Racism is prejudice or discrimination based on an individual’s race. Racism can be expressed individually or through institutional policies or practices. Racism is a system of oppression – a nexus of racist beliefs, whether explicitly, tacit or unconscious; practices; organizations and institutions that combine to discriminate against and marginalize a class of people who share a common racial designation, based on that designation.
Prejudice. An adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge
edit: It was sitting in my drafts, and I dont' like it when things are sitting in my drafts.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Sanford Police Department, Tips to Protect Yourself from Burglaries, and George Zimmerman
The Sanford Police Department has a flyer they published titled "Safety at Home" which offers tips on how its citizens can protect themselves from cases of Burglary. Feel free to read it, but all I want from it I mention below.
I want to focus on three points the SPD makes in this flyer.
How important would these points be to Zimmerman?
The first point should have put Zimmerman at ease because it was around 7 PM when he spotted Martin. What burglar worth his salt would burglarize while people are at home?
Trayvon Martin was looking for an address, the one his Dad was staying at. Maybe that set an alarm off in Zimmerman's head. But how does someone know if another person is looking for a friend? This second point seems to imply that police expect citizens to have spoken to a suspicious person and have been told by that person that he's looking for someone or someplace.
But from what I've heard so far, Zimmerman never spoke to Trayvon before deciding Travyon was a drug induced, possibly armed burglar.
The final point, and the only one Zimmerman seems to have followed, is to report Trayvon Martin as a 'suspicious person'. Then again, Zimmerman took it further than that. So maybe Zimmerman doesn't do to well when it comes to citizen's guidelines.
I want to focus on three points the SPD makes in this flyer.
- Most burglaries occur during daylight hours between 8 AM to 5 PM, while people are at work, shopping or taking kids to and from school.
- Burglars may case an area posing as: joggers, someone looking for an address or a friend, etc.
- Be observant and report suspicious people, vehicles, and activities.
How important would these points be to Zimmerman?
The first point should have put Zimmerman at ease because it was around 7 PM when he spotted Martin. What burglar worth his salt would burglarize while people are at home?
Trayvon Martin was looking for an address, the one his Dad was staying at. Maybe that set an alarm off in Zimmerman's head. But how does someone know if another person is looking for a friend? This second point seems to imply that police expect citizens to have spoken to a suspicious person and have been told by that person that he's looking for someone or someplace.
But from what I've heard so far, Zimmerman never spoke to Trayvon before deciding Travyon was a drug induced, possibly armed burglar.
The final point, and the only one Zimmerman seems to have followed, is to report Trayvon Martin as a 'suspicious person'. Then again, Zimmerman took it further than that. So maybe Zimmerman doesn't do to well when it comes to citizen's guidelines.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The Center for Science in the Public Interest
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is "a consumer advocacy organization whose twin missions are to conduct innovative research and advocacy programs in health and nutrition, and to provide consumers with current, useful information about their health and well-being."
So they lobby for healthier standards in food. That's good for them. I hope I stay interested enough to browse the site every once in awhile.
Hmm, they have a donations page. I'm not donating, but I guess I'll mention it for the sake of their site's search engine optimization.
So they lobby for healthier standards in food. That's good for them. I hope I stay interested enough to browse the site every once in awhile.
Hmm, they have a donations page. I'm not donating, but I guess I'll mention it for the sake of their site's search engine optimization.
Kickin' Around a Decrease in the Wealth Gap
For awhile I've been on this kick about starting an organization that decreases the international wealth gap. I decided to start 'small' with the United States. Now I've got to lay out how it'll be done.
This is worse than Twitter.
This is worse than Twitter.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
NCAA Must Stop Exploiting Black Athletes
I originally read this on field negro:
The following article is old (almost five years) but it is the kind of article that could be posted for the next twenty years and it would still be relevant. I thought about posting it today as I watched all those athletes bust their asses for their schools, while their well paid coaches pranced along beside the court.
The following article is old (almost five years) but it is the kind of article that could be posted for the next twenty years and it would still be relevant. I thought about posting it today as I watched all those athletes bust their asses for their schools, while their well paid coaches pranced along beside the court.
"Editor's Note: The nation's top college basketball and football athletes earn millions for their schools, but see very little of it. And yet these so-called "student" athletes have little time for their studies and often earn no academic degree.
It's an exploitative system that must be changed, the writer says.SAN FRANCISCO--With the 2005 collegiate football season underway, African-American athletes are exciting the crowds, drawing in thousands of fans and driving up revenues from TV and radio coverage. And they're being exploited. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) pretends that elite African American athletes filling the stadiums and arenas are student-athletes. In reality the majority of top players, like quarterback Vince Young of the University of Texas and running back Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma University, are first and foremost athletes. Their lives center on practice fields, not classrooms. Coaches dictate their schedules, which are packed with meetings, practices, lifting weights, rehabbing injuries and travel.
