Posts with the tag African Americans

Opportunities for Young Black Folks from Obama & HBCUs

Leslye J Allen of Atlanta, GA — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:21:24 EDT

Page in Obama Administration - If you know anyone who is 16 years old, has a 3.0 GPA and may be interested in serving in the Obama Administration as a page, please visit House Page Program

Florida A&M Scholarship for Black Women - FAMU is providing an outstanding opportunity for Black women entering college in the fall of 2009. It is designed to address their absence in the field of computer technology. Dr. Jason Black is the Principal Investigator of a recently awarded $552,000 NSF Grant entitled African-American Women in Computer Science. The grant provides scholarships from $4000 to $10,000 per year for female African American students .

We need your help to get the word out about this great opportunity to build back up the enrollment of women in the CIS Department. More detailed information
http://www.famu.edu/index.cfm?a=headlines&p=display&news=602&archive.

You can also contact Dr. Black by email at jblack@cis.famu.edu

Peace, Leslye J Allen

Obama & HBCUs - The Real Truth without the Hoopla!

Leslye J Allen of Atlanta, GA — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:20:40 EDT

Just in case you had not heard the latest pile of manure that has been brewing about Obama and HBCUs. Here is a short piece by Essence Magazine's Cynthia Gordy that sheds much light and is certainly worth taking note of just in case you need some talking points.

OBAMA VS. HBCUS? LET'S REVIEW...

You may have heard grumbling this week about a funding cut for historically Black colleges in the 2010 federal budget. I've read the articles and outraged headlines, but held off on commenting until I’d taken a closer look at the budget myself. It seemed like there was some information missing.

The outcry is in response to the absence of $85 million in extra funding that has been given to historically Black colleges and universities for the past two years. This has been framed as a budget cut and, according to some critics, proof that “Obama doesn’t care about HBCUs.” One thing to note, however, is that this was a temporary two-year fund enacted by Congress in 2007, and already a done deal for 2010.

Rather than revisit the temporary idea of a pot of extra money for HBCUs, the administration instead increased spending in student aid. They also boosted direct discretionary funding for HBCUs from $238 million to $250 million. Now, the increase in direct discretionary funds isn’t much (especially when pitted against the $85 million that expired). But the administration argues that supporting students with more student aid—especially in the form of increasing the maximum Pell Grant for low-income students by $200, to a total allowance of $5,550—will help HBCUs.

“Half of students at historically Black colleges and universities receive Pell Grants, compared to 27 percent of students at other institutions,” Massie Ritsch, a spokesman with the U.S. Department of Education told me regarding the boost in student aid. "We expect that over 10 years, students at HBCUs will receive $3.2 billion in increased Pell Grants, an average of $320 million a year. That money will directly benefit HBCUs by making it easier for the students they serve to attend."

The budget also increases the need-based Perkins Loan by $5 billion, up from the current volume of $1 billion, and offers $2.5 billion for programs that help low-income students enroll in and graduate from college. “This shouldn’t be seen as any indication that there’s not support for historically Black colleges and universities,” Ritsch said. “The budget and the Recovery Act provide more money for the students that disproportionately attend HBCUs, and provide additional funds for the institutions themselves.”

I’m not saying this is necessarily the better way to do it, but it’s a far cry from the idea that Obama is effectively saying, “To hell with you, Black students!” Let me know what you think. Should the President renew the fund that gives money directly to HBCUs, or do you agree with his emphasis on increasing student aid that goes directly to minority students?

This article available at:

http://essence.typepad.com/obamawatch/2009/05/obama-vs-hbcus-lets-review.html

The Never Vanishing Dream

Mike from Chicago, IL — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:14:35 EST

Greetings,

The Bob Edwards Show included coverage of a politician who criticized President Obama by saying, “For the first time, the American dream could vanish.”

For the first time . . . the American dream could vanish ?

During the term of the first African American president, this gentleman is saying that the American dream even existed for African Americans when the first American dream was forged into the home that will always cradle the dream . . . Always cradle the dream.

I believe the gentleman who made this statement was a senator.

His statement rings untrue on two counts. The American Dream still does not even exist for some people . . . AND it will NEVER vanish. That is the foundation of the American Dream...you will never defeat the American Spirit.

No matter how much your words or actions try to make the false seem true, the American Dream will never vanish because it is the people’s dream the of all the people in the world who choose to abide by the main truth in our foundation...ALL people are created equal.

If you understand that simple truth . . . If you understand the will of the people and help them manifest a spirit of union, of cooperation, a spirit of collaboration you don’t have to fear the American dream will vanish.

Is it harder right now? Look at what we have created. Of course it is harder.

But anyone who fears the vanishing American Dream doesn't understand the diverse American Spirit . . . protected by law.

Politicians who talk about the ongoing job of building and protecting the American Dream are who I want to hear from. I want to hear constructive criticism, but please bring something that moves the ball forward.

Although this was such a shockingly unthoughtful statement that it is newsworthy. Unfortunately, there are enough of these mistaken comments we could have a show called, “What Century is This?”

Best regards,

Mike

Michael Bordenaro
Co-Founder
BIM Education Co-op™
Chicago, Illinois
(773) 252 5888
www.BIMeducation.com

THE AUTO INDUSTRY, A FEW OF MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES (INDUSTRIAL GREED):

Alex Karoub — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:14:47 EST

Contact: Alex.Karoub@gmail.com

This post is a brief overview of the Automotive Industry which describes some of the fundamental problems that are rarely spoken of. In addition, you will learn of a few of my personal experiences growing up, an environment where I was surrounded by the industry; you will learn of a few perspectives that are shocking and that even only a few within the industry know of. At the end of the post, you will better understand what happened to American Manufacturing and where it stands.

The Auto Industry is at the heart of all of American Manufacturing. It is an industry that laid the groundwork for many other types of industries to follow, deemed at one point in history to be the highest of successes. But now, it sheds light on what can become warning signs for other businesses that mistakenly try to imitate it.

This months hot topic is whether to bailout/rescue the regressing American Auto Industry. The original owners and their successors abandoned that industry long ago. The auto industry was ravaged and plundered by the wealthiest Americans a half century ago and has been in decline ever since. Shortsighted greed from one generation to the next has been the culprit. Since autos were first mass-produced and America monopolized the world, it was only natural that the American percentage/share of the market would eventually be reduced. However, total growth was enormous and total size of the market continues to grow even through today. Therefore, American growth of exports should have continued to grow, but does not significantly due to pillage and poorly planted roots. In simpler terms, we originally owned the entire pie. The pie was split up. Since the entire pie has grown dramatically, our piece should have grown too. However, the Big 4, 3, 2, … have been loosing market dominance and lead since the end of World War Two. Here we are years later in crisis, and the real question remains whether or not to rescue the real victims of the auto industry, the workers. People were not retrained or re-educated; most were never afforded real education's to start. People are now in despair and hopelessness. From my vantage point now living in Colorado for the last two decades, I have seen the high tech industry follow the auto industry, but at a learned and accelerated rate. Other industries are also copying the auto industry and are laying similar foundations also headed for disaster. Going back to a brief history, the misguided roots show how the decay started and why it spread.

Although I did not grow-up during the inception of the Auto Industry, its roots surrounded me. I spoke with a few who were there in the earliest days, and spoke with many who were of the following generation. I absorbed its history by studying it while attending school in Motown (Motor Town), by natural osmosis, and in my earliest career dealing with the car makers.

Growing up as a kid I lived less than a mile from Henry Ford's first moving assembly line factory, with GM’s World Headquarters’ just three miles away, and with Chryslers World Headquarters at the end of our street. The first Ford plant (in Highland Park, a city now surrounded by Detroit) and the first of GM's plants were built on the importation of the next generation of former black slaves and white share crop workers from the south (whites similar to former slaves whose white necks were red from working in the sunny fields, hence the mean spirited term 'Redneck'). The joke that Henry Ford must have laughed at and that went around town was "each worker would get paid enough to buy a Ford" (Of course using infamous 'Ford Credit' which was a primary direct withdrawal from their pay checks.) Henry manipulated a built-in guaranteed customer base and tapped double profits, being profits on the cars and the profitable bonded interest. Those were scams that he copied from sharecropping. The remains of their wages were so low that they had to live in shacks; but after all Henry felt, they came from shacks near the fields in the south. So much bigotry and repeated methods from sharecrop economic slavery. Instead of updating and rebuilding the original plants and without regard for the people who were the workers, the emerging auto giants left to go further to the suburbs.

So, as they moved and grew they imported shipload after shipload of immigrant economic slaves from Poland (to Hamtramck, MI) and more economic slaves from the Middle East (to Dearborn, MI). There were other minorities imported as well, also imported for economic servitude to supporting industries such as mining, iron works, steel fabrication, glass works, textile, …. Astonishing how easily the game of 'divide and conquer' worked upon the variety of minorities; a game of keeping the workers pitted against each other using race and ethnicity; all to hold back the power of the people from truly uniting. WW2 caused the Automakers not only to retool but also to reevaluate their future directions.

Soon, after the victory of WW2, came the Auto Giants grand visions for economically conquering the world via expansion outside the U.S. They quietly boasted that that would leave mainly world headquarters executives, designers, and engineers in the U.S. with the prestigious white-collar jobs. It was felt then (and these are not my bigoted opinions, not from me, yikes) that after all even 'the weaker sex' could do factory labor jobs as seen during WW2 (i.e. Rosie the Riveter). So why not have the 'stupid foreign workers' do the labor outside the U.S. What also gave way to the idea that manufacturing could succeed outside the U.S. was Mexico; since Mexican workers were also imported, but only temporarily during WW2. (By the way, the temporary Mexican workers were never fully paid back as promised during WW2.) A tremendous wave of pride about white-collar jobs became very popular in Detroit and in other automotive communities during the 50's. That vision sat poised on the back burner, but a pre-planted seed was already in place, which was Canada (Windsor) just across the Detroit River.

Canada was a much-desired orchestrated precedence for the automakers; it set the stage for grace given by the government as an easily set up protocol for off-shoring jobs. Soon after, the automakers made a migration south to other states, then further south to Mexico, and finally overseas and on to economic slavery in China.

Today we see the results of the destructive path the industry has taken. Layoffs, instead of being temporary situations reserved for pauses during new model changeovers, eventually became the mark of permanent labor plant closures. Obvious abandonment of people soon became the name of the automakers game. Along the swathed trail are - Highland Park, Detroit, Pontiac, Flint, Marquette, Gary Indiana, Pittsburgh, Toledo, Cleveland, …, which became known in the early 80’s as 'The Rust Bowl’. Sort of a rape, pillage, and burn mentality, which continues to today.

Amazing how well the reasoning of "that's the way it's always been" persists and grows from one generation to the next. Excuse after excuse gave temporary reasoning to incremental geographic movements for global conquer. Temporary excuses ranged from the need to originally amass large workforces, to the hindrance of union pressures, to American workers are lazy, to 'over' government regulation, to …, all straw obstacles as to why the auto industry needed to move as it did.

No! Greed is not good. We see how those at the top of the industry have each come in, grabbed with their greed, and left. Now today, we see how greed has caused "what once was, no longer is". So in short, now we see the results of greed, poorly planted roots, and disregard, taking its toll on America. Equally, is the toll on the myriad of unrelated businesses, old and new, that have adopted the auto industries infectious habits of having little to no regard for individual people that make up the American workforce. People.

While being raised in the center of Detroit, I experienced many situations involving the Auto Industry; the following although early was not my earliest, and is an actual example.

Around 1963, when I was 11 years old, I remember George Romney visiting our house to exchange political favors. Our 23-room house was a rundown relic of a past era, but it cleaned up well as a phony front for wealth and pretentious power. I remember we kids had to pretend that we were Christian Protestants for the visiting Governor (former Chairman of AMC) who was doing his Christian Mormon tradition of visiting the homes of his new legislators. How ostentatious they both were with fraudulent humility of how they rose from their humble beginnings. But more to the point, I remember Romney sitting at our dinning room table and saying "The Big Four Automakers don't have to worry about giving the Unions what they want, as long as the benefits will not be due for decades. By that time the labor plants will be outside the U.S." That shocked my brother Jimmy and I, as we listened playing in the sunroom just off the dinning room. Later we were once again physically punished (beaten-up), this time for listening to adult talk. Jimmy a year older than I, and intellectually gifted, soon became a Page at the State Capital. The accounts he returned with were shocking as well. Growing up as we did would make your head spin and open your eyes to disgust. We continued living in those surroundings until we grew out of our teens. Then we moved on to make our own adult lives, creating better environments much different from what we were born and raised in.

