Posts with the tag White

Independent Democrat Senators

Don — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:09:29 EDT

Soon as we got a Democrat in the White House, a bunch of Senators claiming to be Democrats rushed to show how independent they are, declaring they won’t necessarily vote in support of the President’s agenda that he was elected to enact. As a Hoosier, I’ll put Indiana’s Evan Bayh (pronounced “Bye” or “Buy”) at the top of the list.

Mr. Obama is right to allow politicians to vote their “consciences” (oxymoron is obvious). Where he’s wrong is in promising to raise money for them. I won’t give one penny to support ANY Senator who fails to toe the line and earnestly help the President do what he promised. Many promises were made. If they’re not kept because Democrats in the Senate support powerful banks and other lobbies against the people who support Mr. Obama’s agenda, then Bayh-Bayh to them come the primary.

If self-described Democrats in the Senate refuse to push through the President’s agenda, then it’s up to us to FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL. I won’t give money to or raise money for Evan Bayh or Arlen Spector or any of the approximately eight others who have declared themselves “independent” of this cause.

They want our money and votes only to betray us to the powerful lobbyists who own them. We need to start work right now finding better people to run against them in the primaries and start raising the money they’ll need to win.

We kept McCain and Palin out of the White House. We certain can put Bayh, Specter and those other eight “independent” Democrats OUT of the Senate. CHANGE is coming to America.

Fox Noise tries to block signal

Don — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 07:46:27 EDT

Rupert Murdoch and his Faux News netword have every right to refuse to air the president’s news conference touting his first 100 days in office.

The White House has every right to refuse to grant press credentials and access to the White House press area to “Fox News”, not out of any retaliation but ONLY because the company really does not meet the requirements to be defined or qualified and journalists.

Even now, when the president’s remarks haven’t been written, we all can predict the Fox News response and “analysis”. That’s not news, it certainly isn’t analysis, and it is even a response because it’s prepared BEFORE the statement it claims to be answering.

We have every right to boycott Murdoch's businesses and their subsidiaries and programs.

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

OBAMA FOR SOUTH DAKOTA

WEBMASTER — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:37:05 EST

Aberdeen * Alcester * Alexandria * Arlington * Armour * Ashton * Avon * Baltic * Belle Fourche * Beresford * Big Stone City * Blunt * Bonesteel * Bowdle * Box Elder * Brandon * Bridgewater * Bristol * Britton * Brookings * Bruce * Bryant * Burke * Canistota * Canton * Carthage * Castlewood * Centerville * Central City * Chamberlain * Clark * Clear Lake * Colman * Colome * Colton * Columbia * Conde * Corsica * Crooks * Custer * Deadwood * Dell Rapids * Delmont * De Smet * Doland * Dupree * Eagle Butte * Edgemont * Egan * Elk Point * Elkton * Emery * Estelline * Eureka * Faith * Faulkton * Flandreau * Fort Pierre * Frankfort * Freeman * Garretson * Gary * Geddes * Gettysburg * Gregory * Groton * Harrisburg * Hartford * Hecla * Herreid * Highmore * Hill City * Hitchcock * Hosmer * Hot Springs * Howard * Hurley * Huron * Ipswich * Irene * Iroquois * Jefferson * Kadoka * Kimball * Kosmos * Lake Andes * Lake Norden * Lake Preston * Lead * Lemmon * Lennox * Leola * McIntosh * McLaughlin * Madison * Marion * Martin * Mellette * Menno * Milbank * Miller * Mission * Mitchell * Mobridge * Montrose * Mount Vernon * Murdo * Newell * New Underwood * North Sioux City * Oldham * Onida * Parker * Parkston * Philip * Pierre * Plankinton * Platte * Presho * Rapid City * Redfield * Roscoe * Salem * Scotland * Selby * Sioux Falls * Sisseton * Spearfish * Spencer * Springfield * Sturgis * Tea * Timber Lake * Tripp * Tyndall * Valley Springs * Veblen * Vermillion * Viborg * Volga * Wagner * Watertown * Waubay * Webster * Wessington * Wessington Springs * White * White Lake * White River * Whitewood * Willow Lake * Wilmot

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.

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.

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?

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

AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka on Racism and Obama

Leslye J Allen of Atlanta, GA — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:20:59 EDT

This is one of the best speeches made by anyone on the delicate subject of race and racism in this current presidential campaign. Below is the transcript of AFL-CIO's Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka. Enjoy the piece.

Peace,

Leslye J Allen

"You see brothers and sisters, there's not a single good reason for any worker -- especially any union member -- to vote against Barack Obama.

There's only one really bad reason to vote against him: because he's not white.

And I want to talk about that because I saw that for myself during the Pennsylvania primary.

I went back home to vote in Nemacolin and I ran into a woman I'd known for years. She was active in Democratic politics when I was still in grade school.

We got to talking and I asked if she'd made up her mind who she was supporting and she said: 'Oh absolutely, I'm voting for Hillary, there's no way I'd ever vote for Obama.'

Well, why's that? 'Because he's a Muslim.'

I told her, 'That's not true -- he's as much a Christian as you and me, so what if he's muslim.'

Then she shook her head and said, 'He won't wear an American flag pin.'

I don't have one on and neither do you.

But, 'C'mon, he wears one plenty of times. He just says it takes more than wearing a flag pin to be patriotic.'

'Well, I just don't trust him.'

Why is that?

Her voice dropped just a bit: 'Because he's black.'

I said, 'Look around. Nemacolin's a dying town. There're no jobs here. Kids are moving away because there's no future here. And here's a man, Barack Obama, who's going to fight for people like us and you won't vote for him because of the color of his skin.'

Brothers and sisters, we can't tap dance around the fact that there are a lot of folks out there just like that woman.

A lot of them are good union people; they just can't get past this idea that there's something wrong with voting for a black man. Well, those of us who know better can't afford to look the other way.

I'm not one for quoting dead philosophers, but back in the 1700s, Edmund Burke said: 'All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.' Well, there's no evil that's inflicted more pain and more suffering than racism -- and it's something we in the labor movement have a special responsibility to challenge.

It's our special responsibility because we know, better than anyone else, how racism is used to divide working people.

We've seen how companies set worker against worker -- how they throw whites a few extra crumbs off the table and how we all end up losing.

But we've seen something else, too. We've seen that when we cross that color line and stand together no one can keep us down.

That's why the CIO was created. That's why industrial unions were the first to stand up against lynching and segregation. People need to know that it was the Steel Workers Organizing Committee -- this union -- that was founded on the principal of organizing all workers without regard to race. That's why the labor movement -- imperfect as we are -- is the most integrated institution in American life.

I don't think we should be out there pointing fingers in peoples' faces and calling them racist; instead we need to educate them that if they care about holding on to their jobs, their health care, their pensions, and their homes -- if they care about creating good jobs with clean energy, child care, pay equity for women workers -- there's only going to be one candidate on the ballot this fall who's on their side... only one candidate who's going to stand up for their families... only one candidate who's earned their votes... and his name is Barack Obama!

And come November we are going to elect him president.

And after he's elected we are going to hit the ground running so that, years from now, we're going to be able to tell our grandchildren that 2008 was the year this country finally turned its back on men like George Bush and Dick Cheney and John McCain.

We're going to be able to say that 2008 was the year we started ending the war in Iraq so we could use that money to create new jobs building wind generators, solar collectors, clean coal technology and retrofitting millions of buildings all across this country

We're going to be able to look back and say that 2008 was the year the tide began to turn against the Rush Limbaughs, the Bill O'Reillys, the Ann Coulters and the right wing hate machine."

Watch him at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QIGJTHdH50&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/1/22234/6599/102/617219

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.

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

This is Your Nation on White Privilege

Irish Musician for Progressive Solutions — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:15:30 EDT

Original article is posted here:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/This-is-Your-Nation-on-Whi-by-Tim-Wise-080916-307.html

For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or whoare looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps thislist will help.

High School and the election

Carl from Tempe, AZ — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:30:37 EDT

I now know why Obama struggles to cross the 50 percent threshold in this country. I used to think it was about race, and then I thought it was about elitism, but now I know what it is, Obama is a wimp. Or at least, that is the actual narrative that is being created around him. The lies, about his faith, his stance, his views, his family and his patriotism are part of a brilliant construct to brand him as a wimp, a nerd, a dork.

Think about it. Obama struggles with white working class people who did not graduate college. I am willing to bet that this group of Americans has closer identity ties with high school than the populous that goes to college. In fact, a good number of them remember high school as some of the fondest memories of their lives. I am willing to bet that they also value the same rules that apply to high school. So to understand how they look at politicians, it might be valuable to analyze the high school election environment.

There are usually three to four types of students that run for student government president. Most of them can easily catalogued in the following categories.

White vs Reality

Kevin ":: g+s+ ::" Winterfield — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 10:48:12 EDT

When I watched the Republican Convention I was struck by the fact that everyone in the audience was white. How could this be, I wondered. When I look around my neighborhood, when I go to my office, when I go to the movies, out to dinner, read the paper, I see a wide range of colors. The America I see is not white. The America I want is not white.

The world has changed and the Republicans refuse to admit it.

Obama is the realization of the change - not just in his platform, but in who he is.

Not going anywhere

Liz Hammond — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:49:52 EDT

Hello!

This is my first Post and I have so much to say it was hard to know where to begin. I think the best place to begin is just to tell you a bit about us and why we support Barack Obama..

I used to be quite active in politics, but gave up a while ago when it seemed there was just no hope. Everything I have seen, heard or read of Mr. Obama has changed my mind and galvanized my resolve to do everything I can to help turn this sorry mess around.

I don't know where all this talk of middle aged white women running to McCain in droves is coming from but I have no doubt that this is just another lie. I am a 51 year old, white middle class woman. I know a lot of other women just like me. Not one of us would vote for that liar McCain or his pandering pick of another liar as his V.P. if you marched us down to the polls at gun point!

My husband and I are small business owners, we have a small residential and commercial contracting company here in CT. We are insured through our Union, thank the Lord, but at an exorbitant cost of close to $2,000.00 a month! I sat down last night and figured what this hideous economy is actual costing us. I figure it costs us one hour a day to pay for our health insurance; one hour for the business insurance, tool and truck insurance; about two hours a day to pay for the days gas in my Hubby's truck; one hour a day for Fed, State and Social Security taxes; probably a ½ hour for local property taxes. So, we have at least five and half hours out of every day just trying to keep ahead of this hideous economy ! Let's not even get into food and utilities. Hubby does most of our shopping at places like Costco, and we still struggle to make our food budget stretch. We have two little grandson's here three days a week and feeding us all is trick!

Sorry to be a whiner here,(hee-hee) but Hubby already works ten hours a day, six days a week. I am disabled and can only sit at the computer to do our books for 15 minutes at a clip. It takes about 10 hours for me to accomplish what I used to do in a few hours. I cannot imagine what we will do if things get any worse. We have little to no money for retirement, not a lot of savings, and what we did have gotten beaten to a pulp by the stock market dump.

Recession!! Honey I 'd be happy if that's all this was. But I can tell you from the trenches of the building trades that is looking a lot more like the next Depression and I am s-c-a-r-e-d!

Like everyone else, I have been incensed by all the flat out lying and the failure of our once great Media to address it. One thing, though, it seems to me that this might just boomerang back and hit them in their lying eyes. Let's hope so. This Country needs to wake up and realize we are being lied to and manipulated just as we were when the odious Mr. Bush was elected. And we all know where that got us. An endless, senseless war, ( another lie) a destroyed economy, millions without a medical care, sub-standard schooling and on and on.

I am convinced the Obama is the person to begin to lead us out of the wasteland the Republicans have made of our Country and plan to everything I can to help him get there. Don't let the events of the past week get you down. It's not over til it's over!!

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.

No Hope for Working Class White Women

Genevive — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:51:55 EDT

My sister is exactly the working class woman who supported Hillary, but hasn't shifted her support to Mr. Obama. I want to tell you about her because she and others who are like her will influence this election.

She is 39, the mother of two daughters and works at a minimum wage job as a housekeeper in a hotel in Pocatello, Idaho. She barely makes enough money to cover her bills, and the rising energy and food prices are sending her into debt just to buy gas and groceries. She doesn't have time for much of anything after working a 10-hour shift, except for dinner with the kids and some urgent prayers. She hears news only from the local TV stations, which in her area are owned largely by the Mormon Church and reflect a strong Republican bias. She leans Democratic, but sees both parties as corrupt and uninterested in struggling people like her.

I called her a few days ago to see how she and the girls are doing, and the subject of politics came up. She's feeling the economic pinch so hard that she vented about why such an expensive war in Iraq is allowed to continue when poor people like her are too rich for food stamps but too poor to buy food. I asked her if she supports Mr. Obama.

She said, "No, sis, what I've heard on the news about him is that he is a rag head that won't salute the flag. I supported Hillary, but now I don't know what to do. Our country is all f-ed up." I did my best to persuade her those things are simply untrue and that Barack will be a great leader for our country.

But our conversation left me wondering about all the other hard working, poor women in this country and why Mr. Obama's campaign isn't reaching them. I realized that they are beyond the reach of a modern, tech-savy campaign: these women don't read, surf the net or text--no money for any of that. If a volunteer knocked on the door, she wouldn't be home to answer it. After a long day of working for a pittance, she watches TV to relax in a run down neighborhood far from ideological cities. Mr. Obama's message of hope isn't getting through.

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

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

The OkyDoke

Edward J. — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:06:49 EDT

McCain continues to mention the surge and the success it has and is having. What he fails to include, while bragging, is there would not have been a need for a surge had Bush not started something out of revenge instead of necessity. He would also have America believing this to be a failed war and we as losers of such. In reality the war was won the day America occupied Iraq and bought down Saddam's rein. Mr. McCain would be well advised that this war isn't the war which he was captured. In this war there was an undeniable winner, America. He should be reminded that one can neither change nor relive the past. Our troops have served their Country well and it is time to return home and protect those whom they were sworn in to protect. Bush's daddy has been revenged and Saddam Insane is no more.

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 first step...

Jason from Austin, TX — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:20:06 EDT

Here it is. The first step. My introduction.

A little back story...
Ive been probama since the beginning of the runoff's but have always loved some of Clinton's perspectives and I'm even a fan of the Fair Tax plan... so I'm kinda all over the place. I'd consider myself more of an independent over a Democrat... as I do like to look at issues as separate rather than following a party line. I'm agnostic and tend to always lean liberal in my viewpoints, yet as a person, I'm pretty conservative.

I was born in Dallas and raised in Arlington until I was 15 when my Mom was transferred with Kraft General Foods to Atlanta. I graduated high school here at Berkmar in Lilburn and lived here waiting tables at fine dining establishments such as Brasserie Le Coze and Cabernet. I moved back to Ft Worth to get through school at the Art Institute of Dallas. I've been working in the creative industry in Dallas since. I moved to Austin to be with my girlfriend and we're opening a hair salon, Kemestry, on 6th and Robert Martinez which should be open before the close of July. After we get that open and on it's feet, I'll probably be opening my agency... or jet setting the world... whichever happens first.

Throughout my life, I have come upon situations that pushed me to have the political and social viewpoints I now carry... and I will try to offer my perspectives here in the hopes that it adds to the catalog of information that is available here for people to read and walk away with some understanding.

Hope all is well!

Till next time...

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.

Don't even CONSIDER clinton for veep!!!

typical_white_person — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:05:18 EDT

Here is something the media is not saying about that incredibly nasty remark Hitlery Clinton made about assasinations, even if her claim that it was a "Freudian slip" is to be believed:

Does anyone want a person capable of such veiled threats in a position of sensitive negotiations or confrontations on a global level?

And we certainly don't want someone like that involved in the first nonwhite presidency in this country's history. We want to finally move beyond race, and the Clinton faction of the Democratic party will not allow that to happen.

