Jack & Jill Politics

AFTERNOON OPEN THREAD IS UP!!!

I'm going to need MSNBC to stop replaying the clip of President Obama killing the fly during his interview. The first time, yes, I laughed. Fourth, fifth time... we need to get back to the news folks!!!!

So was I the only one who thought when the cameras showed the dead fly on the rug, that President Obama was gonna pick it up, blow on it and bring it back to life?

I was so expecting that.

Stop it!!!!!!!!!

LOL!

You are so wrong! LOL!

Politico is reporting that rural Dems are revolting against the President over climate change, health care and car dealerships. Huffingtonpost is reporting that "Blue Dog Dems" are secretly meeting with moderate Republicans to create their own health care proposal. But yet the only thing white liberals can do is whine that the President is betraying them. Do people understand that if the President doesn't get the votes in Congress, there will be no health care reform?! Why aren't white liberals leaning on these Democrats?! Why is the focus on the President and not on the other equal branch of government?

{Why is the focus on the President and not on the other equal branch of government?}

NMP, What I am seeing is an amazing amount of naivete concering what the president can do, on what liberal congressional leaders can do.

The fact is, much of what happens on the Hill is bigger than Obama or Congressional leadership. Any politician in Washington has one of several competing goals when making a political decision:
• do what’s good for the country;
• do what’s good for local constituencies;
• do what’s good for his political party;
• do what’s necessary to get elected;
• do what’s god for him/herself.

Instead of complaining about Obama, people need to organize into effective lobbying groups that will push our interests. This is what business interest groups do. But who do we have to lobby for US? Hardly anything.

This is of interest:
If Lobbying Money Talks, the African American Constituency is Muted on Capitol Hill

You keep on telling it, NMP.

Keep on breaking it down.

Where the hell is Pelosi keeping these clowns in line?

NMP,

I must apologize to you. You had your reservations about these people for a long time and I thought you were overreacting regarding the people that are supposed to be on the same team as the President. As time goes on, we are seeing an overwhelming amount of opposition from the so called Dems...

I made a mistake as went over to DailyKos as was just floored at all the hate that's over there. I'm SMH and thinking...you are serious? So anyway....you said it a long time ago....can't trust them.

They always get that way when PBO doesn't bow down to their demands. They having a hard time dealing with a Black man who doesn't cow tow to their every whim. They pitiful.

** whispering to Lisa ** it's kowtow ....... cows, trust me, are too stupid to tow anything.

My bad. LOL!!

Giordano at The Field has lately been referring to those sites (Kos, AmericaBlog, Open Left, etc.) as the "children's table." Pretty apt description IMO.

The worst thing that PBO could do is overcompensate in his reactions to blue dogs, white liberals, Bill Maher or Ed Schultz. These are the same folks who were bitching and moaning about him not being tough-enough against Hillary. Yet, who is sitting in the White House right now???

These the same type of folks who push black men up, saying, "Have some spunk, Stand up for yourself!" and then when a brotha unleashes the fury, they get SCURRED 4 Real, "President Obama is an ABM-angry black man."

PBO is doing exactly what he needs to do. The blue dogs can meet with moderate republicans all they want. If they propose some bullshyt, PBO will know exactly how to handle them, and I trust his judgment 1,000%.

PS: I ain't mad at Maher, Schultz or white liberals. Having Extremists on the Left makes PBO look more moderate.

President Obama killed that fly as a message to all the haterz and shadies surrounding him:

I C U and I will destroy U smooth with a smile like I killed that fly.

That is all.

Don't cha know it!

LOL!

ROFLMAO!

BWA HA HA HA HA

Co-sign
"PBO will know exactly how to handle them, and I trust his judgment 1,000%."

Co-sign.

Co-sign! You make a good point. I also really like Ed Schultz too and I wish the dems in Congress would have a bit more "spunk" ha ha - but President Obama is a strategic thinker. I trust his judgment as well.

When Health Insurance Isn't Health Insurance
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/06/16/when...

In May, 2008, Robin Beaton, a retired registered nurse from Waxahachie, Texas, went to her dermatologist to be treated for acne. He mistakenly wrote down something on her chart that made it appear that she might have a pre-cancerous skin condition.

Not a big deal, right? It shouldn't have been, except that soon after that, she was diagnosed with something far more serious--invasive and agressive breast cancer. Three days before she was scheduled for a double mastectomy, her insurance company, Blue Cross, called her and told her they were launching an investigation into the last five years of her health records. It turned out that dermatologist's note had been a red flag, and the company was looking for a way to cancel her policy on the grounds that she had been hiding a serious medical condition.

What Robin went through after that was a nightmare, one she tearfully described Tuesday morning in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations subcommittee. "The sad thing is, Blue Cross gladly took my high premiums, and the first time I filed a claim and was suspected of having cancer, they searched high and low for a reason to cancel me," said Robin, whose hair is just beginning to grow back in from chemotherapy...

There's more, read it here:
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/06/16/when...

Another hypocrisy watch:

Sen. John Ensign acknowledged Tuesday that he had an affair with a campaign staffer — an admission that stunned his colleagues, hurt his chances for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and called into question his future as a leader of the Senate GOP.

