that coming from spending cuts. The plan closely mirrors that of the Bowles-Simpson fiscal commission. But according to Coburn, it doesn’t really matter which programs get cut, because, as he told Al-Jazeera English, it’s only people who are “sucking off the program” that are going to feel any change:

COBURN: The point is where’s the efficiency in that? The actual service going to people isn’t going to decline, the people sucking off the program are going to be the ones that lose.
Think Progress
It's a war on the poor and middle class. And it's long past time for days of rage. Folks must wise up and rise up. To save this corrupt system for the rich, they're screwing seniors and children. The "least among us," as Jesus said in Mathew 25.

Some days I wish for a John Brown. Now I'm not advocating what he did in our circumstances, although his cause was just.

Non-violent direct action is what we need.

It is a class war. Unless we fight back, we lose.

And while I'm frustrated with the President on a number of things, he's not the real enemy. Wall Street is. And the people like Coburn are. The dumbshit Ayn Rand losers.

If they prevail this time, there must be a way to make them pay. The electoral route is one way, but it really is time to get in the streets. It is time for civil disobedience. It's time to throw something into the gears of this system.

They never pay a cost for the evil they do. The rich debate on how to screw poor folks and they never pay a price.

As they impoverish working people, they will reach a point where there is little left to lose. And there will be a reckoning. The arc of history is long, but it does bend toward justice.

Rise of a New "Confederacy": Race, Privilege and President Obama

2011-07-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

It is hard to process sometimes the belief that a mixed race, poor kid from a broken family, abandoned by his dad literally, "abandoned" by his mom figuratively (ask some children who have been given to grandparents to raise, even if it is the best choice for them), who was one of few African-Americans at virtually all levels of education, with an international-but-not-European-name, who attended two Ivy Leagues, including graduating from Harvard Law - as the first Black editor of the Law Review, who became a State Senator, a U.S. Senator and then President of the United States before turning 50...

It is hard to process the condescension towards him, the portrayal of him as naive and, indeed, stupid, the entitlement that insists that despite their considerably lesser education and accomplishments (as evidenced mainly by their writing skills, unshakable opinions that lack or defy research, limited approach to logic and reliance on ad hominem attacks, and sheer statistical likelihood of doing all he has done)...

It is hard to process their unassailable belief that they are smarter, wiser, savvier, more moral and more visionary than this particular man is.

In the event it has been a while since the President's accomplishments have been reviewed and reflected upon, let's revisit below, with a final thought-for-the-day at the end. I have removed his name, just so we can all read the list objectively.

2008 to present President of the United States of America

2009 Recipient, Nobel Peace Prize

2005-2008 U.S. Senator, State of Illinois

2007 Time Magazine: One of the "100 Most Influential People in the World"
2006 The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, Crown Publishers (NY Times Best-Seller)

2005 Time Magazine: One of the "100 Most Influential People in the World"

1997-2004 State Senator, State of Illinois

1995 Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, Times Books (NY Times best-seller, reprint 2004)

1993 to 2002 Associate Attorney, Davis, Miner & Barnhill, Chicago, IL

1992 to 2004 Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, University of Chicago Law School

1991 J.D., Magna Cum Laude, Harvard Law School,

1990 President, Harvard Law Review (first African-American)

1983 B.A., Political Science, Columbia University

The Deficit Is Not Default of Obama

2011-07-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

by: Greg Palast, Truthout

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) speaks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 11, 2011.Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" gave debtors' prison a bad rap. Too bad. I'd say that locking away GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a penitentiary for deadbeats seems like a darn good idea.

Let's talk about how we ended up in this pickle, bucking up against the "debt ceiling." From 2001 to 2008, a Republican president took an annual surplus of $86 billion left for him by Bill Clinton and ran up the budget deficit to over half a trillion in a year ($642 billion in 2008). Altogether, George W. Bush blew up the national debt by over $3 TRILLION - then left the bills to Barack Obama.

For eight years, Bush spent like a drunk monkey. The world was the GOP's Bergdorf and they had our credit card. If there was a shiny, new war on the shelf, they just had to have it: Iraq, Afghanistan, and let's not forget the Fantasy Wars, the half a trillion dollars a year on fancy-ass weapons for a war that won't happen. (Example: the Virginia Class submarine. (The V-class was designed to attack Soviet subs. There are no more Soviet subs, but Bush ordered three dozen anyway - at $1.8 billion each.)

And tax cuts? Don't get me started!

The Bush administration acted just like Sarah Palin when she was set loose in that Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis - grabbing whatever she could carry because Sarah could put it on someone else's account.

The GOP's fattened frat boys feasted - but when the waiter arrived with the bill, the belching rich kids looked around, pointed at some poor schmuck sweeping the floor, Mr. John Q. Veteran, and said, "THAT GUY will pay."

By the way: Congressman Cantor, the guy leading the Republicans' refusal to lift the debt ceiling, voted for the V-class sub as well as Bush's bogus scavenger hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But now Cantor doesn't want to pay the bill.

Y'know, Congressman, maybe you think my parents were fools because they taught me: If you buy it, you pay for it.

Apparently, that's not the rule at Cantor's country club.

The sick assumption of this entire debt ceiling debate, as we hear from talking heads whether on Fox or PBS, is that this is our deficit; as if you and I got a tax break or Amazon delivered that submarine to our door.

And the flapping lips on TV also assume that there must be some kind of "compromise" in which the spending spree by the rich must be paid for by the working class. The Washington elite agree we must pay for tax holidays for hedge funds by closing health clinics.

Of course, the GOP is right about one thing. President Tiger Wuss will do just that: make the poorest among us pay the debts of the richest. Here we have a bunch of economic terrorists - "Agree to all our demands or the economy gets it!" - and Obama's idea of leadership is to offer the berserkers three-quarters of what they demand.

Thank the Lord and Michele Bachmann that 75 percent isn't enough for these greedsters.

Solution: Don't pay the banksters

There's another wrong assumption controlling this debate over debt, that the banks, the debt holders, must be paid. When the bankers and the Chinese and the Saudis lent Bush three trillion dollars for his wild-ass buying party, they were betting, like any investor, on the good faith of the borrower to pay it back.

So, let Hu Jintao and King Abdullah stick a collection agency on Cantor and the other Republican shirkers. Repossess their limousines or send The Boys around to remind Cantor what happens when you don't pay what you owe.

The president should say to Hu, the Sheik and Goldman-Sachs:

"I have identified $3 trillion in Treasury notes issued between 2001 and 2008 which were lent to fund President Bush's expenditures. Unfortunately, those who borrowed your money don't want to pay it back. You made a bad investment - but that's how the free market works. Therefore, I am suspending payments on these Treasury notes until we can round up the deadbeats and make them live up to their commitments.

"As president, I have the constitutional duty to pay the bills of the Veterans Administration, the Social Security fund, and other vital services already voted and appropriated by Congress. Military pay before banker pay. Get used to it."

Will the bankers have heart attacks? I hope so. (Maybe if bankers are ill, the GOP will vote for universal health care.) Will China refuse to buy more US debt? Not a chance: The Chinese cannot afford a devaluation of the $2 trillion to $3 trillion in US Treasury notes they have in their pokey, a devaluation which would surely follow their abandoning the US treasuries.

Note: Argentina defaulted and thrived. We can tango, too. But that's all detail for me to argue out with other economists in some effete what-if seminar.

Ultimately, "default" is not the issue. "Default," dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in that age-old battle between Them and Us. They spent the money and now they want Us to pay.

Default lies with the Republican spendthrifts, Mr. President. So, I suggest you issue an executive order creating a new wing at Guantanamo: a debtors' prison for trillion-dollar deadbeats.

(Don't you think Eric Cantor would look good in orange?)

Study Finds that Black Men are Healthier in Prison than When They are Free

2011-07-16T10:16:00.001-07:00

by Dr. Boyce Watkins.

Many of us have seen the dismal statistics for black males in America. African American men are at the bottom of the barrel in nearly every category of life, including healthcare, education, incarceration, and unemployment. Many of us raise our black boys with little to no understanding of how many of these statistics are perpetuated by a series of systems that serve to enhance and promote a lifestyle that leads to an early death. That is one reason why we’ve expressed concern for hip-hop music, fueled by corporate America, that promotes a self-destructive lifestyle that many young men emulate.

It turns out that the facts might be worse than many could have speculated. According to a recent study, black men are half as likely to die in prison than if they are free. The authors of the study claim that easier access to healthcare, protection from drugs and alcohol, and the ability to avoid deadly black-on-black violence leads to a longer life span for those who are incarcerated. African American males are the only group for which these facts hold true, according to the authors of the study.

The authors of the research, set to be published in the Annals of Epidemiology, also claim that the study reflects a pattern that those from disadvantaged groups live longer in prison primarily because they are protected from violent injuries and murder that can happen on the outside.

"Ironically, prisons are often the only provider of medical care accessible by these underserved and vulnerable Americans," said Hung-En Sung of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

"Typically, prison-based care is more comprehensive than what inmates have received prior to their admission," Sung, who wasn’t involved in the new study, said to Reuters Health.

The study examined 100,000 men between the ages of 20 and 79 being held in North Carolina prisons between 1995 and 2005. Sixty percent of the men being examined were African American. The authors found that while in prison, the death rate between whites and blacks was the same. But outside of prison, black males were far more likely to die than whites.

"What’s very sad about this is that if we are able to all of a sudden equalize or diminish these health inequalities that you see by race inside a place like prison, it should also be that in places like a poor neighborhood we should be able to diminish these sort of inequities," said Evelyn Patterson, who studies correctional facilities at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

"If it can be done (in prison), then certainly it can happen outside of prison," Patterson said to Reuters Health.

I don’t know about you, but this study made my stomach turn. Dying and going to prison are among the easiest things for a black man to do in a world where it’s easier for him to get a gun than a good public school education. Most interesting is that black male political power is so weak that politicians in Washington have almost no incentive to pay attention to the crises occurring within our communities. Given that politicians don’t care about your son, brother or husband, here are some things you might want to do:

1) Raise your boys differently. If we allow our sons to be raised in a world where every song on the radio tells them to become the next Lil Wayne and every television commercial persuades them to be LeBron James, we’ll end up with a teenage boy who’s been wired to walk right into the traps that have been laid out for him. More interesting is that there are circles of violence among young black men that breed confrontation and a set of self-destructive behavior patterns being promoted by irresponsible television networks like BET which feature artists who make light of drinking and driving, sexual irresponsibility and gun violence. There is a prison bed and a casket waiting for your son on the day he is born. It is up to his mother, father and mentors to divert him from the pathway that has been created.

2) Black men must take responsibility for one another. Not only should black males work for continuous consciousness and awareness of the manner by which their psyches have been hijacked, but we must challenge one another to think differently about how we perceive education, fatherhood, community leadership, etc. In other words, BS must be stopped in its tracks when we see it, even if it means confronting our friends in ways that make them uncomfortable. We must challenge one another to embrace manhood and not the caricature of the shiftless, lazy, ignorant negro who spends more time thinking about going to the club than about making a better life for himself and his children.

3) Politicians must be held accountable at all costs. Without pointing fingers at any specific politician, the degree to which black male inequality is allowed to fester is sickening, insulting and unAmerican. Inequality in hiring, education, and criminal justice creates situations where even well-intended black males have their dreams eaten up by institutionalized racism. Black men, to some extent, are America’s cockroaches – our lives are deemed to be less valuable and our concerns less relevant. Any politician who buys into this rhetoric and shows inaction on such disturbing racial inequality does not deserve our support. Individual accountability without broader institutional modification is not the solution. The entire community must take a unified approach to solving these problems, for saving the black man is critical to saving the black family in America.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Syracuse University Professor and author of the forthcoming book, "RAPP: Rising Above Psychological Poison." He is also the founder of the Your Black World Coalition.

Bill Clinton: GOP Voting Crackdown Worst Since Jim Crow

2011-07-07T01:20:00.000-07:00

Benjy Sarlin | July 6, 2011,

Former President Bill Clinton weighed in on Republican efforts in several states to pass new restrictions on voting, comparing the measures to the Jim Crow laws of the past.

"There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today," Clinton said in a speech at a Campus Progress conference in Washington.

He specifically called out Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) for trying to reverse past precedent and prevent convicted felons from voting even after they've completed their sentence.

"Why should we disenfranchise people forever once they've paid their price?" Clinton said. "Because most of them in Florida were African Americans and Hispanics who tended to vote for Democrats. That's why."

Clinton is hardly the first Democrat to raise the alarm over a wave of Republican-proposed laws purportedly aimed at combating voter fraud. The Democratic Governor Association is raising money for a new voter protection project to counter the proposals, which they say violate minority voters' civil rights.

Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz recently made similar comparisons to Jim Crow over the Florida policy as well as new voter ID laws in other states that civil rights activists have likened to a poll tax.

"You have the Republicans, who want to literally drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws and literally -- and very transparently -- block access to the polls to voters who are more likely to vote for Democratic candidates than Republican candidates," she said. The Florida Congresswoman later walked back her remarks, saying the JIm Crow reference was the "wrong analogy."

Study confirms dark-skinned women get longer prison sentences

2011-07-06T00:34:00.000-07:00

By Kase Wickman
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011
A recent study of females convicted of crimes showed a disheartening correlation that would confirm accusations of racial injustice in the legal system: The lighter a convict's skin, the shorter their prison sentence tends to be, and the less time they serve.

Researchers at Villanova University examined the records of more than 12,000 women in North Carolina prisons to come to these results, TheRoot.com reported. The study was published recently in The Social Science Journal.

Light-skinned women were sentenced to an average of 12 percent less time than their darker-skinned peers, and served an average of 11 percent less time in jail, the study found. The researchers used similar crimes to compare sentences, so that they could generate the most accurate, relevant results.

The study, called “The Impact of Light Skin on Prison Time for Black Female Offenders,” is part of a larger effort called The Sentencing Project, which has long examined the interactions of the justice system and race.

According to the summary on The Sentencing Project's website, the study provides a much-needed nuance. Discrimination is not as simple as black and white, but, "among blacks, characteristics associated with whiteness appear to also have a significant impact on important life outcomes."

A 2006 University of Georgia study of light-skinned versus dark-skinned black men showed that the light-skinned men had an advantage when applying for jobs, regardless of past experience and credentials.

A 2009 York University study published in Science found that many people unconsciously harbor racist attitudes and behaviors.

“Justice is not blind, in fact, it’s more accurate to describe justice as nearsighted,” said Lance Hannon, a sociology professor at Villanova and one of the prison study's co-authors.

“Justice is too often decided by one’s ability to sympathize with a defendant or crime victim. Sympathy, in turn, is often the product of larger social forces like segregation and media depictions of certain groups. Among blacks, characteristics associated with whiteness appear to have a significant impact on important life outcomes, such as the amount of time one spends in jail."

2011-07-01T02:16:00.000-07:00

Keith Olbermann Says Farewell To Beck With Media Matters' Retrospective Of "The Crazy" From Beck's Show

NC woman sterilized because state deemed her ‘promiscuous’

2011-06-24T00:40:00.000-07:00

By David Edwards

The day that Elaine Riddick had her first and only child at the age of 14, the state of North Carolina had her sterilized on the orders of a court. Riddick had been raped but the state said she was promiscuous.

“They said that I was feeble-minded, they said that I was promiscuous,” Riddick, now 57, told CBS News. “I’ve always been able to take care of myself – I’ve never been promiscuous.”

“So how can people use these things to describe a child that had been abandoned? Or that had been raped by the neighbor and then again, raped by the state of North Carolina?”

North Carolina is the first state to consider a $20,000 payment to victims of sterilizations, but it is doubtful that the Republican-controlled legislature will set aside the necessary funds.

CBS News noted that more than 60,000 women in 32 states were sterilized from the 1920′s to the 1970s to keep down welfare costs. The practice is no longer in use.

Watch this video from CBS News, broadcast June 23, 2011.

2011-06-22T05:30:00.001-07:00

2011-06-22T03:26:00.000-07:00

Justices Have Been Forced To Resign For Doing What Clarence Thomas Has Done
By Ian Millhiser on Jun 19, 2011

Justice Clarence Thomas is an ethics problem in a black robe. Just eight months after ThinkProgress broke the story of Thomas’ attendance at a Koch-sponsored political fundraiser, we learn that Thomas doesn’t just do unethical favors for wealthy right-wing donors — they also do expensive favors for him.

Leading conservative donor Harlan Crow, whose company often litigates in federal court, provided $500,000 to allow Thomas’s wife to start a Tea Party group and he once gave Thomas a $19,000 Bible that belonged to Frederick Douglass. The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank which frequently files briefs in Thomas’ Court, also gave Thomas a $15,000 gift.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because America has seen this movie before. Indeed, the Thomas scandal is little more than a remake of the forty year-old gifting scandal that brought down Justice Abe Fortas. Like Thomas, Fortas liked to associate with wealthy individuals with potential business before his Court. And like Thomas, Fortas took inappropriate gifts from his wealthy benefactors.

Fortas’ questionable gifts first came out when President Johnson nominated him for a promotion to Chief Justice of the United States in 1968. Fortas had accepted $15,000 to lead seminars at American University — far more than the university normally paid for such services — and the payments were bankrolled by the leaders of frequent corporate litigants including the vice president of Phillip Morris. Fortas survived this revelation, although his nomination for the Chief Justiceship was filibustered into oblivion.

Just a year later, the country learned that Fortas took another highly questionable gift. In 1966, one year after Fortas joined the Court, stock speculator Louis E. Wolfson’s foundation began paying Fortas an annual retainer of $20,000 per year for consulting services. Fortas’ actions were legal, and he eventually returned the money after Wolfson was convicted of securities violations and recused himself from Wolfson’s case, but the damage to Fortas — and the potential harm to the Supreme Court’s reputation — were too great. Fortas resigned in disgrace.

It is difficult to distinguish Fortas’ scandal from Thomas’. Like Fortas, Thomas accepted several very valuable gifts from parties who are frequently interested in the outcome of federal court cases. One of Thomas’ benefactors has even filed briefs in his Court since giving Thomas a $15,000 gift, and Thomas has not recused himself from each of these cases.

Of course, Thomas is also the least likely Justice to actually follow the command of precedent. Thomas embraces a discredited theory of the Constitution which would return America to a time when federal child labor laws were considered unconstitutional. His fellow justices criticize him for showing “utter disregard for our precedent and Congress’ intent.” Even ultra-conservative Justice Antonin Scalia finds Thomas’ approach to the law too extreme — in Scalia’s words “I am a textualist. I am an originalist. I am not a nut.”

But Thomas’ disregard for what has come before him changes nothing about the precedent he faces. If Abe Fortas had to resign his seat, so too should Clarence Thomas.

Anthony Weiner Resigns, Prostitute Enthusiast David Vitter Continues To Be Embraced By GOP Leadership

2011-06-17T02:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at 2PM, Rep. Anthony Weiner announced his resignation from Congress following revelations that he sent lewd texts to women he met over the internet. The move comes after nearly every prominent Democrat — from Leader Nancy Pelosi to DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz to President Obama — called on Weiner to step down.

Nevertheless, the chairman of the GOP, Reince Preibus, attacked Democrats for inaction, saying, “We’ve got leadership and a Democratic Party that are defending a guy that deserves no defense.”

Today’s events stand in stark contrast to the treatment of Senator David Vitter, who admitted in 2007 to being a regular customer of a notorious prostitution service. Immediately following Vitter’s admission, McConnell was asked about Vitter on ABC News and flatly refused to address the issue or offer any criticism of Vitter’s conduct:

ROBERTS: Are you comfortable with him staying in the Republican Caucus?

MCCONNELL: Senator Vitter has addressed the issue that you’re referring to, and I’ll let him speak to that.

ROBERTS: Right. Is this something that you think he can recover from? I mean, does the Republican Party, the Republicans in Congress take a hit because of this?

MCCONNELL: Well, you’ll have to ask Senator Vitter about what he had to say about the episode that I think you’re referring to. He would be the one to address that.

McConnell wasn’t alone. Gannett reported that “few colleagues would go on record” following Vitter’s admission. One who did, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), offered only praise: “David Vitter is one of the most capable guys here. He was fabulous in the immigration debate. I think his constituents will respect that.” When Vitter returned to the Senate a few days later and addressed the GOP caucus, he was warmly received:

Applause could be heard inside the room. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who like most members wouldn’t disclose what Vitter said, reported that his comments went over well.

“People were very supportive,” Thune said. “People realize he has worked through this this past week. I think everybody is ready to move forward.”[...]

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, exemplified the forgive-and-forget view voiced by Senate Republicans.