Recalling back to my teens, I realized back then the Detroit riots were not only about race, but was also about economic oppression. It was the minorities who were oppressed the worst, most especially African-Americans. Bad however you measure it is bad. (For a better understanding of the decline of Detroit and to better understand the riots, take a look at my other post: “DETROIT RIOTS OF 1967, A RECOLLECTION OF THE TRUTH.” You will also better understand how very close we came to seeing a nationwide repeat of the riots in the coming Spring of 2009.)

Unions, workers, man-hours, laborers, …, are not people, they are burdens to be minimized and eliminated. While watching Lee Iacocca being interviewed on Charley Rose last year, I noticed Iacocca admit that he new all the way back during negotiations with the unions, in the early 80’s, that Chrysler would never have to pay off in full on long term commitments to the unions. As Iacocca danced around the issue he said "now the unions will have to face reality". And, as Rose went on to discuss it more, Iacocca was getting more uncomfortable, and eventually managed to change the subject away from discussing past union negotiations. Iacocca was a bit slicker than George Romney was, since Iacocca was on national TV. It made me ashamed that Chrysler World Headquarters was at the end of our street when I was a kid. And, that as a young adult I had so proudly in my early career returned while working for a couple of electronics companies to Chrysler's World Headquarters R&D operations. I thought it an honor to have paid Iacocca's in-house barbershop to cut my hair, even his same barber. Some honor.

Following Chrysler, I moved up to deal with GM, and was puzzled. I listened to upper executives at GM complain that they constantly had to bribe Mexican government officials and border guards for GM plants. I guess they also assumed I already new and accepted that the plants in the late 70's had already begun their exodus to Mexico and other countries. I have always looked at bribery as disgusting and wrong, it was not for me or those who I dealt with, that's among the many good things that a mentor named Jack Bazzy taught me as a young kid. By becoming acquainted with other mentors as an adult, I learned to seek out highly reputable employers and quality knowledgeable friends. I learned how to educate myself, and moved up very high in the scientific and technical industries, all of which I enjoyed.

Although I grew up in Highland Park / Detroit, that was not anywhere near my top focus in choosing Obama. But, it is a simple history for me to recall, amazing how many more details I can give, but the main points have been brought forward. In addition, from being a mutt of sorts myself, to being a self made man, be that what it may, I have no illusions of being great. What I do mean here is that I quickly recognize many of Obama's unique insights, although mine are different but a bit similar in nature. Like many Obama supporters, I have personal experiences on most issues Obama has raised. So, above is just one of many examples that I can personally give.

To better understand manufacturing in America, you can read my other blog:
WHAT SCREWED UP MANUFACTURING FOR AMERICA

Blog members can reply here, anyone is welcome to email me at: Alex.Karoub@gmail.com

Racial Holocaust in the USA

Karen Kennedy — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:33:33 EST

We incarcerate more people than does any other Country in the World. Blacks and others of color are disproportionately represented in our jails and prisons. They are also disproportionately represented on the Probation and Community Control rolls. Being sentenced to Probation or Community Control is the first step on the path towards Prison. Thereafter, the ex-offender cannot vote or find a job, never mind a good job. They have no economic or political power. They can never achieve the American Dream, because it truly is only a dream for those who find themselves in and out of the Criminal Justice system regularly.

The Police stop blacks night and day at will for "Field Interviews", which is a euphemism for illegal detention - no probable cause. It is much more rare for a white person to be stopped for no reason. Black men are subjected to illegal searches under one guise or another more often than are whites. When stopped, they are not free to leave, no matter how many times the Police testify to the contrary. Once officially detained, the black man stays in jail for the duration, because neither he nor his family can afford to post the bond, no matter how low it is set.

The attitude in our Criminal Courts is that since a black man was arrested, he must be guilty, they all are. It is assumed that black men want to be drug dealers and thieves. Black men are given longer jail sentences than are white men. Through a lack of social services, racial discrimination, Policing practices and Court attitudes, we are driving young black men away from mainstream paths to progress and success. If the Defendant is sentenced to Supervision, the system requires the Defendants to pay various fines, costs and Supervision fees, and to participate in, and pay for various court ordered classes. It is usually the case that they simply cannot afford to pay for their Supervision, given their hand to mouth existence. Also, the transportation necessary for attendance at the required functions Ordered by the Court is assumed to be availabe. I have trouble getting to my appointments, and I own a car. What job can a man faced with these institutional biases qualify for other than drug dealing or petty crimes.

The term "Supervision" really means that you can be harassed at will, searched without a warrant and must comply with random drug testing, at the Supervisee's expense. It is to the advantage of the Probation and Community Control Supervisors to file a Warrants for Probation Violation that would reduce their case loads. Formality and Rules of Procedure don't exist in Probation Violation Hearings. Jail or Prison is the most likely outcome. The petty crimes add up, and then it's Strike Three, prison for life.

The obstacles that black men face every day of their lives are not acknowledged by any one who works in the System, and the Offender is never given the benefit of a doubt. So black men plead No Contest to charges that could have been beaten at trial by a good lawyer. The Defendants don't trust their Public Defenders since the APDs and ASAs all work for the same government. If the man goes to trial and loses, he is given a much stiffer sentence than he would had he pled out. A huge number of black men are either on Probation or Community Control, or are being housed in our many prisons and jails. In this way they are eliminated, for all practical purposes, from our society. A wide range of domestic dysfunction and hopelessness results from the existence of this double standard. The cycle of arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment goes on with no intervention, until the young man becomes imprisoned for most of his life. His children never have a Father at home, and the children live in poverty, leading them down the same paths trod by their Fathers. Injustice grows into anger and hate, causing young black men to become criminals and to follow in the tragic footsteps of their forebears.

take a forom

An Open Letter To The New President-Elect

Rhonda from Bronx, NY — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 06:30:58 EST

Dear President-Elect Obama and Michelle:
Congratulations on your victory. The two of you are to be admired for the vision you shared and the life lived and choices made that saw you through.
I have a request that I am sure you knew was coming; one amongst millions and it is as follows:
I don't believe hard-working low-income African Americans are counted amongst the middle class. Please when you are hammering out a deal to put to work the suffering middle class, think about those that have been generationally, educationally, and medically overlooked hardworking African Americans.
Please do not think for one moment that you are giving a handout to people that have asked for little and received even less. People that are grateful and accepting of crumbs and too afraid to ask for more; people that believe in you and are not expecting more than the promises made during the campaign; a people that are finally tired of being overlooked or looked at with contempt.
The world should stop judging all African Americans based on the exceptions and not the rule. Just like all other races and cultures, not all African Americans are looking for a handout; African Americans are looking for equal opportunity and would like to show that they are contributing members to this society.
When the deals are struck and the financing is in place for employment please require slots for African Americans within the construction industry without restrictions or requirements designed to keep them out, such as union membership when unions don't allow you membership until you have found employment. The construction and manufacturing industries is where there are going to have be this condition implemented because it is now almost 100% Caucasian. In this new world order we want to be partners, unfortunately, not many want to partner with us.
Allow African Americans to once again show their willingness toparticipate by giving them access and a fair opportunity to share in the bounties of the land through merit. Don't give an open ticket to the manufacturing and construction industry that simply employ their own. African Americans can no longer rely on those in charge to be fair in their hiring practices. African Americans have earned the right to work just as hard as all of the other races and cultures. Give them the chance to prove their willingness to be counted. They have always wanted to be counted by people that validate their contributions.
No handouts, an equal hand up where dignity and self-respect reside.
God bless you and keep you safe.
Ann E.

cc: Vice-President-Elect Joseph Biden

Swing the pendulum. Make history. Vote.

Douglas from South Gate, CA — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:38:12 EST

This is indeed a historic election, and for reasons more significant than its being the longest and costliest in U.S. history. Underlying it all is the almost palpable sense that after decades of abuse, we -- the people of the United States -- are reasserting our fundamental right to power. The pendulum, which swung to the Right -- and shifted the balance of wealth and power to the top -- with the election of Ronald Reagan, has begun to swing in a more liberating direction.

A Journey of Hope

Bill from BC, Obamican, Veteran, Husband, Father, Educator — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:08:43 EDT

African Americans were first brought here in 1619 as cargo on slave ships. In 1653, they built Wall Street's wall. Starting in 1792, they built the White House. Ever since then, they have maintained, protected, and, from time to time, refurbished it. Now, after nearly four centuries of oppression, an African American will finally get to run the place. Speaking as a white American male who can still remember when African Americans were killed for trying to vote, this seems like real progress.

By the way, it is perhaps a touching irony that, whereas the conservative George Bush came to power surrounded by Developed World liberals, Barack Obama, a liberal, will come to power--especially if Mr. Brown is turned out next year--surrounded by conservatives. A dear friend of mine in Milano, lamenting being saddled with Signore Berlusconi again. speaks wistfully of the great American democracy where we are privileged to vote for Barack Obama. It is a privilege. God Bless America!!!

It's A New Day

Patrice from Williamsburg, VA — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:22:03 EDT

The dawning of a new day is here, both for America as a whole and for those who call ourselves "compassionate conservatives," a code name for politically active Christians.

It's a time when our nation has the opportunity to break from the tradition of the past--from racial and class division, from partisan politics, from us against them--and to ride into a bright, new future of unified effort for the good of all Americans, truly non-partisan policy making and cooperation in Washington.

The undeclared but clearly evident leader of this new effort is Barack Obama, an American of mixed racial background (half white, and half black), and of mixed socio-economic background, a recent graduate from the struggling middle class to the echelons of upper class America. He is the leader we need right now not just because of superior intellect, highly effective communication skills, and his high level of educational attainment, but also because of the character and the temperament with which he has been divinely blessed. Character he has demonstrated in this election in quite distinct contrast to his Republican contender, John McCain.

It is for this reason that I, a social activist at heart for the poor and for the good of all men, and a Christian conservative as it relates to the two most pivotal moral issues of our time--abortion and homosexuality--have decided to vote for Senator Barack Obama to become the next president of the United States.

Though the Republican party may attempt to portray it--God is not the God of one political party. He is not more concerned about small government than he is about helping those in need. He did not only send His Son to die for upper class and upper middle class whites. He does not want us to lock-up first time, young non-violent offenders for most of their young adult lives and throw away the keys. He does not want us to ignore the social causes of crime. He does want his people involved with both parties so that both parties ultimately represent His interests, which are the best interests of us all.

This is our opportunity. In this election, we have the ability to show the rest of America that "conservative Christians" can make a balanced, intellectual, and still spiritual choice for President. We can choose to vote for Barack Obama, not because we agree with him on every issue, but because we agree with him on many. And we can make our voices heard during his administration to affect the way he governs on issues with which we do disagree.

Make the change. Take the leap. Make a new choice, and encourage other like minded people to make this choice as well--praying all the way for Christ to grant Sen. Obama the wisdom to make the right decisions at the right time, not swayed by what's popular, but based on the right foundation--God's Word--at "such a time as this" in our nation's and the world's history.

--Pat Perry

Latinos are part of the US mix

Carlos E. C�rdenas — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:09:56 EDT

The country is about to elect it's first African American president. It's a historical moment

The image of an African American as the leader of the US will bring deep social changes to our country. His presidency will be a subtle reminder to all of us that color has no correlation with intellect. He will be a role model for the African American youth, some who will most likely follow in his footsteps. His presidency will redefine and expand the meaning of being a US American, to include more deeply the African American culture

Nevertheless, amidst this historical time, we are leaving out a large constituency. Hispanics are part of this country’s mix and they are shaping the direction of the US. However, mainstream media does not show this fact, just like they failed to showcase the political voice of African Americans for many decades. There is a lag from when the media chooses to showcase an image of our country to what is really happening. African Americans have been part of our countries’ political make up for many decades, but I feel it’s until recently that the media began to project this fact. Hispanics are currently part of this country’s political make-up but this fact is not being presented to the public.