There are those who have claimed that extremists like Wright in Obama's background mean that he, too, is racist, but I, as a "typical white person", beg to differ. The self-protective remarks made by preachers or leaders like Wright can be understood by every working-class white person as being the same kind of remarks our own leaders make at times of anger and frustration. Obama's claim that he was not paying close attention to the level of Wright's extremism rang true and authentic with me because I can easily think of lots of things my own Catholic priests have said over the years that most of their listeners chose to ignore. And when he stopped to take a close look, Obama did the right thing and everyone respects him for that.

We "typical white people" can count, too. All the brouhaha over that crazy radical former "weatherman" caused only one question in my mind: what about all the OTHER members of those boards on which both Obama and the old radical served? Hmm? What about the fact that it was briefly big news when that old radical and his wife, Bernadette Dorn, were exposed back in the nineties and no one seemed to care that they were on the same boards? (and there was that other WTC bombing around that time, remember?)

Working-class white folks are standing in the same food pantry lines as black folks, and we live in a lot of the same neighborhoods, and we recognize each other as neighbors. We survived Vietnam, some like me were there in the demonstrations, and we remember the leaflets from all the political factions, and some of us are embarrassed that we never believed the filth coming out of the genocidal factions, the hate-propelled splinter groups, would finally take root and bloom the way it has in the Clinton branch of the Democratic Party.

It is the yuppie suburban white folks, thosee Clintonites who are the arrogant college social-workers talking down to young mothers and the white teachers patronizing American-born students into dropping out of high-school rather than tolerate any more sexual political exploitation and disgusting bigotted psychobabble: it is they who support Hitlery Clinton, not us. They are the crazed left-fascist genocidal maniacs who are preparing to light the match on a "long hot summer" of violence that the Clintons think they will control and direct to their own ends. We are the working men and women who remember the diginity that won integration battles and the solidarity on the factory floor that prevencted slave-wage traditions from moving North with our Afro-American brothers and sisters. We are the victims of Hitlery Clinton's vicious political movement.

We look forward to Obama helping us take back the Democratic Party from the edge of the social-fascist abyss to which the Clintons and their delusional supporters have led us. Many of us have long memories and we will not allow that filthy Clinton-fascist faction of the Democratic party to highjack America into their own ends.

If only Obama would pre-empt Hitlery Clinton's delusions by announcing Edwards as his running mate, then we could look forward to peacefully winning the next election with a landslide that would leave the Republicans no ammo for challenge and the Clintonites' desire for violence would play itself out in a few isolated riotous demonstations and no real harm done. And plenty of room for good solid female leadership in his cabinet that will result in a future woman president, unrelated to the Clinton faction in any way.

Whoever Obama picks, DON'T let it be Clinton!!!!

Reaching out to low-income/middle-income white voters

Lindsay — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:46:55 EDT

Here's a little strategy that's been working for me in getting people to consider voting for Barrack. I mention his class based stance on affirmative action. Once I tell people that Obama's in favor of extending affirmative action to poor/under-privilleged whites, they seem to soften to me and want to hear more. Of course I ask them what's important to them and tell them how Obama is planning to address it. I also try to tell them about issues I think will resonate with them. The affirmative action thing really seems to change their minds, it shows them he knows what the common man is thinking and that he operates on common sense, that he recognizes that being white and poor isn't some great existance and he understands. It also makes them see how he's a man of great, people-centered down to earth ideas that are not often put forward, so it highlights his independent mind, which people respect. Just thought I'd pass it along.

My blue collar Catholic vote strategy

Lindsay — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:35:24 EDT

I live in a primarily white, blue collar, Catholic, Irish/Italian American town in New York. I know that Barrack will take my state by a landslide so I humbly submit this little bit of P.R. to people in the purple and red states...

I purchased a sign from cafepress.com that is an Irish font that reads O'Bama '08 for my front lawn. It's the perfect sign for this demographic. Makes people smile, and warm feelings are a good ice breaker to perhaps talk to some of Obama's positions on issues to your neighbors. I always mention that Obama favors affirmative action for poor white people. That really seems to surprise everyone and intrigue them to know more about the candidate. Works every time. I stick to the issues I think they'd appreciate and ask them what 's important to them and then tell them how Obama is going to adress that. People have changed their minds from this. In fact I think I'll write a separate post on this.

But once again, the sign. Really seems to work. It's non-confrontational and welcoming. Also, you can mention Barrack's Irish ancestry on his mother's side! If you think you'd like a sign for yourself (word to the wise, I've been told to buy more than 1 sign, they sometimes get stolen by teenagers). Here's the link:

http://www.cafepress.com/buy/-/pv_design_prod/p_storeid.215586141/pNo_215586141/id_25394816/opt_/pg_/c_/fpt_

And here's a link to the cafe press yard signs and Obama paraphenalia. They have some very attractive and clever items, I think they have the best selection:

http://www.cafepress.com/buy/-/c_825/fpt___________________________________E/pg_2

Happy campaigning!

Class Dismissed

Chinni — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:31:47 EDT

Another op-ed piece debunking the "white working class" myth

Class Dismissed

By MARK MELLMAN - May 29, 2008

..First, there is no relationship between how candidates perform among any particular group of voters in primaries and how they do with that segment in the general election. In 1992, Bill Clinton lost college-educated voters to Paul Tsongas in the early competitive primaries, but he went on to win that group in November by the largest margin any Democrat ever had. Similarly, John Kerry lost young voters in the competitive primaries in 2004 before going on to win them by a record margin in the general election.

Second, Democrats running for president have been losing white, non-college-educated voters since before Mr. Obama was elected to the Illinois legislature. Al Gore and Mr. Kerry each failed to win a majority of this bloc in the general election. With these voters, the size of the losing margin is what matters.

Mr. Gore lost them by 17 percentage points while winning the national popular vote. Mr. Kerry lost them by 23 points and the country by fewer than two and a half points. The last Democrat to win white, non-college voters was Bill Clinton, who carried them by a single point in the three-way races in 1992 and 1996. By comparison, Mr. Obama is only two percentage points behind John McCain among these voters in the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. Another recent survey shows him down seven points...

Six Bagels for $3.99

Earthbound — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:49:51 EDT

The price of flour has gone up. This mornings I went to pick up a bag of bagels and was shocked to see the price at $3.99. It's an election year, food and gas are at an all time high. Big Bussinesses in my hometown are shutting down offices and/or downsizing. It's the same everywhere people loosing jobs, houses in forclosure, food prices climbing, gas. Still the working class in my state, Arizona votes predominately republican. What gives?

I have this theory that the poor/woking poor/working lower middle class/the middle class who buys on credit people and all the other palathora of middle white collar wannabe community college educated up and coming two generations away from farmers vote republican because it is a form of social climing. I really think that a lot of people will not vote for a democratic candidate because it is socially beneath them. Like there is a stigma attached to affliation of The Dirty Poor. It's the attitude of: I'm to privleged and educated to vote democratic.

The economy is plunging down the drain and goverment big spenders have their foot on the flushing handle. I feel like the old dog lying on the front porch that doesn't lift it's head for it's master anymore. I can't even thump my tail. I've quit believing in politics or leaders. It's not just the war or inflation or un-employment or the way we treat our vets. It's all of it and the way we treat each other. I think we as a people are holding on to the bottom rung of the ladder. Can any leader fix the lack of respect shown between people? Is it fair to expect any leader to make a change in this country? The war on terror. What about a war on poverty or a war on self interest groups or a war on greed.

Now I'm not a Ivy League educated scholar but when a war last as long as this has and will and young men no longer want to enlist and serve then it dosn't take a rocket sciencist to figure out war takes soliders and no volunteers mean start up a mandatory service order. DRAFT them.

No one is saying the D word in the repubilican party but Senator McCain, I don't think that anyone wants to go and fight a war over there now. The drum beating for God and country and democracy has lost it's glitter. Was this war a smoke screen to cover up special interst in the gulf. What will the country know in fifty years. War is always about profit. We fell for the old trick of leader who bangs the drum of war

"In order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic ferver for Patriotism is indeed a double edge sword, It both emboldens the blood as it narrows the mind, and when drums have reached a fevered pitch and the blood boiles over with hate and the mind is closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather the citzenry is fused with fear and blinded by the patriotism will offer up all their rights to the leader and gladly so. How do I know? This is what I have done. and I AM CEASAR" -Shakespeare

So... I don't want my sons to fight and gives their lives for this war because we lost the war in Vietnam. Is that part of why McCain will not walk away from Iraq? I'm not going to teach my sons to fight for this. It's not about freedom and liberty. I have served my country and served my God and served my community. I am the working class, I am a mother, I am a citizen. I am a teacher and a coach and a volunteer. I've cleaned the houses of the rich and I've mentored and parented unwanted and forgotten children, I've advocated for the voicelessness of my autistic son and I will fight for the recognition of all the shapes of personhood to be recognised a equal. Equality is not about the privileged class getting in the front of the line.

I am an American who can trace my families linage back to Thomas Jefferson's father and both sides of my family have fought in wars in this country since the French Indian Wars. Thats pre Revolutionary War. I am America. My grandparents worked their whole lifes in factories and raise their children to love their country and fear God.

I keep think of this line: "Patriotism is the last refuge to wash a soundrel clean, steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you King." -Bob Dylan

Is he supporting you Mr. Obama? I wonder

Yesterday at a Memorial party the hostess said she would not vote for Obama because he was a socialist. She talked of the liberals controling the media and how they are responsible for Obama propullsion to this tilt in the election. She also accused Obama of being a rasist. This is a 3 generation college educated, profession white woman who's company has just laided of 600 people and is closing their office in Phoenix. She was one of the lucky ones who will get to keep her job and move. but It's the liberals fault. She has never heard of Rupert Murdoch or Sumner Redstone or Carl Rove or Karmazin or John Malone, but according to her "they" are all liberals who control the media. I quit discussing my views about America at the party. It was waxing into a who's going to heaven arguement "the baptist or the catholics".

Actually Jesus did come back last week. He didn't make the headlines in fact few people recognised him as anything more than a long-haired freak. He was really mad, then he cried, then he got mad again, really mad like smash up the temple mad. Then he swept up the African aids orphans with his hands and then he said, " There's no more room on the bus out, thanks to the people who believed in me, butwhy didn't you help each other? It was all about love, it was always about love. You couldn't even help these babies. We thought you could do it. Sorry, Bye. goodluck. Then he sort of whoosed up ina space shuttle bus thing. I don't know if he'll come back again now. He looked mad and dissipointed.

Myth of the white working-class voter

Chinni — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:28:59 EDT

Myth of the white working-class voter
You might as well poll left-handed divorcées.
By Crispin Sartwell
May 20, 2008 - Christian Science Monitor

The way that polling and demographics slice up the population is, ultimately, a matter of preference; it does not derive from, but is a presupposition of, the "science." Searching for segments of the electorate that vote as a bloc, demographers split the population into groups they decide are important or salient. And their decisions don't necessarily reflect empirical results – they are more an index of their own social attitudes, presumptions ,and prejudices.
It would be nearly as scientific to rig up any segment of the population and regard it as decisive: blue-collar women, black and white, under 35; black men plus Hispanic women; left-handed divorcées.
The results might be striking; the voting habits of such groups might be as, or more, strongly correlated than race, income, and gender grouped in the conventional ways. But even if the results were not striking, even if the groups were evenly split, they would be decisive by the standards of this sort of demographic analysis.
When you bring a set of racial or gender-based categories to the data, the divisions these attitudes represent always will be confirmed as the most important divisions in our society. That just reinforces the problematic divisions that infested the attitudes of the pollsters in the first place. And then, at the end of each election, our divisions of race, gender, and class are, in our imaginations, stronger.

President Obama

Gypsy4u — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:26:13 EDT

I am so excited for President Obama. I feel it in my heart that he is going to be our greatest leader since Lincoln ! He has the grace, the brains, and the wisdom to perform this job. I am so proud to be a supporter of him.

I find it hilarious that one day after Hillary's big win, just one day later, she's old news, and he is new news more momementum, he get's endorsed every day, He has always remain gracious, and humble.

I would love to see a split ticket - perhaps this is what the democrats have been researching for the last 4 years. How to win 2008. First Black Man , First Women. It would be the greatest advancement in this country's history of Politics. Although I prefer the man to be on top !

I'm not black, I'm just a red headed, irish girl from Boston who married a african american.

This country needs Unity- For all - black white brown, yellow, tan, freckeled, men, women, gays, straights, transvestites, we are all humans, playing this game called Life.

Obama/Clinton

I love what you stand for Barack and Michelle Obama. Keep the faith-

Paula

HOW DARE YOU AND SHAME ON YOU!

Mary — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:10:55 EDT

Racism alarms Obama's backers Candidate's foot soldiers encounter name-calling, vandalism, bomb threats

Article in link at the end.

My comment to Hillary Clinton is: HOW DARE YOU AND SHAME ON YOU!

I can't see how anyone who is feminist would willingly vote for HRC when you consider the onslaught that she has likely brought through statements like: "I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me." I've seen Hillary make claims of Obama being divisive but she has used the most divisive whopper in history by generating hate and race and bias and ignorant stupidity to win an election. I cannot believe that she will support the equal rights of gays, or ethnic groups including asian, latino, african american, or any other than white. It is unhumanitarian to use those kinds of terms and I don't believe for a moment that Hillary just accidentally mis-spoke those vindictive, venomous filled words. She always says exactly what she intends and means, or if you are going to excuse her because she blunders over memory loss including Bosnia, then she's not competant to serve in the Oval Office. I've lived 51 years and much of it in the South but also in the north and I've seen the racism and classism in my time, enough of it to make me sick to my stomach and enough to feel ashamed to be white. Hillary heaped coals on when she used those words to stoke the fires of every ignorant white biased person out there. She also ignited the fears of those who are white who feel somewhat fearful of cultures that they can't always relate to or understand, the one's who don't necessarily hate other races but feel uncomfortable. Don't tell me she didn't do it because she did, she pulled out the biggest gun against her opponent and used it and that is shameful and just turns my stomach. Any little amount of respect that people have for her should have faded with that comment. Read the article below and see what people who try to campaign for Obama are going through and then try to justify what Hillary said if you still can. Shame on Hillary Clinton!

How Obama wins older white voters.

Edjumakated_Vet — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:24:35 EDT

In Mr. Obama’s campaign he often touts his upbringing in a poor, single parent household. Yet even with these drawbacks he was able to get an education and make his mother and grandparents proud. This is the real American dream. Most folks know that if they come from a rough start it will be hard for them too. However, in America their kids may have it better off than they did. The argument to older white voters should be that he may seem “elite”, but isn’t that what they want for their kids? Don’t they want their kids to go to a good college and have the ability to plot their own course in their life? Don’t they want their kids to do well in their life and help others? His argument for change is really an argument to make things better for America’s kids. Clean up politics, so our kids can have an honest government. Manage our debt and social security, so our kids can have the economic power to fix the problems of their generation, while not worrying about their retirement security. Rebuild our reputation within the world as a leader of peace and prosperity for everyone so our kids can have a safer world to grow up in.

I often watch Barack speak and think about how proud his family must be for him. Essentially, he could have been my kid. If my kid ran for president, I would want him to hold himself in the same high regard and not stoop to the easy trappings of politics. When I vote for Obama, I’m saying,” Yes, that is what I want my politician to say, and that’s how I want him to say it.”

One last thing… as I spell check this letter, my program wants’ to replace “Obama” with “Osama.” Someone should probably try and fix that.

The Deadly Isms: An Assault on Mankind

Loretta Hurt — Sun, 11 May 2008 00:46:14 EDT

It was bound to happen, the point in this historical moment, where the most fanatical proponents of the "us against them" doctrine would claw their way to the front. They bring with them a perverted gift, a spiritual sickness, to infect and reinfect mankind: The Deadly Isms.

A personal reflection on race

Beth from ColoradObama — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:17:06 EDT

I'm copying and pasting an e-mail exchange between me and some MYBO friends:

Rock Star Welcome in DC...McCain, You're Next!