“My attitude is he’s doing everything he can to rectify the mistake he made and should be allowed to do so,” Hatch said. “I’m a great believer in redemption.”

Despite moral transgressions that are more serious, from a legal perspective, than what is known of Weiner’s conduct, Vitter remains in the Senate with full seniority and committee memberships. When asked about Vitter’s potential legal violations, his GOP colleagues claimed ignorance of the law.

To this day, RNC chair Reince Preibus refuses to discuss Vitter’s conduct saying he doesn’t want to “relitigate” the situation.

Neal Boortz: "We need to see some dead thugs littering the landscape in Atlanta"

2011-06-16T01:08:00.000-07:00

From the June 14 edition of Neal Boortz Show!

Boortz is just scum! From his radio show:

This town is starting to look like a garbage heap. And we got too damn many urban thugs, yo, ruining the quality of life for everybody. And I'll tell you what it's gonna take. You people, you are - you need to have a gun. You need to have training. You need to know how to use that gun. You need to get a permit to carry that gun. And you do in fact need to carry that gun and we need to see some dead thugs littering the landscape in Atlanta. We need to see the next guy that tries to carjack you shot dead right where he stands. We need more dead thugs in this city. And let their -- let their mommas -- let their mommas say, "He was a good boy. He just fell in with the good crowd." And then lock her ass up.

GOP Can’t Handle The Truth: Taxes Are Lower Under Obama Than Reagan

2011-06-02T00:45:00.000-07:00

By Pat Garofalo posted from ThinkProgress Economy on Jun 1, 2011 at 7:31 pm

President Obama met with House Republicans today at the White House to discuss ways to move forward on negotiations regarding the nation’s debt ceiling and the budget. During the discussion, talk evidently turned to taxes, and when Obama noted that taxes today are lower than they were under President Reagan, the GOP, according to The Hill, “engaged in a lot of ‘eye-rolling’“:

Republicans attending a White House meeting on Wednesday didn’t take kindly to President Obama telling them tax rates were higher during the Reagan administration. GOP members engaged in a lot of “eye-rolling,” according to a member who was on hand to hear Obama, who invited House Republicans to the White House for discussions on the debt ceiling. [...]

“[The President] made a comment like the tax rate is the lightest, even more than (under former President) Reagan,” Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) told The Hill following the meeting. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) joked that during the meeting, “We learned we had the lowest tax rates in history … lower than Reagan!”

That House Republicans find this preposterous is symptomatic of the hold Reagan mythology has over them. After all, for seven of Reagan’s eight years in office, the top tax rate was higher than the current 35 percent. In six of those years, it was 50 percent or more. And every year that Regan was in office, the bottom tax bracket was higher than the current ten percent.

For a family of four, the “average income tax rate under Reagan in 1983 was 11.06 percent. Under Clinton in 1992, it was 9.18 percent. And under Obama in 2010, it was 4.68 percent.” During Reagan’s time, income tax revenue ranged from 7.8 to 9.4 percent of GDP. Last year, it was 6.2 percent and is not projected to climb back to 9 percent until 2016. In fact, in 2009, Americans paid their lowest taxes in 60 years.

Republicans are very fond of saying that the U.S. has “a spending problem, not a revenue problem.” But the truth is that revenue has plunged due to the recession and to continued misguided tax cuts, and revenue needs to be raised to eventually bring the budget into balance. And Reagan knew that taxes were an important part of the budget equation. After all, he “raised taxes in seven of his eight years in office,” including four times in just two years.

Black Former NFL Player Pulled Over For Looking Like Someone ‘Transporting Drugs And Guns’

2011-06-01T00:24:00.000-07:00

By Scott Keyes and Tanya Somanader posted from ThinkProgress Alyssa on May 31, 2011 at 6:15 pm

Last week, former NFL star Warrick Dunn was pulled over outside Atlanta, Georgia by three police officers. Dunn has been involved in a number of charitable organizations since leaving the NFL, including founding the Warrick Dunn Family Foundation to help single parents find homes for their families. The former Atlanta Falcons running back has also received numerous accolades for his off-the-field service, including the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, the Bart Starr Award, and former President Clinton’s Giant Steps Award. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described Dunn as a “model citizen.”

So it was to Dunn’s surprise when he was stopped by police officers for having “the characteristic of people transporting drugs and guns” last Friday. Dunn, who is a 36 year-old black man, was also stopped for having tinted windows that were allegedly “too dark.” Dunn reported the incident on his Facebook account late last week:

Pulled over outside Atl because he said my window tint was too dark. During the stop he asked a lot of personal questions, said I had the characteristics of people transporting drugs & guns. So he searched my car and gave me a warning for my tint. Felt violated and I’ve had my car since ’08, nvr been pulled ovr for tint. Taken back bc I think the reasoning was bad. Ruined my day but not my spirit.

Despite the alleged rationale of illegally tinted windows, Dunn wrote that “my tint is not dark.” In addition, “it was cloudy and [the police were] 20 yards behind at an angle.”

Dunn was not charged in the stop, but did ultimately receive a warning from the officers.

The former NFL player’s ordeal is one that is already felt by many across the nation. Yet if conservatives had their way, profiling incidents like Dunn’s would not just become more commonplace, but would be legally justified as well. Indeed, racial and ethnic profiling is widely supported by Republicans. Last year, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) called profiling “common sense” and Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) justified it on the grounds that “all terrorists are Muslims or Middle Easterners.”

But the GOP’s push to profile necessarily stems from the idea that such “common sense” is not actually racist. To Republicans like former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, racism no longer exists. To him, America is inherently “colorblind” and “not a discriminate [sic] nation” because, after all, “we elected a black president.” In fact, a recent study reveals that white Americans actually view “anti-white prejudice” as the predominant race problem of the times, as opposed to “anti-black bias.” With this as the dominant view, the racism Dunn endured is too often perceived by many Americans as belonging to an era long gone and existing only in the margins of today’s society — no matter how prevalent.

Ever gracious, Dunn told TMZ after the incident, “As the son of a hard working police officer, I understand the stress that police officers are under.” “The real lesson in all this is that Twitter is a powerful tool but what happened to me is the same thing that happens to a lot of people every day,” he added.

Update
ESPN has more information on Dunn’s life of service in the face of ordeal. When he was 18, Dunn’s mother, a Baton Rouge police officer, was killed in a robbery. Dunn helped raise his younger siblings while going on to a successful career at Florida State and the NFL.

Musician-Poet Gil Scott-Heron dies at 62

2011-05-28T01:48:00.000-07:00

Musician and poet Gil Scott-Heron, whose biting and lyrical fusion of verse and rhythm made him a formidable forefather of rap and hip-hop, died Friday in New York. He was 62. Friend Doris C. Nolan told the Associated Press that Scott-Heron died at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan after becoming ill upon his return from Europe. A cause of death has not been determined.

Scott-Heron's fiery fusion of soul, jazz and free-flowing versification , inspired by such black literary precursors as poet Langston Hughes - led to his recognition as one of the most forward-looking black musicians of the '70s. Best-known for his mordant critique of race in the media ''The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,'' he essayed such topical concerns as nuclear power, apartheid and Ronald Reagan's presidency in his pointed work.

You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox
In 4 parts without commercial interruptions.
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon
blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John
Mitchell, General Abrams and Spiro Agnew to eat
hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be brought to you by the
Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie
Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia.
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal.
The revolution will not get rid of the nubs.
The revolution will not make you look five pounds
thinner, because the revolution will not be televised, Brother.

There will be no pictures of you and Willie May
pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run,
or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance.
NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32
or report from 29 districts.
The revolution will not be televised

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being
run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process.
There will be no slow motion or still life of Roy
Wilkens strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving
For just the proper occasion.
Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville
Junction will no longer be so damned relevant, and
women will not care if Dick finally gets down with
Jane on Search for Tomorrow because Black people
will be in the street looking for a brighter day.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no highlights on the eleven o'clock
news and no pictures of hairy armed women
liberationists and Jackie Onassis blowing her nose.
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb,
Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom
Jones, Johnny Cash, Englebert Humperdink, or the Rare Earth.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be right back after a message
About a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution will put you in the driver's seat.

The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised,
will not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live.

Study: Whites say they face more racism than blacks

2011-05-25T02:19:00.001-07:00

By David Edwards
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011 -- 3:01 pm
Whites in America now believe that they face more racial bias than blacks, according to a recent study.

Samuel Sommers of Tufts University and Michael I. Norton of Harvard asked 208 blacks and 209 whites to use a 10-point scale to indicate how much they thought blacks and whites were a target of discrimination each decade from the 1950s through the 2000s.

Less than 2 percent of blacks and whites gave anti-white bias the maximum score in the 1950s. More than 9 percent of both groups also gave anti-black bias the maximum score for that same decade.

Blacks and white agreed that racism against blacks decreased as the decades progressed. But whites, unlike blacks, felt that anti-white bias had increased along with the drop in anti-black bias. Eleven percent of whites rated anti-white bias at the maximum during the 2000s, while only 2 percent of blacks did.

"We propose that Whites' belief about the increasing prevalence of anti-White bias reflects a view of racism as a zero-sum game," researchers wrote, "which can be summed up as 'less against you means more against me.'"

"[N]ot only do Whites think more progress has been made toward equality than do Blacks, but Whites also now believe that this progress is linked to a new inequality -- at their expense," they concluded.

"While affirmative action advocates don't perceive of such preferences as anti-white discrimination, many whites do," George Mason University Law Professor David E. Berstein told The New York Times.

"Given the overt nature of such preferences, and many whites’ own perceived self-interest in the matter, it's not terribly surprising that whites subjectively perceive discrimination against members of their own group as an especially significant and growing problem, even though, objectively speaking, bias against blacks is far more pervasive, problematic and ill-intentioned," he added.

The study "Whites See Racism as a Zero-Sum Game That They Are Now Losing" was published in the May edition of Perspectives on Psychological Science.

Image credit: Flickr/bandita

Baptist Group: Oklahoma’s Sharia Ban Is Unconstitutional

2011-05-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

Last year, Oklahoma became the first state to ban the non-existent threat of Islamic Sharia law, jeopardizing Native American rights, Oklahoma businesses, and even the Ten Commandments to do it. But state Republicans’ fervor for this “preemptive strike” — known as the “Save Our State” amendment — hit an inevitable snag of constitutionality, compelling a federal judge to block the law’s implementation. Nevertheless, Oklahoma election authorities appealed the judge’s injunction to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Regardless of what Oklahoma Republicans may think, numerous religious groups view the law as a clear infringement on the First Amendment and are now taking a stand. Last week, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) signed on to an amicus brief urging the 10th Circuit to invalidate the law as it has “the unambiguous effect of communicating official disapproval of Islam“:

“The BJC’s brief argues that the Oklahoma amendment violates the Establishment Clause for two separate and distinct reasons. First, “the amendment’s purpose plainly is to disapprove of the Islamic tradition.” Secondly, “the amendment’s dual specific references to Shari law – and to no other religious tradition – have the unambiguous effect of communicating official disapproval of Islam.”

Both reasons put the Oklahoma amendment in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Lemon Test which is used to determine whether a law is in violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.”

The American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Center for Islamic Pluralism, Interfaith Alliance, Union for Reform Judaism, and several civil liberties groups joined BJC in signing the brief. Viewing fear as the “driving force” behind state Sharia bans, Texas Baptist pastor Bob Roberts Jr. urged Christians supporting anti-Sharia laws to put their faith in God rather than in legislation. “When we fear to that degree, then we start pushing laws because somebody else’s beliefs make us nervous,” said Roberts.

Right-wingers flood teen who challenged Bachmann to a debate with threats of violence

2011-05-22T00:44:00.000-07:00

You all remember that high-school sophomore who challenged Michele Bachmann to a debate (because she knew full well she'd be able to kick wingnut butt)?

Seems she's attracted the usual right-wing response -- threats and thuggery:

Several media outlets reported on Myers' challenge. As a result, she said, people have threatened violence against her and threatened to publish her address online, the Courier Post reports. Myers' high school has also reportedly received inquiries regarding Myers' letter.

"A lot of them are calling me a whore," Myers said of the online remarks against her. Added her father Wayne Myers: "I personally did not think there would be a reaction like actual stalking and the vitriol that's coming out."

The worst was reading the work of trolls at right-wing sites, the girl's father said:

Amy and Wayne Myers said the comments on conservative websites alarmed them most. Several commenters threatened to publish the Myers' home address.

Others threatened violence, including rape, they said.

"They're targeting me just because I'm challenging Bachmann," Amy said.

Amy's challenge is arguably unrealistic: Few if any sitting members of Congress would actually agree to debate a teenager.

Bachmann, talked up by the Republican right wing as a 2012 presidential contender, is often the subject of unflattering press. An aide said Tuesday the office would have no response to Myers' challenge.

The Courier-Post had scheduled a video interview with Amy Thursday. On Wednesday, a somewhat panicked-sounding Wayne Myers phoned to cancel, citing the alleged threats.

"I got a call from the principal that the main office received threatening mail," said the computer programmer and single father.

Such a classy bunch. Especially when you consider their fondness for depicting the Left -- and especially unions -- as a bunch of thugs.

2011-05-18T23:55:00.001-07:00

According to his wife’s financial disclosure forms, Newt Gingrich had a revolving charge account of between $250,000 and $5000,000 at Tiffany’s. How did Newt spend over $250,000 at Tiffany’s? I’m guessing it wasn’t on breakfast. A 6-figure jewelry charge account—at Tiffany’s. That doesn’t look good when you’re running for office. Newt, you want to connect with the common man—you should have had your half million dollar jewelry charge account at Zales. The numbers were included in the financial disclosure forms of Newt’s wife, Callista. I’m assuming the jewelry was for his wife too, unless Newt Gingrich has some very exotic piercings that we can’t see. OK, now I’ve made myself sick to my stomach.

Now pundits are saying that Newt Gingrich might be too undisciplined to run for president. Right. Here’s another news flash—Newt Gingrich might be too out of shape to qualify for the US Olympic track and field team. Everybody knew that Newt Gingrich was going to screw up eventually. But not too many people had him giving himself a first round knockout. Really, if this was a pay-per-view prize fight, people would be asking for their money back. Newt did a mea culpa on Fox News. That makes sense. Anyone who is watching Newt’s troubles on anything other than Fox News is simply doing it to enjoy watching Newt squirm. On Fox, Newt said “The budget vote is one that I am happy to say I would have voted for.” Newt, if you had done that, you’d be just as screwed in any election as you are now anyway. That’s why they’re so touchy about it.

Here’s a classic from Newt: “Any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood, because I have said publicly those words were inaccurate and unfortunate.” Translation: if I shouldn’t have said something, then as far as I’m concerned, I never did say it. Evidently if you quote Newt Gingrich, you are, by definition, misquoting him. Or by Newt’s definition, at least. I think Newt wants to float everything he ever says out as a trial balloon first. If it doesn’t end up being stupid and hurting him, then he’ll tell us “OK, that one is a keeper.” Here is what it’s come down to—in order to salvage his campaign, Newt Gingrich will have to refuse to comment on anything involving Newt Gingrich.

REPORT: Sen. Tom Coburn Actively Negotiated Multi-Million Dollar Hush Money Package For Ensign’s Mistress

2011-05-14T01:21:00.000-07:00

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and former Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
After a 22-month investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee released a report on the conduct of Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), who resigned early this month. The report contains voluminous evidence suggesting Ensign may have violated several laws in an effort to cover up an affair with a member of his staff. The committee has referred the matter to the Department of Justice.

Contained in the 67-page report, however, is troubling evidence of the central role that current Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) played in trying to keep Ensign’s mistress and her husband quiet — evidence that contradicts Coburn’s previous public statements on the matter.

In July 2009, Coburn said he was consulting with Ensign “as a physician and as an ordained deacon” and he considered it a “privileged communication that I will never reveal to anybody.” Asked about the claim from Doug Hampton, the husband of Ensign’s mistress, that he “urged Ensign to pay the Hamptons millions of dollars,” Coburn said, “I categorically deny everything he said.”

Coburn was similarly blunt in a November 22, 2009 interview with George Stephanopoulos:

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., told me flatly that he did not offer to broker a million-dollar deal between his Senate colleague, John Ensign, R-Nev., and the family of Ensign’s mistress.

Doug Hampton, the husband of a staffer with whom Ensign had an affair, makes the explosive allegation in an interview with “Nightline’s” Cynthia McFadden that will air on Monday.

…When I asked Coburn on This Week if Hampton is telling the truth, he said, “There was no negotiation,” but acknowledged that he had worked to “bring two families to a closure of a very painful episode.”

Coburn eventually agreed to cooperate with the Ethics Committee; their findings on the level of his involvement are startling. According to the committees report, Coburn actively assisted in the discussions of a hush money package, negotiating a proposed package from $8 million down to $2.8 million. The ethics committee report, on pages 37 to 38, describes the negotiation between Mr. Albregts, an attorney for the husband of Ensign’s mistress, and Sen. Coburn:

Mr. Albregts tried to get a ballpark estimate from Senator Coburn as to the amount he would be comfortable with. Mr. Albregts proposed $8 million based on a document Doug Hampton prepared. According to Mr. Albregts, Senator Coburn said that the figure was absolutely ridiculous. Senator Coburn then stated that the Ensigns should buy the Hamptons home because it is so close to the Ensigns, and the Hamptons should receive an amount of money above and beyond that to start over, buy a new home, have some living money while they were looking for new employment, and possibly some seed money to send the children off to college. Senator Coburn stated that that’s what I’ve thought from day one would be fair, but said that $8 million was nowhere close to a reasonable figure. Senator Coburn told Mr. Albregts to figure out what those amounts would be, and call him back.

Mr. Albregts then spoke with Mr. Hampton, and asked him how much it would cost to get the house paid for, and how much he needed above that figure to get started somewhere new. Mr. Hampton then came back with some figures, and estimated $1.2 million for the home, and another $1.6 million to get started somewhere new. Mr. Albregts called Senator Coburn back for the final time with this revised figure on the same day in a five-minute call. Per Mr. Albregts, Senator Coburn responded by stating that okay, that’s what I had in mind and I think is fair and said he would take the figure to the Ensigns.

The Ensigns rejected the new offer. Previous reports referenced Coburn’s role as a go-between but did not reveal the extent of his inovlement in the negotations. The report notes that “Mr. Albregts testified that Senator Coburn took an active role in the negotiations between Mr. Hampton and Senator Ensign, and this role included proposing specific resolutions.” Coburn told the committee that he was “simply going to pass information” to Ensign.

One thing is certain: Tom Coburn has a lot of explaining to do.

Fox News accidentally debunks its own attacks on ‘vile’ rapper Common | The Raw Story

2011-05-12T04:51:00.000-07:00

In the days since popular rap artist Common would be invited to a White House poetry event, Fox News personalities have been voicing their protests.

The network's editorial site, Fox Nation, even published an article headlined "Michelle Obama Hosting Vile Rapper at the White House?" The site apparently objected to Common because of some lyrics denouncing former President George W. Bush, they said, and had mentions of violence against police.

However, about seven months ago, Fox News interviewer Jason Robinson spoke to Common and praised him, saying he's "very positive."

"You're known as the conscious rapper," Robinson said. Common responded that being an artist is a "significant role."

In direct contrast to that report, Sean Hannity used his show Tuesday night to voice his outrage over Common's White House invite.

"I support his right," Hannity said of the rapper's language, "but don't bring him to the White House."

He said that the Obamas' decision to invite Common is an example of the president showing "his radical roots again and again and again. Ayers, Wright, Pflger."

Just as Fox News has pivoted its opinion of Common, from "very positive" to "vile," Hannity's remarks about Common's lyrics are in sharp contrast to his thoughts on Ted Nugent's 2007 onstage remarks that then-candidate Obama "suck on" a machine gun and called him a "piece of shit."

When guest Bob Beckel asked about Nugent's remarks soon after, and whether Hannity was prepared to "disavow this lowlife," Hannity called Nugent a "friend" and said, "I like Ted Nugent."

2011-05-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

President Obama says he won’t release any of the photos of Osama bin Laden’s corpse. He said “We don’t trot out this stuff as trophies.” No, not if by “we” he means everybody but the Bush administration. They trotted out the pictures of the dead sons of Saddam Hussein like they were hoisting the Stanley Cup. And back in 2001, the Bush Administration sent out a CIA team with instructions to bring back Osama bin Laden’s head in a box of dry ice. The problem is that Bush didn’t give them the tools they needed to accomplish the mission. Heck, he didn’t even get them the dry ice.

