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The long hot summer
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:
It’s been a Long Hot Summer
A Satirical Account of what’s currently going on in Republican Country – * Dedicated to Nandi
Outside the Bunker
Newsflash from the Hooterville Gazette:
The day after graduation
It is the day after ground zero (graduation from the Hornets Nest Academy) and I, Cyrus P. Beauregard your humble roaming news reporter from the Hooterville Gazette, is ready to disclose pertinent information that all blue blooded Gawd fearing, Chuck Norris loving Americans are entitled to know, but first, let me put my story into perspective by rehashing how it all began. In the beginning I volunteered for love of Gawd, Country and Guns to become a blind folded participant in a secret program designed to retake our country back from the Liberal, Hitler loving Democratic Party. At a secret location buried deep in the bowels of Tennessee, the best of the best of the best of born again Conservative reporters were re-indoctrinated to Conservative principles as given to us by our beloved Ronald Reagan. The overall purpose of the program was to teach loyal members of the right wing press the newest tactics on how to (1) properly disseminate Conservative spin, err…I mean Conservative truth about our country’s first Negroid President, Barrack Hussein Obama and (2) further divide the Democratic Party by befriending our adopted Democratic brethren better known as “The Blue Dog”.
The Tactics – Day 1
On day 1 we were taught how to terrify wimpy Liberals by brandishing hand guns and shot guns in places that wimpy Liberals like to congregate at. With the exception of Christian schools, Christian churches and Christian Day Care Centers there ain’t no place we won’t go to without our loaded guns. Hell we even went to a Liberal library with semi automatic weapons. In order to drive home the point of our lesson, we all participated in a drill which had us chant, “Guns are good” for two hours straight.
As a surprise for our loyalty to the cause, we members of the press were honored to have former Alaska Governor Sara “you betcha I’m a wolf hunter” Palin and former VP Dick “shoot em in the face” Chaney appear as motivational speakers. The dynamic duo teamed up to instruct our class on how to use new Conservative math as a way of embellishing the actual number of “Tea Party” participants that are bused to targeted Liberal functions as directed by Fox News and reported by Christian news anchors. Although Sara had problems with placing the decimal behind the right zero, no one seemed to care, mostly because she showed up at the Hornets Nest looking as pretty and devilish (I just love her winks) as ever.
In an exclusive interview granted to yours truly by former GW senior advisor Carl Rove, Rove stated that “All Good and God Fearing Americans will never question statistics that are presented by CNNs Lou Dobbs and Fox Network news anchors (well…except for that traitorous Sheppard Smith). In fact Rove went on to say that a poll that was sponsored by “The Sons of Willie Lynch Society” and Fox News Sean Hannity, counted using the new and improved Conservative math, 50 million “Tea Party” protestors in Copenhagen, Denmark that were gathered to protest against the Olympics coming to Barry’s hometown of Chicago.
The Tactics – Day 2
On day 2 of our instruction, we were tutored by none other than Orly Taitz, the Queen of the “Birthers Movement”, we members of the right wing press were taught that accepting manufactured Barrack Hussein Obama birth certificates that indicate that Barry was actually born in Cairo, Egypt to include other undesirable places outside of the U.S.A. is good for the Conservative cause and good for America. We were further taught that we should accept all questionable birth certificates as being legitimate source documents; even it comes from Bubba’s and Ethel’s Rib Shack located in Stone Mountain, Georgia. House Minority Leader John Boehner agreed that telling a fib in the name of expelling that Colored family from the White House is not a sin because Gawd is behind the Conservative movement. In order to drive home the point, we all participated in another re-indoctrination drill which had us chant, “Barrack is a Muslim” for three hours straight.
The Tactics – Day 3, 4, 5 & 6
Day 3 through day 6 we reporters were treated to shots of Tennessee sipping whiskey between lessons on “How to deny being racists”. Err…after my tenth shot of Jack D, I can’t remember what we were taught.
The Blue Dog Democrat
Blue Dogs, Dixie’s Best Friend
Per Pat Buchanan, who is the Dean and Chief Administrator of the Hornet’s Nest, the Democratic Blue Dogs are worth every penny that is paid to them and their families by our Conservative friends who are blessed by Gawd to have substantial off shore banking accounts which provide the Blue Dogs with enough money to forget that they owe their allegiance to Barry and those other Communist Liberal Democrats. The Blue Dogs have completely re-wired the thinking of traditional Democrats by instilling doubts and fears about the President in the Southern and Pacific Northwest communities that currently recognize that Barry is actually Adolf Hitler reincarnated as a Negro. For this service to country the Blue Dogs will always hold a special place in the hearts of men and women who sing “Dixie” and recite the Pledge of Allegiance as they clean their guns and count their ammunition.
Back to Hooterville
As I go back to Hooterville and the newspaper that I love so dearly, I am refreshed in my commitment to report to the world and Neocon America the news in such a manner that would make all Conservatives proud of what the Hornets Nest Academy has accomplished. With Gawd’s help we will get the Liberal, Nazi loving Democrats out of power one way or another. Until that time, this is Cyrus P. Beauregard signing off as the roving reporter for the Hooterville Gazette.
- Blog post
- 1 month ago
- Views: 25
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Should America Fear Muslims an
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:This particular article is not the article that I intended to submit for today’s readers, however, after receiving a disturbing email this morning from a man that I’ve called friend for over two decades and who I personally believe has morphed into a caricature of hate and fear that is reflective of much of the confusion and anger that we see on television and hear on radio in America today, well…again I am compelled to respond in the form of commentary that I hope will promote thought and civil discourse which will prevent that metaphorical “powder keg” from exploding across small towns and big cities in the United States.This is what the email stated:“I feel better now; we need to keep those crazy Christians in check, right?”“America has finally lost it”.....“Repeat after me”....Obama is not a Muslim, Obama is not a Muslim, Obama is not a Muslim,Obama is not a Muslim, Obama is not a Muslim…In order to keep my friend’s email in proper context I should explain that embedded in his email is a link islamoncapitolhill.com/Home_Page.html that connects to a website that I assume was created by a pro American Muslim organization. The website announces a planned day of Muslim prayer which is scheduled to be held at the U.S. Capital on September 25, 2009. Upon connection to the link, in addition to what is written, one will hear what appears to be a prayer in Arabic, which to some Americans who are unfamiliar with the Arabic language, may sound sinister and threatening. This is the gist of the website's opening statement:“The objective of this gathering is to invite the Muslim communities and friends of Islam to express and illustrate the wonderful diversity of Islam. We intend to manifest Islam’s majestic spiritual principals as revealed by Allah to our beloved prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) of Arabia. Likewise, we intend to inspire a new generation of Muslim to work for the greater good of all people, regardless of race, religion or national origin”.In addition to the proclamation of a day of prayer made in the narrative, the website also gives an itinerary of planned events for that particular day. Motivated to carefully review the website after reading the false allegation that President Obama is a Muslim, I thoroughly searched but could not find any endorsement of this planned event by the President or any of his cabinet members.As a professed Christian, I personally do not feel threatened by this event, nor would I feel threatened by any other religious organization / faith that planned to have a peaceful rally at our nation’s Capital. However, for individuals whose agenda includes emasculating the President and disseminating seeds of fear and hate, this is another opportunity to prey on Americans that may not be fortunate enough to be able to separate fact from fiction. I’m not a soothsayer, however; as debate on national health care reform reaches a boiling point, I understand and can envision how tactics of spreading misinformation and fear about President Obama can distract the average American from staying focused on an issue that will ultimately affect tens of millions of fellow Americans who are concerned about not having sufficient health care coverage.In regard to the email that I received this morning, President Obama has empathically stated that he is a Christian. I find it hypocritical and disingenuous that former President Bush was not accused of being a Muslim when he held an Iftar dinner (refers to the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan) at the White House during his Presidency. www.wrmea.com/archives/janfeb2002/0201082.html The million dollar question is, why is Obama being accused of being a Muslim and Bush, in light of officially honoring the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, when he served as the President of the United States, hasn't? An image of Jack Nicholson’s performance as the defiant Colonel in the movie, “A Few Good Men” comes to mind when Mr. Nicholson proclaimed to a relentless Tom Cruise, “You can’t handle the truth”. Inquiring minds want to know what you think about the planned Muslim event at the Nation’s Capital which is scheduled on September 25, 2009.Is this event something that Americans should fear? Or is the rally being used as fodder for opponents of the President who rely on “misinformation” as means to boost their own agenda and negatively manipulate the minds of Americans who are forced to deal with near record unemployment and an uncertain future? As I write this commentary there is no doubt in my mind that my friend’s email will be sent to untold numbers of fellow Americans who may become confused as to what to believe. In lieu of some American factions portraying most Muslims as the “Boogie Man” and with an ever increasing effort on their part to associate President Obama as being an undercover Muslim, does my friend’s particular brand of propaganda instigate violence against the President and his family?