The Nevada Republican admitted in Las Vegas Tuesday that he had “violated the vows” of marriage by having an affair with a staffer. He did not identify the woman except to say that she and her husband were both “close friends” who worked for him, and that “the closeness” of their relationship had “put me in situations which led to my inappropriate behavior.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/23813


Wonder will he resign since this is the same guy who wanted and was a key player in trying to get Larry Craig to resign back in 2007 when he was arrested in June 2007 in an airport men's restroom on disorderly conduct charges and called what he did a disgrace ( http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/family-v...) . Also in 1998 he called on Clinton to resign over the Monica Lewinsky scandal (http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/16/ensign-affair/ ). So when those people made the mistakes that they made, he looked down on what they did and thought they didn't deserve a chance of redemption in any way and rallied for their resignation, but here he is in the situation that he put himself in, I wonder has his tune changed since it's him this time?

"Ensign, to the agony booth!"
"Make it so!"

Picard: "Ensign, set a new course."
Ensign: "To the presidency?"
Picard: "No, to ob-Scur-Rity." [with heavy, british accenting]

Jon Stewart Mocks CNN's Iran Coverage: They Don't Know What The Hell Is Going On (VIDEO)

CNN has taken a lot of heat in the past few days for its initial lack of coverage of the Iranian election and the ensuing melee. Now Jon Stewart is going after the coverage they are devoting to the historic struggle.

Iran expelled many foreign reporters and put others under house arrest, making first hand reporting more difficult. As a result, CNN has thrown out their playbook, "just reporting what they find on the Internet," without a vetting process. Stewart sees no difference between this "new" policy and what CNN normally does.

Stewart has been devoting the bulk of his show to the Iranian elections. Monday night he called Ahmadinejad "batshit insane," and then had John Oliver use a CNN-esque magic screen to prove that he had in fact won fair and square.
WATCH:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/17/jon-st...

Ahmadinejad is not only batsh*t insane, he is a bonafide dictator-and-a-half. He is even "coup proof". I have never seen anything like this where a whole nation doesn't want you and you continue to act like everything is just honkie-dorie and fair and balanced.

Hi, Myth:

"I have never seen anything like this where a whole nation doesn't want you and you continue to act like everything is just honkie-dorie and fair and balanced."

Sure you have - remember the last three years of George W. Bush's presidency?

Letterman takes on "Fire David Letterman" Protestors.

Yesterday, 15 people gathered outside the Ed Sullivan theater to call for the firing of David Letterman. The long anticipated rally, created to protest a joke David Letterman made about Sarah Palin's daughter, turned out to be a dud despite mountains of media attention. On Monday, Letterman apologized to Palin and she accepted, which rendered the feud obsolete. Apparently 15 people didn't get the message.

Last night, Letterman responded to these critics the best way he knows how: mockery. He had writer Joe Grossman wander out on stage looking for the protest, then did a top ten list of things overheard there. He graciously kept the list self-deprecating, joking that CBS had catered the affair, that his old friend Regis attended, and that his hair looks like a toupee.
WATCH:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/17/letter...

TWITTER IS A PLAYER IN IRAN’S DRAMA
By Mike Musgrove
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The State Department asked social-networking site Twitter to delay scheduled maintenance earlier this week to avoid disrupting communications among tech-savvy Iranian citizens as they took to the streets to protest Friday's reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The move illustrates the growing influence of online social-networking services as a communications media. Foreign news coverage of the unfolding drama, meanwhile, was limited by Iranian government restrictions barring journalists from "unauthorized" demonstrations.

"One of the areas where people are able to get out the word is through Twitter," a senior State Department official said in a conversation with reporters, on condition of anonymity. "They announced they were going to shut down their system for maintenance and we asked them not to."

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

Amazing isn't it, how these social networking sites have changed the dynamics of communication around the world?

I've been so addicted to Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook I haven't posted in a while but I had to drop in to comment on the President vs. the Fly. As much as I love Obama even I thought that was too much. Who, besides Mr. Miyagi, catches a fly that quickly? My sister and I were laughing that he is so cool, the fly landed on his skin and thought "I'm touching Obama, it doesn't get much better then this, I might as well die here".

LOL!

No you didn't say Mr. Miyagi!!! ROFLMAO

LOL!
"My sister and I were laughing that he is so cool, the fly landed on his skin and thought "I'm touching Obama, it doesn't get much better then this, I might as well die here".

GOP Trying To Counter ABC News Health Care Special

Having failed to convince ABC News to include the GOP in a planned special on the White House health care plan, Republicans are trying to do some programming of their own.

In a memo to House and Senate Republicans, the Republican National Committee urged lawmakers to conduct interviews with local networks on the same day -- on the RNC's dime...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/17/gop-tr...


All this after the fake rage manufactured by Matthew Drudge of the Drudge Report and even when ABC Senior Vice President Kerry Smith responded, calling McKay's arguments were based on "false premises." Smith said that the health care specials are "devoted to exploring and probing the President's position and giving voice to questions and criticisms of that position," and he dismissed charges that the program would feature a partisan, one-sided message. ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/16/abc-re...)

Sullivan has a great pic up of Iran's soccer team who were in the world cup finals (i think), before the second half, the team had on green wristbands. After the second half I guess they told them take it off.

check it out:

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily...