ObamaMama Kris — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:04:53 EDT

It sure seemed like Senator Obama got a very positive "Welcome Back!" while he was in Washington DC today. The footage of him leaving a meeting with undeclared super-delegates was, IMHO, very revealing. Those gentlemen couldn't get close enough to him -- the news pundits picked up on it -- saying they were all jockeying to be in the video frame with him. The situation was so paradoxical -- they appeared to be courting him instead of the other way around! The reception he got in the halls of Congress in his first visit back since Tuesday's primary results in Indiana and North Carolina, were no less enthusiastic.

Let's hope this fight with Hillary is almost over. It is a bit painful, in some respects, to see her efforts in these final, futile days (or perhaps weeks). But then the cynic in me rears up. I was incensed by her "...hard-working whites..." comment earlier today. Will she ever stop? Do Bill and Hill have a few more cards up their sleeves?

And if Obama friend, Jenny J, happens to read this -- what do you think is going to happen with the Florida vote? Do you feel disenfranchised? :-) The proposed MI plan that was announced today seems reasonable. Hopefully, the DNC rules/regs folks can get something that can be mutually agreed upon for FL. Again, though, I wouldn't be surprised to see Hillary appeal all proposals to the credentials committee at the convention.

While I have no idea what the RNC has been able to buy (TV) in states nationwide, the ad playing in Indiana for about a month on McCain -- in his own words from the California debate, reflecting support of Bush doctrine and assessments on the economy, Iraq, etc. ("better off") issues -- have been very effective. If there was ever an opportunity to have a Democratic slam dunk, this is it. I don't intend to suggest "slam dunk" means "easy." But I do predict Senator Obama's general election campaign will be one that thrills us, gives us cause to marvel, and brings us all to our feet to cheer.

McCain doesn't have a prayer of being elected.

May 20 - A BLUE LETTER DAY - Obama Declares Victory in the Democratic Nomination

Julie Hensley — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:26:58 EDT

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/8/21827/08460/25/511536

The Daily Kos is reporting (see the very last, parting comment of the blog post above) that the Obama camp is planning on declaring victory on May 20.

If so, it's an interesting and bold move unless Hillary is poised (just post WV but before KY to concede) and she may very well be. While it's presumed she'd win Kentucky, she's broke.

Can I suggest that we all keep a red, white and blue ribbon (whether it is one ribbon with all three colors or three ribbons - one of each color pinned together) handy and pin it on when we hear of the announcement? Sort of a solidarity and celebratory commemoration of how far Barack's campaign has come? It's all three colors to indicate that we are NOT blue states and red states but that we have a nominee for the United States of America.

Forty Years Later ... The Dream Comes True

Scott A. Giordano — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:57:35 EDT

God couldn't have timed the Democratic Convention any Better ...

Racism Flourishing in Good Ole US of A

ObamaMama Kris — Fri, 02 May 2008 09:33:32 EDT

Josh Marshall's website, talkingpointsmemo.com , has an article on the right sidebar today (maybe from last night) that is getting a WHOLE LOT OF COMMENTS. It talks about a shift of support from Senator Obama to HRC following the "bitter" and Rev. Wright comments.

Gee...who'd a thunk it???!!!...white low-educated crackers not wanting to support the black candidate.

I made a comment -- 350+ somewhere in line -- under the screen-name lkl1952. My opening remark was that the Clinton campaign was certainly "ready on Day 1" for one thing -- pounding and pounding and pounding that Senator Obama was black. Scare white America into thinking Senator Obama was the "big, black boogie man." RUN! RUN! RUN!!!!!!!!!

Shame on us...whites who can't separate Senator Obama from the comments of his pastor. Anyone with half a brain would understand that Senator Obama's perspective on race and bridging the divides is far different than Rev. Wright's. Oh, but that is being far too generous to those ignorant whites who would never support

MR. OBAMA

OBAMA'S #1 SUPPORTER — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:30:51 EDT

I luv this guy to death you know?! I believe that he will bring change! However, I think he's gotta give hillary the FULL REAL HIM! He also has to reach out to the working class, white americans who are up there on the ladder that we know as life, catholics, hispanics etc! I think we have to go after both hillary and mccain to prove that we are strong and for CHANGE MR. or Senator Obama MUST FIGHT FOR AMERICA! WHO'S WITH ME!?

Obama campaign, just hire Saunders & Jarding and be done with "it"

Amy — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:20:34 EDT

First posted at the DailyKos

I've had about all I can take of the media circus surrounding the whole "Obama can't win the white working class vote" hype.

And now that Dave "Mudcat" Saunders is back on TV piling on with the criticism of the Obama campaign, there's only one thing left to do to end this self-fulfilling prophecy of the media- hire Saunders and his buddy Steve Jarding and let them win the spin war for the Obama campaign.

Because as this primary devolves into a bitter custody battle over who is more entitled to the Democratic nomination- the one who gets the most votes, delegates and states or the one who can convince the superdelegates that more lost states, more lost money, more lost votes is the necessary formula for being McCain, it's the media spin that is keeping this campaign going.

And it's media spin that will end it.

McCain pressed on 'Islamic' terror label

funkfresh01 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:28:53 EDT

http://washingtontimes.com/article/20080421/NATION/438135169/1001

By Rowan Scarborough

A coalition of American Muslim groups is demanding that Sen. John McCain stop using the adjective "Islamic" to describe terrorists and extremist enemies of the United States.

Muneer Fareed, who heads the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), told The Washington Times that his group is beginning a campaign to persuade Mr. McCain to rephrase his descriptions of the enemy.

"We've tried to contact his office, contact his spokesperson to have them rethink word usage that is more acceptable to the Muslim community," Mr. Fareed said. "If it's not our intent to paint everyone with the same brush, then certainly we should think seriously about just characterizing them as criminals, because that is what they are."

An aide to Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who is counting on his pro-Iraq war stance to attract conservative voters, said the senator from Arizona will not drop the word.

The Muslim myth still dogging Obama

funkfresh01 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:24:38 EDT

http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19501048&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6

BY ROJA HEYDARPOUR, STAFF WRITER

Source: Times Tribune

It’s been said many times: this is an election year of firsts. The first viable woman presidential candidate. The first viable black presidential candidate.

But the first Muslim presidential candidate?

One in 10 Americans believes that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is a Muslim, according to a Pew Research Center News Interest Index survey taken in March.

Mr. Obama is, in fact, a practicing Christian, as underscored by the debate over the controversial sermon delivered by his pastor after Sept. 11, 2001.

The same survey found that 79 percent of the general public had heard rumors that Mr. Obama is Muslim, while 38 percent had heard “a lot” about it.

Indeed, rumors have circulated on blogs and comment boards since the fall, spurred by pictures of Mr. Obama in a turban, by talk of childhood time spent in Indonesia — a Muslim country — and by his middle name, Hussein, among other things.

United States’ Muslims call on Obama for change

funkfresh01 — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:28:03 EDT

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/96760D5C-448D-46A0-BB99-91D3A2546AA9.htm

By Sarah Brown in Philadelphia

Source: Al Jazeera

As the US city of Philadelphia prepares for its most closely watched political primary in generations one significant part of the population seems to have already picked their man.

Muslim-American community leaders, activists and voters in the city of brotherly love, as Philadelphia is known, say Barack Obama is by far their preferred candidate.

Philadelphia's Muslim community is one of the most significant, in terms of size and in terms of prominence, of all US cities.

An apology from a former Republican from Texas

Sheri Obamacan fromTexas — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:27:34 EDT

"This is our chance to declare independence from the current Politics” that’s why I am running for President of the United States of America” - Barack Obama

I feel I need to apologize on behalf of White American’s in this country. Our history of racial bias is an example of generational bigotry taught to our children and their children. It is with sincere regret that Caucasian American’s would take their gift of a vote and abuse the privilege it offers them to make a difference in this world. Please accept my deepest sincere apology for our ignorant behavior. Education is freedom and when we can mirror the rest of the world in our tolerance of different skin color perhaps we will truly be free. I am sorry if the White vote has disappointed anyone in America. I am ashamed of our ignorance.

"First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the trade unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me. – Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984)

Great read on Obama, Rev. Wright, and America

Haven — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:18:05 EDT

Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama and the Unacceptability of TruthOf National Lies and Racial America

By TIM WISE

For most white folks, indignation just doesn't wear well. Once affected or conjured up, it reminds one of a pudgy man, wearing a tie that may well have fit him when he was fifty pounds lighter, but which now cuts off somewhere above his navel and makes him look like an idiot.

Indignation doesn't work for most whites, because having remained sanguine about, silent during, indeed often supportive of so much injustice over the years in this country--the theft of native land and genocide of indigenous persons, and the enslavement of Africans being only two of the best examples--we are just a bit late to get into the game of moral rectitude. And once we enter it, our efforts at righteousness tend to fail the test of sincerity.

But here we are, in 2008, fuming at the words of Pastor Jeremiah Wright, of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago--occasionally Barack Obama's pastor, and the man whom Obama credits with having brought him to Christianity--for merely reminding us of those evils about which we have remained so quiet, so dismissive, so unconcerned. It is not the crime that bothers us, but the remembrance of it, the unwillingness to let it go--these last words being the first ones uttered by most whites it seems whenever anyone, least of all an "angry black man" like Jeremiah Wright, foists upon us the bill of particulars for several centuries of white supremacy.

But our collective indignation, no matter how loudly we announce it, cannot drown out the truth. And as much as white America may not be able to hear it (and as much as politics may require Obama to condemn it) let us be clear, Jeremiah Wright fundamentally told the truth.

Oh I know that for some such a comment will seem shocking. After all, didn't he say that America "got what it deserved" on 9/11? And didn't he say that black people should be singing "God Damn America" because of its treatment of the African American community throughout the years?

Well actually, no he didn't.

Wright said not that the attacks of September 11th were justified, but that they were, in effect, predictable. Deploying the imagery of chickens coming home to roost is not to give thanks for the return of the poultry or to endorse such feathered homecoming as a positive good; rather, it is merely to note two things: first, that what goes around, indeed, comes around--a notion with longstanding theological grounding--and secondly, that the U.S. has indeed engaged in more than enough violence against innocent people to make it just a tad bit hypocritical for us to then evince shock and outrage about an attack on ourselves, as if the latter were unprecedented.

He noted that we killed far more people, far more innocent civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki than were killed on 9/11 and "never batted an eye." That this statement is true is inarguable, at least amongst sane people. He is correct on the math, he is correct on the innocence of the dead (neither city was a military target), and he is most definitely correct on the lack of remorse or even self-doubt about the act: sixty-plus years later most Americans still believe those attacks were justified, that they were needed to end the war and "save American lives."

But not only does such a calculus suggest that American lives are inherently worth more than the lives of Japanese civilians (or, one supposes, Vietnamese, Iraqi or Afghan civilians too), but it also ignores the long-declassified documents, and President Truman's own war diaries, all of which indicate clearly that Japan had already signaled its desire to end the war, and that we knew they were going to surrender, even without the dropping of atomic weapons. The conclusion to which these truths then attest is simple, both in its basic veracity and it monstrousness: namely, that in those places we committed premeditated and deliberate mass murder, with no justification whatsoever; and yet for saying that I will receive more hate mail, more hostility, more dismissive and contemptuous responses than will those who suggest that no body count is too high when we're the ones doing the killing. Jeremiah Wright becomes a pariah, because, you see, we much prefer the logic of George Bush the First, who once said that as President he would "never apologize for the United States of America. I don't care what the facts are."

And Wright didn't say blacks should be singing "God Damn America." He was suggesting that blacks owe little moral allegiance to a nation that has treated so many of them for so long as animals, as persons undeserving of dignity and respect, and which even now locks up hundreds of thousands of non-violent offenders (especially for drug possession), even while whites who do the same crimes (and according to the data, when it comes to drugs, more often in fact), are walking around free. His reference to God in that sermon was more about what God will do to such a nation, than it was about what should or shouldn't happen. It was a comment derived from, and fully in keeping with, the black prophetic tradition, and although one can surely disagree with the theology (I do, actually, and don't believe that any God either blesses or condemns nation states for their actions), the statement itself was no call for blacks to turn on America. If anything, it was a demand that America earn the respect of black people, something the evidence and history suggests it has yet to do.

Finally, although one can certainly disagree with Wright about his suggestion that the government created AIDS to get rid of black folks--and I do, for instance--it is worth pointing out that Wright isn't the only one who has said this. In fact, none other than Bill Cosby (oh yes, that Bill Cosby, the one white folks love because of his recent moral crusade against the black poor) proffered his belief in the very same thing back in the early '90s in an interview on CNN, when he said that AIDS may well have been created to get rid of people whom the government deemed "undesirable" including gays and racial minorities.

So that's the truth of the matter: Wright made one comment that is highly arguable, but which has also been voiced by white America's favorite black man, another that was horribly misinterpreted and stripped of all context, and then another that was demonstrably accurate. And for this, he is pilloried and made into a virtual enemy of the state; for this, Barack Obama may lose the support of just enough white folks to cost him the Democratic nomination, and/or the Presidency; all of it, because Jeremiah Wright, unlike most preachers opted for truth. If he had been one of those "prosperity ministers" who says Jesus wants nothing so much as for you to be rich, like Joel Osteen, that would have been fine. Had he been a retread bigot like Falwell was, or Pat Robertson is, he might have been criticized, but he would have remained in good standing and surely not have damaged a Presidential candidate in this way. But unlike Osteen, and Falwell, and Robertson, Jeremiah Wright refused to feed his parishioners lies.

What Jeremiah Wright knows, and told his flock--though make no mistake, they already knew it--is that 9/11 was neither the first, nor worst act of terrorism on American soil. The history of this nation for folks of color, was for generations, nothing less than an intergenerational hate crime, one in which 9/11s were woven into the fabric of everyday life: hundreds of thousands of the enslaved who died from the conditions of their bondage; thousands more who were lynched (as many as 10,000 in the first few years after the Civil War, according to testimony in the Congressional Record at the time); millions of indigenous persons wiped off the face of the Earth. No, to some, the horror of 9/11 was not new. To some it was not on that day that "everything changed." To some, everything changed four hundred years ago, when that first ship landed at what would become Jamestown. To some, everything changed when their ancestors were forced into the hulls of slave ships at Goree Island and brought to a strange land as chattel. To some, everything changed when they were run out of Northern Mexico, only to watch it become the Southwest United States, thanks to a war of annihilation initiated by the U.S. government. To some, being on the receiving end of terrorism has been a way of life. Until recently it was absolutely normal in fact.

But white folks have a hard time hearing these simple truths. We find it almost impossible to listen to an alternative version of reality. Indeed, what seems to bother white people more than anything, whether in the recent episode, or at any other time, is being confronted with the recognition that black people do not, by and large, see the world like we do; that black people, by and large, do not view America as white people view it. We are, in fact, shocked that this should be so, having come to believe, apparently, that the falsehoods to which we cling like a kidney patient clings to a dialysis machine, are equally shared by our darker-skinned compatriots.

This is what James Baldwin was talking about in his classic 1972 work, No Name in the Street, wherein he noted:

"White children, in the main, and whether they are rich or poor, grow up with a grasp of reality so feeble that they can very accurately be described as deluded--about themselves and the world they live in. White people have managed to get through their entire lifetimes in this euphoric state, but black people have not been so lucky: a black man who sees the world the way John Wayne, for example, sees it would not be an eccentric patriot, but a raving maniac."

And so we were shocked in 1987, when Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall declined to celebrate the bicentennial of the Constitution, because, as he noted, most of that history had been one of overt racism and injustice, and to his way of thinking, the only history worth celebrating had been that of the past three or four decades.

We were shocked to learn that black people actually believed that a white cop who was a documented racist might frame a black man; and we're shocked to learn that lots of black folks still perceive the U.S. as a racist nation--we're literally stunned that people who say they experience discrimination regularly (and who have the social science research to back them up) actually think that those experiences and that data might actually say something about the nation in which they reside. Imagine.

