Jack & Jill Politics

AFTERNOON OPEN THREAD IS UP!!

I'm not a fan of PBO on policy, but far as being a father/husband, even I have to concede there's a lot that can be learned.

Let the man have his date....and that goes for both sides.

about McDonnell....

look, I made a comment before here on JJP about how some of the more shady GOP characters during the Reagan years stayed around and resurfaced and remained shady during the last administration......when I research the things that I have been committed and the disastrous policies republicans have enacted and the trickery they have used, I come to my own conclusion not to trust them, any of them.

Now you got Ed Gillespie, former RNC head and a close friend and "counselor" to George W Bush as head of McDonnell's campaign.....and yet I am not supposed to notice this and form my opinions....please. He has a Bush Inc. minion in his midst to begin with, hell if I want to hear what he has to say.

Now I will research McDonnell's AG record, but he has already had a stance on gun control that I don't agree with. Besides, what is McDonnell gonna run on Gilmore's record...ha, good luck with that. Please tell me what McDonnell can bring to Virginia besides the lousy job ane even worst personalities that his last Republican predeccesors, including George "Macaca" Allen brought?

Gillespie's a figurehead. I've seen him say more about Sotomayor lately than anything about McDonnell...

...and Gillespie isn't the candidate, either.

McDonnell's gonna run on his record. I could give you all the talking points, but it'd end up being a blog post. There are a couple things there that I think you would agree with and maybe even support.

And after you look him up, see what he's done and hear what he wants to do...if you decide you still can't vote for him, that's fine.

It's the same thing I said to people during the Tea Parties: get your truth, and then form an opinion.

However, if McAuliffe gets the democratic nod and Doug Wilder endorses McDonnell-as the rumor goes-then I will expect your vote.

Kidding. Maybe. ;)

I don't think a Doug Wilder endorsement would help McDonnell; rather, it would hurt him, especially in Richmond. Wilder's got about the same level of popularity as George W. Bush and Dick Dick Cheney.

And also, he was non-vocal about Mike "every Latina's name is Maria" Huckabee claiming NoVA folks don't know what it means to struggle....touching on the real Americans and Commie arguments Republicans like to bring up about those who live near the DC Beltway.....you can be assured that comment will come again.

And also, any group of politicans who congregate and invite Sean Klannity as a speaker will never be taken seriously by me....it is just plain and simply about principle with me.

You would downplay Gillespie....but don't forget it was the misguided advice of McCain's managers that was one of the largest reasons he lost the election...so it is very important, at least to me as an INFORMED voter, whom a candidate aligns with.

Furthermore, this is what I know...

McDonnell opposes unemployment benefits for those who are facing hard times in this economic environment...

McDonnell opposed increasing new teachers and Gov. Kaine's plan to provide pre-school education for more families, which is very important to a mother like me whose own children have challenges and need early chidlhood education to lessen the gap with their typical "peers:...early education is essential and paramount for laying the groundwork to academics...that's why other industrialized nations who invest in their children early on outpace us in education

He opposes abortion, even in cases of incest and rape.....and attended Pat Robertson's University....nuff said...

While he was part of the General Assembly, he used his influence to represent private clients and represent their interest.....and never would disclose who...which reeks of Cheney-esque secrecy

He BARELY won against Creigh Deeds, so he didn't even become AG through a wide margin, just barely, which is a testament to his position as a statewide official itself...

You'd be quite surprised as what I already do know.....I ALWAYS do my research...ALWAYS

I know you do your research...so I'm not really surprised at what you know,
and occasionally you throw me a curve.

My thoughts on Gillespie are from what I see and hear around the office
(when I'm there). I don't see him, hear him, or speak to him...though I'm
sure someone does. He's the campaign chairman, but I've never seen him
involved in the day-to-day.

But let's discuss:

1. Do you know the reasons behind his opposition?
2. same question
3. He's Catholic; I can't say much there. He did get his law degree from
Regent, though I'm pretty sure Pat Robertson didn't teach him.
4. You'd have to show me something on that. That's the first time I've heard
that from ANYONE.
5. Deeds only beat McDonnell by 425 votes. I take that more as a testament
to what McDonnell believes and what he's done as a lawyer and delegate (but,
of course, I would).

I'm sorry, I would look at anyone who attended/graduated from either Liberty or Regent University with the side eye.

Me too, especially after Liberty University singled out the College Democrats there...and we don't even have to get started on the words that have come out of Pat Robertson's mouth. I wonder if he is still mining blood diamonds on the African continent?

Also, see what I said to Monie about our education rollout. If you're not busy, would like for you to come.

Gonna be in Richmond or Petersburg on Thursday; not sure which yet.

Yeah, but Pat Robertson's not the candidate.

Okay, let's discuss....

1. okay, McDonnell is opposed because he claims that the unemployment benefits are "an expensive unfunded mandate"

however according to an article in the Roanoke Times:

Amazingly, all three words in that description are wrong. At a cost of $5 per employee per year, the expanded eligibility can hardly be called expensive. The federal government is providing $125 million to cover those costs, so it isn't unfunded.

And, as a reminder, Virginia turned down the money and the eligibility expansion, which should indicate that it isn't a mandate, either. Virgina had a choice. Republicans turned it down.

http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/203252

2. I need not even hear his reasoning for opposing early childhood, I personally do not like ANY politician who votes against education funding........quite simply as a mother who has children with challenges like I said, so much so that I have personally forgone employment to give my kids my undivided attention to make sure their educational future can/will be bright....I have no time for those who will deny our youngest minds period. That is one of the main reasons i moved back here, even while my husband, though deployed, is still stationed in another state, is to take advantage of better educational opportunities....all children's education and what we fund for them is VERY important to me....and not just the pupils you want of give vouchers for private schools which McDonnell supports.

btw....though McDonnell apparently boasts in increasing funding in Va, he has a history of voting against it...even voting against former Gov. Warner's budget in 2004 which invested over $1 billion in education

Here's some fact checks on McDonnell's rhetoric:

FACT CHECK

NOW: Candidate Bob McDonnell, 4/23/09: "Over the past 20 years, we have significantly increased funding for K-12 education in Virginia, and our children have benefited." [McDonnell Press Release, 4/23/09]

THEN: Delegate Bob McDonnell, 5/7/04: Voted against the 2004 bipartisan budget deal that invested a record $1.5 billion in new aid for local public schools "for hiring new teachers and expanding such programs as preschool for at-risk 4-year-olds and English as a Second Language classes." Only 35 of 132 legislators opposed the increased funding. [HB5001 Bill History 2004; Richmond Times-Dispatch, 5/8/04; Virginian-Pilot, 5/8/04]


FACT CHECK
NOW: Candidate Bob McDonnell, 4/23/09:: "We have to continue to work hard to have a good pre-k program...I think less of them will drop out if we do a good job at the ages of four- and five years old." (VEA Forum, 4/23/09)


THEN: Attorney General Bob McDonnell, 10/6/07: Opposed Governor Kaine's initiative to expand preschool education. "Liberals in Virginia are saying we need to raid the rainy-day fund so we can start some more programs for pre-K education," McDonnell said at the Defending the American Dream summit in Washington. (The Washington Times, 10/06/07)

source: Democratic Party of Virginia

and 4. here's one source concerning McDonnell's representation of secret clients and conflicts on interest

article from 2005

RICHMOND--The two Republicans running for attorney general are trading barbs about ethics.

Chesterfield attorney Steve Baril accused Del. Bob McDonnell yesterday of inappropriately representing clients before state boards and commissions without naming the clients in the conflict-of-interests forms legislators file every year.

McDonnell shot back later that he has done nothing illegal or inappropriate, and said judges have chastised Baril for the way he represented clients.

The two men are running in the June 14 primary for the Republican nomination for attorney general. The winner will face Democrat Creigh Deeds in the November general election.

Baril said McDonnell, chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee, has made hundreds of thousands of dollars representing clients before state boards and commissions--boards that, in some cases, the Virginia Beach delegate voted to confirm.

"This is wrong, this is unethical, and it should be against the law," Baril said. "How can an ordinary citizen expect to get a fair shake in a dispute before state boards or agencies when wealthy corporations and special interest groups hire the powerful chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee to plead their side?"

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2005/062005/...>


This is one of many articles i have seen about this subject as well.

1. Virginia did have a choice...and the General Assembly turned it down. McDonnell, as Attorney General, didn't have a vote.

2. Oddly enough, our education policy rollout is supposed to be this week. See what comes out.

1. I know Virginia had a choice, that is what was so misleading about McDonnell's campaign rhetoric that it was a "mandate"....and yes the GOP controlled General Assembly did kill it. McDonnell did no vote but his vocal opposition to the federal unemployment insurance funds WILL be an issue on the trail...you can believe that.

There will be some possible plant closings in our area later this year....you can be sure they will hear about McDonnell''s support of defeating funding benefits they may need.

I will be a very vocal critic of his educational funding record myself....telling all who will hear his lousy record of supporting our school-age children.

It already is; a front group for the DGA is already running ads.

You should come to our education event if you can...know you're still trying to get settled.

now do you really want an impassioned and INFORMED voter like me, who can argue and debate the socks off anyone, especially the GOP, up in one of y'all events.

I might mess around and have some people leave the GOP before it is all over with :)

I've got another event for you; if you're interested, shoot me an email (thedillarddoctrine@gmail) and I'll send the invite over.

Why not?

We're not scared.

Give me the info...I won't make any promises, we've only been back for almost 3 weeks, but I'll see if I can crash one of those events at some point...it will probably be a comedy show for me , I am very cynical about the GOP.

Cynicism is healthy. :)

He'll be in Norfolk tomorrow at 5 at the airport, but that's just a quick rally. The education event is supposed to be Thursday; haven't decided on Richmond or Petersburg yet.

Okay D., you need to call up yo homies on this one and tell 'em to back off. They don't really want to see some angry black women protecting the POTUS on a date with his queen.

Well, true, but (and this is for Plantsmantx as well)...

Yeah, we on the right shouldn't have politicized the date. But I don't think those on the left should be jumping up and down to hurl insults at the RNC over their response, either.

It's all politics; I do something, you respond, and I respond to your response. It's the one thing in politics that I don't really like, which is why I said just leave 'em alone on this one.

Yeah, date nights set us as taxpayers back thousands in police protection. Beats the hell out of the alternative.

That date night didnt set us back a damn dime and you know it. The amount is so freaking negligible to the "taxpayers" that me not recycling my plastic bags probably cost "taxpayers" more.

Per person, yeah...it is negligible.

Relating to the Secret Service, though-which ultimately pays for whatever local protection the President gets through reimbursement to the local agency-it's a bit more than you think. Last number I saw was $44K/hour to protect him during the primaries, and I'm fairly certain that's gone up since he's the president (because the size of the detail is larger). My yearly salary couldn't pay to protect him.

It's necessary-but it is also expensive. And made more so because he's a higher profile...um, president (was gonna use another word, but don't feel like having that argument today).

Well if the loony hateful people would accept a Black man as their president, then the coverage could decrease.

I really believe you're in a cult.

"Yeah, we on the right shouldn't have politicized the date. But I don't think those on the left should be jumping up and down to hurl insults at the RNC over their response, either."

But...the right deserves to have insults hurled at them over their response. Look at what they "responded" to, and especially how they responded.

So according to you, the left should not be vocal about the petty manner in which the President was attacked, especially considering how much time away the last President was on vacation at his ranch, breaking records with the time he spent away from the white House chopping wood and acting out the "down-home boy" act

or better yet, the taxpayer money that was used to protect Jenna and Barbara Bush while they club-hopped VERY frequently and sought to acquire alcohol as underage teens......do y'all on the right really want to start tallying up the cost of taxpayer money and waste that have come at the hands of those on your side of the aisle.

It is so funny to see Republicans implode....pure comedy.

Not when the left was just as petty with President Bush.

It's a circular argument, in a sense...the same kind of stuff that got Bush hammered on the left is getting Obama hammered on the left. Each side has a point in their own eyes, and the opposing points are wrong.

My opinion, both sides are equally hypocritical. Then again, that's how the game is played.

And I know you know there's a big difference between a president's daughters going out and the President himself going. That doesn't help the point you want to make, either, because the details that protect the family members by themselves are apparently much smaller.

"Not when the left was just as petty with President Bush."

Bull. Do you really think "the left" (whoever that is) would complain about Bush having Secret Service protection? Come on.

Are you gonna tell me that every complaint that Bush's detractors had against him was valid and made sense?

Yep, hell Bush even knows that.

I don't know- give me a couple of examples that you thought weren't valid, and didn't make sense.

Here's how this discussion will go.

I'll give an example. You'll say it made sense. I'll say it was stupid. And we'll go back and forth over whose complaint about a president was valid, and never agree on one.

We can do that, if you want...but don't we both have better things to argue about?

Yes, we do...but YOU brought it up, not me. In any case, I asked for those examples becuase I really can't think of an instance of invalid criticism.

Did ya say anything when the Secret Service was protecting the cowards from the last administration?

.

.

didn't think so....

Look, if criticizing Bush and the record-breaking time he spent AWAY from the White House and why he STAYED in Crawford, Texas even after that OBL memo in August 2001, after all those FBI warning the summer of 2001, after all those FAA ,and all this occurring all months after the USS Cole bombing...to criticize Bush about this subject is well warranted.

The truth is, the Bush administration only became absolutely serious about our "defense" when 9/11 happened.....Bush's many vacations and Cheney's focus on meeting and cozying up to Big Oil, ie those Energy Taskforce meetings that he STILL won't come clean about took precedence. Read Richard's Clarke piece that was published today....I got my money on him.

And you are a very frequent partisan (yes I called you that) who would aim to make that distinction between the President and his family....but the truth of the matter is if it was Sascha and Malia drinking and partying, bar-hopping every chance they get, those all your side of the aisle would act and be just as ridiculous aas they are now with the President....and you know it too,

"...those all your side of the aisle would act and be just as ridiculous aas they are now with the President....and you know it too."

That's what I just said....

and you know what is also ironic....I see that you alluded to President Obama as a celebrity, thought you claimed you wanted no argument.....even though the conservative beacon the GOP heralds, Ronald Reagan, actually was one.

But then I forgot, the GOP is about as much real as Newt Gingrich's family values.

Alright, Monie....I was going to say "higher profile target." I think I can say that to you and not get beaten up over it.

yea, right D.,I honestly don't think "higher profile target" was what you meant...but I'll leave it alone.

Anyway, how was the VA Gop convention?....and how many Black folks did you count on both hands....cuz I know there were not more than 10

and please, do NOT tell me you stayed around to hear Klannity..how many socialist, communist buttons were they selling.....were they giving out NRA memberships and rifles at the door?

Better yet, did you write about it on your blog?

And here I thought someone would get mad at me for saying that.

Subject change: really good, actually. I spoke with 20, and saw several more that I didn't get to speak to. McDonnell gave a great speech, and Hannity's was pretty good. The floor fights didn't happen, and we ended up with a ticket that everyone can get behind.

We'll see what happens, of course...but something's gonna have to go seriously wrong for us to lose in Nov.

I am ashamed that you would even say anything that Hannity says was "good"

i just might crash and become a nuisance at GOP events....McDonnell may be sorry he even had Klannity at an event.

BTW, I don't even see how McCain thought he would win Virginia....I know it is many mothns since the election but Obama bumper stickers are still very prevalent, far more than what I thought.

I'm just glad I'm back to throw a horn in the GOP's side...just waiting to see who the Democratic nominee will be.

For what it was, it was good. There was a kid from Tech who topped both of them, though...still trying to get the transcript of his.

You should come and at least hear us out. We need to talk as much to people who are skeptical-or who flat out disagree-as we do to our supporters. You wouldn't be a nuisance...we'd welcome you there. You might even find a reason to vote for us.

Might. :)

Now that is wishful thinking.

Nationally, Steele has been more of a buffoon and coon than I ever imagined he would be, it's embarrassing ....and I don't even have to bring up the stupidity of the regular Republican psychos.

Bush Inc, especially the Darth Vader Cheney will keep me away from the Republican party forever....I am just simply too informed and educated to align myself with them....my mother would never allow me to be a Black woman with a "Sarah Palin train- of -political-thought."

I really think my family would have me admitted me if I considered aligning with the GOP.

Here's the thing, though...what do any of them have to do with your life in VA?

People have made similar statements to me before, and I tell them Bush/Cheney/Steele have no power over what happens here. It's the same with Obama to an extent...a democratic governor could not buy into PBO's policies if he so chose.

So why vote on other members of the party, instead of what the actual candidate stands for?

(and I'll admit I've been looking forward to this discussion; more so since you're back here in VA)

Now D., you know I am a military wife...has been for the last 8 years, trying to raise three kids, and who just saw my husband off last Sunday after having been separated from him all of 2007, and parts of 2003, 2004, and 2005.

I am probably one of THE most affected.

What I have heard from military members and sposes like me is eye-opening.

Now you know military members don't discuss their views openly, you mostly talk amongst friends about those things....but let me just say this....many, many have felt betrayed and were distrustful of the last administration.

I had one neighbor, who is ETSing because of the strain of military like on his family applaud Obama with ending stop-loss and essentially saying Bush sure the hell didn't give a shit about our morale...and this was from a white male who was not too excited about anyone during the season.

(with apologies for the speechifying)

I know....

....but you're talking about Obama and Bush. Neither of which are running to be the governor of Virginia.

I don't say that to be flippant. But you can't base your opinions of McDonnell or the rest of our ticket on President Bush any more than I can base mine of McAuliffe/Deeds/Moran on PBO. I'm not going to discount anything you said, but you can't-in any fairness-cast what you say Bush did to the military on McDonnell, because all he'd be in charge of are the state's Guard units.

I don't need you to join your local Republican unit or the RPV itself. All I'd like you to do is hear our message and make your decision based on that and McDonnell's record...and then decide.

look uphread

Damn...y'all just trashed me. LOL.

Since the art of spin is what it is: what I said was that I DON'T BELIEVE we tortured anyone. That's my opinion, based on what experiences I have and what I know.

GEN Petraeus-and Colin Powell-are both entitled to whatever opinion they want to have. Their experiences and information are vastly different than-and superior to-mine. I'm not going to question them, say they're "wrong" or "incorrect," or get into any arguments/discussions where someone wants me to take a side. My words are mine; theirs are theirs. Far be it for me-as a former mid career enlisted man-to tell two generals that they're wrong.

My opinion on that will change when there's evidence-from DoD, not Democratic Underground, Daily Kos, Crooks and Liars, HuffPo, etc-that someone was tortured. You don't hear me defending PFC England, and there's a reason for that.

Been waiting to see you resurface to ask you about General Petraeus's ADMISSION, on a FOX NEWS interview, that the US DID violate the Geneva Conventions, admitted torture occurred and is fully behind the closing of Gitmo......being that you have outright claimed and agreed with the Republican meme that torture did not occur and you and those on your aisle have often heralded the words and actions of Gen. Petraeus.Llolook upthread

D is more indoctrined than I previously thought. He is in some sort of republican cult.

LOL.

I'm not quite sure about D.

I just find it so ironic that he aligns with Republicans over "defense and national security", yet every major player of his party and the last administration were draft-dodging deferment acquiring average men.

I wonder has he asked himself, "with all the warning signs the Bush administration received before 9/11, with a VP who ironically served as a Secretary of Defense but yet couldn't figure out the seriousness about intelligence over al Qaeda to thwart those attacks, and with the shameful politics that Bush and em used to endorse torture and betray military values and treat our soldiers like crap, like sending them out without the proper gear in a neo-Con led war....how could he possibly think Republicans=strong national defense and security.

I will forever be baffled.

You should be baffled....he talks like a member of a cult. General Petraeus comes out and says torture occured and the US violated the Geneva Conventions...and in straight up Rush/Klannity style - D says General Petraeus is incorrect. You telling me that doesn't sound mighty "cultish" to you?

It's called "Stockholm Syndrome".

D., Been waiting to see you resurface to ask you about General Petraeus's ADMISSION, on a FOX NEWS interview, that the US DID violate the Geneva Conventions, admitted torture occurred and is fully behind the closing of Gitmo......being that you have outright claimed and agreed with the Republican meme that torture did not occur and you and those on your aisle have often heralded the words and actions of Gen. Petraeus.

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/gen-petrae...

Didn't hear that one...VA's politics have me in a bubble most of the time.

I'd disagree on two of the three-i don't believe we tortured anyone (my opinion) and it was determined that for a majority of the detainees we have, the Geneva Conventions didn't apply. That's for lawyers to hash out; for the most part, we abided by them in the detainee's treatment.

I think we should close Gitmo, and I've never said we shouldn't. What I've said is that we can't close it without a plan on what to do with the detainees...and right now, we don't have that.

General David Petraeus: We have taken steps that have violated the Geneva Conventions

!. From your understanding, who determined the Geneva Conventions did not apply with detainees?

2. At what rationale do you arrive that we did not torture, even with the mounting evidence that is present and the admission by Republican's FAVORITE General, that yes we did torture at Gitmo, which HAS tarnished our reputation.

3. Also, don't you feel it is a bit ironic, that the torture ordered by the Bush administration was apparently ordered to be ceased before the 2004 elections...if torture kept as so safe and provided so much intelligence, while we still have 2 wars going on, why did Bush officials want to end it for political purposes to probably cover themselves in the event the debate came up in the election back then.

D, how is that beautiful daughter Allie?

She's good, thanks...her, our son and the mrs are down in NC (I've been in Richmond most of the week).

Wonderful! Keep up the good work, daddy.

Glad to hear all is well with your family, D!

...and that goes for both sides? What does that mean?

Yu'll see THIS?! Domestic terrorism.

George Tiller, the Wichita doctor who became a national lightning rod in the debate over abortion, was shot to death this morning as he walked into church services.

Tiller, 67, was shot just after 10 a.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church at 7601 E. 13th, where he was a member of the congregation

http://www.kansas.com/news/breaking/story/83373...

There it is, right there. I'll bet the shooter wasn't wearing a turban either.

You got that right!

Latest Update:

Police say Tiller's body was removed from the church at 12:30 Sunday afternoon. The FBI is involved in the investigation.

Nationwide alert issued for car and suspect description.

Suspect: white male 50-60, balding in middle, gray hair, white shirt, dark pants, 6'1" 220
Powder blue 93 Ford Taurus, K-State vanity plate, tag "225 BAB".

Suspect: white male 50-60, balding in middle, gray hair

Home grown terrorist! A coward on the run!

Oh God!

Lord Have Mercy!

I just came to post on this.

total domestic terrorism.

I just saw the headline at HP........terrorism at its finest.

I saw it at Democratic Underground when I went there to see the pics of those lined up to greet the President & First Lady.

[Ya know - how come none of these stupid fucks wanna bring up how often fucking Bush flew "home to Crawford." ]

I'm sick of ALL THIS SHIT!

so now President Obama is like "Pharoah" at least according to one Jewish official:

'Obama's decrees are like Pharaoh's'

"The American demand to prevent natural growth is unreasonable, and brings to mind Pharaoh who said: Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river," Science Minister and Habayit Hayehudi head Daniel Herschkowitz said Sunday, referring to US President Barack Obama's demand to freeze all settlement activity, even that ensuing from natural growth.


Speaking ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting, mathematician Herschkowitz furthered his point with a simple equation. "If there is a family that expands from one child to four or five, what should we tell them - to ship the children off to Petah Tikva? This is an unacceptable demand, even if it comes from the Americans, and Israel should reject it decisively," he affirmed.


For rest of article:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1243...

Words fail. Mr Hayehudi knows that every US adminstration since 67 has called for Israel not to do anything in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem. Every Israeli government has ignored this, aided and abetted settlements. That every Israeli is upset that they should be compared to Nazi Germany is their fault. The only differences are National Socialism isn't a religion. The settlements are no different than Lebensraum. Both require throwing someone off the land they grew up on, both are orchestrated by the state.

Cut their azz off from taxpayer's money.We are not Isreal's ATM.

Discussing the White-but-supposedly-not-White Prince in the new Disney movie.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/fashion/31dis...


Disney knows it's wrong. Period.

Wrong periods.
Princess is on screen as frog most of the picture. Was Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Pochantos or Mulan ever not themselves at any time?
Except for Pochantos was Prince ever anything but the race, ethnicity of the Princess?
Did the story ever take place out of the community in which the Princess lived?

They are so evil.

Pure aside I could not find out but if anyone comes across Margaret Cho doing the story of Mulan please post. It is ROTF funny.

Another article from Va columnist

Recognizing the life of the lonely black scholar

David Squires | Urban Affairs
11:39 PM EDT, May 27, 2009

The black male scholar is stepping into the limelight.

He has been popularized by such icons as Princeton University professor Cornel West, the "smartest man on the planet," as national radio commentator Tom Joyner calls him.

Black male scholars have also been given a boost by popular hip-hop artist Kanye West, whose education-themed albums make it hip to be square.

Even Diddy, P-Diddy, Puffy, Puff Daddy has scholarly roots. Sean Combs matriculated at Howard University in Washington, D.C., before a record company internship launched him into roles as rap-star maker, poster boy for high-end living and the clothes designer Sean John.

But the biggest boost for black male scholarship now resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., in the president of the United States.

"Just by virtue of the fact that he is there, Barack Obama presents himself as a role model to you," U.S. Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott told a gathering of nearly 400 Hampton Roads black male graduation candidates on May 16.

"Because of him, you can see it's cool to be educated," Scott said. "You can be cool having your pants properly pulled up."

The gathering was the annual 200+Scholars Breakfast. Sponsored by the Hampton Roads Committee of 200+Men, the event has been honoring black scholarship for over a decade.

George C. Crawley, president and CEO of the 200+Men, said the program was started 12 years ago "to send a clear message to the honorees, their peers and the community on the importance of achieving academically."

At the gathering, 377 black males — holding 3.0 GPAs or better — were cheered, feted and awarded gifts such as laptop computers and college scholarships.

Their life choices are in stark contrast to the thousands of black males who gun down each other on the streets every day making black-on-black crime a leading killer of young black males across the nation.

As Scott told the gathering, "Being a scholar, you are on track to make a good life for yourself."

Still, far too many other youths chase the shallow dream that social activist and professor Harry Edwards warned about nearly 30 years ago in his book "The Struggle That Must Be."

"The overwhelming majority of young blacks who seek to fill the shoes of O.J., Dr. J, Reggie J., and Magic J., in all likelihood will end up with no J at all — no job," Edwards wrote in 1980.

Hopefully, more and more youths will heed that warning, and our community will move closer to a day where scholarship in general — will be celebrated with the same fervor as we celebrate our star athletes and entertainers.

Dominique Piggott, a Heritage High School senior who will study computer science at Old Dominion University, thought the 200+Men event was "quite amazing." He understands, though, that after the applause is over, his place is in the library or on the computer — the life of a lonely, sometimes ridiculed scholar.

But there is also some status attached to his role — even from fickle high school peers.

In the clutch, he — and others like him — are the go-to guys when someone needs an answer socially or academically.

"A lot of times, you get picked on," Piggott said. "But sometimes when people need advice, they come to you."

Scholars, take a bow.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_squires...

Diddy has scholarly roots? Umm..attending college does not make you a scholar. Other than that, great article and it so refreshing for the ideal to be something other than athlete or rapper.

Monie, thanks for introducing me to Squires's columns!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/nyregion/31ob...

I appreciate the way the NYT framed the story; the whole thing is great color about New Yorkers reacting to the President and First Lady and then at the end the RNC comes pissing on the fun:

While the Obamas’ visit to New York was considered private, there was some very public criticism of the trip. In a press release that was issued on Saturday afternoon with the headline “Putting on a Show,” the Republican National Committee suggested that the outing was inappropriate and that Mr. Obama was out of touch, especially given the looming bankruptcy of General Motors.

Shortly afterward, a White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, quickly relayed a message to reporters from Mr. Obama.

“I am taking my wife to New York City,” the president said in the statement, “because I promised her during the campaign that I would take her to a Broadway show after it was all finished.”

I really like how they made the point up front that this was a private personal trip and the First Couple was merely being protected; and they let the President have the last word. That's the kind of factual framing this story deserves; not the "how much is this costing" bull shit.

This is the President of the United States and the First Lady; they have protection from the people of this country and that means they live their lives in public and they are available to lead this country and they don't get to have political points scored on their private lives.

Ya know....

Reiterating this bull again is pouring salt into my already open wound about this. You want to get me started all again about this don't you? I have been mad about it all night.

GOP = Grand OLD and OBSOLETE Party of Angry, Jealous, Frustrated Men Scared of CHANGE that has come to America.

The reasons rethugs are having a hissy fit is because when they show up in public the people want to tar and feather their shady azz's.When President Obama goes out he and his family is showered with love and admiration.That is all.

PHOTOS Angry New Yorkers Protest Arrival of Obamas
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Jacke...

Not!!!

Hero Worshiping Photos.

Great photos! So wonderful to see!

Everyone is so psyched; I can't say I blame them, lol. I'd love the chance to just see POTUS and FLOTUS simply driving by too.

Between this and Sotomayor the RNC is proving it has nothing to offer but attacks tearing down good people working for the good of the country.

The only good thing coming out of this outrageous attacks: independents can see this racist bull up close and personal. The double standards and mendacity are shinning; they can't help themselves.

Eventhough I work a few blocks from the White House, I've avoided it like the plague. I was actually grateful not to be in my neighborhood in Arlington, VA when the President and Vice Pesident stopped nearby for burgers. My fear is that if I see him, I'm going to make a complete fool of myself, perhaps faint or swallow my tongue. My son doesn't need to see his mother ass up lying unconscious on tv. :-). Seriously, I know I couldn't handle it b/c I got a test when I was at the Nuseum with some colleagues checking out space for a reception venue. We looked down over PA Avenue and saw his motorcade. Let's just say me and three other grown ass professionals jumped on the glass like spiderman.

LMAO!!

I don't know why I want to spell Newseum like that.

Nothing changed since the primaries. THEY ARE WHO WE KNOW THEY ARE.

It is so much fun watching Barack and Michelle Obama drive Republicans crazy. LOL

Me too, HopeOverFear!

Let them go crazy! Change is here and it makes me proud!

A picture paints a thousand words. They look pretty up in arms (or up in cameras) to me about spending taxpayor dollars on date night for a black woman. Please! I am still tickled pink at all of the mostly white NYC police lining the streets, 5 police deep, to protect and defend this black woman on a campaign promised date. THE NYC PO-LICE (armed with nigga beaters, I mean night sticks) mad about having to protect the first AA POTUS/FLOTUS in the Beast.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!! When will they ever be ready for CHANGE.

Heehee

LOL! Thanks Supk. Great pics. NY folks LOVE themselves some Obamas.

Friends Provide Glimpse Into Nominee's 'Very Full Life'
By Keith B. Richburg, Robin Shulman and Nancy Trejos
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, May 31, 2009

NEW YORK -- Last November, soon after Barack Obama was elected president, a close friend of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's was hospitalized on Long Island because of a series of strokes.

Speculation was already swirling that the new president might make Sotomayor his first pick should a vacancy open on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor also had a full caseload she was balancing as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Manhattan.

But three or four times a week, Sotomayor would leave work around 7 p.m. to visit her friend. Ever the urbanite, Sotomayor would pick up some chicken soup, get in her white Saab convertible and wind through rush-hour traffic to Long Island to sit by the bedside of a woman who was often unconscious and unaware that Sotomayor was there. Finally, the trips came to an end in April -- not because of the pressures of the trip on her busy life, but because her friend died.

Those visits, recounted by several of Sotomayor's closest friends, provide a telling glimpse into the private life of the woman nominated last week by President Obama to be the next Supreme Court justice and the first Hispanic on the high court. The friends go on to describe her in laudatory, if predictable, ways: collegial, intensely loyal, a bedrock in crisis.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

How Obama Made His Energy Platform 'Pop'
President Has Gained Support by Framing Issues In Terms of Jobs, Security

By Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, May 31, 2009

After a long day of campaigning on July 8, candidate Barack Obama arrived at his Chicago headquarters for a three-hour brainstorming session about a suddenly hot issue: energy and climate change.
He had summoned a cross section of experts, including top executives from three utilities and two oil companies, the chief energy economist of an investment bank, a climate scientist, a California energy and environment expert, an oil consultant-historian, and several campaign staffers. Despite the late hour, one participant recalled, "He walked in as if he had just gotten up after a refreshing night's sleep to lead a class. He was clearly there to harvest information and then do something with it."
While Obama had held a similar session early in his Senate career, the Chicago meeting marked a turning point in his thinking. He knew there was a moral case for addressing the nation's dependence on fossil fuels, but this time, he realized he could make a political and economic case for it. And top advisers say internal polling showed that with gasoline prices at more than $4 a gallon, the American public was open to an energy platform based on economic competitiveness and national security.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

Do you feel the blessing
Gospel house for a little Sunday Shoutin
TRACKLIST
1.I Feel A Blessing Praise Report Dub Stomper Mix
2.Jesus Children(Shelter Vocal) Stevie Wonders & BeBe Winans
3.You Lift Me Up - Martha Washington
4.My Heart Belongs To You(Ron Carroll's BMC Vocal Mix) Melba Moore
5.Can I Get A Witness(Instinct Feat. Kenny Bobien - He's A Friend)
6.Saved Me(Louis Benedetti's Vocal Mix)Barbara Walker
7.I Know A Man feat.Eddie Nicholas
8.I Believe - Yass
9.Life feat. Tony Payton
10.We're Going Up - Donna Washington
12.Believe - Joslyn Brown
http://www.transmissionfm.com/mixes/detail/3781/

A big Thank You, DJ!

Everyone remember JJP poster Ms Martin in your prayers, she lost her child this week!

She is in my prayers.

Poll: Obamateurism of the Week? Difficult choices again this week, i.e. as usual, since Obama makes a stack of them each day. Get your votes in!

Here is a better poll.

Obama Approval Compares Favorably to Prior Presidents
Only three presidents since Eisenhower have had higher May ratings
May 29, 2009
http://www.gallup.com/poll/118928/Obama-Approva...

So far in May, Barack Obama has averaged 65% job approval. Since World War II, only three of the previous eight presidents elected to their first terms -- Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan -- have had a higher average approval rating in May of their first year. Obama's average exceeds those of the three most recent presidents -- George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

Obama Cautions Against 'Political Games' With Court Pick
Sunday, May 31, 2009

President Obama warned yesterday against "attempting to draw old battle lines and playing the usual political games" during the consideration of his nominee to the Supreme Court, and he urged senators to get to work on the nomination without delay.
In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said that since he chose Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Justice David H. Souter, "some in Washington . . . [are] pulling a few comments out of context to paint a distorted picture" of her record.

"But I am confident that these efforts will fail, because Judge Sotomayor's 17-year record on the bench -- hundreds of judicial decisions that every American can read for him or herself -- speak far louder than any attack; her record makes clear that she is fair, unbiased and dedicated to the rule of law," he said.

The choice of Sotomayor has prompted fierce opposition from some conservatives, especially those in advocacy groups. Republicans in the Senate, who will vote on her confirmation, have been far more cautious in their criticism, saying only that they will rigorously examine her record and qualifications.

In his address, Obama said he expects "nothing less."

But, he added: "What I hope is that we can avoid the political posturing and ideological brinksmanship that has bogged down this process, and Congress, in the past."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

There will be political posturing and there will be fodder, but SotomayOR is a done deal. I'm just afraid that after Obama makes his third "fair and balanced" choice that they may truly be dusting off and washing their white sheet again. Heaven forbid what reaction they will have WHEN the AA Supreme Queen is nominated. I expect it to happen and with all of this controversy now with this moderate woman, I am beginning to believe that he need to save the AA female pick for his second term, AFTER more Congressional seats are taken from the Rethugs from "foot in mouth" disease.

Nope. I think the next pick will be an AA woman that was on the short list and it'll happen his first term IMO. And the sexist and racist bullshit will shock the world.

co-sign

So true, Myth, but these folks are already out and don't need the white sheets anymore.

They haved morphed into the MSM personalities and politicians of Rush, Beck, Tancredo, Gingrich, Coulter, Malkin, et.al.

And let's not forget our ALL AMERICAN justice system know as the POLICE.
The sheets have been replaced with tasers, billy clubs, badges and big blue flashing lights!

Im truly hoping that Obama only nominate women to the Court...next nominate the AA woman and then Kagan.....it'll drive them nuts.

And throw in a white transsexual lesbian with 3 children fer good measure.

But look here, when he comes out with a Supreme Queen, they will be so mad and not wanna be "caught on tape" that they will have to don the white sheets again. Do you realze how tough these changes really are for a country that has not ever dealt with their race issues in their "bring me your tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to be free" land of the brave and free. I think the white sheets are coming back because they don't really want us the know what a racist truly looks like, and it ain't SotomayOR.

Myth, I can't say wheter the "White sheets" will or won't come back.
We already know who and what they are.

I think the racial attacks on black women have always been out there. They have come to the fore since Michelle Obama came to national prominence.

Michelle's got them reved up, and I think Sonia Sotomayor's nomination has really cut deeply into the racist pysche.

I think all the attacks on Hispanic Sonia Sotomayor are all the things they want to say about First Lady Michelle Obama. But since she's not the President with the POWER, they have transfered their racist and sexist rants onto Sotormayor.

The fringe white right wing nut are alive and as long as the elected GOP continue to remain silent and not unequivocably DENOUNCE the racist, sexist busllshit of their ilk, we'll know were they stand.

This one was a stretch though. Trying to equate an Obama date with his wife to failed GM's demise as a reason to not go to NYC. GN employees WILL loose jobs, unemployment will be extended again, stimulus jobs will come, life will go on and a date in New York will fade in significance.

BUT, hopefully the sum total of all of the GOPs right-winged attitudes will result in further demise in the voting booth in 2010.

You're preaching this morning, Sista!

Lay it down!

Justice, I need to go put on my "I'm tired! I've Been
Black All Day" tee-shirt. The GOP (and you know what that spells out to be) touched a chord with me on this one today. I am OUTRAGED and APPALLED, which in my culture means that I am pissed. I just need to know who said it so that I can Sllaaaaappp 'em or throw a shoe at em.

Oh well, time to let it go and go eat some watermelon this Sunday morning. And you know being from Texas, we ain't sposed to eat watermelon before Juneteenth.

GOP = "Not-so-Grand" OLD and Obsolete Pitiful Party of Angry, Frustrated, Jealous, Not-Ready-for-Change Peeps Critizicing a Popular President for wanting to court his wife with taxpayors money having to pay to protect him because he is so popular and bringing change to their racist way of life in America, did I say angry white men.

Is that Black snob Tshirt? I want one and want to pay the correct person.

I've been wondering about the t-shirt too.

The Black Snob has a store at CafePress.com

Does anyone think the reactions of some Republicans and pundits to Sotomayer and the "wise Latina" quote play into the stereotype that whites act like know-it-alls ? I ask because there's something really disturbing about this "discussion". There seems to be an underlying assumption that equates whiteness with being objective and colorblind. It just reminds me some of the conversations I had with some conservative whites who are shocked when they are called out for their ignorance.

There seems to be an underlying assumption that equates whiteness with being objective and colorblind.

Gwen Ifill touched on this on This Week.... saying that no one ever questioned the bias of white male SC nominees.

These white folks aren't concerned about Sotomayor being fair and just. They're concerned that we will reciprocate with the "fair and balanced" approach THEY have practiced for over 100+ years. It's kinda like when you have your foot on someone's neck. You're scared of letting them get up because you think they'll do the same to you. That's basis of their apprehension of people of color acquiring positions of power.

Applause!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let these muthafuckers be SCURRED. Let them be very scurred! Let them get ANGRY, SCREAM, SHOUT, SCREAM, WHINE, FUME, FRET, CRY, EXPOLDE, let them FEEL what it is like to BE HUMAN!

It just highlights that these folks think whites are superior and their is a white standard applied to all people and all things. That ANYONE could think anyone else is in any way preferable or any other standard other than a white standard is going to be applied pisses and scares them.

I also think it just reaffirms the fears a lot of these folks have about the fact that in 50 years, Whites will be a functional electoral minority and that scares the bejebbus out of them and is why the Republicans have turned to electoral fraud like in MN right now with Coleman.

Co-sign all of the replies.

Yes, the underlying assumption is that whiteness, when combined with maleness, is the absence of race and gender, therefore white men are the only people who can be neutral referees, and white men can't engage in identity politics. Of course, they do it more than anyone else.

I also wanted to add......

we all need to remember the COUNTLESS numbers of cases, whicc still happen today, of all white juries determining justice in our courts all across this country, especially in some of our most sordid racial cases in history....that is one of the most blaring displays of the assumption that whiteness equates being objective and colorblind.

You mean juries and cases like these??

Rendell urges fed charges

Gov. Ed Rendell is weighing in on the trial involving the fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant in Shenandoah last summer. In a Friday letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Rendell urged the Justice Department to pursue civil rights charges against Brandon J. Piekarsky, 17, of Shenandoah Heights, and Derrick M. Donchack, 19, of Shenandoah. Their five-day trial ended May 1.

“This senseless and cowardly attack appears to have been a hate crime as racial slurs were hurled against Mr. (Luis) Ramirez throughout the fatal assault,” Rendell says in the letter.

Piekarsky and Donchack were cleared of the most serious charges — including ethnic intimidation — in connection with the death of Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala. They await sentencing on simple assault and alcohol-related charges.


Read more: http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2009/0......

Please. Everyone is Pennsylvania knows this is just Rendell BSing. If he is serious he should be all over Mrs Sweeten's case.

Yes...I think that qualifies.

Yes, "Emmett Till-esque justice" is alive and well.

Absolutely. And particularly with the WHITE male pundits.

It sheds a light on the white washed MSM; one need only look at the ethnic makeup of the news media to see that.

They are focusing on Sotomayor's comment becasue the very mention of "WHITE MALE and BETTER" in the same sentence has struck a cord with their own self-proclaimed WHITE PRIVILEDGE.

Of course she is a Latina woman and how dare she, because most of these men can't see her in any role outside of someone who cleans their home.

It has called in to question their WHITE male status, entitlement and competence. Of course they have always thought their shit don't stink.

it's the same reason all these pundits are obsessed with the firefighter case, chris matthews in particular. if you look at the details of the case, it's pretty damn clear that the ruling is a perfect example of following precedent, and just the opposite of judicial activism. they just can't fathom that the law would lead to a result that isn't favorable to white men, they're outraged by it on a deeply personal level and it's obvious in the way they talk about it; if the races of the two groups of firefighters in the case were reversed, you can bet that we wouldn't even be talking about this case.

Exactly spirit.....these same MSM types want to repeat the same meme over about Sotomayor and yet they were the same pundits who said REPEATEDLY..."We still don't know who Barack Obama is" up until election day even after 2 books, years of campaigning and nemerous debates.

I will never grasp their cluelessness.

Yet a week after Sarah Palin was picked, the media declared that everyone knew this hockey mom.

Another example of white CLUELESSNESS.

Why wouldn't EVERYONE know this hockey mom? All real Americans know hockey moms.

Totally assuming their white ways of life are the standards for ALL Americans= Total phucking CLUELESSNESS.

That's because you'd have to be white to be clueness, in this sense.

I see the logic in that, sadly. *snort

Angry white men having "mo betta" blues.

That is classic!!

Its the paternalistic attitude that Mr. Charlie and Miss Anne know what's best for the nigras...hadn't dey always been good to us nigras? How we's gwine talk back to dem like dis?

Yep. One need only roll tape on Pat Buchanan to hear that fucking bullshit about how blacks should be gratitude to white America.

http://essence.typepad.com/news/2009/02/michael...

Remember how Dyson's mic volume kept going lower and lower. ummm humm.

Oh, I absolutely agree with what you have mentioned here....that is why conservatives/Republicans have taken up this banner of anti-intellectualism, simply because more and more POC have received their training in some of America's finest institutions based of their OWN intellect, not legacy, and are rising through the ranks of our government who for most of its history has kept a STRONG glass ceiling erected. And it is also no coincidence that more highly educated white Americans tend to be liberal leaning and voted in droves for Obama, while being branded latte sippers and elitist by the GOP/conservatives. The highly educated and liberal leaning Americans KNOW that a diverse and educated population is the absolute key to progress....and yes some of them are also conflicted with centuries-old bias and prejudices, but they are trying to deal with them. I can see through all the coded language like "real Americans" and the other things we all picked up on during the campaign and STILL see today.

And that is also why the GOP/conservatives have such a stark stance against fair education for all Americans and will vote down education funding while passing legislation for corporations and for those who have.......there is a direct correlation between this frame of thought and the plantation rules that FORBID slaves from becoming educated....they knew that once you had an educated slave population, their power and reign weakened, their power as an oppressor lost steam. That is why even after slavery was abolished, "separate but equal" was considered fair and upheld even though there was NOTHING equal about the conditions between whites and POC.

That is also why some whites will automatically tell blacks to get over it, slavery has long been abolished....you even have descendants of the COnfederacy downplaying the crucial role that slavery shaped in the Civil War...attributing the war's cause only to "state's rights" while many Confederate states were ANGRY and upset about their "rights" to uphold the institution of slavery which led to secession.

America, for all that has been made of it as a beacon of hope, is still a place where it's greatest sins, the eradication of the Native people and the enslavement of Africans, will always remain a taboo or the family's dirty little secret.

White entitlement. privilege, and even POC 's distorted views of themselves and often self-hate have their roots in our storied history.

And in an institution like ours, change is very hard, old opinions are hard to change, and part of that ironically is that a large swath of Americans whose ancestors and those living today continued an oppressive regime against others actually thinks they are "colorblind" is quite eye-opening but not surprising.

On point.

Tell the truth, Monie!

Photos of President & First Lady! Woo Hoo!


http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Michelle-Obama/ss...

Adore them!

Great photos Justice. You know, Power begats a new makeover for the First Lady. That's not a bad benefit for 2 years of campaigning.

More Photos Here

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/88051674?axd=...

Nice! Thanks, Jusitce.

You're welcome!

First Lady Michelle is truely making an impact on the lives of many little girls!

Thank God for being so gracious to us for giving us President Obama to lead this country!

Yes, I am grateful for the presensce and service of our First Family to America.

Have the questions been raised/addressed here on JJP as to whether African Americans, or any other minority group for that matter, can truly be racists?

Racism:
a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.



Time for Roland Burris to go to the house now. He is too "caught up" now. Is Jesse Jackson Jr ready for primetime? Just asking..

I think we all are racist to some degree.And to deny that you are not means you are lying.Jesse Jackson Jr. is done.He may be able to keep his house seat but the Senate is out of the question.Burris isnt going anywhere till 2010 when with his grand total of $845 that he has raised he can at least by donuts for his staff.

DJ, I keep trying to ignore the connotations of your user pic, but everytime I see it, I just have to snicker.

Good Morning JJP

Rikyrah,

I love it....Be Blessed JJP!

Rikyrah I loved the Yolanda Adams song too. Thanks for representing. It appears this last week that some "inhouse wingnuts" have tried to turn a political blog into a religious forum on questions of their own salvation. THEY KNOW what's really going on within.

Thanks to Justice58 et. al. for standing up for the one and only Savior Jesus the Christ. Be blessed by the best.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/0...

"In typical Manhattan style, diners at a Greenwich Village restaurant Saturday night pretended not to notice the famous couple at dinner - until after dessert.

"Nobody bothered them," Rachel Levit of Manhattan said of the First Couple. "They sat and had their private meal.

"When they stood up to leave," she continued, "this blasé New York crowd stood up and exploded in spontaneous applause."

WHO ASKED THE GOP TO COMMENT?...BETTA ASK SOMEBODY HOW THE PEOPLE'S MONEY CAN BE SPENT ON DATE NIGHT. WHY ARE YOU QUESTIONING THE COST OF PROTECTING AN AA PRESIDENT? DON'T BE "j"

GOP = Grand OLD Obsolete Party of Angry Men...FRUSTRATED old men jealous of an African American POTUS having sex with his wife in the White House and THEM not having sex with the AA POTUS' wife in the servant's quarters of the White House -

Pooh Pooh You!!

Myth! You know you ain't right! LMBAO!

Considering their history with black women, it's just some things dirty OLD obsolete white men need to keep silent on. Spending tax payer dollars on dates for a black woman is permissable CHANGE. Did you see all of those policeman lining the streets of NYC to protect this black woman out on a date. Hee Hee Hee...change has come to America. Who'da ever thunk it. LMFBAO

"Considering their history with black women, it's just some things dirty OLD obsolete white men need to keep silent on."

You got that right. They took our black women and did what they pleased. Now a black women, our First Lady, is being wined, dined and loved by her black husband.

They need to shut the fuck up.

Spending tax payer dollars on dates for a black woman is permissable CHANGE. Did you see all of those policeman lining the streets of NYC to protect this black woman out on a date.



Now that's what I'm talking 'bout! A beautiful sight to see.

The President sure knows how to treat a lady!

Go Michelle!

Think about it. Had it been Laura Bush going to New York for dinner and to see a play, they would have said, "Ah, isn't that nice, George and Laura taking a break from spending billions on a useless war. They needed a break."

Wouldn't they? The GOP would have thought for the Bushes it would have been just honky-dorey.

LOL!

Who Is to Blame for the Next Attack?
By FRANK RICH
Published: May 30, 2009
AFTER watching the farce surrounding Dick Cheney’s coming-out party this month, you have to wonder: Which will reach Washington first, change or the terrorists? If change doesn’t arrive soon, terrorists may well rush in where the capital’s fools now tread.
Read More
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/opinion/31ric...

Great Article. I appreciate Rich calling out his own paper for buying into a ton of BS from the Bush Administraton and the source for the McClatchy papers proving Cheney is lying. The kicker is this statement:
"Cheney’s “no middle ground” speech on torture at the American Enterprise Institute arrived with the kind of orchestrated media campaign that he, his boss and Karl Rove patented in the good old days. It was bookended by a pair of Republican attack ads on the Web that crosscut President Obama’s planned closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention center with apocalyptic imagery — graphic video of the burning twin towers in one ad, a roar of nuclear holocaust (borrowed from the L.B.J. “daisy” ad of 1964) in the other. "

To this day the only Democrat whom understands what the excercise of power through controlling the story, start to finish, is the Clintons(yin and yang). The warroom of 1992 was designed to shape the story and muzzle bad ones. This description by Rich of what the Republicans do is is a sine qua non to their strategy, "arrived with the kind of orchestrated media campaign."

I find it lacking in President Obama's campaign and tenure as President so far. I do not believe for a second in the good will that he has generated can overcome this type of campaign over the long run or even in people desire for something different. Challenging of ignorance has to be a full time job. You need to educate from the beginning not hint. One only has to think of the "side eyed glances" of the posters her on the Sweeten story in Philadelphia.These "side eyed glances were not enough to stop the Bucks County DA from saying this after the fact Sweeten's story was a lie "It's a terrifying thing for a community to hear that two black men in a black Cadillac grabbed a woman and her daugther.. It's terrifying,"
The blatant racism of this statement went unchallenged and is now white washed. I mean obviously only white people live in communities so you brown, yellow and black people must be criminal savages. The same thing is being done w/ Sotomayor.
We may laugh at glee with the damage the Republicans are doing to themselves but in reality we know it is for the moment. That people are doing their Bitsy comment ,"That's so silly" but that reaction is really sticking their head in the sand hoping something bad will go away. The Republicans won't go away.
So I would really like to see President Obama's political team start a warroom to reach that part of the public electorate that is not sitting on email and mailing lists to get the word out before they make an announcement so they control the agenda. I'll order the room for Bill and Eliot at the Bunny ranch so they are not in the public eye but someone get started.

Great anaylsis.

The Trauma of 9/11 Is No Excuse
By Richard A. Clarke
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Top officials from the Bush administration have hit upon a revealing new theme as they retrospectively justify their national security policies. Call it the White House 9/11 trauma defense.
Read More
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

Gwen Ifill, Paul Krugman and George Steph........ representing for Sotomayor.

I can't say it as elegantly as she did but George (denim is evil) Will talked about the judge's distorted comment. Paul said people are taking it way too seriously. Gwen said something about people not considering how privilege and white maleness influence judge's decision making process. George (I really hate denim) Will was not happy.

Steph shot down Ed Gillespie's (Bushie) lies about Sotomayor's rulings being reversed.

Good to see media folk doing their job.

Spitting in the eye of mainstream education - Not many schools in California recruit teachers with language like this: "We are looking for hard working people who believe in free market capitalism. . . . Multicultural specialists, ultra liberal zealots and college-tainted oppression liberators need not apply."

Instead of teaching their children to hate whites – at home, in public schools and in black churches – black parents should try something like this American Indian Public Charter school, i.e. if they actually wanted their children properly educated.

Karmi,

My parents never once taught us to hate white people, even though they suffered terribly from cruel racism. A white man that sold my dad close to 100 acres of land was caught scheming in some land fraud deal to take the property back. A pact had been made not to let blacks buy in the area. But he being "white" was given a chance to get it right or go to prison. You, Karmi, have nothing but your ignorant assumptions about black people and what they do in their homes!

And this is what folks like Karmi will NEVER acknowledge. The generations before took the brunt of Jim Crow. They took the weight of Jim Crow on their shoulders. And, they had a choice. They could have programmed their children for 'hate'. But, they didn't. They fought for the betterment of this country, and the gift to their children was them taking the brunt of Jim Crow on their shoulders.

Karmi and his ilk completely ignore the ramifications of Jim Crow and dissmiss the brutality of it...because Karmi is White and can.

But, we will never ignore the ramifications. We will NEVER ignore the sacrifice of our elders.

Period.

The crime is that they don't see what a strength of character it reveals. Remember you are speaking to a people that honor their feuds.

You made tears fall because EVERYTHING you stated is TRUTH! We saw it, we lived through it. We had to sit helplessly and watch our parents suffer for being born BLACK in Amercia but still held their head up high to push forward.


Yes & Amen Rikyrah!

Yes indeedy! My great-grandfather owned over 600 acres of land in Texas...had houses and property for all 8 of his children. He was a savvy AA businessman and guess why? His father, a decent white man, BELIEVED in him. But here's the BUT. Days after he died, white men came and TOOK all of his land from his wife and children for little or nothing.

AND YOU KARMI WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND THE TROUBLE WE AS A PEOPLE HAVE SEEN. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER.

Myth,

Don't I know clearly what you're saying...

Right to this day, I have to drive pass property that was stolen from my great grandfather by white people getting him to make an X on a paper because he could not read! He was tricked into thinking he was making an X for a bill he owed!

So today, I'm not about to let Karmi get away with lies and slander against my dead parents & others like them!

Keep speaking truth to power.


Grand OlD Dirty Ass Party of Scheming, Conniving, Racist White Men Dupping Black Men Out of Their American Dream in Texas

AAAaarrgghh!!

Amen.

Karmi KNOWS that the shining example of American Exceptionalism IS the collective Black American's journey in this country, there is not a story like it amongst all the diverse groups of people who live here today.....and it is a history that Karmi and his ilk would have NEVER survived.

His racist cries, rantings, and name-calling screams of his own thoughts of superiority which ironically is brought on by the shame of his feeling inferior

...and of course, we know what "properly educated" means to Karmi- educated to become dedicated to the maintenence of white hegemony.

This thing about blacks teaching their children "to hate whites"..."at home"...is a pretty common meme among you racist loony-tunes, isn't it?

They would much rather us not prepare our children for the assaults that they will face from Whiteness. It;s called self defense and I will be damned if I teach my son the lie that white men will view him as an equal.

Self-defense..

you ain't never lied on that one.

You got that exactly right, Womanist.

What ever happened to Conserv1. I rarely agreed with him but at least he actually made an intelligent case for his beliefs.

This Karmi kid sounds like his breath still smell like Similax.

Shush!! Don't resurrect life into Conserv1...good riddance...gone away...bye, bye.

I liked Conserv1. I like debating with people who can at express their views at least semi-rational.

We need more like him/her and less nose-pickers like Karmi.

Another DRIVE-BY HI HATER.