Obama Criticized for Withholding Visitor Logs
White House Says It Is Reviewing Policy

By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

President Obama has embraced Bush administration justifications for denying public access to White House visitor logs even as advisers say they are reviewing the policy of keeping secret the official record of comings and goings.

In recent days, the Secret Service has rejected requests from two organizations for the logs, which document the West Wing meetings that have helped shape Obama's policies on banking regulation, economic recovery, foreign policy and the auto industry.

Yesterday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration seeking the release of information about the visits of coal company executives. Also yesterday, MSNBC.com reported that its broader request for logs since Jan. 20 had been denied.

"The Obama administration has now taken exactly the same position as the Bush administration," said Anne Weismann, the chief counsel for CREW. "I don't see how you can keep people from knowing who visits the White House and adhere to a policy of openness and transparency."

The prior administration said the logs were presidential records that were not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

Asked about the issue by reporters, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday that the administration's policy regarding the release of the logs is under review.

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

"Asked about the issue by reporters, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday that the administration's policy regarding the release of the logs is under review."

I'll take Gibbs' word that the adminisration's POLICY IS UNDER review.

they are wrong and need to correct this policy.

I wholeheartedly agree! Whether the Prez is a Dem or a Rep, I want (and believe I have a right) to know who is influencing policy. He promised transparency and I expect him to follow through. I'd like to believe that POTUS is doing the right thing, but I also know that he is a politician and that there will always be other considerations than just doing the right thing.

Why do we need to know the visitors logs?

Is this only for the White House, or should this also be for anyone who works in Congress, Department of State, Homeland Security, CIA, FBI, NSA, etc.?

In other words is this a blanket policy?

That was my question. I don't need to know a whole lot of stuff related to how this government works. But then again, until I have reason to think otherwise, I trust (kinda) PBO to do the right thing.

Check out this video, rikyrah.

Obama and Government transparency

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

Bill Clinton Denies 'Boys Night Out'

Did Bill Clinton have a wild night on the town in Buenos Aires? After a meeting in the capital of Argentina, “there were the widespread news reports that Clinton and his entourage later had a noche de soltero [boys' night out] at a well-known cabaret called Crocodilo, where a certain Andrea Rincón, a morocha [brunette] who was pulposa [well-endowed] and a former participant in the popular TV reality show Big Brother, did a private baile hot for him, according to the Web site of the news weekly Perfil, though it's not clear exactly what that dance involved. The dancer claims she did not speak to Clinton, and Clinton’s spokesman said the report “is completely false.” What did the president do, then? “They were at the hotel playing cards with the former and current presidents.”

Read it at The Washington Post
An 'Oh, Hell' Moment in Buenos Aires

By Al Kamen
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Back when President Obama was considering Hillary Rodham Clinton for secretary of state, there were questions raised as to how to handle potential conflicts that might arise with former president Bill Clinton's dealings overseas for the nonprofit Clinton Global Initiative.

Everyone agreed that the key would be for Bill Clinton to carefully coordinate his efforts with the State Department, and things seem to have worked out smoothly so far. But even the most meticulous coordination may not be enough to avoid minor blips or the inevitable tabloid mess.

Take, for example, the former president's recent trip to Buenos Aires, where he raised a boatload of money for his initiative at a lunch and later a speech for 1,500 government and financial industry folks at a downtown hotel. Later that evening, he dined at a fine restaurant with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her husband, former president Néstor Kirchner.

We hear this caused some agita amongst the political opposition, what with the parliamentary elections at the end of this month. The Kirchners' poll numbers are weak and Clinton is hugely popular down there, so his being seen with them -- cameras were everywhere -- might give them a boost. (Might want to go private next time on the dinner.)

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

Bill Clinton.

Big Boob Babes.

Hillary not around.

Not. News.

this SO is NOT a news story.

The certainties of life:

Sharks swim in the ocean

The sun rises in the east

Bill Clinton chases anything with a pulse

MIDDLE EAST NEWS JUNE 17, 2009
Challenger Mousavi Has Conservative Past
By JAY SOLOMON

WASHINGTON -- The emergence of Mir Hossein Mousavi as a challenger to Iran's clerical establishment has been cheered as potentially heralding a new moderation in Tehran. But his record also suggests that he would hew to a number of Tehran's more controversial policies.

Mr. Mousavi governed as a social conservative while he was prime minister during the 1980s, and remains a committed supporter of the values and clerical system born of the 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution, diplomats and Iran analysts said.

He was one of the early supporters of Iran's nuclear program, and as prime minister he specifically approved Tehran's purchases of centrifuge equipment from the nuclear black market run by the Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan, according to a 2007 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog

Some Iran analysts say that while a Mousavi presidency, if it happened, could open numerous new areas for U.S.-Iranian cooperation, serious stumbling blocks would remain. President Barack Obama addressed that distinction Tuesday in an interview with CNBC.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124519676619521...

As I wrote this weekend, going from ' ImADinnerJacket' to this guy, would be like going from Trent Lott to Olympia Snowe - both Republicans. But, like our own Christian Taliban in the GOP, their Taliban would have none of it.

