3.28.2011

Bigoted Scare Tactics from the Right


Have you seen this commercial? It's been running on Cincinnati stations for several days now.  It's paid for by a group calling itself Citizens Against Government Waste, which self promotes as a private, non partisan, non profit organization, claiming to have more than a million members nationwide.




According to its mission statement CAGW seeks to eliminate waste, inefficiency and mismanagement in the federal government. Well, if that is  the case, then why create a commercial using bigoted stereotypes that pushes every racist button  within white middle America?

Fear tactics....scare the hell out of white people in order to keep America from moving forward into a more diverse and equal future.

CAGW was founded in 1984 by one J. Peter Grace, the Koch brother of his time, and syndicated columnist Jack Anderson. Both have now passed onto that all white heaven in the sky leaving their organization in the hands of paler and younger minions to carry on their xenophobic. message.

The late Jack Anderson was an interesting person. He won a Pulitzer for exposing President Nixon's favoritism toward Pakistan during the war with India. He uncovered Iran Contra, for which Reagan should have been jailed, but wasn't. G. Gordon Liddy, one of the Watergate schemers also tried to have Anderson killed. J. Edgar Hoover didn't like him either and regularly tried to make Anderson's life miserable.

Like much of the craziness that the right keeps tossing around, the CAGW has its root firmly planted in the Reagan  presidency and the Grace Commission which was supposed to promote an end to wasteful  and needless taxation, read that cutback or end of all social programs for poor people while allowing corporations to run free and unregulated.  And just like all right wing nuts, the CAGW refuses to admit that Ronald Reagan actually raised taxes instead of cutting them. Reagan only talked about decreasing taxes and ending the deficit. He never actually did either.

CAGW claims to have saved taxpayers 1.4 trillion dollars by continuing the work of the Grace Commission along with other recommendations of its own creation. If that is the case, then why does the deficit keep growing? Why did Reagan leave office without balancing his own budgets for eight years?

CAGW failing econ 101 by continuing to promote failed Reaganomic policies otherwise known as trickle down economics.

-0-

Comitting Mass Sepuku

The land of the rising sun is sinking rapidly in the East. Today comes word of no less than three nuke meltdowns while Japanese leaders watch and wait. What the hell are they waiting for? The way it looks now, these damaged reactors are going to finish the job America started back in 1945 with the dropping of Big man and Little boy, the bombs that took out Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Trouble is if all of those reactors explode, they will take not only Japan, but much of the world, too.  Look on the bright side...we won't need electricity anymore. We'll all be living, glowing human lightning bugs with personal internal power sources.

-0-

Obama Explains

President Barack Obama goes on television tonight to explain why he sent our military to deal with Libya. Obama has referred to the situation as a humanitarian crisis that needed to be handled.In other words to keep the crazy man in power from killing his own people.

Despite skyrocketing gasoline prices, America does not use Libyan oil, so there is really no need for America to be there, according to the naysayers. Besides, they say, you didn't ask permission from Congress, meaning the real masters of the universe didn't sign off on such a big order.

It's okay that Dubya did it and his daddy did it...and...Reagan did it...and Clinton did it....But Obama, well he just doesn't have the smarts to do it...that's the problem...he needs guidance....right?

It doesn't matter what Obama does, he is going to be roundly criticized by the right. Case in point, Newt Gingrich who is doing summersaults attempting to explain his own flip flops and still not look like the blatant racist that he is. While Obama studied the matter, Newt wanted to bomb Khadafi...Yet when Obama bombed Khadafi...Newt said we shouldn't be in Libya at all.


In fact, take the last statement and substitute the names of Pawlenty, Palin, Bachmann, Boehner, Huckabee and Paul for Gingrich and you will have the complete picture.

Maybe tonight he should use the Seasame Street approach or School House Rock for those on the right and mainstream media, to make them understand that sometimes you have to help out and not make war for greedy monetary reasons. Once in a while the people count.

And as I recall, aren't we still a part of NATO....so that means that we will be there as long as NATO is there...which is why Obama can't say when we will leave permanently.

Why don't we do something really constructive and shutdown all the military bases not on American soil and bring our people home. That way we won't look like the cop on block trying to keep peace.




3.15.2011

Honoring the Black Women of the Great War

The White House has chosen today to mark Women's History Month by posting pics of women veterans of the wars.  The article posted below was written to honor my great aunt and the women with whom she served during World War II.......

 Originally published on 12/08/2008

  Black Women in WWII, Still Fighting for Recognition

The story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory WAC Battalion


Buffalo Soldiers, Tuskegee Airmen, Black men, bigger than life historical figures. Their stories told over and over. Their exploits dramatized on television and in movies. Rightfully celebrated as warriors and men who helped to create this country we call America. In recognition of their accomplishments, President Elect, Barack Obama, has invited the remaining members of the Tuskegee Airmen to attend his inauguration, in January. That invitation should also be tendered to the members of the Women Army Corp, the Black WACs of World War II.

There is always a distaff side to history. The 6888th Central Postal Directory Women Army Corp Battalion, was the only unit of Black women to serve in the European theater during the great war. As were all units, it was a segregated unit, created specifically to handle a monumental problem overseas. You see, the mail, the packages, the letters and boxes of food, sent to the troops, piled up in a warehouse in Birmingham, England for the first few years of the war. The mail was not making it to the soldiers on the front lines. The workers, both soldiers and civilians assigned to process the mail, were overwhelmed by the volume of their assigned task.

The 6888th CPD, was quickly formed. The unit was comprised of women from all over the country, who had signed up to serve. My own great Aunt, Sargent Bessie L. Robinson, was one of them. If she hadn’t been a member, then I don’t think even I would have known of their existence, or their contributions to history. I had the privilege of delivering the keynote speech at their first reunion, after the war, in June, 1979, in Cincinnati, Ohio. By this time, they were old, but still full of life, sparkling as they recalled the memories of their great adventures.

The women trained at Ft. Olgethorpe, in Georgia. Among other things, they had to complete five mile hikes in full battle gear, which included, pistols belts, gas masks, canteens, packs and helmets. They made these hikes under, what the army calls, active war conditions, meaning, somebody was shooting at them, or blowing up stuff, while they did it. After training, the battalion boarded a special train to New York, and Camp Shanks.

From there, they took a ship to Europe, and on February 12th, 1945, they landed in Scotland and boarded a train for Birmingham, England. Battalion Command was entrusted to Major Charity Adams, who died in 2002.

The unit’s job was to clean up the backlog of mail. They accomplished it in record time, working two eight hours shifts, per day. They processed 65,000 pieces of mail per shift, in order to get the job done. The 6888th CPD also served in Rouen, France as Allied troops liberated that country. They also pulled duty in Paris, France before returning home to the USA. Three members of the unit died while stationed in France.

While overseas, they learned about the death of FDR They shook hands with America’s only Negro general at the time, Brigadier General, Benjamin O. Davis. He greeted them when they arrived in England. When they returned to America, the 6888th was disbanded. The women dispersed. Some stayed in the service. Some retired and went home. The war was over, the country was still segregated, and there was very little said or written about their tour of duty.

The women who are still alive, are well into their 80's, now. The unit totaled 824 women and 31 officers. My aunt, Sgt. Bessie, passed away several years ago. The small part of history that I have presented here was passed down orally. A couple of books have been written, however, the official web sites, detailing the exploits of women in war, glance over, or fail to make any mention what so ever, of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Take nothing away from the Tuskegee Airmen. They deserve their acolades. I'm just saying that someone should remember their sisters, too.

3.07.2011

Newt's Big Adventure or Or There and Back Again by Newton LMG Brandyash

When it comes to politics, Americans just love their clown princes. Gives us something to talk about around the  water cooler in between the latest actor suicide by television,  bimbo outbreaks and crisis in the middle east. How else do you describe the seriousness being given to the announcement by Newton Leroy McPherson Gingrich, otherwise known as Newt.

