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webb, now you’re making assumptions. If you think for a nanosecond that I wouldn’t vote for Obama based upon what his pastor said and what the media is doing with the whole manufactured drama, then you are mistaken.

it wasn’t the speech. it was the Q&A afterwards.

1) He has a history with Obama. Baptized his kids. Married Barack and his wife. And Obama placed him on his spiritual committee.

2) For a pastor that seems to want to discuss race and the upwards mobility of black people, how is clowning around and popping up at different locations and, thus, hurting Barack’s chances at the White House a positive for the upward mobility of black people?

3) While I have no doubt that his many members are committed to Jesus, I’d have to believe that many of his black followers are also Obama supporters (afterall, he does carry 90+ percent of the black vote.)

So again, even if Wright enjoys the spotlight and wants to promote his upcoming book, how does he figure this is GOOD for him, Barack, and the black race/church at large?

Roland and Eric looked really troubled; though, they still didn’t want to throw away the Rev. they just looked really sad.

If indeed Wright’s colleagues begged him not to go through with this to no avail; then Wright is on a search and destroy mission and cannot be reasoned with. It strikes me that Wright is not only angry at Obama but at the whole black community. He knows how much this nomination means to us.

There’s a kind of mad dog quality to this that is similar to the Tavis episode. Tavis was on the radio ranting uncontrollably about Barack. These men can’t seem to help themselves.

At first I was really angry, now I’m kinda sad.

I don’t know what HHH means either, that’s rikyrah’s comment.

I saw Roland, Faye, David & Ed on anderson Cooper, who at 1st fooled me into thinking he was liberated.

Ms. Martin, I don’t know what an hhh is, but I’m going to surmise that it’s unfavorable.

I’m looking at Larry King now. Lanny whatshisname sucks.

Roland kept talking about people who were close to Wright begging him not to do what he did, but Wright wouldn’t listen. If I was his wife I’d be icing him like syberia. I like Eric M. Dyson, but sometimes you have to call a spade a spade. I don’t get why his lovely wife, Marcia, supports Hillbilly. Weird. Good night.

I truly believe, that complaining about the way the media treats the Rev.Wright issue doesn’t accomplish anything.

A book about Hillary’s chosen religious affiliation is supposed to come out in May. I hope it comes out in early May so alot of us can read it.

In the meantime…educate yourselves on what is available via the Nation article and a Mother Jones article of 2007.

Please, don’t just complain, activate and communicate with msm that you are aware of Hillary’s questionable religious affiliations.

You have material to point out the hypocrisy of Hillary’s bizarre prayer group which believes in praying for the “elites” of the world which she is considered one of (they believe they are more important than us everyday joe and janes). Talk about the ultimate irony of being an elitist!!!!!!!!!!! How sick is that and shouldn’t Hillary’s so called blue collar class voters know that she doesn’t consider them as important as she is right from the get go…that they are only an instrument to her reaching her personal goals.

She will say or do anything!!

I couldn’t believe Waddleton said that.

Faye Wattleton is a HHH – period.

Hell, even Carol Simpson said it was Crabs-in-a-barrell tonight in the little I saw of Larry King.

which CNN program were they on? I missed Campbell Brown, but I am recording Larry King and Anderson Cooper.

I know that was hard for you. I’ve been waiting to hear what you had to say all day.

Don’t feel like the lone ranger. I’ve been fighting for Wright and thought he was doing okay until I heard the statements and saw the demeanor today.

He wanted to hurt Barack and what’s really sad about it is that when white folks wanted him to turn on Wright he refused to it hurt him so he had to speak to the nation.

It was hard for me to admit to. I felt like he betrayed me too!

Truthseeker, thank you for your astute and insightful analysis on why the DNC wouldn’t just hand the nomination to Hillbilly. Your ideas are totally logical and infused with HOPE.

Those are the words that come to mind.

Fear is that this gets worse before it gets (if it gets) better. I don’t see anyone or anything stopping The Rev. Wright Tour Across America. It’s all about him at this point. How many more national conferences on this or that is he going to be invited to speak at? He should be selling concert t-shirts.

I wrote passionately about why Obama couldn’t disown Wright, when this first went down.

As my Mama said tonight, ‘ He clowned for them White people on purpose – to hurt Barack’. Indeed he did, Mama, which is why Obama needs to divorce himself from Wright IMMEDIATELY.

After Wright’s performance today, Black folk shouldn’t come down on Obama anymore. They would have when this first shook out because those were soundbite snippets.