New protests over Iran elections

Footage which appears to show plain-clothes pro-government militia attacking a university dormitory

Iranian presidential challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi has called for peaceful demonstrations in protest at the result of last week's contested election.

Mass rallies are expected to take place on Wednesday afternoon following raids on several university dormitories and the arrest of two pro-reform figures.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has sought to calm tensions and called for an end to rioting.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected last week with almost two-thirds of votes.

Protests have grown since his re-election was confirmed on Saturday, with huge demonstrations in Tehran and clashes between protesters and security forces. Eight people have been killed.

Opposition demonstrations are expected to wind their way through central Tehran from Haft e-Tir square on Wednesday afternoon.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8104466.stm

It seems like there will always be political unrest there. I do believe that Ahmadinejad had a hand in keeping the election results in his favor, but I don't think the protests will do much, though I applaud those who are opposing Ahmadinejad.

these may be duplicate pictures but I just love Sasha's smile in #3.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/gallery/2009/0...

Can you imagine how the young players feel, at their age? playing Jazz, with the Marsalis family, in the White House?

These are wonderful! I also like the one of the saxophone player in front of Washington's portrait.

It's as though Sasha knows how much this music means to her mom, Angelar.

Good Morning All,
Ditto to all of above re: Palin fake outrage. From yesterday, whiterosebuddy, Enjoy DC. If you see Norm again, tell him to go somewhere. Home, anywhere, just go. Spirit. F - Farve & the Viqueens. They'd take an old (by nfl terms) man who is guaranteed 3 ducks to go with his 3 tds instead of developing who they got, f em. They got nothing coming this year and I don't like how they're doing T Jack. 9-7 at best. Could be 7-9. Have a nice day.

Health Reform Agenda for Black America

Since as far back as 1899, W.E.B. Du Bois documented racial health disparities and their link to poverty and discrimination. Today, we have made few advances in addressing what Martin Luther King, Jr, called the “most shocking and inhumane” of all forms of inequality.

As we sit at the cusp of sweeping legislative reform to fix our ailing health care system, Americans who believe in social justice and equality must stand up and support a public health insurance plan that would provide access to affordable, quality coverage for all Americans.

For far too long we have witnessed the effect of a health care system that excludes individuals based on their ability to pay. The result? An immoral and unethical system that renders uninsured Americans separate, unequal and unworthy of health care.

By default, Black and other people of color bear the burden of unequal access to health care. It's time for health equality. Shape the debate, what do we need for real health reform: http://www.judylubin.com/2009/06/a-health-refor...

thanks

A public health insurance plan would use 'comparative effectiveness' to cut costs. Of course, one could always pay for the treatment out of pocket when the government refuses to pay for non-"cost effective" medical treatment but WHAT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE $$$. It's the same as denying treatment. Knee surgeries, back surgeries, end of life care may all be deemed as speculative and be limited in order to cut costs. One is naive to believe that low income citizens who most gravely suffer the consequences.

The focus should not be on remaking our healthcare system into a single-payer, government run program, but more importantly on expanding coverage and ending the 'pre-existing condition' exclusion. If you smoke or are obese, you should pay more for your healthcare than someone who does not smoke and maintains a healthy weight.

We should approach health insurance the way we do auto insurance. Risky health behaviors (smoking, obesity) will come with a higher price tag while good health habits will be rewarded with lower ones. But you MUST HAVE INSURANCE. Drivers know that they must adopt good driving habits and drive safely if they are to secure the best coverage and pay the lowest possible premium.

What about people who don't smoke and are of a normal weight and still have cancer, irregular hearts, are accident prone, anemic etc? What about mental illness? It's easy to spot obesity and smokers but they are not the only people that get sick or need extensive health care. How do you assign rates when there are so many other factors that contribute to health? If I work out every day and eat right but I have the cancer gene, a stressful job, live near a refinory, have a mentally ill brother and an alcoholic uncle do my premiums go up? Should my rate go down if I am a yoga instructor that lives on the beach?

Good post, thanks for the link.

Why do I visit Newsbusters, they try to be like MediaMatters, but are more like Fox News by leaving out information to suit their agenda. Take for examlple this post that's on their site:


ABC Bashes U.S. Maternity Leave Policies: Again Links Them to Swaziland, Liberia

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/200...

Of course no where in there does it mention how in other countries who are supposedly on par with the U.S. give women as sometimes as well as men a maternity leave option with pay at their jobs and the morale it provides. Why are there those in the US who would oppose this for our country? I think it's beyond time that we have this in place and leave out all the misinformation and rhetoric and offer a better maternity leave practice in our country.

There should be no "maternity leave" because all women should stay in the home where they belong. That's the reasoning.

No. Sawyer focused on a woman who was 'afraid' to take much maternity leave during the recession. Why? Because she needs the money. She wants her job and a baby too. Choices. Obstacles. Feeling at times uncomfortable and afraid. Life is a struggle. Life is difficult.

And they wouldn't have that struggle if they just stayed their asses at home like they're supposed to, right?

How dare she want her job AND a baby!!! Greedy heifer.

LMAO!

Yep. Get pregnant, no ABORTIONS! stay home and let white men rule the world!