- Blog post
- 2 months ago
- Views: 24
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PRAYING FOR THE FIELD OF EDUCA
- From: Mliza
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Description:
<p style="text-align: center"><img style="width: 179px; height: 231px" alt="" src="http://fs1.blackplanet.com/c262c38e0c947bfcad9a776cc3d35116e770e072/437x" /><img style="width: 167px; height: 227px" alt="" src="http://fs1.blackplanet.com/d500ff8f15575e2c2896de46fed70aad7a58c025/437x" /></p><p style="text-align: center"> <span style="color: #3366ff"><span style="display: none" id="1252446504226S"> </span> <span style="color: #000080"><u><strong>PRAYING FOR THE FIELD OF EDUCATION IN U.S. SCHOOLS</strong> </u></span></span></p> <li><span style="color: #3366ff"> It is incredible to learn that there are actually people in this country who have played into the wiles of Evil who have wrongfully accused President Obama of an inappropriate speech even BEFORE the speech had been made to American Schools. What I want to know is how can someone accuse another person of intending so say something BEFORE he has been able to say it. This sounds not only UnAmerican, and Un-Christian, but also un-intelligent and unfair. Some odeous people were ranting, crying, and shouting they would be removing their children from school -- which is always their right. Just go on and do it quietly and keep the foul stench of ignorance and unrighteousness to yourself, I say. Cacausian Presidents -- many before this African-American President == have spoken to America's students without fury. African-American's never have accused them of intended racism, nor socialism; so why are Cacausian's accusing this president of socialism and worse: politicism. Not one of them has been "forced" to display their entire speech in the press to convince the public that what they are saying is only words of encouragement. No fairly elected American President should have to go through that. But I commend our President that he has the humility to go on and do so to quell the evil-nature of the beast we are being confronted with. The rouse that a lesson plan that asks students to write how they would help the President is malicious. As a former teacher who assigned such topics (though usually students had their own options in my class), this is not only innocuous, but typical; and that it really is a question of how would students desire to help the country regardless of who the sitting president happens to be. It is similar to JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country", which was universally considered a highly patriotic statement.</span></li> <li> </li> <li><span style="color: #3366ff"> What is more, we are hearing about a minister in his parish in Arizona who has openly said to his congregation that he wants President Obama dead and for his children to be fatherless. This is coming from a man who is supposedly "of the Cloth." Following that, one of his parishioners was seen at a Congressional meeting carrying an automatic rifle. What is this world coming to?!?!?!?!?!!! What are we teaching our children from our actions and words as parents, church, and community. The field of education must help our children make sense of all of this. Not by teaching politics, but in teaching intelligence, and how to read and think for themselves properly. . That is really the basis of it all. <li> </li> <li><span style="color: #3366ff"> Again, I beg of people all over this country to pray also against the Evil that is being dispersed through distractors and detractors in this country who are crying out against President Obama with false allegations, against a man who is in the uppermost position our nation, who only wants to encourage our nation's students to study and do well in school. So again, I ask the members of this site to come together in prayer in support of the person that God has allowed to be put in charge of this country at this moment in time. I have just heard a newscast that reports former First Lady Laura Bush has spoken out saying that she thinks President Obama is doing a good job, and is praising First Lady Michelle. I give her high commendations for this objective, Christian-like response of speaking out amid the evil-mongering of the Right, including those who are ill-advised of her own party. We need more Christians to speak out in righteous indignation against the discord that is going on through both parties in this country. </span></li> <li><span style="color: #3366ff"> </span></li> <li><span style="color: #ff6600"><u>So I pray</u>:</span><span style="color: #3366ff"><span style="color: #339966"><em> Lord, God, help this nation to avert the tragedy of racism and divisiveness. Too many of us who believe in God and this nation's democratic principles are silent, when we should be either speaking out in grace and peace or in open prayer. Father, we all need Thee now more than ever! Show us the way for Thy Peace, Joy and Praise to exist righteously among the people of this land. Not arguing aimlessly in ignorance. We all need to study to show ourselves approved, workmen worthy in Thy sight. Father, help more of us who follow Thee rightly to have the courage to speak up and speak out in a peaceful, judicious manner against the evils that so easily beset us. For we know Thou are the God of Peace and not Confusion. Lord, we love Thee, we honor Thee and we adore Thee. And we will praise Thy name forever. Amen.</span style="color: #3366ff"></em></span></span></li>
- Blog post
- 2 months ago
- Views: 17
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Barack Obama Is Our President
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:
Barack Obama Is Our President
Yesterday evening when President Obama gave his speech at the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan, New York, before a celebrative audience that was honoring the NAACP’s one hundred year anniversary, the President reminded me why I voted for him. Simply, President Obama inspires me to become the best person that I can be. In another life, Barack Obama would have made a great Baptist preacher. Great Preachers have the ability through the use of rhapsodizing sermons to stir positive emotions that lay semi-dormant in the hearts of their parishioners. Consequently, these emotions as channeled by the Preacher in conjunction with an interaction with the Holy Spirit, creates a sense of “oneness” with God that ultimately encourages individuals to be the best that they can be. As our President attempts to guide a “ship” named “United States” through near record unemployment and fiscal pessimism, he like a good Baptist Preacher, must find a way through the use of words, to positively inspire and motivate all Americans to rise and become the best that they can possibly be. Let there be no mistake, President Obama a man of multicultural descent, is quite aware that if the national unemployment rate is 9.5, then in Black and Brown neighborhoods across America, that particular statistic doubles.
“Change” as envisioned by President Obama, begins in the form of providing our youth with a superior education, which in turn will empower them with high self esteem and confidence. High self esteem and confidence are important personal qualities that will prepare America’s youth as they face the challenges of the 21st century. The education of our youth should be rooted in our homes and should be directed and meticulously managed by parents / guardians who understand that it is more important for our Black and Brown children to understand the relativity of an isosceles triangle as it pertains to mechanical engineering, than prioritizing the mechanics of their child’s basketball jump shot. In order to ensure that the “circle of economic inferiority” is forever broken in Black and Brown neighborhoods, there must be a re-dedication to academic excellence as overseen by adults who are willing to become mentors to our youth.
Between 1910 and 1930 nearly one million Black and Brown Americans migrated from the South to the North in hope of creating a better way of life for themselves and their family. During this timeframe, a Black renaissance was born from the minds of educated Blacks in cities across America. It’s been 99 years since our first and last Black renaissance in America. If you listened closely to President Obama as he spoke to the audience, he directly challenged Black and Brown America to become economically empowered through education. Education is the key that unlocks economic opportunities and shatters “glass ceilings”. In commemoration of the NAACP’s 100 year anniversary, and the 99 years since the birth of the 1910 Black American renaissance, let us as Black and Brown Americans today make a pledge to begin a new renaissance of education which begins in our homes, in our places of worship and in our schools. No more excuses my people, we must become more involved in steering our youth toward economic independence and global empowerment via love and via education as we take an active stand in preparing our children to be the best Americans that they can possibly be.
In closing I’d like to end this article with the last paragraph of Maya Angelou’s “Still I rise” poem:
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise. - Blog post
- 4 months ago
- Views: 55
- Not yet rated
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President Obama: Running the G
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:
President Obama: Running the Gauntlet
Merriam-Webster defines the word “gauntlet” as a double file of men facing each other and armed with clubs or other weapons with which to strike at an individual who is made to run between them. Now that we have the definition of the word gauntlet out of the way, as used in this article, let us address President Obama’s most recent “running of the gauntlet” that originated this past week with the President’s two day meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and former head of the Russian KGB / former Russian President / current Russian Prime Minister –who by the way in hip hop vernacular is still considered by most Russians to be the Russian big baller / Russian shot caller – Mr. Vladimir Putin.
Essentially, the two day meeting between arguably the world’s two most powerful men (Obama and Putin) yielded very little in “ground shaking” significance. As expected, both President Obama and President Medvedev agreed to proceed with the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty which if enacted, would reduce the nuclear offensive warheads between both superpowers by one third. The fallacy of this agreement is that the remaining amount of nuclear weapons -if launched- between both countries against each other, would still destroy the world many times over. God forbid, if nuclear weapons were ever launched between the United States and Russia, aimed at U.S. and Russian cities, the world as we currently understand it, within minutes, would no longer exist.
In terms of foreign policy, because President Obama appears to support the last U.S. administration’s plans for creating a missile defense system in Eastern Europe which by the way the Russians are adamantly against, expect little to no help from Medvedev or Putin in helping Washington cope with Iran’s obsession in obtaining nuclear material that could be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. Such a threat if materialized would certainly incite Israel to conduct a military preemptive strike against Tehran that could ignite an already smoldering Middle Eastern tinderbox into a full blazed Jihad against Israel and Israel’s best friend and ally, the United States. Due to the potential apocalyptic outcome of this “dangerous game” between two superpowers, this phase of President Obama’s “running of the gauntlet” is by far, the most dangerous, “shield up, sword drawn” Mr. President.
President Obama’s official visit to the African country of Ghana this past Saturday marked the President’s first visit to a Sub-Saharan African nation as the President of the United States. Although the selection of visiting Ghana instead of Kenya (Kenya being the birthplace of President Obama’s father) was made as a political gesture in support of how well Ghanaian President, John Atta Mills, is currently running his democratically elected government, Kenyans in general understood as did most of Sub-Saharan Africa the importance of President Obama’s historic visit to this region of Africa. Africa and Black Africans for over two millennia have a history of being exploited by both Arab and European. In fact, an interesting and enlightening novel to read is Chancellor William’s “The Destruction of Black Civilization - Great issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D.”
Conquering Arab and European armies helped paved the way for the establishment of African colonialism, which through its inception, created a system of Black African subjugation. This subjugation provided both Arabs and Europeans the means to ruthlessly rule Black Africans in accordance to religion, skin color and social class. As often taught, people who are divided are a people who are easily conquered. By forcing the conquered Black African to absorb the ruling classes’ religion, values and social order, a de-sensitizing of all things relative to Black African history, beliefs and culture had begun to take root. This unfortunate system which started over two millennia ago is the main problem behind Black Africa’s identity crisis and Black Africa’s governmental troubles.
As President Obama has given hope of a better life (through government) to tens of millions of Americans, tens of millions of Sub-Saharan Africans also see President Obama as a democratic symbol of future hope and future goodness for their own native lands and for their own native people. It is President Obama’s presence in this poor region of Africa that fuels the hope of these proud Black Africans. For some, “Hope” may be just an American political slogan, but for the Black Sub-Saharan African, “Hope” is an idea which they pray will one day unlock the “shackles” of “African mental colonialism” which has only bred war, corruption and human despair. So President Obama, as you and your family mingle with the average Ghanaian who fights to live by the principles of democracy, please understand the importance of your speeches and the importance of your vision for Africa. Please sir, understand that these proud people do not want charity or welfare, what they want translates into a partnership in commerce. The Ghanaian people just like most people worldwide, believe in the adage of “teaching a person to fish” versus giving a person one fish to eat. I think that sending a corps of young MBAs to Ghana and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa as teachers who can teach the intricacies of starting businesses would be a terrific start for a new U.S. / African relationship / partnership. In return for these young MBAs dedication, they can be rewarded in terms of academic debt forgiveness and hire ability status as they too look for future employment in international business. Mr. President, the possibilities are endless. However, for every good deed possible, there are enemies domestic and foreign who will try to thwart such a noble endeavor. Mr. President, in light of the magnitude of this week’s African visit, to successfully pass the second stage of this week’s gauntlet, “helmet on”, “shield up” and “sword drawn”.
In closing, when President Obama returns to Washington, D.C, this week, by far the diciest issue for him to tackle will be Health Care Reform. Recent polls suggest that three out of four Americans want a public option that will enable all working Americans to be able to afford health care protection for themselves and their family should a serious illness occur. As it currently stands, over half of Americans are not properly insured to cover the total expense of medical treatment should a major health problem occur. Unfortunately, it appears that there are several major stumbling blocks for Health Care Reform. Since a public option would empower Americans to have a choice between buying health insurance coverage from the government or buying coverage from a private health insurance company, lobbyists who represent health insurance corporations are waging a hard fought war against any governmental health care coverage plan.
(1st ) It’s always about profit and the increase of profit for the health care insurance companies. (2nd) Although there is a loud cry from Americans to allow a governmental public option, there are members of Congress and the Senate (who by the way have governmental health insurance) that receive large campaign contributions from health insurance corporations. (3rd) As a reward to the health insurance companies for their campaign contributions, certain members of Congress and the Senate turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the plight of struggling Americans that are often forced into bankruptcy as a result of an accumulation of debt that occurs as the under insured / non insured individual attempts to pay the cost for life saving medical procedures. The far majority of Americans pay a monthly health insurance premium that is equivalent in cost to what they pay towards renting an apartment or for what they pay towards their monthly mortgage. Without a supplemental health insurance policy to make up for what their regular health insurance policy does not cover, most Americans cannot afford to become seriously ill. (4th) A legitimate bi-lateral concern is where will the President along with Congress find the money to fund such a mammoth project? With near record unemployment, rising cost of food and gasoline, where does the government find the money to help America’s sick? I don’t know but personally, I’d like to see marijuana legalized and taxed, but hey, that’s a whole new topic. Either way, Mr. President, as you are running through the third and final phase of this week’s gauntlet, please remember, “helmet on”, “shield up”, “sword drawn” and just to be safe, “pistol loaded”, hell, you’re going to need all the protection that you can get. Lions, and Tigers and Bears Oh My!