Newt, the legend in his own mind, is again mounting a fake run to the White House. He's not really serious, he just likes the drama of the chase. He likes the chaos, the standing in the middle of the hurricane and being the center of attention when he walks into a room. He loves it when reporters ask nonsensical, non essential questions, hanging on his every word.  He can win, but he doesn't know what to do after he does. Winning Congress means you're on the team. But winning means you have to share the spotlight with about 500 other local drama queens sent to lead America. As we all know, there is no "I" in team. Newt  made it to Speaker of the House which is a lead spot on Capitol Hill, but he is not the HNIC. He is part of the leadership. He's not even the BIG speaker. The BIG speaker is always the guy in the Senate. Newt was the little speaker in the House.

  And everyone knows the really, really big  24/7 drama queens always end up in the oval office. 

Nope, last time Newt made it to Congress he had way too much time on his hands. And the  abundance of all those pretty blond conservative lobby ladies and congressional wives in training, masquerading as office help, didn't help matters either.

Let me refresh your memory about the callow fellow named after a salamander. He's been in and out of politics for a long time. Back in 1994 Newt led the GOP and helped usher in the now historic Contract on America, that resulted in among other things, a governmental shutdown and the passage of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. This nearly unanimously supported measure was designed to erase some of the perks of being an elected representative.

In between redesigning the moral fiber and values of America while  surreptitiously running around on his cancer-stricken wife-wife number two, he managed to violate Congressional ethics rules and regulations no less than 84 times.  83 of those charges were eventually dropped, but the one that stuck was knowingly lying to a Congressional Committee.  Newt was forced to tuck his tail between his legs and resign in disgrace, all the while calling for the impeachment of Bill Clinton for getting a blow job from Monica Lewinsky one night in his office.

Since Newt was cheating on his second wife at the time, guess it would be safe to say he knew all about bj's in the office, maybe in the back seat of his limo, too, since the GOP was on an austerity kick back in the day and it simply wouldn't do to see the moral compass of the GOP checking into a nearby motel or two.

Bet bj's in the office were meant to be one of the perks eliminated by the Congressional Accountability Act.

Since then, Newt has written books, come out as a dinosaur enthusiast, commented on television and feinted runs for the White House. The fake runs means he can once again raise stupid piles of money and get lots and lots of publicity, for basically no reason at all.

But this time, he says he  is serious and he signaled it by unveiling a website. Not an exploratory committee or an outright announcement that goes something like "My fellow Americans, today I am running for President of the United States." No Newton Leroy McPherson Gingrich put up a website at http://www.newt.org. You heard me, he unveiled a website...bought the domain for his name.

So what's he running for-CEO of Microsoft?

In the words of  Sharron Angry er, Angle, c'mon Newt....man up!.... grow some!...lock and load!....Go ahead throw your hat in the ring prove that any....ENN-NEE.. master of the universe can defeat the chocolate covered usurper now sleeping in America's master bedroom.

I dare ya!

3.02.2011

In My Bed? Damn! Supreme Court Agrees!

Supreme Court throws out lawsuit against Westboro Church. In an 8-1 vote with Justice Alito dissenting.You can read the decision here.

(Originally posted in 2006)


 Since I discovered my gayness at the tender age of 5, waking up in bed with a man would be surprising. If that man happens to be the Reverend Fred Phelps, then it becomes grounds for suicide...maybe a bath, then suicide or maybe a shower, a cleansing walk through fire then suicide.

For those of you who don't know the allegedly righteous reverend, Phelps is the guy who leads the Westboro Church of Topeka, Kansas and conducts protests at the funerals of soldiers who have died during the Iraq military action. Phelps believes that the good men and women who died for this country are being punished because they fought to defend a homeland that condones homosexuality.

Phelps thinks everyone who doesn't believe as he does is going to hell and that includes most of us Americans. So he and his family, since that's what makes up his congregation, travels the country protesting at funerals. He's been doing it for a lot of years at gay funerals, but nobody took notice until he crossed the line with the American military. If you want to read exactly what it is that Phelps is saying go to http://www.godhatesamerica.com/ , where you will find that he not only attacks America, but Coretta Scott King, Reggie White, and The Pope in language so vile that I won't repeat it here.

Earlier this week Congress passed a bill banning Phelps protests at cemeteries. The "Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act" has been sent to White House and Dubya has already indicated that he will sign it into law. The measure, like much of what Congress does, seems good until you fully examine it. The law only pertains to 122 national cemeteries. It doesn't say a thing about all of the other cemeteries in this country. Nor does it keep him from protesting at funerals. He just has to stay 300 feet away.

Phelps has free reign almost everywhere else as long as he stays off federal turf. And there is another thing that bothers me. As reprehensible as I find this man to be, I am troubled that Congress has seen fit to try to stifle him. Despite his ranting and viciously biased ravings, he is an American, protected by the constitution, specifically the First Amendment. He has a god-given right to say whatever the hell he wants.

This is America.

It is what these young military people fight and die for. Yes, his acts are a slap in the face and blatant disrespect of our military, but illegal, or unconstitutional, I don't think so. What is Congress going to do, pass a law to stifle every other group who voices discontent or disrespect? What about using the hate crimes law? Phelps violates those every time he opens his mouth. Fine him. Turn the IRS loose on him. Take away his privileged status as a Church. But let him keep talking. That's his right. And mine. And yours.

2.23.2011

Supreme Court Baby Mama Drama

Most of what comes out of the United States Supreme court is as dry and boring as the sands of the Kalahari Desert during a drought. Historically, any drama is usually generated by the justices themselves, such as whether or not Uncle Clarence will break his five year silence and speak from the bench or go home and bitch slap his silly wife, who is this close to getting him impeached.

Normal baby mama drama is left for the lower courts to decide, until now, anyway. Add in the Tea Party, weapons of mass destruction and Phyllis Schlafly and you have a cat fight, the likes of which will cause the boys in Jerry Springer's audience to jump up out of their seats in appreciation.

The story begins on an ordinary note with a cheating husband, a spurned wife and a pregnant mistress. Everybody knows everybody else. In fact the two women are BFFs. Wife and husband tried for years to get pregnant but to no avail. However, while hubby shot only blanks with his wife, he connected on the first, second or maybe third shot with best friend.

Wife, Carol was happy for her friend, that is until she found out who the baby daddy was. Then she was pissed. I mean real pissed. Girlfriend started having panic attacks and losing her hair. But she didn't take it out on Clifford, her husband. She went after Myrlinda, her former BFF.

Carol started calling at all hours of the day and night, leaving nasty messages and threatening to send dead people to Myrlinda's house. It got so ugly that Myrlinda called police and finally Carol was brought up on minor harassment charges and convicted. But it didn't end there.

Carol, who is a microbiologist by profession went on the internet and ordered some kill-you-when-you-touch-it poisons and spread the deadly stuff all over Myrlinda's house, mailbox, car, phone and anything else where she might make contact and die. Only problem was, in her rage Carol didn't think things through enough because she apparently ordered the poisons in powder form and Myrlinda could see the stuff. She tested it with her finger and did burn her finger tip, but it wasn't serious.

Myrlinda called the local cops again and again. They looked at it, said it looked like cocaine to them and that she should have her placed checked out. Then the cops went back to fighting DWB cases and profiling alleged illegal immigrants, leaving Myrlinda to deal with her own dusty house.

The very enraged wife then attempted to poison her rival no less than 24 more times with the same deadly stuff.

Myrlinda didn't know what to do so she told her mailman. Her mailman told his boss. His boss told the postal inspectors and they set up a video sting and caught Carol dumping her potent demon dust all over Myrlinda's property. That led to federal charges. Yes, they called in the feds.

The feds threw the kitchen sink at Carol charging her with terrorism designed to battle terrorists who try to use WMDs against America.  In other words they used the "Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction." This is a treaty between countries to combat the use of WMDs.

Carol and her lawyers immediately said this was not a viable charge and stated the feds had no puppy in this dog race, citing the 10th amendment to the United States Constitution. The 10th amendment is the one that states where federal government power ends and states rights begins. It's a favorite of the teabaggers and conservatives who are attempting to use it against anything Obama, specifically the health care reform law.

Carol was convicted anyway and sent to Club Fed for six years, faces five years of probation and a $2,000 fine when she gets out.