Speaking of abortions, I know I'm late on this one, but I had no idea that the anti-choice movement is now trying their hardest to try to make it harder for women to have access to birth control as well... what in the world?!

Oh yeah. One of the reasons I've not been posting is 'cuz I'm reading. And one of the many books I've picked up, "How the Prochoice Movement Saved America."

It is SO TOTALLY about controlling women. It's about theocracy, plain & simple.

And another thing, a movie is being made about Thomas Frank's book, "What's the Matter with Kansas." There's a blog there and they've been following the reaction, etc., in Kansas surrounding the murder of Dr. George Tiller.

Town, as always, is SPOT ON!

Ohhh - and FUCK WORK! WHO NEEDS IT!?

oh wait....

what do you think that ' Conscience' bullshit was among some pharmacists. I have no sympathy. Birth Control is legal. If you don't want to do your fucking job, then get another job. If a woman brings you a legal prescription, I don't give a shit about what your 'conscience' tells you - fill the fucking prescription or get another job.

Tell it!

"fill the fucking prescription or get another job."

AMEN!

I'm pretty sure none of those conscience pharmacists have a problem filling out a Viagra prescription...

Leave Smilin' Bob alone!
He's happy!
And that's all that matters!

I know that's right. They're cool with Mr. Man getting his swerve on, but the woman behind him in line trying to get her pills...she's nothing but a jezebel. Stone her!

You're right, I've come to realize that. Along with maternity leave and health care, it seems those who oppose such reforms that would be better over for this country's workforce and the American family, are against change for the better and for anything that will continue to work against the favor of the average American who's below the "upper middle class" status.

Should I report this to the Secret Service?

In the comments underneath this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTFzVY9qyQc&feat......

it simply says "187 187"

If you watch cop shows you know what 187 means.

Should I report it?

Yes, given what has happened in the past weeks.

Stephen Johns had no idea an 88 year old racist bigot would gun him down in a crowd filled Museum.

Especially after he held the door opened for that old, racist fucker. I'd say 'yeah' too.

Normally I would say no, but with the three recent domestic terrorism acts and the increased craziness out there it couldn't hurt.

Hypocrisy of the day (probably not, since there's alot of it out there in the world...lol):


Glenn Beck wants everyone to rest assured he's not a complete nutcase. He's not a fan of state secession, after all!

Beck: Did you catch the New York Times this weekend? [Giggles weirdly.] They published the third -- count it, three -- the third op-ed in the New York Times blaming Bill O'Reilly and me, or Fox News in general, of spreading hate and inspiring people like the killer of Dr. Killer, uh, Tiller, in Kansas. Also, we were the inspiration apparently for the guy at the Holocaust Museum last week.

You know, there are groups out there that preach hate and violence and racial violence. There are groups out there so fed up they want to secede from the union. But we ain't one of them!

Hmmmm. An interesting denial. There's only one problem with it: Beck was downright enthusiastic about Texas secession two months ago...

http://crooksandliars.com/node/28972

Beck heading to rehab in 5...4...3...2...1...

Beck's new wardrobe

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i69/mischarme...

Lol, the man is really delusional and nutty.

Good Morning JJP

Rikyrah,


I know we have discussed President Obama's racial identity but I can't seem to find it. I'm wondering if there is a thread devoted to it; if so, would you point me in the direction of it.

Thanks!

give me more clues...what are you looking for? give me reference points as to what direction you want.

It was a discussion where some didnot want to identify PBO as black but "biracial".

I can't check on it now, but check back in the Evening Post. I should have some links for you there, hopefully.

Good deal! Thanks a bunch!

Considering all the racist emails/ bigoted remarks, he can say 'biracial' all he wants-there are white folks who will never see him as ANYTHING but black!
( I know you didn't ask me but I just HAD to get that off my chest!!!) :)

Well, I was having a heated exchange with someone about people slamming Michelle on her clothes.... they were saying not one store had sold out any of her clothing & I stated they were
jealous of a black man as President. Here it goes... Excuse my language...

Justice:

These bitches are lying their ass off. J Crew's site crashed from the traffic trying to buy Michelle's outfit that she wore on Jay Leno during the primaries. I do know this because I tried to get to the site but couldn't. From what I've read every store has sold out of whatever Michelle has been wearing. Even Sasha & Malia's outfits were sold out. Carolyn is just a racist bigot!

White woman Poster:

President Obama is half white. No one seems to realize that FACT! His mother, who carried him in her womb for nine months, was white. His father donated one sperm and ran out on his mother and son without supporting Obama and helping to raise him. He was raised by his white grandparents. The President is a mixture of races and his relatives are a mixture of races. This is what makes him unique. No one is jealous because he is supposedly the first black president.


Justice:

President Obama identifies himself as black. The President chose black over "biracial". Yes, some people are jealous because he is the first black president. They're certainly not jealous because he is half-white. When has the president said..."I am a half-white guy named Barack Hussein Obama". He transcends race to appeal to both black & white but he identifies himself as BLACK!


Humph!!!!!!!!!!

Good response! These people crack me up, he doesn't deny his
parentage but if he (or Halle because they've brought her name in this) ever went up to white people and said 'I'm white!'
they would get the side eye. It's not like he looks like Wentworth Miller (though it was obvious he wasn't exactly white either).