As President Obama put it, “We don’t need to spike the football.” You don’t want to get the most wanted terrorist of all time, and then get penalized for excessive celebration. Not only would the people in the George Bush administration have “spiked the football,” they would have done a flying chest-bump, performed an end zone dance, and jumped into the stands. But then that’s a totally hypothetical scenario. In reality, George Bush’s administration never did and never would have caught Osama bin Laden. So there’s no point in imagining what their reaction would have been.

Sarah Palin’s position is the we should publish the death photos. Sarah tweeted “Show photo as warning to others seeking America’s destruction. No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama; it’s part of the mission.” Wow. It’s hard to pack so much stupid into 140 characters. No pussy-footing! Yeah, Mr. President. Don’t get all namby pamby after you just took down the most dangerous man in the world, OK? I love how Sarah says that putting out the photos is “part of the mission.” I don’t think you had any input when it came to defining this mission, Sarah. I’m not sure Sarah Palin could have pulled this mission off, if her attempts at killing that caribou on her reality TV show are any indication.

Yesterday President Obama traveled to Ground Zero to honor the victims of Osama bin Laden. Glenn Beck says that President Obama is “taking a victory lap in New York today.” Beck described President Obama laying the wreath as “crass and obscene.” He has some nerve. Glenn Beck is the one who put the “ass” in “crass.” Beck is also the guy who launched the “9/12 Project” so that we could supposedly feel the same unity we did on the day after the attacks of 9/11. It just proves that Glenn Beck makes a mockery of himself better than he mocks anything else.

It Never Ends

2011-05-05T05:56:00.000-07:00

Rightwingers are all saying that torture led us to Osama bin Laden. This is a huge insult to the hard work of the intelligence agencies, the heroism of the Navy Seals and President Obama to say that the reason we got bin Laden was the work of a few sickos with a board and a wet rag. It’s more like President Obama getting bin Laden led to the torture of conservatives, not the other way around.

During the presidential campaign both Hillary Clinton and John McCain blasted Obama for saying he would go into Pakistan to take out bin Laden. Two years later, Hillary Clinton got to sit in the room while he did it. And John McCain got a courtesy phone call telling him about it. In 2008 McCain said “You make plans and you work with the other country that is your ally and friend, which Pakistan is.” I have a feeling that if we worked with Pakistan on this one, we would have landed in a very empty compound. Candidate Obama said “if we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act and we will take them out.” That tells you one thing—Osama bin Laden wasn’t watching the presidential debates in 2008.

Reactions to the killing of Osama bin Laden continue to pour in, from the sublime to the ridiculous, with the ridiculous being decidedly more strident. Rush Limbaugh says “The American left, the Democrat party of this country, the liberals… owe us an apology for taking every opportunity to undermine our efforts to track down bin Laden and other terrorists. Evidently, our efforts to undermine the search for bin Laden were not enough to prevent us from finding and killing bin Laden.

Well, it looks like Glenn Beck is the first one to fully formulate a new conspiracy theory to take the place of birtherism. Or should I say, co-exist with the remnants of birtherism? Glenn asks “Is it possible that Osama bin Laden was ghosted out of his compound, and that we’re seeing a show now?” Beautiful, Glenn. Now just tie it all in with Van Jones, ACORN, and Woodrow Wilson, and you’re on your way!

Oklahoma House Finally Reprimands State Rep. Sally Kern For Saying ‘Blacks’ Don’t Work Hard

2011-05-04T03:59:00.000-07:00

Last week, the speaker of the Oklahoma state House of Representatives refused to reprimand radical state Rep. Sally Kern (R) for saying in a floor speech that “blacks” and women are lazy. “I taught school for 20 years, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t want to work as hard,” Kern said, eliciting demands from the NAACP for her resignation. But Oklahoma House Speaker Kris Steele (R) said he was satisfied with the written apology Kern later issued, saying Kern “handled it appropriately and that a public reprimand was not necessary.”

Still, civil rights leaders and Democratic lawmakers kept up the pressure and yesterday, state Rep. Mike Shelton (D) — one of four African-American members of the 101-member House — successfully brought a motion to reprimand, following another apology from Kern read from the House floor:

Shelton said the reprimand was necessary because Oklahoma is working hard to improve its image.

“We are trying to be a player within the United States as well as the world,” he said. “The comments by Sally Kern make us step back and it makes people look at the state of Oklahoma as a different place.” [...]

“I made my apology, and I do understand that just saying you’re sorry does not make everything right,” Kern said.

But not everyone in Kern’s party was as accepting of the punishment as she was. Sixteen lawmakers voted against the reprimand, with state Rep. Paul Wesselhoft (R) saying the censure “flies in the face of every Sunday school lesson I’ve ever had.” “Kern issued a sincere apology. My faith teaches me that I’m to forgive,” he said. State Rep. Randy Grau (R), who also voted against the move, explained, “If we reprimand for what somebody says in debate we could have a very detrimental, chilling effect on free speech.”

Kern was not reprimanded nor apologized for saying three years ago that homosexuality is more dangerous than terrorism.

2011-05-03T23:56:00.000-07:00

As new details of Operation Geronimo leak out, we have learned that those in the White House Situation Room during the assault on Osama bin Laden’s hideout had turkey pita wraps, cold shrimp, potato chips, and soda… all from Costco. Even in the middle of all this, the President was mindful of the budget deficit. Not only would a Republican administration never get bin Laden, if they did launch an assault like this, the people in the Situation Room wouldn’t be eating food from Costco. They would fail to get bin Laden, and they would spend twice as much on snacks not doing it.

Everyone on the rightwing is rushing to give credit for the capture of bin Laden to George Bush. Ironic… during the 2008 & 2010 elections, nobody on the right was willing to admit they had ever even heard of anyone named George Bush. I’m sorry, but the phrase “we have George Bush to thank for this” should only be used in relation to economic collapse, unemployment, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and most of the budget deficit.

The rightwing wants to credit harsh interrogation methods, black site prisons, and waterboarding for the intel that led to bin Laden’s killing. It’s well documented that torture results in misinformation. So the biggest clue that the intelligence that led to bin Laden was not obtained under torture is the fact that it turned out to be correct. The proof that it didn’t result from torture comes, of all places, from Donald Rumsfeld. Talk about intel—this is the only actionable intelligence that ever came out of Donald Rumsfeld. Rummy said “It is true that some information that came from normal interrogation approaches at Guantanamo did lead to information that was beneficial in this instance. But it was not harsh treatment and it was not waterboarding.” I’m shocked, if only because it’s a coherent statement from Donald Rumsfeld. That sentence is not only the truest sentence he ever said, I’m pretty sure it’s the shortest sentence he ever said.

The life of Osama bin Laden makes you wonder about the choices people make. Bin Laden came from a very wealthy family. He could have lived his life in luxury, using his great wealth to disseminate his hatred and his mad ideas through quasi-legal means… kind of like how the Koch brothers do it.

Donald Trump's racial discrimination problem In the 1970s, he was sued by the feds for not renting to African-Americans

2011-04-30T00:02:00.000-07:00

By Justin Elliott ,AP

Donald Trump in 1994In an episode early in Donald Trump's career, his New York real estate company was sued by the federal government for discriminating against potential black renters. After a lengthy legal battle, it ultimately agreed to wide-ranging steps to offer rentals to nonwhites.

The little-remembered case provides crucial context for the current discussion centering on Trump and race. The celebrity businessman made news last month when he declared, "I have a great relationship with the blacks. I've always had a great relationship with the blacks."

He has recently come under fire for attacks on President Obama that critics have described as racially tinged. CBS anchor Bob Schieffer, for example, said Wednesday there is "an ugly strain of racism" in Trump's recent (baseless) accusations that President Obama should not have been admitted to Columbia. Also yesterday, Trump told a black reporter, unprompted, "Look I know you are a big Obama fan."

The discrimination case began in the earliest days of Trump's career, when he was still in his 20s.

Fred Trump, Donald's father, was, unlike his son, a self-made man. He made his fortune by building thousands of units of middle-class housing in Brooklyn and Queens. But in the early 1970s, Donald was made president of the family company.

One of Donald's first challenges came in October 1973, when the Justice Department hit the Trump Organization with a major discrimination suit for violating the Fair Housing Act. The Times reported:

... the Government contended that Trump Management had refused to rent or negotiate rentals "because of race and color." It also charged that the company had required different rental terms and conditions because of race and that it had misrepresented to blacks that apartments were not available.

The journalist Gwenda Blair reported in her 2005 Trump biography that while Fred Trump had sought to combat previous discrimination allegations through "quiet diplomacy," Donald decided to go on the offensive. He hired his friend Roy Cohn, the celebrity lawyer and former Joseph McCarthy aide, to countersue the government for making baseless charges against the company. They sought a staggering $100 million in damages.

A few months after the government filed the suit, Trump gave a combative press conference at the New York Hilton in which he went after the Justice Department for being too friendly to welfare recipients. He "accused the Justice Department of singling out his corporation because it was a large one and because the Government was trying to force it to rent to welfare recipients," the Times reported. Trump added that if welfare recipients were allowed into his apartments in certain middle-class outer-borough neighborhoods, there would be a "massive fleeing from the city of not only our tenants, but communities as a whole."

A federal judge threw out Trump's countersuit a month later, calling it a waste of "time and paper."

Writes Blair in her book:

Donald testified repeatedly that he had nothing to do with renting apartments, although in an application for a broker's license filed at the same time he said that he was in charge of all rentals.

In 1975, Trump ultimately came to a far-reaching agreement with the DOJ in which he and the company did not admit guilt but agreed not to discriminate and to take steps to open its housing stock to more nonwhites. The company agreed to submit a weekly list of vacancies to the Urban League, which would produce qualified applicants for a portion of all vacancies.

But it didn't end there. In 1978, the government filed a motion for supplemental relief, charging that the Trump company had not complied with the 1975 agreement. The government alleged that the Trump company "discriminated against blacks in the terms and conditions of rental, made statements indicating discrimination based on race and told blacks that apartments were not available for inspection and rental when, in fact, they are," the Times reported. Trump again denied the charges.

It's not clear what happened with the government's request for further action (and compensation for victims), but in 1983, a fair-housing activist cited statistics that two Trump Village developments had white majorities of at least 95 percent.

At the very least, the case is something for reporters to ask about next time Trump touts his "great relationship with the blacks."

Sally Kern: It's A Fact That 'Blacks' Don't Work As Hard

2011-04-29T05:24:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern (R) says that she's seen "a lot of people of color who didn't study hard because they said the government would take care of them."

The remarks came during a debate on an amendment to the state's constitution that would eliminate Affirmative Action in the state government. It was proposed by State Rep. Leslie Osborn (R), who said: "This proposed constitutional amendment makes clear that all men are created equal and should be treated as such by their government. If voters approve this constitutional amendment, state government will not be allowed to discriminate against Oklahoma citizens based on race or gender - period."

Kern voted for the amendment, arguing that minorities earn less because they don't work as hard. "We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that's tragic," Kern said, "but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don't want to study as hard in school?

"I've taught school," she added, "and I saw a lot of people of color who didn't study hard because they said the government would take care of them."

I used to get really worked up about people like Rep. Kern, but then I realized that she'll end up dying alone and broke, having accomplished little of value in her life. It's the same story with all politicians. Years from now, historians will be saying that Oklahoma politicians had the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the state's economic and human capital and tackle the problems of meth, spousal abuse, and widespread corruption; to help a growing population of unemployed and poor (20% of the population of Cleveland County is on food stamps now); to incentivize investment in the state and to upgrade its (literally) crumbling infrastructure; to raise the educational standards for Oklahoma schools (among the worst in the country); and so on.

Instead, history will record that politicians like Rep. Kern addressed these problems - by passing anti-Islamist laws. What a waste of a life and golden opportunities to make real change.

A Bad Day for Racist

2011-04-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the President of the United States released his long-form birth certificate. There’s not a lot to the official certificate of live birth. But then there’s nothing at all to all the controversy surrounding it. The President gave the birthers what they’ve been asking for. Of course he didn’t them what they wanted. What they really wanted was for this birth certificate not to exist.

It’s easy to see why the President refused for so long to release the long-form certificate—because nobody would have been asking for it if his name had been O’Brien instead of Obama. A black man with an exotic-sounding name needs to provide extra documentation to prove he’s an American, just like a black man pulled over on a routine traffic stop has to submit to searches that wouldn’t be conducted if he was white. This is like a Presidential version of the Arizona immigration law—essentially these birthers saw a black man in the Oval Office, and they demanded to see his papers. In one sense, the White House giving in and releasing the certificate is like giving in to racism, which should not be done. But in another sense it’s like acknowledging that racism exists, which has to be done.

Of course Donald Trump is trying to take credit for the fact that the long form birth certificate was released. He shouldn’t be taking credit, he should be taking blame. Trump said “I am really honored to have played such a big role in hopefully getting rid of this issue.” OK, two things—it’s not an issue. And you didn’t get rid of it. This “issue” is a stinking mess, Donald, and you got it on your shoes and tracked it all over the floor until somebody was finally forced to do something about it. Still, Donald says he feels “honored.” Well, maybe that’s what a person feels when everybody is looking at them, and they are somehow incapable of feeling shame. Just a couple days ago, Donald Trump was saying that he had inside information that the long-form certificate was “missing.” Yeah. Evidently somebody at the department of records in Hawaii had taken it to the photocopying machine to send a copy off to the President.

Today President Obama said we need to ignore the “sideshows and carnival barkers.” The birthers are worse than carnival barkers. Carnival barkers try to get people to look at the freak show. These people ARE the freak show.

Donna Brazile to Meet with Cornel West to Discuss President Obama

2011-04-24T00:17:00.000-07:00

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World – Scholarship in Action

The black political grapevine recently informed me that respected political strategist Donna Brazile plans to meet with Professor Cornel West at Princeton University. The meeting was apparently arranged in response to the “moral outrage” that West has expressed toward the Obama Administration over recent weeks. The disappointment came to a head during a highly-publicized feud between Prof. West and Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC.

Dr. West’s outspoken demeanor couldn’t come at a worse time for President Obama and his party. As the Democrats work to smooth talk their way out of a year of tone deaf behavior toward a suffering African American community, West comes in as one of a small number of major black public figures willing to rain on the presidential party.

There is a large part of my psyche that appreciates Professor West’s willingness to speak honestly on African American suffering. Politicians in Washington seem to behave as if racial discrimination doesn’t exist, and there is almost no consideration for the fact that people of color suffer more than nearly anyone else as it pertains to our treatment in our economic, educational and criminal justice systems. I know Dr. West to be a righteous man of tremendous integrity, so his critiques should be taken seriously.

The other side of me hopes that Dr. West’s cozy relationship with noted Obama-hater Tavis Smiley isn’t tainting his perspective. While Smiley has been quiet as of late, his silence may be driven by the fact that he’s lost a great deal of credibility in his critiques of the president. Also, there isn’t much that Tavis needs to say, now that Cornel West is doing enough talking for the both of them. The truth is that there is almost nothing that President Obama could do that would satisfy Smiley, since they are deeply-entrenched political enemies. Given that West has begun to sound a lot like Tavis, one has to wonder how far the apple has fallen from the political tree.

My other quiet hope is that the dialogue between West and Brazile is a two-day conversation and free exchange of ideas. I expect that the seriousness with which West has challenged the Obama Administration dictates that this highly-intelligent scholar can’t be convinced to simply change his mind about the Democrats. I also hope that the conversation is not full of empty political promises designed to appease West and protect the tremendous loyalty black voters have to the Democratic party. Brazile needs to listen to West and the Democrats need to respect his comments about the need for an adequate response to the Great Black Depression being experienced as we speak.

The simple problem for Dr. West and the African American community is simple: Black people are unemployed, incarcerated and miseducated more than any other group in America. Having a black president has not helped as much as some hoped, further reducing the black incentive to support any political party. Unless the Democrats can show an ability and willingness to help alleviate some of the challenges of being black in America, it is difficult to get excited about any political candidate.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition.

The sweet little old folks of the Tea Parties seem to have a lot of extremism and bigotry bubbling up around them. Hmmmmmm.

2011-04-22T01:53:00.000-07:00

here's some footage you won't see on The O'Reilly Factor or over at Big Ego. This comes from Channel 12's reportage on this weekend's ugly Tea Party event in Phoenix:

TEA PARTIER: That's why you don't have a higher standard of living than Mexico! The United States has a higher standard of living than Mexico because it's populated by white people. Mexico is a [BLEEP]!

The reality, as I've said many times, is that no matter how hard the Tea Partiers and their right-wing-media apologists try, they'll never be able to paper over their very real and deep extremist base. They'll never be able to keep all the nutcases they've gathered in one place under a lid forever.

Republican Tea Partiers just can't seem to get enough of those Obama/black people/chimpanzee jokes

2011-04-17T01:17:00.000-07:00

This is the image e-mailed to her friends by Orange County Republican committeewoman and Tea Party activist Marilyn Davenport
Republicans seem to have a really, really narrow idea of what constitutes racism -- which is how they're able to claim that the Tea Parties aren't riddled with racism throughout.

But then little stories like this one from Orange County keep bubbling up to the surface of their fetid little Tea Party cesspool:

The Weekly has obtained a copy of an email sent to fellow conservatives this week by Marilyn Davenport, a Southern California Tea Party activist and member of the central committee of the Orange County Republican Party.

Under the words, "Now you know why no birth certificate," there's an Obama family portrait showing them as apes.

As always, the "sweet little old lady" who sent the mail had no idea that anyone might possibly construe the mail as racist, even though comparing black people to various kinds of apes has always been a stock feature of racist denigration in America. Why, some of her best friends are black!

Reached by telephone and asked if she thought the email was appropriate, Davenport said, "Oh, come on! Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black. Besides, I only sent it to a few people--mostly people I didn't think would be upset by it."

The image did upset several local Republicans.

"It's unbelievable," one high-ranking OC GOP official told me. "It's much more racist than the watermelon email. I can't believe it was sent out. I'm not an Obama fan but how stupid do you have to be to do this?"

Another GOP official, who also asked not to be identified, said that Davenport is "a really, really sweet old lady so I am surprised to hear about this."

Scott Baugh, chairman of the OC Republican Party, told Davenport that the email was tasteless, Davenport--a Fullerton-based political activist--admitted to me during the telephone interview.

"You're not going to make a big deal about this are you?" she asked me. "It's just an Internet joke."

But Baugh believes the email is a big deal.

"When I saw that email today I thought it was despicable," Baugh said. "It is dripping with racism and it does not promote the type of message Orange County Republicans want to deliver to the public. I think she should consider stepping down as an elected official."

And just remember: There's nothing, NOTHING racist about those Tea Partiers, either. Just another isolated incident. Move along, please.

Live mic catches Obama’s candor: Paul Ryan is ‘not on the level’

2011-04-16T01:00:00.001-07:00

By Sahil Kapur

April 15, 2011

In what he reportedly thought was a private conversation at a fundraiser Thursday night, President Barack Obama called into question the fiscal seriousness of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), the author of the GOP's budget plan that dramatically cuts government spending under the guise of deficit reduction.

"When Paul Ryan says his priority is to make sure, he's just being America's accountant," Obama told his supporters at the event, according to remarks relayed on a live mic and reported by CBS News [1] pooler Mark Knoller.

"This is the same guy that voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my health care bill -- but wasn't paid for. So it's not on the level," Obama said.

Obama gave a nationally televised speech Wednesday [2] laying out his misgivings about the proposal and offering a plan of his own. But the president didn't question Ryan's credentials as a deficit hawk.

Last year, Obama publicly praised Ryan's "roadmap" -- a blueprint upon which his current budget was based -- as a serious plan. "Paul, for example, head of the budget committee, has looked at the budget and has made a serious proposal," Obama said [3].

Ryan's ten-year proposal would cut trillions in federal spending while privatizing Medicare, slashing Medicaid, and reducing taxes on corporations and the highest income earners. He's been [4] praised [5] as a bold, visionary and serious thinker who's deeply concerned with the debt.

Yet the Bush tax cuts, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Medicare Part D program -- all of which Ryan voted for -- have been among the most significant drivers of today's $14 trillion national debt.

Nobel Prize-winning liberal economist Paul Krugman has called the Ryan plan a "fraud [6]," alleging that its deficit numbers are cooked and its underlying assumptions are unrealistic.

The proposal has been touted by Republicans as the most serious plan on the table to reduce the deficit in the long term. It has become a pinata for Democrats who say it leaves seniors and poor people out in the cold while giving tax breaks to the wealthy.

It's poised to pass the GOP-controlled House Friday, but it is seen as a nonstarter in the Democratic-led Senate.