Carol immediately filed suit against the United States Government. An appeals court threw out the suit claiming Carol didn't have standing to bring the suit since the 10th amendment is between federal and state governments, not individuals. Carol is an individual. Carol appealed the ruling.  Tea Party conservatives, Phyllis Schlafly and Eagle Forum, libertarian think tank Cato Institute, NRA activists and the attorneys general of South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Texas, Utah and Colorado have also jumped into the pool on Carol's side.

They don't give a damn about Carol and her baby mama drama, but they do want in on anything that may possibly stick it to the Black man in the White House.

This case is now in Uncle Clarence's lap. The high court is being asked to allow the suit against the USA to go forward and watchers say the justices seem inclined to let that happen. But only their ruling will say for sure what they are thinking. If Carol wins a favorable ruling it will open the door to declaring the recently passed health care law null and void. Which will make the conservative right very happy.

It may also invalidate parts of the United States Constitution.

At this writing...Carol is locked up in Club Fed....Myrlinda is alive and in hiding, one would guess....and Clifford...well he is still married to Carol....girlfriend is standing by her man.

Baby mama drama!






2.21.2011

The War on Poor People

"Callin' out around the world, are you ready for a brand new beat? Summer's here and the time is right for dancin' in the streets! They're dancin' in Wisconsin, Alabama, too. Can't you hear the music playin' down in Ohio, too?"

There is something seriously wrong with a universe in which poor people and the little money they take home to feed their kids is considered a problem. Think about it, one man on wall street takes home a paycheck in 2010 totaling 5-billion dollars. That is $1159.00 for every second of every day for the 365 days. This 5-billion dollar paycheck follows a 4-billion dollar check from a couple of years ago to the same man.

Yet, there was hardly a peep out of anyone, anywhere. The teabaggers in the House didn't blink, sitting quietly as he testified before a House subcommittee, defiantly justifying his take home pay. No outrage about the lopsidedness of the pay structure. No concern about the people at the other end of the ladder worrying about meeting their mortgages. No wonderment at how one company can pay one man so much, yet not be able to add more hourly workers in order to help the country get its unemployment under control. No talk that congress was kicking the can down the road and foisting the problem off on future generations.

The newly elected members of the House of Representatives, the governors of many states, including Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida have decided that the problem is poor people and the money they make in order to live.  It's their money, in 40 and 50-thousand dollar yearly chunks that will bankrupt their kids down the road. The benefits they won through collective bargaining is bad. Collective bargaining is bad. They don't deserve to be able to talk back to their bosses who still get automatic pay raises and bonuses tallying in the millions and billions of dollars.

All this despite few if any pay raises to equal the cost of the living for the past several years or of having to live with wage freezes because their companies tell them there is no money to pay them, or to fund their pension plans.The workers are told they will have to work more and longer if they want to make enough money on which to live.  John Kasich of Ohio even thinks anyone bold enough to talk back, should be fired for insubordination. 

Kasich bragged about the pay raises he gave his  virtually all white male, minority-free staff before they took office, all the while refusing stimulus funds designed to tie Ohio into the projected high speed rail system and create jobs. He also is refusing education funds designed to improve Ohio schools and elevate the intellect of Ohio kids who rank right up there with a box of rocks.

These same legislators are leading the challenge against health care reform, against women in general,  against reform on wall street, against medicare and medicaid and social security. Pensions need to be cut because investment counselors like the good governor of Ohio used to be, fumbled the pass and dropped the ball, losing billions of dollars for the working class. Too many people are out of work and using the system to survive, so it needs to be brought under control and flushed out a little bit. Raise the age limits on social security so fewer people qualify or die before they qualify.  And don't forget to cut those taxes for rich people because they are so full of the christian spirit and always use the extra cash to create jobs for poor people.

As they take care of the rich, cut taxes and yank the safety net for women and children, these same legislators are rolling back the regulations designed to protect poor people in the future, allowing the pillaging of America to continue unabated. The financial gang rape of America  has never stopped amid this economic crisis and recession. The rich guys can still buy 100,000 dollar toilets to complement their designer desks in their little used offices located in the financial centers of the world. 

Greed is still good in America as we prepare to sell our stock exchanges to Germany and ship jobs over the ocean allowing consumers in the Far East to drive supply and demand, causing prices to sky rocket world wide.  Kasich has Ohio on the block. He's already costed out how much he can make by selling the Ohio turnpike. What's next, I-75 or 71? If he gets his way in Ohio, he will have a whole new pool of indentured servants to work the toll booths at $7.25 an hour, or less, if he thinks that's too much money for a booth clerk to make.

I guess I could stomach tightening my own belt even more if the pain were spread around equally. Equally, meaning Congress foregoes its own pay, automatic pay raises and health care while they wrestle with mine. Or, Congress takes measures to really force the banks and wall street to get off their golden piss pot and start funding the economic recovery of America. I mean these so called financial raiders had all the balls in the world when they were screwing people and laughing all the way to Aruba. Why are they suddenly so shy about making the one investment that would bring this country back. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?

Don't you have to spend money to make money? Why are the banks being allowed to simply stockpile the money? What are they waiting for....all the poor people to die? It's certainly not for a "complexion change" on Capital Hill. The complexion paled visibly in this past election and the war on poor people got worse...literally broke out into the open.

Why won't Congress tell the boys in the backroom that it is time to give back and do their part? Don't they understand that by turning all of the world  into a  bankrupt ghetto it becomes a very dangerous place for rich guys with bling. People are marching on state capitals, now. Even Stevie Wonder can see the next target....the federal government and after that, the gated complexes of the rich but not necessarily famous. With all the cutbacks going on...there simply aren't enough police, security guards or mercenaries to go around to protect all the exclusive enclaves where rich boys hide.

The war on poor people has hit stride. Globalization of the job market is continuing unchecked...outsourcing of jobs is continuing unabated....wage freezes are spreading....health care costs are continuing to rise because the feds won't penalize the big insurance or pharmaceutical companies....what little regulation Obama tried to put in place is being rolled back...the corporate raiders and investments pirates are once again being unshackled....

Hell....we're going to have to start another war in order to recoup some of our losses. This one will be against Iran while riding shotgun for Israel and come with mandatory conscription otherwise known as the draft. After all, how else do you employe masses of poor people at a job that will routinely cull the herd, quietly, legally and in the name of patriotism.

Kill that deficit in no time at all....






2.18.2011

Wisconsin-A Call to Revolution

Wisconsin is in turmoil because the GOP has finally thrown back the curtain and revealed its plan for America.  And don't laugh, Ohio. John Kasich is pursuing the same plan for the Buckeye State and so has Florida's Governor in Thief. Here, it is called JobsOhio...which has already passed...and House Bill 5..which is working its way through the statehouse as we speak.

Firing union workers....stripping away collective bargaining rights....busting unions....Funny...I don't remember any republicans or teabaggers talking about this stuff while they were campaigning.

Sounds like something Lenin or Marx or Mussolini or Mao dreamed up back in the day when America stood alone against communism, socialism and fascism. America fought two world wars, several police actions and even today stands on the border between North and South Korea in order to keep this bad stuff...this bad form of governance away from America. But it has arrived anyway and its not coming from the alleged socialist-muslim-white race hating Black man in the oval office.

The plan is obviously what its been-provide cheap labor to American corporations through globalization of the labor pool by outsourcing jobs and production, and union busting to destroy the system that created the American middle class, forcing them into low paying service jobs, while the perpetual masters of the universe laugh all the way to the bank.

There is a reason why the GOP never tells you what they plan to do to the country, before they do it. For the past four years, the only plan the republican party has put forth is to destroy Obama at any cost. They attack the man and his programs designed to help the people regain their footing on this slippery economic slope that all of us have been inhabiting for the past few years, while telling us to wait...put them back in power and they will throw the bum out and return  us to their Norman Rockwell normalcy.

 Promises...promises!

They attack his family, his faith, his intellect, denigrating him at every opportunity, challenging his ability to lead, questioning his manhood, even lambasting him for programs such as the stimulus that was created by President Bush and approved by every GOP representative on Capital Hill before Obama embraced it and put it into action.