Somebody needs to tell that white woman poster that there were quite a few "biracial" folks standing on the auction block along with "full black" folks back in the day.

Sepia,

Sometimes I just wanna.....

Saaaaaaaaa>>>lap



Just 6 years ago, the President couldn't get a cab cuz they saw... a black man!

Tell it!!!

Blacks Hit by Housing Costs Leave San Francisco Behind

At 21 years old, Shanika Long is giving up on San Francisco, the city she was born and reared in and would rather still call home.

Her mother tells her of a time when blacks owned certain parts of town, when the Fillmore District, for one, was a vibrant neighborhood with, she recalls, ''a black-power-type mentality.''

But, like the Fillmore's nickname, Harlem West, those days are history. And Ms. Long, a clerk at the Labor Ready agency for temporary workers who has a 3-year-old daughter, says she wants to live where black people can afford to buy houses and rear children.

''I'm moving out and I'm feeling like I'm being pushed out of San Francisco,'' she said. ''The community now is, like, dead.''

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/02/us/blacks-hit...

Another related article:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-08-26-...

This is a process that has been going on in San Francisco for several decades now. The city has been losing black population at a rate of about 10,000 every ten years. In 1940, the city's black population was slightly more than 4800. By 1950, the official estimate, according to the U.S. Census, was about 48,000 although it was probably much larger.

In the late 1950s, with the number of black residents numbering well over 120,000, city officials announced plans to redevelopment the Fillmore area known as the Western Addition, which was where the highest concentration of blacks lived. This plan, which blacks called the Negro Removal Program, leveled 75 square blocks (272 acres) of affordable owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing and commercial businesses owned by blacks. The city was so eager to clear the land that at one point the fire department was brought in to carry out controlled burnings of Victorian and Edwardian buildings that had survived the 1906 earthquake and fires!

Blacks were widely discriminated against in employment, housing, and education. The Giants’ great center fielder Willie Mays, for example, was prevented from buying a home in the Forest Hills section of the city when his prospective neighbors pressured the owner not to sell the house to Mays and his wife. Harold Dobbs, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and a leading candidate for mayor in 1964, had his Pacific Heights home picketed by members of CORE who were protesting the fact that Dobbs’ restaurants, Mel’s Drive-Ins, did not hire blacks. (George Lucas memorialized the one located on Mission and South Van Ness Streets in the film American Graffiti.) Curtis Green, who years later became the first black general manager of the city’s public transportation system, and his first wife, Florence, was not able to live in a house they had purchased in the Excelsior District because of the racial animosity there. Willie L. Brown, Jr., who became the first black person to be elected to any public office in San Francisco, first came to local prominence when he and his wife, Blanche, were denied an apartment in the Twin Peaks area because of their race.

These are anecdotal examples, to be sure, but they were repeated thousands of times for black residents of the city and the repercussions of these events, whether anonymous or publicized, continues to affect the city even today. The country has a black president and San Francisco has had a black mayor - Willie L. Brown, Jr. - but the plight of the average black person in the city hasn't really changed that much over the years.

Now the city's Redevelopment Agency is targeting the Bay View-Hunters Point (BVHP) community although in ways that are markedly different and distinct from what it did to the Fillmore District. What is often overlooked and forgotten about BVHP, despite its problems, is that this one-time overwhelmingly black community for decades had one of the highest rates of home ownership in the city. In 1982, for example, I had lunch with a vice president of Bay View Federal Savings who told me, among other things, that beginning in 1948, which was when his company began providing home mortgages to people in BVHP, Bay View Federal had never had one mortgage default in BVHP in all that time.

The city's decline as a manufacturing center and the closure of the shipyards was the beginning of the end for BVHP, especially its young people who had never been welcomed with open arms by the city's businesses and labor unions. In addition, the city's old guard black leaders, as one of them who was a deputy mayor at the time once told me, thought that people in BVHP should be seen but not heard. They should be seen because black leadership could use their numbers and plight to leverage concessions from the city's elite and power brokers but they were expected to accept whatever was given to them and be grateful.

I have long been interested in making sure that this history does not become lost or covered up. As part of this process, I finally succeeded in having Take This Hammer a 1964 documentary film featuring James Baldwin touring San Francisco's black neighborhoods preserved and restored. The film is currently only available online. Thanks to the work of the San Francisco Bay Area T.V. Archive it can be seen here: https://diva.sfsu.edu/bundles/187041

Appreciate the knowledge and the link, PTCruiser.

Gentrification

Gentrification

Gentrification was only the fourth step in the process. Anti-black racism was the first step.

Not just that. How about anti-middle classification. San Francisco is ridiculous.

Possibly because this is and has been done in very popular urban parts of major cities such as Harlem and here in Houston, "Freeman's Town" a land that was provided to former slaves after slavery, but because it's so close to downtown and the whole urban revitalization of that area, many people were forced out because they could no longer afford to live there.

I started the leaked prelim new financial regulatory rules last night. It's 85 pages. So far it reeks of incrementalism.