During Bush Presidency, Current GOP Leaders Voted 19 Times To Increase Debt Limit By $4 Trillion

2011-04-15T00:36:00.000-07:00

After pushing the government to brink of shutdown last week, Republican Congressional leaders are now preparing to push America to the edge of default by refusing to increase the nation’s debt limit without first getting Democrats to concede to large spending cuts.

But while the four Republicans in Congressional leadership positions are attempting to hold the increase hostage now, they combined to vote for a debt limit increase 19 times during the presidency of George W. Bush. In doing so, they increased the debt limit by nearly $4 trillion.

At the beginning of the Bush presidency, the United States debt limit was $5.95 trillion. Despite promises that he would pay off the debt in 10 years, Bush increased the debt to $9.815 trillion by the end of his term, with plenty of help from the four Republicans currently holding Congressional leadership positions: Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl. ThinkProgress compiled a breakdown of the five debt limit increases that took place during the Bush presidency and how the four Republican leaders voted:

June 2002: Congress approves a $450 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $6.4 trillion. McConnell, Boehner, and Cantor vote “yea”, Kyl votes “nay.”

May 2003: Congress approves a $900 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $7.384 trillion. All four approve.

November 2004: Congress approves an $800 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $8.1 trillion. All four approve.

March 2006: Congress approves a $781 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $8.965 trillion. All four approve.

September 2007: Congress approves an $850 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $9.815 trillion. All four approve.

Database searches revealed no demands from the four legislators that debt increases come accompanied by drastic spending cuts, as there are now. In fact, the May 2003 debt limit increase passed the Senate the same day as the $350 billion Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.

When Bush was in office, the current Republican leaders viewed increasing the debt limit as vital to keeping America’s economy running. But with Obama in the White House, it’s nothing more than a political pawn.

150 Years Later, Tea Partiers Still Aren’t Over The Civil War

2011-04-13T00:39:00.000-07:00

April 12th was the 150th anniversary of the Civil War’s beginning, when secessionists fired on Union troops at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. According to a new poll from CNN, the Civil War’s legacy remains unresolved. The poll finds that Republicans and Tea Party supporters are more likely to support the Confederacy and confederate leaders than Democrats or Independents.

According to the poll, nearly one in four Americans sympathize with the Confederacy more than with the Union. That number grows to nearly four-in-ten among white Southerners. Among Tea Party members, 26 percent sympathize with the Confederacy more than the Union, and that number grows to 28 percent among Republicans.

Meanwhile, while respondents overall viewed slavery as the main reason for the war by a 54-42 margin, Tea Partiers and Republicans held different views. Fifty-two percent of Republicans believed slavery was not the main reason, and that number rose to 54 percent among Tea Partiers.

The poll comes at a time when Republicans and Tea Partiers are rehashing the battles that both led to and came out of the Civil War. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) and others have come out in support of nullification laws. In both Texas and Tennessee, lawmakers have floated the possibility of secession. And across the country, Republicans have attempted to revoke the 14th Amendment guarantee of birthright citizenship. And, of course, there was Rep. Paul Broun’s (R-GA) reference to the “Great War of Yankee Aggression” on the House floor.

Even though these battles are radical and out of the mainstream, it isn’t that shocking that these Republicans are attempting to refight them. According to these poll numbers, that’s exactly what large segments of their base want them to do.

Shock poll: 46% of Mississippi Republicans think interracial marriage should be illegal

2011-04-08T00:14:00.000-07:00

By Stephen C. Webster
Thursday, April 7th, 2011

A new poll out of Mississippi finds that in a bastion of America's south, many Republican voters have tightly held onto the old, hateful views of race as a dividing line in society.

A full 46 percent of Mississippi Republicans said they believe interracial marriage should be illegal, according to the left-leaning survey group Public Policy Polling. Only 40 percent said they thought it should remain legal, with the rest unsure.

Republicans who said they were in favor of banning interracial marriages were most frequently supporters of Fox News contributor Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor (R) who quit half-way through her first term. Their least liked candidate was Mitt Romney, the former radio executive and Governor of Massachusetts (R).

Romney, Palin and Fox News employee Mike Huckabee are widely considered to be the top three most likely Republican front-runners. None of them have officially announced their candidacy.

The poll found that overall, Mississippi Republicans want Gov. Haley Barbour as their nominee over other potential candidates. Barbour won 37 percent of the survey's respondents, compared to 19 percent for Huckabee and 10 percent for former Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich, the one-time Republican Speaker of the House.

Barbour's popularity may have something to do with the mentality of his constituency in Mississippi. For instance, in a state where almost half of the Republicans believe interracial marriage should be illegal, Barbour has praised a civil rights-era group that fought against segregation and refused to denounce an effort to get a state license plate to honor a former leader of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan terrorist group.

Barbour was most recently in the headlines after it was revealed that he spent over $300,000 on out-of-state travel in 2010, campaigning with fellow Republicans and meeting with wealthy benefactors.

Glenn Beck Booted Off Fox News: What this says about America

2011-04-07T00:34:00.000-07:00

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

I admit feeling a bit of glee upon hearing that Fox News is going to part ways with Glenn Beck. After watching his ratings decline, the network decided that it’s best that Beck take his chalk board elsewhere and find something new to do with his time. The departure is likely good for America, for Beck became one of the most divisive figures in the country.

What can’t be overlooked in Beck’s break from Fox is the fact that the decision was likely a financial one. Fox was losing millions when advertisers decided to boycott Beck’s show, largely because they didn’t want their products to be affiliated with a man with such extremist viewpoints. According to ColorofChange.org, Beck has lost 300 advertisers, primarily because of comments he has made about President Obama having a hatred of white people. Remarks like this one, along with other conspiracy theories Beck threw at the nation every afternoon, likely led to his demise.

I once watched Beck’s show with my head cocked to the side, wondering how a man with such ridiculous views could have such a loyal following. I thought, “Do tea partiers really believe the stuff this guy is saying?” While there are likely millions of Americans who are in lockstep with Beck on every issue, there are quite a few who chose not to continue to ride with Beck on the Ridicu-bus. For those on the right who at least try to engage in some degree of rational thinking, I applaud them for rejecting the antics of a man who is nothing more than a walking cartoon character.

Oddly enough, Glenn Beck’s boot off of Fox News does say something good about America. First, it says that via concerted efforts like those of Color of Change, the National Action Network and the Your Black World Coalition, we can counter the hatred being spewed by the Right Wing. It also says that there is some degree of decency among American corporate leaders who are choosing not to be affiliated with a man who is dead set on undermining both the presidency and our country. Finally, it says that there are some on the political right who want to pursue their ideas with courtesy and mutual respect, rather than the kind of vile, nasty attacks that we’ve seen being thrust upon our president. It is possible to critique President Obama’s performance without seeking to destroy America in the process. Glenn Beck’s poison is the kind of thing that ultimately tears down a nation.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition.

Standing with Martin Luther King and strong unions

2011-04-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was shot, assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King was not in Memphis, Tennessee for tax cuts for the rich. He wasn’t there to cut domestic spending programs. Martin Luther King was there to stand up for sanitation workers. The sanitation workers were protesting unequal wages and abysmal working conditions. In essence, Martin Luther King was supporting a union walkout.

Today, more than 40 years later, unions continue to be under attack. They’re under attack from multiple sides. There are people who just don’t understand how unions work and why they’re beneficial. There are Americans who always stand with the rich and powerful and these Americans understand that the only way to level the playing field is if all the workers speak in one voice – unions.

Now, more than ever, we need unions. A report in the Washington Post today reveals that wages are stagnant and inflation is squeezing Americans and not squeezing big business. Their profits are up. The only way that we can raise our standard of living is by standing together and demanding fair wages. Sure, there are some corporations that are rich and generous. They will always pay a living wage. Unfortunately, they are in the minority. The majority of corporations are out to squeeze workers to increase profits. Strong unions can fix this. Strong unions are needed now more than ever. I stand with Martin Luther King and tens of thousands of Americans who believe that strong unions are a requirement for a strong vibrant middle class.

Malcolm X and the Wars at Home

2011-04-03T02:24:00.000-07:00

Malcolm X and the Wars at Home

A Black Agenda Radio commentary by BAR editor and columnist Jared A. Ball

“Nothing that Malcolm X gave his life fighting to destroy has even been weakened since he was killed.”

Next week, on April 4th, we finally get to see the awaited biography Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable. For years many of us have been hearing of this book’s eventual publication and engaging in all the kinds of pre-hype discussion that often accompanies ambiguity. But now, apparently, the wait is coming to an end and not a moment too soon. For just as those gathered this weekend at the Black Is Back Coalition’s “National Conference on The Other Wars” described in great detail, nothing that Malcolm X gave his life fighting to destroy has even been weakened since he was killed.

An honest book about Malcolm X published on April 4th during yet another Western invasion of the African continent beautifully synthesizes so much of the contradiction and hypocrisy that accompanies imperialism. April 4th of course marks the date in 1967 when Dr. King most publicly unveiled his staunch and lonely stance against imperialism. And, of course, it is also on that date a year later when he would be made to pay with his life for that position. But a beautiful contradiction is also found in this nation’s attempt to freeze King in one moment, one mention of a dream, just as it has come to freeze Malcolm in one moment, one mention of prayer in Mecca, to distract us from the specifically anti-imperialist politics of either man; all while again bombing an African nation on the orders of a son of Africa who is also the first Black president.

Town halls both live and conducted via all forms of media must be convened on Marable’s book. What it reveals anew or simply reminds us of Malcolm X must be discussed as widely as possible and precisely within this context of Malcolm’s anti-imperialism. These town halls should not only encourage deep analysis of Malcolm’s life and work but should also encourage that more of us follow the patterns established by that life and work. The wars he struggled against continue, in fact, they intensify. And we are simply not being well-enough prepared, educated and or organized to resist.

“Malcolm X said that ‘the police do locally what the military does internationally.’”

The Black Is Back Coalition’s “National Conference on the Other Wars” powerfully made these points and more. And that this was done so soon before the publication of Marable’s book only increases the urgency and anticipation. Malcolm X was among the first of the major figures of the era to speak so openly and caustically against the hypocrisy of this nation’s claims to be fighting wars for democracy while warring against its own captives right here. King too would eventually reach those same conclusions with equal hostility to them. And here too those gathered at this weekend’s conference seem similarly positioned and similarly distinct from much of the prevailing wisdom of the day.

Those gathered at this weekend’s conference were cognizant of this fact. Its conveners clearly stated their opposition to and distinction from the liberal left, Black and white, who refuse to acknowledge the continuity of Western imperialism and the wars at home caused by that imperialism. So everything from police brutality and mass incarceration to the daily rounding up of 35,000 so-called “undocumented” Mexicans, to gentrification or social and ethnic cleansing, to even domestic food insecurity were all placed in this context of U.S. and Western imperialism. And given some special attention at the Conference on the Other Wars were some of those other wars occurring in blacker and, therefore, less popular regions of the world like Somalia and the Congo where tens of millions have been killed, displaced and looted by African forces from Uganda and Rwanda all serving their U.S. sponsors.

Malcolm X said that “the police do locally what the military does internationally.” The imperial circle drawn in full. It is the analytical equivalent to bearing witness today to a Black president bombing our African home while presiding over wars waged at home against Black people.

We can only be helped by critical readings of Malcolm’s words and words written about Malcolm. We need mass public discussion of Marable’s book on Malcolm X and even more organization around his legacy

2010-05-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity

by Tim Wise

Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called "Imagine." The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure--the ones who are driving the action--we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.

So let’s begin.

Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters--the black protesters--spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government. Would these protesters--these black protesters with guns--be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that's what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation's capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country's political leaders if the need arose.

Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry, screaming, black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did recently in Washington.

Imagine that a black rap artist were to say, in reference to a white politician and presidential candidate: "He's a piece of shit and I told him to suck on my machine gun." And what would happen to any prominent liberal commentator who then, when asked about that statement, replied that the rapper was a friend and that he (the commentator) would not disavow or even criticize him for his remarks. Because that’s what rocker Ted Nugent said in 2007about Barack Obama, and that's how Sean Hannity responded to Nugent's remarkswhen he was asked about them.

Imagine that a prominent mainstream black political commentator had long employed an overt bigot as Executive Director of his organization, and that this bigot regularly participated in black separatist conferences, and once assaulted a white person while calling them by a racial slur. When that prominent black commentator and his sister--who also works for the organization--defended the bigot as a good guy who was misunderstood and “going through a tough time in his life” would anyone accept their excuse-making? Would that commentator still have a place on a mainstream network? Because that’s what happened in the real world, when Pat Buchanan employed as Executive Director of his group, America's Cause, a blatant racist who did all these things, or at least their white equivalents: attending white separatist conferences and attacking a black woman while calling her the n-word.

Imagine that a black radio host were to suggestthat the only way to get promoted in the administration of a white president is by “hating black people,” or that a prominent white person had only endorsed a white presidential candidate as an act of racial bonding,or blamed a white president for a fight on a school busin which a black kid was jumped by two white kids, or said that he wouldn’t want to kill all conservatives, but rather, would like to leave just enough--“living fossils” as he called them--“so we will never forget what these people stood for.” After all, these are things that Rush Limbaugh has said, about Barack Obama’s administration, Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama, a fight on a school bus in Belleville, Illinois in which two black kids beat up a white kid, and about liberals, generally.*

Imagine that a black pastor, formerly a member of the U.S. military, were to declare, as part of his opposition to a white president’s policies, that he was ready to “suit up, get my gun, go to Washington, and do what they trained me to do.” This is, after all, what Pastor Stan Craig said recentlyat a Tea Party rally in Greenville, South Carolina.

Imagine a black radio talk show host gleefully predicting a revolution by people of color if the government continues to be dominated by the rich white men who have been “destroying” the country, or if said radio personality were to call Christians or Jews non-humans, or say that when it came to conservatives, the best solution would be to “hang ‘em high.” And what would happen to any congressional representative who praised that commentator for “speaking common sense” and likened his hate talk to “American values?” After all, those are among the things said by radio host and best-selling author Michael Savage,predicting white revolution in the face of multiculturalism, or said by Savage about Arab Muslims and liberals,respectively. And it was Congressman Culbertson,from Texas, who praised Savage in that way, despite his hateful rhetoric.

Imagine a black political commentator suggesting that the only thing the guy who flew his plane into the Austin, Texas IRS building did wrong was not blowing up Fox News instead. This is, after all, what Anne Coulter said about Tim McVeigh,when she noted that his only mistake was not blowing up The New York Times.

Imagine that a popular black liberal website posted comments about the daughter of a white president, calling her “typical redneck trash,” or a “whore” whose mother entertains her by “making monkey sounds.” After all that’s comparable to what conservatives posted about Malia Obama on freerepublic.com last year, when they referred to her as “ghetto trash.”

Imagine that black protesters at a large political rally were walking around with signs calling for the lynching of their congressional enemies. Because that’s what white conservatives did last year, in reference to Democratic party leaders in Congress.

In other words, imagine that even one-third of the anger and vitriol currently being hurled at President Obama, by folks who are almost exclusively white, were being aimed, instead, at a white president, by people of color. How many whites viewing the anger, the hatred, the contempt for that white president would then wax eloquent about free speech, and the glories of democracy? And how many would be calling for further crackdowns on thuggish behavior, and investigations into the radical agendas of those same people of color?

To ask any of these questions is to answer them. Protest is only seen as fundamentally American when those who have long had the luxury of seeing themselves as prototypically American engage in it. When the dangerous and dark “other” does so, however, it isn’t viewed as normal or natural, let alone patriotic. Which is why Rush Limbaugh could say, this past week,that the Tea Parties are the first time since the Civil War that ordinary, common Americans stood up for their rights: a statement that erases the normalcy and “American-ness” of blacks in the civil rights struggle, not to mention women in the fight for suffrage and equality, working people in the fight for better working conditions, and LGBT folks as they struggle to be treated as full and equal human beings.

And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis. GAME OVER

Three men indicted for burning black church on election night

2009-01-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

Just hours after Barack Obama was elected president last November, three men set ablaze a predominantly African-American church in Massachusetts to "interfere" with the civil rights of its congregants, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.

Benjamin Haskell, 22, Michael Jacques, 24, and Thomas Gleason, 21, all of Springfield, Mass., burned Macedonia Church of God in Christ to the ground in the early hours of Nov. 5th as payback for the election of the country’s first African-American president, the department's indictment alleges.

The three men were released Monday on $100,000 bail each, the Springfield Republican reported, after spending 11 days in federal custody.

"These allegations of racial violence connected with the presidential election are serious and disturbing," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King. "The Justice Department will aggressively prosecute individuals who conspire to commit such acts of violence and intimidation."

Before they burned the Pentecostal church, the construction of which was 75 percent complete, the men used racial slurs to express anger with Obama's victory and discussed burning the new church building because the church members, congregants and bishop were African-American, according to the indictment.

After finding gasoline, the trio poured it on the interior and exterior of the 18,000 square-foot building and set it ablaze, the department said, which ended up injuring firefighters.

Haskell, Jacques and Gleason face a maximum prison sentence of 10 years If convicted. The department did not say when a trial would begin.

The racist right indulges its assassination fantasies

2009-01-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

We're already aware that the white-supremacist crowd is already creating a higher level of security concerns surrounding Barack Obama's inauguration.

So somehow it probably figures that Sean Hannity's old pal Hal Turner would be out there leading the parade of nutcases making threats around the events.

According to Mark Potok at the SPLC, Turner has gone public this week with his threats:

On Friday, neo-Nazi threatmeister Hal Turner, amplifying on an earlier posting suggesting that it would be a good thing to use an unmanned drone carrying explosives to attack the crowds, said a mass murder of those attending the festivities “would be a public service.” “I won’t say what may happen Tuesday but I will say this,” Turner wrote on his blog. “After Tuesday, the name Hal Turner may live in infamy. Let it be known that I saw what was necessary and decided to do what had to be done. I make no apology to those affected or their families.”

Earlier, on Jan. 11, Turner had posted photos to his blog, under the headline “My Inauguration Dream,” of a small, unmanned drone, an electronic guidance system and sticks of dynamite as he laid out one method of attack. He also discussed the possibility of sending up balloons filled with helium and a “payload” and fitted with fuses that would explode the balloons over the crowds. And he displayed a grainy video that purported to show that method being tested. “Too far fetched?” Turner asks of a possible balloon attack. “It got tested and it worked! … Watch the video and imagine what payload, other than the index cards taped to the outside of the test balloons, might be substituted? HMMMMMM. Might be something messy? Something contagious? Something deadly? Ahhhh, such possibilities!” Then, last Thursday, he posted an update, saying: “All the assets that need to be in-place for next week are now in-place; deep within the security perimeter. Everything is a ‘go.’ We have crossed the Rubicon; let history judge us well.”

Well, fortunately, Turner is not someone to take seriously, any more than gay-basher Fred Phelps. He's made numerous threats in the past, and all have been just so much gasbaggery. Moreover, he has a nonexistent following, especially after it was revealed he had been doing federal-informant work, which pretty much destroys your cred in white-power circles.

Mind you, part of Turner's schtick is planting a seed of doubt in the back of people's minds. That's what he is doing when he says he hopes more to target the crowds than Obama himself.

Mind you, if you happen to see Turner this week in D.C., you'll want to steer clear. Not because he really poses a threat, but just because he's Hal Turner.

Blackwell: GOP Must Defeat Job-Creating Stimulus Because It Will Ruin GOP’s Election Chances

2009-01-18T08:07:00.000-08:00

In an article published on Townhall today, RNC Chairman candidate and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell urges congressional conservatives to oppose the reinvestment and recovery stimulus plan promoted by President-elect Obama. Though he offers standard conservative arguments against the plan — including a screed against the growth of “big government” — Blackwell seemed most concerned about the political benefit Democrats might see from successfully boosting the economy.

He warned that the bill, which calls for 80 percent job creation in the private sector, could create 600,000 new federal jobs — a problem because it would make it that much harder for for Republicans to win back Virginia:

While only a few details are known, one overlooked issue is that it could create a major electoral advantage for Democrats at taxpayer expense. That would be unacceptable for what is being touted as a nonpartisan measure, and gives Republicans yet another reason to oppose it if not restructured. […]

But most federal employees, that are not political appointees, vote Democrat. Since Washington, DC is the seat of government, whenever new federal bureaucrats are created many live in Maryland and Virginia. In 2008, Virginia went Democrat for the first time since 1964, and Mr. Obama won it by 130,000 votes. Creating 600,000 new jobs might help cement Virginia in the Democrat column, making it harder for Republicans to retake the White House.