Whites are easily shocked by what we see and hear from Pastor Wright and Trinity Church, because what we see and hear so thoroughly challenges our understanding of who we are as a nation. But black people have never, for the most part, believed in the imagery of the "shining city on a hill," for they have never had the option of looking at their nation and ignoring the mountain-sized warts still dotting its face when it comes to race. Black people do not, in the main, get misty eyed at the sight of the flag the way white people do--and this is true even for millions of black veterans--for they understand that the nation for whom that flag waves is still not fully committed to their own equality. They have a harder time singing those tunes that white people seem so eager to belt out, like "God Bless America," for they know that whites sang those words loudly and proudly even as they were enforcing Jim Crow segregation, rioting against blacks who dared move into previously white neighborhoods, throwing rocks at Dr. King and then cheering, as so many did, when they heard the news that he had been assassinated.

Whites refuse to remember (or perhaps have never learned) that which black folks cannot afford to forget. I've seen white people stunned to the point of paralysis when they learn the truth about lynchings in this country--when they discover that such events were not just a couple of good old boys with a truck and a rope hauling some black guy out to the tree, hanging him, and letting him swing there. They were never told the truth: that lynchings were often community events, advertised in papers as "Negro Barbecues," involving hundreds or even thousands of whites, who would join in the fun, eat chicken salad and drink sweet tea, all while the black victims of their depravity were being hung, then shot, then burned, and then having their body parts cut off, to be handed out to onlookers. They are stunned to learn that postcards of the events were traded as souvenirs, and that very few whites, including members of their own families did or said anything to stop it.

Rather than knowing about and confronting the ugliness of our past, whites take steps to excise the less flattering aspects of our history so that we need not be bothered with them. So, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for example, site of an orgy of violence against the black community in 1921, city officials literally went into the town library and removed all reference to the mass killings in the Greenwood district from the papers with a razor blade--an excising of truth and an assault on memory that would remain unchanged for over seventy years.

Most white people desire, or perhaps even require the propagation of lies when it comes to our history. Surely we prefer the lies to anything resembling, even remotely, the truth. Our version of history, of our national past, simply cannot allow for the intrusion of fact into a worldview so thoroughly identified with fiction. But that white version of America is not only extraordinarily incomplete, in that it so favors the white experience to the exclusion of others; it is more than that; it is actually a slap in the face to people of color, a re-injury, a reminder that they are essentially irrelevant, their concerns trivial, their lives unworthy of being taken seriously. In that sense, and what few if any white Americans appear capable of grasping at present, is that "Leave it Beaver" and "Father Knows Best," portray an America so divorced from the reality of the times in which they were produced, as to raise serious questions about the sanity of those who found them so moving, so accurate, so real. These iconographic representations of life in the U.S. are worse than selective, worse than false, they are assaults to the humanity and memory of black people, who were being savagely oppressed even as June Cleaver did housework in heels and laughed about the hilarious hijinks of Beaver and Larry Mondello.

These portraits of America are certifiable evidence of how disconnected white folks were--and to the extent we still love them and view them as representations of the "good old days" to which we wish we could return, still are--from those men and women of color with whom we have long shared a nation. Just two months before "Leave it to Beaver" debuted, proposed civil rights legislation was killed thanks to Strom Thurmond's 24-hour filibuster speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate. One month prior, Arkansas Governor Orville Faubus called out the National Guard to block black students from entering Little Rock Central High; and nine days before America was introduced to the Cleavers, and the comforting image of national life they represented, those black students were finally allowed to enter, amid the screams of enraged, unhinged, viciously bigoted white people, who saw nothing wrong with calling children niggers in front of cameras. That was America of the 1950s: not the sanitized version into which so many escape thanks to the miracle of syndication, which merely allows white people to relive a lie, year after year after year.

No, it is not the pastor who distorts history; Nick at Nite and your teenager's textbooks do that. It is not he who casts aspersions upon "this great country" as Barack Obama put it in his public denunciations of him; it is the historic leadership of the nation that has cast aspersions upon it; it is they who have cheapened it, who have made gaudy and vile the promise of American democracy by defiling it with lies. They engage in a patriotism that is pathological in its implications, that asks of those who adhere to it not merely a love of country but the turning of one's nation into an idol to be worshipped, it not literally, then at least in terms of consequence.

It is they--the flag-lapel-pin wearing leaders of this land--who bring shame to the country with their nonsensical suggestions that we are always noble in warfare, always well-intended, and although we occasionally make mistakes, we are never the ones to blame for anything. Nothing that happens to us has anything to do with us at all. It is always about them. They are evil, crazy, fanatical, hate our freedoms, and are jealous of our prosperity. When individuals prattle on in this manner we diagnose them as narcissistic, as deluded. When nations do it--when our nation does--we celebrate it as though it were the very model of rational and informed citizenship.

So what can we say about a nation that values lies more than it loves truth? A place where adherence to sincerely believed and internalized fictions allows one to rise to the highest offices in the land, and to earn the respect of millions, while a willingness to challenge those fictions and offer a more accurate counter-narrative earns one nothing but contempt, derision, indeed outright hatred? What we can say is that such a place is signing its own death warrant. What we can say is that such a place is missing the only and last opportunity it may ever have to make things right, to live up to its professed ideals. What we can say is that such a place can never move forward, because we have yet to fully address and come to terms with that which lay behind.

What can we say about a nation where white preachers can lie every week from their pulpits without so much as having to worry that their lies might be noticed by the shiny white faces in their pews, while black preachers who tell one after another essential truth are demonized, not only for the stridency of their tone--which needless to say scares white folks, who have long preferred a style of praise and worship resembling nothing so much as a coma--but for merely calling bullshit on those whose lies are swallowed whole?

And oh yes, I said it: white preachers lie. In fact, they lie with a skill, fluidity, and precision unparalleled in the history of either preaching or lying, both of which histories stretch back a ways and have often overlapped. They lie every Sunday, as they talk about a Savior they have chosen to represent dishonestly as a white man, in every picture to be found of him in their tabernacles, every children's story book in their Sunday Schools, every Christmas card they'll send to relatives and friends this December. But to lie about Jesus, about the one they consider God--to bear false witness as to who this man was and what he looked like--is no cause for concern.

Nor is it a problem for these preachers to teach and preach that those who don't believe as they believe are going to hell. Despite the fact that such a belief casts aspersions upon God that are so profound as to defy belief--after all, they imply that God is so fundamentally evil that he would burn non-believers in a lake of eternal fire--many of the white folks who now condemn Jeremiah Wright welcome that theology of hate. Indeed, back when President Bush was the Governor of Texas, he endorsed this kind of thinking, responding to a question about whether Jews were going to go to hell, by saying that unless one accepted Jesus as one's personal savior, the Bible made it pretty clear that indeed, hell was where you'd be heading.

So you can curse God in this way--and to imply such hate on God's part is surely to curse him--and in effect, curse those who aren't Christians, and no one says anything. That isn't considered bigoted. That isn't considered beyond the pale of polite society. One is not disqualified from becoming President in the minds of millions because they go to a church that says that shit every single week, or because they believe it themselves. And millions do believe it, and see nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

So white folks are mad at Jeremiah Wright because he challenges their views about their country. Meanwhile, those same white folks, and their ministers and priests, every week put forth a false image of the God Jeremiah Wright serves, and yet it is whites who feel we have the right to be offended.

Pardon me, but something is wrong here, and whatever it is, is not to be found at Trinity United Church of Christ.

Kansas Muslim Attacked with 'Molotov Cocktail'

funkfresh01 — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:38:06 EDT

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/17/08) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today asked local and national law enforcement authorities to bring appropriate hate crime charges against the alleged perpetrator of a March "Molotov cocktail" attack on a Kansas Muslim.

A clerk at a Lenexa, Kan., gas station told police that a man came into the store and asked the clerk if he was Muslim. When the clerk replied in the affirmative, the man reportedly started harassing him.

Soon after the man left the store, a Molotov cocktail incendiary device was thrown through the front window of the store. A similar incident occurred at another store in area. A 26-year-old man was later charged with two counts of criminal use of explosives and one count of criminal damage.

SEE: Molotov Cocktail Hurled At Gas Station (KCTV)

http://www.kctv5.com/news/15721008/detail.html

"We ask that local authorities and the FBI file any appropriate hate crime charges against the alleged perpetrator in this case," said CAIR Civil Rights Manager Khadija Athman. "The additional charges would send a clear message that bias-related attacks will not be tolerated in Kansas or anywhere in America."

Earlier this week, CAIR's Minnesota chapter asked the FBI to investigate reported threats against the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy charter school in that state as possible hate crimes.

SEE: Muslim Civil Liberties Group Seeks FBI Probe of School Threats (Star Tribune)

http://www.startribune.com/local/17673284.html

The Kansas assault and the threats to the Minnesota school came following other recent incidents such as a fire-bomb attack on a Minnesota Muslim-owned business and an arson attack on a Tennessee mosque by three members of the white-supremacist "Christian Identity" movement.

SEE: MN: Investigators Say Fire Could Be Hate Crime

http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=24208&&name=n&&currPage=1&&Active=1

SEE ALSO: CAIR Applauds Arrests in TN Mosque Arson

http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=24197&&name=n&&currPage=1&&Active=1

CAIR is urging Muslim individuals and institutions nationwide to review security procedures using advice contained in CAIR's "Muslim Community Safety Kit."

SEE: CAIR Muslim Community Safety Kit

http://www.cair.com/ActionCenter/CommunityToolKit.aspx

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Strategic Communications Director Ahmed Rehab, 202-870-0166, E-Mail: arehab@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

The Pope Says......

i am rasa — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:30:39 EDT

The Pope Says... the story of a very poor white man being buried by a culture of debt, disease and defense....supporting a wealthy black man for the hope of changing a nation and culture towards abundance, health and peace....the pope says...

IRAQ AWAITS CRITICAL FATWA

funkfresh01 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:04:00 EDT

Date Posted: Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Posted By The Media Line Staff

IRAQ (The Media Line) April 8, 2008 — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki announced on Monday he would ban a powerful Shi'ite parliamentary bloc from running in the next local elections unless it disarmed its 60,000-strong armed force.

The 'Sadri parliamentary bloc, led by Muqtada A-'Sadr, responded by saying it would disarm its armed force, known as the Mahdi Army, only if the Shi'ite religious authorities ordered them to do so.

"The Mahdi Army does not accept its orders from anyone except A-'Sadr and the religious authorities with whom he consults. If the religious authorities would ask him to disarm the Mahdi Army, he will definitely execute their demand," spokesman for the 'Sadri bloc, 'Salah A-'Ubeidi told reporters.

Ten things to know about Senator John McCain

funkfresh01 — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:54:51 EDT

For all the coverage this week of Senator John McCain's background, you will not learn some important things about him from the TV networks. His carefully crafted positive image relies on people not knowing this stuff—and some of it might surprise you.

Please check out the list below, and then forward it to your friends, family, and coworkers. We cannot rely on the media to tell folks about the real John McCain—but if we all pass this along, we can reach as many people as CNN Headline News does on a good night.

Click here to tell us how many people you can pass it on to—and to see our progress nationally:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccain10/?id=12407-5077189-XKR_ot&t=231

Ten things you should know about John McCain.

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he has continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban Waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5

6. He is one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he is too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than McCain has any of the other presidential candidates.8

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a zero—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10

John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be. Please help get the word out—forward this email to your personal network. And if you want us to keep you posted on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/?id=12407-5077189-XKR_ot&t=232

Thank you for all you do.

–Eli, Justin, Noah, Laura, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team

Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Sources:

1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html

"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008

http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/

2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us

"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/

3. "McCain Sides with Bush on Torture Again, Supports Veto of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/

4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/

5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008

http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007

"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/

6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80

"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home

7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022

"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/

8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What the Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/

"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251

9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008

http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/

"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/

10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/

Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.2 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, and no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you would like to support our work, you can give now at:

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PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Finally! The RIGHT Wright Answer We’ve Been Waiting For From The AP!!!

Wayne — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:53:01 EDT

Here’s the link and the article. Spread it far. Spread it wide. Spread it fast!!!

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hYL_ICCVB3g8UAtMxocStkw0uwOgD8VQEMF80

US ELECTION DIARY - THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT

funkfresh01 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:07:56 EDT

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E4C51233-2D21-4FBB-85FD-7D7F5AF173D9.htm

By Rob Reynolds in Columbus, Ohio

On the road to clinching the Republican Party nomination for president, John McCain worked hard for the endorsement of influential Evangelical Christian ministers.

The ministers are helping shore up McCain's support on the party's right wing, which has always been skeptical about whether the Arizona senator is a true-blue conservative.

But one of those minister's beliefs about Islam and Muslims raise disturbing questions.

Rod Parsley, the pastor of a large and profitable Ohio mega-church, calls Islam a false religion. He says Allah is a demon spirit and that Muslims are bent on world conquest.

Parsley endorsed McCain in February, praising him as a "strong, true, consistent conservative".

Sharing a Cincinnati, Ohio, stage with Parsley, McCain said: "I am very honored today to have one of the truly great leaders in America, a moral compass, a spiritual guide, Pastor Rod Parsley. Thank you for your leadership and your guidance. I am very grateful you are here."

He certainly had reason for gratitude - a week later, Parsley's support helped McCain win the important Ohio primary.

Evangelist

Reverend Parsley, who often holds services in which people are supposedly cured of disease by divine intervention, runs the sprawling World Harvest church near Columbus, Ohio.

World Harvest has a 12,000 member congregation, a bible college, and a television studio, which broadcasts his sermons.

A frequent theme of those homilies is the threat to Christian values posed by gays, liberals, and Muslims.

In his book, Silent no More, Parsley says the United States was ordained by God to defeat Islam.

In one chapter, titled The Deception of Allah he writes: "I cannot tell you how important it is that we understand the true nature of Islam, that we see it for what it really is. In fact, I will tell you this: I do not believe our country can truly fulfil its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam. I know that this statement sounds extreme, but I do not shrink from its implications. The fact is that America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore."

We asked Parsley for an interview, but through a church spokesman, he declined. We also sent him written questions, but he did not respond to those either.

Dividing communities

Abukar Arman, a Muslim community leader, says Parsley's remarks are threatening.

"It has a psychological toll on Muslims in central Ohio and beyond, that you are not part of the society that America was founded, in his words, to obliterate Islam," says Arman, president of the Central Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

McCain and other politicians should "distance themselves from the politics of hate and polarization", Arman said, noting that rhetoric that marginalizes American Muslims only contributes to poor relations between communities.

"In the grand scale of things," he says, "it hurts even the national security of this country because it fuels anti-Americanism."

Media interest

Interestingly enough, Parsley has been largely ignored by the US media, in sharp contrast to the intensive scrutiny given to sermons by Jeremiah Wright, Democrat Barack Obama's pastor.

Wright's homilies were widely criticized as unpatriotic and racially inflammatory, and have been replayed over and over on cable TV news channels.

Obama rejected Wright's remarks, but McCain has not denounced Parsley's comments about Islam, nor has he sought to distance himself from the minister.

In fact, some of McCain's campaign rhetoric virtually echoes Parsley's sermons. McCain, too, talks about a threat - although he focuses on extremism in Islam, not the religion as a whole.

"I'd like to talk to you for a minute about why I'm running, primarily," McCain told a Wisconsin rally on February 19.

"We face the transcendent challenge of the 21st century. That is the threat of radical Islamic extremism. My friends, I know you know that this is an evil of transcendent and unbelievable magnitude. You can see other times when our nation and our way of life were threatened, but this ranks among the greatest."

McCain's campaign told Al Jazeera that "... he [McCain] rejects politics that degrade our civics, and will be running a respectful campaign".

However, in seeking a path to the White House, it seems McCain is counting on the politics of fear and relying on a disturbingly belligerent spiritual guide.

wake up America!!!

carolmaama — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 03:01:33 EDT

Below is a comment to

*~Derrilyn~* typical american woman

blog entry titled "True Feelings About this Election!" she wrote.