What is really funny is More Stupid News By Commentary channel this morning. Some guy argued that the new regulations would stifle capitalism. The result of which would be capitalism couldn't get us out of our current mess.
This is like saying the arsonists should be responsible for putting out the fire.
In the same segment another guy argued we shouldn't do anything till we figure out what happened arguing it took Milton Friedman 35 years after the Great Depression to come up w/ an answer. WTF. We know what happened human beings both failed to do their jobs because they were philosophically opposed to being regulators and others allowed excessive risk.
The purpose of rules is to temper human fallings. If you do not start there as the crux of your argument you are just doomed to repat the past..

"Some guy argued that the new regulations would stifle capitalism. The result of which would be capitalism couldn't get us out of our current mess.
This is like saying the arsonists should be responsible for putting out the fire."

On point, Rob!

I switched channels to the news on BBC America the other day and saw someone from the WSJ positively gushing over the new regulations. That's not a good sign.

For those that like big city political corruption:
http://www.freep.com/article/20090617/NEWS01/90...
Monica Conyers, the wife of John Conyers, is having her feet held to the fire by the Feds. She is a member of the city council and might/might not have taken a bribe/series of bribes for her vote on a city contract. The rest of the City Council wants the Feds to bring charges NOW so that the voters don't throw out the entire city council in the fall elections.

Didn't she get pwned by an 8 yr-old?

Great pics, rikyrah. The second one is awesome.

Juan Williams trying to unseat Ron Christie as supreme slave-catcher:

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906150041

Its a tight race.

Maybe FOX should have a daily politics hour with Juan Williams, Ron Christie, LaShawn Barber, Alan Keys and D (just so we have one representative that isn't crazy). It will make white conservative feel good and show "diversity". And it will legitimize much of the Obama and disadvantaged minority hate, allowing them to say "but the black guys said it so it must be okay".

In case anyone is wondering, I'm kidding.

Juan Williams, sick as he may be, is only a symptom of the larger problem of the requisite self-loathing that goes along with being a so-called Black conservative. There's a post over at [BR] which quotes the notoriously psycho LaShawn Barber as comparing President Obama with genocidal racist Margaret Sanger.

The host of BR in a rare form of cowardice, could only suggest that "unless it can shown otherwise, that such a comparison is 'inaccurate'". Now, 99% of Black folk--if given the opportunity--would vocalize holy hell at such a vile statement. I'm just wondering what the hell's wrong with that 1%.

Based on some of the MMTV comments, even some White people find Juan Williams's cooning to be over-the-top.

I don't know if this applies, but I found this to be on par with comments that would be typical of Christie and Williams, but considering the "source", I don't really know if I believe it. Then again, who knows:

Actor Terrence Howard says: “Reagan Has Been More Revolutionary in Reaching Ethnic Communities Than President Obama”

http://bossip.com/121755/quote-of-the-day-terre...

I hate Terrence Howard. I'm glad Iron Man dumped his ass. I bet he keeps a paper bag in his pocket to judge what black folk he can associate with.

Terrence Howard is also the same person who says you'd have to look back 300 years in his family to find somebody with African ancestry. Consider the source. He's just mad that he's not the go-to light skin Negro anymore.

Is this the same Terrance Howard who, as a child, saw his father get involved in a fatal fight with a white man while standing in the waiting line to see Santa Claus in a department store in downtown Cleveland? According to Howard, the white man felt that Howard's mother and her children had no right to be in line ahead of him and his own children so he proceeded to call her a few choice names that included the word "nigger." If so, his comments are quite odd.

And did you notice how he had to tell the reporter the racial background of his fiance? Dude has issues.

Oops, there it is!

Well, the crack epidemic was different than the usual white hoods, sheets and burning crosses method that white folks used.

Tell the Truth, Sepia.

This dude has lost his mind.

O'Reilly's rants against abortions are reminiscent of Nazi propaganda, not the Civil Rights Movement.

I agree. It boggles me how many people want to liken things (i.e. the immigration rallies, gay rights, "Limbaugh's description of the current GOP, ect.) to the Civil Rights Movement or Holocaust as if to diminish their validity and the cause and effects of it.

Who knew Dan Qualye could see the future, "What a terrible thing it is to lose one's mind"

Letterman protest draws more media than activists

NEW YORK (CNN) — A protest rally against David Letterman over a failed joke about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her daughter attracted more members of the media than protesters Tuesday afternoon.

A crowd of 15 protesters upset with the late night comic held signs and occasionally shouted as they stood across the street from Letterman's studio.

But they were often hidden from view by the more than 35 members of the media there to cover the protest, and out-shouted by a few very vocal counter-protesters.

Radio talk show host John Ziegler — who is behind the FireDavidLetterman.com Web site that organized the protest, and who is an outspoken supporter of the former Republican vice presidential candidate — told reporters that the turnout at the event was not representative of the number of people who have responded to his site and e-mailed.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/06/16...

Given how fraudulent the whole issue I can't help wondering why Letterman capitulated and apologized.

Maybe for the following reasons:
1) His lawyers told him to avoid a lawsuit.
2) His lawyers told him to avoid a potential child porn charge.
3) Maybe he did not want to offend a really, really large number of viewers.

Comedians should make fun of politicians, but not their teenage children.