Blackwell cites House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) as his source for the 600,000 “bureaucrats” figure. In fact, Obama’s council of economic advisers predicts that the plan would create about 240,000 government jobs, compared to, for example, 700,000 in mining and construction. And of course, there’s no reason to assume the bulk of government jobs would be created in the D.C. area, though the District — which has the 6th highest unemployment rate in the nation — could use the new jobs.

The bottom line is that, in an economy that lost 1.2 million jobs last year, Blackwell’s biggest concern is to block the creation of new jobs because those newly-employed Americans might vote Democratic.

RNC chair candidate Chip Saltsman sent out a CD of the “Barack the Magic Negro” song

2008-12-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

For his Christmas greeting this year, RNC chair candidate Chip Saltsman sent out a CD of the “Barack the Magic Negro” song. Saltsman’s Christmas message:

“I look forward to working together in the New Year,” Saltsman wrote. “Please enjoy the enclosed CD by my friend Paul Shanklin of the Rush Limbaugh Show.”

Shanklin’s CD, “We Hate the USA,” also contains songs such as “Star Spanglish banner” and “Wright place, wrong pastor.”

Saltsman is refusing to apologize, telling CNN: “I think most people recognize political satire when they see it. I think RNC members understand that.”

Saltsman isn’t the only RNC candidate who has come under fire on race issues. South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson was a member of a whites-only country club until recently, when he withdrew his membership in order to lay the groundwork for his RNC candidacy.

Update Politico's Mike Allen notes that more than 18 hours after the news about Saltsman broke, not a single Republican official has condemned his actions.

Update Today RNC chairman Mike Duncan issued a statement distancing himself from Saltsman: "The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party. I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate as it clearly does not move us in the right direction."

Update RNC chairman candidate Kenneth Blackwell, who is African-American, also defended Saltsman, saying that "there is hypersensitivity in the press regarding matters of race."

Report: White vigilante groups blockaded small town in post-Katrina New Orleans and murdered blacks

2008-12-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, A.C. Thompson of The Nation revealed that after Hurricane Katrina, white vigilante groups patrolled New Orleans, blockaded streets, and shot at least eleven black men. It “was like pheasant season in South Dakota. If it moved, you shot it,” said one vigilante. Color of Change is organizing a campaign to tell Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and state officials to investigate the shootings, as “Louisiana’s broken law enforcement agencies have refused to investigate these crimes.” Watch Thompson’s video on his report:

Color of Change is also sending messages to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Attorney General nominee Eric Holder. Sign the petition here.Colorofchange.org

Charles Barkley is right

2008-12-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that I love sports. ESPN and all things sports have become a part of my daily life. Take your pick, I love pro and college sports, it doesn't really matter.

But I want to talk about college sports for a minute, and a dirty little secret in big time college football. For those of you who follow college sports, you will know by now that Auburn University fired their successful football coach, and hired a guy who was about to get fired by a lessor known football school, Iowa State. He was about to be fired because even at a non powerhouse program like Iowa State, a record of 5-19 is not acceptable. Gene Chizik might be a good man and a great motivator, but the truth of the matter is that he did not deserve to get the Auburn job. Turner Gill did.

Why Turner Gill? Well, Turner Gill is African American and....Oh here we go, of course, here comes the give it to the black guy speech. No, not quite, this time it's a give it to the best guy who happens to be black, speech. And if I did give that speech, could you think of a better group of people to give it to than the nation's top college Athletic Directors? Consider: Twenty five percent of the assistance in major college football are African American; fifty percent of the players are African American; yet only three percent of the coaches are black. That grades an "F" from the Black Coaches Association. Wouldn't it have been nice if a big time program like Auburn had stepped up to the plate and hired a qualified person of color? Charles was right about his Alma Mater this time. "It’s a comment on Auburn. It’s a comment on the state of Alabama, I just feel sadness because you know what people think of the South and Alabama, things like that. And you just hope that at some point that people are going to say we’re going to change this. Or it’s just going to stay status quo...” ...I look at things from a commonsense standpoint, how do you interview Turner Gill and pick Gene Chizik over Turner Gill?"

And now the buzz is that one reason Gill was turned down, wasn't because he is black, but because his wife is white. Yep, seems jungle fever doesn't play too well at those cocktail parties with those good ole boy boosters. Oh, and we might want to add Florida assistant, Charlie Strong, to that mix. Yep, seems the white wife scuttled his chances as well. Honey I am going on a job interview. Hey, check out this new tanning bed I got you. Oh, and look at this nice wig.

Do you think we could use 9 Billion dollars that went missing in Iraq now ?

2008-12-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

The Republicans blocked the auto makers bail out tonight.

The prospects of a $14 billion government rescue of the American auto industry seemed to vaporize Thursday as the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, spoke out forcefully against the bill, effectively ending its chances despite the urgings of the White House.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Mr. McConnell said he and other Republicans had drawn a clear distinction between the Treasury’s $700 billion economic stabilization, which they helped pass in October, and the proposal to aid the American automakers, which he said raised questions about which industries or individuals deserve help.

Wow, the Republicants are so worried about taxpayer money these days I often wonder where they disappeared when 9 billion dollars just vanished in the black hole of Iraq?

Nearly $9 billion of money spent on Iraqi reconstruction is unaccounted for because of inefficiencies and bad management, according to a watchdog report published Sunday. An inspector general's report said the U.S.-led administration that ran Iraq until June 2004 is unable to account for the funds.

An inspector general's report said the U.S.-led administration that ran Iraq until June 2004 is unable to account for the funds.

"Severe inefficiencies and poor management" by the Coalition Provisional Authority has left auditors with no guarantee the money was properly used," the report said.

These knuckleheads are willing to let the auto companies go down in flames, but never lifted a finger when it came to funding Bush's war. For war, there is never enough funding for conservatives, but to help Americans ... Nada.

Bailout Hypocrisy from Oklahoma's Republican Congressional Delegation

2008-12-11T18:59:00.000-08:00

Full disclosure, I have worked as an independent contractor in the automotive industry for more than a decade, and have recently relocated to Oklahoma due to the economy,so I may not be entirely impartial.

I'm against bailouts. I don't like the fact that public taxpayer-funded money could go to private companies if said private companies are huge, dying and poorly managed. But I'm warming to the auto industry bailout precisely because the final version of the bill will be dispensing loan money with tight controls, unlike the $700 billion in mostly free money with little control that the House and Senate passed in October. It's also less of a big deal because of the math involved: $19 billion is much much less than $700 billion.

But many Republican senators and representatives don't see it that way. Here's a sampling of the hypocrisy just in Oklahoma:

Senator Tom Coburn:

The labor rates of the Big Three are out of sync with labor rates across the nation and it is unfair to ask American taxpayers to subsidize poor management decisions. The only acceptable Congressional action would be the possibility of guaranteeing loans after labor contracts are renegotiated

Senator Coburn voted yes on the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, which mandated that Americans subsidize poor management decisions.

Representative Mary Fallin:

With our deficit rising and our economy continuing to shrink, cutting every struggling company a multi billion dollar check is simply not an option. The best way to protect American taxpayers is to ask the automobile companies to work through their problems, reorganize their companies and operate by the same rules that other companies and industries have to play by.

Representative Mary Fallin voted yes on the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, which cut many multi-billion dollar checks for dozens of struggling lenders; institutions that now do not have to operate by the same rules that other companies and industries have to play by.

Representative John Sullivan:

Taxpayers should not be asked to reward failure by subsidizing the very business practices that got them into this situation in the first place. Moving forward Congress should focus on helping to rebuild a viable domestic automobile industry through market driven policies, not massive government intervention by nationalizing these companies.

Representative John Sullivan voted yes on the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, which mandated that taxpayers reward failure by subsidizing the very business practices that got lenders into this situation in the first place and created a massive government intervention by partially nationalizing certain companies.

Representative Tom Cole:

Unfortunately, another costly investment by U.S. taxpayers does not guarantee that automakers will reform the habits that caused their current spiral. In fact, a bailout may only encourage the status quo.

Representative Tom Cole voted yes on the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, which encouraged the status quo.

Candidate For RNC Chair Was Member Of Whites-Only Country Club

2008-11-25T08:46:00.000-08:00

Now here's a good way for the GOP to make the case that it hasn't been reduced to a southern regional rump party that's held hostage by intolerant crackpots: Elect as the new chairman of the Republican National Committee a southerner who just resigned a longtime membership in a whites-only country club.

Katon Dawson, the South Carolina GOP chairman, announced his candidacy for RNC chair yesterday.

And guess what: Back in September, when Dawson was first quietly laying the groundwork for his RNC run, The State newspaper reported that he resigned his membership in the nearly 80-year-old Forest Lake Club. Members told the newspaper at the time that the club's deed has a whites-only restriction and has no black members.

Dawson claimed to the paper that he'd actually been working since August to change the club's admission practices after reading about them in the press. Nonetheless, his membership could become an issue in the RNC chair race.

After all, the paper says he was a member for 12 years, so it seems like a pretty fair question to ask whether he started working to change the club's rules this summer, and then resigned, in preparation for his RNC chair candidacy.

That seems like a particularly relevant question when you recall that the case some GOPers made against Obama over his ties to Reverend Wright was that his supposed silence in the face of Wright's rantings should raise questions about Obama's patriotism.

What's more, The State said that Dawson resigned the club after it became known that the paper was getting ready to report his membership.

Either way, it's hard to see how it sends a winning message for the GOP to pick as its chief strategist and public face someone who was a member of a club where the first African American president in history apparently need not apply. Ah, those good old Repubs.

Why Is the National Press Ignoring Small-Town Racism?

2008-11-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

The big papers print it all, right?

Well, they’ve certainly published their share of pro-Obama op-eds, front-page stories about the war in Afghanistan, and maps that show how all the rural red counties turned blue last Tuesday. Subscribers love reading about how Obama’s win has ushered in a new era and helped erase the black stain of slavery.

But there are plenty of people out there who don’t like it one bit that a black man is about to become leader of the free world.

For whatever reason, the national papers and wire services are ignoring the steady stream of local reports concerning post-election acts of racism. The only place to find them is in small-town papers. VF Daily scoured small-town America for news of these incidents. What we found may shock you.

• In Pulaski Township, Pennsylvania, a flag was hung upside down. [Times Online]

• In Midland, Michigan a man paraded through an intersection in a KKK robe. [MLive]

• A noose was hung from a tree at Baylor University. [Baylor Lariat]

• In Loxahatchee, Florida, a family home was covered in racist graffiti. [WPTV.com]

• A gunstore employee in Traverse City, Michigan hung a flag upside down. [Traverse City Record-Eagle]

• In Stokes County, N.C., a man crossed his flag with a black X and hung it upside down. [Winston-Salem Journal]

• At the University of Arizona, a cartoon with an individual using a racial slur against black people caused an uproar. [DailyWildcat.com]

• In Apolacon Township, Pennsylvania an interracial couple who supported Obama found a burned cross in their yard. [Star-Gazette]

• In Mount Desert Island, Maine black effigies were hung from nooses. [Bangor Daily News]

Telegraph: Palin Blamed by Secret Service for Death Threats

2008-11-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

According to the Daily Telegraph in London:

Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.

The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.

The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.

But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks.

Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate us?"

There's more in the article, which appears to reference a Newsweek article. It's something we need to add to our Sara Palin Shit List®. Based on what we're seeing in the wingnutosphere, it seems like Sarah's going to be around for a while. Personally, I think we'll wipe the floor with her again next time around, but we need to be prepared.

I've saw other blogs that say 62% of Republicans want her as their leader. It makes sense that a party that celebrates ignorance, superstition and intolerance would love her since she has all of these traits in abundance. Let's keep our powder dry for the next round.

Beck: Conservatives voted for McCain hoping he’d die in office so Palin could take over

2008-11-07T09:22:00.000-08:00

Today, radical right-wing blog Red State launched “Project Leper,” an attempt to professionally punish McCain staffers whom Red State’s Erick Erickson perceives to have wronged Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK). Erikson told Glenn Beck today, “Palin was the best thing that happened to” the McCain campaign. To which, Beck agreed, saying many conservatives told him they supported McCain in hopes he would die in office:

BECK: I mean, I have to tell you if I heard once, I heard 1,000 times from people, and I never said this, never said this on the air because you just don’t say these things, but I heard a million times from people, “I’m going to vote for John McCain and, you know, I mean, he’s old. Maybe we get Sarah Palin in the first term.” You know what I mean?

ERICKSON: Exactly.

If this is true, Beck has shown how truly stupid, ignorant, & partisan Repubs are. Palin is a bigoted, racist, vengeful, stupid, dumb, out-of-touch, vicious, unhinged, incompetent, illiterate, buffoon. But definitely a Repub icon, given all that. When will Repubs realize this sort of smearing liar is of no interest to the American People ?

For years, the right has cultivated and promoted more and more idiotic, anti-reality radio screamers and columnists - Beck, Coulter, Ingrahm, Mark Levin, Savage, Goldberg and on and on and on. Getting the conservative message out took precedence over building party infrastructure, to the point where orthodoxy is valued over all else. The problem now being that the party is organized around patently ridiculous ideas. Tax cuts for the rich raises revenues! Our healthcare system is the best in the world! Global warming is a massive conspiracy! And the craziest of all: The U.S. is a majority conservative nation!

The result is you now have persuadable, not very bright people like Joe the Plumber being held up by the party as emblematic of all that is right and good about conservatism. Look! Joe gets it! Taxes are socialism! Evil! Even though the man was national punchline for the rank hypocrisy of being a tax cheat and growing up on welfare. And they think this is good! You actually need to be incoherent to be a conservative now. Listen to what Erickson says at the very end of the clip: “the McCain campaign seemed to think their strategy was to win with moderates and independents - the mushy middle. You don’t win elections…” I assume he finishes by making the point that McCain wasn’t stridently rightwingish enough. As long as the GOP is lead by the likes of Beck and Erickson, they’re destined for minority status. Sucks for them.

Florida school board keeps Klan leader's name at high school

2008-11-05T04:25:00.000-08:00

A Florida school board voted late Monday night to keep the name of a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader at a majority black high school, despite opposition from a black board member who said the school's namesake was a "terrorist and racist."

After hearing about three hours of public comments, Duval County School Board members voted 5-2 to the retain the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High School. The board's two black members cast the only votes to change the name.

"(Forrest) was a terrorist and a racist," argued board member Brenda Priestly Jackson, who is black.

Betty Burney, the board chairman and the board's other black member, also voted against retaining the name.

"It is time to turn the page and get beyond where we are," she said.

Board member Tommy Hazouri voted to keep the name and said it is difficult to know "who the real Forrest is."

The board listened to passionate arguments from those on both sides. More than 140 people crowded into the meeting room, with another 20 watching the meeting on a television in the lobby.

Many urged a name change, saying the Forrest name was an insult.

"Nathan Bedford Forrest was part of the Ku Klux Klan, no matter how you put it. Nathan Bedford Forrest needs to be changed," said Stanley Scott, who is black.

But several spoke favorably of the general, saying the perceptions that Forrest was an evil man who ordered the massacre of Union troops were incorrect.

June Cooper, who graduated from Forrest in 1970, said some people wanted to wipe out Southern history.

"He was a good man," said Cooper, who is White. "He was a military genius."

Despite her opposition, the board's chairwoman noted that the intensely debated issue could distract from students' education and had even prompted one person to receive death threats for wanting the name changed.

"The naming of a school should not take precedence over someone's life," she said.

Some had suggested naming the school after the street it sits on, or honoring a graduate whose plane was shot down in 1991 over Iraq on the first night of Operation Desert Storm.

Forrest High School, which has received two consecutive "F" grades on state assessment tests, opened as an all-white school in the 1950s. Its name was suggested by the Daughters of the Confederacy, who saw it as a protest to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that eventually integrated the nation's public schools.

But now more than half Forrest High's students are black.

The issue has come up several times during the past half-century, but the School Board has never changed the name. Jacksonville has three other schools named after Confederate generals, but it also has schools named after civil rights icons.

Born poor in Chapel Hill, Tenn., in 1821, Forrest amassed a fortune as a plantation owner and slave trader, importing Africans long after the practice had been made illegal. At 40, he enlisted as a private in the Confederate army at the outset of the Civil War, rising to a cavalry general in a year.

Some accounts accused Forrest of ordering black prisoners to be massacred after a victory at Tennessee's Fort Pillow in 1864, though historians question the validity of the claims.

In 1867, the newly formed Klan elected Forrest its honorary Grand Wizard or national leader, but he publicly denied being involved. In 1869, he ordered the Klan to disband because of the members' increasing violence. Two years later, a congressional investigation concluded his involvement had been limited to his attempt to disband it.

After his death in 1877, memorials to him sprung up throughout the South, particularly in Tennessee. A mounted statue of Forrest and the graves of the general and his wife are in a Memphis park bearing his name.

Another interesting fact the movie character "Forest Gump" was also named after Nathan Bedford Forrest.

ACORN ad targets GOP voter suppression

2008-10-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

The voter-rights group ACORN has a new advertisement accusing John McCain and Republicans of pursuing voter intimidation tactics aimed at keeping African American voters away from the polls.

Republicans have made attacking ACORN a focus of their talking points in recent days, accusing the group of perpetrating voter fraud and highlight examples of incorrect voter registration forms the group had gathered. In a new ad the group says will air on cable, it says the tactics will not work.

“Senator McCain needs to instruct his operatives and supporters to cease and desist. Nothing is more important to the fabric of our democracy than protecting the rights of American voters," said Steve Kest, Executive Director of ACORN. "Senator McCain should instead join us in trying to make it easier for voters to exercise their rights, by calling for measures such as extending early voting hours, to facilitate the greatest possible participation in this historic election."

The ad features a photo of a young black man morphing into an older face.

"It happened to him in 1960, in 1965 and again in 2000. He was intimidated so he wouldn’t vote," a narrator says. "This year, they’re at it again."

The group also has filed two lawsuits in New Mexico, charging local Republicans with attempting to intimidate legitimate voters, the group said in a press release, which highlighted allegations from across the country.

The Republican Party and its operatives have employed an astonishing variety of voter suppression and intimidation strategies in recent weeks:

· In Philadelphia, fliers were distributed in a predominantly African American neighborhood which suggested that people with legal troubles or unpaid traffic violations will be arrested by undercover cops when they show up to vote.

· In Hamilton County, Ohio, Prosecutor Joe Deters – who is also the local chair of the McCain-Palin campaign – requested via subpoena personal information for 40% of voters who participated in same-day registration.

· In California, a joint committee of the McCain-Palin campaign, the RNC and the California Republican Party, hired Lincoln Strategy in June for the purpose of ‘registering voters.’ The managing partner of Lincoln Strategy, Nathan Sproul, is a renowned GOP operative who has been investigated on multiple occasions for trying to suppress Democratic voter turnout.

· In Montgomery County, Virginia, a registrar issued a memo giving incorrect and intimidating information to students at Virginia Tech University about the consequences of registering to vote, including possible loss of financial aid and tax dependence status.

· In Ontario, California, the owner of a firm that the California Republican Party hired to register tens of thousands of voters was arrested on suspicion of voter registration fraud after dozens of voters reported that the firm tricked them into registering with the GOP by asking them to sign a petition they believed to be aimed at toughening penalties against child molesters.

The Republican National Committee dismissed the accusations, accusing ACORN of being a "quasi-criminal organization," according to the New York Times.

“Acorn’s most recent charges of voter suppression seem to be yet another attempt by this questionable organization to waste valuable taxpayer money and cloud their own record of voter registration fraud,” Mr. Cairncross said. “Just as a losing Kerry campaign election manual in 2004 urged activists to lodge a ‘pre-emptive strike’ claiming voter intimidation regardless of validity, Acorn is taking a page straight from the Democrats’ playbook.”

The group's 30-second ad was posted on YouTube in advance of its national television buy.

Amazon lists Obama Halloween mask as a ‘terrorist costume

2008-10-27T09:22:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, the LA Times caught Amazon.com listing a Halloween mask of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) as a “terrorist costume.” Though the listing has since been deleted from the “terrorist” page, Top of The Ticket caught the image:

The Obama terrorist page listed related searches as “arab costume, terrorist.”

Trouble right here in River City ??

2008-10-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

No, I don't understand how any "hockey mom" could spend $150,000 of campaign money on clothes in a couple months. Yes, I understand candidates have to look good. I'm all for the professional wardrobes, and grooming, and all that. But... Come on !!. A hundred and fifty grand ...PLEASE !!!. And from campaign donations of people like "Joe the Plumber", no less. And after you've just spent two months painting yourself as a salt of the earth small-town hero, a "real" American who doesn't go in for all that stuff?