Thank you so much for pointing out the true reason why we should support Barack Obama. He is the most positive, honest and intelligent candidate running who happens to be black and he's "damned if he does and damned if he doesn't" embrace his race. It's sad to say but many white people don't even realize their double standard viewpoint.
I can remember a saying white people would say when coming of age...
"I'm free, white and 21"
That statement has been around for a long time and it is about as racist as it gets...

her url is:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/dashboard/public/gpKXM

Barack Obama and Iraq War

Peter from Portland, OR — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:38:40 EDT

Barack Obama and Iraq War

Alltough there was a certain justification for it, namely the removal of the cruel dictator Saddham Hussein, the bloody war in Iraq was yet a big mistake from the beginning, carried out by the unscrupulous Bush government, who had no plan for the time after, and a bunch of false arguments and alleged reasons, like the "weapons of mass destruction", which so far have not been found, or the alleged connection of Saddham Hussein to Osama Bin Laden, which could not be proved either, or other alleged threats, which turned up after 911. So Bush could inforce his Patriot Act and go to war in Iraq, the results of which we are facing now very clearly: 4000 dead US Soldiers and ten thousands of Iraqi victims, war and post-war costs of $ 3 TRILLION, paid by the American tax payer, who, if we remember, had not really elected Bush in 2000 ! - The situation in Iraq seems to improve a little bit right now, but this could change very soon again. So what was all the sacrifice of this war good for ? - In Iraq Hussein was removed, but religious fanatic groups could take his place in the future and a civil war could break out. The worldwide terrorism, or Bush`s proclaimed "War on Terror", has not declined, it became even worse. In post-war America the economic recession has allready begun, and that was not only caused by the crisis on the real estate market, it was mainly the consequence of the super expensive Iraq War, which takes away the money from more useful and necessary projects in the USA, this money is simply missing ! And by printing more and more US Dollars, the inflation is also turned on, the green-back is losing its value and recession is what we have right now. But this scenario is not a new one: America has had the same problems after the Vietnam War in the 1970ies and 80ies. Now history is repeating ! - Barack Obama saw all these things ahead and that´s why he did not say yes to the war in Iraq. He had warned of its consquences in 2003, but hardly anyone believed him. Today we see that Obama was right, and he wants to withdraw our troops from Iraq soon as possible - I think, Obama is a wise leader and the right man for the job in the White House. He could bring real change and lead America and the world to a better future. Let us all do this change, or, as Obama says: YES WE CAN !

Show your support for Barack Obama 2008 and check out the very special political products below: Barack Obama buttons, magnets and stickers in all sizes, Barack Obama t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, raglans, baseball jerseys, dark tees & other apparel, mugs, cards, journals, pillows, mousepads, posters, even Obama yard signs for your garden, and of course Barack Obama bumper stickers for your car - Vote for a Democratic America, VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA & THE CHANGE IN 2008 - YES WE CAN !

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Oklahoma Conference to Examine Islamic Perspective on Terrorism

funkfresh01 — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:42:03 EDT

(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, 3/25/08) - On Saturday, April 5th, the Institute of Interfaith Dialog will host a day-long conference, "Denouncing Violence in the Name of God: The Case of Islam." Participants at the event will have an opportunity to hear Islamic scholars, academics, law enforcement officials, and journalists discuss the "Islamic perspectives on terror, especially terror that is associated with Islam."

WHAT: Institute of Interfaith Dialog's "Denouncing Violence in the Name of God: The Case of Islam"

WHEN: Saturday April 5, 2008, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: Oklahoma City University, The Henry Freede Center (Southwest corner of 27th and Florida)

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. Cherif Bassiouni - Professor of Law at DePaul University College of Law and President Emeritus of the International Human Rights Law Institute

ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS: Robert Pape - University of Chicago; Muhammad Abu Laylah - Al-Azhar University, Egypt; Fred Von Der Mehden - Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University; Greg Barton - Monash University, Australia; Dr. Robin Myers - Oklahoma City University; Ekrem Dumanli - Editor of Zaman newspaper, Turkey; John Coyle - Special Agent of FBI, Oklahoma; Andrew Tevington - Daily Oklahoman; and Dr. Imad Enchassi – Imam of Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City (ISGOC)

CONTACT: Orhan Kucukosman, Phone: (405) 426 5425, E-Mail: osmanokc@gmail.com

The conference is free of charge and open to the public. Lunch will be provided.

Orhan Kucukosman, from the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, stated the reason for holding the conference in Oklahoma: "In the early days of Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, there were speculations on individuals associated with a religion who might be responsible for the bombing.

As the truth was revealed, the bombing had no connection with any religion, but was a consequence of mentally challenged personality."

Sponsors include Wimberly School of Religion at Oklahoma City University, OU Religious Studies, Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism Texas, Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City and Mainstream Baptists, and the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK).

For more information goto:

http://www.interfaithdialog.org/

A way to see the Obama van

George W. Heath, R.N. — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:57:19 EDT

Go to http://360.yahoo.com/gheathnurse to see pics of my Obama van.

Wright is right in one case

George W. Heath, R.N. — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:53:19 EDT

While I do find some statements by Rev. Wright a bit hyperbolic, the central one that Clinton cannot know the experience of being a black man in America is correct. I cannot say that since I am white. However, I know I have used my white skin to get out of a couple of tickets or getting something from some one. I never mentioned the word race, white, black or anything remotely racial, but I knew I was using white privilege. If you do not know what I mean by white privilege, it is so difficult to explain. One has to be of color or in a family with people of color and doing a whole lot of reading of the slave narratives and strories by blacks.

When Obama talks about the reaction of his white grandmother to an unknown black, he is right. I use to have those feeling since they were taught, not directly but by example, about black people, especially young black men, when I was a child. Now, that I am an adult of 50+, I have put away those childish things. Now, I have children blonde, black, and brown. Our biological children, blue eyed and blonde, have married partners of various hues. Our foster/god daughter is African/Cuban with three children who spend time in our house, as in days during the summer, and we go to hers for the holidays. We have been deemed the white grandparents by the kids.

I do worry that they will be too trusting of white, as in our next door neighbor comment about the people who move recently next to him, "I'm glad those niggers our gone." I park my big white van across from his house. At present, there is Obama in '08 with the campaign symbol on all four sides of the van. He has to look at it as he leaves his drivway! :) I think I have responded silently in love. :)

George W. Heath

Obama as a unifier

Kenne — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:03:42 EDT

Here is a headline from the NYT web site.

Obama’s test: Can a liberal be a unifier?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23785660/

Besides the explicit divisenes of the question itself, this plays on the deep seated root of our - not so - uniquely American quandry. US vs THEM.

The obvious subtext is, "It would take a Conservative to really unify the country." REALLY? As witnessed over the last 7 years that theory is complete hogwash, and if I were from Texas I would use a different term than that, as "W" noted in a talk he recently gave (It wasn't a speech. That's what intelligent people can do).

So what is the real concern of people who would entertain this politically charged, psuedo-xenophobic notion questioning the capacity of someone as eloquent, engaging, and thoughtful as Senator Barack Obama? It is a retrospection of languishing guilt and even more so stereotypical bigotry. I won't say hatred because that implies some evaluated thought and the above mentioned adjective phrases appear in persons not so inclined to be inquisitive, at least not enough to examine what they are really railing against. The term, blind faith applies here.

Therefore the only other possibility for questioning the possibility of the topic is fear and shame. Shame for a past that all but extricated the mere possibility of a president who was not rich, white and male. The constitution itself was only accorded to the ranks of the "upper class" "gentlemen" who fashioned it in their own image and likeness. Women? Forget it. Even though it states, "All men are created equal" they were not so inclined to afford that same status to those who served them and from whom they prospered - African slaves.

So this is the root of the question. Can "White" America come to gripes with its own failings enough to mentally allow for the leadership of a person whom THEY had deemed in previous periods, a "Non-person"? And can this unifier, if of another color-or ethnicity, satisfy the social demands of the "White" mainstream population. i won't even say 'majority' because that, in its reality would lead to untold economic, class and social warfare.

Deep, deep, imbedded racism, as witnessed by the present governor of the state of Pennsylvania displays the lack of desire to have a unified united country. Men like Gov. Rendell see anything different than themselves as an affront, a threat, an unknown - because they never sought to investigate. He is the ultimate conservative, by definition, in that regard, one masquerading as a Democrat.

So to present the issue and question the mere possibility of Obama being a unifying force in our present day society is the challenge we must face today and NOW, not tomorrow. As Sen. Obama has stated on the campaign trail. "We cannot wait!" It reminds me of the civil rights movement when some racist lawmakers, when trying to "placate the niggers" were making resolutions to end the segregation in the south and said something to the effect of, 'Let's do it in slow stages. They were saying, 'It wasn't really time for full equality yet.' The response of the brave men and women of the civil rights movement of the early '60 was, "400 years is a long time to wait."

So it is indeed time to have a unifier who has the qualities of Sen. Obama. He, more than any other candidate, and I would offer, more than any other American politician today, has the perspective to be a unifier. It is TRUE that he is not "weighted down" by the historical stigma of Jim Crow in the sense that he is a TRUE African-American, who has a more recent claim to that attribute than any of the native born descendants of African slaves today. And at the same time he has the perspective of "White" America, which some "Whites" disingenuously try to disown. Shame on them! Have they no respect for their heritage?

So the final answer to this searing question is a resounding, "Yes!" The notion of, "Liberal" is so divisive and repugnant that I won't even dignify it with a response. Obama WILL be a unifier if WE want to be unified.

Let all of us be the reality, be the change that we seek. And a unified country will indeed be ours to claim.

On the race controversy surrounding Barack

Wade from Champaign, IL — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:49:12 EDT

On Recovery

Barack Obama recently gave a speech in which he described the state of race in America today. In that speech he spoke open and honestly about our mutual feelings of distrust and misunderstanding that leads to the divides that we experience everyday in this country. The next day, in an interview on a Philadelphia radio program, Obama called his grandmother a “typical white person” in regards to her feelings of fear for black men she encounters in the street. In spite of a momentous speech on race relations in America, Obama’s own flaws on the issue of race have shown through. We are all guilty of inner fears that lead to stereotyping and racism. But, race is not the issue that is tearing this world apart. The fact is that these divides go well beyond the interactions between white and black in this country. Ethnocentrism defines our political view of the world. We have found ourselves buried face first in a war that has diluted our global economic and political strength. What’s worse is we have not settled anything. We are divided by a lack of education and worldwide poverty in the face of the wealthiest period in human history. Our problems are not in the day to day animosity felt between blacks and whites, Muslims and Christians. It is in our lack of compassion for each other, all of us. It is in our personal drives for wealth and the belief that those who have less are only in that position because they have not tried hard enough.

In order for there to be wealth, there must be those who have less. Ying and yang. It is the disconnection with the humanity of those who are at a loss that creates the animosity which has the world in a blaze today. We are all human and suffer the same desires. In the villages of Sudanese Africa, in the rubble of Baghdad, and in the factories of China there are people just like you and I who are praying for a release from the lives they have come to know. They have no power except to accept their lives for what they are or to hate those they see as profiting from their misfortune. This is why terrorist groups are able to thrive. They feed off the hate fueled by desperation. We all want, but there is no room in this life for excess wealth.

Yet we see even here in America a degradation of the life that we have all come to expect. The everyday American is not profiting from our global conquests. It is the captains of industry and the entities that are our global corporations, disconnected from their actions, which are fueling the increasing divide between all earth’s people. What recourse do we have? It is an interesting question under a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. If we are all aware of these problems and we want them to change, then why can’t we do anything about them? It is because we as a people are still divided in our mutual misunderstandings and we judge people like Barack Obama for his shortcomings when he has stood up as a leader to confront some of the basics of these problems.

Is Sen. Obama the messiah? Is he the solution to all of our problems? Absolutely not, but he is a man with vision and a connection to some of the foundational problems in our world. Vote for him if you agree with what he says, but don’t expect the world to change. You must look inside yourself and decided what in life is enough to make you happy. Is it the material wealth that this modern world has been founded upon or is it the happiness and fulfillment of the needs of your brothers and sisters; neighbors and strangers; friends and foe? We are all in this together and until we start caring for one another there is nothing that will change except the quality of life that barely exists amongst a majority of the world’s people.

Voting does matter, but it is not the simple answer to a global problem. We must all step back from our meager lives and our personal drives to give in little ways to global needs. This could be as easy as changing your mindset. If you are a Christian and you think that God wants you to pursue wealth then you need to start studying the book that you preach. The teachings of Christ were closer to a hippy mantra than a Macy’s ad, and if you truly believe in these teachings then the only way for you to save your soul is to rethink your entire being. If you do not have these connections with faith then you need to start answering the questions as to why that family member you know is doing so much worse than you; why your friend that got hurt or sick wasn’t able to get the care he or she needed; why in the face of all of this wealth and opulence in the greatest country this world has ever seen there are thousands of people in New Orleans that are still homeless years after a single storm washed their city away? Until then, the racial divides will grow, the idea of us vs. them will spread, and this world will remain ablaze. It’s a choice, you and I or just I. That's politics..

Much love to those who care, I’ll hope for those that don’t

Wade

No Minorities in Hillary's "Middle Class"?

Cindy — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:29:45 EDT

Camp Clinton released her first PA ad. Other than a single token black shown for a fraction of a second, there were no minorities visible in the middle class that she claimed to be fighting so hard for. Instead, it was white guys in the factory, older white guys and women, and the obligatory fawning over a baby (also white), etc.

Is Pennslyvania really that lily white? I'm from New York, and that sort of thing would never fly around here.

http://thepage.time.com/

Support Obama for President 2008 - Yes We Can !

Peter from Portland, OR — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 04:59:11 EDT

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Barack Obama is the right man at the right place at the right time. The latest discussions about suddenly turned-up videos only show me one thing: some people are trying everything to stop Obama from becoming our next president, but they will not succeed ! - Obama is a righteous politician with clear rules and statements. Barack Obama has always supported an America free of any racial borders, an America for ALL Americans. In one of his speeches he clearly and passionately said, that there are no White Americans, no African Americans, no Latin Americans anymore, just AMERICANS ! - Yes we are ALL AMERICANS and that is the real strength of this country: multi-cultural diversity, but all under one big roof named America ! - That´s what Obama clearly expressed in his words, and by saying this, he shares the dream of Martin Luther King. I believe, that since the 1960ies America has indeed made big progress towards that dream, many things have improved in racial relations! Today`s problems mainly result from social and economic, not racial or class differences. But there is still a piece of way to go, and Barack Obama is the best leader on that way - And we should go all the way, or as Obama says: YES WE CAN !

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I AM a "typical white person"

Patty in Colorado — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:31:15 EDT

When I first heard Barack say that his grandmother was "a typical white person" who tenses up when she sees a black person, who she doesn't know, on the street, I thought, uh oh, people are going to react negatively to having to think about whether they can identify with the "typical white person" characterization. Sure enough, the media has made an issue out of this.

Then, as an experiment, I searched my mind to see how I felt when I contemplated an encounter with a black person who is a stranger to me. I was seriously dismayed to notice that I mentally and physically tensed up, just thinking about the potential discomfort of an encounter of that sort.

I had to admit that, after all my years of trying to be as non-judgmental towards ethnic groups as possible, I still AM. I AM a typical white person, by Barack's definition.

That stark reality caused tears to come up from a deep place in me, a place in my heart that truly mourns the reality of what Barack is telling us, and what we all intuitively know,...that there are still significant problems between the learned cultural indoctrinations against differences...significant, negative stereotypes that we need to heal, conditioned reactions that we must release from our minds.

Forty years ago, when I was a teenager, I used to chide my grandmother about her comments against "colored people."

The enthusiasm for Barack's campaign is profound evidence that our nation is very hungry for a change in how we relate to each other. This isn't a new hunger. This is a hunger that has existed for decades. Our efforts to build bridges between ourselves is at the root of most, if not all, of our social programs - and social problems. Our efforts can succeed if we let go of all the stuff that doesn't work, and cultivate the stuff that does work. Barack is showing us how to do it.

We are being led by one of the most amazing visionary leaders of our time, Barack Obama.

US deaths in Iraq approach 4,000

funkfresh01 — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:40:48 EDT

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080322/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed three American soldiers north of Baghdad on Saturday, pushing the U.S. death toll in the five-year conflict to nearly 4,000.