Lawsuit? I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me that a lawsuit would've been thrown out for the simple fact that Palin didn't request other comedians to cease and desist talking about her daughter(s), even appearing on a show that made a joke about her husband having sex with their daughters. The latter action could be seen as her encouraging their behavior. Plus, the fact that she constantly puts her children in the public eye, kills her defense that she's just trying to protect her children. Besides, we know Palin wasn't about to sue Letterman because she got what she really wanted -- PUBLICITY.

Child porn charge? You're reaaaaaally reaching on that one. Letterman has not "possed, produced and/or distributed child pornography". Child pornography is defined as:

(8) "child pornography" means any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, video, picture, or computer or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where--
(A) the production of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct;
(B) such visual depiction is a digital image, computer image, or computer-generated image that is, or is indistinguishable from, that of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or
(C) such visual depiction has been created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
SOURCE: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/...

Letterman's joke does not fit this description.

Offending large number of viewers? Yeah, those 15 people that protested in front of the Ed Sullivan studio are really numerous. Besides, Dave's ratings have soared since this drama unfolded.

I agree, Sepia. I think he was made to apologize because he lost a sponsor in Embassy Suites. This WAS a failed tea party.

You would have to look up the child porn laws in every State, i.e. anyplace where Letterman's show could be seen - everywhere.
He would not have to be found guilty, only charged to damage his career.

The underage children of Politicians should not be the target of "jokes" by comedians.

He wouldn't even be charged because his joke does not fit the definition of "child pornography".

Furthermore, he didn't make a joke about an underaged child.

BTW, has anyone seen pictures of Willow at that Yankees game Palin claims she was at?

However, the joke wasn't about an "underaged" child, it was targeted towards the adult daughter, no matter how Palin and her supporters want to try and spin it differently.

Now, now!
Bristol is not a slut because she chose LIFE!

Same here, RobM. If anything, he should've called her out by bringing up examples of jokes made by other comedians about her family, and how she remained silent.

That's true, he should have, but then again, I feel that if that was done, that would ignite an even bigger fire that would take another week or so to extinguish in the media.

I'm not shocked by that at all because it wasn't that serious and it was blown out of proportion. I saw it has another failed "Tea Party" but directed towards Letterman, which meant some type of manufactured outrage just so they could display their ignorance and shout insulting words. It doesn't surprise me either that Ziegler was behind this, the guy has a strange obsession with Palin.

I guess I have no sympathy for those who disagreed to the point of wanting to get Letterman fired and the Palin's disgust over this is because this isn't the first time such jokes have been made against them by a late night talk show host or a skit-based show and nothing was said and done to this extent if at all, and this was blown out of proportion just so Palin could put her face back out there... again.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/06/video_rabi...

It would be funny if it weren't so scary.

Wait a sec! They're fans of Jay Leno, the one who said the following joke :

Gov. Palin announced over the weekend that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant. And you thought John Edwards was in trouble before! Now he has really done it. -- "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," 9/2/08

That's what's so ridiculous about Palin's fake outrage. Comedians have been clowning her and her family for MONTHS, yet now she wants to get upset. On SNL, one of the comics made a joke about Todd Palin having sex with his daughters. What did Sarah do? She made an appearance on the show!

But no one calls her out on her bullshit. Matt Lauer interviewed her and didn't bring up this info. Whoopi, Joy, Sherri and Barbara on The View didn't bring this up. Joy even took up for her.

It's ridiculous that they let this tired, opportunistic bitch get away with this crap!

[quote]Wait a sec! They're fans of Jay Leno, the one who said the following joke :

Gov. Palin announced over the weekend that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant. And you thought John Edwards was in trouble before! Now he has really done it. -- "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," 9/2/08

That's what's so ridiculous about Palin's fake outrage.[/quote]

Exactly

The hypocrisy reeks.

And I loved that one of the protesters started calling Letterman's wife a slut and his son a bastard because they had him before they got married. Um...Bristol? Hell, even her Momma was pregnant before they got married!
Pot? Meet kettle!

LMAO!

Where do these idiots come from? They didn't see Sarah parade her unwed pregnant daughter on stage during the Republican National Convention....Cuz she chose life?!

I said yesterday someone should have held a "fire rusty depass" rally near those idiots. Apparently calling the First lady a gorilla is ok, but making fun of a white woman's daughter isn't.

Tell me about it!

Palin is an opportunist. She wants to capitalize off of the fake outrage. If she cared for her kids, she wouldn't have ever pimped them for political reasons.

And who exactly is doing her job in Alaska while she's on this 'don't you forget about me ' tour? The more I see of this moron, the more I want to know just how she got elected . Low turn-out? REALLY awful opponent? What?

The more I see of this moron, the more I want to know just how she got elected.


Co-Sign!

Talking heads were stating yesterday about things Palin needed to do in order to become the nominee in 2012 after getting Letterman to apologize....

**referencing Jill**

Bitch Please!

**Wink, Wink**

Exactly.

Good Morning Here is your daily jam Enjoy
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Prayin'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM8JQZNkh0U

thank you

DJ Chefron, Why we couldn't get some First Choice "The Player" or "Armed and Extremely Dangerous" since your going the Ol' Skool Philly route!

PEACE
Chris

Niiiiiiiiiiice. thanks!