Must 30 or 50 years pass for the media to recognize the political voice of Latinos and just then finally showcase this fact to the world?

Of Obama and Baldwin and Race

Leslye J Allen of Atlanta, GA — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:29:50 EDT

I must confess that I am a James Baldwin fan. Baldwin was one of those rare writers who had the capacity of speaking about race and racism while making everyone culpable and vulnerable to the pathology of racism. Black folks and white folks alike, according to Baldwin, had distorted visions of themselves due to the poison of racism.

In too many cases, we all were/are guilty of protecting and promoting our self-definitions and group definitions with a zeal that borders on the pathological. Never mind what someone says they are or what someone says they believe in. Someone will swear that the person cannot be telling the truth simply because that person defies the definition that has been created for them. Barack Obama defies many folks’ definitions.

Obama is from all appearances a devoted husband and father. America, black and white, is not accustomed to seeing black men in the media spotlight in that capacity on a regular basis. Many of us have not only grown up adoring our fathers, but were recipients of support from a steady supply of male relatives and friends. Obama is obviously well educated. Yet the current statistics on black male dropouts in some parts of the United States is frightening. Yet some of us grew up around black male scholars in every discipline. Obama is seeking the highest political office in the land. And if we tell the truth, none of us was certain, when he announced his candidacy in February of 2007 that he would win the Democratic Party nomination. For all of his credibility and decency, he has been called an elitist, terrorist, the pal of a terrorist, and a left-wing liberal. Do not expect the attacks to stop!

Obama is frightening. He is frightening because he does not fit any of the definitions that so many folks have come to accept as conventional wisdom, including some black folks. His defiance of those definitions flies in the face of everything they know, misinformation taught to them by everyone that they have ever loved for centuries on end. Neither an Obama campaign nor an Obama presidency will completely undue their belief in those definitions.

James Baldwin once said that, “You must embrace what you fear.” It took me a long time to figure out what he meant. The things that we fear most are not monsters hiding under our beds or bumping into a stranger in a dark alley. The things we fear most are those things that defy our comprehension and our definitions even when they have done nothing to us and even when they promise to do something for us. All of us have been (or will be) guilty at some point in our lives of avoiding that which we do not fully understand even when we suspected it would be beneficial to us.

Baldwin once said that the survival of the Western world depended on its acknowledgement that, “the world is not white.” In part, he meant what anthropologists have noted for years, that most of the world’s people are peoples of color. Baldwin also meant that it was impossible to get around the reality of peoples of color or their necessary participation in all political endeavors for the perpetuation of this planet we call earth. Barack Obama is also a reminder of that fact. Therefore, keep the faith; brace yourself; save the name-calling for the other side; reach out and “embrace what you fear.”

YES, WE CAN.

The Latino Constituency

Carlos E. C�rdenas — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:20:30 EDT

It's a momentous time in the US. The possibility that Barack Obama will be the first African American president in US history seems more and more likely as time passes. His campaign exudes a sense of inevitable victory...like it's destined to win. I feel the media has picked up on this. It seems there are more African American commentators are on TV and the the media is giving African Americans more equitable time on TV to voice their opinions. It’s fascinating to watch this happen, however this should have occurred many years ago.

The US is no longer the black and white world, literally and figuratively, that existed 100 years ago. Today, Latinos are a big part of this mix. Latinos will, in the near future, become the majority of the minorities. English no longer holds a monopoly on the means of communication; Spanish has become a fierce competitor in the US. The growing use of bi-lingual education is testament to this fact. Favorite fastfoods such as pizza, hotdogs and burgers are now no longer the number one choice. It's now Mexican and other Hispanic foods that are seducing the palates of many around the US. We are now becoming "green" people a long past tradition of our Latin American "Indian" ancestors. I hope an Obama presidency will lead the country to recognize this reality and thus show the world that the US is more than just a black and white world.

just read somewhere Sep 12 - Gov. Sarah Palin Has No African Americans On Her Staff

Tavis from Beloit, WI — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:20:30 EDT

It is not surprising that Gov. Sarah Palin has no African Americans on her staff in Alaska. I would be rather surprised if she did, given all the disclosures about her very narrow perspective. She got a passport only last year. If it were left up to me, I would disqualify her on that single issue. Why hasn't a forty-something Governor travelled outside the United States only one time, if we don't count the time she went to Canada? It's no wonder she asked the question, what are the daily duties of a Vice President of the United States.

Folks, you can elect her if you wish but she spells nothing but trouble. Sarah Palin knows less about the world beyond Alaska (including the lower forty-eight) than many high school students who have already travelled abroad.

The Juneteenth organization in Alaska has some choice things to say about Sarah Palin. They should know.

The following is a statement from one of our Juneteenth Directors in Alaska:

By Gwendolyn Alexander, President

"As for Governor Sarah Palin's involvement in the African American community, the Governor's office hasn't participated in any of our Alaska Juneteenth Events. All previous Alaskan Governor's have traditionally attended and participated in our annual Juneteenth Celebration. Gov. Palin was the first governor not to send out a congratulatory letter or assist us in any way with our Juneteenth activities.

I didn't have the courtesy of receiving a reply when I asked for a representative from the Governor's office to come and speak at our Juneteenth Celebration if Governor Palin was unable to attend. I never even heard of Gov. Palin until she was elected Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, in Mat-Su Valley.

Governor Palin is a very energetic and spontaneous woman. With some of the things being said and going around this state right now, I'm surprised none of the national media have bothered to come here and get the words directly from the mouths of the people who have lived with her all of these years instead of 'surfing the net!'

My other opinion is why would an individual who, to my knowledge, has not hired any
African-Americans on her gubernatorial staff, insist so passionately on being on a television show owned and operated by an African American, Oprah Winfrey?

While meeting with black leaders concerning the absence of any African-Americans on her
staff, Gov. Palin responded that she doesn't have to hire any blacks and was not intending to hire any. What kind of attitude is this toward African-American for who may be the first Vice-President of the United States?

I understand Oprah did have Senator Obama on her show a few times and was the main person raising funds for him "before" the presidency race was in full swing. However, the key point here is that it is Oprah's prerogative not be used as a pawn to tilt the vote one way or another. Oprah has stated repeatedly that she wasn't going to have one side or the other on her show by choice. I thought that was what the Civil Rights Movement was all about, a persons right to make their own choices. I guess this isn't a Democracy at all anymore."

Gwendolyn Alexander, President
African American Historical Society of Alaska, Inc.
Alaska Juneteenth Celebration
P. O. Box 143105
Anchorage AK 99514
907 884-6860 email: aahsa@gci.net
www.juneteenthalaska.com www.entertainmealaska.com/aahsa

Thy Will be Done!

Black Issachar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:52:50 EDT

So much for Sarah Palin. Let’s finish the Job Obama. McCain admits that Community Organizers are honorable and patriotic. This is the 4th quarter so bring it on home. And while you do that, all the Christian Sons of Issachar will pray: “Thy will be done and may God defend the right!”

http://www.crosscut.com/2008-election/17341/About+Sarah+Palin:+an+e-mail+from+Wasilla/

For What it's Worth . . .Black Issacharhttp://www.crosscut.com/2008-election/17341/About+Sarah+Palin:+an+e-mail+from+Wasilla/

Declining Marriage Rates Aren’t Just a Black Family Thing – They're an American Thing

Solomon's Wisdom — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:05:25 EDT

"The Moynihan Report"
When Politics and Sociology Collide

PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON: Let this session of Congress be known as the session, which declared all-out war on human poverty and unemployment in these United States.

BEN WATTENBERG: But it was not to be an easy war, and there was more to poverty than just a lack of money. In 1965, a young academic in the Johnson administration began a serious study of how culture and economics were intertwined. Daniel Patrick Moynihan examined the data and wrote, "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action." The report, published by the Department of Labor, used data to focus attention on the problems of black families.

DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN: These are accurate statistics, most of them government statistics. Most of them are available if you dig through those Census volumes. The issue is, what are we going to do about these facts?

BEN WATTENBERG: Scouring the Labor Department's statistics, Moynihan found, unsurprisingly, that when unemployment went up, more people went on welfare, and vice-versa. This correlation seemed to be set in stone. But Moynihan noticed that something was changing.

SENATOR DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN (D-NY): In 1963, that correlation had disappeared. Suddenly the unemployment for minorities, as well as everybody else, was going down, and the dependency rate, if you want to put it that way, was going up. Now, what was this all about?

BEN WATTENBERG: According to Moynihan, "at the heart of the deterioration of the fabric of Negro society is the deterioration of the Negro family."

DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN: It seems to me that there are a great many Negro Americans, perhaps half the population is securely in the middle class, doing very well, taking care of itself, needing no help from anybody, thank you very much. But the slums are also filling up with a lower-class people, unemployed, ill-educated, ill-housed, for whom the cycle of no jobs and bad education and bad housing just reproduces itself and takes its most pregnant personal form in the great tragedy of the family lives of these men and women and of their children.

GLENN LOURY (Boston University): The Moynihan report takes up the question of what would be necessary to bring African-Americans into a status of equal opportunity in American society and argues that a major impediment would be that the family structure among blacks was weaker and was becoming a major problem.

BEN WATTENBERG: Out-of-wedlock births among blacks had gone up from 17 percent in 1950 to 26 percent in 1965. By 1970, that figure would reach 39 percent. More children were being raised without the presence of fathers.

DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN: At any given moment, two-thirds of the Negro families are husband-and-wife families. But over the lifetime, only about a little more than a third of Negro children come of 18 having lived all their lives in such a family. And that hurts people. That deprives them of opportunities. Not to have a father, not to have a mother, you've lost something that helps you in life. And so this process feeds back into the cycle.

BEN WATTENBERG: For Moynihan, the issue was more than just one of dry social science. From the age of 9, he had been raised in a single-parent home.

JAMES Q. WILSON (UCLA): It was his view, a man who grew up in a female-headed single-parent family, quite sensitive to this issue, that without an intact family, the problems of manhood, of establishing true manliness among some black Americans, would prove to be very difficult, possibly insoluble.

BEN WATTENBERG: Moynihan's argument convinced his boss, President Lyndon Johnson.

PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON: Perhaps most important, its influence, radiating to every part of life, is the breakdown of the Negro family structure. And when the family collapses, it is the children that are usually damaged.

BEN WATTENBERG: The Moynihan report stirred the pot. Was the erosion of the black family the consequence of a culture that was broken or of discrimination or of an economy that could not produce enough good jobs?

FRANCIS FUKUYAMA (George Mason University): What Moynihan did was to notice that perhaps the family itself ought to be addressed as an explicit issue for social policy and not simply the economic issue of having enough jobs and opportunities.

BEN WATTENBERG: Opportunities had been growing for blacks during the 1960s. Civil rights legislation killed Jim Crow. The black poverty rate declined, and the black middle class grew. To many civil rights leaders, Moynihan's views were heresy.

GLENN LOURY: We had the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which had been enacted, a great victory for the civil rights movement. We had the Voting Rights Act of 1965, bringing African-Americans fully into the body politic. Now along comes someone who says, "Yes, hold on, but wait just a minute. Have you noticed these social trends?"

JAMES Q. WILSON: Now, the reaction, of course, was "Moynihan is blaming the victim." The inundation of criticism of him in the early 1960s was ferocious.

BAYARD RUSTIN (Civil Rights Activist): The interesting thing is that if one considers the Moynihan report about the breakdown of the Negro community, one needs to look back to the Irish and to the Italian experience, which is really simple, that as the heads of families were permitted by this society to have economic independence, all of the so-called defects of crime, illegitimacy and the like disappeared.

BEN WATTENBERG: Another key study of the time looked at the importance of the family, this time in relation to education. Sociologist James Coleman's report was called "Equality of Educational Opportunity." It had been mandated by the 1964 Civil Rights Act to study the effects of school segregation.

CHRISTOPHER JENCKS (Harvard University): Coleman had two big expectations when he did his report. He thought he was going to find that the schools that black children attended got far less adequate resources than the schools that white children attended, and he thought that he was going to find that the resources that schools got made a big difference to students' achievement.