- Blog post
- 4 months ago
- Views: 82
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Michael Jackson Will Be Missed
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:
Michael Jackson Will Be Missed
For me personally, this is a very difficult article to write. Like so many tens of millions of people worldwide, I am greatly saddened that Michael Jackson has died. Without showing the slightest hint that his time on earth was near its end, the “King of Pop” on June 25, 2009 collapsed at his rented home in Los Angeles, California from an apparent cardiac arrest and breathed his last breath. For weeks, Michael was back at what he loved to do, which was rehearsing and planning the details for his big comeback tour in Europe. Michael Jackson’s comeback tour was supposed to (1) re-establish his appeal and dominance in the music industry and (2) pay off a growing legion of debtors that had accumulated from years of borrowing against his assets. The comeback tour comprised an elaborate series of 50 separate concerts which were scheduled to be performed in London, England before hundreds of thousands of adoring fans. Had I even the slightest inkling that this very talented man was about to die, I might have set aside some time to re-examine my own personal hang-ups that I have about Michael Jackson the man. Personal convictions prevent me from “glossing over” doubts and concerns that I have about Michael’s bizarre behavior over the last two decades of his life. It’s because of these doubts that I struggle to find the right words in expressing how I feel about losing a person that has been apart of my life as an entertainer since I was nine years old. What I’m trying to say is that on one hand I revere Michael Jackson as being the greatest entertainer of my lifetime, yet on the other hand I am taken aback by how as an adult, he cosmetically altered his facial appearance to the point that he no longer looked “human”. I am confused to why Michael Jackson the grown man was so fascinated and attracted to things that were in nature, juvenile / pubescent. Additionally, Michael’s rejection of his Afrocentric features and his apparent obsession to obtain a “Caucasian look” has always been a source of irritation for me and countless other Blacks who love and take pride in how God uniquely formed his Black children.
When Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 he was only 50 years old. Although some may argue that Michael Jackson did not look well, his untimely death came as a shock to his fans and music lovers around the world. From Brooklyn to Moscow, fans grew up listening and dancing to the music that Michael Jackson gave us. The world’s love affair with Michael began in 1968 when he first burst upon the music scene as the lead singer of the family group “The Jackson 5”. The fact that Michael Jackson electrified audiences with his singing and his dancing cannot be disputed. It was clear to most people who followed the Jackson 5 that little Michael was the most talented performer in the group. Michael often attributed his style of dancing from watching as a little boy, Jackie Wilson and James Brown as they glided across the stage and captivated their audiences with complicated dance moves that made words like “Funky” a common household expression in Black America.
Michael and his family were originally from Gary, Indiana which because of it’s proximity to Chicago, is sometimes referred to as being “South Chi-Town”. The seventh child born from Katherine and Joseph Jackson, Michael was destined to become the brightest star of a family that would soon take the music industry and the world by storm. His father, as did most people who lived in Gary, worked as a steel worker but unlike most of the people in his neighborhood, Joseph dreamed of one day leaving Gary and making it big as a musician and a singer. Although fate may not have made the senior Jackson a star, fate was directing Joseph Jackson to take notice that his children had a talent for singing and playing musical instruments that would soon set them on a course that would enable them to permanently leave the steel mills of Gary, Indiana for the bright lights of Los Angeles, California. Under the hard and demanding mentorship of their father, brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael went from performing in small clubs to eventually being signed in 1968 by Berry Gordon who owned Motown Records.
The achievements of Michael and his brothers is truly an American success story. The Jackson 5 went from being an obscure singing group from Gary, Indiana to an internationally known singing phenomenon that had teenagers and adults wanting to hear more from them. “I want you back”, “ABC”, “The Love you save” and “I’ll be there” made The Jackson 5 the first act in recorded history to have their first four major label singles hit number one on American music charts. Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 because of their popularity helped America integrate before most people even knew what the word “integration” meant. Before Michael and his talented brothers, there were no other Black kids that came via television into the living rooms of White families across America. Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 broke racial and color lines during a time in America when Blacks still had separate rest rooms from Whites in restaurants and bus stations in the deep South. The Jackson 5 was so popular that they were even made into a Saturday morning cartoon.
As Michael and his brothers grew older and they became more business savvy, they left Motown Records in 1975 for Epic Records and continued to blaze the charts with songs like “Dancing Machine” and “Shake your body (down to the ground). But as fate would have it, in 1978, Michael Jackson during his acting stint as the Scarecrow in the musical “The Wiz” was introduced to Quincy Jones and with the collaboration of “Q”, Michael made magic with his fifth solo album (but first with Epic) which was entitled “Off the wall”. Released by Epic Records in 1979, it was the first album to generate four U.S. top 10 hits, including the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You. Overall, the album “Off the wall” sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Michael Jackson the superstar had arrived !
In 1982, Epic Records released Michael’s second album entitled, “Thriller” and in true Michael Jackson style, “Thriller” thrilled the world. The “Thriller” album sold over 110 million copies worldwide, making it the highest selling album of all time. The album remained in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. Seven singles from Thriller concurrently hit the Billboard Hot 100 top 10, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'. In 1987, five years after the “Thriller” album, Michael and Epic Records released the “Bad” album which produced the hit songs, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana. Although modest in terms of album sells in comparison to the “Thriller” album, “Bad” sold over 30 million copies.
As an entertainer Michael Jackson was the undisputed king of Pop music. Michael Jackson was one of a handful of musical artists that has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He has sold over 750 million records worldwide, received 13 Grammy Awards and as a testament to his unparalleled success, Michael Jackson has 13 number one singles. Guinness World Records list Michael Jackson as the most successful entertainer of all time, of all time. What many people have forgotten is that Michael Jackson was a philanthropist. In between racking up countless awards as an entertainer, Michael Jackson found time to set up foundations which concentrated on helping children around the world live a better life. In 1984 Michael co-wrote the charity single "We are the world" with Lionel Richie, which was released worldwide to aid the poor in Africa and the United States. One of 39 artists that performed on the single, “We are the world” sold over 20 million copies.
In closing, in addition to Michael Jackson being the undisputed “King of Pop”, Michael Jackson was a devoted son to his parents, a loving brother to his many brothers and sisters, and a very shrewd business man. Michael was also a loving father to his three children and found time to marry twice. Regardless of what I or others may think about his eccentricities, God is the Ultimate Judge and because I have my own glass house that I live in, I want to remember Michael Jackson as the entertainer that I grew to love as a nine year old kid in Brooklyn, New York, as a teenager in Virginia Beach, Virginia and as an adult that periodically will try to “bust a move” while listening to “Billie Jean”. As I sit back and reflect, Michael’s music will definitely be played in the parlor where Daddy and Sharon are waiting for me. Ma, hook up those collards and ham, I need some good food to eat after doing a whole lot of dancing.
May God Bless your Soul Michael Jackson. You were given a beautiful gift from God to share with the rest of the world and for that I am grateful. Rest in peace my Brother.
- Blog post
- 5 months ago
- Views: 90
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TN Republican Staffer Caught F
- From: pinkiehot52
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Description:
Mon Jun 15, 2009 at 02:35:58 PM PDT
(From the diaries. SusanG)
Here in Tennessee, our politicians (Republican and Democrat) still have not yet figured out that anything they do or say will be subject to scrutiny in the blogosphere, and that nothing they put online is private anymore.
Further adding to the tragicomedy that is Tennessee politics, we are forced to deal with some of the most vicious racism you'll ever see without a white hood. Whether it's implying that African-American Senate candidate is "going to steal all the white women," or implying that your African-American Presidential candidate is an anti-Semitic Muslim (whose middle name, by the way, is "Hussein"), Tennessee Republicans have truly mastered the art of the dogwhistle.
But this new one takes the cake.
Earlier today, a legislative staffer forwarded well-known West Tennessee blogger Newscoma
a picture they had been sent from another staffer. It's supposed to be an "historical keepsake photo" of the Presidents. But no picture of President Obama--instead, just a "spook."Because, haha, in addition to being another word for a ghost, "spook" is also a racial slur against African-Americans! Funny! Not.
The staffer who originally sent around the picture has now been revealed to be Sherri Goforth, an executive assistant for Republican State Senator Diane Black of Gallatin (a suburb of Nashville). When contacted by Nashville Is Talking/WKRN Channel 2 (our ABC affiliate) blogger Christian Grantham, not only did Goforth refuse to apologize, all she could do was claim that she had simply sent it "from the wrong email address. In other words, not sorry that she sent out a blatantly racist email, only sorry that she got caught.
Well, yes, she did get caught. And now it's all over the TN blogosphere, and will be on the news tonight.
For those of you not familiar with her boss, Senator Diane Black, she's a Republican who was the main Senate sponsor of S.J.R. 127, a trigger amendment passed this year that, if passed in one more legislative vote and by a ballot initiative, will allow abortion to quickly be banned in Tennessee should Roe v. Wade ever be overturned. She also rudely cancelled a meeting with GLBT activists from her own district (you know, people she was elected to represent) at the last second by saying that they "wouldn't change her mind" and therefore she didn't even need to hear from them. So in other words, a really charming individual who's doing SO MUCH for the people of her district.
Honestly, everytime I think my capacity to be shocked over the dogwhistle tactics the Tennessee GOP uses to appeal to the worst instincts of their based has been diminished, I quickly realize how wrong I am. What truly pisses me off is not even the racism, it's that this sort of racism is being spread on my taxpayer dime. I'm sure the conservatives are gearing up now to say, "Oh, come on you ultra-PC lib'ruls, it's just a JOKE, lighten up!" But even if this were "just a joke" (which it's obviously not), we the taxpayers are paying you to do the state's business, not to send around racist "jokes."
If you're in Tennessee and want Senator Black to know exactly what you think of what her office is doing on your dime, consider dropping her a line:
5 Legislative Plaza.
Nashville, TN 37243-0218
Phone (615) 741-1999
sen.diane.black@capitol.tn.govUPDATE 1: This story is starting to go national, with The Atlantic and Wonkette both on it. Once again, the TNGOP has made us the laughingstock of the whole country.
UPDATE 2: Tennessee Democratic Party chairman Chip Forrester calls on Diane Black to fire Goforth. Also, visit here to learn about the training sessions the TNDP is planning to conduct around Tennessee to Save Our State from the GOP.
This was in the daily KOS.
- Blog post
- 5 months ago
- Views: 95
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GOP Activists Compares Michell
- From: pinkiehot52
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Description:
South Carolina GOP activist and former chairman of the state elections commission Rusty DePass has apologized for saying a gorilla that escaped from a zoo was an "ancestor" of Michelle Obama.
The controversy started when FITSNews, a local politics Website, obtained a screengrab of DePass's comment on Facebook.
After an aide to state Attorney General Henry McMaster detailed the escape of the gorilla from Columbia's Riverbanks Zoo, DePass responded with a comment: "I'm sure it's just one of Michelle's ancestors - probably harmless."
DePass later admitted to WIS News that he was referring to Michelle Obama and said, "I am as sorry as I can be if I offended anyone. The comment was clearly in jest."
DePass, who was a county co-chair for Rudy Giuliani's 2008 campaign, supported the push to impeach President Bill Clinton in the late 90s, writing in an op-ed for The State, "Do Republicans have higher moral standards than Democrats?"
Watch CNN's report on the controversy:
GOP Activists Compares Michelle Obama To A "Gorilla"
Put this in your youtube.com browser window to see video.