In his efforts to generate bipartisanship in governance, Obama has embraced much of what Bush created and was signed off on by the Republican Party, prior to Obama taking power. But you'd never know it. If you listen to the lock step talking points of the right, it's the Black man who is destroying America. It is the Black man who has turned to socialism and fascism. It is the Black man who has abandoned his own Black people and revealed a long simmering hatred of his mother's white race.

And amid all this talk, the masters of wall street, sit on the money, refusing to create jobs, or put it back into circulation, claiming distrust of government-read that Obama-policies. They still control the money, and as they say...money walks...bullshit talks...

Hell, he's not even an American, nor Christian to hear them tell it. Before he was elected, Obama was the wrong kind of Christian. Now he's been stripped of all beliefs.  Despite the evidence of truth, Obama is not one of them and never will be. He's a Black man who followed the fictional American dream and  decided he could lead this country out of the economic maelstrom in which it finds itself. Yet, it never occurred to even him, just how deeply embedded racism, bigotry and general lack of regard for anyone not white, is in this country. Bigoted talking points and lack of trust in the Black man and Black people in general, fueled the midterm change in 2010. The GOP backed up by its mini-me the Tea Party, successfully took control of the house and many governorships and legislatures.

And while the vote in 2010 was not a mandate. It was a power play from the right, manipulating their base like sheperds driving their sheep herd to slaughter. It was a cowardly reversal from many impatient progressives and it was a refusal of follow through to vote again, by many Blacks who voted in 2008 for change, but lack the courage of conviction that had previously powered all civil rights changes in America.

Maybe Earl Butts was right about American Blacks...give em some loose shoes, a comfortable place to sleep and a warm place to shit...and they'll be happy..won't vote nor care what the white man is doing. Must be true...Blacks stayed home in droves, once again failing to take control of their own destiny.

As for that protest going on in Wisconsin....I'd be willing to bet all the money in my pocket, that most of the protesters, who also voted in 2010, voted to put the GOP back in power this past election, never realizing that they aren't part of the GOP equation anymore than are minorities. Poor and middle class whites don't count either, but you'd never know it the way they continue to vote and trust the rich white guys of the GOP. They are now getting what they asked for again, as  will Ohio and New Jersey in the near future. Here, in Ohio Kasich has already promised to sign the legislation once it passes.

The union busting model comes from their mythic icon Ronald Reagan. The air traffic controllers have never recovered and America's flight system remains in shambles, much less safe to fly than it used to be. The real Ronald Reagan was a crook, who raised taxes, quadrupled the deficit and left America in very bad shape when he left office. The prosperity they remember actually came from a Democrat named Bill, not that the GOP will admit it. The blatant attacks on women and their rights, the refusal to rebuild American infrastructure, fund clean energy, stop climate change, or build high speed public transportation will be the death of America and the GOP doesn't care. There is no compassion for their fellow humans, no desire to share the pain or profit. There is only greed and greed is good. Yes, the actor showed em how to do it and like lemmings they are marching blindly toward the cliff.

The era of indentured servitude and slavery has  returned to America, thanks to a fully complicit electorate. I wish Americans cared as much as the people of Egypt, South Sudan, and the Middle East. We should be following their example and marching on our own state capitols. Democracy and freedom are the guiding lights behind everything going on in the Middle East and Africa. Peaceful change and revolution...not war, like what we've perpetrated on Iraq and Afghanistan. Not like what the NeoCons want to reign down on Iran. America created the dream that everyone else in the world wants to experience.  Yet we choose to ignore our  own creation letting it rot under the carnage of the past, the Patriot Act and the bigotry cloaking 9/11.

Time for a little Dancin' in the Streets...a song from Martha and the Vandellas that the bigots back in the day  banned from radio play claiming it was a call for Blacks to riot. Maybe not then, but it could be a clarion call for change today, if we listen hard enough.

As Tracy Chapman says..talkin' bout a revolution, ya'll...real Americans, patriots, compassionate, caring people of all creeds, colors religions and orientations are welcome to participate...












2.09.2011

Pro-Birthers Lack Heart and Smarts with Heartbeat Proposal

Ohio Abortion bill would radically change the landscape in the fight for choice for women.

Later today, so called socially conservative Republicans will introduce a measure into the Ohio House that would make a legally defined and protected human being out of a clump of cells in the womb of any woman finding herself pregnant. This magical transformation would happen 18 days into the pregnancy, or as soon as doctors can detect a heartbeat.  There is no regard for the woman who carries this legalized fetus, no concern for how she got pregnant, nor whether she is able to care for the child and raise it properly.

No, 18 days into her pregnancy, whether she knows she is pregnant or not, the woman is reduced to a walking, talking incubator.  Her life, her body suddenly and now completely snatched away from her control, subverted in favor of nurturing a possible human being.  At 18 days, the fetus is not viable. Hell, it's not even recognizable as human, more resembling a tadpole( that's a baby frog for you biology-fearing creationists) than a baby, save that it has a heartbeat. Well, so do other types of clumps of cells. An amoeba can have a heartbeat or heartbeat-resembling pulse, but that doesn't make it viably human.

This conundrum is not a  concern to the pro-birthers. The fate and well being of the woman does not concern the pro-birthers.  Only the tiny clump of maybe-a-baby concerns the pro-birthers, and only then until it gets born. It's viability, its mental health and well being outside the womb are never a concern for these people.  Once it's born, the legalized human being becomes society's problem. 

This is not pro life.  This is a return to women as property...property of their husbands, fathers, brothers and in current modern, 21st century America...the government since most births these days are to single, unmarried women.  The government takes care of these maybe-children...only now...under this bill...it would start 18 days after consensual or otherwise conception, and well before it can take care of itself.

What happened to "get the government out of our lives" or does that only apply to humans born with a penis?  What happened to fiscal responsibility and shrinking government spending? Can somebody please tell me how this "heartbeat bill" is fiscally and morally responsible. Because the truth of the matter is that this measure is neither....fiscally nor morally just.  The bible does not say "love thy brother as thy love thyself with the exception of women."  There is no clause anywhere in the bible that elevates giving birth above the life of the mother. There is not an ounce of responsibility built into this proposed law. It is a measure designed only to control fully half the world population through bad law. 

And it presents other fiscally irresponsible problems. For instance, who is going to enforce this bill? More important, who is going to pay for the enforcement of this bill?  Are women going to be arrested and jailed for exercising their human rights as citizens of the United States and fully functioning viable human beings?

Are doctors going to be deputized and forced into reporting pregnant women to the state, like they already have to report gunshot wounds? Are pregnant women going to be forced into incubation concentration camps to ensure they carry to term? 

Will the President create a cabinet level post called the Department of Fertility designed to oversee and control women from puberty through their most fertile years to make sure that any potential maybe-babies make it through the birth process? Will the Department dispense medical and financial care before, during and after pregnancy to the female and her child?

Sounds like someone is attempting to make Margaret Atwood's novel, THE HANDMAID'S TALE, come to life, except given the social right's abhorrence of all things academic, I doubt they've even heard of the book.

Enslaving women....legalizing rape and incest.....what else do the socially conservative teabaggers have up their collective sleeves....They literally lied to the American people in order to get elected by running on a platform of financial governmental responsibility.

Now that they have revealed their true agenda of morality engineering....how long do you think they will stay in office?









2.07.2011

Let the Bitch Die! Protecting Life-Not!

Okay, so the neanderthals in Congress decided not to change the definition of rape. However, it is still not safe for women on the streets. These same fools have quickly submitted another travesty designed to keep women strait-jacketed in second class citizenship.

House Bill 358 is called the Protect Life Act. It is a mere 9 pages long and was introduced as an amendment to the current Health Care Law, passed last year. Rather than protecting women, this amendment seeks to "protect" hospitals and medical clinics and health care workers from "discrimination" should they refuse to perform an abortion.

You see, there is a law on the books, passed back in 1986, requiring hospitals to give emergency treatment to people, regardless of whether or not they can pay the bill. It is called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA. If a hospital is unable to provide the correct treatment, then they must transfer the patient to a hospital who can treat properly, and the receiving hospital CANNOT refuse to accept the patient.