You know, Palin really is beginning to come off as a con artist -- a Con (wo)man. Pure Harold Hill stuff. ( my theatre background is showing thats a Music Man reference) She says some pretty words, bluffs her way through all the situations that require active knowledge, the crowd cheers, and all the while fleeces everyone around her for travel, and fame, and clothes, etc., etc.

Her ridiculous levels of professed self-confidence, during all of this, just adds to the overall vibe that she's playing everyone for rubes, and is enjoying every minute of it. It's not a job or even an election to her, it's a game show, and she won the Big Prize.

What an exceptionally dislikable person she seems to be. From the first moment she stepped onto the national stage, there hasn't been a single retold aspect of her personal history that would inspire confidence, or respect, or anything but revulsion. She seems the perfect example of a shallow, petty, self-centered person rising in power simply because being shallow, petty and self-centered are the only tools necessary to do so. I half expect her to make off with McCain's wallet at some point, and be found two weeks later in Atlantic City.

Al Qaida Prefers McCain-That's Right!

2008-10-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

Al Qaida wants to continue bankrupting the US with continued expenditures associated with our involvement in two wars and believes that McWar-Monger's impetuous streak well, will keep this streak going.

Al-Qaida-linked Web site backs McCain as president

Al-Qaida-linked Web site encourages pre-election attack as way to usher in McCain presidency

The message, posted Monday on the password-protected al-Hesbah Web site, said if al-Qaida wants to exhaust the United States militarily and economically, "impetuous" Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is the better choice because he is more likely to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This requires presence of an impetuous American leader such as McCain, who pledged to continue the war till the last American soldier," the message said. "Then, al-Qaida will have to support McCain in the coming elections so that he continues the failing march of his predecessor, Bush."

"If al-Qaida carries out a big operation against American interests," the message said, "this act will be support of McCain because it will push the Americans deliberately to vote for McCain so that he takes revenge for them against al-Qaida. Al-Qaida then will succeed in exhausting America till its last year in it."

This is exactly what Bin Laden said he wanted to do to us; exhaust our financial resources to the point of bankruptcy and Al-Qaida believes that McCain will be the right person for the job.

Bin Laden's words have been popping up in my brain for some time now, actually for years since George took the bait hook, line & sinker. If this doesn't give Americans a wake up call I don't know what the heck will. Hell, Al-Qaida is even saying that they would consider an attack before the election just to guarantee the results they're looking for.

More on Acorn,lies,hate,racism

2008-10-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Sarah Palin was out whipping up a fine froth among the McCainiacs about ACORN's activities:

Palin demanded answers to “unanswered questions about Obama's connections with ACORN.”

The fans screamed “Booo!” at least 10 times when Palin mentioned Obama’s name.

“ACORN is under investigation for rampant voter fraud in 13 states. ACORN received over $800,000 from the Obama campaign,” Palin said. All 13 are swing states like Indiana.

“Booo!” Palin’s supporters shouted. Obama has said the $800,000 was for voter canvassing during the primary election, not for voter registration during the general election.

Palin, of course, is just following her the lead of her boss, who claimed in Wednesday's debate that ACORN "is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy." And we're already seeing the violent results on the ground emanating from this kind of demagoguery.

And it's demagoguery on a massive scale. After all, everywhere that ACORN has been seriously examined -- from Indiana to Seattle, whenever issues have arisen they have been the result of individual canvassers trying to cheat ACORN, not with the organization itself.

And let's be clear: there is no evidence whatsoever that an actual voting fraud problem exists. Just in regards to ACORN, the bogus registrations have largely been flagged and caught. Moreover, there simply is no evidence that people actually register to vote illegally on anything more than an infinitesimal scale.

And for nearly two weeks, ACORN offices across the nation have been subjected to an onslaught of racist and threatening voicemails and emails. We have secured copies of some of the most disturbing and offensive messages and have reproduced them below in order to show the very real consequences of the Right Wing’s overheated and misplaced “voter fraud” rhetoric.

“Hi, I was just calling to let you all know that Barack Obama needs to get hung. He's a fucking nigger, and he's a piece of shit. You guys are fraudulent, and you need to go to hell. All the niggers on oak trees. They're gonna get all hung honeys, they're gonna get assassinated, they're gonna get killed.”

And then we have this one:

"You liberal idiots. Dumb shits. Welfare bums. You guys just fucking come to our country, consume every natural resource there is, and make a lot of babies. That's all you guys do. And then suck up the welfare and expect everyone else to pay for your hospital bills for your kids. I just say let your kids die. That's the best move. Just let your children die. Forget about paying for hospital bills for them. I'm not gonna do it. You guys are lowlifes. And I hope you all die."

Actual violent actions are coming so be prepared. RWW's title says it all: Hate You Can Believe In.

CA GOP Alienates Own Black Members With Racist Image

2008-10-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

The latest newsletter by an Inland Republican women's group depicts Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama surrounded by a watermelon, ribs and a bucket of fried chicken, prompting outrage in political circles.

The October newsletter by the Chaffey Community Republican Women, Federated says if Obama is elected his image will appear on food stamps -- instead of dollar bills like other presidents. The statement is followed by an illustration of "Obama Bucks" -- a phony $10 bill featuring Obama's face on a donkey's body, labeled "United States Food Stamps."

This offensive image even alienated the African-American members of the Inland Republican Women's Group, and prompted outcries from other politicians, elected leaders, and other officials.

Sheila Raines, an African-American member of the club, was the first person to complain to Fedele about the newsletter. Raines, of San Bernardino, said she has worked hard to try to convince other minorities to join the Republican Party and now she feels betrayed.

"This is what keeps African-Americans from joining the Republican Party," she said. "I'm really hurt. I cried for 45 minutes."

And here's Diane Fedele's lame-ass excuse. Btw, she's the President of this organization:

"It was strictly an attempt to point out the outrageousness of his statement. I really don't want to go into it any further," Fedele said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "I absolutely apologize to anyone who was offended. That clearly wasn't my attempt."

She said she doesn't think in racist terms, pointing out she once supported Republican Alan Keyes, an African-American who previously ran for president.

"I didn't see it the way that it's being taken. I never connected," she said. "It was just food to me. It didn't mean anything else."

She said she also wasn't trying to make a statement linking Obama and food stamps, although her introductory text to the illustration connects the two: "Obama talks about all those presidents that got their names on bills. If elected, what bill would he be on????? Food Stamps, what else!"

Tim Wise on Facism

2008-10-16T06:25:00.000-07:00

Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S., and has been called, "One of the most brilliant, articulate and courageous critics of white privilege .And by the way he is white ,this is his latest essay ,it's long but well worth reading .Some of his other essays can found on his site www.timwise.org

This is How Fascism Comes: Reflections on the Cost of Silence

For those who have seen the ugliness and heard the vitriol emanating from the mouths of persons attending McCain/Palin rallies this past week--what with their demands to kill Barack Obama, slurs that he is a terrorist and a traitor, and paranoid delusions about his crypto-Muslim designs on America--please know this: This is how fascism comes to an ostensible democracy.

If it comes--and if those whose poisonous, unhinged verbiage has been so ubiquitous this week have any say over it, it surely will--this is how it will happen: not with tanks and jackbooted storm troopers, but carried in the hearts of men and women dressed in comfortable shoes, with baseball caps, and What Would Jesus Do? wristbands. It will be heralded by up-dos, designer glasses, you-betcha folksiness and a disdain for big words or hard consonants.

If fascism comes, it will spring from the soil of middle America, from people known as values voters but whose values are toxic, from simple folk whose simplicity, far from being admirable, is better labeled ignorance, from "all-American" types whose patriotism is a dagger pointed at the very heart of the national interest, for it so forsakes all the best principles upon which the republic was founded, choosing instead to elevate and ratify the narrow-mindedness, the bigotry, and the intolerance that also marked our country's origins.

If fascism comes, it will be ushered in by tailgaters at the big football game, by Joe Six Pack, who, upon finishing his sixth beer and belching forth the stench of a mediocre life lived, will gladly announce its arrival, so long as it comes with a steady supply of Pabst Blue Ribbon and hot dogs on the grill, and giant foam hands with a "We're Number 1" finger, some Mardi Gras beads and a good titty bar.

If fascism comes it will dress like a hockey mom, or a NASCAR dad. It will believe Toby Keith to be an artist, Larry the Cable Guy to be a comic, and that the world was made in six literal days less than 6000 years ago.

If fascism comes it will come from the small towns; the ones Sarah Palin, quoting a famous racist and Jew-hater, said "grow good people," and which occasionally do, but which, just as often grow provincial, isolated, fearful and superstitious ones.

If fascism comes it will come from faux populism, from anti-immigrant hysteria, from persons who have more guns in their homes than books, or whose books, when they have them, are principally volumes of the Left Behind series, several different copies of the Bible, and a plethora of romance novels.

If fascism comes it will be welcomed, lock stock and barrel by persons who pray at every meal to a God they visualize as white, whose son they also think was white, and who they believe is going to rapture them all into the sky upon the blowing of some heavenly trumpet, after which point all those who don't think as they think will be burned in an eternal lake of fire. Their vision and version of God is itself fascistic--to love a God who would do such a thing is to love an abusive, sadistic and evil deity after all--so it should come as little surprise that their conception of the state would be equally authoritarian or worse.

If fascism comes it will be at the behest of those who hold a contempt for what they call "book learnin," who prefer Presidents who mispronounce basic words because they make them feel smarter, and who are looking for nothing so much as a commander-in-chief with whom they would enjoy having a beer, or two, or twelve at some backyard barbecue.

If fascism comes it will be interviewed, lovingly, on talk radio, by hosts whose cerebral inadequacies are more than made up for by their bellicosity, their bombast, their willingness to shout down those with whom they cannot argue, for argument requires knowledge, and this is a commodity with which they have not even a passing familiarity.

If fascism comes it will come wrapped in red,white and blue, carrying a crucifix and a shotgun, projecting its own sexual confusion and insecurity onto others, substituting volume for veracity and rage for reason, and landing on the New York Times best-seller list as a result.

If fascism comes it will have a pajama party at Ann Coulter's house, pop pills with Rush Limbaugh, and go gay-bashing with Michael Savage, all in the same weekend. And it will refuse to learn another language or get a passport, because doing either of those would make one cosmopolitan--which is just another word for "faggot."

If fascism comes it will come because a lot of people who aren't like the folks I'm talking about here, won't stand up to the ones who are. Because we're too busy, don't want to make waves, don't want to lose friends, or alienate family. It will come, in other words, because those who know better are cowards, more concerned with getting along, making nice, and being liked than with telling the truth, calling out evil and saving their country.

If fascism comes it will come because of the silence, and thus, collaboration of those who think themselves good, and certainly superior to the knuckle-draggers they can see on YouTube at the McCain rallies, but who in the end are no better and in some ways worse than they: after all, at least fascists stand up for what they believe in. They are telling us, in no uncertain terms what kind of United States they want and are willing to fight for, and maybe even to kill for. But many "progressives," many liberals, many of the so-called enlightened are doing nothing at all.

If fascism comes it will come because those liberals thought voting for Barack Obama was all they needed to do; it will come because they allowed themselves to believe that politics is what a person does every four years, but not at work, and not in the neighborhood, and not at the dinner table. Meanwhile, know-nothings filled with hate, nurtured on racial and religious bigotry and who have overdosed on the kind of hypernationalism that has always proved fatal to those places foolish or craven enough to allow it a foothold, talk of their visions for America at every opportunity. They raise their kids on that sickness, they build churches whose very foundation is rooted in that cancerous rot, and they will think nothing of steamrolling those who get in their way.

So when, exactly, do we fight back? When do we say enough? When do we stand up to our relative or friend who sends us the e-mail about Obama being a Manchurian Candidate or al-Qaeda sympathizer, or the one about the decency of Midwestern flood victims as opposed to those stranded after Katrina, or about how God was punishing New Orleans because of its tolerance of homosexuality, and tell them what we think: namely, that they are a bunch of racist, heterosexist loons, whose friendship or familial connection we neither want nor intend to pursue unless they get help. When do we decide that we love our country and humanity too much to allow these people one more day of decent sleep, one more day of self-assured confidence in their craziness and the willingness of the rest of us to just take it? When do we decide that every irrational, Jeezoid, racist thing that comes from their mouths will be attacked, will be rebutted, until they can no longer take for granted the ability to say any of it in mixed company without being called out?

Why, in the face of the fascism they would surely introduce if given the chance, are we intent on being so nice? Why are we not more offended? Offended not merely at what such persons say about others--like Obama, or Latino immigrants, or whatever--but even about we who look like them? After all, their open exhortations of racism presuppose that they are speaking for us, and that this kind of brain-dead ventilation is something to which all white folks should aspire as though it were virtually the essence of enlightenment.

If fascism comes it will come because we did not see in their actions a sufficient threat, or because we allowed ourselves to believe that it couldn't come, that our institutions were too strong, our people too good, for that to happen. If it comes it will come because we allowed ourselves to believe the rosy and optimistic version of America spun by Obama, without tempering that optimism with a clear-headed appraisal of the way that (sadly) a still huge number of Americans actually think: because we allowed the vehicle of our hopes to outrun the headlights of truth; because we convinced ourselves that we actually lived in the country of our aspirations, rather than the nation we have at present.

And if fascism doesn't come--if, rather, democracy does--it will come because good people said no. It will come because we saw in this moment the opportunity to demand the full measure of our humanity and to pour it forth upon the national soil. It will be because we understood that democracy isn't what you have, it's what you do. But if we are to issue that demand, if we are to stand straight and fulfill the potential we possess to do justice, we had best exercise the option quickly, for the opponents of justice are on the move. They are preparing to enter on the winds of our silence and indifference, and complacency. Let them find no quarter here.

The REAL truth about ACORN

2008-10-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

It's worth taking a moment to step back from the slew of charges leveled over the last week at ACORN, the community-organizing group that Republicans and the McCain campaign have been trying to turn into a bogeyman for fears about vote fraud (and, of course, tie to Barack Obama).

The GOP has accused ACORN of submitting fraudulent voter registration forms numbering in the hundreds or thousands, in battleground states including Ohio, Indiana, Nevada, and Missouri.

But the most important point that's getting lost in the Fox-generated hysteria is that, according to voting experts, even when fraudulent voter registration forms are submitted, they virtually never lead to fraudulent votes being cast. Richard Hasen, a law professor at Loyola and an authority on voting law, wrote in a 2007 op-ed published last year in the Dallas Morning News and noted recently by TPM, that "the idea of massive polling-place fraud (through the use of inflated voter rolls) is inherently incredible," because of the sheer logistical challenges it would require to carry out on a large scale.

In many states, ACORN is required by law to turn in all the forms it collects, though the law differs from state to law, according to experts.

It's also worth noting that similar allegations were made against ACORN in the last few election cycles, and several investigations were conducted, none of which found evidence of widespread voter fraud. Many of these were conducted by US attorneys, who were pressured by GOP political figures to investigate the issue, then fired after they failed to come up with sufficient evidence.

So as the GOP campaign to make an issue out of ACORN continues -- and we'll be keeping you posted as it does -- remember that the number of fraudulent votes that will be cast in November as a result of the group's voter-registration activities is close to zero. But the number of valid voters who could potentially have obstacles placed in their way of voting, as a result of the Republican campaign, is far larger.

Is the McCain Campaign Hiring Vocal Audience Plants?

2008-10-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

The man McCain hugged for "begging" him to attack Obama is a talk radio jock for AM radio

Did Senator John McCain hire the man he hugged in a town-hall campaign event in Waukesha, Wisconsin? It is certainly no more a stretch than the McCain tactic of bringing up William Ayers, Chicago Citizen of the Year recipient in 1997, who while working with the Chicago School Reform Collaborative between 1995 and 2000 made education funding recommendations to the board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge that Senator Barack Obama chaired at the time.

Yes, that Annenberg. The late Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg, staunch Republican supporter, his wife is endorsing John McCain. McCain's latest fear and smear tactic of using Ayers as an excuse to paint Obama as some kind of domestic terrorist sympathizer will have to include all the rest of the nice people who were also involved, and the MSM has been compliant by not fully calling McCain out on it. Does everyone associated with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge realize that now, by association, John McCain, Sarah Palin, and the Republican "base" see them all as toxic?

The Awkward Hug

In Waukesha James T. Harris, an AM conservative radio host admonished McCain: "It is absolutely vital that you take it to Obama, that you hit him where it hurts, there's a soft spot."

After bringing up Reverend Wright, ACORN and some unspecified "shady characters", Harris got really dramatic and said "I am begging you, sir, I am begging you. Take it to him."

So who is James T. Harris? He's an AM radio talk show host on Saturday and Sunday afternoons for WTMG AM 620 in Milwaukee. But there is more to James T. Harris. He's outsource ready.

Harris runs a business called "IllumiNation". The Web page that describes how to engage Harris's services are indeed quite illuminating:

"Choose Your IllumiNation™ Program Now in Three Easy Steps!

1. Know the Desired Outcomes you want your audience to experience.
2. Define an ample time slot to allow us to introduce and unpack the program for those outcomes.
3. Pick a single program or combine multiple programs that fit the allotted time and desired outcomes."

I'm sure it is just a coincidence, and we have no evidence that John McCain's campaign would actually hire PR type people such as Harris to help move along the campaign, but if McCain ever needs someone from Wisconsin to stand up and ask a question the campaign would like to have asked, maybe as a precursor to the last debate of the general election season, James T. Harris looks like he can deliver. What was Armstrong Williams busy ?

Angry voter threatens Registrar, says he needs to 'keep the nigger out of office'

2008-10-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

A Monroe, Louisiana man is facing a felony terrorizing charge after a racially charged, profane exchange with his Registrar of Voters and police officers who would later arrest him.

75-year-old Wade Williams, arrested Wednesday morning, was angry that he hadn't yet received his voter registration card. According to the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office, Williams threatened a state official over the phone that he would "empty his shotgun," stating an urgent need to vote to "keep the nigger out of office." On the way to be booked at the Ouachita Correctional Center, Williams reportedly "continued his 'tirade' about niggers and also stated that he had a shotgun, but had hidden it at his residence."

The affidavit also states that Williams was informed over the phone that he would be able to vote simply by showing a form of identification at the polling place.

Republican Clears Obama On Ayers!

2008-10-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

Uh-oh...Ayers won't work anymore (There goes the kitchen sink, I guess here comes the table)...Some republicans from Chicago are saying what most of us knew all along. Bill Ayers was a commonly acceptable figure in Chicago by everyone--Democrats, Independents, and even Republicans. Are they all America hating, terrorist loving traitors to America?!

In fact, this NPR piece speaks to the Republican funded cause that Obama and Ayers worked on together. And that:

"It was never a concern by any of us in the Chicago school reform movement that he had led a fugitive life years earlier," said former Illinois state Republican Rep. Diana Nelson, who worked with both Obama and Ayers over the years. "It's ridiculous. There is no reason at all to smear Barack Obama with this association. It's nonsensical, and it just makes me crazy. It's so silly."

Yesterday, in a rehash of the MSM acknowledged issues of the day, NPR did a short piece on Obama and Ayers. Fortunately for many, they made news.

First, Obama began working with Ayers and others (Republicans, Independents, and Democrats) at the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. Well, what is the Anneberg Challenge? Who is Annenberg? Well according to NPR,

The Obama campaign says he first met Ayers in 1995, when Obama became chair of the board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a $50 million fund that awarded grants to groups trying to implement new programs to improve inner city education in Chicago.

Walter Annenberg, a lifelong Republican and former ambassador who was appointed by Presidents Nixon and Reagan, funded an ambitious program to reform urban education in many cities in the mid 1990s. Ayers was an important member of the group that developed and wrote the grant proposal to the Annenberg Foundation.

Second, there were people of all political persuasions working on this effort with this "terrorist" Ayers and who saw him as acceptable and Obama was no closer than any of the others.

...no one on the board or on the Annenberg Challenge staff remembers Obama being any closer to Ayers than to any other member of the board. The Annenberg board also included several civic, business and education leaders, many of them Republicans...

In fact one person close to the issue states:

"I don't remember ever hearing anyone raise concerns or questions or concerns about [Ayers'] background," says Anne Hallett, who has worked closely with Ayers on the Annenberg Challenge grant and with Obama on education and other community and legislative matters. "And that included everybody I was engaged with," including prominent Republicans, and corporate and civic leaders in Chicago, Hallett adds.

Oh, really?!

So not only was Obama working on a Republican funded initiative, but prominent Republicans were involved on the board with Ayers. Do they all hate America so much that they are "palling" around with terrorist? He had been in their midst for years, why did not the republican's run him out of town.