Also Saturday, Iraqi authorities reported that a U.S. airstrike north of the capital killed six members of a U.S.-backed Sunni group — straining relations with America's new allies in the fight against al-Qaida.

Two Iraqi civilians also died in the roadside bombing, which occurred as the Americans were patrolling an area northwest of the capital, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Two of the soldiers were killed in the blast and the third died of wounds, the statement said. The soldiers were assigned to Multinational Division-Baghdad, the statement said, but gave no further details.

The latest deaths brought to 3,996 the number of U.S. service members and Pentagon civilians who have died since the war began on March 20, 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Rocket or mortar fire killed one U.S. soldier and wounded four others Friday south of Baghdad, the military said.

Army Vet Speaks Against Mistreatment of Guantanamo Bay Detainees

funkfresh01 — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:52:54 EDT

http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2008/03/21/University/Army-Vet.Speaks.Against.Mistreatment.Of.Detainees-3278241.shtml

Author: Lee Ann Holman

James Yee went from being a decorated U.S. Army soldier serving in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to being accused of espionage, spying and aiding the facility's detainees.

He spoke to students about his experiences Thursday night at the UT Law School Auditorium.

When returning to the U.S. for vacation after serving 10 months as chaplain, Yee was arrested in secret and accused of having classified documents in his backpack. While being transferred to prison Yee was subject to sensory deprivation, a torture tactic. He was held in solitary confinement for 76 days without being charged.

He was exonerated and honorably discharged after deciding to quit the army.

Yee converted to Islam shortly after graduating from West Point. He said it was a way to solidify his monotheistic faith in one God. Yee was hand-picked to serve as a Muslim minister to facility detainees.

While ministering detainees, Yee said he advised commanders on proper religious practices. He made suggestions on treatment of the detainees and spoke out against soldiers violating prisoners' human rights. Yee said that though he never participated in interrogation tactics, he counseled prisoners on their treatment.

Yee said he witnessed the desecration of the Quran. Prisoners also spoke of sexual harassment by female interferometers and being put in a pentagram while being forced to renounce Allah.

This treatment will not win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world, he said.

"People in the military have a gross lack of misunderstanding of the Muslim culture, which is counterproductive," Yee said.

Kristine Huskey, a clinical law professor, has been representing Guantanamo detainees since 2002. She said she believes any new presidential administration will shut down Guantanamo Bay, because it is not helping the U.S. fight terrorism and is breeding more people who hate America.

Muslim Leader Has Opposed War

funkfresh01 — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:31:54 EDT

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/sblow/stories/032008dnmetblowcolumn.6a03f9a.html

Author: Steve Blow

We first sat and talked in those numb days right after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.We mourned together, and Mohamed Elmougy helped me understand a little more about what had befallen us.

I returned several times over the years to visit with the local Muslim community leader. And this week's fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq seemed a good time to once again glimpse the world through his eyes.

Mohamed, 49, owns the Pyramids Hotel in Allen. He's Egyptian by birth and American by choice.

He opposed the war from the start. "You will remember that I said getting out won't be nearly as easy as going in," he said.

I remembered, particularly since I had bought the argument that Iraqis would welcome us.

"We were fools to think we were going to be seen as liberators," Mohamed said. "We are seen as occupiers, and we always will be."

Mohamed agreed that Saddam Hussein needed to go but says he should have been captured in a surgical strike and put on trial in an international court, like Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic.

Of course, hindsight is of little help at this point. I was most eager to hear his thoughts on what we should do now. And since the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates offer such divergent strategies, I asked the question in that context.

"Six months ago I had every intention of voting for John McCain," he said. "I felt he was very sincere, that he was speaking his mind, and I respected him as someone who really understands war.

"But after seeing how he has changed his tone to cater to the evangelical right, I just can't support him anymore. It would just be more of the same," he said.

He believes Hillary Rodham Clinton would be seen overseas as simply the return of the Bill Clinton administration, with whatever lingering baggage that involves.

After 5 Years, the Tragedy Continues

funkfresh01 — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:29:49 EDT

http://www.masnet.org/views.asp?id=4959

From the Desk of Ibrahim-Abdil-Mu'id Ramey, MAS Freedom Civil and Human Rights Directo

WASHINGTON, D.C. (MASNET) March 18, 2008 — The conundrum of American primary politics, American Idol worship, and the fall from grace of the former Governor of New York, may have shifted the market-based media focus from the story, but for those who may otherwise be unaware, March 19, 2008 marks the fifth anniversary of the most recent U.S. invasion of Iraq - yet another tragic date in U.S. history that will live in infamy.

What, exactly, has been the cost of the U.S. adventure in Iraq? We are now careening to the number of 4,000 American combat deaths and 40,000 seriously wounded troops. Many of the wounded have been abandoned by their government to a fate of permanent disability and mental distress from the psychological wounds of combat. But this number is dwarfed by the devastation suffered by the Iraqis themselves: 650,000 to one million dead; 400,000 persons displaced from their homes; and the bitter reality of a raging sectarian civil war that has left the nation terrorized and divided.

The recent U.S. troop "surge" has been a useful diversion for the proponents of the war, who now claim some hollow "victory" because of ephemeral military gains in the combat operations against Al-Qaeda and other assorted armed insurgents. But the fundamental contradictions and divisions in the country remain. And Iraq, for all the horrors of it's own history of dictatorship and war, is a far more dangerous and oppressive place that it was under the rule of Saddam.

In the meanwhile, the Iraq war has not only divided U.S. citizens, it has also consolidated world opinion against this nation in a way that no one could have anticipated five years ago. Blatant torture of Iraqi captives, attacks on the civil liberties of Muslim individuals, institutions, and charities in America, and countless violations of both domestic and international law have become the hallmark of the arrogant and recalcitrant regime in Washington that continues the prosecution of the war.

But the conflict in Iraq has also resulted in countless casualties at home, measured in increased domestic violence, family disintegration, alcoholism, and drug abuse suffered by returning U.S. combatants.

War, in every case, results in the massive transfer of wealth from one social class to another. The war in Iraq is no different.

But what is different is the reality of the naked ambition of the global energy and arms oligarchies that have feasted on the $1.2 trillion dollars spent by American taxpayers on the war to date. This violence continues, despite the deepening economic crisis in the nation and the devastation of the national social infrastructure.

In Washington, DC, activists from 40 states plan to gather to mark this tragic anniversary, and in some cases, to engage in non-violent direct action in opposition of the war in Iraq. We must continue to press for the demand to end the war, even if the Democratic Congress lacks the will to oppose the Bush regime's war machine.

The popular tide of resistance to the war will—and must—continue, until the war is ended, and the massive damage to both the United States and to the people of Iraq is fully repaired.

For more information about upcoming events and gatherings, please visit:

www.5YearsTooMany.org

Different Standards for Black and White Preachers

Sam in UK (endeavouring to do my part to form that more perfect union) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 02:25:43 EDT

An interesting and insightful article by Cenk Uygur (via The Huffington Post) regarding the Rev Wright controversy.

Different Standards for Black and White Preachers

Cenk Uygur

Posted March 19, 2008 | 11:50 AM (EST)

Rudy Giuliani's priest has been accused in grand jury proceedings of molesting several children and covering up the molestation of others. Giuliani would not disavow him on the campaign trail and still works with him.

Mitt Romney was part of a church that did not view black Americans as equals and actively discriminated against them. He stayed with that church all the way into his early thirties, until they were finally forced to change their policies to come into compliance with civil rights legislation. Romney never disavowed his church back then or now. He said he was proud of the faith of his fathers.

Jerry Falwell said America had 9/11 coming because we tolerated gays, feminists and liberals. It was our fault. Our chickens had come home to roost, if you will. John McCain proudly received his support and even spoke at his university's commencement.

Reverend John Hagee has called the Catholic Church the "Great Whore." He has said that the Anti-Christ will rise out of the European Union (of course, the Anti-Christ will also be Jewish). He has said all Muslims are trained to kill and will be part of the devil's army when Armageddon comes (which he hopes is soon). John McCain continues to say he is proud of Reverend Hagee's endorsement.

Reverend Rod Parsley believes America was founded to destroy Islam. Since this is such an outlandish claim, I have to add for the record, that he is not kidding. Reverend Parsley says Islam is an "anti-Christ religion" brought down from a "demon spirit." Of course, we are in a war against all Muslims, including presumably Muslim-Americans. Buts since Parsley believes this is a Christian nation and that it should be run as a theocracy, he is not very concerned what Muslim-Americans think.

John McCain says Reverend Rod Parsley is his "spiritual guide."

What separates all of these outrageous preachers from Barack Obama's? You guessed it. They're white and Reverend Jeremiah Wright is not. If it's not racism that's causing the disparity in media treatment of these preachers, then what is it?I'm willing to listen to other possible explanations. And I am inclined to believe that the people these preachers go after are more important than the race of the preacher. It's one thing to go after gays, liberals and Muslims -- that seems to be perfectly acceptable in America -- it's another to accuse white folks of not living up to their ideals.

I think there is another factor at play as well. The media is deathly afraid of calling out preachers of any stripe for insane propaganda from the pulpits for fear that they will be labeled as anti-Christian. But criticism of Rev. Wright falls into their comfort zone. It's easy to blame him for being anti-American because he criticizes American foreign and domestic policy.

If Rev. Wright had preached about discriminating against gay Americans or Muslims, there probably would not have been any outcry at all. That falls into the category of "respect their hateful opinions because they cloak themselves in the church."

But one thing is indisputable -- the enormous disparity in how the media has covered these white preachers as opposed to Rev. Wright. Have you ever even heard of Rod Parsley? As you can see from what I listed above, all of these white preachers have said and done the most outlandish and offensive things you can imagine -- and hardly a peep.

If the disparity in coverage isn't racist, then what is it?

FOX is Imploding!

Rafiki — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 02:16:48 EDT

The rebuke by Chris Wallace is stinging. This precedes the walkout shown in my previous post.

Watch It!

Brown?

Carlos E. C�rdenas — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:57:18 EDT

I've noticed an emerging categorization of Latin Americans that is offensive and ignorant.

Should we refer to Latin Americans as "brown"? Should we refer to Asians as "yellow"?

As a Latin American, I find categorizing Latinos, as "brown", offensive and ignorant. Because it denies and dismisses Latin American's from our main source of identity. Our identity is not based on a color, it comes from our country of origin or from our Latin American roots or from our culture.

We can't label Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Ruben Blades as "brown"? or Roberto Clemente or Celia Cruz as "brown" either. They became or have become who they are primarily as a result of their culture and not because of the color of their skin.

To my knowledge, the concept of labeling people as "brown" does not exist in Latin America.

The use of the term "brown" imposes on Latin Americans a categorization that does not define who we are.

Race and Gender

Laura — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:22:06 EDT

I am an Obama supporter. Point blank. When I heard his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, I thought, “This man is too principled to be a politician!” (In fact, I am thinking it again as I listen to news about the Spitzer scandal – but that’s another topic altogether). Obama has a vision for this country that channels our heroes of the past in regards to unity, human rights, justice, and all that is good and right in this world. He is the Bob Marley of U.S. politics – not the idealized Bob, but the real down-to-earth Bob. From what I can see, Obama tells it like it is, and I appreciate that. Even when he was criticized for his affiliation with his minister Rev. Wright, he didn’t denounce the man who officiated his wedding and baptized his children. He called him “family” – and who of us can say we don’t strongly disagree with family at times?

Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s 9/11 sermon

Sam in UK (endeavouring to do my part to form that more perfect union) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:23:16 EDT

The following is an article by Roland Martin addressing some of the incendiary statements made by Rev Wright which have been in heavy rotation in the media as well as on youtube for the past few days. Irrespective of what one may think of these highly publicized statements in question, it is evident that a concerted effort was made to provide an erroneous caricature of Rev Wright and the church over which he had presided. Indeed, disingenuous, unprincipled, agenda-pushing folks selectively took the most controversial SOUND-BITES of Rev Wright completely out of context, maliciously pasting together the most provocative declarations from various sermons in order to paint the most reprehensible picture of this pastor in a vicious and pointed attempt to politically damage Sen Obama.

Truth, motive and context are always important.

Video clip of Rev Wright’s 9/11 sermon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ&feature=related%3C/p%3E

March 21, 2008

The full story behind Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s 9/11 sermon Posted: 10:09 AM ET

As this whole sordid episode regarding the sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright has played out over the last week, I wanted to understand what he ACTUALLY said in this speech. I’ve been saying all week on CNN that context is important, and I just wanted to know what the heck is going on.

I have now actually listened to the sermon Rev. Wright gave after September 11 titled, “The Day of Jerusalem’s Fall.” It was delivered on Sept. 16, 2001.

One of the most controversial statements in this sermon was when he mentioned “chickens coming home to roost.” He was actually quoting Edward Peck, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and deputy director of President Reagan’s terrorism task force, who was speaking on FOX News. That’s what he told the congregation.

He was quoting Peck as saying that America’s foreign policy has put the nation in peril:

“We took this country by terror away from the Sioux, the Apache, Arikara, the Comanche, the Arapaho, the Navajo. Terrorism.
“We took Africans away from their country to build our way of ease and kept them enslaved and living in fear. Terrorism.
“We bombed Grenada and killed innocent civilians, babies, non-military personnel.
“We bombed the black civilian community of Panama with stealth bombers and killed unarmed teenage and toddlers, pregnant mothers and hard working fathers.
“We bombed Qaddafi’s home, and killed his child. Blessed are they who bash your children’s head against the rock.
“We bombed Iraq. We killed unarmed civilians trying to make a living. We bombed a plant in Sudan to pay back for the attack on our embassy, killed hundreds of hard working people, mothers and fathers who left home to go that day not knowing that they’d never get back home.
“We bombed Hiroshima. We bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon and we never batted an eye.
“Kids playing in the playground. Mothers picking up children after school. Civilians, not soldiers, people just trying to make it day by day.
“We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff that we have done overseas is now brought right back into our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost.
“Violence begets violence. Hatred begets hatred. And terrorism begets terrorism. A white ambassador said that y’all, not a black militant. Not a reverend who preaches about racism. An ambassador whose eyes are wide open and who is trying to get us to wake up and move away from this dangerous precipice upon which we are now poised. The ambassador said the people we have wounded don’t have the military capability we have. But they do have individuals who are willing to die and take thousands with them. And we need to come to grips with that.”

He went on to describe seeing the photos of the aftermath of 9/11 because he was in Newark, N.J., when the planes struck. After turning on the TV and seeing the second plane slam into one of the twin towers, he spoke passionately about what if you never got a chance to say hello to your family again.

“What is the state of your family?” he asked.

And then he told his congregation that he loved them and asked the church to tell each other they loved themselves.

His sermon thesis:

1. This is a time for self-examination of ourselves and our families.

2. This is a time for social transformation (then he went on to say they won’t put me on PBS or national cable for what I’m about to say. Talk about prophetic!)

“We have got to change the way we have been doing things as a society,” he said.

Wright then said we can’t stop messing over people and thinking they can’t touch us. He said we may need to declare war on racism, injustice, and greed, instead of war on other countries.

“Maybe we need to declare war on AIDS. In five minutes the Congress found $40 billion to rebuild New York and the families that died in sudden death, do you think we can find the money to make medicine available for people who are dying a slow death? Maybe we need to declare war on the nation’s healthcare system that leaves the nation’s poor with no health coverage? Maybe we need to declare war on the mishandled educational system and provide quality education for everybody, every citizen, based on their ability to learn, not their ability to pay. This is a time for social transformation.”

3. This is time to tell God thank you for all that he has provided and that he gave him and others another chance to do His will.

By the way, nowhere in this sermon did he said “God damn America.” I’m not sure which sermon that came from.

This doesn’t explain anything away, nor does it absolve Wright of using the N-word, but what it does do is add an accurate perspective to this conversation.

The point that I have always made as a journalist is that our job is to seek the truth, and not the partial truth.

I am also listening to the other sermons delivered by Rev. Wright that have been the subject of controversy.

And let me be clear: Where I believe he was wrong and not justified in what he said based upon the facts, I will say so. But where the facts support his argument, that will also be said.

So stay tuned.

- Roland S. Martin, CNN Contributor

www.rolandsmartin.com

Editor’s note: Read other blogs from Roland Martin and the team of 360 contributors at CNN.com/360

Filed under: Barack Obama • Roland S. Martin

Obama Speech Should Win Him Votes Not Cost Them

C from Everett, MA — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 06:18:21 EDT

Remember as noted in an article I read: Nuts come in many colors!!!!!!!

Why isn't the anti-Catholic, misogynistic, gay-bashing preacher John Hagee hurting John McCain, who sought Hagee's support, got it, and appeared on stage with him? Answer: McCain and Hagee are white. When whites see a white nut, they dismiss him as fringe. But a black nut? Hold on, pal.

White preachers say the darndest things. Pat Robertson: "Just like what the German Nazis did to the Jews, so liberal Democrats are doing to evangelical Christians."

According to his son, when evangelical pioneer Francis Schaeffer "called for the violent overthrow of the US government, he was invited to lunch with Presidents Ford, Reagan, and Bush Sr."

The late Jerry Falwell blamed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on American pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, and lesbians.

For more on the double standards in our society, especially when it comes to race read the full article: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/03/20/the_race_card_is_the_wild_card?p1=email_to_a_friend

It is a shame that Obama is being punished for having the courage to speak the truth! Unfortunately, one can’t spell America without the R-A-C-E. If race was not an issue, why all this uproar when you finally have someone from both sides of the fence speak objectivity and eloquently about it? I guess it is the same reason some people follow their race related statements with the line, “But, it’s not about race” - to try to foolishly convince themselves and others that their statements were not racist. No wonder racism and discrimination are still alive!

Furthermore, if you think the American society is not embedded with racial overtones look at the following statement: It is either wrong or right, black or white. According to the order, black is wrong. The term black is often used as a negative (i.e., black market, black magic, blacklist, blackmail, etc.) and its dictionary definition contains phrases like soiled, harmful and without moral light or goodness. So, we should thank Senator Obama for putting an articulate face on this problem instead of an artificial one like his competitors who never had to face discrimination because of their skin color or are afraid to say anything because they do not want to lose votes!

McCain's ‘Spiritual Guide’ Says Destroy Islam

funkfresh01 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:19:31 EDT

McCain's ‘Spiritual Guide’ Says Destroy Islam

http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

Author: David Corn

Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage a "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it.

On February 26, McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati with the Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, a supersize Pentecostal institution that features a 5,200-seat sanctuary, a television studio (where Parsley tapes a weekly show), and a 122,000-square-foot Ministry Activity Center. That day, a week before the Ohio primary, Parsley praised the Republican presidential front-runner as a "strong, true, consistent conservative."

The endorsement was important for McCain, who at the time was trying to put an end to the lingering challenge from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a favorite among Christian evangelicals. A politically influential figure in Ohio, Parsley could also play a key role in McCain's effort to win this bellwether state in the general election. McCain, with Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister a "spiritual guide."

Students Stage Die-In to Protest War

funkfresh01 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:15:21 EDT

Students Stage Die-In to Protest War

http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2008/03/14/News/Students.Stage.DieIn.On.Quad-3269402.shtml

Author: Paolo Cisneros

Thursday morning was an unusual one for Karen Medina, graduate student in library and information sciences. Instead of studying for exams or sitting in class, she was chalking body outlines on the Quad.

Medina and dozens of other anti-war activists took to the streets Thursday morning to stage a march and "die-in" protest as a way of demonstrating their discontent with the upcoming fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.

"We're calling it a 'condemoration' because we're both condemning and commemorating the war," Medina said.

The two-hour event was organized primarily by the Campus Greens and University chapter of the Campus Antiwar Network.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Students for Justice in Palestine, Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice and the College Democrats co-sponsored the event.

The cooperation of the groups was a large part of the morning's success, said Jeremy Polacek, senior in LAS. "We (Campus Antiwar Network) don't have a monopoly on the anti-war effort by any means," he said. "The collaboration of these groups was really important."

The demonstration began at roughly 11 a.m. Activists gathered to chant anti-war slogans before marching down Green Street to Fifth Street and then back around the Quad.

Many held signs condemning the war as others provided vocal support for the cause.

"This war has been going on for five years now, and, at this point, most people are against it," said Mark Mallon, junior in LAS. "We need to stop spending billions of dollars on this illegal and immoral war."

War's Costs Will Be Felt for Years

funkfresh01 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:10:50 EDT

War's Costs Will Be Felt for Years

http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_8620269

Author: George Watson

The cost of five years of the war in Iraq can be seen in almost any community in the United States.

Families whose loved ones were killed or wounded struggle to put their lives back together. The economy teeters, thanks partly to what a renowned economist projects will ultimately be a $3trillion war bill. Gas prices soar. A political landscape that cost many Republicans their seats in Congress continues to fuel anti-American sentiment outside the nation's borders.

Despite substantial political and infrastructure improvements directly attributable to U.S. involvement in Iraq, few observers believe that as of today - the fifth anniversary of U.S. bombs first falling on Baghdad - an end to America's presence there is in sight.

The consequences of a continued stay, they say, will be felt in Americans' bank accounts and in politicians' ability to govern. . .

From the perspective of Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Los Angeles chapter, the war's cost has been multifaceted.

Ayloush is an American with school-age children, and he worries about the state of their education, given California's budget crisis, cuts to education funding and teacher layoffs.

He, too, worries about the economy, the cost of gasoline, and the future of health care.

The war has other, less tangible costs, he noted.

"The biggest nonfinancial, nonmaterial casualty is the damage to our credibility and moral standing in the world today," Ayloush said. "When we issue reports on human rights, which the State Department does, people laugh at it now. They say, `Be quiet."'

Ayloush, who visited Syria and Jordan recently, said he was struck by how angry people are at the United States. The war in Iraq has displaced 2.4million people and induced another 2million to live abroad, primarily in the two countries he visited. Before the war, 500,000 Iraqis lived outside the nation's borders.

"We have caused misery to thousands of their lives and we haven't accepted responsibility," Ayloush said. "We expect neighboring countries to carry that burden without any financial help."

CAIR-LA Rep Speaks at Anti-War Protest

funkfresh01 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:05:55 EDT

CAIR-LA Rep Speaks at Anti-War Protest

Author: Mike O'Sullivan

Protesters in several US cities held anti-war rallies Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, March 20th. More rallies are planned in coming days in other U.S. cities. Mike O'Sullivan reports, several thousand joined an anti-war protest in Los Angeles.

Marchers chanted and some carried flag-draped coffins as speakers demanded that U.S. troops come home.

Sharaf Mowjood of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the continued presence of American troops is worsening conditions in Iraq, and diverting attention from domestic U.S. problems, including rebuilding New Orleans. The city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“We need to pull out immediately. That's the main thing right now we need to do. It's a conundrum as it is," he said. "So it's in a situation where the best viable option is to pull out because you have a lot of these internal problems you have to deal with, health care, sub-prime mortgage crisis, Katrina, all that. We need to work on those issues first."

Members of religious, labor and community groups joined the Los Angeles demonstration. Madelyn MacKay, a Quaker, says the protests are sending a message to the candidates in the November 4 presidential election.

United States Mosque Used by Iraqi Refugees Vandalized

funkfresh01 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:58:46 EDT

United States Mosque Used by Iraqi Refugees Vandalized

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080318/NEWS01/803180345

Author: Cheryl Wittenauer

Neighbors in the tidy, middle-class Southampton neighborhood in south St. Louis said Monday they barely noticed the comings and goings of one of their enclave's newest arrivals.

Nothing out of the ordinary anyway, aside from a steady stream of Iraqi cab drivers and other workers, and women and children, arriving for evening prayer services at the Islamic mosque.

The Islamic religious and community center, housed in a nondescript storefront building, was vandalized over the weekend. It was the second such incident since the Imam Hussin Foundation building opened last April.

"If someone is trying to send us a message," with this act, "we receive it," said Salah Ajmi, the mosque's imam and a businessman. "But we do everything right and legal. This is wrong."

Vandals damaged seven large glass windows with a blunt object sometime between midnight and 10:30 a.m. Sunday, police said. Vandals struck the first time last summer, and Ajmi said he suspected teenagers. This time the damage was more extensive.

Police took fingerprints and are investigating. They wouldn't say whether they consider it a hate crime. The FBI declined to comment.

Concerned now on his deeper thoughts on Race issues

Working professional — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:36:26 EDT

The latest developments with the Reverend have revealed a hidden aspect to Obama that really troubles me. You cannot sit for 20 years and absorb the material from the Pulpit and then shed the source in an instant. I knew there was a bit too much of a racial agenda in the issues column here on the website, but I figured I would wait to see as more details revealed themselves. Now that some are, doubts are cast that cannot be ignored. Also for someone who spoke to focus on moving forward, Obama dwells too much in the past. Slavery is over and done with, centuries ago, and discrimination has been beaten into submission to a great degree. How about speaking solely to what to do moving forward to finish the job in action than bringing up past racially based rhetoric?

Response to reader comments in the LA Times on Barack's Race Speech

David Caputo — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:47:42 EDT

In response to reader comments found in this Blog Entry in the LA Times, I wrote the following comment:

It was a brilliant and moving speech. I come from a mixed racial family myself and can relate to his polychromatic experience. "ObamaOsama" is wrong in his "analysis". Barack was discussing how EVEN his white grandmother who loved him dearly (even though he was a black boy) was afraid of some black men on the street and would occasionally make comments that made him cringe. This is honesty, not "more racism".

No one has ever accused HIM of saying racist things, and nobody is discussing how George W. Bush's top spiritual adviser was in reality a crank-sniffing, gay-prostitute using lying sack of schisse. Let's compare those two guys if we want to talk turkey. Bush didn't even disavow the Rev. Ted when he was outed. One must also realized that the "flack machine" is now in high gear. No network played endlessly the snippets from "Jesus Camp" where the Rev. Ted Haggard said some very provocative things on camera, before he was busted and proven a fraud.

Race relations are very complex, and Obama hit the ball out of the park with his clarity and conviction. The people I know think it was a very powerful speech. The negative comments here only prove what a violent and disturbing reality still exists in America on this subject. Don't forget, Jerry Falwell himself said that "America brought 9/11 onto itself" by allowing Feminists and Gays to run amok. Why don't we show those clips side by side with Rev. Wright? Because the game is rigged, that's why. Which of course is what R.W. was alluding to in the first place.

I trust Barack knows what he's talking about when he speaks to the better angels of our nature. I hope the fix is "out" this time, and we can move into a greater level of national enlightenment.

Great speech. Powerful message. Unprecedented clarity. Go O Go!

speech of 3/18/08 morning

Eric from Austin, TX — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:22:59 EDT

I read the text of the speech first today on Daily Kos. Magnificent!

A few details about me in order that my comments are clear. I am a 65 year old, white,first generation American. My Father was born and raised in Austria and his family got out just prior to WWII. I was raised in the our industrial north. After my military service (Viet Nam included) I came to Texas. I have seen, and lived, first hand much of what the Senator spoke.
He had the nerve, and intestinal fortitude (called guts in less polite society I guess) to put the truth on display when lies have been so in vogue lo these many years.
I am not a religious man. I hold to no religion, other than my fellow man.
What I CAN understand, and hold to, is standing by your friends when no one else will. A friend is someone you know, and knows you. You know and understand each other's foibles, strengths and weaknesses. Yet you are still friends. Close as family, and in some cases, closer. The Senator refused to disown his friend. Again, magnificent!

I was proud to vote for Senator Obama earlier this month.

I will be even more proud to vote for him in November.

It's Not About Race or Gender: It's About the Issues!

Ken — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:42:22 EDT

If Clinton and Obama were both white males, politically, it would be like Joe Biden versus John Edwards, and we already know what the American people thought about those candidates' positions in relation to each other during the primaries. Just look at the numbers.

Perhaps the gender/race issue is obfuscating the real phenomenon here: The American people are moving "left" faster than our system or representatives can keep up with.

Even in the GOP, the selection narrowed to the so-called liberal end of the spectrum with McCain. What does all this tell us?

Rice and beans, brothers and sisters. Rice and beans.

REGARDING MY PREVIOUS BLOG, "race and religion: pattern of clinton accidents or campaign ploys?"

jonathan | cvg — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:26:10 EDT

REGARDING MY PREVIOUS BLOG, "race and religion: pattern of clinton accidents or campaign ploys?"

MY PREVIOUS BLOG LINK

allow me to elaborate that i am fully aware of the honorary role wright was reported to having served with a spiritual african-american committee associated with the campaign. i've known of this since the last debates. but, allow me to reiterate my distinction between a supporter who serves on a committee associated with a campaign versus:

the candidate, hillary clinton, who apologized for her comments following losses on super tuesday (clinton blamed proud black communities that voted for barack. she entirely dismissed the educated voters and youth support obama also turned out in record numbers)

former president bill clinton, husband and advisor, for whom hillary has also apologized

geraldine ferraro, lead advisor-fundraiser-member of finance committee, for whom hillary has also apologized... but did not repudiate the remarks until after ferraro resigned days later and after having appeared on virtually every major network defending her commentary

perhaps that distinction is better defined since i "glazed" over the known fact that wright served an honorary role on a committee associated with the campaign. what i said clearly distinguishes that he was neither a staff member or lead advisor such as ferraro or samantha power. let us remain cognizant that a stark difference exists when compared to the candidate, lead advisor, or staff member.

TONIGHT'S NEWS:

from msnbc:

"Obama’s campaign announced that the minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., had left its spiritual advisory committee after videotapes of his sermons again ignited fierce debate in news accounts and political blogs."

"African American Religious Leadership Committee, a loose group of supporters associated with the campaign"

OBAMA SAID IN HIS INTERVIEW:

“I strongly condemn” Wright’s statements, but “I would not repudiate the man,” Obama said. “He’s been preaching for 30 years. He’s a man who was a former Marine, a biblical scholar, someone who’s spoken at theological schools all over the country.

“That’s the man I know,” Obama said. “That’s the man who was the pastor of this church.”

But Obama acknowledged that “there’s no doubt this is going to be used as political fodder, as it has been in the past.”

“What I hope is [that] what the American people will trust is what I believe,” he said, that “my values, my ideas, what I’ve spoke about in terms of bringing the country together will override a guilt by association.”

~ j

race and religion: pattern of clinton accidents or campaign ploys?

jonathan | cvg — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:29:09 EDT

what does retired minister wright from obama's church have to do with obama's qualifications? could this be another pathetic attempt by clinton surrogates to tarnish obama's superior record of leadership? was today's release of another sermon simply to deflect from an undeniable pattern of remarks made directly by hillary clinton, directly by bill clinton, and directly by campaign speakers/staff such as geraldine ferraro?

obama has publicly rejected any decisive sentiments that might be spoken from his former minister or any other person speaking decisively against clinton or any group in a roundabout way of supporting obama. obama's true message is about inviting, welcoming, and uniting diverse backgrounds... among his most famous quotes is the one he ends: "this is the united states of america."

obama has publicly described his former minister as “an old uncle who sometimes will say things that i don't agree with.” i can see no logic in faulting obama for his retired minister's words. because obama's position is consistent and because obama previously addressed his former minister as noted above, the equivalent would be someone holding the words of my republican, baptist father against me. my father's words no more reflect my progressive, inclusive paradigm as wright's words reflect senator barack obama's paradigm.

the commentary by geraldine ferraro is relevant, not because race should be, but because the event is in no way isolated and ferraro played an official lead advisory role with "team clinton." incidentally, ferraro resigned wednesday. before her resignation, however, geraldine ferraro invoked racial division against senator barack obama multiple times in the past week. she also made similar comments regarding reverend jesse jackson. in an april 15, 1988 article, the washington post quoted ferraro saying "if jesse jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."

in addition to a pattern deriving from ferraro, there is a growing, no-longer-undeniable pattern deriving from key players in "team clinton." top supporters aiding in campaign efforts, former president bill clinton, and senator clinton, herself, misspoke along racial/religious lines leading to national divide. one might speculate whether this pattern of racial/religious divide is a repeated clinton accident or campaign ploy? after all, had obama not rallied record turnouts in the black community, consolidating the white vote under one candidate would have lead to more victories for clinton.

let's not forget this is more than just racial divide. i have not forgotten former nebraska senator bob kerrey, a major clinton backer, who asserted that an obama presidency may improve the world's image of our country because of obama's "muslim roots." similarly, i do not dismiss senator clinton's noncommital denouncement of muslim rumors as recently as two nights before the ohio and texas primaries. in her appearance on 60 minutes, when asked about obama being muslim, senator clinton responded, "there's nothing to base that on... at least not that i know." the exit polls in ohio showed that obama lost protestant and catholic votes which, as we all know, encompasses the majority of religious denominations in ohio.

ironically, the retired minister who the press and clinton supporters continually use against obama formerly worked at a church of christ, a christian denomination where obama and his family have attended for more than two decades. the implied "muslim roots" are relatives on obama's deceased father's side which obama never met until a visit to his father's grave before harvard law school. barack obama is christian and he has never been muslim or attended a muslim school.

from cnn:

"I don't think Geraldine Ferraro's comments have any place in our politics or in the Democratic Party. They are divisive," Senator Obama told the Allentown Morning Call.