BEN WATTENBERG: To test these theories, Coleman and his researchers surveyed over 600,000 students and 4,000 schools. It was one of the largest social science projects ever undertaken. Working day and night on a tight deadline, holed up in a hotel room, Coleman and his team crunched the numbers.

CHRISTOPHER JENCKS: This was really a mammoth undertaking. The number of social scientists, some living today, who could claim to have ever written a major piece of work in three months is extremely small. In fact, it may be zero other than Jim Coleman.

BEN WATTENBERG: By looking at the numbers, Coleman ended up challenging conventional wisdom as well as his own previous views.

DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN: Early one evening, there was a reception at the Harvard Faculty Club, and Seymour Martin Lipsett, the incomparable Marty Lipsett, walks in, sees me, comes over and says, "You know what Coleman's finding, don't you?" I said, "No." He said, "It's all family."

BEN WATTENBERG: The Coleman report pointed to the family as the most important indicator by far of how a child would perform at school. And since the Moynihan and Coleman reports were published, the American family, black and white, continued to change, but not necessarily for the better.

CHRISTOPHER JENCKS: I think today most social scientists would agree with Moynihan's view that single-parent families really have adverse effects on children and that this contributed to the problems of African-American communities in the 1960s and since, but also now there are the problems of Latino and white and other communities.

BEN WATTENBERG: Not only did black out-of-wedlock birth rates skyrocket, but so did white rates. In fact, by 1999, the white illegitimacy rate was equal to the black rate when the Moynihan report was written. And black out-of-wedlock births reached almost 70 percent.

But there is some good news. The teenage birth rate is down. This may well lead to lower out-of-wedlock birth rates in the future.

GLENN LOURY: If we ask the question today of how the Moynihan report looks, now we look back 35 years later, I'd have to say it's looking pretty good. A fairly prescient piece of social forecasting would, I think, have to be a fair-minded person's judgment. I wish I could produce the document that would look as good 35 years from now.

BEN WATTENBERG: Out-of-wedlock births were not the only problem. Social scientist Francis Fukuyama has called the phenomenon "the great disruption."

FRANCIS FUKUYAMA: I think that in many ways, a lot of the problems that occurred during the great disruption were the result of a much too expansive sense of individual entitlement and, you know, almost total absence of responsibility for your spouse, for your children, for your neighbor, country, all of the communities in which we're embedded.

BEN WATTENBERG: And we can measure that disruption. Here's just a sample. The nature of the family was changing. In the 1960s, divorce rates spiked. Once it was rare and called "living in sin." The number of men and women living together without the benefit of marriage went up six-fold between 1960 and 1970, and then another six-fold between 1970 and 1998. Today, about half of all those getting married have lived in a cohabiting relationship.

A third disruption concerned drugs. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the use of marijuana increased by over 400 percent; mind-altering hallucinogens by over 800 percent; cocaine, 2300 percent.

The worst part of the great disruption was crime. Pat Moynihan warned that if more children grew up without the presence of fathers, the result would be social chaos, including crime. Crime rates soared, and crime and punishment became one of the most important issues in American life.

MI GOP Using Foreclosures to Block African American Voters

Nia "Hussein" J. — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:54:19 EDT

MI GOP using foreclosures to block African American voters

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/10/michigan-gop-using-forecl_n_125446.html

or

http://www.michiganmessenger.com/4076/lose-your-house-lose-your-vote

**Please send out as you see fit**

Michigan Republicans plan to foreclose African American voters and I'm sure this tactic will be used else where...
The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP's effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.
"We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses," party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.
State election rules allow parties to assign "election challengers" to polls to monitor the election. In addition to observing the poll workers, these volunteers can challenge the eligibility of any voter provided they "have a good reason to believe" that the person is not eligible to vote. One allowable reason is that the person is not a "true resident of the city or township."
The Michigan Republicans' planned use of foreclosure lists is apparently an attempt to challenge ineligible voters as not being "true residents."
One expert questioned the legality of the tactic.
"You can't challenge people without a factual basis for doing so," said J. Gerald Hebert, a former voting rights litigator for the U.S. Justice Department who now runs the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington D.C.-based public-interest law firm. "I don't think a foreclosure notice is sufficient basis for a challenge, because people often remain in their homes after foreclosure begins and sometimes are able to negotiate and refinance."
As for the practice of challenging the right to vote of foreclosed property owners, Hebert called it, "mean-spirited."
GOP ties to state's largest foreclosure law firm
The Macomb GOP's plans are another indication of how John McCain's campaign stands to benefit from the burgeoning number of foreclosures in the state. McCain's regional headquarters are housed in the office building of foreclosure specialists Trott & Trott. The firm's founder, David A. Trott, has raised between $100,000 and $250,000 for the Republican nominee.
The Macomb County party's plans to challenge voters who have defaulted on their house payments is likely to disproportionately affect African-Americans who are overwhelmingly Democratic voters. More than 60 percent of all sub-prime loans — the most likely kind of loan to go into default — were made to African-Americans in Michigan, according to a report issued last year by the state's Department of Labor and Economic Growth.
Challenges to would-be voters
Statewide, the Republican Party is gearing up for a comprehensive voter challenge campaign, according to Denise Graves, party chair for Republicans in Genessee County, which encompasses Flint. The party is creating a spreadsheet of election challenger volunteers and expects to coordinate a training with the regional McCain campaign, Graves said in an interview with Michigan Messenger.
Whether the Republicans will challenge voters with foreclosed homes elsewhere in the state is not known.
Kelly Harrigan, deputy director of the GOP's voter programs, confirmed that she is coordinating the group's "election integrity" program. Harrigan said the effort includes putting in place a legal team, as well as training election challengers. She said the challenges to voters were procedural rather than personal. She referred inquiries about the vote challenge program to communications director Bill Knowles who promised information but did not return calls.
Party chairman Carabelli said that the Republican Party is training election challengers to "make sure that [voters] are who they say who they are."
When asked for further details on how Republicans are compiling challenge lists, he said, "I would rather not tell you all the things we are doing."
Vote suppression: Not an isolated effort
Carabelli is not the only Republican Party official to suggest the targeting of foreclosed voters. In Ohio, Doug Preisse, director of elections in Franklin County (around the city of Columbus) and the chair of the local GOP, told The Columbus Dispatch that he has not ruled out challenging voters before the election due to foreclosure-related address issues.
Hebert, the voting-rights lawyer, sees a connection between Priesse's remarks and Carabelli's plans.
"At a minimum what you are seeing is a fairly comprehensive effort by the Republican Party, a systematic broad-based effort to put up obstacles for people to vote," he said. "Nobody is contending that these people are not legally registered to vote.
"When you are comprehensively challenging people to vote," Hebert went on, "your goals are two-fold: One is you are trying to knock people out from casting ballots; the other is to create a slowdown that will discourage others," who see a long line and realize they can't afford to stay and wait.
Challenging all voters registered to foreclosed homes could disrupt some polling places, especially in the Detroit metropolitan area. According to the real estate Web site RealtyTrac, one in every 176 households in Wayne County, metropolitan Detroit, received a foreclosure filing during the month of July. In Macomb County, the figure was one household in every 285, meaning that 1,834 homeowners received the bad news in just one month. The Macomb County foreclosure rate puts it in the top three percent of all U.S. counties in the number of distressed homeowners.
Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Kent and Genessee counties were — in that order — the counties with the most homeowners facing foreclosure, according to RealtyTrac. As of July, there were more than 62,000 foreclosure filings in the entire state.
Joe Rozell, director of elections for Oakland County in suburban Detroit, acknowledged that challenges such as those described by Carabelli are allowed by law but said they have the potential to create long lines and disrupt the voting process. With 890,000 potential voters closely divided between Democratic and Republican, Oakland County is a key swing county of this swing state.
According to voter challenge directives handed down by Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, voter challenges need only be "based on information obtained through a reliable source or means."
"But poll workers are not allowed to ask the reason" for the challenges, Rozell said. In other words, Republican vote challengers are free to use foreclosure lists as a basis for disqualifying otherwise eligible voters.
David Lagstein, head organizer with the Michigan Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), described the plans of the Macomb GOP as "crazy."
"You would think they would think, 'This is going to look too heartless,'" said Lagstein, whose group has registered 200,000 new voters statewide this year and also runs a foreclosure avoidance program. "The Republican-led state Senate has not moved on the anti-predatory lending bill for over a year and yet [Republicans] have time to prey on those who have fallen victim to foreclosure to suppress the vote."

Education of African Americans

Venkataraman — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:13:19 EDT

Reproduced from Dynamic Youth Magazine – August 08 (www.dynamicyouth.org)

Education of African Americans

TAIWANNA ANTHONY

To be deemed as educated is a state of mind; To be educated is a state of being.

As an educator, it saddens me to witness first hand how African Americans rely heavily on other races to educate and teach our offspring. Since slavery, the notion of division of the masses has been telepathically instilled into the thought process of African Americans. The sad part is that many of us still think with that mind set. Consequently, that leaves us where we are today. The problem lies within the African American community of educators, neighborhoods, and sanctions that are processed from the top of the educational food chain. “Education is the key to unlock the golden doors of freedom.” “How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong; because, someday in your life you will have been all of these.”George Washington Carver

In order to create an educational system that works well for all children, it must be perceived from the prospectus of open thinking and being open-minded.
In remembering the past, the African American community has been disenfranchised; since the industrial revolution. When the American industry became mechanized African Americans became manual laborers, nannies, as well enemies of their own social class. From a psychological perspective, the experience of African Americans has resulted in negative stereotypes, negative racial prejudices, and negative biases perceived from society. For this reason, the negative stereotypes have descended through generations of African Americans by indirect and direct situations, events, and experiences that are conditioned through mental stimuli. This has resulted in decades of African Americans or black Americans being racially negative, socially negative, prejudicial, as well as racially bias towards one another. In summation, as African Americans migrated from the Jim Crow south to the north to escape years of oppression, they found themselves engrossed in a new slavery. They found themselves living in squalid conditions, working in factories that exposed them to treacherous elements, while working more than ten to sixteen hours per-day.
Other factors such as drugs, poverty, and gangs are primary in the African American community, and society. Oftentimes, education is in last place on the totem pole for African Americans. Societal pressures place many obstacles in the path of African Americans. When African Americans feel compelled to complete their studies, tasks, or basic occupations, oftentimes, they will not complete them due to lack of understanding the material, pressure from their environment and family responsibilities. In terms of being black in American, society has placed a stigma on the perception of African Americans, the black community and the fate of the African American race. Years of mental oppression has resulted in many African Americans being in a mental state of imprisonment, racial bondage, and a slave type mentality. No, there are no whips and chains, but there are laws, bi-laws, policies, and procedures.
The time is now. We as African Americans must step up to build cultural cohesiveness as well as aid in closing this educational gap. Otherwise, in the future, African American youths will suffer more than they are suffering now. African American children are not being adequately prepared in regards to the future. If the African American community does not intervene to render services that will work parallel with the educational system, that promote the necessary programs that are geared towards the African American youths, adult education, and unemployment, we are doomed. Let us awake and act without wasting any more time or energy. Taiwanna Anthony may be reached through e-mail: taiwanna_anthony@yahoo.com

Canvassing for OBAMA

RHO! — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:23:14 EDT

I went canvassing for the first time in my life for our candidate on Saturday August 2nd. It was so empowering and of course (HOT), but it made me feel great that I could take a little bit of energy to get out there and help make something happen. I didn't want to sit back and hope that OBAMA got elected. It was great talking to my people, seeing where they stand, and not taking their support for granted...because we can't. In talking with people I learned that some "haven't decided" who to vote for??!! I actually think that is code for I haven't decided if I'm going to vote. But at least through our efforts we got two more registered voters that Saturday afternoon and spoke to some others about their indifference, disenfranchisement, OR WHATEVER about this election. Make no mistake we cannot assume anything.

And to the point of Hillary Clinton's being "nominated" at the Denver convention. Puh-lease! If Al Gore didn't throw eggs during W.'s inauguration, then she should take her loss as an opportunity for betterment and introspection. Thats' a polite way of say, #@*!& sit down!!!!!

