Monday, March 31, 2008

Quote of the Day

...black men and women, collectively, have not been able to figure out the simplest things. collectively black folks have continued to measure themselves against white standards/definitions. collectively blacks continue to foolishly see whites as their “competition” rather than acknowledging the historical and present undisputable fact that whites have declared and waged open war against black men, women and children for centuries! there has been nothing, nothing at all that would indicate intent to cease and desist with this “tradition” anytime soon. all signs are to the contrary in fact.
- focusedpurpose

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Quote of the Day

I'll admit it: I never thought that the day would come when I would hear Condoleeza Rice speak out on race relations in America... and actually make sense. I'm taken by (pleasant) surprise by Condoleeza's statements. There must be something in the air.
- Shecodes

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Quote of the Day

Somebody forgot to tell Hillary Clinton the Democratic presidential race is over and Barack Obama won.
- Reuters

Well Damn, T.I. Beats Gun Charges


Sonofabitch:
In the year that he is awaiting sentencing, T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, must complete at least 1,000 hours of a total 1,500 hours of community service, talking to youth groups about the pitfalls of guns, gangs and drugs.

U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said Harris will remain "under strict bond conditions" during the next year.

He said Harris' sentencing was deferred "to allow him to perform a unique and extensive program — at least 1,000 hours — of community service. That service will focus on using his high public visibility and his talents to tell at-risk young people about the mistakes he has made and to educate them about the dangers of violence, guns, gangs and drugs."

Nahmias said under the agreement, Harris will have to serve a year in prison and three years of supervised home detention, perform a total of 1,500 hours of community service and pay a $100,000 fine.

T.I. gets caught with machine guns and silencers, as a convicted felon, and all he gets on FEDERAL gun charges is 1500 hours of community service, one year in prison, three years of "supervised home detention" and $100,000 fine? Really? Damn. Who's his lawyer? If he wasn't already big time his business is gonna go through the roof as every drug dealin', gun toting, gangster is gonna want him to perform some of his T.I. magic for them.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Quote of the Day

WONDER how Hillary Clinton would feel if Michelle Obama said something like, "Well, you know, given all that we know and what we've seen of him, I wouldn't have stayed married to that man. He never would have been my husband. After all you choose your spouse."
- Craig Hickman

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Quote of the Day

[S]o there are little white fibs, like “the fish was THIS big” and then there are wagging fingers in the camera “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” out and out lies. [S]eems in this case our young jedi mistress has joined the dark side.
- entheo on Hillary Clinton's Bosnia Trip

Monday, March 24, 2008

Hillary Clinton Comes Under Fire for Bosnia Lie

From the Mind of Pat Buchanan: Black Folks are Some Ungrateful Ass Niggers

Here's what MSNBC's favorite racist has to say about Black Folk:
First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ’60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks — with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas — to advance black applicants over white applicants.

Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.

We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?
We're ungrateful. We just don't know how good we have it. Hell, white America has done all it could possibly do (including discriminate against it's own people) to help us ignorant, pitiful black folk achieve success. And we still some ungrateful ass niggers. Where's the thanks? Funny though. He fails to mention how all that help wouldn't have been needed, if White folk had screwed Black folk over to begin with.

Obama on Why Him Over Hillary Clinton



Leadership. It's all about leadership.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Quote of the Day

Saying that Hillary has Executive Branch experience is like saying Yoko Ono was a Beatle.
- DailyKos

Oh That was Some Dangerous Trip to Bosnia There, Hillary Clinton....



"There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base." Clinton used to tell Iowa audiences: ""We used to say in the White House that if a place is too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the First Lady."
- Hillary Clinton, George Washington University March 17, 2008

Friday, March 21, 2008

Obama Gave the Media an Option. We See Which One They Chose.