When I first read this I assumed he was referring to his mother or his own knuckle dragging ancestor's.
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- Blog post
- 5 months ago
- Views: 69
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The Big Hate
- From: pinkiehot52
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Description:Op-Ed Columnist
The Big Hate
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Back in April, there was a huge fuss over an internal report by the Department of Homeland Security warning that current conditions resemble those in the early 1990s — a time marked by an upsurge of right-wing extremism that culminated in the Oklahoma City bombing.
Conservatives were outraged. The chairman of the Republican National Committee denounced the report as an attempt to “segment out conservatives in this country who have a different philosophy or view from this administration” and label them as terrorists.
But with the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-abortion fanatic, closely followed by a shooting by a white supremacist at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the analysis looks prescient.
There is, however, one important thing that the D.H.S. report didn’t say: Today, as in the early years of the Clinton administration but to an even greater extent, right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment.
Now, for the most part, the likes of Fox News and the R.N.C. haven’t directly incited violence, despite Bill O’Reilly’s declarations that “some” called Dr. Tiller “Tiller the Baby Killer,” that he had “blood on his hands,” and that he was a “guy operating a death mill.” But they have gone out of their way to provide a platform for conspiracy theories and apocalyptic rhetoric, just as they did the last time a Democrat held the White House.
And at this point, whatever dividing line there was between mainstream conservatism and the black-helicopter crowd seems to have been virtually erased.
Exhibit A for the mainstreaming of right-wing extremism is Fox News’s new star, Glenn Beck. Here we have a network where, like it or not, millions of Americans get their news — and it gives daily airtime to a commentator who, among other things, warned viewers that the Federal Emergency Management Agency might be building concentration camps as part of the Obama administration’s “totalitarian” agenda (although he eventually conceded that nothing of the kind was happening).
But let’s not neglect the print news media. In the Bush years, The Washington Times became an important media player because it was widely regarded as the Bush administration’s house organ. Earlier this week, the newspaper saw fit to run an opinion piece declaring that President Obama “not only identifies with Muslims, but actually may still be one himself,” and that in any case he has “aligned himself” with the radical Muslim Brotherhood.
And then there’s Rush Limbaugh. His rants today aren’t very different from his rants in 1993. But he occupies a different position in the scheme of things. Remember, during the Bush years Mr. Limbaugh became very much a political insider. Indeed, according to a recent Gallup survey, 10 percent of Republicans now consider him the “main person who speaks for the Republican Party today,” putting him in a three-way tie with Dick Cheney and Newt Gingrich. So when Mr. Limbaugh peddles conspiracy theories — suggesting, for example, that fears over swine flu were being hyped “to get people to respond to government orders” — that’s a case of the conservative media establishment joining hands with the lunatic fringe.
It’s not surprising, then, that politicians are doing the same thing. The R.N.C. says that “the Democratic Party is dedicated to restructuring American society along socialist ideals.” And when Jon Voight, the actor, told the audience at a Republican fund-raiser this week that the president is a “false prophet” and that “we and we alone are the right frame of mind to free this nation from this Obama oppression,” Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, thanked him, saying that he “really enjoyed” the remarks.
Credit where credit is due. Some figures in the conservative media have refused to go along with the big hate — people like Fox’s Shepard Smith and Catherine Herridge, who debunked the attacks on that Homeland Security report two months ago. But this doesn’t change the broad picture, which is that supposedly respectable news organizations and political figures are giving aid and comfort to dangerous extremism.
What will the consequences be? Nobody knows, of course, although the analysts at Homeland Security fretted that things may turn out even worse than in the 1990s — that thanks, in part, to the election of an African-American president, “the threat posed by lone wolves and small terrorist cells is more pronounced than in past years.”
And that’s a threat to take seriously. Yes, the worst terrorist attack in our history was perpetrated by a foreign conspiracy. But the second worst, the Oklahoma City bombing, was perpetrated by an all-American lunatic. Politicians and media organizations wind up such people at their, and our, peril.
- Blog post
- 5 months ago
- Views: 71
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You're Playing Us Too Close
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:
You're Playing Us Too Close
Extreme right-wing talking heads have blood on their hands and I’m mad as hell. My anger is spilling out in the form of two questions that I’m not sure can be answered. My first question is, where were the Feds who should have been monitoring convicted felon James Von Brunn, the 88 year old white supremacist who went to the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C this past Wednesday and opened fire, killing Mr. Stephen Tyrone Johns, a security guard who gave his life to protect the lives of people who were visiting the museum? My second question is, where were the moderate right-wingers (including the killer’s wife) who personally knew this angry old man and could have warned local and federal authorities that a crazed extremist (who some moderate right-wingers probably placated as a “soldier” in their anti-Obama, anti-government campaign), was on the verge of killing innocent people?
Enough is enough. The Limbaughs, Hannitys, Bachmanns and thousands of others like them (including the house negroes Keyes and Steele) who fit the bill for spreading hate and fear on airwaves and cyber space should all be put on notice by the Feds that their anti-government rhetoric has crossed a line which will no longer be tolerated. I’m quite sure that somewhere on the “legal books” there has to be a federal law that prohibits the incitement of hate and violence. If there isn’t such a law, then let’s get one passed by congress. I am so personally sick of hearing about crazies who claim that they are angry because “White people are losing their rights” and that “White people are an endangered species in America”. For White folk who have this irrational phobia - and I’m only addressing those White folk with this phobia, “Get the freak over it”. This ain’t the land of Ozzie and Harriet anymore. Wally Cleaver was a weak athlete, Kato is no longer the Green Hornet’s driver and Black, and Brown Americans no longer sit at the back of the bus unless we want to!
For the crazies who think that they have it bad, a little “food for thought”, - If the national unemployment rate in America (which is supposedly one of the factors that has driven “Angry White Americans” over the edge), is close to 10%, then what is the unemployment rate for Black and Brown Americans?
I’m not one to advocate violence but I think that there are far more Marcus Garvey’s and Malcolm X’s in the United States today in 2009 than there are Dr. King’s and Mahatma Ghandi’s. I apologize if I sound disrespectful to the memory of Dr. King; I mean no disrespect to the great MLK or his legacy, however, just like the fictional character “Virgil Tibbs” from the 1967 movie “In the heat of the night”, if “an adversary” has the nerve to slap my face, then that adversary should expect a stronger backhand to immediately come across their face. Case closed. But before I go off the deep end, let me state that I know that the crazies want violent confrontation. I know this. Why do you think that they’re always crying about the right to bear arms? Folks, we Americans and I mean all Americans need to sit up and take notice. The crazies are desperate and they feel cornered. They are beside themselves that America has evolved and they are livid because opportunities that were once reserved solely for White folk are rapidly disappearing.
The best way to defeat these “rats” who feel that their backs are up against the wall, is to demand that local and federal law agencies do everything that they can to stamp out hate groups. Flood your local and national newspaper editors with phone calls and emails that express your concern with right-wing nuts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin (poor Michelle, she’s an Asian who has obviously played with too many blonde Barbie dolls). Americans, Stop buying the merchandise that is sold by sponsors who pay the salaries of these nuts. Organize. Make some noise and stand up and be heard. My Lord, these fools honestly think that it’s 1939 and we’re living in “Old Dixie”.
In closing, I’d like to leave you with the words from a song written by Stevie Wonder for the reggae band “Third World” entitled, “You're playing us too close” which I’m dedicating to all those angry White folk who think that through gutless acts of terrorism, that they will be able to intimidate Black, Brown and Jewish Americans. – “Jobless people starving babies spreading over the land. More oppression to the have nots is how you play your hand. More world fighting is the writing from those say they know, and if that's true we know just who you'll be picking to go, but the beat you are playing to what Jah is saying is wrong, and we do recommend that you stop before it's too far gone. And I just got to say you're playing us too close”.
Crazies, you’ve been warned!
- Blog post
- 5 months ago
- Views: 97
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Sotomayor and the Politics of
- From: pinkiehot52
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Description:
threeup_js('Politics', '208589', '1');document.write('Your request is being processed...'); Your request is being processed...
Oh really?
When a middling black student from Holy Cross goes on to Yale Law School, graduates in the middle of his class and is rated by the American Bar Association between "qualified" and "not qualified," the right festoons him with laurels. Clarence Thomas, you see, reaffirmed the comforting notions many in the right have about the supremacy of white maleness. George the First nominated him clearly because any black jurist would do and there he stands today, a reassuring beacon of black inferiority.
(I'm not saying that the first George Bush wouldn't have picked a more qualified black arch conservative if there had been one laying around. In matters of race the first George Bush wasn't such a bad egg.)
Nevertheless, for the far right his nomination was a wet dream and the humiliating effect on competent black folks is the same.
Sotomayor's been dealing with this crap for years. The LA Times reports today that in law school she sued a white-shoe Washington law firm for the exact same kind of white-male- supremacist attitudes the right is regurgitating her way right now.
The complaint resulted from a dinner conversation between Sotomayor and a Shaw Pittman partner, Martin Krall. According to news reports at the time, Krall asked her whether she would have been admitted to law school if she were not Puerto Rican and whether law firms did a disservice by hiring minority students with inferior credentials and then firing them a few years later.
Look, race is a factor in our nation. Our current President wouldn't have flourished in Chicago politics nor burst onto the national scene after his 2004 convention speech were it not for the color of his skin. During the last primaries, had their races been reversed, the more progressive John Edwards would probably have stolen Obama's base and President John McCain would now be carpet bombing Afghanistan. However what the President and judge Sotomayor show us is the excellence of the American melting pot. African-American, Hispanic-American and female exceptionalism.
- Blog post
- 6 months ago
- Views: 42
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Mr. Cheney, You Did Not Keep U
- From: pinkiehot52
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Description:
If 3,000 Americans had been killed on your watch, in an attack that could have been prevented, perhaps you'd be a little hesitant to accuse anyone else of endangering America. And if you had advocated torture, and the torture produced false information that you used to mislead America into an unwise, unjust and unwarranted war, you might be a tad sheepish about defending the use of torture.
Not Dick Cheney. Mr. Cheney has stepped up his attack on Pres. Obama's security strategy, telling CBS's Bob Schieffer that Obama's refusal to use waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" (i.e., torture) endangers American lives.
The truth is the Bush-Cheney policies did not keep us safe, and Mr. Cheney is not a credible spokesman on issues of national security.
First, this awkward fact. When it came time to risk his hide to serve our country during the Vietnam War, Cheney got five draft deferments. He later told the Senate, "I had other priorities in the sixties than military service." John Kerry did not. Nor did John McCain. Nor Gen. Colin Powell, nor Gen. Jim Jones, nor Gen. Wes Clark, nor Jim Webb. These warriors - and so many others - strongly oppose the use of torture. They were willing to die to protect America. It is insulting for a doughy draft dodger like Mr. Cheney to suggest they would endanger us today.
Indeed, the public record offers evidence that torture has endangered American security. Not only by breeding more terrorists, but by producing false intelligence - which Mr. Cheney and President Bush used to mislead America into invading Iraq.