All Jokes Aside—Running for ‘Prez O Dent’

Sonya Rose — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:10:07 EDT

by Sonya Rose Author: Admin | Filed under: Politics

Comedian Chris Rock on former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell: “What do you mean he speaks so well? He’s an … educated man! How [do you] expect him to sound? ‘He speaks so well.’ What are you talking about? What voice were you expecting to come out of his mouth? … ‘I be Prez o dent!’.”

This is an old joke made by Rock in which he makes fun of onlookers who complimented, in all seriousness, how one of the [then] highest ranking Blacks in the Bush Administration, Colin Powell, “speaks so well.” As if to be African American and somehow have full use of your vowels when speaking is an enormous and wondrous feat. Of course, this would be insulting to any intelligent individual.

It is just as insulting to assume Democratic nominee Barack Obama is “presumptuous” because he appears presidential on the campaign trail. So what, he rides as part of motorcades, and seeks the counsel of world leaders. He is running for the world’s ultimate job — U.S. commander-in-chief. So, he may want to come off as somewhat confident, serious, intelligent, capable; and, as having strong leadership qualities. Obama and John McCain appear presidential in public, because we, as voters, must believe that they are qualified to lead our nation; we have to have faith in their abilities.

Therefore, we should be concerned if either of the two presumptives, Republican or Democrat, were to swing their heads low, muffle their words; and, not travel beyond comfortable borders. You have to dress for the job you want, not for the one you have. And, Barack looks pretty well outfitted to me.

http://blogs.uptownlife.net/sonyarose/

THAT UNBREAKABLE BOND

Firm Foundations Literary Ministry — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:24:40 EDT

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

THAT UNBREAKEABLE BOND: A LOVING FAMILY

If we awake in a conscious state each morning,our senses are required to acknowledge the changes occuring within our American society and that a strong family still stands as the anchor to our love and prosperity.

Our families' triumphs, failures, uncertainties, frustrations, strengths and glory are fed to us daily in our homes, neighborhoods, work places, national and world media. And when we end our day, do we measure our contributions to the unbreakable bond of the family as designed by Our Father God? Do we understand the impact the family's ever resilient love has on the foundation of our society?

We each should answer these questions at the end of each day and at the end of our lives. Success or failure, sickness or health, death or life all test how well we "family" against these odds in America.

I encourage you not to get hung up on the structure of your family as being a reason to harden your heart against what is said here: the ordained family structure given to every society by God was ripped from our arms and thrown into the Atlantic Ocean and the cotton fields of the south. But God's Grace equipped a large remnant of us to remain strong, to keep building sound families and in that tender mercy, we are still stretching our consciousness to relearn selflove.

It was the examples of the power of love as told by African American historians, slave records, oral histories and family legacies that give me the passion to continue to feed my best into my family, community and country. It was the examples of the power of love that Jesus, my mother, my siblings, hope-to-die friends,a supportive spouse and great African American literature that kept me and millions of others steady and anchored against despair, injustice, poverty, inflexible waiting for change and the unloved images portrayed by the misguided media.

I open this forum--this unbreakable bond--to the loving African American families and those other true American families who help withstand the lies that spew from the mouths of the discontent and hateful about God's wonderfully and fearfully made remnant from Africa. At this place we celebrate the victories and triumphs with and through Barach and Michelle Obama, above the atrocities of injustice.

Every year our families graduate a college student or open a business while too many of our children are being abused and neglected in other families. The diminishing wedding celebration among our young people is still being challenged by the joining of strong families by fruitful marriages in our communities. Strong grandparents are standing fast against the forces that threaten their grandchildren with losing the gift of family because of America's defiant drug and alcohol abuse,mental illness and incarceration of their parents.

Love is a long measure of faith. We measure each occurance with a celebration. Just as diligently as the slave brought the burden of cotton to be measured at the end of the day, you make any bag of insult your footstool by sharing your family's story of glory here. Barach and Michelle Obama have.

The Return of the Reverend Wright's Comet

Dr. B, — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:31:54 EDT

A. Person vs. Persona

I find it useful to distinguish between Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the person, and the public persona that suddenly flared across our national consciousness like a scary comet a few months back. The comet was a fiery interaction of the Reverend's person, the media, and the opportunistic exploitations of the Reverend's person and the media by Senator Obama's critics. Indeed, I found it difficult to perceive the person beneath the glare of the persona. No matter. Only the members of the Reverend's church, his family, and his closest friends have to deal with his person; those of us who are committed to the Senator's election must focus our energies on anticipating the next appearance of the Reverend's persona and on devising ways to minimize the damage it does to the Senator's candidacy.

When he was in Washington, the Reverend asserted that he had a contract for a book. Assuming that his publisher will try to maximize its sales, we should expect its arrival in the bookstores at least a month before the election in November, with its most sensational chapters appearing as magazine excerpts a couple of weeks before the Democratic Party's convention in August.

B. Fundamental Questions

As I see it, Reverend Wright's persona poses two show-stopping questions with regards to Senator Obama's candidacy:

1) Why did the Senator remain in a church headed by such a flamboyant pastor?
2) Why did the Senator join that church in the first place?

The first question raises short-term, tactical concerns; the second involves deep-rooted, existential considerations. Indeed, I have been brooding over the second question for the last couple of years, ever since I read, then re-read, then re-re-read the chapter on religion in the Senator's superbly crafted collection of essays, "The Audacity of Hope."

When Senator Clinton declared that she would not have remained in a church headed by a pastor who made such offensive statements, I found myself chuckling at the irony. It is a fundamental tenet of our society's conventional wisdom that women are more concerned with relationships than men, that men are more likely to become involved in shallow functional associations, associations that are readily severed when they no longer serve their participants' current interests. Yet here was the female candidate firmly asserting that she would have "walked out" ... and there was her otherwise super-articulate male opponent fumbling to explain why he was "still involved". At that point I realized that Senator Obama could not give a satisfactory answer to the first question until he addressed the second. Why did he join that particular church in the first place?

In my opinion, neither question has been invalidated by the Senator's prior renounciation of Reverend Wright's statements nor by the Senator's recent resignation from the Reverend's Church. So when the Reverend's comet comes blazing back in August and/or September, these questions will surely follow in its tail.

C. The Senator's Conversion

I was perplexed, even vexed by the Senator's discussion of his faith in Chapter 6 of his book because his basic framework was so different from my own. Whereas I had left the globalized Catholic Church as a young man in a quest for Truth, the Senator had joined a localized Black church as a young man in a quest for Community. But why did he join that particular church in Chicago?

The tumultous reactions to Reverend Wright's flamboyant speeches at the NAACP and at the Washington Press Club in April 2008 provide the answer. Even his loudest and harshest critics conceded that Reverend Wright has been an effective pastor whose leadership has enabled his church to render substantial services to its members, especially to its poor, to its sick, and to its elderly and disabled. The Senator was evidently attracted to the Reverend and to the Reverend's church because of these services, because of these good works. In other words, the Senator's conversion is really not so surprising after all. It is just a particular, albeit highly prominent instance of the historic truth that Christians have always made more converts by their good works, i.e., by acting like Christ, than by the persuasive logic of their theologies.

D. Reverend Wright's Inconvenient Truths

The Reverend Jeremiah Wright did not work so hard for all those decades in order to become "Pastor to a President."

To be continued ...

An email I sent to afterhours@msnbc.com

Joanne takes a stand — Wed, 21 May 2008 08:03:14 EDT

I sent this email after watching the election results last night into the early morning hours. I had a lot on my mind and wanted to be heard. Read below:

I tried to call in this morning but the phones were very busy. However, I feel that I had to tell you how I feel about the way things are going...I am a 25 year old African American (holding a B.A. in English) female that voted early by absentee ballot in SC because I was 9 months pregnant and afraid that I would miss the chance to vote for Barack Obama in January by being in the hospital. In January, I would have voted for Clinton if she was elected the party nominee. However, I don't quite feel the same now. Because of Hillary's extremely negative attacks on Obama and her dismissal of the power of the African American vote, if she was the front runner, I would not vote at all (instead of voting for McCain) because I am so angry at her. I am even angrier now, as a woman, because she has "lost" the race at this point and refuses to throw in the towel and unite our party. Could she, like the majority of her voters, be so against an African American president that she would actually make it hard for him to take the nomination, when she knows her chances are slimmer as every primary and caucus passes? I think so. As Barack has come closer and closer to winning the nomination, "Billary" has found innumerable ways to deny him the right: by changing the number of delegates needed, by claiming she's the swing state queen. What is even worse is that she's now claiming to lead in the popular vote, which shouldn't be taken into account because caucus votes are not included in the popular vote, and by which Barack would still lead. She's also so desperate that she's claiming Michigan when Barack wasn't even on the ballot. All of this is making her less of an "honest" woman and more of some sort of psycho maniac that wants to be controlling and feels that she has the right because her last name is Clinton. I have lost all respect for both of them. Would she have come this far in the election if she had divorced Bill when he committed adultery? I could go on and on, but I think you get my point. This election is really stressing me out and I've never even been that interested in politics, because of Barack, I am now, and might find myself in a political career in the future. Yes, he's had that great of an impact on me.

Joanne Green, endorser of Barack Obama, democratic presidential nominee of 2008. With Barack Obama, it's always "Yes We Can" (change is possible). ROCK THE VOTE.

The final statement above is my signature on my actual email address. Do you have any comments or opinions about the things I wrote above? I would love to hear them.

Country of Origin

Corrie — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:34:47 EDT

I just posted my first blog a few minutes ago and left something out that I believe makes me somewhat unique, with a different viewpoint from some. My family immigrated to this great country, The United States of America in 1957. I was 9 years old and we came from the Netherlands. My father wanted a better life for his children and he viewed this country as the greatest country on earth. He had fought side by side with American GI's during WWII in the Dutch underground and fell in love with Americans.

He saw all of his 3 children achieve much more than they could have in Holland and we are all very happy living in the USA.

I see the present administration taking away all of the benefits I had as a child to achieve my goals and even surpass them. I would like to bring this country back to the days where anything was possible for my daughter, her husband and my grandchildren. Hillary Clinton will keep the status quo, which will only continue to limit opportunities. Barack Obama will work to ensure that there are opportunities for all Americans, especially African Americans, who helped build this country and have had short shrift for many, many years. Yes, women have also been discriminated against, but we had a better shot than our AA counterparts.

African Americans speak out on Obama - insight and critiques

eric mar — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:46:16 EDT

10 concise comments on Obama's Speech on Race from 10 members of the editorial board of the Black Commentator. They all can be contacted on the recent online edition of the Black Commentator:
As always, each give much insight with their own criticisms. Overall, all reinforce the significance and salience of Obama's speech on race.

http://johndelloro.blogspot.com/2008/03/progressive-black-america-14-brief.html

From John Delloro's Burning Cane Blog:

http://johndelloro.blogspot.com

Barack Obama and Race Relations

bekehangel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:50:16 EDT

If anyone thought Barack Obama's speech on race relations in America was just a political speech to clear his name and get elected president, the person must be making a categorical mistake. While the millions of people who have voted for him would want him to become an American president, even if he does not win the democratic nomination, by virtue of this speech, he would be forever remembered in the history of America.

"The Audacity of Change!"

Culturally Conscious — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:38:07 EST

The heat is on!!!

Wow!!!

This is really some exciting stuff!!!
Now we are seeing the “For Real” Hillary and “The Audacity of Change” Obama!
How will all this play out???
Well it all boils down to the platform each candidate is running on…

Let’s first talk about Hillary’s platform…
I think we all know what Hillary’s platform is, “Experience!”
No one can dispute that Hillary has lots of experience and exposure to several levels of government… This is her strength as well as her weakness… Her strength because she has made several alliances in the political process over the many years she has been around the Washington machine… Influence is and has always been one of the most important traits a candidate can have… One can only look at the Clinton Camp with admiration of true political power at work…

Her weakness, because one could only say that all this experience is synonymous of the Washington Status Quo… My mother use to always say, “If you stay in the rain long enough, you are bound (certain) to get wet!!! So Hillary’s many years of experience are deeply rooted in the way the “Washington Machine” operates… This point is becoming very obvious with the political spin that is being used against the Obama campaign in recent days. I hate to say this but the Clinton Campaign’s argument about;
1- Florida and Michigan,
2-the can’t win without Ohio position
and 3-The ringing phone,
does not meet the “Shoe on the other Foot” test (SOTOF)…
I believe that all decisions made by a campaign must meet the “SOTOF” test in order to maintain voter confidence… I don’t know if the shoe “was” on the other foot, the Clinton camp would still maintain their present position on these three issues???
Hummmm???