Apparently there's a "new" controversy:

Fox news has been bashing away at Obama for a comment he made on WIP a Philadelphia sports radio station:
"The point I was making was not that my grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person who, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know, there's a reaction that's been bred into our experiences that don't go away, and that sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that's just the nature of race in our society.
He said "typical white person" which is apparently proof that he thinks all white people are racists and that he doesn't like white people....blah, blah, blah....

Sigh.

I Remember this from Tuesday:
For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle....We can do that. But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change. That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.”
Now I may argue that "typical white person" may have been the wrong choice of words. But damn, we ask politicians to be honest, but unless they parse their words carefully we're all over them. Instead of taking a smart adult look at was said, we're ready to accuse Obama of all manner of hateful beliefs/thoughts. Now I know "reasonable" and "adult" can't be used in the same sentence regarding Faux News, but enough is enough already.

On a related note. Field Negro saw this coming:

But as word of his comments gets out to white A-merry-ca, I can sense the controversy coming ---I know it will if FAKE NEWS has their way--- and once again, it won't be pretty.
So no. To answer Obama's question from Tuesday, we don't want to move on. We want to stay right where we are; in this "racial stalemeate" that has done nothing but destroy this country for, well, forever. We don't want better. We want the same ol' same ol'. Even though we're not in a position where we can afford the same ol' politics, as it is costing us jobs, are standing in the world, and killing our economy; people prefer their bigotry to a new day, a new way of doing, seeing and understanding our Country. Our America. And to be honest with you I don't even mind. After Tuesday's speech I realized I won't be upset if Barack Obama doesn't win the Presidency. At this point I realize, America will get the leadership it deserves.

Here's Fox News bashing Obama and Chris Wallace finally stepping in to say enough is enough.



Bill Richardson Endorses Obama

Well Damn...

Dear Friend,

During the last year, I have shared with you my vision and hopes for this nation as we look to repair the damage of the last seven years. And you have shared your support, your ideas and your encouragement to my campaign. We have been through a lot together and that is why I wanted to tell you that, after careful and thoughtful deliberation, I have made a decision to endorse Barack Obama for President.

We are blessed to have two great American leaders and great Democrats running for President. My affection and admiration for Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton will never waver. It is time, however, for Democrats to stop fighting amongst ourselves and to prepare for the tough fight we will face against John McCain in the fall. The 1990's were a decade of peace and prosperity because of the competent and enlightened leadership of the Clinton administration, but it is now time for a new generation of leadership to lead America forward. Barack Obama will be a historic and a great President, who can bring us the change we so desperately need by bringing us together as a nation here at home and with our allies abroad.

Earlier this week, Senator Barack Obama gave an historic speech. that addressed the issue of race with the eloquence, sincerity, and optimism we have come to expect of him. He inspired us by reminding us of the awesome potential residing in our own responsibility. He asked us to rise above our racially divided past, and to seize the opportunity to carry forward the work of many patriots of all races, who struggled and died to bring us together.

As a Hispanic, I was particularly touched by his words. I have been troubled by the demonization of immigrants--specifically Hispanics-- by too many in this country. Hate crimes against Hispanics are rising as a direct result and now, in tough economic times, people look for scapegoats and I fear that people will continue to exploit our racial differences--and place blame on others not like them . We all know the real culprit -- the disastrous economic policies of the Bush Administration!

Senator Obama has started a discussion in this country long overdue and rejects the politics of pitting race against race. He understands clearly that only by bringing people together, only by bridging our differences can we all succeed together as Americans.

His words are those of a courageous, thoughtful and inspiring leader, who understands that a house divided against itself cannot stand. And, after nearly eight years of George W. Bush, we desperately need such a leader.

To reverse the disastrous policies of the last seven years, rebuild our economy, address the housing and mortgage crisis, bring our troops home from Iraq and restore America's international standing, we need a President who can bring us together as a nation so we can confront our urgent challenges at home and abroad.

During the past year, I got to know Senator Obama as we campaigned against each other for the Presidency, and I felt a kinship with him because we both grew up between words, in a sense, living both abroad and here in America. In part because of these experiences, Barack and I share a deep sense of our nation's special responsibilities in the world.