This is law, and it includes abortion, if necessary to save a woman's life.

H.R. 358 seeks to void this requirement, thereby allowing a hospital or "health care entity" to refuse an abortion or a transfer to an woman without exception. In other words, let the bitch die, baby too, since there are no exemptions written into the proposal.

It does not matter if the mother or child are at risk.

This bill hardly lives up to its name, after all, whose life is being protected here, and what happened to all that fiscal responsibility and get the government out of our life rhetoric. A measure such as this levies more government control on women. But  then, I guess if you look at it from a male standpoint, it is less.....dead baby mamas and no tiny little mouths to feed or raise or educate. Sounds like a perfect world for some sperm donors.

I mean no disrespect to the men who handle their responsibilities. I have a problem with the so called "men" who dream up ways to keep women down and dependent on men. There is no law in this universe, except prison that strips a man of control over his own body, and even then,  prison is temporary.

Nothing.

The law of the land is clear. Roe v. Wade says it is a woman's choice, period. End of discussion.

The teabaggers have unmasked themselves to be nothing more than the American wing of the Taliban, religious radicals bent on subverting women to their will, in the name of their so called gods.









1.29.2011

Barefoot, Pregnant and Raped, Oh Well

The proposed plight of women in the teabagger/taliban run world. 

Now that the knuckle draggers of Congress think they have the mandate to change America back to their imagined fantasy world, they have been more forthcoming with specifics. With little fanfare, I would guess, because even their own little women might have a problem with it, a couple of bills have been introduced for consideration on Capital Hill. The bills differ in detail, but their intent is the same-strip women of their rights as human beings, relegating us to little more than sperm vessels for their precious seed.

The House GOP majority, led by Speaker John Boehner, wants to literally change the definition of rape. In other words, it is not rape, unless there is force. What this means is date rape is no longer a crime. Sexing up a teenage girl or boy by a legal and consenting adult, is no longer statutory rape. The intent is to prevent women from using medicaid funds to get an abortion in these cases, since current law allows for an abortion in instances of rape and incest. To their neanderthal way of thinking, if there is no rape, there can be no abortion.

 Another instance, if your 10 year old daughter is repeatedly raped by your 25 year old neighbor and impregnated, she would not qualify for a medicaid funded abortion, again because there was no force involved, as is the case with most incidents of this type. Statistics show that statutory rape and incest  almost never involves the use of force. And, if your daughter is over the age of 18, then the whole situation becomes consensual.  The law allowing for an abortion stands only if the impregnated girl is a minor and the rapist is a relative.

And don't think you can use your Health Savings account to pay for the medical work either because this same bill also bans the use of tax exempt funds...your money...from paying for the abortion as well. Claiming the medical work on your taxes is also history, if this bill passes.

You can read more about it here

The second proposal, cosponsored by the arrogant young Randal Paul wants to fix the legal definition of life at conception. In other words as soon as egg meets sperm, a woman is pregnant and subject to the whims of her government and male overseers. Her body is no longer her own, it is a baby manufacturing plant, whose sole purpose is to turn out a tiny human being regardless of concern for the woman, her mental and physical state, the circumstances of conception, and whether or not the she can afford to care for another human being for the next 20 or so years. In this teabagger/GOP world women simply become more second class then they are now.

Make no mistake about it, if this backward thinking contingent of Congressional idiots gets its way, the impregnated woman will also not be able to seek financial recourse through  federal funds of any kind to help her raise the child, either. If Paul gets his way, women will virtually have no choice but go back to trading their bodies for financial support to the so called masters of the universe. In fact, the way things are going economically, soon, under these bills, only the rich guys like Paul, will be able to erase their little "accidental" ejaculations. 

This heinous measure is called the Life at Conception Act and makes the egg and sperm combination a legal person with full protection from the 14th amendment, which as originally written guarantees equal protection under the law to those born on American soil. It conferred human status on slaves, back in the day. Paul's new definition would make the 14th amendment override Roe v. Wade. Passage of the Life at Conception Act makes it unnecessary to amend the US Constitution, according to Paul the Younger.

I don't know about you, but it boggles my brain that anyone who actually campaigned on the premise of getting government out of the lives of citizens would turn around and sponsor bills such as these. Think about it. If these measures become law, what happens when a woman decides to do something...anything....like eating food containing gluten, for example...that may be considered by some to be harmful to  the fetus, because it may set off an allergy...what happens to the woman...is she hauled off to jail for endangering a minor?

At the same time, Paul, in a bill sponsored with prostitute-loving David Vitter (see, women do have a place in the GOP), wants to prevent babies born to illegal immigrants on American soil from automatic citizenship. These are the so called anchor babies. Well, my question is this....what about the wombs of these illegal females....if the product of their womb is illegal automatically...how does the law govern the body of the illegal woman? Can she be jailed for getting pregnant? Will she simply be arrested as soon as she shows up at a hospital? Or will there be a new natal police force, formed to patrol poor neighborhoods, airports, boat harbors and train stations looking for obese women who may be pregnant and not just fat.

The teabaggers like Paul claimed to be only interested in economic and fiscal issues, however the first words out of their collective mouth reveals them to be no different than the failed moral majority social conservatives of the past. These American Taliban simply hid their real pro birther agenda and fooled enough people to get elected, and closer to where they can do some real damage to women, the poor and other racial and gender minorities.

Unless women stand up, the attempts to strip women of human being status will continue. Talking about revolution, ya'll!



1.28.2011

Buckeye John Kasich

Will somebody please explain to me the necessity of approaching a sitting governor in the 21st century to ask him to put people of color or of non heterosexual persuasion in his cabinet? John Kasich, the newly installed governor of the great state of Ohio has chosen his cabinet and advisors. He's even bragged that he has given his aides pay raises before they go on the job.

They will be the highest paid gubernatorial  flunkies in the history of the Buckeye state and not one of them black, brown or queer. Most of them are male. Now with a 13% minority state population, you would think that John-boy would have at least one black or brown or gay friend qualified to help him out...answer a few phones...hold his coat...walk ten paces behind so the photogs can see he's not afraid of minorities.

 Kenny Blackwell is still out there somewhere. Charlie Winburn is available for anything. He'd leave Cincinnati City Council in a heartbeat. I hear Michael Steele is looking for a window seat. There are lots of young up and coming minorities fresh out of college who don't remember the bad old days of racism and think being republican is the best thing to be in this allegedly non racial world. Did they all leave town for States who walk the walk instead of just talk?

It is simply amazing to me that the very people who deny the need for affirmative action, equal opportunity, civil rights and equality laws while claiming to be compassionately and Christ-like in their conservatism, with  nonracial viewpoints about life, always seem to get caught perpetrating, as we say in the ghetto.

 By the way,  in this age of tightening budgets, Kasich has already killed the job-making light rail system, said "no" to federal education funds, literally screwing Ohio school districts, and supports repealing health care, as well as cutting back on medicaid and medicare.



So much for government of the people and for all of the people.






1.26.2011

The Republicanization of Barack Obama


Last night's State of the Union speech was long on symbolism, civility, gravitas, and kumbya moments, as pointed out repeatedly by the mainstream media. However, it was also very, very short on substance and detail. In fact, after the speech, I found my self in the uncomfortable situation of agreeing with the twit from Delaware, Christine O'Donnell, who was selected by Good Morning America to sit next to Donna Brazile and to dissect the session, presenting opposing GOP and Democratic viewpoints.

To put O'Donnell in so called "expert" position on a political panel gives witness to just how far the media has fallen in common sense and credibility. The Christine O'Donnells of the world are nothing more than media created comic relief inserted into what should be real and informative discussions about the state of our world. Yet, here she was in pundit position next to democratic operative Brazile who attempted to make the most of a lousy situation. O'Donnell is a direct slap in the face to women such as Brazile who have worked hard for their credibility and respect only to have it shredded in the space of a 4 minute television interview by Bozo the Clown's daughter.