Economists Todd Jewell and Robert W. Brown in the late 1990s calculated that athletes of the caliber of Young and Peterson generate $500,000 per year for their universities. It's even more today, considering revenues from college basketball's March Madness, a six-year, $11 billion contract with CBS, and the Bowl Championship Series on ABC, at $500 million over eight years. Premier basketball players generate over $1 million a year.These players are being exploited, receiving only a few thousands in scholarship money while earning enough cash for their universities to provide substantial salaries to a cast of coaches, trainers, administrators and support personnel for non-revenue generating sports such as golf, soccer, lacrosse, swimming and tennis. Those opposed to paying student-athletes argue that a college education is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Indeed, according to Census Bureau 2002 figures, those with B.A. degrees earn an average of $2.1 million over their lifetime, compared to high school graduates' $1.2 million.Unfortunately, not enough of these "student" athletes earn degrees of any kind. Despite efforts to improve graduation rates, the latest stats from the NCAA show that for black football players who entered college from 1997 to 1998, the graduation rates were 49 percent for each of the two years.
In basketball the rates were 41 and 42 percent. Some elite universities have far lower rates.There are also serious doubts about the quality of these athletes' educations. It is true that they have tutors and compulsory study halls not available to most students. They have the security of scholarships, so there are no financial pressures that force other students to drop out. But even if the black athlete graduates, his degree may not be worth much if he has filled his schedule with less than challenging courses. "
So is Donal Brown right? Are the NCAA schools pimping these young men? Personally, I think some of these coaches are doing just that. When you see coach K crying over losing his kids to graduation, it's not because he is happy that they are going out into the world with a Duke degree. No, he is crying because his basketball team will be losing a great player. Coach K and the NCAA well be fine, thanks to CBS and other corporate sponsors they are swimming in money.
Still, these student athletes have to remember that there is a student before the word athlete, and they should be realistic about their chances of playing the sport they love for money. They need to make the best of their college experience and get their degrees. I know that their pim....I mean coach is always in their ears to watch game films and practice, but they have a bigger responsibility to themselves than to their coach and old State U.
Wouldn't it be nice to hear a coach tell a kid that he should put in as much time in the library as he does at the free throw line? It would be nice, but ain't ever gonna happen. Coach has too much to lose, and he can't stand the risk of having his most valuable commodity forget why he needs him in the first place.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
An Ode to Grammar
Does the internet negatively shape the literary minds of the masses? Would you agree that splitting infinitives and ending sentences with prepositions is becoming standard because of the global, grammatic influence of the net? Could it be that its isolated forums provide comfortable locals for casually reinforcing relaxed notions about writing that would otherwise be cast away under societal pressure?
Wikipedia is one internet local that reflects such a forum. After perusing a random articles, an act made easier by the convenient "random article" link on the site's homepage, the result was enough to make an editor sigh: the article about Xi'an Subway, a metro system in Shaanxi province of China, lacked commas and misused a word that I am unfamiliar with, approximatively. Many random articles follow this pattern. This reflects poorly on the authors of user driven content.
The dulled eye of the common internet user will lazily glaze past the same mistake time and time again. One error, the misuse of the word approximatively, survived six edits over the course of fourteen months. I put the poor "illegitimate" out of its misery today, finally changing it to its close cousin, approximately.
In locations where the typed word is less permanent, such as chat boxes and instant messengers, grammar is more horrible as misspellings and missing punctuation shove accurate writing to the wayside. Unless these inaccuracies are so egregious that other lax typists judge them illegible, any attempt to criticize ones lack of grammar is met with phrases such as: "this is the internet not school", "its a informal setting", or, more pointedly, "stfu".
This might not be so bad if people were learning and using grammar off line, but most people do not become proficient writers, ever. First-year English professors are used to the sub-par writing skills of their students. If online culture would reinforce proper writing, perhaps it may not create Pulitzer prize winners, but it may ease the burden of our professors. In addition, this increased proficiency might spill into the more permanent areas on the internet.
If you're reading this, consider exerting a little bit of grammatic pressure while you're on the internet. You never know, you might just keep an infinitive from splitting.
Wikipedia is one internet local that reflects such a forum. After perusing a random articles, an act made easier by the convenient "random article" link on the site's homepage, the result was enough to make an editor sigh: the article about Xi'an Subway, a metro system in Shaanxi province of China, lacked commas and misused a word that I am unfamiliar with, approximatively. Many random articles follow this pattern. This reflects poorly on the authors of user driven content.
The dulled eye of the common internet user will lazily glaze past the same mistake time and time again. One error, the misuse of the word approximatively, survived six edits over the course of fourteen months. I put the poor "illegitimate" out of its misery today, finally changing it to its close cousin, approximately.