Obama was new to Chicago. He hadn't been elected to anything. He really did even know where the bodies where truly buried in Chicago (evidenced by the thumping he received when he ran for the state senate). He just wanted to serve the community and do good work. However, Ayers had been there for years, building a reputation that was so mainstream that a life long Republican, who was a former Ambassador appointed by Nixon and Regan, allowed the release of $50 Million to let him, prominent Republicans, corporate, civic leaders, and a Harvard trained community organizer form a board to oversee the disbursement of these funds related to school reform.

And finally, the author notes:

Hallett calls this attack on Obama's association with Ayers and the Annenberg Challenge by further association, "a smear campaign. It's a political diatribe that has no basis in fact. The Chicago Annenberg Challenge was an extremely positive initiative. It was well-vetted, thorough, and the fact that it is now is being used for political purposes is, in my opinion, outrageous."

And as noted earlier a former Illinois Republican state representative states:

"It was never a concern by any of us in the Chicago school reform movement that he had led a fugitive life years earlier," said former Illinois state Republican Rep. Diana Nelson, who worked with both Obama and Ayers over the years. "It's ridiculous. There is no reason at all to smear Barack Obama with this association. It's nonsensical, and it just makes me crazy. It's so silly."

Now, not only, can we fight this with an emotional and logical appeal of the unfairness of guilt by association, but also with factual appeal that no one including Obama (Democrats, Republicans, or Independents) who all love this country like Obama does, saw Ayers for his acts 20 plus years earlier, but as another person trying to do God's work to better the future of children from some of the toughest meanest areas of Chicago.

Florida teacher uses 'N' word against Obama

2008-10-04T05:19:00.000-07:00

A Florida middle school teacher faced disciplinary action after using the word "nigger" to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, WJHG's Kristy Wolski reported.

The 7th grade teacher, Greg Howard, asked his students what "change" stood for in relation to the Obama campaign and proceeded to write out the acronym "come help a nigger get elected."

The school suspended Howard without pay for 10 days and removed him from his position at the school.

"That shouldn't happen," said Billy Delahunt, an Obama supporter. "Because they're there to learn, they're not there to discriminate."

Jackson County's Deputy School Superintendent confirmed that the teacher used the racial slur in class and that such actions would not be tolerated.

But school officials said Howard has been transferred to Jackson County Adult Education Program, where he will continue to teach.

Howard has also been removed from his position as football coach and may face further action from the Florida Department of Education.

Does Palin think this is a Fucking Joke?

2008-10-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

OK, let me amend that headline: Do Republicans and pundits think this is a Fucking Joke? We have well over 4000 US troops dead in a war that was waged on false pretenses...an economy in shambles...people losing their homes...unemployment rates out the roof....people dying because they cannot afford Healthcare...a current administration that has violated the US Constitution, exceeded their powers over and over again...and people are turning a blind eye to a "pitbull with lipstick"!! Come on!!

Giving shout outs to Third Graders... Not answering questions...Eye winking...Acting like a giggling 15 year old. I was absolutely FLOORED!!

No, I wasn't a fan of Sarah Palin before the VP Debate, but as a citizen of this country, I am absolutely pissed at her performance! This completely unprofessional, unpresidential performance was not only an embarrassment, but also a disgrace to every president and vice president who ever held that position! A disgrace to every woman who has fought for the right to be validated on an equal platform as men based on their skills, ideals, principles, and logic...NOT for how cute they can be!!

Today, the pundits are calling this a "Knockout" Performance (well considering how low the bar was set, that's not too hard). Joe Scarborough said: "People can now stop calling her an idiot". Really Joe? Is that with a "wink wink" and a great big "you betcha!" ?

These Republicans claim to "love" this country so much--but it's really their own party that they really love. Which clearly explains why they don't seem to care that Sarah Palin being Vice-President of the United States is as about as ridiculous as Pat Buchanan wining "dancing with the stars".

So when the 3am phone call rings, and there's been another Hurricane that's devastated an American city, what is she going to do, wink and smile pretty at the storm? click her heels three times and say "Go away bad storm!! I've only been at this for like 5 weeks!"

Just fucking ridiculous!

News Media, Analysts Blame John McCain For Bush Bailout Failure

2008-09-30T06:59:00.000-07:00

John McCain raced to Washington, D.C. in order to focus on the Congressional bailout plan for the staggering economy. Rather than helping, most accounts have McCain sabotaging the delicate negotiations between the failed Bush/Cheney administration, Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, House Democrats, and House Republicans as he acted more as 'bull-in-the-China-shoppe' rather than as President.

Then, McCain, following his poor showing in the first Presidential debate against Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), flees back to Washington, D.C., supposedly to twist GOP House members' arms to achieve passage of legislation. Just how successful was McCain: Not so much. Republican House members defeated the legislation 67% to 33%.

Sure, Bush/Cheney/McCain should suffer for their mismanagement of the economy and deregulation. Sure, bankers should suffer for crashing their commercial and investment banks. And, for sure, McCain should suffer for damaging delicate negotiations in Congress and for attempting what is clearly not his forte: temperate, patient negotiations with warring factions. If McCain cannot tame Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, House Democrats, and House Republicans, how can he calm the waters between Shia and Sunni, between Israel and the Palestinians, between Russia and Georgia?

News media across the country now blame John McCain for today's failure of the Congress to pass the Bush/Cheney/McCain bailout plan:

New Republic:

As for McCain, this is very, very bad news. He failed to convert the House GOP, and the stock market is in a tailspin.

Marc Ambinder, the Atlantic.com:

So if McCain wanted credit for passage, should he share some of the blame for its defeat?

Two thirds of half Republicans voted for its defeat...after a weekend of telephone call diplomacy from McCain.

Nancy Pelosi may have given a partisan speech, but she was able to get most of her Democrats on board...

Joe Klein, Time Magazine:

I do blame McCain for his puerile histrionics and for dragging this issue--which should have been above partisanship--into presidential politics. Let's make no mistake about it: his various gimmicks had absolutely nothing to do with the substance of the issue. He doesn't know all that much about the substance of the issue. The gimmicks were a failed attempt to make it seem as if he had powers, and knowledge, he didn't have. Clearly, he was in a more difficult position than Obama--the populist conservative wing of House Republicans was unwilling to take responsibility for the fruits of the deregulation that they promoted--and that might have required a more aggressive effort to move votes on his part, but the flailing about only confused Republicans (was he for, was he against?) and made matters worse.

Chris Matthews, MSNBC:

McCain said he was going to lead the Republican charge, he was going to make sure that this was a bipartisan success...he called charge, and the Republican retreated. That's what happened here.

Ed Rollins, Republican campaign strategist:

A prominent GOP strategist said on Monday that John McCain handled his role in the bailout process poorly and would ultimately be hurt politically by the failure of the House of Representatives to pass the measure.

"To a certain extent, I think John gets hurt by this," said Ed Rollins, a CNN contributor who worked on former Gov. Mike Huckabee's primary campaign earlier this cycle. "He obviously, at the end of the day, said he was for it. But more important than that, he said he was the one who would bring them to the table and to a certain extent he will be viewed now as not being able to do that."

McCain has shown himself to be intemperate, facile, and impertinent. McCain, as George F. Will so aptly stated is unfit to be President.

Michelle Malkin just can’t control her racism. Blames Latinos for the mortgage crisis

2008-09-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

Conservatives like Malkin will go to the ends of the earth to blame brown people for all the problems in the world.

It’s no coincidence that most of the areas hardest hit by the foreclosure wave - Loudoun County, Va., California’s Inland Empire, Stockton and San Joaquin Valley, and Las Vegas and Phoenix, for starters - also happen to be some of the nation’s largest illegal-alien sanctuaries. Half of the mortgages to Hispanics are subprime (the accursed species of loan to borrowers with the shadiest credit histories). A quarter of all those subprime loans are in default and foreclosure.

Regional reports across the country have decried the subprime meltdown’s impact on illegal-immigrant “victims.” A July report showed that in seven of the ten metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates, Hispanics represented at least one third of the population; in two of those areas - Merced and Salinas-Monterey, Calif. - Hispanics comprised half the population. The amnesty-promoting National Council of La Raza and its Development Fund have received millions in federal funds to “counsel” their constituents on obtaining mortgages with little to no money down; the group almost succeeded in attaching a $10-million earmark for itself in one of the housing bills past this spring…read on

The National Review should be ashamed to print this garbage, but we all know their history on racial issues. This is why Latino voters need to turn out in huge numbers this November.

I guess Malkin has never heard of something called “No Doc” loans which mean No Income, No Asset, No employment Verification. It’s got nothing to do with immigration.
And, like most racists, she forgets herself from time to time and forgets to distinguish between illegal immigrants and Mexican Americans. It makes no difference to her, of course, but they are usually a bit more scrupulous in their obfuscation.

The idea that the trillion dollar credit crunch was caused by illegal immigrants is so ludicrous that I can’t stop laughing…..This meme is absurd, but it’s the only way the conservatives can explain things within their world view. And there’s nothing new here. The historical American resistance to government action is historically tied to a reluctance give money to people of color…

Was Eliot Spitzer "dealt with" ?

2008-09-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

Below is an oped from the Washington Post written by former Governor of New york,that explains the whole financial situation this country is currently in.Three weeks after this was printed Spitzer became headline news,for visiting prostitutes. With the Bush crimes family's warrant-less wiretapping,doesn't this kinda make you go HUMMMM?

Predatory Lenders' Partner in Crime
How the Bush Administration Stopped the States From Stepping In to Help Consumers

By Eliot Spitzer
Thursday, February 14, 2008; A25

Several years ago, state attorneys general and others involved in consumer protection began to notice a marked increase in a range of predatory lending practices by mortgage lenders. Some were misrepresenting the terms of loans, making loans without regard to consumers' ability to repay, making loans with deceptive "teaser" rates that later ballooned astronomically, packing loans with undisclosed charges and fees, or even paying illegal kickbacks. These and other practices, we noticed, were having a devastating effect on home buyers. In addition, the widespread nature of these practices, if left unchecked, threatened our financial markets.

Even though predatory lending was becoming a national problem, the Bush administration looked the other way and did nothing to protect American homeowners. In fact, the government chose instead to align itself with the banks that were victimizing consumers.

Predatory lending was widely understood to present a looming national crisis. This threat was so clear that as New York attorney general, I joined with colleagues in the other 49 states in attempting to fill the void left by the federal government. Individually, and together, state attorneys general of both parties brought litigation or entered into settlements with many subprime lenders that were engaged in predatory lending practices. Several state legislatures, including New York's, enacted laws aimed at curbing such practices.

What did the Bush administration do in response? Did it reverse course and decide to take action to halt this burgeoning scourge? As Americans are now painfully aware, with hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure and our markets reeling, the answer is a resounding no.

Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye.

Let me explain: The administration accomplished this feat through an obscure federal agency called the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC has been in existence since the Civil War. Its mission is to ensure the fiscal soundness of national banks. For 140 years, the OCC examined the books of national banks to make sure they were balanced, an important but uncontroversial function. But a few years ago, for the first time in its history, the OCC was used as a tool against consumers.

In 2003, during the height of the predatory lending crisis, the OCC invoked a clause from the 1863 National Bank Act to issue formal opinions preempting all state predatory lending laws, thereby rendering them inoperative. The OCC also promulgated new rules that prevented states from enforcing any of their own consumer protection laws against national banks. The federal government's actions were so egregious and so unprecedented that all 50 state attorneys general, and all 50 state banking superintendents, actively fought the new rules.

But the unanimous opposition of the 50 states did not deter, or even slow, the Bush administration in its goal of protecting the banks. In fact, when my office opened an investigation of possible discrimination in mortgage lending by a number of banks, the OCC filed a federal lawsuit to stop the investigation.

Throughout our battles with the OCC and the banks, the mantra of the banks and their defenders was that efforts to curb predatory lending would deny access to credit to the very consumers the states were trying to protect. But the curbs we sought on predatory and unfair lending would have in no way jeopardized access to the legitimate credit market for appropriately priced loans. Instead, they would have stopped the scourge of predatory lending practices that have resulted in countless thousands of consumers losing their homes and put our economy in a precarious position.

When history tells the story of the subprime lending crisis and recounts its devastating effects on the lives of so many innocent homeowners, the Bush administration will not be judged favorably. The tale is still unfolding, but when the dust settles, it will be judged as a willing accomplice to the lenders who went to any lengths in their quest for profits. So willing, in fact, that it used the power of the federal government in an unprecedented assault on state legislatures, as well as on state attorneys general and anyone else on the side of consumers.

Rush Limbaugh is a Lying Bigot

2008-09-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

From Media Matters:

On the September 22 broadcast of his syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh baselessly claimed that Sen. Barack Obama is "not black," and went on to ask: "Do you know he has not one shred of African-American blood?" Limbaugh continued: "He's Arab. You know, he's from Africa. He's from Arab parts of Africa. ... [H]e's not African-American. The last thing that he is is African-American."

Think about it.

As of 2006, Arbitron ratings indicated that The Rush Limbaugh Show had a minimum weekly audience of 13.5 million listeners, making it the largest radio talk show audience in the United States.

Somewhere around 14 million Americans were assured today that Barack Obama is not African-American, but Arab-American. Here is the ethnic composition of Kenya, where Barack Obama's father came from (according to the CIA):

Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1%

Barack Obama Sr. was a member of the Luo tribe. They are not Arab. In fact, the vast majority of them are not even Muslim.

The Luo traditionally believed in an afterlife and a supreme creator, whom they called Nyasaye, and had a strong ancestor cult. Today most Kenya Luo are Christians, and a small number are Muslim.

In fact Barack Obama Sr. would not have been even nominally Muslim if his father (Barack's grandfather) had not converted.

His father, Onyango Obama (c. 1895-1979, buried at Alego),[1] belonged to the Luo tribe and was born Onyango, son of Obama (buried at Kendu Bay, Kenya) and wife Nyaoke, in one of their villages. Before working as a cook for missionaries in Nairobi, Onyango had travelled widely, enlisting with the name Onyango Obama in the British colonial forces during World War I and visiting Europe, India, and Zanzibar, where he converted from Christianity to Islam.

By all accounts, Barack Obama Sr. did not follow in his father's footsteps as an observant Muslim. He was not an Arab. And Rush Limbaugh just lied to his 14 million-strong audience about this for one simple reason. He wants to confuse people and frighten them by playing on their ignorance and fear of Islam and Arabs.

By all rights, there shouldn't be an advertiser in the country willing to associate their product with Rush Limbaugh's show. And for the record, Barack Obama Jr. is a Christian, raised by his white mother and grandparents in Honolulu, Hawaii. He spent a few years in Indonesia before returning to Hawaii to attend high school. He attended Occidental University in Los Angeles before transferring to Columbia University in Manhattan. He received his law degree from Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts before moving to Chicago to practice law. He also worked as a community organizer, helping people that had been laid off when the steel mills closed on the south side of Chicago.

In other words, Obama has lived in four major U.S. cities (five, if you include Honolulu). He has degrees from two Ivy League schools (just like George W. Bush). He's a Christian. And he was raised by white parents and grandparents. But Rush Limbaugh is telling people that he's an Arab and suspect as an American.

"Witch Hunter" who Prayed Palin into Office is Back

2008-09-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

An African evangelist, Pastor Muthee has given guest sermons at the Wasilla Assembly of God on at least 10 occasions in his role as the founder of the Word of Faith Church, also known as the Prayer Cave.

Pastor Muthee founded the Prayer Cave in 1989 in Kiambu, Kenya after "God spoke" to him and his late wife Margaret and called him to the country, according to the church’s website.

The pastor speaks of his offensive against a demonic presence in the town in a trailer for the evangelical video "Transformations", made by Sentinel Group, a Christian research and information agency.

"We prayed, we fasted, the Lord showed us a spirit of witchcraft resting over the place," Pastor Muthee says.

In the infamous video from June where Palin proclaims the perfect providential perspective, she praises Pastor Muthee:

"As I was mayor and Pastor Muthee was here and he was praying over me, and you know how he speaks and he’s so bold. And he was praying "Lord make a way, Lord make a way."

"And I’m thinking, this guy’s really bold, he doesn’t even know what I’m going to do, he doesn’t know what my plans are. And he’s praying not "oh Lord if it be your will may she become governor," no, he just prayed for it. He said "Lord make a way and let her do this next step. And that’s exactly what happened."

She then adds: "So, again, very very powerful, coming from this church," before the presiding pastor comments on the "prophetic power" of the event.

Yes, bold. Bold and, well, evil. This charlatan in sheep's clothing founded his success by - literally - demonizing an innocent woman in Kenya, turning her fellow citizens against her and getting her arrested. After ruining her life, encouraging police to trash her house and shoot her pet snake, the innocent woman was forced to move.

The pastor speaks of his offensive against a demonic presence in the town in a trailer for the evangelical video "Transformations", made by Sentinel Group, a Christian research and information agency.

"We prayed, we fasted, the Lord showed us a spirit of witchcraft resting over the place," Pastor Muthee says.

After the spirit was broken, the crime rate dropped to almost zero and there was "explosive church growth" while almost every bar in the town closed down, the video says.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, six months of fervent prayer and research identified the source of the witchcraft as a local woman called Mama Jane, who ran a "divination" centre called the Emmanuel Clinic.

Her alleged involvement in fortune-telling and the fact that she lived near the site of a number of fatal car accidents led Pastor Muthee to publicly declare her a witch responsible for the town’s ills, and order her to offer her up her soul for salvation or leave Kiambu.

Says the Monitor, "Muthee held a crusade that "brought about 200 people to Christ"." They set up round-the-clock prayer intercession in the basement of a grocery store and eventually, says the pastor "the demonic influence – the ‘principality’ over Kiambu –was broken", and Mama Jane fled the town.

...after Pastor Muthee declared Mama Jane a witch, the townspeople became suspicious and began to turn on her, demanding that she be stoned. Public outrage eventually led the police to raid her home, where they fired gunshots, killing a pet python which they believed to be a demon.

After Mama Jane was questioned by police – and released – she decided it was time to leave town, the account says.

Palin's "normal" pastor (Ed Kalins) isn't much better, claiming that Alaska will be the refuge for American evangelicals in the rapidly-approaching "End of Days".

I'm sure Supreme Leader Palin will do her best to make certain that those End Days come as soon as possible.

Sarah Palin's diversity in action as governor: cronies and classmates - and definitely no blacks.

2008-09-19T10:28:00.001-07:00

While there aren't a lot of black people living in Alaska (4.46%), it would be interesting to know what Governor Sarah Palin thinks of her taxpaying black citizens and her approach to inclusion.

Wait no longer. The President of the African American Historical Society of Alaska, Gwendolyn Alexander, who is also one of the Juneteenth Directors in Alaska, released a statement that reveals quite a bit about the veep nominee. (via Electronic Village):

"As for Governor Sarah Palin's involvement in the African American community, the Governor's office hasn't participated in any of our Alaska Juneteenth Events. All previous Alaskan Governor's have traditionally attended and participated in our annual Juneteenth Celebration. Gov. Palin was the first governor not to send out a congratulatory letter or assist us in any way with our Juneteenth activities.

I didn't have the courtesy of receiving a reply when I asked for a representative from the Governor's office to come and speak at our Juneteenth Celebration if Governor Palin was unable to attend. I never even heard of Gov. Palin until she was elected Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, in Mat-Su Valley.

Governor Palin is a very energetic and spontaneous woman. With some of the things being said and going around this state right now, I'm surprised none of the national media have bothered to come here and get the words directly from the mouths of the people who have lived with her all of these years instead of 'surfing the net!'

My other opinion is why would an individual who, to my knowledge, has not hired any African Americans on her gubernatorial staff, insist so passionately on being on a television show owned and operated by an African American, Oprah Winfrey?

While meeting with Black leaders concerning the absence of any African Americans on her staff, Gov. Palin responded that she doesn't have to hire any Blacks and was not intending to hire any. What kind of attitude is this toward African American for who may be the first Vice-President of the United States?

It's an attitude that doesn't surprise me at all. It's right in alignment with a Values Voter Summit attended by many GOP luminaries that promotes the display and sale of Obama Waffles. It's in alignment with a party and campaign that is already working to cage voters through unclear ballots and contest voters from foreclosed homes.

What is Palin's history as governor in terms of appointments? Perhaps there were no qualified POC she could find to promote diversity in her government. Or maybe she has very specific requirements for the posts that no blacks could meet. Oh wait, look at this! (NYT):

As she assembled her cabinet and made other state appointments, those with insider credentials were now on the outs. But a new pattern became clear. She surrounded herself with people she has known since grade school and members of her church.