“One never knows, does one???”

Moving on!!!!
Now let’s examine the Obama campaign platform… Again, everyone knows that Obama is running on the platform of “Change!” And for the most part Obama has stayed firmly on that “Surf Board!” I believe this is more than a platform or politics for Obama… I believe it is truly his destiny… I believe, because Obama makes you believe that change is possible… I believe that it is Obama’s destiny to show US and the world, change is possible if you can believe… I believe that win, lose or draw; Obama has to stay above the frey and not resort to the very thing he is fighting against… No Obama does not have the Washington experience and that is a good thing… For we have seen where this experience has gotten US… So yes Obama has “the audacity of change” platform!!!

Is this country ready for “Change???”

Only the voters will answer this question…
So far “Change” is in the air… But with the forces of “the status quo” pressing hard against this movement, Obama will have turn up the volume of the “Vibe for Change!” Obama will have to cause a “new generation of agents for change” to push his campaign into orbit with “escape velocity force” that the gravitational pull of “the statue quo” can not deny…

Wow!!!

History is being made right before our eyes… The one thing about change is, “Change” does not need media to make it happen… Media will find and eagerly document “Change” when it happens…

So Culturally speaking, “we have the past and the future colliding…
A struggle of “the status quo” and “the audacity of change!” This struggle has gone on for millenia… Through-out history we see a constant push against “change” in all aspects of life… In the end “change” always wins… Those that don’t change with it are often lost in the annals of time…
Hummmmm!!!

“The Audacity of Change!”

Grace Lee Boggs on the Authenticity of Obama's Leadership - WE ARE THE LEADERS WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR

eric mar — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:58:35 EST

[Photo - Grace Lee Boggs and the late James Boggs]

Longtime movement activist/intellectual Grace Lee Boggs from Detroit has a way of analyzing the world in language we can all understand with a goal of transforming our local communities in new and uplifting ways.
Here's her great piece on Obama's leadership and significance. Thanks to John Delloro's Burning Cane Blog for posting this.

Obama is providing the authentic, visionary leadership we need in this period when our challenges are so great and our politics (as he puts it in The Audacity of Hope) so small.
That kind of leadership is very precious.
26 year-old MLK provided it in 1955 when he inspired Montgomery blacks, sick and tired of being sick and tired, to go beyond protest and manifest a more advanced humanity in their yearlong non-violent boycott.
Jimmy Boggs anticipated it when he said in his last speech to University of Michigan students in 1991 "I don't believe nobody can run this country better than me. I'm saying you better think that way. You need to stop thinking of yourself as a minority because thinking like a minority means you're thinking like an underling. Everyone is capable of going beyond where they are."
Liberals and radicals tend to be skeptical of this kind of leadership....

Grace's full post.Grace's autobiography Living for Change.

Disappointed, part 1.

Sharon from Carbondale, IL — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:01:38 EST

I have been a big Barak Obama fan since he became an Illinois State Senator. I am a resident of Illinois so that this is not the first time I have voted for him. My local sorority chapter (Delta Sigma Theta) paid him to be a guest speaker at our twenty fifth Anniversary. We could have saved money (we raise money for college scholarships nationwide) but we thought that this would be great opportunity for Southern Illinoisans to express our pride and hopes for him.

Early on in this campaign very racist comments were said about him by what I call the Southern Strategy Republicans. He was called a “hafrican”, and "Barak the Magic Negro" The Southern Strategy was a policy started during the 1968 Republican Presidential campaign. Nixon and the Republicans who came after him used code words like "law and order", “welfare queens” and "urban" to describe African Americans. In 1964, after over a century of peaceful demonstrations schools, neighborhoods and jobs were still segregated. Many had lost faith by the time the 1964 civil rights legislation was passed. Black Americans did what whites had done for centuries and rioted. It seemed like the federal government would not honor the laws it had just passed, just like they ignored the 14th Amendment since 1868. Under the Nixon administration state and local police relieved millions to increase their manpower and resources to combat Black lawlessness.

Even if a black person had felt he or she had gained full constitutional rights, since "law and order' was the catchphrase of the day, a blind eye was turned to the centuries old pratice of police brutality got encouragement from state, federal and local governments. What good is voting if you are not safe in your own community? If the police want to confine and convict instead of protect and serve, it is the same old ball game. Nixon cut many of the programs that had been recently initiated to help the poor of all ethnicities. The Nixon administration gave Americans the cachet label all African Americans as criminals, drug addicts and welfare cheats who have no morals and have n contributed nothing to the United States. Nixon, Ford, Regan, and both Bushes were kept in power by this political base and they all supported those who felt that blacks were asking for too much by demanding the same rights as every American.

Democrats have paid lip service to Constitution rights but have failed to change this mockery of the document we legislation we all live under. By the time Nixon the criminal left the White House the words "reverse racism" were beginning to infiltrate the national psyche. Fighting for constitutional equality was twisted into black racism. Many of those who protest against FISA now, do not seem to realize that their disreguard of racial profiling has a direct link to the invasions of privacy we all live under now. You take away rights for one group with no protest it is easier to take them away from everyone.

So why is the man who I have voted for ignoring a conference that deals with helping Katrina survivors? The NAACP is one of the most mainstream organizations in the civil rights movement. NAACP fought when Jews and Italians were lynched, not just blacks. They have been a multiracial oraganization since 1909. Tavis Smiley and Tom Joyner were also participants and they reach millions of Americans everyday. What is Barak Obama saying when he skips this conference (for the second time in a row) like Southern Strategy Republicans, Huckabee and McCain did? Will someone in the campaign answer this question for me?

Tearfully,
Sharon Joseph

No more "lesser of two evils".

Sala Udin — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:31:15 EST

I too am a Community Organizer having learned for four years as a Freedom Rider in the Mississippi Delta during the 1960's. To hear a Presidential candidate offer "Community Organizing" as his bona fides raises the level of this almost lost art from near obscurity.

I too used my community organizing skills in the service of community development in my home town of Pittsburgh, PA, which resulted in my being elected to Pittsburgh Ciry Council, where I served for 11 years.

As an elected official, I was frequently called upon by the local Democratic Party to lead the effort in the African American community on behalf of local, county, statewide and congressional candidates, as well as Presidential candidataes, inclulding President Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry. I worked for both of Jesse Jackson's campaigns as well.

I frequently had to hold my nose and support "the lesser of two evils." Having the honor to work for the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama vindicates and validates 45 years of working for the upliftment of Black and poor people. I am so glad to be alive during this historic moment. Even though this is a democracy, I almost feel like the Super-Delegates have no right to deprive America of this moment; of this movement. Yes we can!

Obama's Already Made History

Coonsey — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:26:18 EST

Barack Obama has already improved America in ways that will be seen for years to come. He has not only brought back the very idea of having someone other than a white man or woman in a leadership role in our Federal government. He’s been successful in pointing out to Americans that experience isn’t always the ‘answer’ to our problems, using a little common sense and good judgment helps too.

Obama’s not only been successful in drawing out our younger generation to ‘get involved’, he’s been able to draw out some older folks that have been lagging in their citizenship duties as well.

The Senator started his candidacy as a relatively unknown individual. Since that time he’s been able to take on a well established (35 years according to Hillary Clinton’s claims) woman candidate that was considered to be the Democratic nominate way back in 2000 according to some. He’s not only got a real chance of winning the nomination, some say he definitely will.

Obama on Anti-semitism in African American community

Josh — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:06:36 EST

This is an excerpt from Obama's speech in Atlanta on Sunday. I believe it's important for Jewish supporters of Obama to read this. It suggests that he isn't afraid to challenge ANY community on the issue of unity.

For most of this country's history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man's inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays -- on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system.

And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we're honest with ourselves, we'll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King's vision of a beloved community.

We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.

Bringing Race into the Debate

Gordon Broom — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:53:23 EST

I do wish Senators Clinton and Obama would bring and end to the Martin Luther King argument. Both have good records of standing up for equality and I hate seeing this sparring in the democratic primaries. I'd prefer that this fight be had with the GOP candidate in the general election. And with a lot of hard work on the part of us all, it will be Senator Obama having the fight with the GOP.

Hillary's Duplicity

N. Julio Barthson - E-Campaign Leader — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:50:16 EST

Does Hillary Clinton really like blacks and would she really fight for their cause as much as she makes us believe? Or is she just going to ride the black horse to victory and then turn her back on this community as she has done before? It's up to African Americans to look at the facts from the past and make the correct decision. Check out the official correspondence below, culled from a community blog, that explores an example of Hillary's duplicity vis-a-vis the black community...

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Video: Barack’s support in Waterloo, IA

Caitlin Harvey — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:40:10 EST

Today, Barack received the endorsement of State Representative Deb Berry of Waterloo. This is Barack’s 17th endorsement from Iowa legislators.

Representative Berry was born and raised in Waterloo and has been in the legislature since 2002. She said her choice came down to who was the best candidate to unite our country and actually get things done once in office.

Barack Obama is the best candidate to bring our country together, inspire hope and unity, and work across the aisle to get things done. Barack Obama is the agent for change that we need in this country, and I have confidence and trust in him to fulfill the duty of President of the United States. America is ready for real leadership, not more of the same Washington, D.C. conventional thinking, and that's why I'm proud to support Barack Obama's campaign to unite our divided nation and tackle the tough challenges we face.

Our campaign has worked hard organizing on the ground in the Waterloo area. Check out this video featuring some of those efforts:

Here’s the full list of Barack’s endorsements from Iowa legislators:

Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, Rep. Deb Berry, Sen. Bob Dvorsky, Rep. Elesha Gayman, Sen. Bill Heckroth, Rep. David Jacoby, Rep. Pam Jochum, Rep. Helen Miller, Sen. Rich Olive, Rep. Donovan Olson, Rep. Tyler Olson, Rep. Janet Petersen, Rep. Brian Quirk, Sen. Tom Rielly, Rep. Mark Smith, Sen. Steve Warnstadt, and Sen. Frank Wood.

Attorney General Tom Miller and State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald have also endorsed Barack, along with former Iowa Democratic Party chair Gordon Fischer.

Are we a nation of immigrants? (Response to comments)

Tom Battin — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:35:16 EDT

I found your posting interesting and wondered how best to respond. You make several key points which, if I understand what you mean, I don’t agree with. They are:

The “role” of native Americans, European immigrants, and African Americans in U.S. history.
“We are a nation of laws”
“Illegal” immigrants are “taken care of” by society.
“Do we add we are also a nation of illegals?”

A little background
The issue of immigration to the United States is complex and fraught with misinformation and distortion. This is largely because history textbooks and classroom syllabi in both high school and college do not fully present the facts. Immigration law didn’t exist until the 1875. Prior to that, anyone could come to the United States without challenge because the government needed laborers for the plantations and settlers to establish outposts in native land. These groups included religious sects, slaves, indentured servants, prisoners, people escaping crimes in their home countries, and the like. My own ancestors were unauthorized immigrants who, while coming “legally”, had a questionable past. (See http://pnews.org/ArT/WaR/Imm.shtml and http://www.crf-usa.org/immigration/immigration_history.htm ).

As the population grew and “original Americans” established themselves, new immigrants faced popular discontent with their arrival and demands that the government do something. The reactions were mostly against Catholics (Irish and Germans) and Chinese laborers in the west. Initially these laws focused on undesirables - convicts and prostitutes – but expanded to include specific groups. The passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 racially targeted the Chinese immigrants who were brought over as laborers for the Transcontinental Railroad. Once they were no longer needed as laborers, emigrants from the East, who were settling in California, essentially had a clash over resources. The Exclusion Act suspended all Chinese immigration and barred courts from granting citizenship. In addition, local laws barred Chinese from intermarrying, restricted where they could live (the infamous “chinatowns”), and sanctioned lynchings by white mobs.