So, once again, thank you for all you have done for me and my campaign. I wanted to make sure you understood my reasons for my endorsement of Senator Obama. I know that you, no matter what your choice, will do so with the best interests of this nation, in your heart.

Sincerely,

Bill Richardson

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Quote of the Day

The great ironies of modern A-merry-can life, is that the folks who cheer the hardest for the black gladiators in our sports arenas, will fight the hardest to keep people who look like them out of their neighborhoods.
- Field Negro

Oh Karma is a Funny thing


That racist, hateful, anti-American Wright was apparently one of the "religous leaders" invited to the Clinton White House when Bill was apologizing for his whorish ways the day before the Kenneth Starr Report was to be released. Picture was taken September 11, 1998.

Update: There may be video. LOL.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Barack Obama: "A More Perfect Union"




“We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.”


Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.


The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.


Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution – a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.


And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part – through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.


This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign – to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.


This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.


I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.


It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one.


Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.


This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either “too black” or “not black enough.” We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.


And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.


On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.


I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely – just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.


But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.


As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems – two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.


Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way


But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth – by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.


In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:


“People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the rafters….And in that single note – hope! – I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories – of survival, and freedom, and hope – became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about…memories that all people might study and cherish – and with which we could start to rebuild.”


That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety – the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.


And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions – the good and the bad – of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.


I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.


These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.


Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.


But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.


The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.


Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, “The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past.” We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.


Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.


Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments – meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.


A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families – a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods – parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement – all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.


This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.


But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it – those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings.


And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.


In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience – as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.


Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.


Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.


This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy – particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.


But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.


For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances – for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives – by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.


Ironically, this quintessentially American – and yes, conservative – notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.


The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country – a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen – is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.


In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds – by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.


In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.


For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.


We can do that.


But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.


That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.


This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.


This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.


This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.


I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation – the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.


There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today – a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.


There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.


And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.


She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.


She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.


Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.


Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.”


“I'm here because of Ashley.” By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.


But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama, and Election 08

I haven't commented much on the Jeremiah Wright bit. Largely because I was curious on how it was going to play out and I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I But I will post the following because I think it is one of the best and succint comments I've read/heard about the whole debacle:

b-serious via Jack and Jil Politics:

I apologize for the rant, but I must repeat . . .

When Katrina hit, Jesse Jackson lamented that this country has a high tolerance for black pain. Ain't that the truth.

Things like this Wright controversy tell me that my pain does not matter. Why? Because it never has anything to do with what I say . . . no, it has everything to do with how I say it.

Issues like the Wright controversy send the warning that I better keep my place . . . watch my tone. Becaus black anger is never afforded the opportunity at discussion and/or redemption.

As a black man, I don't have the right to get angry or show emotion. And if I should make a mistake and say something untoward, then I'm not allowed the opportunity to simply apologize. For some reason my fate must be far worse than that given to everyone else.

It proves that my struggles and frustrations must be silenced if it makes mainstream ("white") america uncomfortable.

I, and many other black folk, have NEVER been so privileged so as to think that we could dictate policy or control someone else's life based on how comfortable or uncomfortable something made us feel. Sometimes we get lucky and white guilt throws us a bone. But even that usually comes after some tragedy in the black community.

We know the drill. We're uncomfortable almost every day. It's just that we've learned to live with it and move on.

But now . . . despite everything Obama has done to make white folk feel as comfortable as possible. After an entire year of denying a part of himself and distancing himself from anything remotely "black" just to make white america comfortable . . . you've got the media trying to kill his chances at being president.

NOT because of anything that Obama said. NOT because Obama is an "angry black man." But solely because he has a relationship with a black man whom the media can portray in such a stereotype!!