So, I was somewhat surprised to hear O'Donnell say that President Obama took all of his talking points from the Tea Party. I agree absolutely. Obama did last night what the GOP has been doing for the past couple of decades-talking a lot of stuff, but not presenting any solutions on how to get it done.

I would have loved to hear Obama present a plan for putting people back to work, like something along the lines of a WPA project to rebuild our infrastructure. We need bullet trains, but do you honestly think the GOP is going to fund such a project when the man in the White House actually said he was willing to look at cuts to medicare, medicaid and social security funding? Sure, he said he would not support privatization of social security, nor would he allow any cuts to affect those who are retired or stand on the brink of retirement now. After that, he invited cuts to the health care law, leading me to wonder what all the fuss was about two years ago, if he's not willing to fight for his masterpiece, now that it is actually on the books.

I wanted to hear Obama demand cuts in the military budget. It is not enough to bring home the troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Military bases need to close. Antiquated weapons systems need to be eliminated. Pretending to fight spending by threatening to veto any bill with earmarks is an insult to the intelligence of the American people. Mideastern dictatorships that America has been propping up for years need to be allowed to fall as they are doing now. He stressed the need to improve education as states like Ohio dismantle and refuse the educational funding that he put into place just one year ago. New Ohio GOP governor Kasich has killed the rail system program, is threatening to stop all education programs, all the while giving his assistants big raises and bragging about it as they come into office.

The State of the Union address, as presented last night, could have been delivered by a republican, like John Boehner and except for the multi syllable words, no one would have known that it was crafted by the democrat in the oval office. It left me wondering if Obama has farmed out his speech writing to someone with Rand Paul tendencies. O'Donnell didn't disappoint, because after making the teabagger comparison, she then fell back into her usual shtick of Obama bashing without really understanding the words coming out of her mouth. Her points on the program obviously written by someone else with a better understanding of politics in general. She actually referred to notes during what should have been an impromptu session.

I have long been bothered by what I see as the "republican" tendencies of America's first black president. His total embrace of all things Bush began the day he took office. Others have compared him to the great communicator, as Ronald Reagan was called. Those comparisons continued last night. One pundit even said the speech echoed all things Reagan in tone and tenor, and sadly, I could not disagree.

The general lack of respect for Obama, with the Reagan comparisons continues albeit in a more civil manner. In other words, he doesn't have a thought in his head, that a white man didn't have first. But that's another post. I disgress.

This past Sunday, on CBS Sunday Morning, Ben Stein said based on what America has seen from its first Black man in the White House, maybe he should switch parties and run in 2012 as a Republican. I couldn't agree more. Doesn't mean I won't vote for him. Just means I would like him to come out of his political closet and be who he really seems to be.











1.18.2011

Palin, The Popes and The Patriot Act

Been reading all the rationales, defenses and support for Lady Sarah and her nearly 8 minute video on the recent events in Tucson. Didn't intend to write anything myself because my thoughts on what she said were purely negative and it takes soooo much energy to answer negativity with more negativity. There is already enough of that out there.

However today, I read columnist Stanley Fish, who among other things compared Palin to a Frank Capra story, specifically, Mr Smith Goes to Washington. Fish obviously did a lot of work on the column, as have most who have weighed in on this issue. To me, however, all are missing the point. Fish's column is here.

The 8 minute video by Palin was simply a bad audition tape put together by a wannabe broadcast journalist who has found that huffing politics is a better high that can last for years, if you work it right. She looked uncomfortable in the staged setting. Even her clothing didn't seem to fit right. She was playing the part of a presidential candidate or at least what in her mind was a presidential looking person.. And then, there was that thing she does with her mouth when she finishes a sentence.

Those ticks can make or break you on camera. Instead of taking her cues from Reagan, who was very photogenic, she should have taken one or two from Nixon, who refused to wear make up during his debates with the luminous JFK. That one thing cause Nixon to look bad on camera and probably, more than anything else, lost him the election in 1960. Palin should practice in front of a mirror while she is studying up on policy. It is not only what you say..it is how you look when you say it.

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Doesn't there seem to be a rush on to make a saint out of the late Pope John Paul II? His miracle was reportedly curing a French nun of Parkinson’s disease. Well, what about the 2000 or so children who were abused during his reign as Pope? What kind of miracles did he work for them? The evidence is getting stronger every day that he actively took part in the three decade long coverup which was overseen by the current Pope Benedict.

Santo subito? I think not....

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The Patriot Act is coming up for renewal once again. This nefarious piece of legislation, which was passed before the ash and dust settled on the World Trade Center, takes away many, many freedoms that we citizens take for granted. Under the Patriot Act, the government can come into your home without a warrant...they can gain access to your phone records, your emails, or your medical records...just to name a few things....without ever having to show that you are suspect of crime. They don't have to ask for them either.

And...there is an on going “gag order” meaning that anyone involved cannot tell you that you are under suspicion, either.

Everything we, write, say or do is now under surveillance by the government, if this act stays on the books. This act means I can be arrested and jailed for what I am writing now.

A simple call or email message to your congressman will help. Big brother really is watching...

1.10.2011

Fear infested America

The events in Arizona are not a surprise to anyone who has lived and grown up here in America. In fact, most Black people my age have lived with a collective knot in our stomach since 2008 when Barack Obama was sworn in as president. It will hurt deeply if someone gets close enough to harm him or his family, because while we are used to the constant eruptions of violence, both verbal and physical, from those who fear us, as neighbors, classmates, co workers, supervisors and leaders, it won't be a surprise And no one of us will sleep easily until he safely leaves the White House.

That same fear now surrounds our government, infecting our political discourse, strangling all debate turning any and all difference of opinion into a nasty verbal free for all. All congressmen have been painted as evil and uncaring bastards whose only reason for working on Capital Hill is to enrich themselves at our expense. I am guilty of this myself, having openly wished on this blog for someone to “drop a bomb on Capital Hill” so the country can start over. Being a writer, I fully and completely understand the gravity of my words. I was thinking nuclear, knowing full well the near impossibility of my vision. But I take full responsibility for what comes out of my mouth and like most, should sometimes tone it down, or write after I've cooled off a bit. Civility, empathy and understanding should always guide what we do toward each other.

Congresswoman Giffords is a victim of our collective refusal to tone down the public discourse. She was targeted in the past for her vocal support for Health Care Reform. Following her vote she was vilified, and the windows of her office were shot out in 2009. Anyone who agrees with the “other” side is “defriended” on Facebook, or forced to undergo an electronic lynching or smear campaign via the internet, for all to see. Now, I guess, they risk being killed for speaking out and exercising their first amendment rights.

24 hour news is filled with  so called pundits who make millions of dollars spewing vitriol against any issue and any person, solely in the name of profit, power and ratings. What this ultimately leads to is the lesser brains among us, who don't distinguish between literal and figurative speech...between hyperbole and calls to action. This is the dangerous world in which we live. The crescendo of hyperbole has reached deadly ear shattering levels and must be silenced.

It's not just political rhetoric. It's all things, like the weather for instance. One word from the local weatherman can cause a stampede on grocery or hardware stores, or cause airlines to cancel flights before the planes are affected by bad weather. Pitchmen daily attempt to scare everyone into buying insurance....life insurance... pet insurance...health insurance....flood insurance. Parents are cautioned to strap their two year olds to a chair in front of a computer and drill them for hours on the latest baby genius program or risk having your little einstein fail to get into kindergarten. Hyperbole needs to be dialed down in all phases of our lives. Is it any wonder that heart attack is the leading cause of death among human beings?

The treadmill of fear keeps us running away from each other, running from our neighbors in other countries, branding anyone with a different skin color, culture or religion as the enemy to be smashed and destroyed rather than met with compassion, understanding and welcome. 

The events in Arizona should lead us to ask the question of when is enough, enough? When do we stop trying to solve every problem with violent acts? When do we stop fearing each other and start working toward common goals? It is not a game or sporting event or war. It is not a competition. The person who ends up with the most toys doesn't win....he or she dies like the rest of us...It is our life, people and like it or not, there are 5 billion of us sharing this planet. We all need to get a grip.

My thoughts, prayers and blessings go out to the Congresswoman, her family...the families of the victims and the wounded. May you find peace....