In locations where the typed word is less permanent, such as chat boxes and instant messengers, grammar is more horrible as misspellings and missing punctuation shove accurate writing to the wayside. Unless these inaccuracies are so egregious that other lax typists judge them illegible, any attempt to criticize ones lack of grammar is met with phrases such as: "this is the internet not school", "its a informal setting", or, more pointedly, "stfu".
This might not be so bad if people were learning and using grammar off line, but most people do not become proficient writers, ever. First-year English professors are used to the sub-par writing skills of their students. If online culture would reinforce proper writing, perhaps it may not create Pulitzer prize winners, but it may ease the burden of our professors. In addition, this increased proficiency might spill into the more permanent areas on the internet.
If you're reading this, consider exerting a little bit of grammatic pressure while you're on the internet. You never know, you might just keep an infinitive from splitting.
Monday, March 09, 2009
President Obama lifts the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research
President Obama fulfilled a campaign promise to lift the ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research put in place by President Bush in 2001. Obama's new executive order now allows scientists to apply for government grants to study the versatile cells. (Time/CNN)
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Kanye West's Shift from Music to Fashion and the Ignorant Response from the Hip Hop Proles
In an interview in the January/February issue of Details Magazine, Kanye West expounds on his status within his generation, style, personal drive, the importance of titles, his interest in fashion, and just being himself.
West uses language and anecdotes that cause heads to turn just as easily as his clothes do for those who are unaware. Kanye West speaks in absolute terms referring to himself as "one of the greatest rappers in the world", a "superhero" and confirming his belief that he is "the voice of this generation". Emphasizing the point he eloquently states, "If not me, then who?"
Many, including African Americans from the Hip Hop generation, take these words as those of a delusional man boasting beyond credentials. For example, comments left on Black Planet.com are saturated with men and women criticizing West for his confident crowing. YOURNAWTEEGIRL writes:
People upset by Kanye's hailing himself the greatest would be best to keep in mind that Black expression of individual greatness has always been a part of song. From Aretha Franklin saying "I am the Queen", to James Brown's "I'm Black and I'm Proud", to Dead Prez calling out "I'm African/And I know what's happenin'". It's the same type of offense that people took when Ali called himself the greatest.
We've always been a braggadocios people, and with good reason. We accomplish much. Kanye West as an individual has accomplished much and he has every right to raise his voice in self praise, especially if we won't do it for him. We should echo that praise and not try to diminish the merit in what he has done.
Regardless of how we judge West, he tells us he doesn't care. Just like Redman taking everything in stride, rapping tongue-in-cheek that people say "My first name must be He Ain't Shit" and "My middle name must be Fuck You", Kanye tells us bluntly that he'll be serving "A" material, no matter what we think, in all that he does because he's dedicated to excellence.
Kanye West describes multiple drives and says he rerouted the same type of energy that will send a young man to a club at 3am searching for sex into developing music. That's why he was signed to Roc-a-Fella. That's why he was able to develop four incredible albums with wide appeal.
This same appeal will no doubt find its way into Kanye Wests clothing design. Sneakers ran down the runway in Paris hold unparalleled potential as West finds himself following Marc Jacobs who he describes as the Jay-Z of the fashion world.
I'll be waiting to see what this music great comes up with. I expect no less than excellence from him.
West uses language and anecdotes that cause heads to turn just as easily as his clothes do for those who are unaware. Kanye West speaks in absolute terms referring to himself as "one of the greatest rappers in the world", a "superhero" and confirming his belief that he is "the voice of this generation". Emphasizing the point he eloquently states, "If not me, then who?"
Many, including African Americans from the Hip Hop generation, take these words as those of a delusional man boasting beyond credentials. For example, comments left on Black Planet.com are saturated with men and women criticizing West for his confident crowing. YOURNAWTEEGIRL writes:
SOMEONE PLEASE TELL KANYE HE IS TRULY NOT ALL THAT
HE NEEDS TO GET OFF HIS OWN NUTS…FAST
I’VE NEVER BEEN A BIG KANYE FAN AND THE MORE THIS MAN SPEAKS THE MORE IT SOLIDIFIES MY DISGUST FOR HIM ‘Dude, that’s so good it’s almost…gay.’”??? WTF AS IF THE WORLD DIDN’T THINK YOU WERE GAY ENOUGH AS IT ISThese comments are in response to five quotations taken out of context. I doubt many who replied took the time to read the articles. The quotations remain equally provoking within context, but the point of the author appears to be one of degradation rather than objective analysis of what Kanye West is saying in the interview.
People upset by Kanye's hailing himself the greatest would be best to keep in mind that Black expression of individual greatness has always been a part of song. From Aretha Franklin saying "I am the Queen", to James Brown's "I'm Black and I'm Proud", to Dead Prez calling out "I'm African/And I know what's happenin'". It's the same type of offense that people took when Ali called himself the greatest.