Let me be honest. Barack Obama is about as "safe" a black man as you're going to see. I've watched in amazement as I've seen him deflect attacks from all sides. . . to have his blackness questioned one day and then be accused of being TOO black the next . . . to avoid race like the plague just to give white america the chance to vote for a black person without being made to feel guilty for the transgressions of past generations. Even now, Obama still speaks of unity and understanding.

As I said before, it's not the comment so much as the IMAGE that makes people uncomfortable. The IMAGE of a defiant, strong black preacher dressed in foreign african robes leading a congregation of equally defiant passionate black people. That's scary to a lot of white america.

THAT is a fear of black agression and black power. And it don't matter whether your as fiery as Jeremiah Wright or as accomodating as Barack Obama. You ain't gonna get anywhere unless you master the ability to make white america comfortable. And now people say they can't vote for him because they're UNcomfortable.

You know what, black folk have been uncomfortable for over 400 years. There's not a day that goes by where black folk don't bite their tongue and grit their teeth just to keep the peace.

WHEN are we gonna ask white folk to be a little uncomforable for a change? I don't mean that in a racist way. I'm just asking.

Is that not the definition of a pluralistic society? Let me check out Webster's dictionary . ..

"pluralism" - "a state of society in which members of diverse ethnic, racial, religious, or social groups maintain an autonomous participation in and development of their traditional culture or special interest within the confines of a common civilization.

"If we are truly a pluralistic society, then we must allow everyone, INCLUDING black folk, the opportunity and right of self-definition and self-determination (props to ronnie b for pointing that out)

.All I know is this . . . White politicians go to the black community all the time and ask for our trust, tolerance and understanding. We always give it to them.

Blacks vote for a white candidate every four years - regardless of his shortcomings; despite OUR OWN DOUBTS AND QUESTIONS (that never get answered); despite OUR OWN DISCOMFORT, we trust that everything's gonna be alright and we'll make it through somehow.

Well, this black man is asking white america to return the favor for once. I don't want to dismiss your concerns. I know it's different. I know we've never seen this before. I know white america has it's questions.

But Barack has done all he can to ask for white america's trust and understanding. He deserves to be judged as being self-autonomous. He derseves to be judged by his own reputation.

He deserves the same chance black folk have been giving white politicians ever since we got the right to vote.

Damn Those Racist, Unpatriotic Black Ministers

Don't let anybody make you think God chose America as his divine messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world. God has a way of standing before the nations with justice and it seems I can hear God saying to America "you are too arrogant, and if you don't change your ways, I will rise up and break the backbone of your power, and I will place it in the hands of a nation that doesn't even know my name.

Martin Luther King Jr.
(1967-08-16)

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Quote of the Day

The country that elected George Bush — sort of — because he seemed like he’d be more fun to have a beer with than Al Gore or John Kerry is really getting its comeuppance. Our credit markets are foundering, and all we’ve got is a guy who looks like he’s ready to kick back and start the weekend.
- Gail Collins, New York Times

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Now That's What I'm Talking About - Hillary Uncnsored




Ed, over at DreamandHustle.com has a great post on how the regular Joe can go after Hillary over these next six weeks leading up to Pennsylvania. It is high time for bloggers, black bloggers in particular to take on a party and a media that is determined to see HRC win this thing, regardless of what it does to the party.

The Clintons will stop at nothing to acquire power. Those who have the time and money need to work even harder to make sure she doesn't succeed. However, if they are successful there needs to be a concerted effort to ensure that she fails. This documentary "Hillary Uncensored" is a great start. Everyone needs to be putting it up on their blogs, websites and spreading the word.

Related Posts
Clintons to face fraud trial

New probe urged for Clinton crimes

Friday, March 14, 2008

Quote of the Day

The difference between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility, but the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to war.

- Sydney J. Harris

One Commenter's Take on Our Current Economic Armageddon

It happened because the public is stupid. Pure and simple. It's democracy. Tell people they have a chance to win the lottery—that they can only dream of someday being in the top 0.01% fab-extra-mega-rich if we allow the top 0.01% to remain fab-extra-mega-rich—and they will happily vote to send all of their wealth of any kind, labor, material, anything, right into the slot machine.

Capitalist ideology wins again. Nobody wants to regulate the economy because then they can't exploit the same holes to their own "advantage." Never mind that it's no advantage at all. Everyone is busy trying to climb the ladder, and is convinced that if they climb a little harder, they will be one of those few to reach the top. And damn everyone else.

Once it all collapses, the public will of course cry out for somebody to "do something." What they really mean is "it isn't fair—I didn't win!"

The American people deserve exactly what is going to happen to them now, and they're going to get it because they voted for it.

Friday, March 07, 2008

I'm Voting For Michelle

When I need to be rescued, And I need a place to swim
I have a rock to cling to in the storm
When no one can hear me calling, I have you I can sing to
Sade “Lovers Rock”

The last few weeks have been tough. I’m tired. The events that have transpired as the race for the White House heats up have been, well…..disheartening. Why? Because I have found myself in battle royals with individuals who question everything about Barack Obama from this mythical “lack of experience” (because the job you’re supposed to have before you become President of the United State is…………*crickets chirping* ) to “well he’s not pro Black!!”…huh? No seriously, I’ve had these trifling conversations. I think I could handle the criticism of the frontrunner, (which he is, don’t believe the Clinton hype) fine…..but where I have found myself upset to the point of reaching for that glass of wine (ok, Gin and Cranberry juice…..ok Gin….whatever) is the criticism of his wife and MY first lady (I don’t give a damn who the hell is elected, or PUT IN as the case may wind up being).

I don’t know what anybody else sees when they look at Michelle Obama, but I see the very embodiment of a Queen. You know, for the past few years, I thought what protestor after protestor and message board after message board and summit and meetings and songs and – oh dear GOD! Everyone has hollered and screamed about the image of black women in the media, we’ve discussed and dissected and insulted each other over derogatory images and black women using their bodies instead of their minds…and black men using and abusing us and here we have the anti-all that. ALL THAT. But yet, Bill O’Reilly makes an off the cuff remark about lynching her and the only person to take him to task is Star Jones. What say you Enough is Enough? What say you Rev Shapton? Jesse? Hell, anybody?? What the hell? I don’t expect a march….keep in mind, this is politics at its finest..too much of an uproar and Lord knows white folks might get a little antsy…but can I get a condemnation of O’Reilly in a brief statement?? Damn.

Can you even go to any message board on a site such as blackvoices.com or blackplanet.com without the ensuing forums on “whose fault is it?” Black women have messed it up….Black men are trifling…..Sistahs only want thugs…..black men disrespect black women…the black family is in turmoil, dying…..dead. But here you have a black family that could actually move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. You have a man and woman who look like US….and they aren’t fighting….they aren’t dealing with baby mama/daddy drama on front street, they didn’t rise to these levels by some nefarious activity that the mainstream media would have you believe is all we’re good for. This is the potential President and his First Lady. And this potential First Lady is the epitome of all that I am told a black woman is not. She is proof that we DO stand by our men, that we can encourage and help him achieve his highest goals. That we can take care of our families while juggling who knows what. That we can be strong enough to be weak, just for him. Dammit! What better image IS THERE?

So, I’m not going to justify why I’m voting for Barack anymore with the usual issues diatribe. If you ask me about his positions, programs, whatever….you won’t get my point of view on that stuff, nope. For me, I realize he made one choice that has sealed my vote and he did it long before an announcement in Springfield, IL last February. He sealed my vote by choosing the woman he calls “his rock”. He chose Michelle.

My Sentiments Exactly

From Angry Independent via Jack and Jill Politics

I have to agree with Baratunde on the point regarding Whites not understanding what we are talking about... Especially at Daily Kos.

They don't have the built-in radar that we have (which can only come from years of living while Brown in America). Radar that is able to pick up on all of the nuances and behaviors related to racism and race baiting used by the Clintons and by the Republicans.