Once the process started in 1875, the government continued to pass laws that restricted immigration eventually setting quotas in 1921. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Quota_Act ) This Act set percentages of allowable immigrants based on their existing population currently residing in the U.S. These quotas continue today. In recent times, the application of immigration laws has been uneven. Those from countries where the U.S. government seeks to undermine are welcomed with open arms: Cuba, Vietnam, China to some extent, the Soviet Union, etc. However, those from countries the government is trying to maintain – Iraq, Haiti, Central America, and Africa – are restricted with quotas and tight scrutiny as to their “reason” for coming to the U.S. (It seems disingenuous of the Bush Administration to ignore the estimated 2 million refugees fleeing Iraq because of a war it started. It has acceded to admitting a mere 7,000.) The U.S. government offers political asylum for those being persecuted in their home countries, but one has to present far more evidence coming from Haiti or El Salvador than Cuba or Vietnam. I have always believed that a policy must be measured with a single yardstick in order to be fair rather than in a politically expedient manner. While I perhaps understand the need for quotas, they must be equally applied.

Your focus on “illegal” immigration likely refers to Mexican immigration which constitutes the largest population of unauthorized immigrants. (The term “unauthorized” is the official language of the Department of Homeland Security). It is important to point out that there are unauthorized immigrants from all continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia…though not many from Antarctica as far as I know. (See http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/ )

The issue of Mexican immigration is tricky. After the Mexican American War of 1846-48, the United States government signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty established rights for Mexican nationals currently living (and owning land) in what was then to become U.S. territory. A Mexican national could either declare him/herself a U.S. citizen or if remaining after a year, s/he would automatically become a U.S. citizen. In either case, the person was accorded all of the rights under the Constitution. The treaty was ratified by the Senate and is still in effect. This established the Mexican American community in the United States who had family back in Mexico.

From 1848 forward, the border between the U.S. and Mexico was fairly porous. People traversed it regularly and many Mexicans viewed the U.S. territory as merely “El Norte” as if it had never really transferred ownership. Those who had opted for U.S. citizenship also brought their families to the U.S. and freely traveled back and forth to Mexico without incident. This fluidity of the border was further complicated during World War II when the Roosevelt administration created the “bracero” program (http://www.farmworkers.org/bracerop.html) to bring Mexican laborers into the U.S. in order to help with the war effort. This program provided for temporary status while laboring with the expectation one returned to Mexico when finished. Subsequent administrations developed similar programs thus fostering an acceptance of regular labor migration between the two countries while leaving the actual immigration status a bit cloudy. Naturally when one moves to a given area there is a tendency to put down roots and the longer the labor “assignment”, the more likely one will want to stay in the U.S.

However, much like the outcry to control immigration in the 1870s as noted above, the current anger over Mexican immigration is more of a response to a fact of population. Mexican immigrants, both legal and unauthorized, are increasing in numbers simply due to birthrates and dwarfing those of other ancestries (mostly European) because of falling birthrates in those populations. Europe itself faces the same issue – white populations are increasingly older and in decline, while people of color (Turks, Moroccans, Ethiopians, etc.) are increasingly triggering a rise in Neo-Nazi/Skinhead activity. What seems disingenuous to me is that the U.S. government – by policy – actively encouraged Mexicans to migrate to the U.S. and now is complaining because they took them up on that offer.

Your focus on “illegal” immigration seems misplaced. While it is true Mexican immigrants are coming to the United States, it is the encouragement by the government and employers to come here. They provide a low wage labor force (far less than the legal minimum wage) that cleans hotel rooms, cooks meals, tends to gardens, builds houses, etc. It seems a bit hypocritical of you to attack them for violating the law when you do not apply the same venom to the employers who are flagrantly ignoring both labor and immigration law. Quite frankly, the economies of most Southwestern states would come to their knees if it were not for the “temporary” labor coming from Mexico.

I don’t know if you have ever met Mexican migrants, but in my experience they are some of the hardest working, most humble, family oriented, religious, and conscientious people I have ever encountered. The Right in this country would have a field day recruiting them as voters if they did not have such reactionary immigration positions. Despite the harsh life conditions, Mexican migrants live dignified lives in strong, close knit communities. Sure, some come with criminal intent but these are the minority and no different from the ones who came earlier on in our history as I noted above. (An interesting side point is that marijuana cultivation by drug gangs is increasing in southern California because the border is being sealed up. These are people with sufficient resources to purchase expensive homes in upscale communities in order to grow marijuana). I challenge any “authorized” American to live one day as a “unauthorized” Mexican immigrant. I know I wouldn’t last long.

Other books to consider:

Don't Know Much About History, Kenneth C. Davis

A different mirror, Ron Takaki, Back Bay Books, 19943.

As to your specific points:

“Native Americans first settled this land”

Well yes and no. The challenge here is that native people have a completely different view of property rights and “settlement” than Europeans. In my experience and from reading, I found they don’t have the same concept of private property. It is all held communally and even personal items are fair game for anyone to use as needed. When the Europeans arrived, the initial negotiations for land rights allowed the Europeans to get large tracts for mere trinkets. The joke is that Manhattan was “given away” for $24 in glass beads. However, the native peoples didn’t necessarily understand that they were granting ownership in perpetuity. Instead, they likely thought the Europeans just wanted to share hunting grounds and forests as they did. While the tribes had set communities, many did relocate as needed following the herds or planting seasons. The “settlement” on reservations, even the concept of owned land, was forced upon them by the U.S. government.

“European immigrants helped build it”

Yes but so did the Chinese, Mexicans, Japanese, and many others from countries around the world. As noted above the Transcontinental Railroad was built with Chinese labor on the most difficult and dangerous section from the West back to Utah. Japanese farmers essentially created California agriculture with their knowledge of irrigation systems only to lose it all when interned during WWII. Mexicans had settled much of the Southwest prior to 1848 and, despite the provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, were chased off their lands by such groups as the Texas Rangers. It is significant that the oldest city in the United States is Santa Fe, New Mexico.

“African Americans and their ancestors overcame slavery and still battle for equal footing in many aspects of life”

I am not sure what you mean by overcome. African Americans resisted from the beginning and actively fought the institution while in it despite the legal barriers and violent means of suppression. It is also important to note that white abolitionists from before the American Revolution actively opposed slavery. The first Constitutional crisis was over the 3/5 of a man clause. It wasn’t just a grassroots movement inside the African American community but a national struggle that culminated in the Civil War. Yet ,despite the Emanicipation Proclamation and Reconstruction, few Southerners accepted the end of slavery and it was resurrected with the Jim Crow laws starting with Plessy vs Ferguson in 1896. (Interestingly about the same time anti-immigration battles were going on in the North.) If you travel to the South, you will find that many still are fighting the Civil War and waiting for the South to rise again, read KKK. We need to be ever vigilant against such an event. To me, the struggle for civil rights and economic equality are an issue for all citizens not just the African American community because it affects not just them but everyone in the U.S.

“…we are also a nation of laws…”

Yes we have a Constitution and a codified set of rights established there as well as continual legislation coming from Congress. However, the existence of these laws does not mean they are enforced nor does it mean they are enforced fairly. Through its history, the U.S. government has not been consistent in following the law. With native peoples it signed a number of treaties most of which were broken. An example of this is the treaty with the Lakota to establish the Black Hills as their sacred lands forever. However, once gold was discovered that treaty went out the window. There are countless examples of police officers, who are sworn to uphold the law, skirting the edges of legality in order to obtain a confession or prosecution. One motivation to end the death penalty is because of false confessions and sentencing of innocent people. Jim Crow, as mentioned earlier, violated the Constitution but was not lifted until the Brown vs Board of Education decision in 1954. The U.S. government regularly violates international law through illegal invasions or attacks on countries of its choosing. The current controversy over torture suggests the U.S. has violated international conventions. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15981-2004May10.html and http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510612004. And, as I mentioned earlier, employers regularly violate immigration and labor laws to hire unauthorized immigrants.

“if you're not a legal citizen then that's okay we'll still take care of you"

Interesting. In the recent fires in California, the Border Patrol saw fit to use the opportunity to deport people fleeing the flames rather than focusing on the needed emergency response. (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-border28oct28,1,2904297.story?ctrack=1&cset=true ) This doesn’t seem like taking care of fire victims. I am not sure what you mean by “take care of you”. Most unauthorized immigrants I’ve met, take care of themselves by working 3 jobs, living in crowded conditions, and keeping a low profile. Those that end up in hospital emergency rooms go there because they need medical care and have no other option. Health insurance is expensive. While you may think many are on welfare, actually many pay social security and other taxes. In addition, contrary to how it is portrayed in the press, the majority of people on welfare are white.

“do we add we are also a nation of illegals?”

Perhaps. It certainly would be consistent with the documented history of this country.

McClurkin and the Obama Doctrine

Athena — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:48:59 EDT

      To understand how Sen. Obama can continue to deal with the Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, one has to understand what I will call the Obama Doctrine.

      There is no doubt that McClurkin's views on gays are disturbing. Obama quickly issued a statement unequivocally disagreeing with them, but explained that the singer's views reflect a broader struggle within the black community (in this case) to come to terms with homosexuality both in the home and as a societal phenomenon.
                                          The Tenets of the Doctrine
      Obama's point is that McClurkin deserves a seat at the table of political dialogue; that one cannot ignore homophobia by sweeping it under the carpet, and then wonder why it is there, why one's attempts to whitewash dissent didn't work, and why there is still dirt on the floor that lies beneath that carpet you so assiduously spent an entire morning cleaning.

      When the Senator talks about unity, he is not saying that it already exists. The Obama Doctrine unequivocally states that one cannot achieve unity and change unless one is willing to directly engage those with different views. It is in this context that Obama states that he would consider meeting with dictators without pre-conditions, a stance embraced by Nixon and FDR, and one that paved the way for some of the best moments in American foreign policy.  The exercise of leadership and courage always involves risk and forays into untrodden ground.

      Thus, Obama's acceptance of a financial contribution or a form of support from McClurkin is both sound of doctrine and morally legitimate AS LONG AS OBAMA DOES NOT SUPPORT HIS VIEWS AND SAYS SO PUBLICLY, which he has. In a similar vein, amongst the hundreds of thousands of us who donate to the campaign, there are many who do not agree with Obama himself on everything.
      Indeed, it is the Senator himself who frequently points out that, as President, he may at times disagree with us and we may disagree with him. Yet either way he will still fight for us, not against us. That is where the Doctrine is intended to lead, and it reflects the direction of Obama's political ideology. While most politicians support a laundry list of issues first and join a party or caucus second, Obama does the opposite because he recognizes, as few politicians do, that any policy platform must first rest on a philosophy before resting on solid grounds.

      Obama is embracing McClurkin as a citizen, not as a thinker.  His message of unity is thus exposed in its splendid admixture of strengths and challenges. “There are easier choices that you can make in this election," Obama says. "People who will follow the well-worn grooves…people who will deliver pretty much more of the same.”
                                                 A Risky Proposition
      The real risk in supporting Obama is NOT that voting for a half black, young, first-term U.S. senator with a "funny name" may not put one in line with the winner of the election.
      Rather, the fundamental risk lies within ourselves; in how willing we are to vote for a break from decades of mediocre leadership and political stagnation for which both Republicans AND Democrats are to blame; in how willing we are to confront the growing pains associated with uniting a country under common goals while, at the same time, agreeing to speak with those we disagree with.  This has been done before by our great leaders and it can happen again, but only if we have the courage to abet change.

Are we a nation of immigrants?

Tom Battin — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:29:40 EDT

It seems all the Presidential candidates are promoting us as a "nation of immigrants" as a way of promoting unity and understanding among all the various racial and ethnic groups that make up these United States. The quilt of America that Jesse Jackson described in his campaigns of '84 and '88. However, this glosses over two hard truths about our history. Native Americans, while technically immigrants over the land bridge from Asia, were well established by the time European immigrants showed up on the shores of Virginia. The colonial response to them was either to enslave them for labor on the plantations or annilate them through military conquest, infectious disease, starvation, or forced migration. They were not immigrants but forced emigrants.

The other reality that is quietly overlooked is the history of slavery. While it is true many blacks have immigrated to the US from the Caribbean or Africa in recent years, in the early days of colonization they were captured as slaves in Africa and forced to endure the horrendous Middle Passage to the New World. Many did not make it and those that survived faced the brutal institution of the plantation. There was no melting pot or golden shore awaiting them. It is important that we not only remember but openly acknowledge that African Americans suffered greatly for the benefit of our ancestors. Not just in providing the labor source that produced much of the needed revenue from Europe for cotton and tobacco, but in ensuring that the white minority of Southerners maintained their "fair" representation in Congress with the 3/5 clause in the US Constitution. Thus African Americans not only provided the economic foundation for the society freed of British tryrany but also the political life blood for the Royalists of the South. Speaking of them as "immigrants" ignores this essential history and makes them once again as invisible as Ralph Ellison so poignantly wrote about.

We need to encourage (if not demand) all candidates to speak of the US as a nation of immigrants, slaves, and natives. To do otherwise tells only 3/5s of our history.

Obama Gets Best Reception from Black Women in Iowa

V, aka VCubed/Virginia V — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:29:55 EDT

"Obama, who received the loudest response and led the audience in a fiery chant at the end of his talk, also lauded the contributions of African-American women..." Want to truly make history, women voters? Put three black women in the West Wing, light a dream in all girls' eyes equally! Michelle Obama will truly help ALL women and girls, equally. Obama was raised at times in his life by a single mother, he knows what women go through to raise their children.

Michelle grew up with working class parents, she has not been a privileged daughter. She and Obama just finished paying off their student loans when he was paid for his books - they were not wealthy privileged people. Obama has two daughters, and they will bring a sight never before seen in America: African American children living in the West Wing!

Under the Clinton Administration, we got Welfare Reform that drove more single mothers and sons and daughters into poverty for lack of childcare (even Hillary's old employer, the Children's Defense Fund Executive Director Edelstein says so!). We got Sentencing Guidelines and Three Strikes that were aimed at African Americans disproportionately, including the double-standard sentencing that made penalties for crack cocaine used most in African American communities tougher than powder cocaine used most in white communities.

Let's wake up and vote for the man - yes, he's a man, but what of it? - who will do more for women and men of all races, and especially for the poor and middle class, while we still have a middle class to aspire to! Let's vote the Civil Rights and Constitution expert to the presidency, and raise our individual rights back to their proper place in our democratic system - at the top!

Vote Obama in the Primary Election in your state - Hillary Clinton won't miss your vote, trust me! Obama will count every one of us, for no one else, no PAC, no lobbyist, will have "installed" or "coronated" him.

Obama 08! Fire It Up! Ready to Make History!

http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/3_Democrats_woo_black_Sisters_on_Target_in_Iowa_Obama_gets_best_reception'>digg story

Inequality in Iowa

Tony Loyd — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:36:17 EDT

Iowans don’t have to go far to find prejudice.

Last week marked the passing of an historical day of racial inequality and hope in America. It was 50 years ago that the Little Rock Nine were integrated into Little Rock Central High School. The good news is that these nine students went on to achieve great feats in life. The bad news is that they had to be forcibly integrated against the will of the Governor and many “white citizens’ councils.” This event highlighted the hope of racial integration, the beginning of the civil rights movement and the lingering prejudice of a segregated south.

Official African Americans for Obama Website!

vette58 — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 04:36:03 EDT

Finally, the offical campaign has added their African Americans for Obama website. Now, all of those comments and suggestions to mobilize the black community has a forum and direct link to the official campaign.

Good Job. We're getting everyone represented!

Official African Americans for Obama Website!

vette58 — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 04:32:59 EDT

Forward this link to all of your group members, friends, and families and let's make this group one of their largest!!!!!

Open Letter: Time to Visit the Inner City

Athena — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:41:19 EDT

Dear Sen. Obama,

As you grow your campaign and make your foray into large and diverse states like California, I believe the time has come for you to campaign heavily in inner-city neighborhoods – particularly historically black ones.

Up until now, you have strengthened your broad appeal to “the general public” (whatever that means) and, understandably for strategic reasons, the savvy early-state voters. Besides having established yourself as a great future leader, you have also positioned yourself as a president for all. Now is the time to begin breaking out by constituency, while keeping up the national, “generic” aspect of your campaign.

Whenever I hear the question posed: “Can America vote for a black president,” my answer is “Yes, but only if you vote for him.” A logical, silly answer, in a sense, but also one that speaks profoundly to your message of how we can effect change ourselves.

Now translate this exchange into one between you and a black voter. It could sound something like this:

Potential black voter: “Why should I vote for you – you won’t get elected. Time and time again, we have been made promises of a better life, better schools, better opportunities. Now you come and tell me that we can have a black president when we don’t even have good schools?”

Your answer, Senator, should be, “It will be different this time IF YOU VOTE. And if you vote, your vote will have been counted, heard, and you will have become a Public Citizen. You will have earned power.”

Consider this hypothetical exchange in the context of your message of hope, change, and optimism. If we white people with means are weary of the state of the nation, if we needed convincing before daring to hope, imagine how much help blacks need to become optimistic?

What to discuss:

In speaking at black inner-city neighborhoods, I suggest that you retool your stump speech in the following ways:

--After a brief stump speech, ask questions first, provide answers later. How do they perceive life? What do they want? What does government reform mean to them? How do THEY define change? As you hear the answers, as you gain a presence in their mind’s eye, you will take with you a piece of a constituency all the way to the White House. And they, like all of us who support you, will know it.

--Health care;

--Improving schools;

--Improving neighborhoods;

--Experiences you had as a community organizer and how you made a difference, and

--The need to bring the people closer to government, rather than government to the people – note the difference. These potential voters want to politically leave and go somewhere else. Rich whites feel more comfortable having others come to them.

--A note of caution on government reform, however: be careful with how you discuss lobbying. Washington lobbying, I think, is more of a middle class concern. Poor blacks I have spoken to say that those things are in the details, that the establishment never changes, that lobbyists and non-lobbyists are part of the same structure. Generally, unless asked, do not overly emphasize this issue until you have become a more familiar presence, especially because many of your proposals involve making documents available on the Internet, something that many Americans still do not have access to.

--Enfranchisement: You – not just your campaign aides, volunteers and advertisers, must talk about the voting process, explain ways in which they can make sure they are registered and that their vote does not get discounted because of technicalities. Speak of how elections in Florida in 2000 resulted in the marginalization of many poor blacks and how you will not tolerate that – how you will help them to make sure they are there to vote. Talk about the meaning of the word Democracy. Remind them of federal laws that make it illegal for employers to detain them from voting on Election Day. Tell those who cannot afford to take a minute away from work about how they can submit absentee ballots.

Strategy:

In general, move slowly, by stages.

--Begin by holding small, Iowa-like forums. Sit down with residents in the Watts district or, better still, areas of South Carolina, a state where, in my opinion, you have not sufficiently campaigned and cannot afford to take for granted. Do not hold rallies immediately, lest you be seen as equally inaccessible as your average politician.

--Do not initially try to recruit volunteers. First, arrive as your own man, as one human being talking to others. Set foot on terra firme before attempting to conquer the ground. Although you have had to plant volunteers in many areas that you have been unable to visit, you may have to change that strategy here. I am not proposing that you visit every neighborhood in a district before recruiting a single volunteer – just make sure that you have held at least one or two well-publicized events. In short, go by the motto that one uses in daily life: give first, and take later. That way, you build trust.

--Have aides distribute pamphlets about you at campaign events. These should include a brief biography, very specific policy points, and a section answering the question they will all have on their minds: “what can a black president do for black America?”

--Many residents will not have access to electronic media, or to your website. Make sure that campaign workers provide them with a mailing address and phone number where they can communicate their thoughts and suggestions with the campaign. Use the blogs posted by the campaign on the website to create paper newsletters that can be mailed out either to those who sign up or to neighborhood community centers.

--If possible, ask to be allowed to sit in on city hall meetings and neighborhood watch meetings in order to learn more about the issues, and to show people how much you really care. Although you are sending policy experts to many areas of the country in order to advise you on many issues, this situation calls for a more personal touch.

The overall value (besides votes, of course):

Visiting inner-city neighborhoods in the way I suggest offers you a golden opportunity that no other candidate has seized: to put change into action, not just talk about it. Enfranchising potential voters, getting them to act, listening to them, making your campaign accessible to them – all of these are actions that, for underprivileged blacks, are policy outcomes in themselves. Most of us whites interpret your intent to effect change as one that you will put in place come 2009. By breaking ground with black constituents, you are actually making change happen in 2007.

Presidential candidates have certainly campaigned in black neighborhoods in the past, but they have usually done so through large rallies only, and through demagoguery. You can do it through dialogue and education. That way, they will really see you for the extraordinary man that you are.

Expect this to be a slow process, though. Ironically, poor blacks may have more trouble trusting you than they do a powerful white public figure simply because they fear that white America will not let you triumph. It is hard to believe in something when you risk having your hopes dashed. Not everyone has your extraordinary strength and courage.

South Carolina - a snapshot:

The results of a poll conducted by Winthrop/ETV, released on Sept. 14, of 657 randomly selected African Americans in South Carolina show you winning the support of 35.4 percent of respondents, beating out Sen. Hillary Clinton, who received 30.7 percent of the vote. Your margin increased among men, but you were in a virtual tie with Mrs. Clinton among women. (The poll has a margin of error of plus/minus 3.82 percent.)

The full results are here:

http://www.myetv.org/television/productions/the_big_picture/winthrop_etv_polls/poll2/survey2page2.html

Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that this survey accurately reflects voter sentiments among blacks in South Carolina. If so, they are cause for only modest optimism, and demonstrate that much work needs to be done by you and your staff. A whopping 28.7 percent of respondents were undecided, including one third of females who were surveyed. Those figures represent huge numbers of potential supporters that you must tap into, and they suggest that, while the trend is in your favor, support for you is far below what it could be among blacks.

They may also suggest that, unless you increase your outreach efforts, many undecided blacks in South Carolina could eventually make up their minds - and choose a different candidate.

Here are some words you uttered a few weeks ago, as reported by Marc Ambinder in his blog on the website Atlantic.com:

"I guarantee you African-American turnout, if I'm the nominee, goes up 30 percent around the country, minimum.""If we just got African-Americans in Mississippi to vote their percentage of the population, Mississippi is suddenly a Democratic state," Obama said. He said Georgia would also turn Democratic and South Carolina would be in play.”

As things currently stand --and unless you visit more of these underserved areas-- I doubt whether your predictions will prove correct, even for the primary season.

Finally, please forgive me if I offend you by sounding as though you are not an expert in these outreach matters after decades of service to the community. I know how very much you care. The main value in what I say may be in that hearing something from someone else always helps. And hearing it from this and other supporters (see attached comments) may give your strategists the wake-up call we feel they need.

Good luck Senator!

Pamela Mercer

Washington D.C.

Will the jr. Senator from Illinois get the 'black vote.' He better!

tsalagi — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:14:01 EDT

I don't think blacks are going to go for her, and that they are, is classic Hillary fascist spin. But if they do and they think that they are now mainstream because a few got good jobs in media, then they are very very sadly mistaken. The word is co-opted. The power brokers have found a way to draw them in a little so they can be largely ignored- Moynihan's benign neglect takes over... People are perceived as tired of their whining just now. Take Rachel and Jessica who say they have so much opportunity that their bitching is hollow. Big mistakes being made and the future of an underclass is bright for a long long time without the power shift to Obama.Take the example of unions. The spin was that they were no longer needed after 'cooperative' management teams were put in place in the '60's -Peter Drucker, ad nauseum apologists for corporatism. Well, as a result, we now have no real unions, and we are all screwed as a result.Let blacks pass up the opportunity to elect Obama and watch them get trivialized for hundreds of years. Hillary will do shit for them or for the poor. This country cannot be more wrong. It is Obama or Europe or New Zealand. Anything else is going the way of the Handmaid's Tale. Anyone thinks this cannot happen easier now? Also, a big mistake. Giuliani will beat her, and you want to see benign neglect! Just watch the Mayor of New York go to work trivializing with a flair.