We've always been a braggadocios people, and with good reason. We accomplish much. Kanye West as an individual has accomplished much and he has every right to raise his voice in self praise, especially if we won't do it for him. We should echo that praise and not try to diminish the merit in what he has done.
Regardless of how we judge West, he tells us he doesn't care. Just like Redman taking everything in stride, rapping tongue-in-cheek that people say "My first name must be He Ain't Shit" and "My middle name must be Fuck You", Kanye tells us bluntly that he'll be serving "A" material, no matter what we think, in all that he does because he's dedicated to excellence.
Kanye West describes multiple drives and says he rerouted the same type of energy that will send a young man to a club at 3am searching for sex into developing music. That's why he was signed to Roc-a-Fella. That's why he was able to develop four incredible albums with wide appeal.
This same appeal will no doubt find its way into Kanye Wests clothing design. Sneakers ran down the runway in Paris hold unparalleled potential as West finds himself following Marc Jacobs who he describes as the Jay-Z of the fashion world.
I'll be waiting to see what this music great comes up with. I expect no less than excellence from him.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Ineffable Significance
I do not need a White person’s acceptance to validate me. I do not need Barack Obama, Oprah, Magic Johnson or Will Smith to inspire me. I do not need to hear the mind numbing opinions of those who do need these things.
I am an African American. Aside from being an extraordinary individual, I come from an exceptional family filled with doctors, teachers, officers, and so on. My race, the broad brush American characterization of Black or African American, is responsible in a significantly large manner for the economic prosperity, civil liberties and cultural influence of the
My worth is the basis of my drive. I do what I do for the sake of my ancestors, race, family before me, but ultimately myself. While I appreciate others for their achievements, especially those who I share a common identity with, they are not necessary as role models. I do not need Michael Jordan to show me I can jump, nor do I need Martin Luther King to show I can speak, nor even Obama to exemplify my humanity. I am a force unto myself, as is anyone else who recognizes their self worth.
Everyone should feel they are valuable because they are. It should not take emancipation, a Civil Rights movement or the election of a Black President to bring about a sense of undeniable importance. People have been in a progressive state for hundreds of thousands of years and no one event is a deciding factor for any individual or group’s significance.
Additionally, just as an external figure is not necessary for self worth, the judgment of value by another person or society at large is insignificant. The White woman clutching her purse as she passes a Black man in a hoodie, man in a truck scoffing at the Black man in the Mercedes and the voter who lets Barack Obama’s skin color be the first thing to roll of his or her tongue (whether it be in a positive or negative light) are in the end inconsequential. To entertain the notion that these people’s opinion matter is to give them an unwarranted power.
Every person, when asked about how they feel now that an African American is elected president, made CEO, fortunate enough to make a billion dollars should laugh, shake their head and say you petty human being. We feel the same way that all people feel when any person succeeds. We feel the same way we felt yesterday. We are proud. As you should be.
I am valuable. Cannot you see?
Friday, October 03, 2008
Hastert's Prairie Parkway Deal
Yes. The Dennis Hastert Prairie Parkway Deal. Old News. Yes I know. It's been out there for a couple years. It's just that I am going through my notebook and throwing away old papers. Being the packrat that I am I just couldn't throw this story away so I decided to save it on google's servers instead of in my overburdened notebook.
To make a long story short. Dennis Hastert bought land 5.5 miles out from a proposed highway using the Little Rock Trust #225 to aquire the property. The proposed highway is one he secured $207 million dollars in earmarks for. He made millions of dollars off of selling the land he aquired and it has been argued that he unethically used his legislative power to get that money. It has also been argued that the land is too far away from the proposed highway for it to actually have any relationship with the property.
I personally believe that the land, which happens to have road being built to create easy access to the proposed highway, with its 1600 future homes being built will increase in value with a new highway nearby.
To make a long story short. Dennis Hastert bought land 5.5 miles out from a proposed highway using the Little Rock Trust #225 to aquire the property. The proposed highway is one he secured $207 million dollars in earmarks for. He made millions of dollars off of selling the land he aquired and it has been argued that he unethically used his legislative power to get that money. It has also been argued that the land is too far away from the proposed highway for it to actually have any relationship with the property.
I personally believe that the land, which happens to have road being built to create easy access to the proposed highway, with its 1600 future homes being built will increase in value with a new highway nearby.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Bachmann blames minorities for housing crisis
Scott Goldberg 
4 days ago
4 days ago 9/26/08
Beneath the negotiations to bail out Wall Street, a potentially nasty story is brewing on Capitol Hill involving two high profile members of Congress from Minnesota.
It started yesterday, when Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Republican whose name recognition has been growing thanks to multiple appearances on CNN's Larry King Live, spoke at a hearing and linked the Wall Street mess to minorities.
The newspaper Roll Call reported:
During an otherwise mundane hearing on the federal takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Republicans, specifically Bachmann, focused on Clinton's administration and its push to provide loans to low-income minorities as a key reason for the downfall of the housing market.
The Clinton administration turned Freddie and Fannie into a "semi-nationalized monopoly," Bachmann argued. Specifically, that administration decided to make loans through the Community Reinvestment Act "on the basis of race and often on little else." Backpedaling on the controversial comments, Bachmann later added that the law was "well-intentioned" because ensuring that minorities have access to housing is important.
Tonight, the controversy is escalating. Rep. Keith Ellison, the Democrat who became Minnesota's first African-American member of Congress when he was elected in 2006, sent a letter to John Boehner, the House GOP leader.
Ellison wrote, "There is no evidence to support Rep. Bachmann's assertion that 'minorities' caused the current financial crisis," and he asks Boehner if Bachmann's remarks reflect her own beliefs or the party's.
The entire letter is below, signed by 40 members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
----
September 26, 2008
The Honorable John Boehner Minority Leader H-204 Capitol Washington D.C., 20515
Dear Representative Boehner:
We write as members of the Congressional Black Caucus asking that you clarify your caucus position on minority lending being the cause of the current financial crisis. As reported in today's edition of Roll Call: "Rep. Michele Bachmann kicked up a controversy on Thursday when she pinned the [economic] mess on former President Bill Clinton and minorities? Republicans, specifically Bachmann, focused on Clinton's Administration and its push to provide loans to low-income minorities as a key reason for the downfall of the housing market."
It is clear from Rep. Bachmann's comments that she believes that the bipartisan laws enacted over the past decade ensuring that minority communities have equal access to banking and other financial services are the cause of this financial meltdown. The charge that this financial crisis was created by bipartisan laws such as the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), legislation that was enacted in response to concerns that lenders were systematically denying credit to certain communities, particularly lower-income and minority neighborhoods, is absurd.
There is no evidence to support Rep. Bachmann's assertion that "minorities" caused the current financial crisis. Laws designed to open opportunities for equal access to credit does not require banks or thrifts to make loans that are unsafe or unprofitable. In fact, laws like the CRA mandate exactly the opposite. The law stipulates that CRA lending activities must be done consistent with safe and sound banking practices. Additionally, research clearly shows that the majority of the predatory loans that have led us to this financial mess were originated by non-bank financial institutions and other entities that did NOT have a CRA obligation and lacked strong federal regulatory oversight. Shifting the blame for the current economic crisis to laws that allow equal access and opportunity to communities of color is ridiculous.
As members of the CBC, we simply ask if Rep. Bachmann's position that it was lending to minority communities that caused the current financial crisis, represent the position of the Republican Caucus?
Our country faces a dire economic crisis. We need to move forward and not engage in the politics of division and blame characterized in Rep. Bachmann's statement. In the days and weeks ahead, we look forward to working with you and your caucus to resolve this economic calamity.
Sincerely,
Keith Ellison
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Obama avoids race on King's 'Dream' anniversary
Long before Denver, the drum roll of history began: If Barack Obama could capture the Democratic nomination for president, he would deliver the biggest speech of his life exactly 45 years after Martin Luther King Jr.'s immortal "I Have a Dream" address.
And so Obama accepted the nomination Thursday night standing on the shoulders of King and thousands of others who suffered and bled to give blacks the right to vote - Yet Obama did not speak King's name.
...Forty-five years later, Obama did not utter the words "black" or "African-American."
We are caught in a bind. A lot of our time is being taken up fighting this Obama character. It's catch 22. Obama can hurt the African American community. It can also hurt the African-American community if we focus on Obama too much. The same can happen if we pay to little.
No matter who is president, public pressure must be applied to support or push against whatever issue is at hand. What are the problems in our country. What are the underlying reasons for these problems. How can we fix them. It doesn't matter if it is Obama, McCain or the Devil himself.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Re: Nothing Unique About It
Letter to the Editor of Times Magazine in response to Gwen Ifill's column "Nothing Unique About It"
While I have become acquainted with the person Gwen Ifill and realize I have been seeing her for many years without fulling recognizing her, I am afraid I knew little about her before her commentary in the Times titled "Nothing Unique About It". I asked my parents, the ones who were part of the "Martin Luther King-era wave of activism", about Ifill and they replied she "has her head on straight most of the time." They agreed with me, though, that her commentary did not represent one of those times.
It is ironic she used an anecdote about Lowery chastising her for the use of the term "post-civil rights" in describing the new generation of African-American politics then went on to contrast the "transformed" version of Black politics with the Lowery led politics.