I am also glad that there are other bloggers who see what I see and I don't have to explain every detail. I can also relate on the issue of rage. Clinton has short circuited my brain over the last few days.... leaving me damn near incapacitated...in terms of not being able to really concentrate on writing...

My head has been pounding too.

Finally today I was able to start thinking straight again.

(You can even see how Obama has been rattled a little).

You hit the nail on the head Wednesday on NPR's News and Notes.
I was saying Amen when the issue of media bias was mentioned.

The media is clearly trying to help Clinton.

Even today... I have yet to see one major network report that Obama actually won more delegates out of Texas. I have yet to see a major network mention that Clinton only managed to gain a small handful of delegates (single digits) out of the entire night... when she really needed to gain 20, 30, or 40 delegates.

How in the Hell is that a huge victory? It's all about perception.
And they are spinning the Hell out of her wins.

I have yet to hear the big media mention the fact that just 4 or 5 weeks ago... Clinton was leading in Texas and Ohio by very large margins...as much as 20 points... None have given Obama any positive coverage for the way he was able to close the gap to be competitive in States that he was never supposed to win.

Instead...they turned it around and made it a huge failure for Obama...despite the fact that these were States that Clinton was supposed to win all along.

I'm rattled....but not by Obama's perceived losses...but by the way the White corporate media is framing events....and by how they are assisting Clinton by essentially using her talking points and by not scrutinizing her the way that they scrutinize Obama.

I'm also rattled (but not surprised) by the racism amongst the electorate... I expected that all along. That's why I never thought Obama had a snowballs chance in Hell- The U.S. is a racist nation... that will likely never give a Black candidate any real chance. But what really bothers me is how the uneducated voting public in some of these States is falling for the Clinton bull.

I think racism is beginning to trump the "Change Theme". And this is why the Clinton's have been using the issue of race. Yes...people want change...but Clinton is reminding them that Barack is "The Black Guy" and that "Real Change" is not worth that kind of risky "roll of the dice". And what kind of "change" with the d*mb inexperienced n***er bring you anyway?

And once you plant seeds of doubt about a Black candidate in White voters... it takes on a life of its own. The doubt about Black people is already in the White brain....It is built-in; it simply needs to be triggered or turned on. And Clinton understands this and is trying to exploit it for all it's worth.

Barack will be damaged from here on out.... the question will be... to what degree will he be damaged.

It appeared that he lost some White voters in Ohio and Texas... So the racial nonsense is really starting to take a toll.

It will probably hurt him in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Oregon, and other places... even in Mississippi and North Carolina. But he should win enough of the remaining States to stay ahead in delegates. Wyoming will be interesting. Mississippi will be interesting as well... I want to see what percentage of the White vote he gets in both States.

I sat down and wrote a battle plan for Obama (If only I were a strategist for him). Clinton is so vulnerable in so many ways.... Unfortunately... Obama has no political attack dogs who could ruin her candidacy. They are too soft.

I could ruin her candidacy in about two weeks if I had the right pulpit.


I completely understand. I've been so pissed the last few days I couldn't see straight. I haven't been this angry since Katrina. I'm tired. I'm pissed.

- I'm pissed that the bar has been set impossibly high for Obama.

- I'm pissed that every time this woman says she's going to deliver a knockout punch to Obama and she fails it's spun as if Obama didn't deliver the knockout punch to her.

- I'm pissed that the party allows this woman to stay in the race even though she lost 12 contests in a row and didn't deliver on her big "firewall" wins and can't surpass him in delegates

- I'm pissed the media allows her to determine what races are important. And then claims Obama needs to do better at "managing expectations."

- And I'm mostly pissed that the Democratic party, as loyal as we've been, can allow us to be called a nigger time and time again by one of the potential democratic nominees, not do anything about it and then expect us to "come home" to the democratic party should she win the election.