...Ms. Palin chose Talis Colberg, a borough assemblyman from the Matanuska valley, as her attorney general, provoking a bewildered question from the legal community: "Who?" Mr. Colberg, who did not return calls, moved from a one-room building in the valley to one of the most powerful offices in the state, supervising some 500 people.

"I called him and asked, 'Do you know how to supervise people?' " said a family friend, Kathy Wells. "He said, 'No, but I think I'll get some help.' "

The Wasilla High School yearbook archive now doubles as a veritable directory of state government. Ms. Palin appointed Mr. Bitney, her former junior high school band-mate, as her legislative director and chose another classmate, Joe Austerman, to manage the economic development office for $82,908 a year. Mr. Austerman had established an Alaska franchise for Mailboxes Etc.

Trombone Player Who Accuses Palin of "Racist" Incident Has Reputation for Truthfulness

2008-09-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

Gregory Charles Royal, a noted Black Jazz musician with a light complexion, has an anecdote seared in his memory from meeting "Sarah Heath" Palin during a trip to Anchorage. He reports that when he was touring with the Duke Ellington Orchestra in Anchorage, Alaska, vice presidential nominee Sarah Heath Palin broke off a conversation with him in a restaurant, saying, "I don't mess with Black guys," after seeing his fellow Orchestra players and realizing that he must be Black.

This is the second case in which Palin has been reported to have made color-based statements in an Alaska restaurant. However, in this case the person reporting the behavior is an internationally well-known Jazz trombonist who operates a community organization in Washington, DC, and whose friends say he has a reputation for honesty and dependability.

Contacted this afternoon by telephone, Ashley Messinger, Editorial Counsel at US News and World Reports, says she has known Charles Gregory Royal for over three years, and first met him when married Messinger's friend, Susan Veres, who is a Co-Director of the US and the Wold Initiative, housed at Demos in New York. Atty. Messinger says Royal has contacted her informally about various issues of media law.

And Atty. Messinger says of "Greg" Royal,

He's never been dishonest with me. I cannot think of an example when he has been untruthful. He's a very funny, charming guy. He says he's going to do something and he does it. What more could you ask?

Shelley Carrol, a Grammy-nominated saxophonist said in a conversation today that he, too, had been with the Duke Ellington Orchestra in Alaska, and had eaten at many fast food restaurants with Royal and 16 other Orchestra mates. He said he was close friends with Royal at the time and knew him to be a very popular and very honest and dependable person.

Now, Royal has come forward to tell of his experience with Sarah Heath Palin.

Virginia GOP Planning Rally To Reach Out To Minorities -- Starring George Allen!

2008-09-18T15:48:00.000-07:00

Finally -- real minority outreach from the GOP. The Virginia Republicans have a big rally coming up this Saturday that's designed to reach out to minority voters in Fairfax County.

Guess who is one of the featured speakers?

George Allen. Yes, that George Allen.

We checked in with the state GOP to ask if Allen is really an effective front-man for the party's efforts to win over minorities, given the "macaca" scandal.

The answer? Yes! "George Allen has an excellent record on issues of diversity, reaching out to people," Gerry Scimeca, communications director for the state party, told us. "His whole career, his whole life have been a testament to a guy who's treated people equally across racial lines, across every kind of line."

Asked whether "macaca" might cloud the message a bit, Scimeca said the whole thing was a smear-job by the Dems: "Anyone had to go on Wikipedia to be offended by it. And you know how people can mess with Wikipedia."

Scimeca argued that Allen's father was a football coach who held up his players, many of whom were African-Americans, as role models for his children. "This is not a racist man," Scimeca said. "He never did anything -- this was totally out of character."

Come to think of it, maybe George Allen is the best spokesperson for the GOP's minority outreach, after all.

Alaskan Conservative Radio Host Rips Lying Palin & GOP

2008-09-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Dan Fagan is a prominent conservative talk radio host in Anchorage, Alaska on station KFQD. In a column in the Anchorage Daily News, Fagan joins the ranks of conservatives who no longer drink the Palin Kool-Aid. In a bit of reporting about events of which many of us in the lower 48 were unaware, Fagan opens the column by describing a Monday press conference in which Palin spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton attacked former Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan. Fagan describes Stapleton as sounding "plain, desperate, and obvious" and "pure shrill." Fagan says Stapleton described Monegan's behavior as "egregious insubordination, full of obstructionist conduct and a brazen refusal to follow instructions." We non-Alaskans forget that Monegan had a long, respected history in Alaska. That's why his firing drove 10 Republicans to vote unanimously with four Democrats to allocate $100,000 to investigate if there was any wrong-doing when he was dismissed. That is evidenced in Fagan's tone:

Did Walt Monegan, former Marine, and lifetime crime fighter deserve this? Of course not. But history has proven, get in the way of Sarah Barracuda's political ambition, and you won't know what hit you. If anyone should be on the hot seat, it's not Monegan, but Palin for her inconsistencies.

Fagan lists a few of the shifting excuses Palin has given for firing Monegan, starting with "we need new direction" and "new energy" followed by "he wasn't hiring enough cops," to "he wasn't doing enough about alcohol in the bush" to "he lobbied for budget increases" to finally the latest version - Monegan displayed "egregious rogue behavior."

Fagan goes on to say that Palin has changed her story concerning whether she was aware of any contact with Monegan from her husband Todd or from those in her office. And after the investigation was started, Palin first said she and her employees would fully cooperate before she and her office stonewalled the investigators.

It appears Alaskans are divided between pride in one of their own on the national stage and desire to get to the truth in the investigation. Fagan feels caught in the crossfire of these desires:

Republicans scold me all the time, "You don't want Obama to win do you? Stop
criticizing Palin!"

My question to my conservative friends is simple. Does the truth still matter?

...But some Republican leaders are abandoning truth and closing ranks to help Palin cover up her scandal by attacking the investigation.

Fagan takes particular Republican politicians to task, such as Lt. Governor Sean Parnell and state Representative John Coghill, and praises Republican state Senator Charlie Huggins, who was the swing vote that allowed for the issuance of subpoenas. Fagan ultimately shows an integrity sorely lacking in his more power hungry Republicans:

My fellow conservatives, remember how frustrating it was when Bill Clinton committed perjury and liberals looked the other way. As conservatives, we are no better unless we demand full disclosure from our governor when it comes to Troopergate.

No politician is so popular and charismatic that they should be above accountability and telling the truth. Not even Sarah Palin.

People can argue whether Bill Clinton deserved impeachment for his indiscretions and lies, but at least it's refreshing to see a conservative believes that the rules Republicans want to apply to Democrats should also apply to themselves.

This is not the first time Fagan has criticized Palin. Remember that appearance of Palin with those two radio shock jocks who ripped into Republican state Senate President and cancer survivor Lyda Green as a "bitch" and a "cancer" and Palin just sat by and laughed? Fagan was not amused: Palin's responses on radio talk show very unbecoming

The governor's appearance on KWHL's "The Bob and Mark Show" last week is plain and simple one of the most unprofessional, childish and inexcusable performances I've ever seen from a politician... It was conduct unbecoming a human being, never mind a governor.

The governor's office eventually tried to spin the public relations disaster, releasing a statement reading, "Governor Palin was caught off guard by Bob Lester's reference to Senate President Lyda Green." I don't buy it. Early on in the conversation before Palin started to crack up, Lester referred to Sen. Green as a jealous woman and a cancer. Palin, who knows full well Lyda Green is a cancer survivor, didn't do what any decent person would do, say, "Bob, that's going too far."

I've read some other stuff about Fagan - such as some remarks concerning Muslims - with which that I fervently disagree. But it seems Fagan does not tolerate when Republicans get ugly with each other or good public servants are mistreated.

McCain’s Family Doesn’t Even Recognize Him

2008-09-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

Even his own family is coming out and remarking on the 180° turn from the Straight Talkin’ Maverick to the craven, say anything, do anything, pander to all politician desperately taking his last covetous bid at the White House.

John and I are related through our grandmothers. Katherine Vaulx McCain and Huetta Vaulx Boles, both of Fayetteville, Ark., were sisters. My side of the Vaulx family represents a long line of Democrats, but it is with no small amount of pride that we’ve followed the life and career of now-Sen. John McCain.[..]

Although neither my father nor I have ever voted for a Republican, when John threw his hat in the ring in 2000, we were both very proud and encouraged, and not just because he’s our relative. This was the first Republican who, on a national stage, was saying things like, “If we repeal Roe vs. Wade tomorrow, thousands of young American women will be performing illegal and dangerous operations,” and, “Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer-reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance.” Wow!

Here was a man who was not abiding by partisan lines, who was, instead, living up to his promise of “straight talk” and commonsense thinking. The right-wing Republican base may not have agreed with everything he said, but the rest of America certainly respected him for speaking his mind honestly.

Jump ahead to the campaign Sen. McCain is currently running. Clearly, a lot can change in eight years. Our nation has gone from a time of unparalleled prosperity and peace to one marked by debt in the trillions of dollars, record foreclosures, and a global reputation for warmongering and neo-imperialism.

So, where is the straight-talking, commonsense John McCain of 2000? I’m afraid he is long gone, replaced by a desperate version of himself who seems to contradict nearly everything he once stood for.

What becomes apparent in his ideological about-face is just how out of touch McCain really is with America’s working families. [..]

But, as he continually demonstrates in this campaign, my cousin John is long gone. “Straight talk” has been replaced with “flip-flop.” Saddest all, this is the same man who, when campaigning in 2000, told a crowd of supporters, “I don’t think Bill Gates needs a tax cut. I think your parents do.”

My parents, John, need some help after the economic destruction Bush has wrought in the last eight years, but it’s clear you’re not the one who’ll give it to us. America’s working families no longer recognize you, nor does your own.

Racial harrassment rife at EPA branch

2008-09-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

PEER reports, “In a blistering ruling the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Commission has found that racially ‘discriminatory and demeaning comments and adverse treatment” were ’severe’ and ‘permeated the workplace’ in an enforcement branch of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.” An example of the complaints of EPA Special Agent George De Los Santos, who is based in the Criminal Investigations Division office in Dallas:

* His supervisor accusing him of stealing license plates and reselling them for profit in Mexico;
* Women co-workers were routinely referred to as “pussies”;
* Native American co-workers were called names like “Squatting Eagle” and “Two Dogs F__king” while an African-American colleague was ridiculed as mentally slow.

De Los Santos’ supervisor called his conduct “Special Agent grab-assing” and said he needed to quit complaining and “act like a man.” The EEO Commission found that many of these offensive comments “occurred in front of supervisors immediately after a meeting about EEO issues, demonstrating that agency officials did not take EEO issues seriously.”

The Real MCcain

2008-09-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

Saw this on the DailyKos,definitly something people should see

Say it with me, everyone: John McCain is a liar.

2008-09-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

John McCain loves to step out of his “straight talk express” and talk about what a decent and honorable campaign he wants to run; all the while, his team of Karl Rove protégés (oh, and, Karl Rove, himself) issue sleazier and sleazier campaign ads filled with the kind of lies and innuendo that make that old Willie Horton ad look like a Sesame Street commercial for the letter “H.”

This week, while the entire presidential campaign has been lost in the lipstick vogue (stupid and false in its own right), Team McCain rolled out an ad that basically accused Barack Obama of being a pedophile. It was bad enough to offend even establishment sensibilities:

"This is a deliberately misleading accusation." [McClatchy, 9/9/08]

"The claim is simply false..." [FactCheck.org, 9/10/08]

"[The] accusations… seriously distort the record. … In referring to the sex-education bill, the McCain campaign is largely recycling old and discredited accusations..." [New York Times, 9/11/08]

"[McCain] is responsible for one of the sleaziest ads I've ever seen in presidential politics, so sleazy that I won't abet its spread by linking to it…."[Joe Klein, Time Magazine, 9/10/08]

"The most disheartening aspect of a scurrilous Republican ad falsely accusing Barack Obama of promoting sex education for kindergarten children is its closing line: 'I'm John McCain, and I approved this message.' This from that straight-talker of yore, who fervidly denounced the 2004 Bush campaign's Swift Boat character attacks on John Kerry's military record." [Editorial, New York Times, 9/12/08]

That little bit of federally required legalese—“I’m John McCain, and I approve this message”—should be enough to tie candidate McCain to his campaign’s gutter tactics, but Sweet John has carried on, maintaining some unspecified distance between his angelic self and the messy stuff of political sausage-making. He’s above that sort of thing, golly gosh [forced smile, creepy laugh].

And, McCain has largely managed to maintain this distance—I guess no one was around to call the old coot on his under-the-table insults. . . until this morning.

JOY BEHAR: "There are ads running from your campaign, one of them is saying that Obama, when he said you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig, was talking about Sarah. There's another ad that says that Obama was interested in teaching sex education to kindergartners. Now, we know that those two ads are untrue, they're lies. And yet you at the end of it say I approve these messages. Do you really approve them?"

JOHN MCCAIN: "Actually, they are not lies." [ABC, "The View," 9/12/08]

Yes, that’s the tough political team at The View nailing John McCain on his lying ads—or rather, that’s The View nailing John McCain TO his lying ads.

From where I come from, when a guy approves of a lying statement—and seconds it, even—that makes him a liar. It is now pretty much universally agreed that both the lipstick and child sex ads were lies, and John McCain has chosen to stand by those lies. That would make the self-anointed above-it-all straight talker a common, down-in-the-gutter, liar.Does'nt it say in the bible "thou shall not bear false witness" ?

Say it with me, everyone: John McCain is a liar.

Kucinich: Seek truth, not 'fake political unity

2008-09-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) says he won't cease his efforts to hold the president and his administration accountable for their alleged abuses of power just because George W. Bush will be returning to his Texas ranch come January.

Kucinich says he wants Congress to create a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" to examine what really went on within the Bush White House in the aftermath of 9/11 and the lead up to the Iraq war. He says only an independent body with truth-seeking as its goal -- rather than "fake political unity" -- can repair divisions that have emerged in an increasingly polarized nation.

During a brief press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Kucinich said he would introduce legislation to create a commission before Congress finishes its current session at the end of this month. He said his proposal would be modeled on Truth and Reconciliation Commissions that followed periods of upheaval in other countries, such as the end of Apartheid in South Africa or to consider genocide in Rwanda.

previous bodies like the Iraq Study Group and 9/11 Commission also would be examined by his new commission.

Congress and congressional committees already have many of the powers Kucinich described, such as the ability to subpoena witnesses, compel testimony through the threat of prosecution and grant amnesty. The problem is it's been hesitant in exercising them. (Before Kucinich arrived at the press conference, activists lamented Congress's failure to hold Bush administration officials like Karl Rove and Harriet Miers in inherent contempt -- i.e. ordering the Capitol Police to lock them up until they agree to comply with subpoenas demanding their testimony.)

"Congress has had the opportunity to act, and it's failed to do so," Kucinich acknowledged . "But Congress can still create a process where the work can be done, and that's what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will do."

Dennis keep up the fight,SOME of us appreciate it

Robeson's Voice

VIDEO: The GOP’s Racial Politics

North Carolina GOP Lawmaker Calls For Bringing Back Public Hangings, Starting With Abortion Providers

Michelle Obama tired of being portrayed as an ‘angry black woman’ | The Raw Story

Santorum tells Iowans: ‘I don’t want to make black people’s lives better

Ohio Landlord Refuses To Apologize For Posting ‘Whites Only’ Pool Sign Because It’s ‘Historical’

Herman Cain, Koch Brothers' 'Brother From Another Mother,' Defends Ties To Conservative Group (VIDEO)

Tea Party Group Urges Small Businesses ‘Not To Hire A Single Person’ To Hurt Obama

Cain: ‘I Have No Idea’ How My 999 Plan Would Work

“No Niggers Please”: Michigan State University Rocks with Racial Controversy

Racist or Not? Arizona State University Students Wear Black Face to Football Game

GOP Legislator: Homosexuality Is ‘More Dangerous’ Than Terrorist Attacks Because We Have To Deal With It Every Day

Eric Cantor: No Federal Earthquake Disaster Aid Without Spending Cuts

Man Murders His Wife, Says a Black Man Did It

Perry Claims Federal Stimulus ‘Didn’t Create Any Jobs,’ Ignoring The 50,000 It Created In Texas

Facing Ninth Deployment, Army Ranger Kills Himself. 'No Way' That God Would Forgive Him For What He'd Seen, Done, He Told Wife

Russell Brand: Don't Let People In Power Tear Apart The Values That Hold Communities Together

Putting an Antebellum Myth to Rest

R Pig Coburn: Budget Cuts Will Only Hurt "The People Sucking Off The Program"

Rise of a New "Confederacy": Race, Privilege and President Obama

The Deficit Is Not Default of Obama

Study Finds that Black Men are Healthier in Prison than When They are Free

Bill Clinton: GOP Voting Crackdown Worst Since Jim Crow

Study confirms dark-skinned women get longer prison sentences

NC woman sterilized because state deemed her ‘promiscuous’

Anthony Weiner Resigns, Prostitute Enthusiast David Vitter Continues To Be Embraced By GOP Leadership

Neal Boortz: "We need to see some dead thugs littering the landscape in Atlanta"

GOP Can’t Handle The Truth: Taxes Are Lower Under Obama Than Reagan

Black Former NFL Player Pulled Over For Looking Like Someone ‘Transporting Drugs And Guns’

Musician-Poet Gil Scott-Heron dies at 62

Study: Whites say they face more racism than blacks

Baptist Group: Oklahoma’s Sharia Ban Is Unconstitutional

Right-wingers flood teen who challenged Bachmann to a debate with threats of violence

REPORT: Sen. Tom Coburn Actively Negotiated Multi-Million Dollar Hush Money Package For Ensign’s Mistress

Fox News accidentally debunks its own attacks on ‘vile’ rapper Common | The Raw Story

It Never Ends

Oklahoma House Finally Reprimands State Rep. Sally Kern For Saying ‘Blacks’ Don’t Work Hard

Donald Trump's racial discrimination problem In the 1970s, he was sued by the feds for not renting to African-Americans

Sally Kern: It's A Fact That 'Blacks' Don't Work As Hard

A Bad Day for Racist

Donna Brazile to Meet with Cornel West to Discuss President Obama

The sweet little old folks of the Tea Parties seem to have a lot of extremism and bigotry bubbling up around them. Hmmmmmm.

Republican Tea Partiers just can't seem to get enough of those Obama/black people/chimpanzee jokes

Live mic catches Obama’s candor: Paul Ryan is ‘not on the level’

During Bush Presidency, Current GOP Leaders Voted 19 Times To Increase Debt Limit By $4 Trillion

150 Years Later, Tea Partiers Still Aren’t Over The Civil War

Shock poll: 46% of Mississippi Republicans think interracial marriage should be illegal

Glenn Beck Booted Off Fox News: What this says about America

Standing with Martin Luther King and strong unions

Malcolm X and the Wars at Home

rrbuybox_initBuyBox( 'buybox', 3 ); Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity

Three men indicted for burning black church on election night

The racist right indulges its assassination fantasies

Blackwell: GOP Must Defeat Job-Creating Stimulus Because It Will Ruin GOP’s Election Chances

RNC chair candidate Chip Saltsman sent out a CD of the “Barack the Magic Negro” song

Report: White vigilante groups blockaded small town in post-Katrina New Orleans and murdered blacks

Charles Barkley is right

Do you think we could use 9 Billion dollars that went missing in Iraq now ?

Bailout Hypocrisy from Oklahoma's Republican Congressional Delegation

Candidate For RNC Chair Was Member Of Whites-Only Country Club

Why Is the National Press Ignoring Small-Town Racism?

Telegraph: Palin Blamed by Secret Service for Death Threats

Beck: Conservatives voted for McCain hoping he’d die in office so Palin could take over

Florida school board keeps Klan leader's name at high school

ACORN ad targets GOP voter suppression

Amazon lists Obama Halloween mask as a ‘terrorist costume

Trouble right here in River City ??

Al Qaida Prefers McCain-That's Right!

More on Acorn,lies,hate,racism

CA GOP Alienates Own Black Members With Racist Image

Tim Wise on Facism

The REAL truth about ACORN

Is the McCain Campaign Hiring Vocal Audience Plants?

Angry voter threatens Registrar, says he needs to 'keep the nigger out of office'

Republican Clears Obama On Ayers!

Florida teacher uses 'N' word against Obama

Does Palin think this is a Fucking Joke?

News Media, Analysts Blame John McCain For Bush Bailout Failure

Michelle Malkin just can’t control her racism. Blames Latinos for the mortgage crisis

Was Eliot Spitzer "dealt with" ?

Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity