Posts with the tag Black

Quelques nouvelles / Some news

Black Hattitude — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:19:36 EDT

Bonjour!

En ce moment je suis pas mal prise par le boulot, une grosse operation de communication à venir (non aucun rapport avec la black hattitude ;) ) bien que certaines méthodes utilisées pour la Black Hattitude pourront être bénéfique au projet sur lequel je travaille.

Tout comme Obama nous ne partons pas gagnant, peu croient en nous et il nous faut faire preuve d'une grande force de caractère accompagné d'une dose de folie/courage (au choix !) car sans cela il serait inutile de se lancer...

La campagne de Barack Obama est pour nous un exemple à suivre même s'il faut bien evidemment l'adapter. Nos cibles sont moins variées, nous n'avons pas autant de monde sur le projet (difficile de faire mieux que la puissance réunie des partisants de Barack! ) mais nous avons le même gout pour les challenges et avons envie de changer les choses, à notre petit niveau, mais s'impliquer et tenter de toujours s'ameliorer fait parti de notre philosophie.

C'est pourquoi, ne vous inquiétez pas si je ne suis pas toujours très présente, je suis et j'accompagne toujours au moins dans mon coeur, l'équipe d'Obama et tous ses supporters! :)

A bientot pour parler d'un peu de Black Hattitude

Hello all on my Black Hattitude Blog

Black Hattitude — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:27:03 EDT

Hi Everybody,

On this blog i will go to talk about what's the black hattitude for me, Not only a skin colour, it is a state of mind, a philosophy of life.
For that purpose, several musical currents were born, as these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBlF9UhcGso

It is also the fact to share, to be opened without reserve nor a priori to discover new persons, learn of them, an exchange in 2 directions that can only be beneficial in all.

Salut tout le monde,

Sur ce blog, je vais vous parler de ce que représente la black hattitude pour moi, ce n'est pas seulement une couleur de peau, c'est un état d'esprit, une philosophie de vie.

Pour cela, plusieurs courants musicaux sont nés. Si vous avez l'occasion, découvrez cet album R.E.L.I.G.I.ON par Black Hattitude.
C'est aussi le fait de partager, d'être ouvert sans réserve ni a priori afin de découvrir de nouvelles personnes, d'apprendre d'elles, un échange dans les 2 sens qui ne pourra qu'être bénéfique à tous. See you soon! A bientot!

This is my America?

Myron — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:51:11 EDT

This is my America?

I was proud of my country not long ago. They saw past race and elected the first black president. I was as proud as an American can be; the operative word is “was”.

You see, I didn’t count on what had happen the past 10 to 15 years in politics. A party, lead by people so desperate to gain and hold as much power as possible, sold us all out. This country was created so the people could have a strong central government that represented all. In a democracy of any kind, the people are the government. But, that all changed when a party decided to highlight the bad and downplay the good that exist in any democracy. When deals were made and alliances created that went against American policy. When they decided to separate and conquer.

The religious were brought in despite separation of church and state. Politicians played to these beliefs and used it for votes. The poor was portrayed as being on the “dole” and lazy just living off the people in spite of the actual working poor or those who had no choice but to rely on handouts. True, some abused but most didn’t. To farther divide, pictures of minorities were used to help most Americans separate their feelings of walking away from the poor. Even though welfare has more white than minorities. Minorities were also used to show how tough on crime they were and how they protected Americans when most minority crimes are against themselves.

The government was painted as evil, raising taxes, bad managers (even when the managers, the leaders, were speaking of themselves). They managed to fool the public into thinking the government was some huge, suppressing entity when in reality, the government was the people.

The rich, the powerful, corporations were substituted for the government as good and what was right for the people. The “free market” and private industry was given as the great alternative. The people cheered and went along while companies such as Enron, WorldCom, AGI, to name a few, grew bigger and stronger while the government, the people, became weaker. They in time had more power and say so than the people with their own elected leaders.

We were heading toward a new America. A new government was emerging in which the few controlled the many; a totalitarian government. Democracy was about to die with the blessings of the people with cries like “Greed is good”.

But, mistakes happened. Some of the corporations became too greedy, too powerful. Those in charge began to believe they where untouchable and mistakes began to be made; the house of cards fell.

Then, a man came, intelligent and charismatic and the people, already in trouble, turned to this man in droves for help. They didn’t realize changes made fast cost. But, the people was used to being given promises and having a bone thrown to then every now and again to keep them quiet. But, no bone was thrown, only hard work to return the government to the people where it belonged.

Meanwhile, the losing side, with money power and anger, tried to destroy all. When a hand was extended to them for peace, the shook the hand and plotted. They attacked without end to keep the direction of America changing in their new direction. The attacked without mercy, spreading lies and deceit while a media frenzy feed of the hate and helped to spread the lies. They watered down a stimulus package in the guise of “bi-partisanship”. Then complain about how ineffective it is. The place a black face on its white party to show they are not what they appear to be. They take an unintentional comment and make it into something it was not “racist”. All the while manipulating a media looking for the next big story and hiding behind slogans such as “fair and honest” and “unbiased reporting” while forgetting the truth they promised the people.

A black man, one in which I am proud to say I look up to, is being compared to a history monster. Good intentions are being destroyed and the truth buried. So many lies have gotten the public confused; lives of public officials are being threatened. All the while the powerful and true leaders of the right, the rich, the corporations, look and wait.

You see, a weak government makes them more powerful and rich, so they create chaos and watch as their political mouthpieces defend the actions as “free speech”. A health care plan aimed at not only helping our economy but also to help keep 400 to 1600 men, women and children from dying each year is being sold as “socialism”. We have again placed money before lives, how do we explain to a mother who has just lost her child the in was just too expensive?

But, I have seen the worst, children wearing swastikas and calling a black man Hitler. What is this country becoming?

I heard a reporter once ask, “how can a black man be ashamed of his country?” At this moment, I ask, how can he not.

“A disappointed black man”

A Call for African-Americans To Support President Obama

Vera Richardson — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:47:03 EDT

President Obama has demonstrated in words and actions that he is the President for “All” Americans. He loves and wants what is best for all of us this includes those who voted for and against his Presidency. In view of that fact all Americans should support him and his agenda to make us a more perfect union. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear that this is a realistic expectation in our current racial and political divisive nation. African-Americans can’t control what others do but we can show our undivided support for our president. Therefore, I am asking that we keep President Obama in our prayers and to support him any way possible including his calls for service or action.

On June 27, 2009, I participated in a National Health Care Day of Service event. I decided to attend the event after President Obama encouraged Americans to give back by participating in a community event to promote National Health Care Day of Service. In addition to my group a large group of students from Prairie View A & M University also selected the community garden as their National Health Care Day of Service event.

The event was held at the Last Organic Outpost which is a non-profit organization committed to developing unban agriculture in the greater Houston area. One of the goals of the organization is to help people to learn about health and nutrition by growing what one eats.

People that volunteer to work in the community garden can take fresh produce as their method of payment.

You can learn more about the organization by logging on to www.lastorganicoutpost.com.

Vera Richardson

Author of “A Case of Racial Discrimination and Retaliation Real or Imagined”

What About The Black Holocaust President?

Da Goodess — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:59:49 EDT

"The events which transpired five thousand years ago;
Five years ago or five minutes ago, have determined
what will happen five minutes from now; five years
From now or five thousand years from now.
All history is a current event."

- Dr John Henrik Clarke -

BLACK:
(black), adj. 3a. of, pertaining to the various populations characterized by dark skin pigmentation, specifically the dark-skinned peoples of Africa, Oceania, and Australia.
HOLOCAUST:
(hol e kost), n. 1a. a great or complete slaughter or reckless destruction of life.
The Black Holocaust is one of the more underreported events in the annals of human history. The Black Holocaust makes reference to the millions of African lives which have been lost during the centuries to slavery, colonization and oppression. The Black Holocaust makes reference to the horrors endured by millions of men, women, and children throughout the African Diaspora. In sheer numbers, depth and brutality, it is a testimony to the worst elements of human behavior and the strongest elements of survival.
Yet no monuments have been made and apologies have been few. Worse still, most of the descendants of those who suffered, struggled and died, are unaware of this Holocaust while others seek to ignore it. One can only imagine the terrible damage placed upon the psyche of a people who seek to ignore or forget the tragedies of their past.

A Black Perspective

Jason M. Christos — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:55:00 EDT

A good playlist I compiled. Watch and challenge your political ideology. From a black mans perspective.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A172C117BBE89BCC

To be an Obamacrat

2morrowKnight — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:50:24 EST

I was asked recently why I refer to myself as an “Obamacrat” when I’m a registered Democrat. And it’s a very good question. From 2000 to 2007, I was a registered independent. During that period, I continued voting for Democrats because I liked their agenda and issues, but I scoffed at the notion of belonging to a party. After all, “issue identification” has always been more important to me than “party affiliation”.

But President Obama really inspired me to change my party affiliation…and ultimately, to believe again. My belief in the concept of the politics of hope has always been strong, but now it's bigger than the boundaries of this planet we inhabit. It was just a matter of time before I knew the word Obamacrat fully applied to me. But it's more than a word, it's a bonafide movement.

Allow me to explain.

To be an Obamacrat is to acknowledge (not dismiss) the color-specific differences that make us unique, while also embracing the color-blind commonalities that bring us together. If you see it this way, then you’re happy that President Obama has assembled a rich, cosmopolitan group of smart people that will advance, improve, and transform lives while "visually reflecting" the diversity of America. In a country of shifting demographics, this is necessary. In fact, Obamacrats will be cheering loudly when President Obama names a Latino and an Asian American to The Supreme Court.

To be an Obamacrat is recognize that nothing, but nothing, trumps grass roots organizing. President Obama beat Hillary Clinton during the Democratic Primary season last year because of his simple community organizing philosophy: city-by-city; block-by-block; person-by-person. But he became the most popular person in the world when he grew his profile using the tools of The New Media: the MySpacing-YouTubing-Facebooking-texting-Twittering component. Obamacrats see this as the smartest way to market your message for a mass audience. And we appreciate how Barack Obama continues to use New Media tools to promote his presidential message.

Obamacrats crave diplomacy, you know, where our country talks to both its friends (like Great Britain and Israel) and its enemies (like North Korea and Iran). In a world that is more connected and inter-dependent than ever before, nations working together can reduce, if not obliterate, the child sex trade; female inequality; global warming; the AIDS epidemic; famine; and never-ending war.

Furthermore, Obamacrats also want a president who can bridge the cultural divide in this country, you know, someone with both BLUE STATE credentials and RED STATE credibility. Indeed, regardless of who voted for him on November 4th, President Obama now represents the evangelical farmer in Montana and the supply-side economist in Mississippi (who probably didn’t support him) as well as the small business owner in California and the union worker in Connecticut (who probably did).

To be an Obamacrat is to believe you can build something as majestic as The Great Pyramids or The Great Wall of China; to believe you can be as historic and life-affirming as P.B.S. Pinchback or Shirley Chisholm; or to believe that regardless of your cultural name (Gupta, Nguyen, Garcia, Omar or, Obama) you can be President of the United States. You know there are limits, but your strong, overpowering belief in the possibilities pushes you, and drives you.

Labeling myself an Obamacrat is a profoundly impressive honor that I take very seriously. I love the fact that President Obama is not only a great communicator, but also an intellectual stud. The Obama Family living in The White House, a building built by African-American slaves, is compelling. Truly earth shattering. But, even more compelling is the fact that slaves also dug foundations, hauled limestone, baked bricks, and cleared timber for The Capitol, where Obama was inaugurated, and for the massive area known as The National Mall, where 2 million people were packed in to witness his swearing in.

Like President Obama, we walk in the spirit of people who championed our rights, who spoke truth to power, and, who even envisioned this great moment in history. Let us all make the most of it.

To be an Obamacrat? Man, right now, nothing even compares to the feeling.

2morrowknight is an internet strategist and community organizer who blogs at 2morrowknight.blogspot.com, and is author of a forthcoming children's book. You can follow him at Twitter.com/2morrowknight and friend him at Myspace.com/2morrowknight.

A Little Known Black History Fact

Ivan from Christiansted, VI — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:29:21 EST

Ivan Butcher II, Harlem born Artist, designed and copyrighted in 1975, The Black Evolutionary American Flag, with the Library of Congress.

With the approaching Bi-Centennial, Butcher realized that the Media was ignoring a Legacy of Black (African Americans) accomplishments made into the progress of this Nation, not to exclude the Indians(Native Americans)

As an Artist compelled to create a symbol, that would express the Contributions that African Americans have made, he designed a Flag. Inspired by words from one of Malcolm X's speeches, for us as an oppressed people not to disrespect the American Flag but instead create our own, which then was advocating a nation within a nation.

Along with the threat of Separatism and the fact that Evolution sounded too much like Revolution are the major reasons for The Flag not receiving national recognition from the Media.

Today the flag is named, Flag of Progress ( slogan: Unity is Progress)

Video descriptive presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjzITSGqwz8

Thank you,

Ivan Butcher II

Why is Michelle Obama getting slammed for not choosing a Black Designer for her inauguration dress?

2morrowKnight — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:41:27 EST

When I read about this on the huffingtonpost style page, I shook my head in utter amazement. I couldn't believe it. Yes, the founder of the Black Artists Association, Amnau Eele, slammed Michelle Obama for not picking an African-American fashion designer for her inauguration dress. Here is what she said:

"It's fine and good if you want to be all 'Kumbaya' and 'We Are the World' by representing all different countries. But if you are going to have Isabel Toledo do the inauguration dress, and Jason Wu do the evening gown, why not have Kevan Hall, B Michael, Stephen Burrows or any of the other black designers do something too?"

I believe her criticism is completely undeserved. It really is.

Not because Michelle Obama is above criticism (no one is) but because the First Lady will have 4 full years (hopefully 8 years) to showcase the artistry and radiance of African-American designers. Think of all the State Dinners at the White House. Think of all of the Democratic Party fundraisers. Think of all the international travel to continent after continent. You get my point? She’s going to have 365 chances each year to wear the digs of African-American designers in high-profile settings – and brag about to the press.

I do believe there was an missed opportunity here. Ms. Amnau Eele, who leveled the criticism at Mrs. Obama, could have leveraged her position with the Black Artists Association to be a contact for The First Lady. You know, someone who could consult The First Lady about clothes and styles from both established and up-and-coming designers alike. Michelle Obama has a full staff, and a strong communications team in her office. So why not e-mail her? Why not fax her? Why not send her a nice card congratulating her on her beautiful dress, and letting her know that you’d like to recommend some designers for her next big event?

I just don’t get it.

Also, let me say this too: I really didn’t like the “be all 'Kumbaya' and 'We Are the World' by representing all different countries” part in Ms. Eele’s criticism either. This is a multicultural country. Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native-Americans, Arab-Americans, and young whites also voted in earth shattering numbers for President Obama. Not just because of him, but also because of his lovely, enterprising wife – a woman of incredible charisma and unimpeachable intellect, and, a woman who walks amongst dignitaries and heads of state without losing that COMMON TOUCH. She resonates with the nameless, faceless, voiceless millions who yearn for an empowered life outside of the shadows and margins of society. Indeed, her agenda (children, education, and military families) is animated by the hopes of the millions who follow and support her - including millions of black designers.

Knocking The First Lady for choosing an Asian American designer and a Latino designer is very, very unfair. I don't believe for one second that the Obamas are going to leave African-American designers out in the cold. No one can convince me of that. I mean, of course Michelle Obama is going to wear dresses from black designers (she wears them throughout the year).

Michelle Obama is going to continue to reach out to different racial and ethnic groups for designers with great styles. She has to. Her position as First Lady of The United States mandates that she speaks to both the color-specific differences that make us unique (because they exists and are real) as well as the color-neutral commonalities that bring us together. The current composition of this country demands it.

But, I can't help wondering how things would have been if Ms. Eele said this instead: “I will continue to celebrate Michelle Obama’s wonderful, awe-inspiring style, and, through my group, and others, consistently suggest ways she can maintain that style through the creative visions of designers, representing the total richness of America’s racial and ethinic diversity. I want to help her in that process.”

Why didn’t she say that instead?

President Obama's LOVE LETTER to American Women - Past and Present

2morrowKnight — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:28:01 EST

When President Obama signed The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act bill on January 29th, it was an unmistakable Love Letter to American Women - a love letter that ensures women across the country will receive equal pay for equal work. By signing that bill, he is helping to fulfill what millions of women have fought for. Women like Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary Church Terrell, Francis Ellen Watkins Harper, and Anna Julia Cooper.

When Jeannette Rankin was elected to Congress in 1916 (four years before women had the right to vote), she had Equal Pay for Equal Work for women in mind. When Nannie H. Burroughs and Mary McLeod Bethune started The National Association of Wage Earners in the 1920s, they not only worked to improve living conditions for women, but also envisioned Equal Pay for Equal Pay for Women. When Fannie Lou Hamer fought 15 years for civil rights in The South (despite threats by the Klu Klux Klan and beatings by police), I’m sure she envisioned how her efforts would bring about, among other things, Equal Pay for Equal Work. These were brave, pioneering women.

Yet despite their awe-inspiring work, and the work of countless others, gender inequities have never been corrected. According to a study by The Center for American Progress, women may lose $434,000 in income, on average, due to the career wage gap. As it is stands right now, women in general earn 77 to every dollar a man makes for full time year round work. For a black woman it is 67 cents; for a Latina woman it is 58 cents. And as a policy specialist, President Obama is aware of these disturbing figures.

By championing the right of working women to receive fair pay, the paychecks of millions and millions of women (particularly in low wage, non-unionized jobs) can now see a boost. But, with President Obama's love letter comes a strong challenge too. Before the signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, President Obama said: "So in signing this bill today, I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal—but bad for business— to pay someone less because of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability."

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson understands President Obama's challenge. He recently signed an executive order requiring his state to study and report its own pay practices when it comes to gender and race, and it will require the same from private sector companies that want state contracts. Gov. Richardson's motivation is to overcome pay inequity in his state, and he created a task force to implement the necessary changes. Yes, this is awesome! Companies that want state contracts in New Mexico will have to show taxpayers (who are footing the bill) that their businesses pay its workers fairly. And don't you believe that by doing pay equity analyses, these companies will cut down on discrimination lawsuits because their statistics will be available to employees who will see they're not being shorted? I do.

More work has to be done though. In fact, I would like to see President Obama sign a similar executive order for companies that want federal contracts, and I e-mailed him at WHITEHOUSE.GOV to let him know. E-mail him yourself and let him know your ideas.

President Obama signed not only a love letter, but a declaration of justice and a commitment to fairness for the nameless, faceless, voiceless women who help hold up our economy but are not rewarded for it. So let us rejoice that we have a president who understands the economic realities of American working women, and who understands what needs to be done to boldly address the less than flattering aspects of those realities.

Ladies, President Obama just signed you a love letter.

Republicans: "Look Y'all–We Got Us One Too!"

Eric from Covina, CA — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:43:09 EST

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Republicans: "Look Y'all–We Got Us One Too!"

I hate to be cynical, and I certainly hate to drag the issue of race back into the public debate while President Obama and literally millions of Americans of good will are working so hard to put this ugly issue behind us, but where I come from we believe in calling a hat a hat. And the fact is, the Republican Party's selection of Michael Steele as the very first Black chairman of the Republican National Committee in its 153 year history, just reeks of political manipulation.

But I'm virtually certain that my Republican friends are going to say, "We just can't win–first you criticize us for not being inclusive enough, now you're criticize us for electing a Black man as head of the party. Exactly what do we have to do to make you happy?"

Dear Mr.President, Practice what you preach !.

R.Alamsha — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 05:15:01 EST

Dear Mr.President

You talk so well and we all believed that finally "US of A" has got a human being as President and not an animal. But of late, we are loosing our faith in your actions. Being the son of an African black slave, whose forefathers have suffered under suppression, descrimination and injustice for 400 years, we thought you will understand what your nation has done to the Muslims. But, Isarel had been killing 1000's of Palestinians and continues to kill every day right under your nose, you have decided not to speak a single word against Israel but you have shocked the entire world by extending your full support for Israel. You claim to be a church going Christian and what are you going to say in front of Jesus, next time you visit the church?.

By your actions, you look like another wolf in sheep's clothing. Better, for a CHANGE, try to practice what you preach. Otherwise, you will be doing a great injustice for your own black race and they will be pushed again back to slavery for another 400 years.

Hazarat Bilal and Obama

R.Alamsha — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 01:58:32 EST

Dear President Obama

Today, America has elected the son of an African black slave as it's President. Mr.President, you will be surprised to know that Prophet Mohammed had appointed, 1400 years ago, an African black slave, Hazarat Bilal as the first moezzin (prayer caller) and the treasurer of the state. Also, for your kind information, Hazarat Bilal is the first person who embraced Islam when Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) brought the peaceful message of Islam for the mankind.

Everyone should practice their faith fearlessly and live true to themselves. Hypocricy wouldn’t work because when i die, God will not ask me what’s my nationality, which religion i followed and how much patriotic was I ?. Rather, i will be judged by my actions as a good human.

I am an Indian Muslim and i follow all good things in my religion but i will NOT accept that one has to be a Muslim in order to enter “jannah”. I can’t imagine a jannah without my good Non Muslim friends.

Our Prophet(PBUH) brought Islam for humanity and he preached universal brotherhood. His own uncle, Abu Talib, who protected him from non believers of Islam never embraced Islam till his last breath. Prophet respected his decision and left it to God. What other example is required for secularism, tolerance and equality in Islam?.

Islam is a revolutionary concept which shattered all the social inequalities and removed the very concept of appointing a religious high priest as a guardian of social values. It brought freedom, equality, and justice for the mankind. Prophet(PBUH) appointed Hazarat Bilal, the black African slave, as the first moezzin (Prayer caller) and treasurer of the state. How many so called Islamic countries practice these great values, is a question they love to avoid. Whereas, Europe, Australia, France, US and UK have all opened their borders for everyone and have allowed them to settle and live a better life.

In fact, if one has to embrace these values of universal brotherhood and humanity, patriotism and motherland becomes antithesis to Islam. Let us be honest. Patriotism has brought wars, hatred and has divided the humanity. One can easily get away wih murders, genocides and massacres in the name of patriotism. It is a lie and evil against mankind and every human being will ultimately move on and settle in any country which provides better life & oppportunities, including we Indians.

Barack Obama - Yes We Can !

Peter from Portland, OR — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:40:36 EST

Since January 20th 2009 Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States of America, a very historic inauguration day. Think back to 1963, when Martin Luther King held his famous speech, saying "I have a dream...", and see what a positive change has allready been made since then. With Barack Obama the first African American president in US history is in the White House, Martin Luther King`s dream is about to come true and that´s really great ! - Shop America supports Barack Obama and wishes him all the best for his future, hoping that he can really perform the "Change" for America and the world ! - Visit our Barack Obama section and check out "Yes We Can" and other political designs on t-shirts, buttons, stickers and more:

BARACK OBAMA DESIGNS - YES WE CAN

BARACK OBAMA DESIGNS - YES WE CAN

Breakthrough

Robert from Buford, GA — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:50:58 EST

Breakthrough

Robert Ferrell

A little over four hundred years ago in a hot cotton field an already drained tired old woman dropped a seed of blood from her dried hard hands into the soiled dirt of mother Earth. No tears, no fears. The blood like the old woman refused to cry and die in the blistering sun. Instead it soaked and steadily rolled deep into its mother never to stop never to wait for death was not a fate.

Somewhere on the same plain under another owners name was another slave, feeling the burn from the crack of the whip being ripped from his back. And if that isn’t enough pain the word nigger replacing his African name by a man of another complexion. No shock here that a tear or two full of hopes and dreams rolled off his hot salty face and drill themselves into the calm sands. As he prays that his children somewhere in this unknown land don’t feel the same affliction.

Not calm for long is this unfertile dirt as the tears and the red seed that moved constantly finally meet in the underneath. Never a fight between mother and father, as they began to composite with one another deep down in their mother. After some time in the dirt’s clutches a root of Will broke through. It seems that through all the infinite numbers of tears. Tears of hope, and fight from above began to find ways to seep through the significantly thick pavement being poured on top layer after layer.

Through all the turmoil above the rapes, beatings, lynching, mutilations, bombings, and assassinations, was a loud thought that echoed deep into the grains causing the root to feed rapidly. In time the root replied to this thought but not by sound. Not by the speeches not by the violence. The root was never judgmental of the two. For they never out weighed each other in their time of struggle. The root heard the calling from the two. The root heard the songs being sung while marching, and felt the pressure from the hoses, and the teeth of the protected German Shepherds break through the skin of the young men and women. The root felt the tremble of the body that fell in the Audubon auditorium for bringing meaning to the phrase “by any means necessary”.

As the root began to feed on these acts and ideals it grew a stem that started to push itself through the cracks of the controversial pavement. The bottom from which the root came softened from the resurrection of the tears of hopes and dreams and the Will carried by the seed.

Yet after overcoming all those obstacles the seed still toils to get through the gravel. The sharp edges of laughter pointed at a young black man who has the audacity to think he can become a senator let alone the idiocy to dream of being a presidential nominee.

The summer of two thousand and eight is just about over and the stem inched its way above the blistering pavement. Now the sun that harassed the seed so long ago finds itself supporting the seeds beliefs. The senators’ peers no longer laugh, but cast a ballot under his name on their behalf.

A little over four hundred years ago a fearless seed was planted and hopes and dreams nourished it. The dreams became a belief and the hopes were raised to a promise. On a cold night in November two thousand and eight something unspoken had taken place. The stem grew a leaf when it was expected to freeze. That young senator now a little older stands center stage on a cold night in Chicago. That little stem flexed its roots and broadened its stance.

All these roots, all the martyrs, and all this pain endured by so many others, hint a grin to one another of the sacrifice put forth along the way. Now today is a breakthrough that is our honor to speak his name by stating first “the forty-fourth president of the United States of America”. A country shouted the word “change!” and now the world speaks his new name. President Barack Hussein Obama, the man who has challenged a planet of many to think about the single leaf growing on a very young tree in need of company.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

WEBMASTER — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:26:14 EST

The Pickens Plan: For those who would like to become an active participant in a solution for our nations energy needs I urge you to join with T.Boone Pickens in his quest for a cleaner planet through alternative energy.

Also see Green Wave Energy: Green Wave was founded by Mark Holmes and was formulated for viable alternative energy solutions. Green Wave Energy is promoting state-of-the-art energy-saving products and services throughout the country.

Green Wave Energy understands alternative energy technology will become “main stream” when

individuals and organizations understand that alternative energy technology exists and
when people see the economic benefits of using alternative energy technologies

Call 949.645.1701 for information on how Green Wave Energy can help you save the planet.

Alternative Energy
Source: David Apperson

url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy

Technology and Me

Michael from Riverview, FL — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:31:42 EST

Why am I so interested in technology and what does that interest have to do with minorities and nonprofits? Well, let me give you a little background. I am an African-American male, born in Philadelphia some 40 years ago. I was left in the hospital by my mother and raised in a wonderful foster home. Because my connection with the Women's Christian Alliance, a nonprofit in Philadelphia I was able to live a good life, get exposure to an Upward Program hosted at the University of Pennsylvania, and finally attend college where I received a 3 year R.O.T.C. Scholarship.

Not until later after college did I become enamored with technology and how to use it to better communicate. Later I entered the ministry and received a Master's in Divinity, was ordained and served in non-traditional ministry for several years. During this time I always looked for ways to utilize various communication technologies (see this example: TheProductiveChristian.com) to make my job easier and provide my constituents with easier access to information. It has just been over the last several years that I have become proficient in utilizing online audio, video and other new technologies that we are creating now, to better communicate with others via the web. Currently I work in a nonprofit organization, and have a small technology company (visit: My-DropZone.net) that develops innovative communication tools.

My experience as a minority who has been helped by nonprofits and has worked in nonprofits has helped shape my views and passions regarding the two areas mentioned earlier. I have seen the lack of knowledge of and use of popular web based tools in these two communities as huge opportunity for growth and overal productivity. This blog is my attempt to explore how more minorities who are most often touched by the services of nonprofits and nonprofits who need to become more efficient in carrying out their missions, can become more productive through the appropriate use of technology.

Hi Joe The Plumber meet Joe The Believer (Sneak peep from my upcoming book)

Joe The Believer — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:44:02 EST

After loosing the elections to Obama. John Mccain goes home with hope of having a wonderful Thanksgiving with his immediate family. Mccain flew into his hometown on his private jet but when he reached the airport, his usual guest didn’t greet him. There weren’t any balloons, the bands weren’t playing or crowds weren’t cheering. This was unusual, he didn’t even see Sarah Palin. He looked into the distance but all he could see was snow and his cold breath in the air. He looked at his secret service and even they looked shocked about what was happening. For 40 years his town greeted him every Thanksgiving, so WHAT HAPPENED.

He looked at his wife and gave her a smile then said, “Moneys been tight this year for everyone baby. Maybe the town couldn’t afford a celebration this year”

Mrs. Mccain looked at her husband with her devilish grind, “You’re probably right baby. Everyone can’t afford the things we have!”

Mccain grabbed his wife arm and helped her through the snow. He looked at his wife then said, “At least we still have our limo!”

Mccain’s limo was black and warm inside. The bar was filled with Champaign, just like years before. His secret service followed the limo in their black Yukon. Mccain could see despair in his wife’s eyes. He looked at her and said this while he rubbed her thigh, “Baby, I’m still your little P.O.W, right”

Mrs. Mccain’s wife batted her eyes then ran her finger thru Mccain’s hair and gave him a hug as he continued to rub her thigh, “You are my little soldier. Don’t worry!”

Mccain leaned back in his leather seats proud of what he just heard. But when he looked out his window it all disappeared, “What’s going on here?”, Mccain yelled.

Mrs. Mccain rushed to the window because she wanted to see. But what she saw she couldn’t believe, “Why do everyone in your town have Obama campaign signs in there yards!’

Mrs. Mccain looked at John and she immediately knew he was scarred. His eye lit up like a deer staring into your headlights, “I can’t believe it. My own people voted for Obama. What’s going on?”

Alarms kept ringing in John’s ears as he looked out the window and things slowly started to become clear. Most of the people he knew was in Obama’s below 250 thousand dollar tax bracket. While Mccain was trying to help the rich, he was forgetting about the poor. This is something that Republicans have done thousands of times before. As Mccain’s thoughts lingered as his wife started to scream.

Mrs. Mccain, “What the hell did you do? You lost to a black man. Now our lives are ruined. No one will ever remember you for being a prisoner of war. Now everyone will look at us and laugh. And our friends want come to our parties or to any of our functions because you were the first White Republican Man to loose to a Black Democrat.”

Mccain couldn’t believe what was ringing in his ears. He looked at his wife because he felt like he had to make things clear, “LooK!”, pointing, “This race wasn’t about color. I lost to a great man. A-----smart guy!”

Mrs. Mccain laughed, “You lost to a Smart Guy… You lost to a great man”, She paused, “You didn’t say that when you were running around calling him a terrorist. You didn’t say that when you made allegations that Obama was a socialist or he wasn’t fit to be President for the last 23 months”

John looked his wife dead in her eyes, “Now you listen here. I only said those things because your family was about to be taxed because of his policies, if your family loose money then I loose money. I didn’t marry you for only your body, Baby. I married you for power and your family seen me as an opportunity to increase their power.”

Mrs. Mccain was furious about what she just heard. Her eyes was red and her vision was blurried, “You little short dwarf. I know you are angry right now, so I’m going to act like I didn’t hear what you just said. But remember one thing! I made you and I’ll break you… Believe it..You had a chance to get power but you lost, I never lost and I can changed your world with a flick of the wrist”

John looked at her but he couldn’t figure out what he was seeing, “Who is this bitch”, he whispered. Like the old saying goes. Behind every strong man there is a stronger woman. Now while the Mccain’s argued the driver sat up front with his own ideas. He turned on his bullhorn so everyone outside could hear. Young kids threw snowballs as the limo riding by. An old lady with a walker stood on the sidewalk and held her middle finger up high. Other yelled, “Mccain’s a Liar!” loud and clear. Even the secret service trailed and started to cheer. The driver kept peeping from his ringside seats, hoping that the Mccains will continue to tickle his ears. When he notice nothing was happening he took a sudden turn. He knew where he could go and Mccain would burn. From uptown to downtown brick homes turned into projects then the silence finally cleared. The driver heard John whisper something in Mrs. Mccain’s ear, “I think we are in the ghetto. Be quiet. Maybe they want see us.”

The First Is A Bitch But You Are It. " And You Knew The Job Was Tough Before You Took It"

Newsfreedom2004 — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:14:53 EST

what should Obama do in the first 100 days or what should be the top 20 things that he should do?

1. end the dealth penity! it should be life without any patrol or 50 years with 20 years in solitary confindment with no early patrol
2. grant pardons, patrol, or retry political prisoners and either let them go or keep them behind bars
3. subspend all forecloser for 180 days and order all parties involed to redo the payments and terms of the contract
   those who can aford the home keeps it those who can be moved to loans, grants, and payment programs that will aloud them
   to keep their homes get to stay and those who can't keep their homes are moved to apartments or trailers that they can aford.
4. fix the credit and securities market get moneys flowing again to the people not the greedy enforce the regulations!
5. fully fond health and wellness programs mental & phyical health programs that work
6. create a national jobs and infrastructure building program now!
7. get rid of laws that prevent people from getting jobs if they commit a crime and have served their time, have low credit, or test positive for drugs or health disablities and vote
8. make all schools equal in every community train teachers so that they can and want to teach also why would you place a newbe in a classroom without
   an experience teacher in it. every classroom needs a manager and an assitance manage got it.
   in chicago il white kids in one public school have a spa high price gym & fitness center state of the arts computers and college level labs but the black school are getto roach infected
   is this support to be equal non racial schools
9. get ever member of the black caucus passports then send and take them around the world to meet world leaders, movers & shakers
10.rebuild the gulf coase line
11.fully fund the community redevelopment zones so that black businesses can develop
12.help black colleges come up to 21th standards if I can go to a majority white college and be educated to be prepared for the world then why can someone go to a majority black college and
   recieve the equal education?
13.send an army of social workers and students into the community to work with and help people help themselves
14.send an army of citizens into the world's community to help bring the world together
15.racism is terrorism to we need to find and bring those crimals to justise and protect people so that no one will even think of committing a terror crime if we can do it for the jews them what is the problem and we can too say, "never again on in this country and world"
16.increase the number of police, marshals, & sheriff of color now! Black Person Head of FBI
17.charter schools not prisons get the states and the federal government commitment to it
18.national public mass transit systems if your popluation is over 100,000 people you need buses, trains, shuttles, and taxi services and they can be green powered we need roads but more cars mean more problems if you build it they will come and create jobs
19.don't let the new green economy leave blacks and other non whites behind in innovation & protection, jobs, and business ownerships and wealth creation
20.immigration we need them for new blood, new ways, new workers, & new attitudes. they tipped the balance of power. they were not scared to bring about real change.

Also make all voting offices have uniformed protected ways to conduct and count the vote! when you are 18 you must register for selective service but you don't have to register to vote that's unequal! why is on punishable but the other is, "so what"? If ATM's can record every penny and knows whos penny it is then why can't the government record every vote?

why is it wrong to have African American ambassadors to Africa?

lastly your appointments don't forget this is a country of color and white is not the only one in the crayon box and black is also very quailfied to be there too. We want you there for eight years.

So,

Go Team Obama

To everyone who thinks America is not biggoted

Ed from Fort Lauderdale, FL — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:20:27 EST

The first amendment"all men are created equal"

So to all those who think bigotry is over let me remind you, that if you voted in CA,FL or AZ and voted against gay rights YOU NEED TO CHECK YOUR CONSCIOUS....

Especially after watching the people crying on TV saying I cant believe this finally happened about Barack being elected...HOW DID YOU VOTE IN CA OR FL... I guess gay people are not considered people to you.....

Religion is not part of the constitution and after 200 years of waiting for a black president its mind boggling how so many of you had no problem discriminating against another minority..

We are NOT one......yet .... as Barack has hoped .... it is truly staggering to me how one minority can discriminate against another as the vote showed in CA and FL..... when the black vote was 70-30 to take away gay rights on the props....

yep .... how soon people forget what they are voting for ..i guess they cant even remember after they voted for the president, in the election booth....

For all of you who feel gays are not people according to the first amendment....remember how you feel when you are discriminated against and the thoughts that ran through your own minds on why you weren't considered as good as anyone else....

Im white... alot of my friends are white and we all voted for Barack and never even considered race..... but after the election it really became evident amidst all the hoopla on TV that these same people I watched crying in happiness had no problem taking away the rights of another minority....

Its truly amazing....listening to all the people on TV so happy when there is another minority who was thrown under the bus without a second thought...

The (Non-)Issue of Color in the USA

Quasaur — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:52:42 EST

Originaly posted at http://www.clmitchell.net/main-weblogs32/ofthepeople65/276-art-colorissueusa.html

I am white. My mother's great grandfather (surname Cunningham) was Irish/Scottish.

I am black. I have Americans of African descent on both sides of my family who suffered under slavery.

I am Native-American. My great-great grandfather on my mother's side married a Native-American. My great-great grandmother on my father's side was also Native-American.

These are my known heritages. If I were able to go back through my family tree far enough, I have no doubt that there would be some surprises waiting for me.

Like most of you, I have experienced the insanity and seduction of prejudice and bigotry. In the Bible God Himself is quoted as saying "Man[kind] looks at the outward appearance" (1st Samuel 16:7). As a student of history I have read of the challenges and biases faced by all three of my bloodlines down through the halls of time.

That is why, as I was driving to work 05-Nov-2008, after Barack Obama won the Presidential election of the United States, I found myself crying. After 400 years of waging war against the psychological stigma of being seen as second-class citizens, our perseverance as blacks has been vindicated.

As whites we have finally stood up, and in one single event we have reached out our hands to our African-American citizens and said "You have a right to be here."

And, though perhaps indirectly, we as Native-Americans have finally found the strength to once again begin to participate in and sew the seeds of ancient truth and wisdom in a society that had almost lost its way.

It goes without saying that the struggle for equality is not yet over; but a major victory for peace and justice between our peoples has been won, and will be long-remembered by us and our descendants.

Black Voters, Gay Voters - The Bait and Switch

Jarrett in Florida — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:44:53 EST

Yet Another Glass Ceiling With Many Cracks...

I write this blog post in a moment of bittersweet victory. Having campaigned my heart out for Barack Obama over the last 3 months, I am overjoyed at our victory and feel that real change is finally coming to Washington and Main Street.

On election night, I partied in the street on the West side of Fort Lauderdale - a gay white boy surrounded by black people, most of whom were probably heterosexual. It could not have made a difference at the time, because we were all so optimistic and excited. The following morning was a different experience entirely... My friends and I were informed that Amendment 2 had passed and that not only would gay marriage now be outlawed but also civil unions and commonlaw marriages would be denied legal status.

So drops the other shoe.

The most disappointing part of the experience was the media coverage. Every news station was telling us that Black People were to blame... That all of the blacks who came out in droves to vote for Barack Obama had not listened to his supportive speeches and had voted specifically and willfully against my rights... The media maintained that Black people had not returned the "favor" of equality.

I'm not buying it. Here's something that the media is not telling us:

According to the same exit polls from CNN which indicate that Blacks voted for Prop 8 & Amendment 2 at higher percentages than whites, there is a key bit of information that needs to be explored - The total number of black voters for the anti-gay amendments is still not even 1/3 the total number of white, Evangelical voters who voted for the Amendments in the rural areas of the state... In fact, most black voters did not vote on Amendment 2 at all...

It is unfair, unreasonable and devisive for the mainstream media to pit blacks and gays against eachother at a time when we should all be celebrating eachother's diversity... As a white, gay male who supported and voted for Barack Obama with all my energy, I can honestly say that I have not experienced the slightest amount of homophobia from anyone in the Campaign For Change. I have never really felt any exceptional homophobia from the Black community at large, either...

Furthermore, it was not black people who put this Amendment on the ballot in the first place. Once again, this hateful bit of legislation has been brought to you by those "true Americans" who live in the remote grassy knolls that you drive by on your way to better places.

I think it's time to stop blaming races and sexual orientations for problems which are largely brought to us by Republicans. That's the other missing statistic here... Those who voted for John McCain also voted 91% in favor of Amendment 2.

It's time for Black people and Gay people alike to stand up for ourselves and refuse to let Republicans and the mainstream media continue to assail us in the name of "divide and conquer"...

God Bless all of you who helped on this campaign and remember to keep your cool and love your neighbors... even the bigoted ones. We shall overcome.

America - Together (post election)

Alex Karoub — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:44:40 EST

..... Contact: http://Alex.Karoub@gmail.com

WHO IS THAT GUY BARACK OBAMA? HE IS US.

We have made historic headway by together pointing our nation in the right directions. After decades, we have America focused on the issues of fundamental importance. Now, each of us acting in concert can together move our country to lead the world to the fruitfulness of moral goodness. I have no doubts about my abilities and the abilities of fellow Americans to work smart and hard to achieve these goals.

Barack Obama has the visions, leadership, and integrity for us to correct and redirect our country to once again lead the world for the fruitions of good. Let's closely listen, learn, and move forward based on that which we know deep inside is good and which we can validate with our hearts.

I hope that those who had but a few reasons to support Obama, look further into the other issues more deeply. I found the more I explored, studied, and listened to Obama the more I found us in agreement. The couple of issues that I did not have depth of knowledge of, quickly became obvious in need. This was unusual for me since I have always refused to be any kind of a follower, and still am not. I find Obama to be a deep thinker who is articulate and inspirational; and, of most fundamental importance, Obama makes excellent moral sense.

Hopefully, our country has learned lessons from the past of mistakenly following leadership blindly, as was done with Nixon and Bush. There are leaders who are simply in it for themselves and will cater to individuals or groups in order to grab for their own benefit. Corrupt and bad leaders hide at all levels. This is especially true in city government as well as county and state government. The corrupt deals of politicians need to be exposed, and those responsible need to be weeded out in the coming local elections. Others need to be investigated by law enforcement and be prosecuted for illegal dealings; for deals they often make for their hidden personal agendas. Let’s look at the bad experiences of the past as bitter medicines, let’s eliminate the need for such bad medicine in the future. Let us use what we know is good to go forward.

I believe we have chosen wisely, not by greed and not by misguided retaliatory anger. I believe this time our country has chosen with open eyes, with each of us listening and examining our choice of leadership closely, driven and validated by our hearts.

I hope we can continue to make our efforts even more inclusive (in many more ways than I touch on here). Far right republicans will be stubborn to change, but we will need to include them to change if we are to succeed. Sure a few more will leave our country, but that is not the American way. No, we really don't need their false fronts of power, money, insider knowledge, or other trappings that they have taught many to 'respect?'. Let's recruit as many as we can, that's the American way, evolving and changing together as one nation. Try to be understanding as we move forward; by better understanding each as individuals and people with various desires and needs we will find ways to reach out with friendship and have them join our causes of good.

Be on the lookout, and root out bad leadership in government and business. Do not be intimidated by those who use the false fronts of power and give a false sense of security in order to lead. Be extra leery of those who say or imply ‘Trust me’; those who give a sense that they somehow omnipotently know better. No longer will Americans be dazzled by phony displays of brilliance or baffled by baloney. There are government aristocrats and business leaders who still believe in the old adage of: “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle em with bullshit”. We can embrace complexity by demanding true, fundamental, and understandable explanations. We can root out falsehoods by not accepting double speak. We as Americans know how to grow ourselves by first believing in ourselves. Don’t be a follower. Don’t be a follower of followers.

However, when we find leaders who are good; a leader that thinks, speaks, and acts from their heart; one that is honest, has integrity, and leads by sincere examples; then we need to in a big way, join them, support them, and promote their causes of good. From much research, investigation, and scrutiny, I believe Barack Obama is such a person. I hope we search for and find many more who are similar, who we can add to service at all levels of government. We need to add/replace leaders in business with ones that have honesty, integrity, and show quality in leadership. We need more people in leadership roles who are moral, like Barack Obama.

Remember, we are not fighting a battle, we are the artisans and sculptors of the future for ourselves and generations to come. Rarely do societies have opportunities to make such dramatic moves forward as we now have in this opportunity of today. Take pride and practice in being inclusive as we stride forward. In moving forward, create opportunity not only for yourself, but also for all. Hope is a wonderful thing to behold; but without opportunity, hope can become but a dream never achievable. We can, will, and must, create opportunity.

In the coming year I hope that we do not lose our spiritedness, but instead continue to build and make headway. I hope we all continue our campaign for change in government and business. We will succeed in moving forward once again, it will take much effort and good oversight on the part of each of us. We will make great strides in the months and years ahead in order to achieve the fruitions of good. Let's keep our enthusiasm progressing through these coming toughest of times. Let us use the light of goodness and love to motivate us with historic momentum.

I have chosen Barack Obama because he best represents my deepest beliefs in America. Please take time to read the issues that Barack Obama has published on this website. Also, give your attention to see how he leads us to move our nation forward in the time ahead. Most importantly, be part of America's great future, participate in the greatness that together we will make. Participate!

We will each and all flourish, if we think, speak, and act, by using the love in our hearts.

Your reply is welcome. Contact: Alex.Karoub@gmail.com

Obama in the eye of his Indonesian friends

Unknown user — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:02:54 EST

In Indonesia, excitement and surprise are also felt among Obama's childhood friend as reported by an Indonesia's local newspapers Duta Masyarakat 05 June 2008.

As is known, he's been in Indonesia during his childhood days that is between 6 to 10 year-old of his age. . He studied in SDN Menteng* Jakarta. According to Cahyono, one of his class mate in Class III, he's

Just an ordinary student although is very studious one. He used to like playing soccer in break time.

Kuwadiyanto, the SDN Menteng principal, in the meantime, feels so proud of Barack Obama's great and historic achievement and hopes that once he is elected as the US president, he would visit Indonesia.

-

*SDN or Sekolah Dasar Negeri is Indonesian school from class I to VI. We call SMP or sekolah menengah pertama for Class VII to IX and SMA or sekolah menengah atas for Class X to XII

Congratulation to Newly Elected President Barack Obama
CONGRATULATION
CONGRATULATION

Barack is Mulatto

Dan from Erie, PA — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:10:31 EST

I will start by saying that I voted for Barack. I support him and I am proud to have his as our president. During the election process, I was afraid that it was going to be focused to much on race and now that he has won, I feel that it is. The problem I have is that Barack is mulatto. He has one black parent and one white parent. In my opinion that is one reason why he is a good choice. He represents the broad strokes of America. Listening to NPR this morning and other news outlets they have been interviewing African Americans who were quoteed as saying that "this is our day" and "We got it right". Who is we? Why is it that African American people must focus so heavily on his race? If he were Italian, you wouldn't here Italian people going on and on about it. There were quotes black evangelicals talking about how Martin Luther Kings dream has come true. Has it? It just frustrates me and irritates me that the "black" card has to get played at times like this. Another fine example would be Halle Berry. She is also mulatto, but when she won an oscar, black people were the first to celebrate her first "African American" oscar win. My question: If you are HALF white are you still considered African American? I am part German and part Italian. So yes I am white, but I am not racist at all. I have friends of many races and beleive in equality for all. I am aware of the history of the African American culture and what it means to have a president of mixed race win, but again the key word is mixed. I am not just saying these things becuase I am white. I feel Barack will unite us all, but I am already sick of the radical black people making this about an "historic" african American event and not about an American event.

Congratulations to the people of USA

Unknown user — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:22:39 EST

Being an East Indian living in Canada, I feel a bloom in my heart on this historical win. Its a win for US people who believe that solutions are more important than colour or religion. Its a strong message to the world that hopes can never die for better tomorrow. Any minority anywhere in the world should keep strong and capability will be appriciated. Whenever you feel low, think about 4th November 2008, and believe that YOU CAN DO IT!

The National Republican Trust and the Politics of Hate

Jedidiah Palosaari — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:31:37 EST

Depending on where you live, you're spared this. For this election cycle, and most, I've been on the West Coast. Washington and California are solidly blue, so we don't get a lot of election ads. In Washington, we were excited and surprised to even get visits from the Democratic candidates in the primaries, as usually our caucus is too late. But now I've moved to Wisconsin, and evidently everything has changed.

Wisconsin isn't really a swing state anymore either, but it was recently. That allows us to get the occasional campaign ad, and a lot of the 527 ads. And recently, about three times an hour, we get treated to a particular ad from the National Republican Trust.

Don't get me wrong. I might disagree with a political ad, but of course, I support the right to post them. It is when they lie, and get vicious, and attack other people's culture and race. And make no mistake, this is what the National Republican Trust has done.

The ad is a direct attack on the Reverend Wright, and Senator Obama. It is vicious and underhanded. As I've pointed out in the past, Wright is enmeshed deeply in the black tradition. His remarks weren't at all racist, but were deep in the prophetic tradition of Judaism and Christianity, as expressed in the Old Testament. Sure, he went overboard in claiming that the US government gave AIDS to blacks, but considering our history with syphilis, it wasn't that far off the mark. But in general, what the Reverend Wright said, and the way he said it, is no different from what you find in black churches across this nation.

Thus, at the very least, the continued recent attacks by the Republican Trust reveal that they know nothing of the Black Preaching Tradition. In truth, they reveal an attack on another culture, a "foreign" culture to the whites at Republican Trust. This attack is as despicable as overt racist attacks, and indeed, is difficult to distinguish from them. Blacks are okay, as long as they don't think differently from "us", or don't make us have to see their differences. They certainly have nothing to offer us in their manner of thinking, their preaching, or their style of Chrsitianity. Or so is the underlying thinking of these commercials from Republican Trust.

Well, I agree. I don't like being forced to listen to something I disagree with, that I find morally repugnant and racist. I don't expect the Republican Trust to be forced to sit in the church while Jeremiah Wright preaches. So why am I forced to watch these commercials every time they come on the air, three times an hour?

So this is what I've begun to do. Every time the commercial comes on, I contact National Republican Trust, at nationalrepublicantrust.com/contactus.html, and tell them just what I think of them. I tell them they are racist, and I want nothing to do with them. I suggest that they go somewhere else to peddle their racism, because it has no place in my home or my country, and is not something that real Americans believe.

And I invite you to do the same. Let's put a stop to this. I'm not speaking of positive commercials, or even negative ones. But the ones that are over the top, that are viscious slander or racist- start responding. Every time one of these comes on the air, contact the 527, and demand that they pull their commercial off the air. Maybe we'll begin to get through to them. At least we'll strike a blow for truth and justice, and maybe, one day, make that the American way.

Close the Deal! How??

Moiko — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:38:24 EDT

It is a one step process.

It has to be symbolic of everything Senator Obama has talked about from the beginning to the end of this fascinating campaign.

Starting immediately, we need to have the maps across America that shows blue states, changed to Red, White & blue.

Senator Obama has said, we are NOT red America, we are NOT Blue America, we are the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

So, change the blue to red, white & blue!

Who would want to vote any other way?

Resolving Your Obama Race Dilemma - How You Got It and Where To Put It

David from Houston, TX — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:42:16 EDT

Resolving Your Obama Race Dilemma -- How You Got it and Where to Put It

David Scheinman

Are you reluctant to vote for Obama because he is black? Hesitant to pull that lever or punch the keyboard even though his ideas and character are compelling? Do you think, if only Hillary had won I wouldn’t have this dilemma? To make matters even worse, are you hesitant to share your latent – and somewhat embarrassing -- uncomfortable feelings with others? Did you grow up in the 1940’s, 50’s or 60’s? If so, your feelings are perfectly understandable, especially if you grew up in a home where equality wasn’t taught. Have you always thought you were an open minded person, yet here you are, surprisingly reluctant to vote for Obama?

Where Were the Black Professionals When You Were Growing Up?

How many black professionals did you encounter growing up? Doctors? Dentists? TV reporters? Police and firemen? Managers? Lawyers? How many black kids were your classmates? Neighbors? Did you meet black kids at summer camp? Did you know that President Woodrow Wilson segregated the federal work force in 1913? And that it and the armed forces were legally segregated until Harry Truman issued two executive orders on July 26, 1948? Did you know that Truman’s now famous low approval ratings in 1948 – before Korea and firing Macarthur -- were due partially to his civil rights activism? Truman was furious when he learned in 1946 that Isaac Woodard, a black serviceman in uniform, returning home from the war, was blinded by a beating inflicted by police in South Carolina. His bus driver complained that Woodard caused trouble by asking the driver to stop so he could relieve himself. Besides that, Truman was the first president to address the NAACP in 1947.

Did you have relatives who told you blacks were dumb, lazy, and good for nothing? That’s what an uncle told my good friend Dennis in Tennessee in the 1950’s. When Dennis came home and told his mom he met the niggers, his school teacher mom was furious. She set Dennis straight and banned the uncle from her home. Dennis clearly remembers being taken around a poor black community and receiving the racist indoctrination from his uncle. “Dennis, these are niggers, and this is how they live. “ If his mom hadn’t sternly told him his uncle was full of crap, Dennis could be experiencing a similar dilemma. Dennis wound up marrying a black woman. They have three adorable teenage girls and are still married.

My mom drummed equality into my soft head. In the 1950’s my mom told me about a black singer named Marian Anderson who was not allowed to perform in Washington’s Constitution Hall in 1939 by its owners, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) , because she was black. It was one of the earliest incidents that brought racial discrimination to our attention. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt invited Anderson to perform in front of the Lincoln Memorial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQnzb0Jj074 ?

She was introduced by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYZoeMKkxkg&feature=related

Where We Were and Where We Are Today -- From Slavery to Obama

Due to many factors, the black people you encountered growing up were probably maids, factory hands, garbage men, and laborers. They lived in segregated run down communities on the wrong side of the tracks. They spoke funny slang, hung around together, ate weird foods like collard greens, weren’t seen at the restaurants your folks ate in – except as busboys and waiters – BUT they were easily identified by their color.

So how did all this happen, and why in 2008 is our society suddenly chock-a -block with black professionals? Go to any school now and you will see black teachers, administrators, and principals – not just janitors. Go shopping and you will meet black supervisors. Buy a car, insurance, or clothes and you will often see black personnel. Turn on your TV and there is a black anchor or expert being interviewed in his area of expertise, which is not race relations.

And most intriguingly, why did many African students studying here in the 1980’s and 90’s return to Africa and tell me they had more white friends than black ones on campus? Why were black Africans readily accepted into white social circles when black Americans were either excluded or segregated themselves into all black dorms?

To get to the bottom of this, and to get you off the hook, let’s return to how black people wound up living on the wrong side of the tracks and how in 2008, many more of them are your neighbors or workmates. What in world changed? Why do kids of all colors in my son’s high school eat lunch together in 2008?

Blacks were the only group that came here involuntarily, in chains. They were captured by rival black tribesmen and sold to Arabs who subsequently sold them to slave dealers. Coming from different tribes, most of the slaves couldn’t even communicate with each other in a common language. Thousands of slaves from all over Africa converged in the American south and didn’t even share a common language or history. They were ripped away from their familiar world and, unlike prisoners of war, couldn’t even talk to each other initially. They weren’t allowed to learn how to read, write, or even swim.

They eventually had kids, but these kids could never be taught the legends or stories that make up a culture. They lacked the fundamental accouterments of culture that include shared beliefs, art, language, institutions, manners, dress, religion, rituals, and so forth. All they knew was the plantation and their narrow world. So when freed from slavery in 1865, they had no skills, capital, land, or even literacy. Their real culture was agriculture – plus what they created as slaves. They had the slang they created and, of course, each other. Since whites gave them few responsibilities, they developed few skills and consequently had the reputation of being lazy, shiftless, and dumb. They learned to believe they were inferior -- and often reinforced that stereotype by acting commensurately.

Imagine for a moment how that gets into your head. Most of what we become as adults is tattooed onto our soft brains as toddlers. My mom used examples to teach me that all people were equal. Having the term inferior branded onto your character often relegates a person to life’s junk heap. Ambition and dreams are snuffed out. People who define themselves as being not good or smart enough just shuffle along life’s paths. They don’t feel they can succeed, so often don’t even try.

If you think the effects of slavery and segregation have vanished, you are wrong. I recently chatted with a racially mixed mom – her dad was white mom black – at a football game both our kids were playing in. We started chatting about where we were from. She was from Louisiana so I asked about segregation in the 1950’s.

“My dad made me lay down on the rear floor of our car when we stopped to eat. I wasn’t allowed to go inside so he’d buy my favorite food and bring it to our car.” So imagine growing up and not being allowed to have a fun vacation meal with our parents on the way your Florida vacation. From the day she was born, society told her she wasn’t good enough to enter public facilities in her home state. And do these feelings trickle down to her 16 year old son in 2008? Probably.

After slavery ended, blacks had freedom FROM, not freedom TOO. Since they had no access to the adequately funded schools we white kids attended by the accidents of our births, they never learned the essential survival and social skills we white kids acquired naturally. Their segregated educations were inferior; they were banned from attending the flagship state universities in the south until 1962 when James Meredith was escorted to class at the University of Mississippi by federal marshals.

During the hundred years from emancipation in 1863 to 1962, black people just shuffled around generally carrying out jobs immigrants perform today. Consequently they banded together for community and self preservation. They lived in segregated communities, founded black churches and over 100 black universities and colleges, developed their own way of speaking English, and lived in an inferior parallel society.

Results of School Integration and the Civil and Voting Rights Acts Are Huge

The civil rights movement sprung out of the black churches in the 50’s and 60’s. This led, after much bloodshed, to the civil and voting rights bills being passed in the mid 1960’s. Prior to the voting rights act of 1965, many blacks were excluded from voting due to poll taxes, literacy tests, and residency requirements that were applied only to black voters, particularly in the south. That was barely two generations ago! When the Civil and Voting Rights bills were passed in 1964 and 65 and the Supreme Court ruled segregation was unconstitutional in 1954, the doors of limited privilege began to creak open.

As these doors opened in the 1950’s and 60’s, blacks began slowly entering mainstream society. In the 1970’s and 80’s we began seeing black reporters on TV and some blacks were featured in TV commercials. More and more black faces were seen on college campuses. Yes, many felt insecure and kept to themselves. Many had congenital inferiority complexes caused by lying on the floors of cars and being banned from selected business and public places, like bath rooms and schools. They also knew from their parents that keeping a low profile was a survival skill. Who wanted to wind up lynched like Emmet Till?

Now, just 46 years after James Meredith integrated Ole Miss, 20% of the student population there is composed of students from minority groups. Most surprisingly and positively, the university sponsored the prestigious first presidential debate this season. And who could have imagined in 1962 that this would occur and that one of the major candidates would be black? Black professionals are in every profession and serve all customers, not just blacks.

Beneath Our Radar, Dynamic Shifts are Taking Place in Schools Today

Folks my age just shake our heads in bewildered awe. It happened again yesterday at another football game on a glorious afternoon. I chatted with a well dressed white woman – native Houstonian -- from an oil services company.

As helmets loudly cracked on the field, we discussed Obama and, more importantly, how much racial mixing there was at both our high schools. She was astonished that her son once dated a black girl without the slightest sense of scandal or tittle-tattle. According to her son, kids of all colors shared lunch table in the cafeteria, and there was no racial tension. She was also astounded that these changes were occurring out of the blue and beneath her radar.

My son’s school is 30 percent each black, brown, white, and 10 percent Asian. They hang around together, enjoy the same lousy music, and don’t cluster in segregated groups. Looking at the legs of the football players from the stands provides a vision of the new America – every shade of human color is represented. It is the same watching 3000 kids as they stream out of school in the afternoon, chattering away in diverse groups. And when I ask my son about racism – he is mixed – he sighs and says “Dad that is such an old school question.” I don’t even ask any more.

Black accents are fading as more and more blacks enter mainstream society and worry more about their job prospects, portfolios, and retirements than racism. Parents of racially mixed kids (me) are dumbfounded and thrilled that the racism I anticipated when my little girl was born in 1986 never materialized. Problems arose more from selected black peers who felt there should be black solidarity. Like my African friends experienced, the racism came from the blacks, not the whites.

This occurred amongst some old-school Blacks when Obama initially declared his candidacy. Some blacks felt because he didn’t grow up in the ghetto he wasn’t a legitimate black person. They slowly came around, but initially there was much skepticism and resentment. Finally many realized that their sacrifices paved the way for an Obama to emerge.

Relax, Your Racial Dilemma is Normal

But you are still reluctant to vote for him. I understand. When you were growing up and learning how the world worked, blacks weren’t your peers at all. They did the mindless drudge and dirty work. They were aliens; a visible underclass. And because of their color – unlike similarly unschooled working class whites – they were easily identified. Hence, it was normal to chant, “Eeny meeny miney moe, catch a nigger by the toe.” Or to ask, “How far did you chase a nigger for that tie?” Then there were those familiar playground terms from the popular song “Colored Spade” 1960’s musical Hair. I’m a Colored spade, a nigger, black nigger, jungle bunny Jigaboo, coon, Pickaninny, mau mau,
Uncle Tom, Aunt Jemima, Little Black Sambo, Cotton pickin, 'Swamp guinea, junk man, Shoeshine boy,
Elevator operator, Table cleaner at Horn & Hardart, Slave, voodoo, Zombie, Ubangi lipped,
Flat nose, Tap dancin' Resident of Harlem…”

When you saw a fellow white person, you had no idea who he was, where he came from, or what he stood for, especially if he dressed appropriately. There were many poor whites, but their skin bestowed immunity on them. They blended in and did not have the stigma of coming to America as involuntary slaves. No one owned their great grandparents.

Since your impression of blacks was forged prior to blacks entering mainstream society, those old programs are still running in the background of your brain. And that is as normal as all the other values you picked up as a kid like rooting for your favorite sports team, liking a certain food, or knowing hard work is a virtue. You grew up seeing black people as chronic underachievers. Of course many were. They had no access to the institutions you accessed due to the lucky accident of your birth.

It Is Class, Not Color

These negative ideas do not automatically make you a racist. Now I’ll demonstrate that you really aren’t racist after all. When I quizzed African students who studied here, some mentioned that American blacks often gave them an ultimatum. Don’t hang out with whites. Choose us or them! If you hang out with whites you will not be welcome in our black society. A black girlfriend I had in 1979 when in grad school received the same treatment from her black peers. “Why are you dating a white boy? Aren’t we good enough?

It eventually dawned on me that racism was a socioeconomic phenomenon. And people were “racist” only because blacks stood out like sore thumbs due to their color. But why were Africans welcomed into white society, why did they readily accept the friendship of their white peers, and why didn’t they care about the threats they received from black Americans? One Somali friend of mine even hung out at a redneck country bar in Michigan where he was the only black person. He went because he liked the music and it was the easiest place to pick up girls. “And the redneck guys?” I asked. “I was polite, sized up the situation, wasn’t pushy, and gradually got to know everyone and became a regular. No one cared that I went home with white girls. They even asked around if I missed a few days.”

Soon I realized that the Africans were middle to upper class kids who had much more in common with middle to upper class white kids on campus than they did with black students who grew up in poor segregated communities . It was culture that mattered, not color. The Africans never defined people by color. They discriminated instead by tribe. Where they came from, everyone was black. Consequently they had little in common with black American students, aside from their shared skin color. The American blacks were yet another alien tribe to them – and a subservient one at that! Color counted for nothing, just like white skin is not the number one catalyst for white bonding.

The Africans were never denied anything in their home countries due to race. So they naturally hung out with their social class peers, white middle class kids. Few reported any racial problems in the 15-20 years I posed the question. They knew some of their most brutal repressive dictators, like Idi Amin from Uganda and Mengistu from Ethiopia, were black.

Now You Can Vote For Barack

And your perceived racism? A myth. You just want to hang out with your peers and don’t want to spend time with people you have little in common with. Since African students and white kids shared a common class background, they were well matched -- far better than black Americans whose criteria for friendship were based on shared discrimination and color. Black Americans and black Africans shared little in common at all, just pigment. Hence the reluctance of the African students to be friends with them just because they shared a common color.

Back to Barack. You are attracted to him. You like his message of hope. You admire how he took withering fire over Reverend Wright and survived. He is battle tested. You also recognize that McCain clumsily stumbles from issue to issue and has a weak grasp of economics. He said the fundamentals of our economy were strong, and then abruptly reversed himself just fours later. You like Obama’s choice for vice-president and think McCain used poor judgment and acted impulsively and irresponsibly when he chose Sarah Palin. You thought when McCain suspended his campaign it was a gimmick. You worry about your retirement, yet McCain offers no solutions. And you know you would vote for Obama in a heartbeat if only he were white.

Obama is black. But he is a 2008 Black man, not a 1948 model. But after just two generations of many blacks having access to the same institutions we attend, look what happened. In an amazingly short time, racism is vanishing from our kids. There are black professionals in every field. And that was just what Lyndon Johnson and civil rights leaders hoped for and anticipated in the 1960’s when the civil and voting rights bills were passed. The idea was that once the doors of opportunity were thrown open to all citizens, discrimination and racism would slowly fade away. And that is exactly what is happening in many of our schools today. Johnson also predicted that his civil rights legislation would set the Democratic Party back at least 25 years. He was absolutely right. The republicans capitalized on white resentment. Nixon’s southern strategy in 1968 was a wink and an approving nod to the racists. The message was, we understand your resentment towards civil rights legislation, and we support you. The South then flipped from voting democratic since reconstruction, to voting for the party of Lincoln, the GOP.Due to Supreme Court decisions and congressional legislation, blacks are represented in all professions. Black people have been elected as mayors of major cities since the1960’s. And now a black candidate is running for president.&nbs

Resolving Your Obama Race Dilemma - How You Got It and Where To Put It

David from Houston, TX — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:42:16 EDT

Resolving Your Obama Race Dilemma -- How You Got it and Where to Put It

David Scheinman

Where Were the Black Professionals When You Were Growing Up?

She was introduced by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYZoeMKkxkg&feature=related

Where We Were and Where We Are Today -- From Slavery to Obama

Results of School Integration and the Civil and Voting Rights Acts Are Huge

Beneath Our Radar, Dynamic Shifts are Taking Place in Schools Today

Relax, Your Racial Dilemma is Normal

It Is Class, Not Color

Now You Can Vote For Barack

David Scheinman

tanga4@yahoo.com

Available for Distribution:

www.tashi48.wordpress.com

Please copy and distribute to all wavering voters.

Civil War II?

Virginia Small Business Owner — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:36:32 EDT

Before I get into a very serious concern, I have to ask, who came up with the name "Civil War" anyway? It's such an inappropriate name for what, in truth, are deeply divisive, rending descructive actions against one's own....

Anyway, here goes...

The French have a saying, "Never two, without three." It basically states that all things come in threes.

During this election, I've had literally hundreds of conversations with people of all walks of life, all religions, and many ethnic groups. I've talked to Jews and Palestinians, blacks and whites, business owners, unemployed workers, and even some political commentators (soon to be unemployed). With those hundreds of people came hundreds of opinions, the most unique of which I usually dismissed as "one man's opinion". But when three people I talk to say ultimately the same thing, well, that tells me there are others of like mind out there as well.

Today was strike three.

I had a contractor working on my roof and ceiling today, and spoke to him about the upcoming election as I do everyone. This was a white contractor whose livelihood has been somewhat threatened by day workers and who has developed sufficient evidence from the experiences in his own life to inform him that certain ethnic groups are prone to criminal behavior more than others. There was no point in fighting with him on this, however untrue it may have been. It was his experience. But what concerned me more was his fear. It matched almost exactly what I've heard from others whom I consider otherwise sensible and logical.

They fear that an Obama Presidency will put them in physical danger due to the release of pent up tensions from black oppression.

Yup. A black man gets elected and the riots break out. The criminal aspect of oppressed people would come forward, unchecked.

They ALL said it with a straight face. They're genuinely concerned. People who love their kids. People who go to church, who work for a living, people who otherwise make logical choices. They are in fear.

I tried to come up with logical responses. I mentioned Barack's Father's Day speech (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/15/obamas-fathers-day-speech_n_107220.html). Of course, they hadn't seen it or heard it. Barack has no problem calling on his "own" people to honor their heritage in how they act.

I've often said that people expect from others what they would do themselves, but I didn't get that sense here either.

So how do I best communicate to these folks that there's nothing to fear?

The Ashley Todd incident didn't help (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iidrMKZwVNDDlEtkssY6t1xxhg9QD94169T80). In fact, I can't help but wonder if it wasn't designed to reach these very people.

I would love to hear commentary on two things... have you come across people with these views? And if so, what have you said, if anything, that's worked?

I look forward to seeing your responses.

McCain: Off the Rails

Jedidiah Palosaari — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:30:45 EDT

In an amazing rally today, the McCain campaign showed that it was running off the rails completely. At one point he began to tell his audience something, and then decided, "Never mind." At a pivotal moment, he called for Michael - I mean "Joe the Plumber", to come on stage, and then learned that Joe wasn't actually at the rally. And then, in the middle of his speech, he said something that sounds a bit like, "abrgjik". I kid you not. Listen to the speech. I replayed it a few times, because it sounded so very odd. It sounded like suddenly, he was speaking the language of an outer space alien. Which frankly, raises far too many truly frightening scenarios for me to contemplate.

And yet, for all of these rhetorical errors, that was not the most glaring nor revolting mistake of the speech. In McCain's bid to try to make American tax law, McCain's past policies, and Obama all sound socialist, McCain is now bringing up an old radio interview of Obama's, where Obama also used the R-word- redistribution. But here's where McCain has entered truly dangerous waters.

In this interview, Obama very clearly is speaking of the legacy of slavery. He speaks of how the civil rights movement lead to freedom for blacks, and the right to vote, but didn't redistribute income- and this still remains to be done. He speaks of mistakes the founding fathers made- as everyone acknowledges who has any understanding of the ammendment process in the US constitution. This is of course particularly true with ammendments like the 14th.

I recognize that some conservatives feel that everything is now right with the world, between races, and in regards to civil rights. I suspect- I hope- that those conservatives are a minority even among conservatives. Most recognize that one of the horrible legacies of slavery has been lingering racism and a continued relegation of the majority of blacks to the lower economic classes. Beyond that, there is the slightly more controversial proposal of compensation for slavery. After all, not only was there the broken promise of "40 acers and a mule", but all the wealth in terms of human productivity that was stolen from African lands, and stolen from the Africans themselves, made into slaves. To date there has been no true payment to those defrauded by the American government and American people. But the proposal is not so controversial that is has not been considered by the American Congress at times.

Some combination of these issues is what Obama was obviously referring to in his radio interview. From the context, I suspect that it was more of the former- establishing economic parity between the races in America, to remove the blemish and stain of slavery that shackles us all- rather than the more touchy issue of compensation. He was trying to seek a more just society, and make up for the wrongs that America has perpetrated on her citizens of colour.

And this...this is what McCain was referring to today in his speech, when he said that Obama was being socialist.

Before McCain denigrates calls for racial equality, it might be helpful for him to remember the immortal words of Frederick Douglass.

No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.

Atlanta Barack Obama Parties...

Patrick 2Tall Jones — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:09:59 EDT

POWERFUL ATLANTA MUSIC INDUSTRY SUPPORTS BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENTJoin us for a "once in a lifetime" party to support Barack Obama and encourage others to vote. Lets make history together. Please forward to family and friends. Savoy Lounge has open it's doors to celebrate 2 important events: Barack Obama Party on Saturday night November 1st @ 9:00 pm and a live election result Viewing Party on Tuesday November 4th @ 8:00 pm. Lets laugh, cry, and make history!!Lets Complete Dr. Martin Luther King's Dream"Where people are judged by the content of there character and not the color of their skin."PLEASE FORWARD, VERY IMPORTANT TO SHOW UNITY ON THESE LAST DAYS BEFORE VOTINGSAVOY LOUNGE 2997 Campbelton Road, Atlanta, GA Directions From Downtown Atlanta:
Travel 75/85 south, take exit 243, Merge 166 West, travel 5 miles. Exit Campbelton Rd, merge right. Savoy is 2997 Campbelton Rd on the right.

Barack Obama Party on Saturday night November 1st @ 9:00 pm Official Viewing Party on Election Night Tuesday November 4th @ 8:00 pmIf your going to attend 1 or both, please RSVP by email as a courtesy.I hope to meet you and your Obama Friends. Lets Make History. Lets share it together!!!Sincerely, Patrick 2Tall Jones

Atlanta Barack Obama Parties...

Patrick 2Tall Jones — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:09:26 EDT

Directions From Downtown Atlanta:
Travel 75/85 south, take exit 243, Merge 166 West, travel 5 miles. Exit Campbelton Rd, merge right. Savoy is 2997 Campbelton Rd on the right.

Barack Obama Party on Saturday night November 1st @ 9:00 pm

Official Viewing Party on Election Night Tuesday November 4th @ 8:00 pmIf your going to attend 1 or both, please RSVP by email as a courtesy.I hope to meet you and your Obama Friends. Lets Make History. Lets share it together!!!Sincerely, Patrick 2Tall Jones

Atlanta Barack Obama Parties...

Patrick 2Tall Jones — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:08:47 EDT

Atlanta Barack Obama Parties...

Patrick 2Tall Jones — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:08:15 EDT

Confronting blatant racial discrimination

Grace from Barnstable, MA — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 15:30:30 EDT

I have been spending this beautiful fall Sunday afternoon calling NH voters. Several that I talked to politely told me that they are voting for McCain. I thank them for their time and hung up.

This last call however completely took me by surprise. The male voter I was calling was not home. A woman answered and offered to take a message. I just had enough time to tell her that I am a volunteer for the Obama campaign. She blurted out in horror as if she had seen a disease coming through the phone line, "Oh, NO No, No we don't vote black!".

I was speechless and felt sick to my stomach. I had to stop calling and pull myself together again.

After all it was only 45 years since Dr. King expressed his dream of equality in this country. I realized that racial discrimination exist, but I am extremely sad to see people can be still so blatant about it.

Voting Against One's Self

Albert from Indianapolis, IN — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:19:30 EDT

It amazes me to view the various poll results around the nation and see that John McCain registers even 1% of the electorate's consideration. Okay, maybe I could understand about 5% (the wealthy and those whose agendas he will promote) declaring that they will vote for McCain. Anyone else, dismays me. The reason is simple. As one may note from the news, the newspapers, the Internet, word-of-mouth, personal experiences, etc., most Americans are facing epic crisises in their lives. People--Black, White, or of other races--are losing homes, losing savings, struggling to eat, working multiple jobs to make ends meet, and finding alternatives to driving their cars due to high gas prices. Oh, and one shouldn't forget the loss of lives, loss of credibility with the rest of the world, loss of international respect, and loss of purpose in the war in Iraq that seemingly has become an inescapable situation for the nation. All of these challenges faced by Americans are the result of 8 years of George W. Bush's administration. There is no denying it. People are unhappy. They want better lives. They want changes in the government and in the government's policies. How, then, can one justify voting for John McCain? Is it his eloquent statements of his planned policies for the country that people wish for but have not yet received? Is it his decision to choose a running-mate based on gender, but not substance, in order to gain "on-the-fence" voters? Is it his illogical commercials attacking Barack Obama on every level--personal and otherwise? Is it fear-mongering? Or, is it a hesitancy by some to vote for an African American? My gut instincts tell me that it's the latter. Despite the turmoil being experienced in most American households, there are those who would rather vote for a continuation (and perhaps a further degradation) of their current situation instead of voting for a Black man. This is the epitome of illogical sentiments to me. If one is poor, struggling to feed and raise a family, and has a bleak future outlook, what do the Republicans offer that will give one hope for the future? Nothing. More George Bush policies would be on the way. That is not good news. Some people would rather vote to continue living a sub-par life than to elect a Black man to the White House. How insane. Race should not matter in this election. What should matter is one's prospect for a better life. Can Barack Obama offer a better life for a person over the next four years? At the very least, he has ideas and policy proposals that he advances every chance he gets. John McCain's plan for the middle class--question Barack Obama's patriotism and make veiled racist remarks. Think about it America. Are you so afraid of a Black man in power that you would settle for more of the same--the worst 8 year tenure in the history of the American presidency? Is it logical to vote against one's own interests? An analogy, not designed to equate John McCain with a vile historical figure but intended to drive home a point, begs parallel logic. Show me a holocaust survivor who would prefer Hitler to a Chinese emperor leading Germany, and I'll show you a poor, impoverished American who is eagerly, and rightfully so, in support of John McCain.

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

Proud of America

Unknown user — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:27:52 EDT

Hi,

I'm an Angolan (African) black man in my 40's that loves the USA and is proud of them. I look forward to an Obama's win and that the American policies and hence the world change for the better. In 2000 I was working at USAID in my hometown Luanda and hoping for an Al Gore win; unfortunately that did not happen and the World is leaving on the most darkness times I have memory. As many people around the World and America I have my doubts on how 9/11 could have happened in a country with such intelligency services and seeing the way the World leaned after that explains a lot of things to me.

Hopefully, God does exist and I am looking forward to a new prosper era - the dawn of the Barack Obama's era. As most of the people in the World that favour him I am anxious for the wealthier hopefull times he'll bring from November 4th.

Long Live Obama.

What a difference a year makes....the rise and rise of Obama

Dele — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:15:55 EDT

In October last year, whilst in Minneapolis, I was curious about how the Obama presidential candidacy was playing among African Americans. Obama is after all, not a descendant of slaves but a product of an African father and a white American mother. Given the historical tensions between Africans and African Americans, Obama’s candidacy offers a study in the dynamics of the relationships within black peoples and between black and white peoples. It seemed then that black people’s votes were split between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. This was not a surprise to me. African Americans traditionally voted democrats and it will seem perfectly logical that some would retain their loyalty to the party and the wife of Bill Clinton, the man popularly regarded as the first “black president” based on his sympathy for the cause of black people.But something else was happening with the black electorates! They were ambivalent about the audacity of Obama as a first term senator running for president. Such naked ambition by a black man was not permissible or tolerated in white America. The unspoken fear was that white America and their Anglo-Saxon cousins in Europe were not ready for a black president. The fear of premature ending of Obama’s candidacy by an assassin’s bullet was all too real. My encounter with an elderly black woman encapsulated this fear: “I won’t vote for Obama for fear that he will be killed”. The fear of assassination which paralysed many black voters with long memories of the fate of uppity black men subsequently found its way into national debate and I think America and the world is better for confronting this possibility.In May, while in Washington DC, I took it upon myself to undertake a one man poll of all the taxi drivers who had the task of conveying me from one venue to another. I discovered two things. Unlike London taxi drivers who will strike up a conversation with their fares uninvited, my DC taxi drivers left me with the option of initiating the conversation and that they are as politically savvy as their London counterparts. I also discovered that no taxi driver was indifferent to the raging political debates especially the increasingly acrimonious Clinton-Obama battle for the democratic nomination. Despite Obama’s narrow lead, there were those who believed that Obama would lose because the Democratic Party leaders preferred Hillary Clinton who is the establishment candidate. Some claim that Bill Clinton owns the Democratic Party. There were those who believe that Obama was too young and inexperienced and should defer to the older and more experienced Hillary Clinton. Those who believed that Obama was smart and deserved to win the nomination nevertheless felt that it would be a wasted opportunity for the Democrats as he was not likely to win the general election. He would be no match for the Republican Party election juggernaut. I also met my first black republican taxi driver who was convinced that Obama was the least qualified candidate to be president but declined to engage me in any further debate. But why was he so angry with me? Perhaps he felt that I as a black man must be critical of another black man who did not show loyalty towards a black candidate (not true, but plausible). I thought he was angry with himself but projected his anger into me. I wonder if he will be voting for the McCain-Palin ticket in November.And so, a week ago, I found myself in Chicago. This time, Obama has become the front runner! My taxi drivers no longer have any doubt about an Obama victory. It seemed the only subject of interest.And then, I was in a scientific meeting where one of the organizers spotted an Obama for President Cap when he presented an award to a distinguished scientist and no delegate seemed to give this any thought. I scrutinised the faces of the distinguished executives to see if I could detect disapproval. None. Speakers after speakers talked about the change that President Obama would bring about in the American health care system! Was I in a political gathering or a scientific meeting? Or was this a Chicago bias although delegates came from all over the states and Europe?For me, the most enduring and memorable sign of change in American politics and the black consciousness in the past twelve months was another chance encounter with a middle aged black woman cashier who recognising that I was a foreign black man asked, “what do you think of our elections?” Quite exciting I replied and enquired who she thought would be the next president? Without any hesitation, “Obama”! But like my chance encounter with the Minneapolis black woman, she too has some concerns for Obama.She is worried that Obama will have to spend a lot of his time as President in clearing up the mess that Bush has made in the past eight years! This is truly historical.

Change

Gocachi — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:25:50 EDT

Change

Forty-seven years ago, President John F. Kennedy said, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. Well, that was 47 years ago! Times have changed. America’s economy has changed from stable to be unstable.

It is time the words of our late President reflect the change urgency of now. I have revised the quote to reflect the changing times we live. It now reads:

Ask not what you can do for your country.

Ask your country what can it do for you?

America has changed from stable to hope

We need Congress to change

We need the Senate to change

We need the house on Capital Hill to change

Americas’ leaders must acknowledge that our nation has changed and does not reflect the vision of the real change America deserves.

We must take action to change the wrong we live today, right.

This is not the change Roosevelt imagined!

This is not the change JFK imagined!

This is not the change Martin Luther King imagined!

This is not the change my grandfather, grandmother, mother, father, brother, sister, friend, and neighbor imagined!

This is not how I imagined change!

Martin Luther King, President Roosevelt, and Kennedy were great men all on the trails of great paths, and something went wrong, because they were all righteous men. I don’t think all of those people could have been wrong. And what you are thinking is right, they were not wrong!

What is wrong is the failed change of the Bush Presidency!

We are living the wrong change with the wrong leaders!

We are living for helping the rich change!

We are living for corrupt companies and unrighteous Ceo’s to live their change

We are living for change supporting a failed and squalling Presidency of a shameful George Bush, an administration that proud his change that destroyed the real change America deserves.

We are living a fail Bush Presidency that destroyed the changes and legacy of these great men! This was an awful pursuit, and embarrassment for America. What an awful change. What an ungrateful George Bush!

It is time for all that to change. It is time we lead Americans to live the change America deserves.

To start we will elect a righteous leader to lead our country in the right direction. It is time to elect a leader who believes in family values and principles. It is time to live the change you believe you want to live.

It is time to change America!

It is time to change.

Change!

America needs change more than ever!

And the leader that will help change America is Barack Obama!

He has proved his success as a United States Senator and he has called upon the wisdom of Joe Biden to help him address America’s problems. Together they will guide America and will help us achieve the real change Martin L. King envisioned.

They will help us achieve the real change President Roosevelt envisioned!

They will help us achieve the real change JFK envisioned!

But they cannot do it alone. Believe me, when I say your vote is needed to support the change we want, and the change we need to rebuild this country.

I am hearing people say: what about the smoker’s right? What about the non-smokers rights? What about the green party’s rights, what about the Republicans rights? What about the rights of democrats. We all have rights. That is not what it means to vote my fellow Americans.

Voting is not an instrument to justify personal habits and personal needs and addictions we inflict upon ourselves. Voting is for mature citizens of our great country. It is your mature, righteous vote that will determine the results of one nations effort to unite justice for all Americans. Just as the late, President Kennedy said: In your hands, my fellow citizen, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.

On November 4, 2008, All Americans will be summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty! Your vote is more than just an action to elect our next President of the United States. It is packaged like the seed of the great Sequoia plus more. The moment you cast your vote, the package will sprout, root and grow, to change the course of your history, and will forever, exist, counted.

The change we seek will require all neighbors to join Democratic Party to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. Like Kennedy, Obama personifies humility, and the righteousness of a great leader. He has demonstrated he will not negotiate out of fear, and will not fear to negotiate for the change we need.

Martin Luther King reminded America of the fierce urgency of now, so I remind you. Now is the time to make real promises of democracy! Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice! Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children. Now is the time for change! It is your time, with your hands to vote for Barack Obama!

We should not allow racism to lead us to distrust of all people. The change we seek is self-evidence that all our presence here today gives proof we have come to realize that our destiny is their destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom

Now our dreams are their dreams!

Our hopes are their hopes!

This is the vision of the Martin Luther King I know!

This is Americas dream!

America is a great nation.

The change we seek will come true!

We will all sing the words of the great Martin Luther king!

Let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire!

Let freedom ring from the land of Lincoln

Let freedom ring from Minnesota

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we all allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men, and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free to change!

I know this will be true for all Americans.

A few weeks ago, I was twigged between two stones. On my right a heavy stone sinking with a sadly call from the voice of my mother, asking me to persuade the white police office from harassing my sister, and the office claiming there was a warrant out for her arrest. The calls kept coming only this time with a shrieking voice of my mother just two hours before mid night, telling me a prejudice principle that was in charge of an elementary school which my niece attended called her home while the kids were sound a sleep.

She said the principle told her my niece of age eleven threatens to bring a gun to school to harm other students. My mother knew this could not be true because my mother does not own a gun and my niece has never seen a weapon that would deliver such a destruction. A third call, all with in one week after moving to Lino Lakes Minnesota. My mother’s voice filled with no hope tells me that my younger brother was pulled over by the police, they suspended his license.

Now it is very difficult for him to get to work. Public transportation does not operate hours convenient for him.

Later that week I found out, they were subjects of authorities loyal to racism, born of darkness, haters of right, relentless haters in their efforts to destroy a changing America.

On the other side swells a stone so great, breathing is complicated for me, because on this side presses against me calls from every direction of our nation, Americans calling upon me to fight for their Civil Liberties, Black, White, Latino, Italian, Russian, Polish, and so on and on, and on. The cries are endless. I feel mangled, broken, torn.

I felt it would be easier for me to die than to decide. I could only think about how many sons and daughter are challenged with similar decisions. I thought, God, why have you given me these burdens. What have I not done to please you? I thought; Lord, you can’t be serious to expect me to challenge this path of anger, prejudice, hateful taunts, and Civil Liberties of an entire nation.

The burdens were so heavy I fell asleep just thinking about it. When I woke up, I called the school and the words just flowed. Then I realized while I was asleep the lord made his words mine. He made the most difficult decision of my life courage! I realized what just happened. I was changed. Now I believe change is the will of God. And that was all the courage I needed. That is all the courage you need to vote righteously. Pray to your God and he will inspire you to make the right choice.

Meanwhile, find your way to www.obama.com. Explore the wealth of information to learn more than you need to know about your candidate Barack Obama and the hopeful new vice President Joe Biden. Learn about them as much as you can, just as I have done. You will learn just as I have learned, their voices are real and their actions are inspiring.

Their will is Gods’ will. They seek change for righteousness to rain upon all of Gods’ children. They have summoned God Almighty to share the wealth with all of Gods’ children and not just a few. Their prayers are righteous prayers.

Although I have never met Obama, he is my mentor, my inspiration, and my political advisor. Obama is real to me. He will be forever welcomed in my home. He is my friend; he is my brother’s keeper.

Thank you Barack for awakening my sleep. Thank you for motivating me to respond to Gods voice. For he has inspired me to help you, help America live the right change.

Sincerely,

Marcail Parker

Gocachi LLC

JUST BECAUSE HE'S BLACK!

Angelina from Greensboro, NC — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:21:38 EDT

A white man asked his black friend, 'Are you voting for Barack Obama just because he's black?'

The black man responded by saying, 'Why not? In this country men are pulled over everyday just cause they're black; passed over for promotions just cause they're black; considered to be criminals just cause they're black; and there are going to be thousands of you who won't be voting for him just because he's black!
However, you do not seem to have a problem with that!
This country was built with the sweat and whip off the black slaves' back, and now a descendent of those same slaves has a chance to lead the same country, where we weren't even considered to be people, where we weren't allowed to be educated, drink from the same water fountains, eat in the same restaurants, or even vote.
So yes! I'm going to vote for him! But it's not just because he's black, but because he is hope, he is change, and he now allows me to understand when my grandson says that he wants to be president when he grows up, it is not a fairy tale but a short term goal. He now sees, understands and knows that he can achieve, withstand and do . . .
ANYTHING... Just Because He's Black!!!

Voter Purge Dogs removing Obama's voters from the rolls. are out...Voters are being removed from Voters Registration against the Voter Laws. This action has impacted over 700,000 Obama new voters

Rosalind Greene — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:12:24 EDT

All Quoted from NYT 9 Oct 2008.

"Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times.

The actions do not seem to be coordinated by one party or the other, nor do they appear to be the result of election officials intentionally breaking rules, but are apparently the result of mistakes in the handling of the registrations and voter files as the states tried to comply with a 2002 federal law, intended to overhaul the way elections are run.

Still, because Democrats have been more aggressive at registering new voters this year, according to state election officials, any heightened screening of new applications may affect their party’s supporters disproportionately. The screening and trimming of voter registration lists in the six states — Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina — could also result in problems at the polls on Election Day: people who have been removed from the rolls are likely to show up only to be challenged by political party officials or election workers, resulting in confusion, long lines and heated tempers.

Some states allow such voters to cast provisional ballots. But they are often not counted because they require added verification.

Although much attention this year has been focused on the millions of new voters being added to the rolls by the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama, there has been far less notice given to the number of voters being dropped from those same rolls.

States have been trying to follow the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and remove the names of voters who should no longer be listed; but for every voter added to the rolls in the past two months in some states, election officials have removed two, a review of the records shows.

The six states seem to be in violation of federal law in two ways. Some are removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election, which is not allowed except when voters die, notify the authorities that they have moved out of state, or have been declared unfit to vote.

Some of the states are improperly using Social Security data to verify registration applications for new voters.

In addition to the six swing states, three more states appear to be violating federal law. Alabama and Georgia seem to be improperly using Social Security information to screen registration applications from new voters. And Louisiana appears to have removed thousands of voters after the federal deadline for taking such action.

Under federal law, election officials are supposed to use the Social Security database to check a registration application only as a last resort, if no record of the applicant is found on state databases, like those for driver’s licenses or identification cards.

The requirement exists because using the federal database is less reliable than the state lists, and is more likely to incorrectly flag applications as invalid. Many state officials seem to be using the Social Security lists first.

In the year ending Sept. 30, election officials in Nevada, for example, used the Social Security database more than 740,000 times to check voter files or registration applications and found more than 715,000 nonmatches, federal records show. Election officials in Georgia ran more than 1.9 million checks on voter files or voter registration applications and found more than 260,000 nonmatches.

Officials of the Social Security Administration, presented with those numbers, said they were far too high to be cases where names were not in state databases. They said the data seem to represent a violation of federal law and the contract the states signed with the agency to use the database.

Last week, after the inquiry by The Times, Michael J. Astrue, the commissioner of the Social Security Administration, alerted the Justice Department to the problem and sent letters to election officials in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio. The letters, which express concern that voters will be blocked from voting because of the inappropriate use of Social Security information, ask the officials to ensure they are complying with federal law.

In three states — Colorado, Louisiana and Michigan — the number of people purged from the election rolls since Aug. 1 far exceeds the number who may have died or relocated during that period.

States may be improperly removing voters who have moved within the state, election experts said, or who are considered inactive because they have failed to vote in two consecutive federal elections. For example, major voter registration drives have been held this year in Colorado, which has also had a significant population increase since the last presidential election, but the state has recorded a net loss of nearly 100,000 voters from its rolls since 2004.

Asked about the appearance of voter law violations, Rosemary E. Rodriguez, the chairwoman of the federal Election Assistance Commission, which oversees elections, said they could present “extremely serious problems.”

“The law is pretty clear about how states can use Social Security information to screen registrations and when states can purge their rolls,” Ms. Rodriguez said.

Nevada officials said the large number of Social Security checks had resulted from county clerks entering Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers in the wrong fields before records were sent to the state. They could not estimate how many records might have been affected by the problem, but they said it was corrected several weeks ago".

The Times’s methodology for calculating the purge estimates was reviewed by two voting experts, Kimball Brace, the director of Election Data Services, a Washington consulting firm that tracks voting trends, and R. Michael Alvarez, a political science professor at the California Institute of Technology.

By using the Social Security database so extensively, states are flagging extra registrations and creating extra work for local officials who are already struggling to process all the registration applications by Election Day.

“I simply don’t have the staff to keep up,” said Ann McFall, the supervisor of elections in Volusia County, Fla.

It takes 10 minutes to process a normal registration and up to a week to deal with a flagged one, said Ms. McFall, a Republican, adding that she was receiving 100 or so flagged registrations a week.

Usually, when state election officials check a registration and find that it does not match a database entry, they alert local election officials to contact the voter and request further proof of identification. If that is not possible, most states flag the voter file and require identification from the voter at the polling place.

In Florida, Iowa, Louisiana and South Dakota, the problem is more serious because voters are not added to the rolls until the states remove the flags.

Ms. McFall said she was angry to learn from the state recently that it was her responsibility to contact each flagged voter to clear up the discrepancies before Election Day. “This situation with voter registrations is going to land us in court,” she said.

In Michigan and Florida, rights groups are suing state officials, accusing them of being too aggressive in purging voter rolls and of preventing people from registering.

In Georgia, the Justice Department is considering legal action against officials in Cobb and Cherokee Counties who sent letters to hundreds of voters stating that their voter registrations had been flagged and telling them they cannot vote until they clear up the discrepancy.

On Monday, the Ohio Republican Party filed a motion in federal court against the secretary of state to get the list of all names that have been flagged by the Social Security database since Jan. 1. The motion seeks to require that any voter who does not clear up a discrepancy be required to vote using a provisional ballot".

Polling Expert Says Youth Vote is Being Under Counted

JeffW — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 02:39:17 EDT

Also on FiveThirtyEight.com, there is a short posting about Ann Seltzer's view that most pollsters are under counting the youth and black vote. You may have also have heard that many polling organizations have changed the weighting they are giving to Democrats. They are giving Democrats less weight and Republicans more. This, despite the wide-spread reporting of record voter registration for Democrats all over the country. There must have been millions of Democrats who showed up to vote in their primaries for the first time. A whole lot of them came out for Obama. Do those folks stay home in November? I don't think so.

Escape from Arab racism's genocide

Matias from Carrollton, KY — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:18:03 EDT

Escape from (Sudan) genocide
The Gazette (Montreal), Canada - 20 Sep 2008
There are inklings of the horrors to come when she describes the racism she experienced from Arab students and teachers at her boarding school, ...so graphic...

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=b8976906-ac91-4405-82bb-28b25c7cdc9d

Why the Race for the White House is so Close

Paul from Washington, DC — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:43:09 EDT

The white working-class has arguably been the most powerful political and social force in America for the last sixty years. The last forty years of American history reflect, to a great extent, the social and political evolution of the white working-class. During this period, the government of the United States has been patently responsive to their sensibilities and to their needs. In this, as in past election cycles, the white working-class has the power to shape America ’s future. So why is this powerful demographic suffering with increasing unemployment and underemployment, vanishing pensions, foreclosures, bankruptcies from medical costs and spiraling debt, and a host of other social problems?

On the domestic front, the white working-class is a powerful voting bloc capable of determining electoral outcomes and shaping social policy. They have delivered seven of the last ten Presidential elections to the Republican Party. In the 1990s, the white working-class decried affirmative action and welfare (as we knew it), and both policies were radically reformed or eviscerated. They initially supported the war in Iraq , and President Bush used their support to entrench the United States military in that troubled country. So why does this powerful voting bloc feel so vulnerable?

The issues and rallying cries du-jour have come and gone, but the most enduring and prickliest issue for a large cross-section of white working-class Americans has been the assimilation of minorities into the fabric of America . For the last forty years, working-class whites from certain regions of the country have resisted the assimilation of minorities in ever subtler ways. Enmity and resentment of minorities have nonetheless dissociated many working-class whites from their core economic, political, and social interests. Politically, they have consistently been on the winning side, but they have conversely lost almost everything they have inherited from their New Deal era precursors.

Though this phenomenon has been recast by pundits and politicians as fundamentally an issue of values or as the “culture war,” the issue is fundamentally an issue of race. The issue has, and may continue to reflect, a struggle over what it means to be an American and who the “real” Americans are. That is why, in this election cycle, as decades of de-regulation have the U.S. economy on the brink of disaster, and with the first non-white male candidate running for the Presidency promising change, talk about patriotism, flag pins, who would be the “real American President,” and “country first,” dominate the political conversation.

Meanwhile, working Americans of every color are watching the American dream slip through their fingers. Why? Americans are better off when government promotes economic expansion for working Americans as well as for business and industry. America is stronger and more prosperous when the country has robust social programs, strong unions, federal and state support for public education and innovation in art and industry, and careful regulation of the country’s business and financial sectors.

After the New Deal era, unions were strong, educational and economic opportunities abounded, business and industry flourished under a balanced regulatory scheme, and working Americans prospered. But the specter of race and an amorphous sense of separateness duped many whites into thinking they could flourish without the socioeconomic context that sustained their forebears. In the sixties and seventies, growing unrest among Blacks and Hispanics clashed against the sensibilities of an increasingly arrogant and intolerant white working-class. Many from the south who had been Democrats rejected the Democratic Party’s desegregation, anti-discrimination, and equal opportunity platform, and bolted to the Republican Party. Later, busing led to white working-class antipathy for public education and soon this powerful voting bloc became hopelessly entrenched in so-called conservative orthodoxy.

But what did the deregulating and pro-business Grand Old Party have in common with working-class whites, whose parents owed their ascent to the middle class as much to government regulations and social programs as to hard work? Very little – yet with astonishing efficiency and effectiveness, the Republican Party assimilated their laissez-faire (less or no regulation) philosophy with their new southern white brethren’s platform of resistance to federal intervention to end segregation and ensure equal opportunity. Both constituents wanted less government, but for different reasons. Notwithstanding, a new era of white custodial Americanism was born. The Republican Party got the southern “Bible Belt” states for 40-years and running, and southern whites got a sense that the GOP would protect them against the assimilation of minorities into the fabric of America .

This interpretation of the last forty years of American History is typically glossed over or ignored by pundits and the media. Why? Working-class whites do not want to be told that they are driven, to a great extent, in their political decisions, by racial pride, enmity, and resentment. They do not want to accept that white privilege is growing increasingly illusory, and that in spite of their skin color, they are in the same predicament as other working-class Americans. More importantly, pundits and politicians do not want to risk white working-class ire by offering this incriminating but crucial construction of historical facts. Remember the reaction to the “bitter” and “cling” controversy.

Working class whites continue to get a pass from the pundits on their resistance to progressive change in domestic policy. Even now, while facing increasing job losses, foreclosures, bankruptcies, an under-funded and floundering educational system, and a future without pensions and retirement because of corporate greed and deregulation, they are drawn to a candidate who promises more of the same. Even now they struggle with a clear choice between the failed policies of the past and a future with universal health care, better funding for education, higher wages and better jobs, secure pensions, safer products, and a host of other incidents of modern citizenship, Europeans take for granted.

In this election cycle the white working-class again holds the future of the nation in their hands. Will they cling to the past… “Yes, cling.” Or will they embark on a bold new future and create a unified bloc of working Americans committed to reclaiming the American dream? The 2008 Presidential election will be decided on this issue.

Racially motivated venting!!!!

Amanda B. — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:52:24 EDT

Arrggghhhhh! These people drive me crazy! I have such a hard time grasping this racism that is impacting this election! If his face was white Barack would have a defined lead. There is no question about it. If these people could close there eyes and ask the questions that matter in this election, they would vote for Obama. Instead, they vote against their basic principles because he is black. I just can't wrap my head around it! To me, it is truly the most frustrating thing in this race. I think this is the case because we should be past this, as a nation! Especially in this nation! People can embrace a woman with little experience and some serious negatives on her records, but if she were a black woman, she would not have been embraced as whole heartedly, especially by a party with statistically high racial prejudice. Thank goodness people are starting to see through her facade, but that doesn't bring the votes back to us if they are racially motivated. I know there are certain things we can't change in this world, but I want so desperatly for this to be one that we can! I just wanted to vent my frustrations today. You are more than welcome to join me!

Take Action Now - Racial Views Mean We Must Work Harder

Jim Ivey — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 08:34:11 EDT

We are facing a greater challenge this election because of many people's views on race - we cannot forget this because it means WE MUST WORK HARDER THAN EVER BEFORE to get out the vote!

See the story below:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13658.html

Jim Crawford Rethuglicans

Nia "Hussein" J. — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 04:23:33 EDT

‘Jim Crawford’ Republicans

Jonathan AlterNewsweek Web ExclusiveUpdated: 2:37 PM ET Sep 11, 2008

The GOP is working to keep eligible African-Americans from voting in several states. Jonathan Alter Newsweek Web Exclusive Updated: 2:37 PM ET Sep 11, 2008 It was a mainstay of Jim Crow segregation: for 100 years after the Civil War, Southern white Democrats kept eligible blacks from voting with poll taxes, literacy tests and property requirements. Starting in the 1960s, the U.S. Supreme Court declared these assaults on the heart of American democracy unconstitutional. Now, with the help of a 2008 Supreme Court decision, Crawford vs. Marion County (Indiana) Election Board, white Republicans in some areas will keep eligible blacks from voting by requiring driver's licenses. Not only is this new-fangled discrimination constitutional, it's spreading. GOP proponents of the move say they are merely trying to reduce voter fraud. But while occasional efforts to stuff ballot boxes through phony absentee voting still surface, the incidence of individual vote fraud—voting when you aren't eligible—is virtually non-existent, as "The Truth About Vote Fraud," a study by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, clearly shows. In other words, the problem Republicans claim they want to combat with increased ID requirements doesn't exist. Meanwhile, those ID hurdles facing individuals do nothing to stop the organized insiders who still try to game the system. The motive here is political, not racial. Republicans aren't bigots like the Jim Crow segregationists. But they know that increased turnout in poor, black neighborhoods is good for Democrats. In that sense, the effort to suppress voting still amounts to the practical equivalent of racism. In Crawford, the court upheld an Indiana law essentially requiring a passport or driver's license in order to vote. But more than two thirds of Indiana adults have no passports and nearly 15 percent have no driver's licenses. These eligible voters, disproportionately African-American, will need to take a bus or catch a ride from a friend down to the motor vehicles bureau to make sure they obtain a nondriver photo ID. Otherwise, they cannot vote in Indiana this year. To get an idea of how many African-Americans nationwide lack driver's licenses, recall Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when thousands were stranded without transportation. "Crawford Republicans" could make the old "Jim Crow Democrats" look like pikers when it comes to voter suppression. Consider Wisconsin, a swing state. Republicans officials there are suing to enforce a "no match, no vote" provision in state regulations, where voters must not only show a photo ID, but establish that it matches the name and number in the Department of Motor Vehicles or Social Security Administration database. (Democrats are resisting the suit.) These lists are riddled with errors in every state, as the Brennan Center has proven in its report, "Restoring the Right to Vote." How error prone? Florida wrongly purged tens of thousands of law-abiding, mostly Democratic, voters from the rolls in 2000, claiming they were felons. (This, among other things, cost Al Gore the presidency). Even after the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and worldwide attention, the Florida software is still flawed. It requires only an 80 percent match to the name of a convicted felon. "So if there's a murderous John Peterson, the software disenfranchises everyone named John Peters," Andrew Hacker writes in a recent New York Review of Books. Voters caught in these snafus can have their rights restored but not if they fail to straighten things out before Election Day. Otherwise they are granted "provisional ballots" that are sometimes counted and sometimes not. Even obtaining a provisional ballot can require an appearance in front of a judge in some states. Faced with the hassle, most voters just give up. The ability of actual felons to get their right to vote back varies by state. It's especially hard for felons to vote in Virginia; a bit easier in Pennsylvania and Michigan. (Other countries are far more generous to ex-convicts, figuring that having paid their debt to society they should be allowed to vote again.) All of this would seem to favor John McCain over Barack Obama this year, but some voting-rights trends are pointing in the opposite direction. In Ohio, where the governor and secretary of state changed in 2006 from Republican to Democrat, a new law allows voters to register to vote and fill out an absentee ballot at the same time between Sept. 30 and Oct. 6. This will mean a week of furious campaigning and early voting in a key state. Advantage Obama. With 470,000 students enrolled in Ohio's public colleges and universities (and nine out of 10 are Ohio residents), expect a bumper crop of young voters. The combination of voter suppression and early voting make turnout predictions perilous. And without knowing turnout, most polling is deeply flawed. So about the only thing we know for sure this year is that with the Crawford decision we are seeing a return to the days when one political party saw a huge advantage in preventing as many poor people as possible from voting. That's understandable politically, but also un-American.

URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/158392

Debunking Some Myths About Obama One-By-OneShare

Michelle — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:38:44 EDT

My mom just called me flabbergasted about the support for McCain in Miami among Cubans and Cuban-Americans -- hardly a surprise to me or her for that matter. What was surprising to us is the reasons these people give for supporting McCain and therefore voting against Obama. Because I have heard these same "myths" as reasons for not supporting Senator Barack Obama from others outside of the Cuban sector, I thought it would be beneficial to take a "mythbusters" type approach to each and debunk them all, one-by-one. After all, if they are all false, then that leaves no reason not to vote for Obama, now does it?

"OBAMA IS RACIST AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE" or "OBAMA IS NOT REALLY BLACK"

Obama is biracial, born of a white mother and a Kenyan father. He is an African-American male who has never denied his African roots and has embraced both the issues facing Black people in America and the importance of his culture and upbringing. As Time Magazine stated on February 1, 2007:

"Back in the real world, Obama is married to a black woman. He goes to a black church. He's worked with poor people on the South Side of Chicago, and still lives there. That someone given the escape valve of biraciality would choose to be black, would see some beauty in his darker self and still care more about health care and public education than reparations and Confederate flags is just too much for many small-minded racists, both black and white, to comprehend.Barack Obama's real problem isn't that he's too white — it's that he's too black. "

When people say that Obama is racist against Black people (or anyone else for that matter), I can't help but wonder if that is their way of hiding the fact that they are too racist to vote a Black man into the oval office, but are too afraid to be politically incorrect and racist enough to say so. And when they say he is not Black enough, I wonder what more they want? As the same Time article said, Obama has been called "the 'first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,' implying that the black people who are regularly seen by whites are none of these things. Clearly the problem lies in those evaluating Obama's "Blackness" not in Obama himself.

Looks like this myth is BUSTED.

OBAMA IS A MUSLIM

Throughout his time in public office there has been much controversy about Barack Obama's religion, many believing he either grew up Muslim or is still Muslim.

As Newsweek points out, Obama was "born to a Christian-turned-secular mother and a Muslim-turned-atheist African father, [growing] up living all across the world with plenty of spiritual influences, but without any particular religion." Growing up appreciating all religions but ascribing to none, he found Christianity and was baptized in the early 1990s as a Christian in Chicago at Trinity United Church of Christ.

Of his time at Trinity, Obama stated:

"For one thing, Trinity insisted on social activism as a part of Christian life. It was also a family place. Members refer to the sections in the massive sanctuary as neighborhoods; churchgoers go to the same neighborhood each Sunday and they get to know the people who sit near them. They know when someone's sick or got a promotion at work."

In the same Newsweek article, Obama states that "[his] family says grace at mealtime, and he talks to the children about God whenever they have questions." He also says that, on the campaign trail, "thanks to the efforts of his religious outreach team, he has an army of clerics and friends praying for him and e-mailing him snippets of Scripture...to think about during the day."

Looks like this myth is BUSTED.

OBAMA'S MOM HAD HIM AT 18. THAT SHOWS NO FAMILY VALUES.

You know, I'd rather not go here given the grace that the Democratic party has show on this issue thus far, so I will keep it short and sweet. Yes, Obama's mother had him at the young age of 18. His mother's decision to bring him into this world, however, does not affect who he is as a Senator or the family values that he instills in his two young children. We all know by now that Palin's unwed daughter, Bristol, is pregnant at age 17. How can a McCain supporter back the McCain/Palin ticket where Palin's own daughter is 17, unwed and pregnant and yet attack Obama for being brought into this world by an 18 year old mother. While Palin had the chance to instill family values in Briston to make informed decisions on sex, Obama did not have the same chance to influence his mother and her decision to have him.

As Obama said, "I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits." Let's hope that the Republican party has the same respect and leaves Obama's mother out of the family values debate.

ESPECIALLY FOR CUBANS - MCCAIN HAS BETTER POLICIES FOR CUBANS

I know that since the time of Kennedy, Cubans have held contempt for Democrats and have thrown their vote into the Republican hat. Rather than continue to follow this blindly, I ask that Cubans evaluate where Republican policies have gotten us since and whether it is wise to continue being led by the Republican party and it's promises of a non-Communist Cuba. Reagan didn't end the reign of Castro. Bush didn't end it either. And now that Castro's brother, Raul, is in power, what makes you think McCain will be any different?

McCain has said that "Obama's policy of offering talks with the Cuban regime and easing some US trade restrictions 'would send the worst possible signal to Cuba's dictators,'" but where has the strict Bush-era embargo gotten us with Cuba? The answer is - nowhere different than we were before. Cuban-Americans that have decided not to follow blindly and to actually evaluate what is being said by Obama and McCain are supporting "Obama's call for lifting parts of the five-decade-old sanctions against Cuba. . . amid frustration over travel and money transfer restrictions imposed by President George W. Bush in 2004."

The media in Miami does not always provide the full story and it's time Cuban-Americans focus on the facts and disallow themselves to be led by a party spouting what they know Cuban-Americans want to hear for the sheer purpose of garnering another vote. How does the embargo help Cubans on the island? After the island was recently hit by Gustav, CNN reported that two prominent Cuban dissidents wrote a letter asking "President Bush to loosen restrictions temporarily on travel and sending money to the communist-run island to help tens of thousands left homeless by Hurricane Gustav." The Republicans talk about smaller government but when it comes to sending food and money to your family members left in Cuba that are suffering in the wake of a tragic storm do you want to wait for your government to decide if it's okay for you to help your family? How much bigger can government get than this?

A Washington Post article notes that "if elected, the Illinois senator would lift restrictions imposed by the Bush administration and allow Cuban-Americans to visit their relatives more frequently, as well as ease limits on the amount of money they can send to their families." The article also notes that:

" 'Senator Obama feels that the Bush administration has made a humanitarian and a strategic blunder,' spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in an e-mail. 'His concern is that this has had a profoundly negative impact on the Cuban people, making them more dependent on the Castro regime, thus isolating them from the transformative message carried by Cuban-Americans.' "

Before the Bush-era restrictions on Cuba, Cuban Americans could visit their family once a year and send up to $3,000 but now, Cuban-Americans can only visit the island once every three years and can only send quarterly remittances of up to $300 per household to immediate family members. (Washington Post)

The embargo has been in place for 45 years and now, Cuban-Americans have less ability to see or help their families than ever before and less of a chance to have any ties to their homeland. Obama is gaining ground with leading Cuban exile groups for this reason.

Joe Garcia, a former head of the Cuban-American Foundation said of Obama and his stance towards bringing change to Cuba and its people:

"It shows courage, and it shows commitment to move beyond the status-quo politics of rhetoric, which is all the Cuban-American community has received from any party for the last half century."

It is time Cuban-Americans stand to bring real change to Cuba, to bring down the communism that cripples the Cuban people and to have control over when they visit Cuba and how and when they can help their family. So far, the Republican party has offered nothing but words -- 45 years and the embargo has not helped Cuba one bit.

Looks like Obama is the better choice here too. This myth is BUSTED.

Conclusion
Hopefully, this helps debunk some of the myths that I have heard of late about Obama. If you have others you have heard that you would like facts on to see what is true and what is not, please leave a comment. I'd be more than happy to check out their veracity and include it in a future note.

A Plain Brown Man

LitGriot — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:36:11 EDT

4 April 2008

40 years ago today a plain brown man was shot and killed. The forces that killed him were massive, yet not nearly as grand as his heart. His courage is unimaginable to me, but a courage by which I measure my own; I want to measure up to his tall legacy, for I, too, am a plain brown man. So are we all, and that is what he said.

Dr. King was shot while supporting sanitation workers in Memphis. And Elvis Presley is racist, white and died rich despite his humble upbringing. Rarely did Elvis ever use his glory for the good of the people. Yet, Elvis’s home in Memphis and cities like it around the country mourn over the superficial affectations of pop stars; stardom simply reproduces itself. These stars inform our everyday lives as we hear their words, see their images and imitate their style. Elvis exploited the images of plain brown men like Jackie Wilson and Little Richard, whose courage informs my own. And Dr. King likely heard the wails and calls of these brothers and instigated some calls of his own: He ran to the aid of the common man (very different from selling the common man an image of wealth and austerity). But unlike the glimmer of Elvis and his Memphis home, Graceland, I am a plain brown man, and all I want is peace.

Don't know if anyone has seen this-Just more proof Palin is WRONG.

Bobbi Miller-Moro — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:08:19 EDT

(This is from a Bryn Mawr college grad to her fellow alums)
Dear classmates -
As an Alaskan, I am writing to give all of you some information on Sarah Palin, Senator McCain's choice for VP. As an Alaska voter, I know more than most of you about her and, frankly, I am horrified that he picked her.

NEED YOUR COMMENTS! I wrote a story to Sarah Palin on my blog on Yahoo Shine,

Bobbi Miller-Moro — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:43:51 EDT

I have been trying to keep up with the Republican comments. The Democrats are standing up, but perception is everything. This was one of the last comments I made on my own blog. Please go there and comment!

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/money/mother-of-five-fights-back-wake-up-sarah-palin-250800/

Mother of five fights back: Wake Up Sarah Palin

Bobbi Miller-Moro — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:21:49 EDT

Not only is this a strait forward open letter to Sarah Palin, but included at the end is the facts on WHERE THE CANDIDATES STAND ON THE ISSUES. No one can claim ignorance. This is about facts, truth and lies.

I am a 35 year old working, middle class mother of five living in So. California. I have been a Republican since my great ancestor Richard Stockton, signed the Declaration of Independence. I am an ex-police officer, and now I own my own business. This is the first time I changed my party.

Sarah " SarahCuda" Palin Humor-Pass it on

Bobbi Miller-Moro — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:53:20 EDT

Sarah Palin told Mother Nature to calm down and stop spoiling her party: Gustav immediately dropped to Cat 2

When Sarah Palin smiles, Chuck Norris hides.

Black Bloggers Report from the Democratic National Convention

Zhana Books — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:46:22 EDT

Last night, on my "Success Strategies" radio show, two Black bloggers, African American Political Pundit and Adrianne George of Black Women in Europe reported back from last week's Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Marched in Parade for Obama, Felt Racism, Hatred and Inspired Support

Steve Sulkin — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:17:52 EDT

On behalf of the Obama campaign, I marched with my family in the Buffalo Grove Days parade and felt a mixture of racism, hatred and inspired support from the crowd. As we shouted “Obama” many people applauded with that glint in their eye, giving us a thumbs up, proud that they were part of something greater then themselves, an amazing, historic movement for true change. But there were others (fewer in numbers) who were down right hostile. They would yell out after we said “Obama”…..“liar, “stupid” and “Muslim." Slurs that made me feel like Rosa Parks, simply wanting a seat in the front of the bus but being beaten down by hatred and fear.

Why don’t people who are racists own up to their own feelings and just simply admit that they hate Barck because he’s black? Why do they have to hide behind saying they think he's "a liar" or a "secret Muslim" or "stupid." It seems clear to me that they are simply bigoted. Why doesn't the media report and poll on the discrimination against Barack to try to uncover this terrible cancer that still brews in America?

We must get the word out that Barack Obama is as American as one can be, a true melting pot of a man, a microcosm of America, both black and white, living in the big city of Chicago yet born in the serene environment of Hawaii. He represents the breadth and depth of this land, many disparate elements that make up the man who he is today. He embodies everything America stands for. And he is a great man, who needs our vote as much as we need him to win, to help shape our country and save our world.

From walking that parade, I sense, though, that we are going to have a huge fight ahead of us. We have to get EVERY voter motivated to canvas, volunteer and of course, vote. We only had a couple of dozen people marching for Obama today in the parade. We should have had hundreds, maybe a thousand from a community our size in Illinois. We all need to fight for the best man (and the most qualified in my opinion) to ever run for President. Get involved or Sarah Palin could be our next President, not a scare tactic, but a reality that personally concerns me greatly and is among one of many elements of this campaign that caused me, after 53 years, to finally get involved in politics. It's about time YOU do too.

NATEPERKINS.TV: Black Evangelicals Grassroot Hit The Streets of Atlanta's For Barack Obama

NATEPERKINSTV — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:15:10 EDT

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The San Antonio Express-News reported that Hagee was going to "meet with black religious leaders privately at an unspecified future date to discuss comments he made in his newsletter about a 'slave sale,' an East Side minister said Wednesday." The Express-News reported: Jawuan Anthony Sheffield a Black Evangelical's for Barack Obama. Grassroot's in Atlanta, GA., held the view that the modernist and liberal parties in the Protestant churches had surrendered their heritage as Evangelicals by accommodating the views and values of the world. At the same time, they criticized their fellow Fundamentalists for their separatism and their rejection of the Social gospel as it had been developed by Protestant activists of the previous century. They charged the modernists with having lost their identity as Evangelicals and the Fundamentalists with having lost the Christ-like heart of Evangelicalism. They argued that the Gospel needed to be reasserted to distinguish it from the innovations of the liberals and the fundamentalists.The Road of Life is a life changing, seminar for teenagers and young adults. A two hour presentation, this life changing session contains many doors, people sitting, standing, maneuvering in and out of doors,frontward backwards somewhat appearing to be lost. These configurations will be expressed in detail. The session is very intense and includes motivational speech in an interactive setting. This session will have a positive affect on its audience. The session incorporates music, interactive conversation, objective mastery review and small group activities. The presenter will serve as a travel guide as they take a journey on "The Road Of Life" View THE ROAD OF LIFE's Friends: All | Online | New http://www.myspace.com/theroadoflife Culture choc: Black evangelicals vs. White evangelicalsBlack evangelicals vs. White evangelicals. Interesting article on the Obama pastor brouhaha from Salon.com: The difference between Jeremiah Wright and ...
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Obama’s “Yes We Can” Illusion ...and the Killing Reality for Black People

Jay Garrano — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:30:33 EDT

(from Revolution newspaper #141, August 24, 2008)

Obama’s “Yes We Can” Illusion
...and the Killing Reality for Black People

by Carl Dix

This presidential election season something different is happening. Three years ago, tens of thousands of Black people were left to die as Katrina’s flood waters surged in New Orleans. Last year, lynching nooses were being hung all across the country, from Jena, Louisiana, to New York City. But now, one of the two major parties is about to nominate an African-American, Barack Obama, to be the president of the U.S. This is major.

A Season of Change

Chocklit — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:37:34 EDT

School has started. The leaves on the trees here in NC are beginning to change into their party duds of Autumn. The General Election draws near.

I started 2008 with a simple prayer--Lord, please control and direct me in th way You would have me go.

Many changes followed. My title insurance & settlement company--the one I had dreamed of, worked so hard for 4 years to start up and operate successfully--was forced to close due to the national mortgage crisis. My sons, 19, 16 and 14, decided to stay in FL with their dad when i choose to moce to NC. I lost my beloved townhome, my SUV, and my cat. The job in NC fell through and I took a job waiting tables, reducing my income by $40,000 a year. With constant prayer and steadfast faith, I came to accept these changes as necessary for me to prepare for the next chapter of my life. I would pull myself up from my bootstraps, and rebuild. I was a good Republican, after all.

But after years of taking verbal abuse from friends and family for my Rebublican status, can you imagine my horror to find that I am not type of American the GOP wants to represent! I am a 42 year old African American female, college- educated entrepreneur. At the peak of my career, my income was $70,000 a year. Three children in college, two at home and no health insurance. I paid my taxes, volunteered locally, and sponsored a Little League team. My EXhusband and I lived in the same home, because living separately denied our children of more things than we were prepared to live with. We thought our party supported our efforts, and represented us on the Hill.

But McCain wants to take my sons to some ungodly place to fight and shed their American blood, for no other reason than oneupsmanship. He wants my family to struggle to pay for his and his cronies' homes and lifestyles. He doesn't care if my 18 month old granddaughter is vaccinated, educated or unwillingly pregnated. To top it all off, he showed me yesterday, with the announcement of his VP pick, that he thinks I am a MORON incapable of reason and willing to follow the party line, no matter how ridiculous. Our leaders in the present administration have 'partied like rock stars' for the last 8 years, and we are less than groupies. I WILL NOT BE A GROUPIE FOR ANTOHER 4 YEARS.

To give my children and grandchildren a life worth looking forward to, something has to change. I believe in the greatness and goodness of this United States of America. I believe we are NOT stuck with what we have, or the future as it is seen today. It's a new Season, a new Day! I can feel the breath of the dogs at my heels--but I am detemined to GO FORWARD, and to greet this New Day with open arms. I believe....

Obama-Biden 2008.......and Beyond

Direct from the Democratic National Convention

Zhana Books — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 10:32:51 EDT

On Tuesday 26th August, 8 p.m. UK time, Adrianne George of Black Women in Europe will report direct from the floor of the Democratic National Convention on my Success Strategies radio show. Click here to join us.

It was difficult for Black bloggers to get the credentials to attend the convention, and very few will be there, with an overwhelmingly white presence amongst the bloggers. But Adrianne did it and she'll let us in on all the latest news on Tuesday.

Click here to read my Obama blogs.

Racism Still Alive...

J.W. — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:56:08 EDT

Racism Still Alive...
Just when I thought the Toby Keith conversation was over, this dude goes and opens his mouth again. No, not the anonymous commenter (who actually revealed himself today and apologized for mischaracterizing my position – much love to you bruh). Rather, I’m talking about Mr. "White Trash with Money" himself Toby Keith.

Last week, the country music singer made an appearance on the talk show of conservative Glenn Beck (you may remember him from my earlier post when I responded to his declaration of what a conservative is, see: http://jnointed.blogspot.com/2008/07/who-am-i.html) and said this about Barack Obama:

"I think the black people would say he [Obama] don't talk, act or carry himself as a black person."

"What does that even mean?" the audibly shocked Beck replied.

"Well, I don't know what that means," Keith drawled, "but I think that that's what they would say. Even though the black society would pull for him I still think that they think in the back of their mind that the only reason he is in [the general election] is because he talks, acts and carries himself as a Caucasian."

Now, I don’t even want to comment on this nonsense. Besides, I’m sure you guys already know how I feel about this idiot (see: http://leaveyours.blogspot.com/2008/07/lynch-please.html). I want to hear from you. Tell me what you think about Keith’s comments. Is Barack Obama acting white? Is that the only reason he’s the Democratic Party nominee? Or is Toby Keith just a racist hillbilly who has no business engaging in intellectual discourse? Is Barack Obama’s appeal just way over Toby Keith’s head?

Talk to me.

Peace,
J.W.

McCain Fact Check Flyer

Mark — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:58:49 EDT

Download my new FREE McCain Fact Check Flyer http://www.freewebs.com/supersonic94/5%20things%20about%20mccain.rtf

BLACK MIDDLE CLASS

ICLIGHTNOW — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:52:34 EDT

Although I grew up in the Black middle class of America, it didn't take long for my dreams to vanish.

As a child, between the age of 4 and 7, I wanted to be President of the United States. Shortly after being summoned into the house to learn about the assasination of Dr. King, that thought turned towards Indian Chief, policeman and or fireman. My early teens prompted the desire to own my own business. Upon graduating from a prestigious 100 year old military boarding highschool, as their first Black Battalion Commander and Valedictorian, it did not take long after my first year of college for me to drop out. While battling alcoholism and drugs, I simply settled for a job.

It became quite clear to me, although I blame no one for my failures and thank God for my successes, that the playing field was not equal, fair, nor touted for me to even play. Quickly I lost hope in myself, my community and my country.

At the age of 43, and finally coming to terms that being who I am is just fine and that assimilation is dangerous, I am victorious in life.

Now seeing someone who is tangible and has overcome the same obstacles fills me with joy!

Today, I can see the light. And I am committed to do whatever I can, with God by myself, to make that light available to future generations both here and abroad.

Thank you Barack, your LIGHT is burning bright, and I want the world to see it, right here, right now from my hometown (Detroit) and from D.C.

Dorian P. Harvey, Founder

AfricanTown Worldwide, LLC

NATEPERKINS.TV: Unite for Change Team TRAINING TAPE FOR OBAMA (ONLINE) GRASSROOT

NATEPERKINSTV — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:28:32 EDT

NATEPERKINS.TV: Unite for Change Team TRAINING TAPE FOR OBAMA (ONLINE) GRASSROOT goto: http://nateperkins.blip.tv for more infor on training... Unite for Change Team NATEPERKINS.TV: GEORGIA'S TRUE-LIVE TESTIMONIALS VOTERS FOR OBAMA (08 4 08)
Dear NATE --

I'm excited to announce that today, the Campaign for Change in Georgia is launching our Unite for Change Team program in every county and neighborhood of the Peach State.

Our Unite for Change Team program is a team-based organizing strategy that will help supporters like you get organized in your community -- to reach out to new and undecided voters near you and deliver Georgia for Barack and other Democrats in November.

If you are committed to change, we need you to get involved with or help lead a Unite for Change team in your area.

Learn more about joining a Unite for Change Team in your area.

These Teams will be an essential part of our grassroots movement in Georgia. And face-to-face contact with people in your community, is the most effective way to spread our message, and build our movement for change.

Taking action in your neighborhood through a Unite for Change Team is one of the most important ways you can help our Campaign for Change.

A statewide training for supporters who want to learn more and take part in a Unite for Change Team will take place August 15th - 16th.

No prior experience is necessary to attend and get involved -- just a commitment to our movement and a willingness to work for change in your area.

Get involved with a Unite for Change Team in your neighborhood today.

Thanks for everything you've done to build our movement in Georgia.

Alex

Alex Lofton
Georgia Field Director
Campaign for Change

Visit: GA.BarackObama.com | Email: Georgia@BarackObama.com
Barack Obama | Event | Barack Obama's Birthday Bash Official Website of Barack Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign.
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NATEPERKINS.TV: Georgia's Jennifer Brook and Friends Celebrated ...
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NATEPERKINS.TV: Unite for Change Team TRAINING TAPE FOR OBAMA (ONLINE) GRASSROOT

NATEPERKINSTV — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:28:28 EDT

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You can't roll the stone back up the hill

Reynaldo A. Macias — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:34:58 EDT

As Senator Obama takes a much needed family vacation, and Senator McCain continues to “campaign”, several things have been on my mind:

A month after Rolling Stone endorsed Senator Obama for President of the United States, they are now suffering “media remorse” for appreciating him as a candidate. The current issue has an article trying to paint Senators Obama and McCain as lackeys to money. While that may be the case with the latter (the article is full of names and details of large checks and policy issues), the former has until now shown that money or not, he is doing what needs to be done and while he is pragmatic (he is a politician, after all), he has not shown himself beholden to corporate interests in the same way as Senator McCain. The article attempts to infer, by innuendo, that Senator Obama has been guilty of the same fault. The whisper campaign is now being spoken, even if it is with an inside voice. Perhaps the reason the media “is in love with Senator Obama” is because the American people are ready for a candidate (and President) with vision, forethought, A PLAN, and are interested in hearing from him about what he believes, thinks, and plans to do with the job once he is elected. I hope that RS starts using facts to support their arguments, not just making blanket statements and hoping no one calls them on it. That would make them FOX-like.

As I’m watching Michael Phelps win the first of his gold medals inBeijing, I’m also being subjected to more “campaigning” from Senator McCain. His “Families” advertisement running on NBC during primetime contains outright lies about Senator Obama’s tax proposals. Is there no shame? Senator Obama is taking a week off, deservedly so. President Bush is taking another vacation on our tax dollars, and Senator McCain is spending his contributors’ money to desecrate the Olympics. I know that NBC is making millions of dollars on the advertising revenue, but the commercials for products are vetted for their factual nature, aren’t they? Campaign ads don’t have the same standard, I guess.

I miss Tim Russert. Tom Brokaw this morning let Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury, sit on Meet the Press for thirty minutes and not say anything substantive. He advocated for a bailout of Fannie May and Freddie Mac, but pooh-poohed a second stimulus package for actual taxpayers; he complained that going in front of Congress to ask for money was “unpleasant,” but “easy, because the alternative was bad”; he said that China “has learned that it is hard to operate outside of the world community,” but that the United States cannot dictate China’s record of human rights abuses (is that because of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo?)

Oh, and I almost forgot . . . all of these Caucasian politicians, Bill Clinton and John McCain chief among them, who are bent out of shape about being called racist. Race is the third rail of life in the United States – period. From “the first thanksgiving” to Columbus Day; from Metacomet to General Custer; from Juneteenth to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln; from Phyllis Wheatley to the Declaration of Independence; from Nas to Bill O’Reilly; Michelle Obama to terrorist fist jab; from Thomas Jefferson to Jesse Helm’s black children (that they didn’t emancipate or claim); the list is exhausting and quite long. If you’re not of Euro-Caucasian stock, then race is a constant factor of life everyday, in both positive and negative ways. I got stopped by a Mexican security guard as I was walking into a predominantly-white, affluent beach club yesterday to pick up my son. It wouldn’t have been so obviously racial if he hadn’t cut through five white people who were walking in at the same time to get to me. It must have been my Perry Ellis polo that said “Danger!” On the presidential campaign, Senator Barack Obama’s observation that he “doesn’t look like those other presidents on the dollar bills” was portrayed by SenatorMcCain as “playing the race card”? He doesn’t look like them. And what is the race card? Are we playing bachillerato? It’s not a joker to be used when you don’t have anything else to say. Recognition of race, and actual racism (Bill O’Reilly, Fox News, President Clinton’s “Jesse Jackson” remarks in South Carolina) are part of the conversation because this is politics in the United States. Perhaps they should be honest about their motives and attacks, and I mean honest with themselves. FOX “News” is honest – they put their crap out there and make no apologies. The problem with Bill and John is that they think because they don’t use pejorative racial terms, that they are somehow outside racial thinking. News for both, and everyone else: Barack Obama is black and white; John McCain is white; both of them live in the United States, which means that those adjectives are part and parcel of who they are – deal with it. And President Clinton, let me clear something else up – you were not the first black president, that will be Barack Obama. Alice Walker said that you were being treated disrespectfully, with complete disregard for your family or status, almost as if “you were the first black president.” Get it straight.
www.powerfulbeyondmeasure.wordpress.com

How Black People Lose out in the Wealth Stakes

Ms CYPRAH — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:02:09 EDT

Not everyone can be a business person. If we didn't have people to clear the rubbish, for example, we would all be down with various illnesses within two weeks. However, no matter what the individual aspires to do, make no mistake about it, in any diverse society, there will be a majority group who has the power base and who dictates the standards, mores and identifiable culture already in existence. For the outsider to thrive in such an environment, regardless of their brain power or personal merit, and particularly within the administrative and political systems, they have to be given the access to do so by that majority.

People of African origin, the world over, gravitate towards the caring professions (45% of NHS staff is Black and Asian, yet they make up only 10% of this country) and in the USA, 68% of people serving that country in various administrative posts are African Americans. The trouble with those professions is that they might earn the gratitude of the public but they tend to trap their staff in low paid, low status professions, at the mercy of the government, which lack the opportunity for wealth creation, personal influence or genuine advancement.

Black voter registration climbing in Alabama, due largely to Obama's presidential bid, experts say

debbier — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 02:05:04 EDT

The Birmingham NewsThursday, July 31, 2008 LISA OSBURNNews staff writer

Black voter registration is climbing in Alabama, a trend political science experts attribute to excitement surrounding Barack Obama's presidential bid.

Since the last presidential election, the percentage of active registered voters who are black has risen from 24 percent to 25 percent. That is nearing the proportion of Alabama's black population, slightly more than 26 percent according to the U.S. Census.

As of June 30, 641,815 black voters had active registration. That number is up by about 14,500 from 2004 and expected to increase even more by November, according to secretary of state data.

"I think you have to assume that Barack Obama is playing a very important role here," said David Lanoue, chairman of the political science department at the University of Alabama. "Not only because he is the first African-American nominee of a major party. His campaign also worked so hard to organize Alabama during the primary season, and that is paying off with registration now."

Voter registration in general has been climbing throughout the year, but it's climbing quicker among blacks. White active registration has not met its 2004 level, falling short by about 31,000 voters.

Voters are moved to the inactive rolls if they have not voted in the past four years or have no confirmed address. They still have voting rights but must update their information.

Alabama's total active voter registration climbed from 2.55 million at the end of January to 2.6 million at the end of in June.

"You are getting to a point where African-American voters will be, at the very least, proportionally represented," Lanoue said. "I have heard the biggest hurdle is to get people to register. If you get them to register, there is a good chance you will get them to vote."

Lanoue does not believe Obama will win Alabama in November, but an increase in black voters could help the Democratic Party in other races.

"If you have a strong increase in African-American voters and that persists after the 2008 election, that will begin to make Democratic candidates more competitive at the state level," Lanoue said. "Senate races, gubernatorial, particularly the looming 2010 gubernatorial race. (U.S. Rep.) Artur Davis will be very interested to see what happens in the 2008 race. If you are an Alabama Democrat, one of your fondest wishes is significant African-American turnout."

Diddy's Blog

An aspiring Student looking for Change — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:24:25 EDT

I was recently watching a video blog of Diddy and he said some very important things. He said that we are blessed to be alive to witness this happening . He compared Barack Obama to Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Park. Its true. Barack is an excellent example of how any person regardless of color can achieve anything. He is a very influential speaker and is a role model to students like me who one day aspire to become world leaders who want to bring change to a country for the better. I am ashamed that i joined to volunteer after all this time. I was too consumed with work and school. I guess its better to be late rather than not joining at all right. Finally I thank You Barack Obama for being a role model for me and my fellow teenagers. Thank you for setting an example and thank you because i can walk with my head up knowing that i am a proud black young man who will live to see the first ever black president.

A Question of Identity: How does Barack Obama really fit in on colour lines?

Ms CYPRAH — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:26:39 EDT

Many African Americans are happy Barack Obama is running for president, but they regard him as 'half black' or not 'not black enough', and not someone who has gone through a 'typical black American experience'. But what is a 'typical' black American experience? No one in the world has a typical experience. Each person's life is unique and no matter what part it might share in a human trend, no one knows the other person's pain, joys, laughter or sorrow.

It is a kind of arrogance to believe that because we all share an outward skin colour that we all share the same 'typical' experiences. Not even when we are in the same proximity with each other, we don't share anything exactly with our neighbour. We might share a world perspective, and a particular cultural view, or even similar aspirations, but we are not clones of each other. That difference is guaranteed by personal perception which dictates our reality.

Jessie Was Right!? -by, Rob Wimberly

Broncos for Barack — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:16:53 EDT

(This blog does not represent the opinion of the Broncos for Barack group, but the personal opinions of the diverse membership)

I had a hunch that Jesse's comments had a bit of jealousy in them...however, that was hard to accept considering how close the Obamas are to his own family. I was watching CNN and it was clear that Jesse Jr. was hurt by the comments. He is currently leading one of Sen. Obama's national committees. They even live in the same neighborhood.

Most importantly, my hunch was correct, but not in the way I thought. Jesse pointed out to Don Lemon, CNN anchor, that a Barack Obama would not exist if not for "so many who paid such great prices..." He referred to the Civil Rights Movement (his identity) as the steps it took for Barack Obama to see over the horizon (my words not his). I think Jesse just got caught struggling with the inevitable passing of the torch. He also lost sight of the real enemy…hate and prejudice, lack of justice for people of color. Forty years of putting yourself on the line, holding the torch, and now having to give it up to the next phase of the movement...that has to be tough. It's easy to say that he shouldn't have given in to it, still its hard to change. Anyway, Jesse and all of our 'fathers' had a role in helping us grow as a people and we should never forget how much sacrifice it has taken so that we could see Sen. Obama reach the most powerful office in the world. In this environment, Sen. Obama cannot give the Civil Rights Movement or it's leaders the kind of due they have earned. It would come of as a sort of pandering to a particular group...too easy to attack and cause distractions from the goal.

Watch out for the media! I'll say it again...WATCH OUT FOR THE MEDIA! They will get us choosing whom we respect more. They will get us to tear down one black man in favor of another (if we do that, we tear ourselves down). They will drive a wedge into our hearts between Jesse and Barack...what I really think the media is trying to do is cut the "cord" to the Civil Rights Movement and get Barack out on an island.

As for Sen. Barack's comments at the Apostolic Church of God, funny how easy it was to come in and talk about, among other things, how SOME of our men have particular struggles that contribute to the breakdown of the families in our communities. Funny how that is NOT exclusive to the African-American family structure. Isn't it true that divorce rates cut across racial lines? Isn't it true that other races leave their families and choose not to support them? Why aren't other races vilified...in their own houses of worship mind you..by Sen. Obama? Scared? Probably just being his brother's keeper, more likely. However, he couldn't get away with that anywhere else, now could he? Clearly, we need to help Sen. Obama (who most definitely has my vote, by the way) understand that he was speaking from a stage of BLACK MEN who were taking care of their families, who were raising their children, who do respect, listen to, and love their better halves. Why flog us in front of the camera, no doubt? Who told him that that was the way to ENCOURAGE better behavior? Doesn't work. Period. Give people something to reach for and they will reach. Put them down...publicly...and they will rebel or at least cut ties to you as just another mouthpiece who doesn't really care about them. Once again we are forced to choose between the 'good' men and the 'bad' men. We are all men and ALL necessary to our community. Once we ALL get the vision we will once again grow our communities. We need EVERY man in our community. So to Sen. Obama, don't dog the brothers out, encourage them and befriend them. We live with them...let us tell them the truth.

It’s the nature of media to feed its audience. That is, of course, how they stay in business. And what does the audience LOVE? Sensationalized DRAMA, especially when it involves tearing down the latest hope to end this crazy system of so-called justice for people of color! Hopefully, Senator Obama is too grounded to let that happen (and if HE’S not, I'm sure Michelle is!). Peace.

The Real Fascination With Barack Obama On His Black and White Journey

Ms CYPRAH — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:31:40 EDT

The furore around Barack Obama's association with Jeremiah Wright, especially the indignant vitriolic cries about him being 'guilty by association' was a most interesting turn of events. But it was like a boil waiting to be lanced because of the unwitting burdens that Americans now lay on the slim shoulders of the man himself, Barack Obama.

The fascination with this candidate has almost become obsessive for some people mainly because he has defied all odds to be in the race, and is growing in stature every day. And while people in denial pretend that his colour doesn't or shouldn't matter, it is actually down to his race why he is in the pickle that he is now.

To understand his dilemma, one has to look at it from two race perspectives: Black and White.

The Right Stuff

J.W. — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:04:26 EDT

In mulling over the whole Jesse Jackson controversy over the past few days, I decided to go back to the source of it all, the thing that seemed to set the whole thing off – Barack Obama’s Father’s Day speech at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago some four weeks ago. And as I read the transcript, I thought to myself, what would make somebody so mad at Barack Obama that he would say the things that Rev. Jackson said about him? What could Barack Obama have possibly said to tick Rev. Jackson off so much? What did Barack Obama say that was so condescending to black people? Not having heard the speech itself, I wanted to find out what he really said directly from the source and try to figure out why it caused so much controversy.

So what did I find, you might ask. I found a very open, honest, and truthful piece that not only should have been said but needed to be said. I also found a very effective message, delivered by a person who not only had the right to say it, but had the influence for it to actually mean something. I mean, who better to deliver that type of message than Senator Barack Obama, the first major, viable African American candidate for President in the history of this country, a man who himself grew up with an absentee father, a man who himself grew up trying to find his place in the world without masculine direction, a man who didn’t take the path of sports and entertainment to achieve his success, a man who honors hard work, education, and personal responsibility, and a man who himself is the father of two African American daughters?

The fact is that this was the perfect message by the right messenger at the perfect time, and any one who denies that is just playing himself.

Click the link below to read the transcript of the speech. Believe me, it’s worth it.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gG5nFK

God bless,
J.W.

Keeping Hope Alive

J.W. — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 09:58:11 EDT

So, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to say that I’ve never particularly cared for the Rev. Jesse Jackson. He always came across as someone who sought the spotlight more than he sought to serve the people. Someone who sought to follow in the footsteps of his mentor, Dr. King, but never had the talent or potential to do so.

Rev. Jackson also always struck me as an old school black leader, one who couldn’t keep up with the times. When black people needed economic empowerment, he was stuck on fighting for civil rights. When black people needed spiritual leadership, he was stuck on fighting for civil rights. When black people needed emotional healing, he was stuck on fighting for civil rights. To me, Rev. Jackson became a one-trick horse. Chasing the past while the present left him behind.

So then, it wasn’t surprising to me when I first heard about the tension between him and Barack Obama. Here was this young guy with a different vision for what it means to be black in America, a vision that not only clashed with Rev. Jackson’s, but one that seemed to gain more traction and make more sense. Gone were the days where black people would have to fight for their rights, but it was time for someone to call them to take responsibility, to stand on the shoulders and accomplishments of Dr. King and the other civil rights leaders of the 1960s, and walk in the way of the path that had been laid for them.

You see, the problem with Rev. Jackson’s message is that it challenged everyone but black people themselves. It blamed everybody else, but failed to call the African American community to take personal responsibility for their own actions and behaviors. It carried a bitterness of the past that failed to address the realities of the present. And it played on black people’s anger and resentment without addressing their hopes and dreams.

See, it’s easy to blame other people for your condition, but when do you start to take responsibility for your own life and future? When do you say enough is enough, no matter what anybody else tries to do to me, I’m going to make sure I do what I need to do to become who I want to become?

And so, here comes a leader that calls us to do just that. Who not only talks a good game, but leads by example. A leader who takes his message of hope, mixes it with respect, love, faith, and personal responsibility, and uses it to propel him to become a candidate for the highest office in our land. Here’s a guy who comes from the same place as Rev. Jackson, with seemingly more appeal, greater popularity, and a more effective message, and takes some shine away.

So, what do you do when the new guy comes to take your place? Do you embrace him? Hate on him? Slander his name? Hug him or slug him?

Well, recently, Rev. Jackson chose his path. Rather than embrace the idea of a different kind of message, of a change in leadership, Rev. Jackson chose to be a hater, and play into the same ridiculous mentality that has plagued the African American community for years – the crabs in a barrel syndrome. Because no one’s willing to humble themselves and follow leadership, we tear each other down to the detriment of the entire race.

And for what? Because everybody wants to be the head negro in charge.

So what was Rev. Jackson talking about? What did he mean when he said Barack was talking down to black people? Was it really that or was it that he was mad because Barack Obama was delivering a new message to black people, that it’s time to stop resting on our laurels, stop taking things for granted, and go out and make things happen for ourselves. To stop waiting on somebody else to come and make a better life for you and your family. That a better life for you and your family lies within you.

Rev. Jackson’s argument simply doesn’t make sense, and his quick apology simply shows that he is a deeply confused and frustrated man, who is liable to say any and every thing to tear down the new cat coming to take his spot. There’s a changing of the guards going on in the black community that begins with the feud between Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama but permeates throughout. This is truly about old thinking vs. new, young vs. old, past vs. future. Rev. Jackson just better hope he gets on the right side of things before time leaves him behind.

God bless,
J.W.

P.S. Check out the video below if you haven't heard the controversy.http://youtube.com/watch?v=2VI3FdlwzcY

thanks for not playing the black card game

Conchita — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:44:34 EDT

Thank you for being true to all of us and not favoring blacks, hispanics, wasps or any other minority above another one.

Thanks for not doing what Rev. Jesse Jackson and others have done all their lives which is to talk about mortgage issues of the black community, the high numbers of black juveniles in prison, the tax problems of any wasp, while failing to represent the the rest of us Americans; the whole of America.

The idea is to NEVER put one group as a focus above ANY other group. This behavior is the "being" of equality; working from equality, not from outside of it in order to "achieve" it.

It is already here.

When Ignorance Meets Bigotry

Bruce Mirken — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:10:01 EDT

A colleague of mine who works at MPP's Washington, DC office (disclaimer: As many on here know, I work for the Marijuana Policy Project, but all opinions expressed here are strictly my own and not those of my employer) told me of something that happened recently that's stuck in my mind -- and, I think, illustrates a bit of the dilemma Barack Obama faces.

Doing some errands on his lunch break, he walked past a contruction site where the workers were also on break, and he overheard some of their conversation. One (white) worker said to his friends, "If Obama's elected, he's gonna pass a law making whites the minority." This was said in all seriousness, with no sign of irony.

The mind reels, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, to be most appalled by the bigotry or the ignorance. Did this person, working literally walking distance from the Capitol, not know that an institution called Congress has something to say about what laws get passed? And should President Obama and Congress somehow agree that they wanted to "make whites the minority," how would this work? Ban whites from having kids? Ship us all overseas (presuming, of course, some unlucky country was dumb enough to take us)?

But there is a larger point here: While this construction worker may have been an extreme case, we live in a dumbed-down nation where serious discussion of news and politics is nearly absent even from what passes as news in the commercial media, a nation in which many voters operate on little knowledge. They operate on instinct, and the human instinct is to feel comfortable with the familiar and uncomfortable with the unfamiliar. For many white Americans -- not just overt bigots, who are probably hopeless, but a larger segment whose familiarity with black America consists of seeing the latest Will Smith summer blockbuster and hearing (and probably disliking) occasional snatches of hip-hop music -- the notion that a black guy named Barack Hussein Obama could be the next president of the United States is profoundly foreign and strange.

Those of us who frequent this site -- a self-selected group of politically aware, engaged, and generally progressive-leaning individuals -- can be pretty detached from how a lot of Americans perceive things. It's easy for us to forget that we are asking America to take what feels to many like a leap into the unknown by electing Obama.

Yes, the fact that it feels like a leap into the unknown to so many is profoundly sad, but it is so nonetheless. We have never, ever had a president who wasn't a white male with an Anglo Saxon-sounding name. Within my lifetime the notion of a Catholic president was still controversial. We've still never come close to having a Jewish president.

This is why I don't get too upset when I see Obama taking steps to reassure such people that he's a "normal American" -- one who's patriotic, believes in God and faith, and is serious about protecting the country from terrorists. We are a nation that's been ruled by fear for so long that it's not possible to unlearn that habit overnight. Our candidate knows that there are a lot of people out there who aren't overt bigots, but feel a vague unease at handing the presidency over to this dark-skinned guy with a foreign-sounding (or even, perhaps, Islamic-sounding) name.

America is crawling when it needs to run, but first it must learn how to walk. The learning process will not be easy or quick.

Media Spin

Carina — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:47:43 EDT

We stopped watching TV regularly about 5 years ago. We were tired of hearing the spin, the local news which covered crime and rarely positive stories, and the media channels who were only as liberal as the conservative companies that owned them. We found a lot of time was spent surfing channels and watching things that weren't really important to us. We also found new time to spend together as a family, or apart reading, writing, and other activities.

As a result, whenever I am presented with the opportunity to see television, in a store or restaurant, I am more sensitive to the violence depicted on TV and overwhelming spin against Democrats in the media.

The media seems willing to take any spin possible against Obama. Today I was getting a coffee at a Starbucks in our local Giant Eagle and my ears perked up when I heard his name.

Headline News was doing a piece on how African American voters (9 out of 10) vote Democratic. This is not surprising to me, if only because the Democratic party supports many policies that will and have already leveled the playing field for people of all colors.

The anchor woman on the program said that this was a strange thing for African Americans to vote Democratic, and showed some footage of some people on the street talking about the Democratic party being more in line with their ethics, or more in touch with the working class.

At last, they showed a young woman who explained that it was Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, who freed the slaves. Why don't African Americans honor the party that gave them freedom.

I was angry, to say the least. This seemed to me a play on history to get votes for McCain.

It is true that Lincoln was a Republican, and that many abolitionists were as well. That doesn't mean, as the new story insinuated that Democrats were FOR slavery.

It makes me sick how the media twists things to try to manipulate voters. Certainly we should remember history. But all voters of all colors should vote on who will best represent our country in foreign policy and will work for the good of all people in our country. Political agenda is more important.

I must say that in my case, I believe that Barack Obama will do his best for all races, and that's only fair. We are a nation of diverse people, and the president of the United States must be willing to acknowledge that and work to make our country a truly better place for people of all races, colors and creeds.

I believe that Barack Obama will.

Washington Post submission

Beth from ColoradObama — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:46:00 EDT

Following is a lengthy response to a column by Dan Balz (really?).

Cuba: Must read Barack Obama and Cuba Policy.

! A LUIS "Cuba!" MORO. . . . . — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 10:05:55 EDT

"The Character Factor: U.S. Policy toward Cuba determines elections nation wide."

The following is a list of articles related to Cuba policies, politics and Barack Obama.

Being pro or against the embargo on Cuba seems to be one question that reveals

a politicians character.

If a politician is for a Cuba policy that has failed for 47 years, they should NOT be in political office.

Please take a few moments and review some of the articles.

Our commitment is to abolish the 47 year old failed U.S. policies against Cuba.

By Luis Cuba Moro

Table of content as of June 28th - at this blog:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/Cuba

Cuba: A world that works for everyone, with no one left out. Jun 27th, 2008 at 10:14 am EDT

Cuba: Barack Obama is a mulatto; does that make him a white man? - Jun 26th, 2008 at 4:58 am EDT

CUBA: The European Union's lift sanctions against Cuba. - Jun 25th, 2008 at 7:52 pm EDT

Cuba: Cuba approves, makes available lung cancer vaccine. - Jun 25th, 2008 at 12:47 pm EDT

Cuba: Obama has a 16 point lead in a South Florida poll - Jun 24th, 2008 at 8:17 am EDT

Cuba: There is no U.S. Embargo on Cuba.- Jun 24th, 2008 at 8:13 am EDT

Cuba: I'm sorry. - Jun 24th, 2008 at 6:45 am EDT

Cuba: If Cuba was a white (Och!) Country, there would be no embargo. Jun 21st, 2008 at 1:01 pm EDT

Cuba: 1,400 free photos of the Real Cuba today. - Jun 20th, 2008 at 2:03 pm EDT
http://www.EveryThingCuba.com

Cuba: The Death of Political Insanity: The Case Of Cuba. Jun 20th, 2008 at 1:37 pm EDT

Lets all call out Fox News on their bigoted coverage

RobinInTexas — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:53:29 EDT

Dear Friends,

Right now, Fox News is trying to paint Barack Obama as foreign, un-American, suspicious, and scary. They're trying to send Americans the message that our country's first viable Black candidate for President is not "one of us."

I've joined on to ColorOfChange.org's campaign to push back on Fox, publicly demanding they stop their race-baiting and fear mongering. If that doesn't work, then the next step is their advertisers and the FCC. I wanted to invite you to sign on as well. It takes only a moment:

http://www.colorofchange.org/foxobama/

Here are some recent deplorable instances:

After Senator Obama won the nomination, he and his wife gave each other a "pound" in front of the cameras. Fox anchor E.D. Hill called the act of celebration a "terrorist fist jab." Then last week, a Fox News on-screen graphic referred to Michelle Obama as "Obama's baby mama"--slang used to describe the unmarried mother of a man's child. It was a clear attempt to associate the Obamas with negative cultural stereotypes about Black people, an insult not only to Michelle Obama but to women and Black people everywhere.

After each of the incidents mentioned, Fox issued some form of weak apology. But what does it mean when you slap someone in the face, apologize the next day, then slap them again on the third? It means the apology is meaningless.

These aren't one-time incidents--they're part of a pattern that continues no matter how often Fox is forced to apologize. Fox has a clear record of attacking and undermining Black institutions, Black leaders, and Black people in general.

If we don't push back now, we will see more of the same from now until November. Please join me in helping to bring an end to Fox's behavior.

http://www.colorofchange.org/foxobama/

Thanks.

Robin

Cuba: Barack Obama is a mulatto; does that make him a white man?

! A LUIS "Cuba!" MORO. . . . . — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:58:14 EDT

Recently someone wrote to one of my blog articles saying that Cuba is a white country.

I almost fell off my chair. They simply must be watching to much I love Lucy reruns thinking everyone in Cuba is Ricky Ricardo.

Joking a side, I assert they think that because the Cuban politicians who have high-jacked Cuba policy in Washington, DC are rich white Cubans.

I was born in Cuba. I've been back to Cuba, I've see the people with my own eyes.

Cuba is a black country.

Now I personally couldn't care less about color, etc. BUT, I can't act naive, especially with the 47 year history of white Cuban politicians in both Cuba and the United States destroying families and friends relationships with childish politics.

The "white" politicians throughout the 47 years have lived great for the most part. While the citizens of Cuba, America and the world continue to be deprived access to Cuba.

As you read on, you will see a simple logic that will support part of my claim that:

If Cuba was a white country, there would be no embargo.

First lets get clear on Cuba is a black country. In a future article, you will read why "if Cuba was a white country, there would be no embargo."

By the why, Barack Obama is mulatto, hence a black man.

Go Obama, Free Cuba!
Luis Moro
www.EveryThingCuba.com
See 1400 Free images of Cuba and you decide what color people you see.

CIA Cuba facts related to ethnic groups.

Cuba's population is
51% Mulatto
37% white
11% Black
1% Chinese (Soon to be much more given the deals Cuba has with China)

Barack Obama is a mulatto.
The majority of the world considers Barack Obama a black man, hence if you are mulatto; you are black.

Barack's mother is white and his father is black. i.e. he's a mulatto.

Barack Obama is mulatto, yet there is no denying Obama and almost everyone else is going around saying it's history that Barack is a black man presidential candidate.

No body is mistaking Barack or considering him white.

The majority of the population in Cuba is 66% black. (51% mulatto and 11% black)

I trust you, the reader have now expanded your consciousness.

I truly believe you are not racist, and now you can consider with an even more open reality.

If Cuba was a white country there would be no embargo.

Again, it's not a matter of racism; it's a function of consciousness.

Definitions of mulatto on the Web:
• an offspring of a black and a white parent
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

• Mulatto (Spanish mulato, small mule, person of mixed race, mulatto, from mulo, mule, from Old Spanish, from Latin mūlus.) is a person of mixed black and white ancestry or the offspring of one white parent and one black parent or someone 50% black and 50% white. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulatto

• often pejorative: A person of mixed African and Caucasian descent; Census: Anyone born to two 1/2 African and 1/2 Caucasian parents; Census: Anyone 3/4 African and 1/4 Caucasian or 1/4 African and 3/4 Caucasian en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mulatto

• The child of one white and one Negro parent. (One half black.) www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Samples/Glossary.htm

• A person having one Caucasian and one Negro parent; any person of mixed Caucasian and Negro ancestry. www.balchfriends.org/Glimpse/vocabulary.htm

• Person of mixed race or dual descent. It often referred to the ofspring of a black female slave and a white man. ... abolition.e2bn.org/glossary/view_glossary_0_M.html

• A person with both black and while heritage.
freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~emty/Glossary_of_Words_and%20Terms.html

• (210) - (Sp., "person of mixed race") a person of mixed white and black ancestry.
www.nmhschool.org/tthornton/tignorterms.php

Source: CIA The World Fact book.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html

*I'm not saying the CIA is always right, (either are they); but the CIA is a much better reliable organization than Wikipedia top rely on as a source of information. No body would want to base their life on Wiki "facts".

CUBA: The European Union's lift sanctions against Cuba.

! A LUIS "Cuba!" MORO. . . . . — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:52:45 EDT

Obama is 100% on the mark with his foreign policy direction; talking and communicating works.

Our European brothers and sisters on earth have finally said enough is enough.
The have started the process of eliminating the U.S. lead embargo against Cuba and Americans.

See full story below.
Thank you and please spread the education.
Luis Moro
www.EveryThingCuba.com

End of EU sanctions on Cuba deals US a setback

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The European Union's decision to lift sanctions against Cuba dealt a setback to US diplomacy after Washington failed to convince eastern European allies to block the move, analysts say.

"It was a failure for American diplomacy, which did everything possible through pressure on eastern European countries, like the Czechs or the Poles, to get a different result," said Janette Habel, an analyst with France's Institute of Higher Learning on Latin America.

President George W. Bush's administration, which has stiffened sanctions against Cuba, initially expressed disappointment last week when the EU said it would end the sanctions it imposed after a crackdown on dissidents in 2003.

Tom Casey, the US State Department's deputy spokesman, cautioned US allies to "be cognizant of not taking actions that would appear to give additional legitimacy" to the Cuban regime.

But a day later the department's chief spokesman, Sean McCormack, softened US criticism, refusing to repeat the White House reaction that it was "disappointed."

"This is a tactical difference," McCormack told reporters Friday.

"The US and the European Union share common objectives in Cuba: freedom, democracy and universal human rights," he said, noting that the EU would review the human rights situation in Cuba every year.

The EU officially lifted the sanctions on Monday, hoping to encourage democracy in Cuba in the wake of the historic handover of power in February, when Raul Castro took over the presidency for his ailing brother Fidel.

The measure was largely symbolic, as the EU sanctions had been suspended since 2005. It was championed by Spain, which normalized relations with Cuba last year.

Marifeli Perez-Stable, vice president of the Inter-American Dialogue think-tank here, said Washington's hardline stance against Cuba was dented because its eastern European allies backed the EU's decision.

The US position to keep up its tough stance on Cuba "until the two Castros die is running out of fuel," Perez-Stable said.

"In Europe or Latin America, no one agrees with US policy on Cuba, whether the governments are on the right or on the left," she said.

Spain's Secretary of State for the EU Diego Lopez Garrido said the decision to lift the sanctions showed the European bloc's "independence" from Washington.

"The White House has made it known to EU countries that it does not like this move at all," Lopez Garrido said, but Brussels "has shown it is capable of ... choosing its own foreign policy path."

The United States has imposed an economic embargo on Cuba since 1962. Bush tightened the sanctions four years ago.

White House contender John McCain, a Republican like Bush, has vowed to maintain the embargo. Democratic rival Barack Obama has pledged to lift some of the restrictions on Cuban-Americans imposed by Bush in 2004.

Tom Shannon, the top US diplomat for Latin America, said in a Spanish newspaper interview that the goals of the EU move regarding democracy and human rights "are the correct ones, are the right ones."

"But we are worried that it tries to go too fast in the relationship with a government that is still stuck in a dictatorship," Shannon told El Pais.

Spain's Cuba policy caused some tension between the European country and the United States. But a Spanish official said the latest move to end the sanctions would not create new problems.

"I don't think they are interested, in the end of a term, to open a new front and fight with the EU," the source said, "especially since it was an issue that was unanimously adopted and there was no opposition from the friendly nations."

Source:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gfuDkWsYl3D2_t6BZh73hwYMGIpg

Cuba: Cuba approves, makes available lung cancer vaccine.

! A LUIS "Cuba!" MORO. . . . . — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:47:01 EDT

Luis Moro comment on article

Cuba approves, makes available lung cancer vaccine - *See article below from: Reuters by Jeff Franks.

Luis Moro writes:

I’ve been personally aware of the high-end private negotiations that are active with certain sectors of industry with Cuba. One such area is the pharmaceutical field. I am not claiming to be an expert or authority on the topic. But I do believe this is accurate information given the source and, again, my own personal conversations with actual attorneys handling the on-going subject.

With that said, I expect that many of the pro-embargo against Cuba community will say this if false information, propaganda and more communist lies. Odds are, these will be the same people who say there is “no embargo on Cuba.”

Barack Obama now has an entire new community of voters who should move like “Chain lighting” to abolish the embargo.

Cancer patients all over America, the world; should know that in Cuba there is a possible cure for cancer. At the very least in Cuba, a cancer patient might have a viable new option. I could personally hold a grudge towards Cuba or Pro-embargo enthusiast given my mother and her brother (my uncle) have both died of Cancer. One in Cuba, without the treatment of the privileged and mom in America, without the treatment of the privileged.

With that said, the one thing that is certain, to get the treatment for Cancer in Cuba, it will take the same “product” as in the U.S.; it will take you lots of money.

Good luck and God Bless everyone who may need and actually get the opportunity to use this new Cancer treatment in Cuba. I suspect many pro-embargo against Cuba cancer patient will soon want to abolish the embargo. (Och!)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cuba approves, makes available lung cancer vaccine

Tue Jun 24, 2008 8:37pm BST

By Jeff Franks

http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKN2435519120080624?sp=true

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban scientists said on Tuesday the first vaccine to extend lives of lung cancer patients has been approved by Cuban authorities for use and is available in the island's hospitals.

The drug, CimaVax EGF, has been shown to increase survival rates on average four to five months and much longer in some patients, they said in a news conference at Cuba's Center of Molecular Immunology.

In contrast to chemotherapy, the traditional treatment for lung cancer, they said CimaVax EGF has few side effects because it is a modified protein that attacks only cancer cells. They said it was the first lung cancer vaccine to be approved anywhere in the world, although there are others currently being tested.

"It's the first vaccine for lung cancer registered in the world," said Gisela Gonzalez, who headed the development of the vaccine, begun in 1992.

The drug is in various stages of clinical trials in a number of other countries and is most likely to be approved next in Peru, where it could be publicly available by year's end, Gonzalez said.

She said several private companies had been licensed to market the vaccine, but it will be produced in Cuba. Cost for the treatment had not yet been determined, Gonzalez said.

Other cancer vaccines under development elsewhere include one made by Antigenics Inc against melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and another made by Avant Immunotherapeutics Inc and licensed by drug giant Pfizer Inc that attacks glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and deadly type of brain tumor.

FOREIGNERS WELCOME

Tania Crombet, director of clinical investigations at Havana's molecular immunology center, said people from outside Cuba can come to the island for treatment.

"It's possible to provide this vaccine to any patient, because it's available in Cuba, it's approved by the Cuban drug agency so we can market the vaccine in Cuba and we can receive patients from outside," she said.

The exception would probably be Americans, she said, who are restricted from Cuba travel by the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba in place since 1962.

"Even though there is a new therapeutic tool approved in Cuba they probably wouldn't be able to come to Cuba to receive it because of the embargo," Crombet said. The drug has been approved for clinical trial in the United States, but its possible use there is at least two to three years away, Gonzalez said.

Cuba's state-run biotechnology sector includes around 50 research and development centers and is considered one of the most advanced in the developing world.

END ARTICLEVisit Web: http://www.nlg.org/cuba and sign up for varied perspectives on Cuba policy.www.EveryThingCuba.com See 1400 free images of the real Cuba today.

Joe Klein on the Surge, Charlie Black's Gaffe

jgabriel — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:59:19 EDT

Joe Klein has a discussion of columnist David Brooks' analysis of "the Surge":

http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/06/surge_protection.html

Also, a brief piece on top McCain strategist Charlie Black's gaffe about how a terror attack would help McCain (said during an interview in Fortune magazine).

http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/06/surge_protection.html

Huffington Post claims that although McCain almost immediately disavowed Black's comments, he has made similar comments himself in the past. Can anyone independently verify this?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/24/mccain-in-04-bin-laden-th_n_108939.html

Cuba: I'm sorry.

! A LUIS "Cuba!" MORO. . . . . — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:45:19 EDT

I’m sorry.

I did not mean to offend anyone with my recent post. If you actually read it through again, you should realize the title is not the point.

My point is not about race, rather lack of conciseness. A white rich Cuban politician out of Miami does not have the best interest of a black, white, green poor Cuban in Cuba or America. There is 47 years of evidence to prove that. AND I do agree 100% the embargo is not a race issue, but color, like gender, still a distinction that can't be ignored.

I trust you accept what I am saying next. I do not think the embargo is a race issue, it is a conciseness issue, an awareness issue. You and I are first aware of our own interest. I can bet everything I own that the most politicians supporting the embargo on Cuba have no idea who we really are, or care.

For example: most people refer to Obama as black, he is actually mixed. His mother is white. I personally don’t care, I’m for any person who actually thinks and makes decisions based on Character. I truly hope you get what I am pointing to, and by no means do I intend my point to be about race. Even though calling me “Negro” is perfectly find for most Latin’s, except of course if you are “Negro.”

I laugh at any name a person calls me. I give credit to that old school way of thinking. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Thank you for giving me your time and consideration. Luis Moro www.EveryThingCuba.com.

Obama Campaign Apologizes for Muslim Snub

funkfresh01 — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:07:58 EDT

http://www.nysun.com/national/obama-campaign-apologizes-for-snub-of-muslim-women/80282/

Source: New York Sun

Senator Obama's campaign is apologizing after campaign volunteers reportedly kept two Muslim women from appearing behind the senator at a Detroit rally on Monday because they were wearing headscarves.

One witness, Ali Koussan, told the Politico that one volunteer cited "the political climate," "what's going on in the world," and "what's going on with Muslim Americans" before stating that it wouldn't be helpful for one of the hijab-wearing women to appear in television pictures with Mr. Obama.

"I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me? Are you serious?" Mr. Koussan said.

"This is of course not the policy of the campaign. It is offensive and counter to Obama's commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run," a spokesman for the campaign, William Burton, told the political news outlet. "We sincerely apologize for the behavior of these volunteers."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Mr. Obama to invite the two women who were snubbed to appear with him at a future event.

Senator Obama apologizes to 2 local Muslim women

funkfresh01 — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:59:16 EDT

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080619/NEWS15/80619066&GID=rXlakoBVcc8WumLcjE0kGJ6K56ieqk8CejNNX5IUZw0%3D

By NIRAJ WARIKOO • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • June 19, 2008

Barack Obama personally called to apologize Thursday to the two Muslim women from Michigan barred from sitting next to him during a campaign rally Monday because they wore Islamic head scarves.

One of the women, Shimaa Abdelfadeel, told the Free Press that Obama called her "to personally convey his deepest apologies and acknowledge that this was inexcusable."

Obama also left a voice mail for the other woman, Hebba Aref, 25, of Bloomfield Hills, according to Abdelfadeel.

Obama volunteers didn't allow the two women to sit behind Obama at a Detroit rally on Monday out of fear their Muslim headscarves, known as hijab, would create a negative impression.

"We both immensely appreciate the Senator's phone call and his commitment to remedy this issue," Abdelfadeel said. "We commend him for displaying qualities befitting an effective President."

Speaking about the incident, Abdelfadeel said that on Monday, “two volunteers denied us seating behind the stage the Senator would soon take.”

Racist Anti-Obama Pin Sold at GOP Convention

funkfresh01 — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:46:48 EDT

http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/06/stick-a-pin-in-it.html

Posted 6/18/2008 4:11:00 PM

Source: Dallas Morning News

Author: Christy Hoppe

While a number of speakers -- such as Railroad Commission chairman Michael Williams and Mike Huckabee -- have praised the advance of Barack Obama and what it means towards a colorblind society, at least one vendor hasn't gotten the message.

At the Republican state convention, a booth hosted by Republicanmarket was selling a pin Saturday that says: If Obama is President will we still call it the White House.

There were other pins that weren't necessarily conveying the positive, inclusive, united front that has been portrayed during the convention. One said, "Press 1 for English. Press 2 for Deportation" and another, "I will hold my nose when I vote for McCain"

Cuba: If Cuba was a white (Och!) Country, there would be no embargo.

! A LUIS "Cuba!" MORO. . . . . — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 13:01:22 EDT

Racism is alive and well for Black Latin’s. The irony is America goes crazy if someone other than a black person calls a black person a “N…r”.

Yet the white Hispanic community will call Afro Latin’s “Negros” like it’s a term of endearment. It’s not.

I’m an Afro-Cuban and I’m equally proud of being a black, Latin, living in America. I’m an exile, I was born in Cuba, and I’ve been back to Cuba. I’ve made an excellent film in Cuba and I can assert with plenty of facts to back it up: “If Cuba was a white Country, there would be no embargo.”

Simply look at the majority of faces in Cuba and then look at the faces of who supports the embargo in Cuba. I personally don’t think it’s intentional racism, but rather a function of limited or no consciousness. Especially by Cuban and other politicians who’s families aren’t in Cuba, don’t have friends in Cuba and are well off financially in America.

It’s been rich white politicians from Miami that have high jacked and manipulated our laws, traded congressional votes and used PAC money to keep the failed 47 years of U.S. embargo policy toward Cuba in place. These fact should wake anyone up from thinking the current politicians, Republican or Democrat, have the peoples best interest at hand.

Obama represents a transformation this country, planet and humanity could benefit from. “A world that works for everyone, with no one left out.” You the reader, may know who I am by that statement. And if you don’t know me, I trust you can see that the world many of us are standing for includes you, includes me and includes us all having a life that works. “A world that works for everyone, with no one left out,” starts with me, then you, then us voting for a new generation to lead America.

With that said, I’m voting for Obama for one simple reason; he has the character to stop the insanity of 47 years of failed politics with Cuba. With that, I believe Obama will also stop the insanity in many other political arenas in Washington, DC.

Thank you for making the time to read these words, please forward if you find they can benefit another.

Luis Moro

See 1400 Cuba images free at www.EveryThingCuba.com

Cuba: 1,400 free photos of the Real Cuba today.

! A LUIS "Cuba!" MORO. . . . . — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:03:01 EDT

I just posted 1,400 photos we shot while making our history making feature film in Cuba. You can go to http://www.everythingcuba.com/ and see many aspects of the real Cuba. These are not professional photos of the perfect landmarks, or photos focused on showing you the worst of Cuba. Those types of photos exist and have their place. What you will see are simple yet excellent photos of real like in Cuba by real people like you and I. I'm a Cuban exile and I can tell you the pro-embargo Cuban exile community does not represent the majority of Cubans in America and especially the Cubans in Cuba.And for sure, they do not have the best interest of all Americans by supporting, maintaining and using every political trick available to make sure we keep destroying Cuba and it's people. This is in no way saying I support Castor's ways. I am saying I don't support anyone's way that continues to support politics that don't work going on fifty years. I'm for Obama for many reasons. And number one is his character's ability to make equitable decisions related to Cuba. So please take a moment and see the real Cuba with your own eyes and enjoy the real Cuba. Some day soon you will be able to use your constitutional right to travel and go see Cuba in person. Here are some of the people who will thank you in person for abolishing the embargo on Cuba. Luis Moro, filmmaker

www.EveryThingCuba.com SEE 1,400 EXCLUSIVE ORIGINAL PHOTOS OF CUBA.

www.UrbanFamilyEntertainment.com

Cuba: The Death of Political Insanity: The Case Of Cuba.

! A LUIS "Cuba!" MORO. . . . . — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:37:25 EDT

ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN MAY/JUNE 2008 ISSUES OF

THE IMMIGRANT MAGAZINE

The Character Factor: The death of Political Insanity
The Case Of Cuba

By Luis Moro

Insanity may be defined as doing the same thing repeatedly with the expectation of a different result. A politician who supports a failed 40-year-old policy could be diagnosed with "Political Insanity". It is time we killed off Political Insanity by our elected U.S. officials. This and many more facts will be explored in the next issue of Immigrant Magazine.

Would you trust a person who continues to make the wrong decision for almost fifty years? Would you support a person who will speak in the name of helping people, PEOPLE who continuously say that person is not helping them? Would you believe a person who upon receiving a financial donation would change their vote?

"The Character Factor" is a full coverage story about the U.S. Embargo on Cuba and how a failed policy is still supported by so few even though it negatively affects so many. You will be surprised to find out how a one thousand dollar donation ($1,000) can buy a vote in Washington, DC. And even more surprising is how many politicians actually sell their votes for money. It is as blatant as one day they are against our U.S. policies against Cuba; they get a donation and the next day they vote for the failed policy against Cuba. We will explore why a few white politicians in America and Cuba strangle Cuba, a country with a predominantly black population.

With the duplicity, outright lying and misrepresentations by many of today's politicians there is one clear question that separates today's candidates for the U.S. Presidency. Are you for or against the four- decade failed, U.S. Policy on Cuba? The answer to this question could be the one answer that will determine the vote of every American.

Nobody can deny that U.S. Policies towards Cuba have failed over the last several decades. We all know that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. It is clear in these times of political insanity that no politician can hide from his or her history. And all politicians should be judged on their present character to determine our future. The character factor requests all Americans to bring to the forefront politicians who sell themselves. If a politician votes for and supports a failed U.S. Policy, they clearly are not able minded, equitable and perhaps even honest leaders.

It is known that in our nation's capital, legislative votes are for sale and barter. But no one will get away from the factual report revealing once and for all our nation's leaders who have lost their character factor.

Are you for a four-decade-old failed U.S. Policy on Cuba? Your character factor will now speak.

About the author: Luis Moro is an award winning filmmaker. He was born in Cuba and now resides in exile in the United States. His family has been separated for 38 years due to the failed polices of both the U.S and Cuban politicians. www.EveryThingCuba.com

Contact Luis@MoroFilms.com

The above article reflects the opinions of L.Moro and in no way the opinions of The Publishers Of The Immigrant Magazine. We welcome your perspectives on issues that affect you and the Immigrant Community at large. Please write to us at publisher@immigrantmagazine.com.

Pamela Asobo Anchang
Publisher/Editor-In-Chief
The Immigrant Magazine Inc.
http://www.immigrantmagazine.com/

1st Post - Black & White

Todd — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:59:41 EDT

it'll be a hard fought campaign, and i agree with the sentiment that we'll all know who's going to win long before November. probably by August, i think, we'll know if a large percentage of white people plan on voting for a black man, or if they will either stay at home and not vote at all, or side with a candidate who will only continue the bad path America is on simply because McCain is also white.

Barack Obama @ Apostolic Church of God

Martin — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:17:21 EDT

On Sunday, Barack gave a speech at Apostolic Church of God on Chicago's Southside. Just like Trinity, ACOG is known for the many things it does for the African-American community, and it's leaders are outspoken activists. Is this change of churches allowing Barack to reset the image that the media painted for him? Personally, I am conflicted. I think that he made the right decision to leave Trinity after Pastor Wright made those scathing comments about him on television, however I feel like this move will come up in the general election. The Republicans can say that when the time get hard then he will run. While, I disagree wholeheartedly there is some merit to the argument. If it is easy for Barack to move from one church to another even though they both are giving messages that I feel he believes, one could say that he is a flip-flopper. This is not a criticism of his decision or his team for advising him on the decision. Rather, I just wanted to offer a chance for people to respond to something that I KNOW will be bought up in the general election. Is Barack prepared to respond?

HAPPY TO SUPPORT THE CAUSE

Mary — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:31:21 EDT

Barack should win because the time is right. There may exist many others who are just as, or even more capable than, he is to effect this change; however, he is the one that has been lifted up for such a time as this. I am simply happy to support the cause.

Why it Matters!

DMC — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:22:12 EDT

I have been listening to all of the news pundits about the election this year and sometimes I get sad at the struggle we have to face in every election. They talk about Obama's vetting team and any people he may be associated with as if it matters. I am a college student on disability struggling to make ends meet. Why should I care about who is picking his Vice-Presidential candidate when I face real issues of paying my bills, getting loans to pay for school, and whether or not I can afford the medication I have to take every day to stay alive. For me this is a life or death situation where I can have options on where I want to work and how I want to live my life. I have to worry about if the job provides health insurance if I want to get off disability and if they screen for pre-existing conditions. I almost died in 1995 and I don't want to get back to the point where my body was breaking down and I was fighting to live.

I am also trying to make a future for myself and I wonder what am I going to do when I get through with college and I have all this debt to repay. Will I be able to get a job that can pay my bills and my college loans? If I fall in love with someone, will I be able to get married or will they say that married does not apply to me because I am gay. I have watched friends die and even partners and understand that without the legal rights under marriage, I will not have any rights to property or visitation for the person I am with if something were to happen. The Declaration of Independence says we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But in this day and age my life is depended on having health insurance to afford the expensive medication I have to take every day to stay alive. My liberty is up for debate with the Patriot Act and the loss of freedoms we have endured under President Bush. And the pursuit of happiness, they might as well say if you are gay and black, you need not apply.

This election matters not because of the superficial issues but because of the bread and butter issues we need to survive in this world. I have been thinking a lot about the instability in our country with the floods, fires, hurricanes and tornados. I ended up moving out of the city that I love, New York City, because of the number of terror alerts and number of military personnel with machine guns in our subway. The Bush administration scared me enough to move to the other side of the country.

Musings ~ Hillary's endorsement

Kaci (girl on the left) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:30:22 EDT

"You can be so proud that from now on it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States. And that is truly remarkable, my friends."

This has to be the best thing I've ever heard out of Hillary Clinton's mouth. I also felt it was unremarkable that she was running. Maybe because I already think women are going to rule the world one day. Seriously though, the motivation and ambition of women is intense so it never surprised me that a woman would run for president and would have BEEN our president if it weren't for the fabulous of a certain black man. I never worry about where women will be, and where we will go, and what we will accomplish. So this did not surprise me in the slightest. But Barack's success was remarkable. I DO worry about where young black men are going and what they will accomplish. Barack Obama's presidency will shake the black community and black men to the core. I feel overwhelmed that I will witness this time in our history. Our generation is complacent and lacks cause compared to our parents. But Obama's campaign has dramatically shifted that mentality and stirred our minds. That's truly is remarkable and touches me deeply.As for Hillary Clinton and women everywhere...it really is remarkable that a paradigm has shifted and sky's the limit from this point on. With all her flaws, she has done something tremendous.

But the fight is not over...Barack will win in November. But not without our help, our words, and our visibility on his behalf.

Hope you’re excited!!! This is our moment :)

The Poblano Model

Stephanie -Political Organizer-Middle Georgia — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:21:01 EDT

This one's for the politicial junkies. This model shows how the voter registration drives that many of you have been involved in may determine the outcome of the general election.

http://progressillinois.com/2008/05/11/features/obama-over-the-top

The Significance of a President Barack Obama

Independent Steve — Sat, 24 May 2008 12:28:01 EDT

Barack Obama as President is far more significant than merely “the first African-American President”. And Obama’s signal of change is far more reaching than just being the first President not named Bush or Clinton since 1987. Barack Obama is a living symbol of America in the 21st century.

Although it was just a campaign phrase for Bill Clinton, Obama more accurately represents a true bridge to the 21st century. The calendar may have heralded in a new century, from 1999 to 2000, but nothing significant truly took place during, or since then, that accurately represented the differences between the 1900’s and the 2000’s.

The “rules” of the 20th century simply don’t’ apply anymore, and no one exemplifies that more than Obama. The 20th century was the era of the “old, white, man”. They ran our corporations, managed out stores, ran our governments, and represented our country as its leader. In effect, they “took care of all of us”. After all, we could hardly take care of ourselves.

Our women were helpless and subservient, the few Latinos we had which were only near the border, worked in the fields, out of the way. The small number of Asians and Indians in America ran convenience stores, and other races simply didn’t exist in America. And depite a few “uppity” Black people who spoke up once in awhile, most Blacks “knew their place”, only living in the poorer sections of the inner city, and only emerging to be performers on TV and movies, or in sports. But never a real threat to run or control anything. Meanwhile the “All-American” (which actually means “white”) family lived their lives in the suburbs going along with life in America the way it was, looking forward to ruling the world because society told them it was there’s to take with endless role models to look up to. And no one better represented this society better than the President. Older, white, “experienced”, from the best schools and the best breeding, with large families like Roosevelts, Kennedy’s, and Bush’s making their marks, running the world for the sake of the helpless in America.

For multi-racial people like myself and Barack, where do we fit in this America?

For years, minorities had to sit and watch our world be “managed, controlled, and run” by white people, further cementing the belief in our minds, that it wasn’t our role in society to do that. We were the workers, the entertainers, but never the controllers. After all, we aren’t capable of that. Proof of this mentality is the ludicrous “crowning” of Bill Clinton as the “first Black President”. The mentality was, we’ll never get one of our own, so Bill is the closest we’re ever going to get. It is that defeatist mentality that will change when Barack Obama is elected President.

He isn’t just an African-American, he’s everything. He’s first generation American, with his father from Kenya, his mother from the Midwest, his stepfather from Indonesia, and yet he was raised by his grandparents in Hawaii! And then he began a political career in Illinois, and now works in Washington DC. His father abandoned him, and his mother died at a young age. The truth is, in 2008, that defines an American more than the “all-american” nuclear family image most of us grew up with.

It is not a white family in the suburbs with 2.5 kids with the wife at home and husband at work in the city. Today’s American is mixed race, with both parents working, or sometimes just the mother. There might be no kids or seven kids. Americans live all over the country throughout their lives, and work hard, not only to provide for themselves and families, but to achieve greatness. Latinos, Asians, Indians, and African-Americans are everywhere as integral and useful members of society. We are international, with many speaking more than one language, though cultural upbringing or education. The days of John Wayne shaping Hollywood are long gone. Minorities and international actors have just as much pull and fame as the white American stars do. We run companies, TV networks, corporations, even govern states, or as members of the Supreme Court or the Presidential cabinet. But we all understood, that’s as far as we’re ever going to get, until 2009, when Barack Obama becomes President of the United States.

In the future, there will be such thing as a “foreign sounding name” like Barack Hussein Obama. In the future, generations of all races will see proof that race no longer defines your role or stature in society. They say by 2050, the “white American” will be a minority. While white Americans “fear” this revelation, it’s not a matter of them dying off, hunted down, or “their country” being “invaded” by these “outsiders. It is simply a matter of racial divides breaking down, and a greater indicator of where we are, and are continuing to move to. Over the next hundred years, race will be redefined.

One hundred years ago, Americans were either Irish, Polish, German, English, Black, or whatever country you or your parents immigrated from. In 2008, do you hear Irish complaining how they were “wiped out”? Of course not, that’s ludicrous, because most White Americans, if they bother to check, run down their list as mixed Polish, German, Norweigian, etc. Then after awhile it simply becomes easier to refer to yourself as “White”.

In 2108, you won’t bother stating you are mixed Black, Asian, and white, you will simply refer to yourself as “American”. And when those folks look back at a turning point in America, where all 20th century belief and ideologies changed, their textbooks will refer to the year 2009, when Barack Obama became President of the United States .

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