Bottom line: you teach people how to treat you. The Democratic party can be foolish if they wanna and allow Hillary Clinton to stay in the race and continue with her scorched earth tactics. If the Dems want to besome as relevant as the whigs, so be it.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Barack Obama's New Mississippi Ad

Take that Ms. 3am Phone Call:

You know, now that Hillary Clinton is campaigning here in Mississippi, she likes to say how important we are," Mabus says in the ad. "But just a few months ago when she was campaigning in Iowa, she told them she was shocked Iowa could be ranked with Mississippi on anything. And her campaign even called voters in states like Mississippi 'second class'.

Obama will unite not divide", Mabus continues. "He'll take on special interest and not take their money. And he'll practice his Christian faith by respecting us."

Mabus is Mississippi's former governor. Hat Tip to Dailykos.

Meida Bias...Yeah....Against Obama

From a Commenter on Huffingtonpost.com
The media bias is hands down in favor of Senator Clinto. The owner of FOX news( Rupert Murcdoch) has done a fund raiser for Senator Clinton. Ted Turner the founder of CNN has said" women should rule the world and men should be barred from public office for 100 years", and former GE CEO Jack Welch has said this about Senator Obama's capaign " he ain't goin gnowhere." GE owns MSNBC. We have the owners of these fake news channels all favoring Senator Clinton.

I'm Ain't Afraid of John McCain

From Jack Turner over at Jack and Jill Politics
I ain't afraid of John McCain! We just survived eight years of George W. Bush

I ain't afraid of John McCain! My mother went to too many meetings, walked in too many marches, took over too many radio stations for me to vote out of fear.

I ain't afraid of John McCain! My grandmother wasn't the first black clerk at the Supreme Court, and her father did not teach himself to read just so I could vote out of fear.

I ain't afraid of John McCain! Do you hear me?? My people did not build this country with their backs spilling blood, did not have their families systematically destroyed, their language stamped out, their identities stolen en masse so that I might be here today and vote out of fear.

I am not afraid of John McCain or what the Republicans might do because millions of my ancestors lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean right now, and they did not die for me to cave so easily. Nothing John McCain could do as president would justify me turning my backs on my ancestors or my principles. We will survive. We have always survived.

You think we're in for hard times if we don't support Hillary? You don't know hard times.

We have a choice, and now is the time to stand up. If we sit by and let this go down as if we had no choice in the matter, then we might as well do away with ballots and courts and rights, get a barcode stamped on our necks and a chip inserted into our hands, and simply bow down.

Don't ever come at me and try to blackmail me into voting out of fear.
*Fist in the air*

I'm Fired Up and Ready to Go!

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Quote of the Day

I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002.
- Hillary Clinton

I'm Calling It a Night


Got class in the morning but I suspect things are still going to be interesting in the AM when I get up. Good Night.

Recap
Hillary Clinton - RI, OH, TX
Barack Obama - VT

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Live Blogging Almost Super Tuesday


Hillary Clinton Projected Winner in Texas

Hillary Clinton Projected Winner in Ohio

Hillary Clinton Projected Winner in Rhode Island

Rhode Island Primary
- 3% of Precincts Reporting
Hillary Cinton - 51%
Barack Obama - 48%

Texas Primary
- 22% of Precincts Reporting
Hillary Cinton - 49%
Barack Obama - 49%

Ohio Primary - 50% of Precincts Reporting
Hillary Cinton - 57%
Barack Obama - 41%

Barack Obama Projected Winner in Vermont

So Hillary, How's That (Super) Delegate Math Working Out for You


Rumor has it that Obama has 50 Superdelegates lined up to support him publicly any moment now. Terry McAuliffe looked a little surprised when Brokaw broke the news.

Check the video here

It's nearly statistically impossible for her to overtake Obama in the pledged delegate count. If 50 superdelegates align themselves with Clinton, she's done for. No if ands and buts about it. She'd have to run the table and then some to even have shot. And we know that's not going to happen. If this superdelegate support comes through put a fork in her, she's done.