Today was a full-on ’shock’ performance of the highest order. And since we saw that he can do better (Moyers and the NAACP Dinner), what conclusion could one come to, other than this was done ON PURPOSE TO HURT OBAMA. He displayed Crab-in-a-barrell to the nth degree, and I am hurt as hell.

Please elaborate – your thoughts on how this is a bigger problem?

The Austin American-Statesman:

NOOSE ALLEGEDLY FOUND AT SECRET SERVICE TRAINING CENTER
By Rebecca Carr | Monday, April 28, 2008, 03:03 PM

The U.S. Secret Service has placed a white agent on leave after an African American employee reported finding a noose hanging at the service’s main training facility outside the nation’s capital.

The service has acknowledged “an allegation of misconduct” at its J.J. Rowley Training Center in Beltsville, Md., and that an employee last week was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation. The employee is a veteran agent with the service, according to fellow agents.

The noose was found by an African American officer in the uniform division of the service during the week of April 14, according to those familiar with the alleged incident. That division protects the White House and surrounding grounds. He reported the incident to his supervisor and it was sent up the chain of command. He declined to comment for this story.

After learning about the alleged incident, Cox Newspapers asked the Secret Service whether a noose had been discovered at the training center.

“In response to your question, there has been an allegation of misconduct at our training center,” said Edwin M. Donovan, assistant special agent in charge of government and public affairs.

“The employee involved has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by our Office of Professional Responsibility, which serves as the agency’s internal affairs office,” Donovan wrote in an e-mail response. “At the conclusion of the investigation, additional information may be available.”

The alleged incident happened as U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson is expected to decide next month whether to sanction the service for failing to turn over evidence in a long-running lawsuit alleging that the service created a racially hostile atmosphere that tolerated discrimination.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Atlanta native Reginald G. Moore, alleges that the Secret Service routinely discriminates against black agents seeking promotion in favor of white agents who scored lower on promotional exams.

Nearly 60 black agents have submitted sworn statements to the court in support of the lawsuit’s allegations.

Robinson has already sanctioned the service three times since the discovery process of the lawsuit began 3 1/2 years ago.

The service denies the allegations and is now appealing all of the sanctions.

The Office of Professional Responsibility, previously called the inspection division, figured prominently during the discovery process of the lawsuit.

Carrie Hunnicutt, an inspector in charge of searching for documents sought in the lawsuit, testified in February that she destroyed original evidence sought by the plaintiffs by placing documents in a “burn bag” just two days before she was scheduled to testify in the case.

Justice Department lawyers defending the service have said that the destroyed documents should not be considered lost evidence because Hunnicutt transferred information from the documents to a computer database.

But lawyers at Hogan & Hartson and Relman & Dane, two Washington law firms representing the plaintiffs for free, contested that assertion, arguing that no one will ever know if the database is complete because the original evidence was destroyed by Hunnicutt.

The allegation that a noose was discovered supports the essence of the discrimination alleged in the lawsuit, said Jennifer Klar, a lawyer at Relman & Dane.

“We are appalled but unfortunately not surprised that a noose was prominently displayed recently in a secret service training center,” Klar said in an interview.

“This incident of racial hatred is troubling in an agency that has the important duty of protecting world leaders of all races, including our own leaders such as (presidential candidate) Barack Obama and (Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice,” Klar said.

“This racist incident is a reminder that long time discrimination in the secret service has created an atmosphere where such hateful acts occur all too regularly,” Klar said.

“It is time for the Secret Service to put a stop to acts of racism by addressing and healing the racially charged environment that has been created over the years,” Klar said.

The Secret Service has fought the lawsuit each step since it was filed eight years ago.

“The Secret Service is extremely proud of the accomplishments of our diverse work force and our record on diversity,” said Eric Zahren, a spokesman for the service in an e-mail document defending the service from the accusations in the lawsuit.

“The Secret Service has not and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind,” Zahern said. “We are extremely proud of the contributions of our diverse work force and we will continue to promote the most qualified people.”

Moore, the lead plaintiff in the case who grew up in civil rights movement in Atlanta, was promoted after filing his lawsuit in 2000.

Moore is now in the service’s senior executive service. He has said that he will keep fighting until the service’s promotional system is permanently changed so that all agents of all colors have an equal chance at promotion.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/washington/secrecy/entries/2008/04/28/noose_allegedly_found_at_secre.html#comments

The best thing Obama could do is stay on message about what the voters want to hear. Challenge the media to cover issues that really matter instead of these sideshows. Truth be told, people don’t care about Wright-gate. When O has town hall meetings with voters, people ask him questions about the economy, not Wright!

~ Sepia