1.07.2011

Barack “ET” Obama

Unemployment drops to 9.4%.....can hear the GOP spin now....”See...we told you tax cuts for the rich and famous would make for more jobs!” Nevermind that it's been steadily improving since Obama took over when he unleashed the GOP crafted stimulous. Wonder if the new majority will suddenly start taking credit for “their “stimulus” and “their” health care bill...anyone who keeps up with the goings on on Capital Hill knows that most of what is in the Health Care Bill originated with the Republicans...They were all for it, until the Black guy decided to get it passed into law..

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Ted “I'm straight with issues” Haggard is getting his own “reality show,” on TLC. I'll be TIVOing that right after I set the timer to catch Sarah Palin's Alaska and The Jersey Shore or whatever it's called....You know, the one that stars the fake Italian with the totally fake skin color named Snooki. Based on her sprayed on palor, I'd call her baby Boehner.

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Speaking of Big Bad John, can't seem to distinguish between the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Thought all those teabag/GOP folks had both comitted to memory...

And as for the Bullshit symbolism of reading the Constitution....if it's so perfect....why didn't they read the parts about black people being only worth 3/5ths of a white man?

Today, congress is taking up repeal of the 14th amendment....you know the one that grants citizenship to anybody born in America...Anyone ask "anchor babies" Alberto Gonzales, Michelle Malkin or Bobby Jindal about the proposed repeal?

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Major bigot Steve King is hyperventilating overtime to try and get President Obama's citizenship revoked. Doesn't like the Black man and really doesn't like the fact that his middle name is Hussein...Well, oh my, Steve ARNOLD King......any relation to the guy named Benedict Arnold? Is he hiding in your ancestral closet? I guess you'd be all right with that considering that despite being a traitor to America he was an all white American traitor right? Okay to be named after him, huh..

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While we're on the subject of citizenship and the Constitution.....Birthers need to get a grip...They keep arguing Obama was born in Africa.....SO WHAT!.....His very lilly white Momma was born in Kansas...she could have given birth on the moon and made his name Barack ET Obama to commemorate the event...and he would still be an American citizen...Daddy was taken out of the equation back around the 1620's.

The bigots are choking on a system they created...It spawns from the “one drop rule.” In other words, back in the day...if you had one drop of black blood in you, then you were considered black regardless of the brightness of your skin tone...heritage was changed to be charted through the mother....not the father...to keep all those magnificent plantations from legally falling into the hands of their secret, dusky off spring....Now that one of the dusky relations has made it to the White House...the Birthers want to change the game yet gain...White people created the system...Black people survived it....Now it's coming back to haunt you...

Another result of this “system” is that Black Americans have more white blood in them than African, and sometimes many whites in general...the term African American should be put to rest....It was useful at one time, back in the days of "I'm black and I'm proud." But we are Americans, period. The term implies that we emigrated to this country instead of being born here or brought here in chains.

We were considered chattel and bred like cattle...bought and sold to enrich whites...you can't run away from that no matter how many times you excise the word “nigger” from your history or literature books.

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Wonder how Arizona Gov Jan is sleeping these days....I know there is a special place in hell for people like her...

1.03.2011

Taking Back Their Country.

Will somebody please tell me what kind of symbolism is being invoked tomorrow when the GOP and it's arrogantly imbecilic cousin the Tea Party reads the Constitution during swearing in ceremonies on Capital Hill?

Is this symbolizing the taking back of their country? Inquiring minds want to know?

I thought they'd all read the document and comitted it to memory before they got to Washington.

Othewise how else would they know that Obama is so wrong in his approach to governing the country, other than looking at him, of course.

If they decide to impeach Obama for not being a citizen...are they going to kick John McCain out of Congress, too? McCain was born in Panama...by the way...

What about the one drop rule...is it being written into the Constitution and made to apply to men, since that is the only way it would apply to Obama?

Just askin'

If the new rulers in Washington are really serious about balancing the budget...

1...Are they willing to give back their own health care...when they repeal mine?

2...Are they willing to cut their own salaries....not just their office budgets....by 50%...to show they mean what they say....After all, Why do congressmen need six figure salaries with government spending so out of whack and 15 million Americans are out of work...Congressmen sit on corporate boards and draw salaries...their wives and mistresses are kept employed by lobbyists seeking their votes...and their kids' education are paid for by these same lobbyists, when the kid can't qualify for a legacy grant, or given a job just to keep his daddy or mommy happy and voting for corporate welfare. Will these legacy brats be prevented from using affirmative action grants that were created to help the poor...the name Quayle comes to mind in this context...

If government workers can be laid off or have their salaries frozen to cut the deficit...why not Congressmen and judges? Presidents should be excluded from this salary cut because his is a 24/7 job, unlike Congress. Proof of this is in the incoming speaker's reported office hours and location after 5pm daily.

3....What about the Defense budget....will it be cut and the money redirected into energy programs designed to benefit all instead of just those wealthy enough to invest? When is Congress going to go after Defense contractors and their supporters who have been stealing from the government for years...the names Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Haliburton and Blackwater come to mind..Are these the upcoming investigations that they are promising?

4....How about ending the wars....is that gonna happen quicker? Why are we fighting over there anyway? What's so wrong with a people determining its own method of governance? Why do we have to constantly rebuild the rest of the world in our own image?

5....What happens to all outdated weapons programs...talking about the ones the military says it no longer needs? Why are certain members of Congress still demanding they be funded?

6....What about other useless pork barrel projects? Or is it time to admit that these projects are nothing more than welfare for the wealthy to keep them happy and voting republican?

7....Farm subsidies to rich farmers....the name Bachmann comes to mind...Why are we paying farmers not to grow food? Why are we paying farmers to produce corn for ethanol when most American cars can't use it yet?

8...What about job projects to put people back to work? Why not a new conservation corps to work on roads, highways, bridges and trains? When is Congress going to get serious about job loss and outsourcing that has literally killed the manufacturing base? Why not make all America corporations come back to America to employ Americans?

9....Congress votes this week to raise the debt ceiling.....Isn't that counter to what all the teabaggers and GOP have campaigned against before coming to DC? How are they going to justify this increase....same way they justified extending the Bush tax cuts....pretending they are Nike...just do it?

10....Are they going to make us better off come 2012, considering all they're offering is a re run of 2004 and 2008 in both policy and personnel?

Rather than reading the Constitution....the GOP should read the psychological definition of crazy out loud until it sinks in.....”doing the same thing over and over...but expecting different results..” That's crazy...

Let the games begin....

12.13.2010

Palin's Haitian Drive-By

In another seemingly nonsensical move in her sorta march toward the 2012 presidential election campaign, the half governator and failed Vice Presidential candidate from that great state of Alaska made a trip to Haiti this weekend. You can read the CNN story here
 
For what? Why now? The Haitian story has died down. It's over, as news stories go. Pushed to the back burner in the minds of most people, especially the ADHD voters of America. 

The corrupt government is not taking care of its people, the devastation remains and a cholera outbreak is in full swing. Why would a wannabe presidential candidate travel there now, when it's still so dangerous?

Maybe shooting helpless caribou on camera isn't enough to prove bravery. Maybe going to Africa was too big an undertaking at this point in time. But, venturing into the western heart of darkness, surrounded by armed guards and walking among the swarthy island natives is a better way and safer way to prove  worth to the American people and the world.

That's it, do a Tarzan turn and flip the script a bit...you know...white girl among the savages....pat a darkie on the head and all the other darkies in America will jump on your bandwagon and vote for you! Show white liberals you really and truly care about their minorities. Yeah that would work!

Must have been a really fun brainstorming session for Palin and her gang of Rovian mini brains. Bet no one thought going to Watts or Harlem would make more sense and accomplish the same thing, maybe. At least she'd be talking to people who could possibly do something for her....like, oh I don't know... vote, for instance.

Did she take her witch doctor with her? No, actually she took Todd and Bristol. Guess Willow or whatever that child's name is, finally had to go to school or maybe it was her turn to take care of Track and Trip, the baby props, while they are off stage and out of sight.