Sorry Mr. Timberlake, You are NOT Black

Dear Justin Timberlake,

This is a letter from the Secret Council of Negroes regarding the status of your request of a formal decree of blackness.

We apologize that SCAN has taken so long in processing your application, but our organization has had a severe backlog of white people who aspire for a "ghetto pass" or "honorary Negro" status.

The formalities and prerequisites to meet the high standard of "blackness" often takes years to digest as SCAN does not want to give a honor as coveted as "musically black" to any person who fancies "pop n' lock" routines and groping Michael Jackson's little sister. Blackness is not a fetish or a passing fad. Blackness is a way of life and a state of mind.

Your request seems very earnest as you filed all your paper work properly with the Los Angeles chapter of SCAN, including letters of recommendation by ethnic black Americans people including Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Timothy Z. Mosley and Pharell Williams. But many things have changed since your original application.

1.) Janet Jackson has rescinded her letter of recommendation and Michael Jackson has distanced himself from his initial endorsement. One would think that Mr. Jackson wouldn't have much pull in SCAN, but never underestimate black people's love of "Thriller." Jackson specifically cited you as abusing blackness by wanting to be "black enough" to "bump and grind" Ms. Jackson on the stage at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, but denied any blackness during the media fallout after her bare breast was exposed for less than a second on national television.

Mr. Timberlake threw me under the bus. He was up on that stage with me, wanting to take advantage of my very sexy and very popular blackness to advance his career. He said he admired myself and my brother, who as you know made "Thriller," but when he grabbed the top of my costume and my "wardrobe malfunctioned" Timberlake ran as far from blackness as he could. He did not call me to apologize or even ask how I was doing. He did not defend me in the press. There were two people up on that stage, one BLACK and one a wannabe BLACK and wouldn't you know it, Mr. Timberlake rediscovered his whiteness. It was the BLACK person who took all the blame. My career has not been the same since!

SCAN cannot ignore these claims. She is Janet Jackson. Her brother made "Thriller." Despite the Jacksons' sometimes "curious" public behavior, they have never disavowed their blackness, even at the height of Mr. Jackson's translucency. Keep Reading

Almost Super Tuesday aka The Day of Reckoning


I know I've been on a bit of a blogging break lately but you had to know I'd be back for the March 4 primaries. I'll be Live Blogging the results beginning at 7pm.

Oh the new graphic is courtesy ABC News. I couldn't resist.

Barack Hussein Obama = Osama Bin Laden


From The Swamp

A lawyer in a predominantly Democratic suburb of Cleveland relates this tale to The Swamp on the day before the all-important Ohio primary:

So last night around dinner time, the phone rings. It’s the Hillary campaign–official number, per the caller ID. The woman on the other end asks me if Hillary can count on my support Tuesday. I say I have not decided.

She asks what would help me decide. I say, “Well . . . maybe she can make Bill her vice president.” She does not know how to take me, of course, but has to assume I am serious. “I don’t think she can do that.” “Bill will have a significant role in major decisions, though, won’t he?” I ask. “Oh, certainly he will be very involved. Do you like Bill?” “Very much.” I reply.

She then launches into a two-minute spiel on all the very specific initiatives and proposals Hillary has put forth on health care, the war in Iraq, etc., etc. At the end of her spiel, she says, “And we haven’t heard anything that specific from Osama bin Laden.”

I say, “You did not just say that.” She replies, “I’m sorry . . . just a slip of the tongue.” She then thanks me for my time and encourages me to vote for Hillary on Tuesday.


Yeah. All those "slips of the tongue." If Hillary doesn't win decisively today then she needs to get out of this race. Period. The fact that she's willing to do all of the dirty work for the Republicans is telling. This isn't about making this country beter, it's about her own desire for power and her willingness to do anything (including destroy the party) to do it. The worst thing that could happen to the Democrats in the fall is for Hillary Clinton to get the nomination.