The case of Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi is instructive. Al-Libi was a senior al Qaeda operative captured trying to make his way out of Afghanistan into Pakistan. In US custody, he initially said he knew of no connection between Saddam and al Qaeda, and, according to Newsweek, "he had difficulty even coming up with a story about the relationship between the two." An FBI agent urged that al-Libi be read his rights and be treated with respect, "as a shining example of what we feel is right." There was a practical, as well as moral, reason not to torture al-Libi: veteran interrogators believe establishing a rapport with a prisoner is the key to obtaining actionable intelligence. There are reports that, after hours of bonding with his FBI interrogator through discussions of religion, al-Libi provided useful information about alleged shoe-bomber Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called "20th hijacker" who was arrested just before 9-11.
But even after the bonding experience, al-Libi continued to deny a link between Iraq and al Qaeda. He was rendered to Egypt, where he faced certain torture. "You're going to Cairo, you know," a CIA agent reportedly told al-Libi at the airport. "Before you get there I'm going to find your mother and I'm going to f*** her."
So much for building rapport.
In Egypt, al-Libi was placed in a coffin-sized box for 17 hours, then beaten. Al-Libi cracked. He gave the information Cheney and his crowd most wanted: a direct link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. Al-Libi, (who reportedly died this week in Libya), said Iraq had provided al Qaeda with training in the use of chemical and biological weapons.
Bingo! Vice President Cheney and others cited the information to justify the war in Iraq. Trouble is, it turned out to be false. As early as February, 2002 - just two months after al-Libi's "confession" -- the Defense Intelligence Agency reported to the White House and the National Security Council that it had doubts about al-Libi's charge. The DIA's Defense Intelligence Terrorism Summary (DITSUM) all but destroyed al-Libi's credibility. The report said, in part:
"However, he (al-Libi) lacks specific details on the Iraqis involved, the CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) materials associated with the assistance, and the location where training occurred. It is possible he does not know any further details; it is more likely this individual is intentionally misleading the debriefers. Ibn al-Shaykh has been undergoing debriefs for several weeks and may be describing scenarios to the debriefers that he knows will retain their interest.
"Saddam's regime is intensely secular and is wary of Islamic revolutionary movements. Moreover, Baghdad is unlikely to provide assistance to a group it cannot control." (Emphasis added.)The timing here matters. In December, 2001 al-Libi, under torture, claims Iraq trained al Qaeda in chemical and biological weapons. Two months later, the Pentagon's intelligence agency says he was probably lying. And yet on September 25, 2002, Condoleezza Rice continued to spread the myth, telling PBS's The News Hour, "We know too that several of the (al Qaeda) detainees, in particular, some high-ranking detainees, have said that Iraq provided some training to al Qaeda in chemical weapons development." Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, President Bush and several other leading Administration officials kept banging the al-Libi drum.
In January 2003, the CIA joined the chorus of skepticism about al-Libi's claim that Iraq trained al Qaeda in chemical and biological weapons, noting al-Libi "was not in a position to know if any training had taken place."
More than a year and a half after al-Libi's claim was discredited by the DIA, and nine months after it was poo-pooed by the CIA, Dick Cheney was still sighting it as Gospel, appearing on Meet the Press on the week of September 11, 2003 and telling Tim Russert, "We learned more and more that there was a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda that stretched back through most of the decade of the '90s, that it involved training, for example, on BW [biological weapons] and CW [chemical weapons], that al-Qaeda sent personnel to Baghdad to get trained on the systems that are involved."
It may well be that torture was used to advance the Bush-Cheney march to war in Iraq rather than to obtain intelligence about al Qaeda plots against the American homeland. A former senior U.S. intelligence official familiar with the interrogation issue told McClatchy Newspapers, "Cheney's and Rumsfeld's people were told repeatedly, by CIA . . . and by others, that there wasn't any reliable intelligence that pointed to operational ties between bin Laden and Saddam, and that no such ties were likely because the two were fundamentally enemies, not allies." Senior administration officials, however, "blew that off and kept insisting that we'd overlooked something, that the interrogators weren't pushing hard enough, that there had to be something more we could do to get that information," he said.Next, consider this inconvenient truth: 9-11 happened on Mr. Cheney's watch. Tom Kean, the Republican co-chair of the 9-11 Commission, has said the attacks could have been prevented. He's right. That fact ought to weigh heavy on Mr. Cheney's conscience. As should these:
- Before they took office, senior Bush administration officials were briefed repeatedly about the al Qaeda threat. Clinton National Security Adviser Sandy Berger told incoming National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, "I believe that the Bush administration will spend more time on terrorism in general, and on al Qaeda specifically, than any other subject.''
- Richard Clarke, the counterterrorism chief under both Clinton and Bush, presented the new Bush-Cheney administration with a plan to roll back al Qaeda. He briefed Dr. Rice on the plan. Nothing. In February, 2001, he briefed Vice President Cheney on the plan. Nothing. Time magazine has reported, "Some counterterrorism officials think there is another reason for the Bush administration's dilatory response. Clarke's paper, says an official, "'was a Clinton proposal.'" If true, Bush and Cheney were allowing partisan politics to endanger America.
- On May 8, 2001 - three months after being briefed by Clarke - Cheney was instructed to chair a task force on terrorism. It did not meet before the 9-11 attacks.
- The FBI asked the Bush-Cheney Justice Department for58 million to beef up its domestic counterrorism capacity by hiring more translators, more field agents and more analysts. The Bush-Cheney Administration told the FBI no.
- Congressional Democrats sought to shift 800 million in the Pentagon budget from Star Wars (the Bush-Cheney faith-based missile defense system) into counterterrorism. The Bush-Cheney administration threatened to veto the entire defense budget. Congressional Republicans sided with Bush and Cheney, and blocked the Democrats from transferring the funds.
- In July, 2001, an FBI agent in Phoenix reported that Middle Eastern men - possibly al Qaeda - were taking flying lessons. He suggested that al Qaeda operatives might be trying to infiltrate the US civil aviation system. His warning was not acted on.
- On August 6, 2001 Pres. Bush received a classified briefing, the President's Daily Brief. On that day, the headline blared: "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." According to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind, Bush told the briefer, "All right. You've covered your ass, now." Dick Cheney, who has called the President's Daily Brief "the family jewels," presumably received the same briefing. Neither Bush nor Cheney acted on it. The "family jewels" were pearls before swine.
And the attack came. Over three thousand Americans were killed. In the heartache and rage that followed, Bush and Cheney instituted their "enhanced interrogation techniques." Uncovering a pending plot against the homeland was, doubtless, an important motivator. But the al-Libi case is a cautionary one. Rather than finding a ticking time bomb, the al-Libi torture may have been used to build a spurious case for war - a war that has weakened America.Perhaps what's most galling about Mr. Cheney is how, without irony, humility or apology, he holds himself out as someone who has protected America when in fact he shirked his responsibility before 9-11 and misled us into war after. The closest Dick Cheney has ever come to fighting for America is when he shot his lawyer in the face.
Related News On Huffington Post:
- Blog post
- 6 months ago
- Views: 44
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Afghanistan and Pakistan – The
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:
Afghanistan and Pakistan – The World’s Real Nuclear Threat
To begin fully understanding why our American armed forces are fighting in Afghanistan it is imperative that Americans first begin by intelligently asking “why are we there?” and “why do we sacrifice blood and treasure for such an ambiguous cause?” In other words, what’s in it for us?
The long and winding road that leads us to understanding “what’s in it for us” begins with Americans first having a rudimentary comprehension of Afghani terrain and Afghani history. In general, Afghanis are a very complicated people. Their history is as diverse and colorful as are the patterns that are woven on tapestries sold by merchants throughout Middle Eastern bazaars.
Geographically, Afghanistan is a country about the size of the state of Texas and is located in southwestern Asia, situated on a landlocked plateau that borders Iran, Pakistan, China, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. In regard to its climate, the country is generally arid to semi arid, with summers that are extremely hot and winters that are extremely cold. Mostly mountainous, with the exception of plains that are located in the North and Southwest, Afghan living is rugged and harsh at its best. Dari Persian and Pashtu are the official languages of the country although there are a multitude of minor languages spoken throughout the country by the many tribes that make up the country’s population of approximately 33 million. The average life span of an Afghani is less than 45 years and death at the hands of foreigners and internal rival tribesmen is nothing new to Afghanis. Generally speaking, Afghanis are descendants of Aryans and Mongols. They are a people who have been invaded by Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Brits, Russians and now Americans. Nearly 100 percent of Afghanis are Muslims. In fairness, to the Muslim faith, nearly 80 percent of Afghanis are Sunni and the other 20 percent are Shi’a. Islam took root in the country sometime around 642 AD and has ever since been the standard used in determining social and religious behavior.
The situation that America now finds itself in as we continue to send our military to fight the Taliban can be traced back to the 1980s when CIA agents by order of President Ronald Reagan, were dispatched to Afghanistan to aid Afghani Guerrilla forces, better known as mujahedeen as they fought against the Soviet Army which had invaded their country in 1979. President Ronald Reagan, along with his foreign advisors believed that aiding the mujahedeen against the Soviets would prevent the spreading of Communism in a region that was already politically unstable and additionally, once the Soviets were eventually kicked out of country, an American presence in Afghanistan would be welcomed by a thankful Afghani government which in turn would enable an unrestricted CIA to spy on Iranian Islamic radicals that were threatening America and American interests. What is noteworthy is that a young and wealthy Saudi by the name of Osama Bin Laden was one of many mujahedeen who received weapons and weapons training from CIA operatives. It’s strange, but knowing this fact conjures memories of Malcolm X and his statement about “Chickens coming home to roost”. One cannot deny the irony of “friends having gone bad” without examining why and how this occurred.
Direct links that soured the relationship between the victorious Taliban and the “Super Power” that helped bring the once mighty Soviet Army to its knees are as follows: (1) The growth of radical Islam in Iran, (2) The United States necessity to spy on Iran, (3) An attempt to spy on Iranian Muslims from Afghanistan, which lest we forget is, a Muslim Country and (4) Not fully articulating Osama Bin Laden’s personal conviction that Afghanistan under the rule of Mullah Omar's Taliban was "the only pure Islamic country" in the Muslim world.
It was after US military bases were established in Saudi Arabia, in response to Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, that Muslim extremists “went over the edge” with anger that Christian nations had set up “military camp” near Islam’s most revered Holy site, which is, Mecca. Thus, we have the genesis of Osama Bin Laden’s Fatah (Holy War) against America and Western Civilization. In retrospect, a monster or star (depending on one’s perspective) is born.
Officially, American fighting forces are currently in Afghanistan to fight for the rights of Afghani women, to stop the flow of heroin in the world and for the perseverance of Afghani democracy. Counter arguments to that propaganda are: (a) Afghani women have the ability to stop abuse by refusing to bear anymore Afghani children, (b) the exportation of heroin is too big of a business worldwide for America to completely stop the trade and (c) Hamid Karzai who is the democratic elected President of Afghanistan is no better (in my opinion) than Tony Soprano, the fictional gangster from the former HBO series, “The Sopranos”. This statement is made with the common knowledge that President Karzai’s brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, who is also the head of the provincial council in Kandahar, routinely manipulates judicial and police officials to facilitate shipments of opium and heroin. Drug Dealing at the highest levels of Afghani government. What's more, Afghani officials' involvement in the drug trade suggests that American tax dollars are supporting the corrupt officials who protect the Taliban's efforts to raise money from the drug trade, money the militants use to buy weapons that kill U.S. soldiers.
So why are our armed forces really in Afghanistan? We are in Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban from obtaining nuclear weapons from Pakistan. It’s just that simple and just that complicated. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan began focusing on nuclear development in January 1972 under the leadership of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and given the ruthlessness and ingenuity of Osama Bin Laden and the network of followers that he supports (and supports him) in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, it’s understandable that President Obama is focused with the eradication of the Taliban. In the vernacular of today’s politicians, “We get it”. However, due to the spread of radical Islam in Afghanistan and Pakistan, we cannot fully trust the Afghani and Pakistani governments to provide us with adequate military intelligence and troop support because of Muslim perception that cooperation with the United States is a threat to Islam and Muslim existence. Neither leader of Afghanistan or Pakistan is eager to be labeled in the Muslim world as accomplices to a Christian government that kill Muslims.
It is difficult for the Western mind to comprehend the religious teachings and social philosophy of the Taliban. The Taliban is a pro-Wahhabi Suuni Islamist fundamentalist religious and political movement that governed Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001. Northern Alliance and NATO forces were successful in removing the Taliban from power in 2001, allowing Hamid Karzai to step in as “the current face of democracy” in a country that has absolutely no concept of the meaning of democracy. The Taliban were and are infamously known for publicly executing violators of their Wahhabi Sunni Islamist fundamentalist brand of Islam that is taught by Mullahs. Women are not allowed an education and are not allowed to be uncovered in public from head to toe. Since 2004, the Taliban has strongly regrouped as a military insurgency that again, threatens the stability of a very shaky semipro-Western Afghani and Pakistani government.
The United States government since 1991 has spent over 500 billion dollars fighting Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and several other radical Islamic groups. Military intelligence reports that Osama Bin Laden is hiding out in the Chitral district of northern Pakistan, a region that has some of the highest mountain ranges in the world. What makes it even more difficult for the United States is that the Muslims that live in this region are people who are fiercely loyal to Bin Laden. Even if we were to locate Bin Laden and kill him, the question is how many new disciples are ready to take his place? For every radical Muslim that we kill, there is another one ready to take his place. What is the end game of this “hide and seek” and what is the cost of this manhunt? Nuclear weapons in Pakistan have empowered religious radicals in Pakistan and bordering countries to constantly keep the United States on edge, our government fearing that a total withdrawal of troops would open the door for nuclear holocaust from an enemy that presently doesn’t represent a country. As a soldier I believed to be victorious on the battlefield an enemy has to be crushed, killed and destroyed. It may sound inhumane, but war is not humane. Soldiers, Marines and Navy / Air Force Special Operations are not trained or programmed to rebuild hospitals, schools and soccer fields that are destroyed in combat. Leave that to civilian engineers. I once knew a Sergeant Major who stated in order to save the world, one would have to (1) unleash the military, (2) subdue the press and (3) kill all the lawyers. Sounds cruel, but think about it, if the press would have known about the US invasion of Normandy in WWII, would the invasion still have remained a secret to the Germans? Either we’re “in it to win it” in Afghanistan or let’s bring the troops home and let the Air Forces’ unmanned drones kill the bad guys. Too much is at stake and we cannot allow nuclear weapons in the hands of a people who beat their women who wear shoes that make noise when walking on dusty trails. So, the question still remains, “What’s in it for us”. I really don’t know, but I hope and pray that a fictional character like Ian Fleming’s James Bond who is capable of single handedly saving the world really exists.
- Blog post
- 6 months ago
- Views: 207
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Requiem of a House Negro
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:
Requiem of a House Negro
After hearing Republican National Chairman Michael Steele refer to President Obama as “The Magic Negro” and after reading an Associated Press article that was written in regard to another capitulation by the Chairman to an ever growing number of mutinous Republican National Committee members that have emasculated Mr. Steele by stripping away his control of how he spends money on behalf of promoting the Republican Party, to include forcing Mr. Steele to rehire former RNC Staffer Jay Banning, whom Chairman Steele had once fired, it has been difficult for me to think about anything other than how pitiful Michael Steele and fellow Black Republican Alan Keyes are as Black men. Failed Republican Presidential Candidate Alan Keyes, in his contempt (and jealousy) for President Obama epitomizes the bitterness felt by ultra right wing crazies who hate President Obama for all the wrong reasons. Besides the constant slandering and criticism of President Obama by Alan Keyes, Mr. Keyes is guilty of being “stuck” on promoting and promulgating the lie that President Obama is not a US citizen.
Using pejorative terms to describe two Black men whose ancestors were kidnapped from their ancestral homeland and chained together in the dark and hot bowels of European slave ships while crossing the Atlantic Ocean, packed like little spoons in a kitchen drawer, forced to live in filth, being fed the equivalent of garbage, and then finally to be regurgitated onto a foreign and hostile land only to be desecrated as humans for almost four hundred years (I highly recommend reading Lerone Bennett’s “Before the Mayflower, A History of Black America, 1619-1962”) does not appeal to me as an African American male. However, in the case of Steele and Keyes, I’ll make an exception to my self- imposed rule of not publicly demeaning African Americans by taking a stand against modern day Uncle Tomism and calling them out as the House Negroes that they truly are. In making the allegation that Steele and Keyes are House Negroes and Uncle Toms, let me make this crystal clear, in my opinion, accepting and adopting Republican ideology does not make an African American a House Negro or an Uncle Tom.
In contrast to the Democratic Party, there are only a handful of Black Republicans and by far, the majority of these Americans are honorable people. Former Secretary of State / General, Colin Luther Powell is a shining example. Black Republicans honestly believe that they, like their White Party members, are indeed patriots, and that America is best governed by the ideology of conservatism. In fact, today’s Republicans are quick to point out in their attempt to deflect their Party’s indifference and intolerance to Black, Brown, Red and Yellow issues, ( in reality we’re not minorities when you add our numbers) that the Republican Party is the Party of the much revered Abraham Lincoln. (Although it can be easily proven that Abraham Lincoln was no lover of Black Folk) In rebuttal to Republican claims of inclusiveness via a connecting of dots that lead to Abraham Lincoln, I must say that today’s Republican Party is not the Republican Party that their grandfathers once belonged to, especially, when demographically speaking, the Republican’s small base of power is concentrated in America’s deep south. And I ain’t just whistling Dixie.
In understanding how Uncle Tomism is defined by Black America, I think that it is best that we start with Harriet Beecher Stowe who in 1851 penned the classic novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. In Miss Stowe’s novel, the character Uncle Tom is characterized as being a righteous martyr that died at the hand of his master, protecting two run away slaves by refusing to betray their whereabouts. Thus, the “Uncle Tom” that evolved from this classic novel, can be described as heroic. In light of this revelation, I can never imagine Michael Steele or Alan Keyes accepting martyrdom by protecting Black Americans.
The second and most modern definition of an Uncle Tom is a Black person who is perceived by others as behaving in a subservient manner to white authority figures, or as seeking ingratiation with them by way of unnecessary accommodation.
Given Mr. Steele’s and Mr. Keyes’ extreme negativity that is directed towards President Obama and in light of their willingness to promote hate and ridicule towards a President that received 95% of the Black vote during the last Presidential elections, it is clear to me that these two men are totally out of touch with Black America. Additionally, to be continuously mocked and rejected by a Party that has little interest in racial diversity and tolerance, yet remain zealously loyal to that Party, only strengthens my belief that both men have adopted the “House Negro Doctrine” (Kudos to Brother Malcolm X) which ensures them a place in the “Big House”. However, entrance into the “Big House” comes at the expense of each of them having to leave their culture and their people behind. Which apparently, they have no problem sacrificing. (Can anyone imagine Alan Keyes with a James Brown ringtone ?) What’s really sad is that no matter how hard they try to ingratiate themselves as loyal Party members by vehemently denouncing President Obama and the President’s policies, members of the Republican Party who actually wield power and authority will only give Mr. Keyes and Mr. Steele a key to the mansion’s back door. Therefore, both Mr. Keyes and Mr. Steele in my opinion, only qualify to be defined in the most modern definition of the word, “Uncle Tom”.
In closing I see both men in years to come as being old, feeble and tormented. As God finally calls them “home” and people gather to pay homage at the funeral, I envision some confusion as to what song should be sung at the closing of the ceremony, however, due to the fact that they probably won’t be allowed to be buried in the same cemetery of the church that they’ve faithfully attended as good Republicans, I recommend that the church choir perform a song that best describes their disposition in life as Black Folk. And what song is that you ask? Well no other than “The Requiem of a House Negro”.
- Blog post
- 6 months ago
- Views: 121
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A Greek hermit, Republicans an
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:
A Greek hermit, Republicans and the Return of “The Street Fighter” – Sonny Chiba
When I sit down to write an article, I’m often challenged by the thought of how in style and format, to present the theme of my article to the reader. I believe that reading should be informative yet fun for the individual who takes the time from his or her busy schedule to read what I am trying to convey in written words. This is why I never try to “impress” my readers with the over use of “twenty dollar words” which some writers use in a narcissistic attempt to prove their literary intellect. To borrow a term from the Republicans, (which I do with much hesitation and unease) I am not an elitist. As my brother Terry would say, “I’m just a poor Black child from the ghetto trying to make it”. Additionally, I believe what I write should be historically accurate and from my heart. Which brings me to today’s article which is entitled in abbreviation, “The Hermit”.
I remember many years ago reading a story about a man named Diogenes who lived in ancient Greece approximately four hundred years before the birth of Christ. It is believed that Diogenes was born from a very wealthy family and that his father, Hicesias was a successful banker. As a young man, Diogenes was a pupil of Antisthenes who himself was a pupil of the Greek philosopher Socrates. So, it can be assumed that the young Diogenes of Greece was well educated and lived a life surrounded by the very best that money could buy. What I think is particularly interesting about Diogenes’ story is that he like his father, ventured into banking and became independently wealthy, however, because of a banking scandal that he was personally involved in, (it is believed that he defaced for political reasons, coins that were used as Greek currency) Diogenes was exiled from his home town of Sinope. Stripped of his opulence and social status, Diogenes was forced to live a life of a hermit, living in a bathtub and walking the streets of Athens holding a lit lantern both night and day in search of an honest man who could restore his faith in all that he believed to be best for himself and his beloved Greece.
OK, I might be slightly twisted in how I think, but I see a very distinct parallel between Diogenes, a successful banker born of extreme wealth and privilege who was ultimately disgraced because of his personal involvement in banking crimes, and the picture most American voters conjure when they think of an image that represents today’s Republican Party. It’s no secret that the Republican Party because of their ideology of deregulating the banking industry, which in itself, led to miscalculations and crimes that nearly crippled the world’s economies, has been disgraced and “exiled” from many governmental seats of power that they once held.
Today, as Republicans try to cope with a multitude of political defeats and the fact that they’re no longer the “top dog” on the block, I am often amused and in complete amazement as I see contending Republican Party leaders one by one being paraded (in Virginia Beach, Virginia we would call it being “pimped”) on television and radio, as the Party attempts (like Diogenes the hermit, walking with his lit lantern in hand) to find the “golden child” who will permanently destroy America’s positive image of President Barack Obama and will restore the Republican Party to the Ronald Regan “golden era” of power and prominence (in their minds) that older Republicans gleefully recall (as spittle dangles from their chin) in the mode of telling bedtime stories to their grandchildren and in the manner of misty eyed interviews given on Fox News. In half jest, I believe that most Republicans dream of an America where one out of every two schools and every Navy aircraft carrier is named after Ronald Regan and the United States is viewed globally as an empire, backed by our military, which by the way is manned by every American male child (no gays need apply) whose family isn’t in the top 3% income bracket. In this Republican Party utopia, “Praise God and pass the ammunition” would follow every “real Christian’s” amen and all of America’s minorities would know their place without questioning the laws that are legislated by the state. (Kind of reminds me of the old Dixiecrats mantra) Indeed I believe that deregulated banks and insurance companies are the bedtime fantasies that places a smile on most Republican sleeping faces as they dream of profits that always benefit Wall Street CEOs and stock holders more than they benefit the financial interests of the average American who toil long hours in offices, factories, on highways and in fields, as they struggle to provide shelter, food and clothing for their families.
It is not my belief that all Republicans are deranged and evil, but, what am I and others to think when we hear the anti-American ramblings of Limbaugh, Hannity, Bachmann, Beck, and Chuck Norris. Yes, even the American icon, Chuck Norris has fallen into the trap of conservative media’s hypnotic mind control. Mr. “Karate Man” has just recently predicted while giving an interview on Glen Beck’s radio show that Texans would pick up their guns in revolution against President Obama and the United States Government and in the end, Texas would secede from the United States allowing him to be Texas’ president. I’m NOT making this up… where’s Brother Bruce Lee to kick off into Mr. Norris’ old deranged butt when you need him? Hell, does anyone have Sonny Chiba’s phone number ? Anyway… in remembering the scene from Eddie Murphy’s “Coming to America”, where the young African Prince (Eddie Murphy) hands a bagful of money to the homeless Duke Brothers who like Diogenes had gone from riches to rags, Democrats should never forget that by chance, there is always a comeback. My only hope is that when the Republican Party is afforded the opportunity to lead our country again, (trust me, life and politics are cyclical) that they will have purged themselves of their current “political discontents” and will have found via Diogenes example of keeping a lantern lit night and day, that one honest person who will not forget that America is an ever changing country that embraces both liberal and conservative values.
Presently, President Obama is in a position to nominate a new Supreme Court Justice due to Justice David Souter announcing his plans to retire from the Supreme Court. President Obama’s nomination will mark the first time in fifteen years that a President who is a Democrat will be afforded that opportunity. My personal guess is that President Obama will select Sonia Sotomayor who is a judge originally from the Bronx, New York. I believe her nomination and eventual confirmation as a Justice on the country’s highest court is the best for our country and it would be terrific for instilling pride in an ever growing Hispanic American population. Not to mention, being from the Bronx, she would definitely keep it real ! I wonder how the “hermits in exile” will respond. Only time and lit lanterns will tell. So, in closing, if you see Republican National Chairman Michael Steele in your neighborhood pushing a bathtub and holding a lit lantern in broad daylight, don’t be alarmed, he’s just looking for Chuck Norris.
- Blog post
- 6 months ago
- Views: 156
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My Favorite Hate Email From th
- From: pinkiehot52
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Description:
Frank Schaeffer
I received this email from a priest. At least it was signed! (The misspelling of the President's name, double question marks, capitalization etc., is in the original.)
Frank, I just read that you are supporting the pro-abortionist Barach Hussein Obama... Now you support a man who is the dream come true of everything ANTI-Christian. Are you no longer Christian?? I was stunned... Please respond, How could you post on the Huffington Post, the most anti-Christian, anti-traditional site?? These people HATE everything Christianity stands for!
In Christ, Father G.Rant starts here: I can only imagine the steady diet of junk ideology that must have been pouring from right wing web sites, evangelical leaders, talk radio and bizarre newsletters into Fr. G's head to have pushed him -- a priest no less, supposedly a confessor, shepherd and comforter -- to put politics ahead of faith and thus berate a complete stranger and question his faith on the basis of who that stranger voted for or what web sites he writes for!
The Religious Right has seduced millions of Americans with titillating hatred and lies, including people like Fr. G. Lies -- the Earth was created in six days and is not warming, Obama is a secret Muslim -- perhaps the Antichrist! -- and wants women to have more abortions, gays are trying to take over America, the United Nations (and/or Obama and/or the president of the European Union) is (also?) the Antichrist, an unregulated free market economy is Christian, guns keep people safe, stem cell research equals infanticide, capital punishment is good, immigrants are the enemy etc., -- are accepted as truth by a whole substrata of "Christians" determined to judge their country as "fallen away from God" because they don't agree with their fellow citizens' politics.Appeals to facts get nowhere with these folks because they don't trust any sources but their own emanating from an alternative right wing universe, so arguments become circular. The more impartial, serious or academic the source, the more suspect it becomes. Propaganda, fulminating (and fund raising), hate of gays, women, our government, big city folks, the educated "elite," everything-not-like-us-"Real-Americans," supplants compassion and even common sense. And one is guilty by association. Write for the "wrong" people -- "these people" in the words of Fr. G -- vote for the "wrong" president, and it's off to the stake.
It's not fair to hold fundamentalists, even ones masquerading as priests -- I say "masquerading" because nothing could be further from the spirit of faith than Fr. G's smoldering email -- to a higher standard than the rest of us. Fr. G's lack of connection to reality, let alone the compassionate tradition of his beliefs (or to simple manners) is a symptom of the larger American entertainment-oriented and compartmentalized moron culture we live in and have all been tainted by.
The late Neil Postman, author, New York University professor and prophet, predicted how and why people such as Fr. G would be living in a half-assed dream world cut off from reality. Postman was best known for his 1985 book about television, Amusing Ourselves to Death, in which he wrote:
Television is altering the meaning of 'being informed' by creating a species of information that might properly be called disinformation. Disinformation does not mean false information. It means misleading information -- misplaced, irrelevant, fragmented or superficial information -- information that creates the illusion of knowing something, but which in fact leads one away from knowing....What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumble puppy.
Postman is not the only person to have accurately predicted where we were headed and the sort of society that our disjointed news media-as-entertainment, texting as "writing," blogging as "news," would produce. RoboCop (1987) was a mediocre (and nastily sadistic) little movie but director Paul Verhoeven got one thing right: the "news" shows on TV in his futuristic dystopia. His parody of glib, cheerful trivia clips as news has come horribly true, even more so with the advent of the ideologically divided web, wherein people have their "information" filtered by like-minded ideologues and rarely encounter views they disagree with. As Postman predicted, Huxley's prophetic vision came to pass: we are "a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies."
We live in the spiritual/political/intellectual equivalent to the 1979 movie Mad Max. Unlike that movie's post-apocalyptic landscape, the external trappings of our civilization are in tact but our intellectual life is running on inertia. Metaphorically speaking, if Fr. G is all of our "priest," then his "flock" is made up of the sorts of people that Jay Leno interviewed on the street in his hilarious (and depressing) recurring "Tonight Show" gag where he used to ask questions such as, "who is the vice president?" or "who was Christopher Columbus?" or "finish this saying, a stitch in time saves -- "and most respondents could not answer.We have become a nation of not terribly bright children who essentially have a collective learning disability manifested by an inability to concentrate or defer gratification, hold one thought long enough to see it through to a conclusion or contemplate making real sacrifices for long term benefits. The Fr. Gs of this world are the result.
Frank Schaeffer is a writer. He is author of the forthcoming Patience With God -- Faith For People Who Don't Like Religion (Or Atheism) and also of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back (Now in paperback in bookstores everywhere).
I appreciate this mans writings. He always sheds light on the innner workings of the souls of these people.
- Blog post
- 6 months ago
- Views: 76
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Your request is being processe
- From: pinkiehot52
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Description:
Pat Buchanan acknowledged to MSNBC anchor Tamron Hall on Tuesday that his party is facing a severe "demographic problem" in the years to come -- specifically, the GOP is on its way to becoming an all-white party.
"There's a real demographic problem with the Republican Party," Buchanan said. "It is a heavily white party, quite frankly. And as a share of the electorate, that is diminishing and Hispanics are growing very rapidly, Asians are growing rapidly, and by two-thirds they tend to vote Democratic."
Buchanan told Hall that the party is losing young people as well.
"Young people increasingly are more liberal and more socially moderate, and they move away from the Republican Party," he said. "These things are undeniable, the Republican party ... is in tough shape."
But Buchanan said the party shouldn't be written off just yet, and said Republicans have made impressive comebacks from deep deficits before.
I went though the Goldwater disaster, when we were down to 140 House seats and we were dead forever, and I came with Nixon in '66 and we won 47 House seats and we won 5 out of the next 6 presidential elections. I don't think that's necessarily in the cards, but I think it'd be foolish at this point when Obama is at his peak, really, to write off the Republican party for 2010.
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Become a fan of HuffPost Politics on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.NO ACKNOWLDGEMENT OF BLACK RETHUGS. oH FORGOT THEY DON'T MATTER!
- Blog post
- 7 months ago
- Views: 70
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Lions and Tigers and Bears...O
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:
Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tea Parties, Republicans, Pirates and Torture
Lions and tigers and bears oh my….
For those of us who are old enough to remember L. Frank Baum’s classic novel, “The Wizard of Oz”, we can recollect with childlike giddiness, the many perils that Dorothy and her impromptu entourage encountered as they journeyed together hand in hand through open fields of exotic poisonous flora and enchanted forests that were inhabited by demons and witches. Yet, in spite of the many obstacles and dangers that Dorothy and her group faced, they remained a team, steadfast and focused as they followed the path of the yellow brick road. The purpose of their journey was to obtain an audience with a “larger than life” wizard that ruled a magical land that was named “The Emerald City”. Each member of this team was hopeful that the wizard would empower them individually with a unique gift that would make their lives complete and happy. As it turned out, the wizard was a fraud and Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, were already endowed with their “unique gift” that they had hoped to receive from the charlatan who pretended to be a great and powerful wizard.
In reality, much like the fictional characters in L. Frank Baum’s classic novel, President Barak Obama and his administration are currently traveling on their own “yellow brick road”, a road that ultimately leads them to multiple “Emerald Cities”. As it appears, metaphorically speaking, the President and his “traveling entourage” will sometimes trek on roads that are both dark and dangerous. This “yellow brick road” will lead them to cities both ancient and new. Washington, D.C., Tehran, Baghdad and Kabul are some of the places that his caravan must travel to, in hope of establishing through the use of diplomacy, foundations of peace and prosperity. In route to these metropolises are very real dangers that threaten life, limb and economic stability. It is imperative for the sake of all Americans (and the world) that the President stay focused on the multiple dangers that exist from both foreign and domestic enemies. Let us not be naïve, these enemies are real. They threaten the President’s attempt to stabilize America and American interests by the use of false friendship, misinformation, fear, lies and old prejudices.
A key weapon that our President possesses that assists him in his daily combat against domestic enemies is his ability to multitask. President Obama is able to analyze, design and implement more than one plan at a time and as his enemies try to invent a singular plan to discredit and obstruct the President’s agenda of lifting the “veil of darkness” from past American actions and policies, his enemies due to their inability to “keep up” with the President, often become frustrated and resort to name calling. (As illustrated in their McCarthy like tactic of branding the President as being a socialist and communist) It only stands to reason as President Obama becomes more “seasoned” as the leader of the “Free world”, that he will only get better at utilizing the unique gifts that he already possesses as he interacts with the “wizards” who dwell in both domestic and foreign “Emerald Cities”.
Now, in regard to last week’s pseudo patriotic “Tea Parties” which were held in a handful of cities and towns across the country, let there be no misunderstanding, the highly politicized “Tea parties” that were televised mostly on Fox News and CNN (Lou Dobbs) were mostly “I hate Obama” demonstrations. These demonstrations were monetarily sponsored by Republican Party lobbyists who represent the political “pushback” that has come mostly from the multibillion dollar health insurance and banking industries that genuinely have great disdain for the changes that President Obama represents to their particular industry. In regard to the majority of the “Tea Party” participants, it truly boggles the mind how these mindless sheep who call themselves patriots, did not plan or organize not one single demonstration against the Gestapo like GW Bush administration even though these so-called patriots were aware that the Bush administration was selling out their children and their grandchildren to the Communist Chinese for untold billions of dollars a month in loans to fight an ambiguous war in Iraq, a war that was and is ironically being fought by (guess who) their children and their grandchildren. One can only imagine that these mindless sheep dream (as promised in the official Republican Party Gestapo handbook) of one day being promoted from being plantation share croppers to becoming actual plantation owners. (Yeah right…keep drinking the Republican Kool-Aid) What’s really sad for America is that these “I hate Obama” demonstrations which are Republican sponsored, have also attracted a fairly large amount of Neo Nazis and KKK members / sympathizers. It is probable that this amalgamation of extreme right wing ideology and racial hate will only spawn more homegrown anti-government terrorists like Timothy McVeigh, (Oklahoma City bomber) Randy Weaver (of Ruby Ridge infamy) and Branch Davidian leader David Koresh. The Republican Party’s quest to discredit and defame President Obama, (in the name of world dominance and political ideology), have become Dr. Frankenstein, creating a monster that they cannot and will not be able to control and the Tea Party demonstrators that blindly follow a leaderless Republican Party, have unwittingly become Dr. Frankenstein’s “Igor”. Yes, Mr. President, the yellow brick road that leads to the multiple “Emerald Cities” across the United States and the world is a very dangerous road to be travelling on.
Last week, as details came across the news media that three Somali teenagers who were impersonating pirates by kidnapping and holding for ransom an American merchant marine sea captain, were killed by Navy Seals sharp shooters, and the lone surviving “pirate” was being held in American custody, I was relieved that President Obama passed his first test / encounter with terrorism. Republican Party naysayers were silenced as our President calmly demonstrated his ability to again, analyze, design and implement a plan that led to the rescue of an American citizen abroad. Kudos Mr. President.
In closing, I am amazed that most Americans are in “shock” as details unfold about the torture of suspected 9/11 terrorists as directed by GW and his boyz by the CIA and the military. In retrospect, I’m reminded of the movie, “A few good men”, starring Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Tom Cruise and Kevin Bacon, remembering the scene when Tom Cruise portraying a Navy JAG defense lawyer traps the hardcore Marine Colonel as portrayed by Jack Nicholson into admitting that a marine was tortured and killed by fellow marines. I’ll never forget Jack Nicholson as his character defiantly stood up and accused Tom Cruise of not being able to “handle the truth”. This is precisely how I feel about America’s “shock” and “disbelief” of how a “cowboy administration” supported by fake Christians, “handled their business” as they sought to find evidence (by any means necessary) for going to war against Iraq. If I sense that those who read my articles are truly interested in the topic of torture, I will dedicate an article next week to that topic, however, until then, I caution President Obama on shinning a light in places that have a history of being devoid of light. So, President Obama, please remember what happened to JFK as he exposed the demons and witches that lived in the haunted forests that you and your administration must trek through. Lions and tigers and bears….oh my.
- Blog post
- 7 months ago
- Views: 134
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The Lie: "He's taking away our
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:
This blog post is initiated from an email that I received from a friend in Kansas who I guess thought that because I was a soldier for over twenty years, I was "down" with the lies that are being told in regard to President Obama's alledged plan to repeal the Constitution's 2nd Amendment.
From: Ed
Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2009 7:39 AM
To: Greg
Subject: RE: FREE PEOPLE OWN GUNS
Gregg, the new president said during his election that he wanted to take away our guns. Also make the cost of shells so expensive we are unable to buy them. Look what the London times has to say about the war in Iraq. Why is that not in our papers? I do not think it is Democrat or a Republican President it is the press. I only forward these I do not make them or do I necessary agree with them.
Ed///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
This is my response to the above email:
The President NEVER said that he was taking away anyone's guns Ed and you know this ! That is a flat out lie and accusation made every time the Republicans lose an election. Can you post any excerpt from a speech that the President made that makes this claim ? No, you can't because it doesn't exist. I'm really disappointed in you Ed. I've never been a lockstep Democrat or Republican, however, in light of the ignorance that currently festers in the Republican Party I will never vote for a Republican again until the current Republican base (as small as it is) goes away. This Party that you gladly disseminate lies and fear for, via email, is really a Party full of hate and fear mongers. This is McCarthyism in the 21st century ! Stop spreading insanity and fear Ed. This Party that you advocate is the Party of crazy ass Republicans like Michele Bachmann from Minnesota who incites Americans to arm themselves against the government and Spencer Bachus who recently stated that there are currently 17 socialist in congress, however, when pressed to name the Socialists, the man is unable to name one congress member. Sounds like bearing false witness to me. The current Republican base has turned into the Dixiecrats of the 1960s. This country is struggling to stand back up after eight years of total mismanagement. Where were your emails of fear and concern as the last administration sold our country's soul to the Chinese in order to finance a war we can't win militarily ? We sold our country out to the freaking communist Ed ! Where are your emails of disbelief and outrage as Wall Street barons are being exposed as criminals ? This whole approach of inciting fear is pathetic and un-American ! What's really sad is that the leaders at the top of the small Republican base probably aren't even racists; they're mostly ideologues that reek of sour grapes after losing political power. However, they don't mind planting seeds of hate so that their surrogates who are racists can try to connect to other fools that think like them. You know what I mean Ed ? I'm quite sure that you've heard about the comparison between "Curious George" and President Obama on right wing blogging sites ! How many times have you heard the "N" word when describing our nation's President ? The list of racist propaganda goes on and on. The "Press" that you speak of is the conservative media like Fox News and conservative ideologues like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. If you are as fair minded as you claim to be, find me one direct and actual quote from President Obama that said that he plans to repeal the 2nd Amendment. I challenge you. As a Christian you should stop spreading false witness Ed, it tarnishes your image. In fact, the small so-called religious Republican base really needs to look in the mirror and see that the hypocrisy of defending the unborn but not saying a word about dropping bombs on innocent children in Iraq and Afghanistan doesn't add up to being "Christ like". Ed, stop acting like you're only passing on emails without any thought of their repercussions, it insults my intelligence. Greg
- Blog post
- 7 months ago
- Views: 111
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Arizona State University and N
- From: TheSarge1960
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Description:
Hate, hypocrisy and yes, I said it, racism, is alive and kicking in the hallow halls of Arizona State University and Notre Dame. This is part one in a series of two articles that I will write in regard to these two universities that are all but too eager to accept “Jamal” and “Yolanda” as athletes, (it’s all about the Benjamins), but are reluctant in accepting a United States President named Barack Obama. My first piece is written in regard to the blatant disrespect shown by Arizona State University President Michael Crow towards United States President Barack Obama.
I believe that the Huffington Post was the first major news media to break the story that President Barack Obama who is scheduled to be the commencement speaker at ASU this year, would NOT be presented an honorary degree as is the custom for many of ASU’s past commencement speakers. ASU Media Relations Director Sharon Keeler says, unlike other universities, the processes for selecting commencement speakers and honorary degree recipients are independent. Keeler states that honorary degrees are given "for an achievement of eminence" and that President Obama was not considered for an honorary degree because his body of achievements, at this time, does not fit within that standard. Evidently Sharon Keeler, ASU President Michael Crow and company are all hypocritical morons who should (in order to save some face for the university) retire.
Further, I subscribe to the idea that as a way of flexing of our “economic muscle”, our children, relatives and friends should no longer attend Arizona State University as athletes which only lines the pockets of the school each and every time ASU appears in televised games and especially in post season tournaments. Perhaps the lost of money from not having “Jamal” and “Yolanda” playing for their sports programs will rekindle an interest in appreciating the various talents of young Black and Brown student athletes. (Not to mention my Caucasian brothers and sisters who are down with the cause)
OK, let’s list some of President Obama’s “achievements of eminence”. (1) President of the United States of America, (2) Leader of the “Free World”, (3) Professor of constitutional law, (4) Community Organizer, (5) State Senator, (6) First Black President of the Harvard Law Review, and oh…(7) The first Black President of the United States of America.
What was ASU President Crow thinking when he purposely and callously allowed the snubbing of President Obama by denying him an honorary degree from his university? There is a thin line between GOP ideology and racism and it appears that this charlatan of academia (ASU President Crow) was all but too happy to blur the lines in an attempt to justify his insidious beliefs. Let me make it perfectly clear that I do not believe for one moment, the entire staff of professors and administrators at Arizona State University to be bigots and ideologues of political obstruction. However, I do believe that ASU President Crow is a representative of “old guard” ASU alumni and state officials who do not respect our current President and his administration. Because the state of Arizona has an African American population of fewer than 5 percent as opposed to the national average of approximately 12.8 percent, state officials have very little interest in accepting and promoting racial diversity. This is evident in the state’s resistance of observing MLK day as a National Holiday and it’s recent barring of Arizona public schools from teaching it’s students any subject that may be interpreted as being counter to democracy and Western civilization. The mastermind behind this racist ideology is Arizona Representative Russell Pearce. The measure appeared as an amendment to Senate Bill 1108, which originally would have made minor changes to the state’s Homeland Security advisory councils. By the way, the House Appropriations Committee approved the new proposal on a 9-6 vote. Additionally, the measure would outlaw students of the state’s universities and community colleges from forming groups based in whole or part on the race of their members, such as the Black Business Students Association at Arizona State University.
It appears that state elected officials of Arizona haven’t caught up with the reality that the world has changed in its view of cultural and racial diversity, or perhaps ASU President Crow has acknowledged the change and likens himself to legendary Arizona sheriff Wyatt Earp and like Minnesota’s crazy ass (I had to say it) Representative, Michele Bachmann, is planning on rallying all hired guns for a shoot out at O.K. Corral.
“The Art of War” is in full effect.
If you feel as hurt and disturbed as I do, here is an address and telephone number to Arizona State University’s President that you may want to have, just in case you want to send him a letter or drop him a call in regard to your disgust with his university’s pomposity and hypocrisy:
Academic/Administrative Requests
Office of the President
Mail Code 7705
PO Box 877705, Tempe AZ
85287-7705
Phone: (480) 965-8972
FAX: (480) 965-0865 - Blog post
- 7 months ago
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