The trip wasn't announced to any news organization with the exception of FOX which sent it's cracked political commentator Greta Susteren along for the ride, complete with a camera crew to record for posterity, or for broadcast in the future, in case Lady Sarah needs to prove she can mingle with the masses.

There were no policy announcements except to chastise the American government for not doing more...Huh?

Thought the government was doing too much...spending too much...helping the wrong people...Oh..I get it...helping the bete noire of Haiti is okay...It's the black and brown Americans who don't deserve aid and sustenance from the government that takes its taxes.

She told reporters who were there on the real story; "(I) don't want Americans to forget the need that is here,"..... "More importantly, for Americans and people across the world to know what an individual can do to make a difference, to contribute, to.”

Gee, Sarah...you didn't have to make the trip and use up all that petrol...all you had to do was to write out a check for some of the money you got from your bogus book sales.

You know the old saying “money walks...bullshit talks.

12.08.2010

Pagan or Christian-What You Celebrate on December 25th

No one knows when Mary is supposed to have given birth to Jesus, and for the first 300 years Christianity existed there was no celebration of the birth of Christ at all. If anyone wanted to celebrate or to mark the occasion, there was a tendency in the beginning, to lump his birth in with the Epiphany, an already established church feast which is held on January 6th .

Some church leaders even argued against celebrating Jesus' birth because it reminded them of the way Egyptians and other religions honored their pagan gods. In other words it was a pagan tradition to mark a deity's birth with celebration.  Still, some church leaders argued that it should be celebrated and take place on May 20th. Other dates in May, November, January, and March were also championed.

March 25th was favored because it was considered at the time to be the day of the creation of the Sun according to the gospel.

December 25th gained ground in 273AD, and eventually stuck for some very non christian reasons. Simply put, it was a time in the year when people weren't killing each other, you know, burning christians at the stake or throwing pagans into the lions den, depending on which side of the religious fence you found your village.

The reason nobody was being sent to their god, was that there were two other holidays celebrated on this day. The Romans marked “natalis solis invicti” which means birth of the unconquered sun, and the Iranian holiday, the birth of Mithras or “Sun of Righteousness”, which was very popular among Roman soldiers.

Winter Solstice, yet another pagan celebration also occurred at this time, within a few days of the other two celebrations. So since nobody was fighting at this time, wiley church leaders decided to co opt the day, December 25th for their celebration of the birth of Jesus.

But Christmas didn't really catch on until many years later when  Roman Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the number one religion of the land. The eastern parts of the empire, however, stuck with January 6th as the day to celebrate his birth and baptism. But eventually everybody with the exception of the Armenians moved to the December 25th date by 336AD. Western Churches still celebrate January 6th as the day of the arrival of the Magi instead of as Christ's baptism date.

That's not all, just about everything connected to Christmas is pagan in origin. For instance, gift giving and partying dates back to Roman Saturnalia, christmas trees with lights and giving to charity date back to the way the Romans celebrated their Roman New Year, and the Yule log as well as stuffing your face with all kinds of foods and drink harken back to Teutonic feasts, leading some super christians to contend that Christmas is nothing more than gift wrapped paganism.

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12.07.2010

Compromise and Capitulation-Another White House Cave-in

(Open letter #4 to President Obama)

“we cannot play politics at a time when the American people are looking for us to solve problems.” -Barack Obama

Dear Sir,

This statement, like all of your other statements are very high brow and noble and full of pristine thinking. However, the GOP has been speaking and communicating in layman's terms since you took office two years ago.

What they're saying in common speak is “fuck you” Mr. President, “fuck you” middle class and all this time you've been singing background harmony.

They went into the meetings daring you to call their bluff and you blinked. Again. You even gave them more than they said they wanted. Lowering the estate tax more than they've ever asked..that's a wet dream for a rich man...doesn't help the poor man in any way shape or form.

None of this decreases the deficit. And by the way, where are the teabagging deficit hawks? Still waiting to hear from them. They can't vote until January, but, hell, they're not even talking.

Wha sa matta u Teabags...GOP got your tongue, too?

The GOP is not having any trouble playing politics with the lives of American people. We feel like we're in a fight but our hands are tied behind our back. We have to stand there and be pummeled by the no brained thug brought in to beat us into submission.

Where's the fight, Mr. President? Where's the change from Washington politics business as usual? Where's the change that we can believe in?

So far, all we have is Bush policy 2.0 except it has BHO in the signature line, these days. It's not compromise when you're always on the losing end.

That's a flat out ass whuppin', stomped and bloodied.

Extending the Bush tax cuts for two years, unnecessarily drains the federal coffers of more money but also puts the cuts into play in an election year, 2012. The country couldn't afford the tax cuts when Bush created them. We can afford them even less in addition to two illegal wars, a recession weak economy and a massive big pharma authored drug plan.

So what is this? You setting yourself up to fail? If you don't want the job, then don't run. Step aside and let somebody else with a stomach for street fighting take a crack at it.

Would it have been so hard to call the GOP's bluff and let the tax cuts expire? The money saved could have been used to fund stuff that needs fixing.

And what about the START treaty? Is that going to be signed or is the party of NO going to work to destroy the world in a nuclear holocaust now that it has effectively trashed America?

More important, are you going to stand by and continue to co sign on their actions?

What about DADT...is it dead? How about the DREAM Act or DOMA or ENDA? All dead because the GOP told you NO? You can't get them to compromise now...with a majority in Congress. What happens come January when they control the House? Do you really think these bills are going to pass?

Walking the walk is much more important than talking the talk, Mr. President. Don't need no more pretty speeches and soaring words....need some action....need  to throw some punches ...need to bury your size 12 in somebody's GOP ass...

It feels good to sweat....C'mon Mr. President...time to sweat for something other than a pick up basketball game on Sunday with your chums.

12.02.2010

Hey Homes, You Pissin' Me Off, Man!

(Open letter # 3 to President Obama)

"These people are saying we are going to insist on tax cuts for the richest people in the country and we don't care if they are paid for, and we don't think it is a problem if it contributes to the deficit, but we are not going to vote to extend unemployment benefits to working people if they aren't paid for because they contribute to the deficit.”-Ted Strickland

WOW!

Tight! Perfect soundbite....but it didn't come from you, Homes. It came from my soon to be ex governor who took the bullet for you, man. He's gone..too late to save him. What you sayin'.. sorry?

Naw..all we got from you was more of the same BS you been talkin the past two years...you apologized to the wrong people on Tuesday, after another so called bipartisan sitdown in your office... what did you say...”sorry I haven't done enough outreach to the GOP.”

What the hell was that?

Where's the outreach to the people who elected you, Homes? You know the ones who are losing their jobs...their houses.....their ability to look their families in the eye and tell em it's gonna be okay?

Where's the apology to them for not standing up to the crazies who are trying to destroy this country rather than let the rest of us live here with them?

They have been telling you since day one, they are not going to work with you. Their only purpose is to destroy you. They ain't lyin' to ya bra.

THESE... FOOLS... ARE.... SERIOUS!

Talk about a high tech lynching...Man you sittin' on a horse with your hands tied behind your back, waiting for them to locate the perfect tree for you necktie festivities.

What don't you understand about that?

There can be no compromise....There should be no compromise....It is perfectly plain....permanent tax cuts increase the deficit....

It's a no brainer, man...
Even Jose Feliciano can see this...

Since you're a sports junkie...let me paint a picture that you might understand....comes from the old Burt Reynolds movie called The Longest Yard..

During the climactic game against the guards...word trickles down that the QB has once again sold out...the team...angry...stops playing...and let's golden boy take the hits..

This is where you are Homes...you're in a team sport....but due to your seeming lack of leadership...your team is quitting on you..because they no longer believe in you..

Reynolds does ultimately beat the guards in a perfectly scripted Hollywood ending...

But this ain't the movies, Homes...this is real...

Homes...you need to make some moves...call out some signals...change the game...or you're going to be sacked and penalized..

Think of it this way....4th down and inches.....your name is Franco Harris...or 4 seconds on the clock your name is Michael Jordan and you're playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round...and the ball has been inbounded to you..........

What you gonna do Homes?

Huh?