In her words, Lowery led activism was demanding access to lunch counters, school house doors, and voting booths. The article leaves the reader with the impression that these days are over and there are no problems that parallel the past. Yet, today's activism is demanding access to loans, a just legal system, and fair employment. Instead of Ifills recounting of past activists demanding accountability in the town squares that were the sites of lynchings and protests there are calls for accountability in the government's response to Katrina and the unfair treatment of the Jena 6. Yet, she failed to define what this new black politics is. Instead she said black politics has transformed into appealing to a broader audience while honoring the contribution of their forebears.
She fails to see that is not the case. The situation is the same pig with a new shade of lipstick. These "new" Black politicians who fear alienating the broader, multiracial audiences are running the risk of making Blacks and their problems invisible because of their treatment of these subjects.
In addition, the example of Coy Booker against Kenneth Gibson and Sharpe James is a rather poor one. Those two former mayors behavior does not embody the spirit of the 60s or 70s civil rights era or its members. Why not compare Booker to Bobby Rush or Charlie Wrangle who I am sure have the enough "metabolism" to gain mention.
The representation Ifill chose for the civil rights era and the "post civil rights era" are perfect for saying old era bad, new era good; Jesse Jackson Sr. bad, Jesse Jackson Jr. good; "Angry" Black bad, docile Black, good; or my favorite >3rd generation, bad, <2 generation, good.
Yes, I'm afraid Gwen Ifill needs more soul searching. She may want to touch roots with Lowery and the Lowery led activists to reframe her way of thinking.
While I have become acquainted with the person Gwen Ifill and realize I have been seeing her for many years without fulling recognizing her, I am afraid I knew little about her before her commentary in the Times titled "Nothing Unique About It". I asked my parents, the ones who were part of the "Martin Luther King-era wave of activism", about Ifill and they replied she "has her head on straight most of the time." They agreed with me, though, that her commentary did not represent one of those times.
It is ironic she used an anecdote about Lowery chastising her for the use of the term "post-civil rights" in describing the new generation of African-American politics then went on to contrast the "transformed" version of Black politics with the Lowery led politics.
In her words, Lowery led activism was demanding access to lunch counters, school house doors, and voting booths. The article leaves the reader with the impression that these days are over and there are no problems that parallel the past. Yet, today's activism is demanding access to loans, a just legal system, and fair employment. Instead of Ifills recounting of past activists demanding accountability in the town squares that were the sites of lynchings and protests there are calls for accountability in the government's response to Katrina and the unfair treatment of the Jena 6. Yet, she failed to define what this new black politics is. Instead she said black politics has transformed into appealing to a broader audience while honoring the contribution of their forebears.
She fails to see that is not the case. The situation is the same pig with a new shade of lipstick. These "new" Black politicians who fear alienating the broader, multiracial audiences are running the risk of making Blacks and their problems invisible because of their treatment of these subjects.
In addition, the example of Coy Booker against Kenneth Gibson and Sharpe James is a rather poor one. Those two former mayors behavior does not embody the spirit of the 60s or 70s civil rights era or its members. Why not compare Booker to Bobby Rush or Charlie Wrangle who I am sure have the enough "metabolism" to gain mention.
The representation Ifill chose for the civil rights era and the "post civil rights era" are perfect for saying old era bad, new era good; Jesse Jackson Sr. bad, Jesse Jackson Jr. good; "Angry" Black bad, docile Black, good; or my favorite >3rd generation, bad, <2 generation, good.
Yes, I'm afraid Gwen Ifill needs more soul searching. She may want to touch roots with Lowery and the Lowery led activists to reframe her way of thinking.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
On Barack Obama's announcement to run for president of the United States at Spring Field Illinois' Old State Capital
On February 10, 2007, Barack Obama announced his run for president of the
Friday, August 08, 2008
Re: Obama and the Racism Card
This is written in response to Rich Lowry's op-ed "Obama and the Racism Card" from Townhall.com, Monday, August 4, 2008.
Rich Lowry attacks Jesse Jackson and Senator Barack Obama in an August 4th op-ed saying Barack Obama resorted to "hair-trigger" charges of racism of the sort Jackson has "built his career on". Lory then claims these charges have made Jackson "radioactive and anathema to the political center."
Lowry must mind Jesse Jackson's career with an attentiveness similar to that of Barack Obama's attention toward the McCain "Celeb" ad because their respective judgements of both is equally inaccurate.
Jesse Jackson has worked to improve he social and economic conditions of African Americans and other minority groups since the early late 50's. While in school, in the early 60's Jackson participated int he civil rights movement and was closely associated with Martin Luther King. He became a field director for the Congress of Racial Equality. In 1966 he helped found Operation Breadbasket, an African American self help program associated with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1971 he founded another organization called Operation PUSH. (People United to Serve Humanity), for self help human rights. As national president from 1971 to 1983 he promoted economic development, housing development, health care programs and economic excellence.
Jackson ran for president in 1984 and 1988 garnering 13 state primaries and caucuses in his second run. He formed the National Rainbow coalition, a political organization that is now merged with Operation PUSH to form Rainbow/PUSH. he spoke out for social and economic justice, peace, and environmental reforms. Jackson is still influential in politics and is an important voice inside and outside of America.
The resume of Jesse Jackson does not reflect the "hair trigger" behavior Lowry depicts and Jackson remains a key player in the political sphere despite claims from columnists and pundits of Lowry's ilk.
In order to conclude Jackson's activities are poisoned one must ignore hits career and his continued fight against the current inequalities that plague America. The Kerner Commission concluded in 1968 and then in 2008 that the United States remains two nations, one Black and one White. Rich Lowry, unable to appreciate this, finds it appropriate to attack Jesse Jackson with the kind of hair trigger charges he accuses Jackson and Obama of.
Barack Obama, who also appears blind to the divisive nature of this country, continues to preach change, new politics, and end to the divisive era, and moving past "racial guilt". Ironically, he uses the race card at his convenience, tearing down Bill Clinton after the president's Barack Obama-Jesse Jackson analogy, then Tavis smiley for even inviting him to the Black State of the Union in '07 and '08. Obama disowned both his church and pastors of 20 years to appease White America. Recently, he attacked John McCain, unwarranted, over an ad titled "Celeb" that likens Barack Obama to a celebrity such as Paris Hilton or Britney spears rather than a ready politician.
Barack Obama tried, unsuccessfully, to play the "race card", a divisive tactic that, when used appropriately, combats an divisive problem. McCain's ad had not one association with race in it though. Barack Obama claimed McCain was preying on people's fear of race, possibly because he cannot judge when race is being injected into an issue or not.
The difference between Lowry, Obama and Jackson is that Jackson knows what he is talking about. He is not lacking in assessment skills and judgement.
Rich Lowry attacks Jesse Jackson and Senator Barack Obama in an August 4th op-ed saying Barack Obama resorted to "hair-trigger" charges of racism of the sort Jackson has "built his career on". Lory then claims these charges have made Jackson "radioactive and anathema to the political center."
Lowry must mind Jesse Jackson's career with an attentiveness similar to that of Barack Obama's attention toward the McCain "Celeb" ad because their respective judgements of both is equally inaccurate.
Jesse Jackson has worked to improve he social and economic conditions of African Americans and other minority groups since the early late 50's. While in school, in the early 60's Jackson participated int he civil rights movement and was closely associated with Martin Luther King. He became a field director for the Congress of Racial Equality. In 1966 he helped found Operation Breadbasket, an African American self help program associated with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1971 he founded another organization called Operation PUSH. (People United to Serve Humanity), for self help human rights. As national president from 1971 to 1983 he promoted economic development, housing development, health care programs and economic excellence.
Jackson ran for president in 1984 and 1988 garnering 13 state primaries and caucuses in his second run. He formed the National Rainbow coalition, a political organization that is now merged with Operation PUSH to form Rainbow/PUSH. he spoke out for social and economic justice, peace, and environmental reforms. Jackson is still influential in politics and is an important voice inside and outside of America.
The resume of Jesse Jackson does not reflect the "hair trigger" behavior Lowry depicts and Jackson remains a key player in the political sphere despite claims from columnists and pundits of Lowry's ilk.
In order to conclude Jackson's activities are poisoned one must ignore hits career and his continued fight against the current inequalities that plague America. The Kerner Commission concluded in 1968 and then in 2008 that the United States remains two nations, one Black and one White. Rich Lowry, unable to appreciate this, finds it appropriate to attack Jesse Jackson with the kind of hair trigger charges he accuses Jackson and Obama of.
Barack Obama, who also appears blind to the divisive nature of this country, continues to preach change, new politics, and end to the divisive era, and moving past "racial guilt". Ironically, he uses the race card at his convenience, tearing down Bill Clinton after the president's Barack Obama-Jesse Jackson analogy, then Tavis smiley for even inviting him to the Black State of the Union in '07 and '08. Obama disowned both his church and pastors of 20 years to appease White America. Recently, he attacked John McCain, unwarranted, over an ad titled "Celeb" that likens Barack Obama to a celebrity such as Paris Hilton or Britney spears rather than a ready politician.
Barack Obama tried, unsuccessfully, to play the "race card", a divisive tactic that, when used appropriately, combats an divisive problem. McCain's ad had not one association with race in it though. Barack Obama claimed McCain was preying on people's fear of race, possibly because he cannot judge when race is being injected into an issue or not.
The difference between Lowry, Obama and Jackson is that Jackson knows what he is talking about. He is not lacking in assessment skills and judgement.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Barack Obama's War Chest Growing Stronger
I was just going through my email and crossed an Obama campaign email (I get emails from McCain, Obama, and Clinton [as infrequent as hers come in now]). On first glance it would appear Senator Barack Obama is being out funded.
Whatever the total, Barack Obama's campaign raised $52 million in comparison to McCain's $22 million in June. How long will the GOP be able to keep pace?
I have some big news we want to share with you.I take it with a grain of salt. Barack Obama was out funded by Hillary Clinton early in the race and he eventually steamrolled her. On the other hand, Barack Obama was never under as much attack as he is now. Political cartoonists are getting bolder. Plouffe feels he has to downplay the money the DNC has to increase donations. AFP news reports the DNC having $92 million.
In the month of June, supporters like you helped raise $52 million. And together with the DNC, we now have nearly $72 million in the bank. That's a very strong financial position to be in.
But we remain at a massive disadvantage to our opponents.
As I mentioned in my video message earlier in the week, the McCain Campaign and the Republican National Committee finished June with nearly $100 million in the bank.
We can't stop now. It's going to take everything we've got to defeat John McCain and his allies in November.
Can you make a donation of $5 now to strengthen our movement for change?
https://donate.barackobama.com/junenumbers
I know this isn't the first time we've asked you for financial support, and it won't be the last.
We have developed a strategy -- a very aggressive strategy -- that will only work if our millions of supporters continue to contribute their time and their money.
That strategy will work, and it has to. The stakes are too high and the need for change too great.
But victory is only possible with your continued help.
We can't do this without you.
Thanks,
David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America
Whatever the total, Barack Obama's campaign raised $52 million in comparison to McCain's $22 million in June. How long will the GOP be able to keep pace?
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Barack Obama's Poor Judgement: What Plane to Fly?
For one who prides himself on judgment, Barack Obama fails to use the resource wisely when choosing his mode of travel across country. (second story of the same)
On Monday, July 7, 2008, Barack Obama, aides, and journalists were riding on an McDonald Douglas-81 when the plane had to make an unscheduled landing in St. Louis, en route from Chicago to Charlotte, North Carolina, after the pilots found they were having difficulty controlling the plane.
Barack Obama downplayed the incident with reporters saying "Any time the pilot says something's not working the way it's supposed to, then you make sure you tighten your seat belt." This particular MD-80 series jet is a "substitute for the usual campaign plane now being overhauled ahead of the November election push" and is also used to carry sports teams.
The Boeing MD-80 was originally made under McDonald Douglas and was certified nearly 28 years ago by the Federal Aviation Administration in August of 1980 and entered airline service on October of the same year. The MD-80 was produced at the Long Beach Division of Boeing Commercial Airplanes until December 1999.
Barack Obama said this was the first time his campaign charter plane had to ever be diverted. If anyone had been looking out for Obama's safety they might have seen that the MD-80 has been under inspection multiple times this year. Thousands of flights have been canceled because of MD-80 inspections. (1)
The MD-80 failed to comply with an FAA directive for securing wiring. The failed compliance occurred shortly after inspections only a couple months before. Only one day after Senator Obama's campaign plane was diverted the FAA is ordering U.S. airlines to check for cracked overwing frames resulting from reports of such damage already on some planes.
Imagine a potential president of the United State's poor judgment in choosing a plane that endangers his life. Barack Obama might want information before he or his aides make such a judgment call.
On Monday, July 7, 2008, Barack Obama, aides, and journalists were riding on an McDonald Douglas-81 when the plane had to make an unscheduled landing in St. Louis, en route from Chicago to Charlotte, North Carolina, after the pilots found they were having difficulty controlling the plane.
"After landing, an inspection found the unusual cause of the problem -- an emergency evacuation slide deployed inside the plane underneath the tail. The tail cone, the very rear of the fuselage where passengers would exit in an emergency, did not pop off the plane when the chute inflated."
Barack Obama downplayed the incident with reporters saying "Any time the pilot says something's not working the way it's supposed to, then you make sure you tighten your seat belt." This particular MD-80 series jet is a "substitute for the usual campaign plane now being overhauled ahead of the November election push" and is also used to carry sports teams.
The Boeing MD-80 was originally made under McDonald Douglas and was certified nearly 28 years ago by the Federal Aviation Administration in August of 1980 and entered airline service on October of the same year. The MD-80 was produced at the Long Beach Division of Boeing Commercial Airplanes until December 1999.
Barack Obama said this was the first time his campaign charter plane had to ever be diverted. If anyone had been looking out for Obama's safety they might have seen that the MD-80 has been under inspection multiple times this year. Thousands of flights have been canceled because of MD-80 inspections. (1)
The MD-80 failed to comply with an FAA directive for securing wiring. The failed compliance occurred shortly after inspections only a couple months before. Only one day after Senator Obama's campaign plane was diverted the FAA is ordering U.S. airlines to check for cracked overwing frames resulting from reports of such damage already on some planes.
Imagine a potential president of the United State's poor judgment in choosing a plane that endangers his life. Barack Obama might want information before he or his aides make such a judgment call.
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