"I think anybody who understands the history of this country knows they are patently absurd. And, I would expect that the same way those comments don't have a place in my campaign, they shouldn't have a place in Senator Clinton's, either," he added.

Earlier, Obama's top strategist, David Axelrod, called for Clinton to sever ties with the former New York congresswoman, who serves on her campaign's finance committee.

"When you wink and nod at offensive statements, you're really sending a signal to your supporters that anything goes," Axelrod said.

from msnbc:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXBXD2zizIY

keith olbermann is spot on with his assessment of hillary clinton's insensitive, questionable management or lack there of. you must watch this honest, well-articulated perspective on the past week's activities by senator clinton and her tepid response. clinton failed to publicly denounce or reject geraldine ferraro until after she received a resignation on wednesday. yet, when samantha power dubbed clinton a "monster" off the record and apologized, senator clinton gave one of her typical hollywood attack speeches calling for samantha power to resign because her "monster" characterization was inconsistent with OBAMA FOR AMERICA messaging. samanatha power did, in fact, apologize and, within hours, resign. instead of apologizing, ferraro defended herself on virtually every major newtork and waited more than 48 hours to resign.

anyone believing that comparing obama’s former minister who is NOT WORKING ON obama’s campaign staff or as a lead advisor AND something said directly by hillary, bill, geraldine, or any other campaign speaker/staff/advisor... well, that anyone is not only making illogical, misleading comparisons... but such a person should look in the mirror. such a person should delve inward and question the ethics or true motivations behind such comparisons/rebuttals.

while it is your choice to be a "stubbornly uneducated" american, as bill maher so wisely coined, in this age of information and resources to verify information, you should be ashamed and embarrassed to spew:
factually inaccurate...
blatantly false...
speculative and debunked...
as well as unresearched propaganda aimed at misleading impressionable minds, perhaps like your own, for benefit to a candidate or to an issue indefensible on merit or on consistently proven, documented records.

such vile behavior is not only reckless, but it is the lowest form of manipulation and i, for one, deem it unacceptable.

pattern of clinton accidents or campaign ploys? frankly, my dear, i don’t give a damn. anyway you look at it, "team clinton" is wrong.

~ j

Why Keith Olberman Rocks...

Dave — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:46:31 EDT

I told ya so. Keith Olberman spelled it out like it is. I have been reading responses to Geraldine Ferraro's comments and have been bitterly disappointed at how few people actually found what she said offensive. It's like one of Barack's lead campaign people expressing how if Hillary were a man she would have this locked up already. Now...would that not be sexist..??

Ferraro's comments were racist and she has been saying similar things for almost 15 years already. Pardon my Francaise but if it looks like merde and smells like merde then chances are it is merde. And her "resignation" from the Hillary campaign was poorly handled. First of all she should have been fired by Hillary instead of given the opportunity to scream "i'm a victim of bias" ( a Hillary tactic..) while at the same time giving America the "finger" as she walks out. Some of her supporters have been arguing that there is still free speech in this country and i happen to agree. it's just that some speeches are better left for a KKK rally somewhere in the backwoods of neverland. Yes she has the right to free speech and so have i. I call Geraldine Ferraro a racist. I feel that now all she can do is taint anything she touches...kinda like King Midas but in reverse.

Next target: Ed Rendell governor of Pennsylvania and avid Hillary supporter who gives loud voice to the inner redneck stating that some whites in his state are not ready to vote for a black man for president. This is probably true in any state of this union but why give them a forum of such scale..?? Is he trying to tell me that if a Democrat wants to win the White House...a white person has a better chance and therefore i should support Hillary...????

Um...Ed....you are stupid. I wish you would resign as Governor. I'm not calling him a racist...just a coward. How could you not as governor make an honest attempt to help the people of your state see beyond the color of your skin or the sound of your name. No he just looks at the status quo and basically says:
"why rock the boat".

Coward.

I've got some news for you Mr. Rendell. As it stands there is no way in hell that i would ever vote for Hillary should she win the Democratic nomination. I'll vote for Ralph Nader and take my chances with John McCain as right now i feel i have more in common with him than i do Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Why on earth would i want to vote for someone divisive, angry, dismissive and fear mongering to be President of these United States..?? Someone who dismisses the ideas of hope and change as mere folly and unattainable...??

Message to Barack Obama;

Ask Samantha Powers to come back. Ask that Pulitzer prize winning, genius of an Irish immigrant to rejoin your campaign and continue to speak the truth.

And as for the rest of you:

Please see the Olberman commentary...it's like Viagra for the brain.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23601329#23601329

Putting all the cards on the table, and leaving them there

Patrick — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:20:40 EDT

Ms. Geraldine Ferraro "comments that 'if Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position' as a leading presidential contender." Adding additional insult to this injury is the fact of "Mrs. Clinton, while calling it regrettable, did not break with her." Democrats Face Racial Issue Again. A further dissection of the Clinton campaign's infamous 3 AM commercial reveals more by what it doesn't show than for what you actually see: The Red Phone in Black and White

So, it would at least appear superficially that the Clinton campaign is going to be holding the race card as one up Hillary's sleeve, to put out into the campaign as needed and then, feigning surprise and horror, ask "how the heck did that get there, I'm so sorry!" Only to, while everybody's back is turned, put it back up the sleeve only to fall out again as required. By then the damage to playing on the imagined fears of the electorate will have been done, and any "collateral damage" to her campaign will be minimal. She can't be confronted too strongly about it, lest we who doth protest be considered "sexist." As it stands now, a win-win for Hillary.

Not exactly what we have in mind if we're going to get Senator Obama the nomination and the eventual Presidency. What IS required is the same level of zero tolerance as we New Yorkers have had to use to confront Governor Spitzer with for his financial and innapropriate sexual escapades. If Dr. Samantha Power had to leave the Obama campaign for calling Hillary a "monster," Ms. Ferraro should recuse herself (and her mouth) from Hillary's campaign. And just as the calls for Governor Spitzer's resignation came from a wide blanket of the political spectrum, calls for this rejection of stoking the fears of racism need to come from people across the spectrum. Not only from Barack Obama, his campaign and supporters, but John McCain's as well. These calls even must come from those within Hillary's own campaign who refuse to win at any cost; by striking any low blow; inciting fear, uncertainty and doubt. We all want to present our candidate, whomever we support, as the best qualified for the most difficult job. On these merits, and these alone, will the American people be given the honest campaign they deserve. The legacy of racism should not be ignored, but neither should it be encouraged to "disqualify" a person by virtue of who they are and promulgated forward as a political campaign strategy of choice. In the long run, that serves no one at all as we'll never resolve it as an issue. We have to start, today, by simply saying that these sorts of comments will not be tolerated. Shoot your mouth off, and you're out of the campaign. Period.

White van

George W. Heath, R.N. — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:34:10 EDT

I wish I could post the pics of my van with the Obama signs painted on. If you want to have a look, send me an email at gheathnurrse@yahoo.com and I will send jpg's of them back to you. You will see the red, blue, and black paint on a white van driven by a white man to support a black man into the White House. WHAT A COUNTRY! :)

I wish I had the gas to drive to PA and following primaries. It is a full size 4-wheel drive so it rises above most traffic, even most SUV's!

George W. Heath

geraldine ferraro: clinton accident or campaign ploy?

jonathan | cvg — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:33:56 EDT

i couldn't have said it better. no new blog needed.

a must watch for an honest, well-articulated perspective on the last week's activities by team clinton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXBXD2zizIY

Black, white...how about truth?

Cheryl — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:21:54 EDT

     I find it amusing that Ferraro's comments about Obama, Power's comments about Clinton, and everything in between are being used to define or predict the drift of candidate support. In this new century of full access to detailed information on every candidate and given the fact that we really do live in the "big brother" world of the famed Orwell novel I believe that we invisible workerbees have ways of determining truth for ourselves. It's so demeaning and insulting to be treated as if we are swayed by the ignorant toungue slips of those personalities which have been crowned with some royal reverence just because they did a few notable things. I for one think with my own brain thank you very much.
     If I were shallow and feeble minded I would be voting for Hillary just because she is a woman. Isn't that what those in the know (including her and her staff) expected? Some of us little women think for ourselves, we actually listen to the substance of what people say and sort through the smokescreens and distractions to look at the truth. Blacks do not always support Obama because they can identify with his race, sometimes they are actually inspired by his message and what he may be able to to do to change this country. There is this assumption that the average American will either vote for the candidate they most identify with on that superficial level or that we will purposely avoid voting for that candidate to avoid be labeled as voting superficially.
     I've heard it said that the assumption is that many women are supporting Obama because they do not want to be seen as a feminist by voting for Hillary. The same is being said about blacks, they are supporting Hillary so that they will not be looked upon as biased because of racial identity. Conversly, we continue to hear about obligation voting as women for Hillary or blacks for Obama. The huge percentage of Mississippi blacks voting for Obama reflects years of being ignored by the biased and arrogant status quo, less about race and more about trust. Perhaps it is my "Pollyanna" way of looking at humanity, but I believe that when it comes right down to it we as Americans do understand the importance of making a chance in the direction our country is headed. This is why you will see people voting for substance this election.
     The "F" word that we all seem to fear is Faith. Faith in our fellow Americans for having the intelligence and forethought to vote truth, faith in ourselves to follow what feels right and not what we are pressured by society to do. That faith in each other, that trust in our maturity and our effort to seek the spark that will re-light our nation's heart with the pride and leadership that we were once admired for, is the thing that Obama brings. Not white enough, not black enough, not loud enough, not man or woman enough....what a bunch of garbage. How about who's true enough? Truth is what I seek. A few important people have said something to the effect of "seek the truth for the truth will set you free." Have faith America and seek the truth.

Ferraro's comments--Clintons set our politics back 50 years

gary — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:42:44 EDT

Obama campaigns in 2008. Clinton campaigns in the 60s. Let's go back. Way back. To the days before the Civil Rights movement. To the race riots. To a time when African americans weren't commonly called African Americans. Let's re-awaken fear and hatred. Let's re-draw that great divide in this country--that pits whites against blacks. Let's destroy those precious few leaders of both races that dared to inspire all of America, so we can coalesce around only those people who look most like ourselves. Let's stop any and all rational thought and vote instead with the prejudices of our past. And let's fight every day, not against international terrorists, but rather, against ourselves, for the rest of our lives.

MS Limbaugh Republicans

frstan — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 02:17:13 EDT

Also some "Limbaugh" voters not doubt referred to them selves as "Democrats" in the exit poll because they were aware there was something wrong with what they were doing. Im sure of this because I've looked at 3 counties carried strongly by Clinton (60% or more) and the Vote in the Republican Primary is tiny compared with the Bush Vote in 2004, and the ratio of Republicans to Democrats totaled from both Primaries is much smaller than the ratio in the 2004 race. Much more that 13% can account for. Conclusion: That "White Democrat" figure quoted by the MSM based on their exit polling also so includes a large number of "Limbaugh Republicans" masquerading as Democrats. If you take these out Baracks % of the white vote approaches the 40% he got in Georgia.

CAIR Co-Sponsors Letter to Congress on Wiretapping

funkfresh01 — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 23:02:26 EST

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/6/08) - On March 5, 2008, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) joined other individuals and institutions who work to preserve civil liberties in sponsoring a letter to members of Congress commending them for refusing to pass the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 and urging them to allow it to expire.

The letter is as follows:

March 5, 2008

Dear Representative,

We the undersigned organizations commend the House for refusing to yield to administration fearmongering by passing the worst possible surveillance legislation - S. 2248, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act of 2007. This bill would grant the administration unfettered access to all communications coming into or out of the United States without any meaningful court review or finding of wrongdoing and grant complete immunity to companies that cooperated with illegal wiretapping over the last several years.

As you go forward with negotiations, we ask that you leave the Protect America Act exactly as it is -- sunsetted. As House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and the Cato Institute noted, America is in no danger from the expiration of this unconstitutional law. Orders issued since last August remain in effect until their internal cease date, up to a year after issuance, ensuring that current surveillance programs will continue, in some cases, into 2009. These programmatic orders are not limited to individuals or facilities so that new targets can be tapped under existing orders. Of course, the government always has the option of tapping targets immediately and returning to court within 72 hours to obtain a court order under the FISA procedures that have served our intelligence community for nearly 30 years.

Race in Ohio... no, not the campaign...

Crista — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:41:20 EST

"One-fifth of white Ohio voters said race was an important issue to their vote, and those who did voted three in four for Clinton. That compares with the one in five Democrats in Ohio who said gender was important to their vote, and they voted six in 10 for Clinton." Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23473864/

The mathematical translation.

Based upon the totals provided for all votes in Ohio on Jon Stewart tonight (if someone has the "official" numbers, please send and I'll update the math), the number that Clinton had, and the number that Obama had...

A Candidate for Everybody

Wone — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:17:13 EST

It's very easy to assign a catagory to everything and thereby become blinded by a staunch affinity of some sort. For as far back as I can remember there have always been terms (quite derogatory in their intent) such as "tax and spend liberal", or Kennedy Democrat, or bleeding heart liberal etc. What these terms do is create hostility and resentment or worse as folks take sides and develop what sometimes looks and seems like pure hate when talking politics and political candidates.

Over the years this has become so much of a turn-off that I'd lost interest in voting. Even though I intended to vote this year because of the events of the past 7 years and the Bush administration, Obamas candidacy is something that's captured my enthusiasm. In some respects I"m saddened that the Clinton organization has appeared more desperate and ruthless than I would have ever imagined. Like many of us I would have voted for her if not captivated by the message of Obama. Since the momentum has grown to the great speed that it has we've seen some really negative things come out of the Clinton organization. This morning MSNBC showed a quote attributed to Hillary saying that both she and McCain have experience, but Obama has only words. I was sickend. Add this to the race baiting in South Carolina and Texas, the nasty snipes and gripes, the threat of hijacking the convention, and lastly the tag team approach by Bill and it's very disheartening in that I was once amont the huge fans of the Clintons.

Enough on that. What is really moving is what seems like Obamas appeal to everybody. In other words you don't see him demonizing the rebublican party rather he illustrates his differences with certain individuals and their judgement. This is wonderful! He's not lumping people in silo groups, black, brown or white. He's not calling on liberals to free us from conservatives, nor is he calling for championing the left vs. the right. He is simply running for president of the United States. He sees this nation as one people devoid of the segregation that traditional politicians do. His cause is positive, a call for simple "right thinking".

Fear mongering is not synomonus with "reality", no matter how desperately some folks in the old guard try to make it. Fear is a sickness as is the use of it to motivate this nation. Out with the old and in with the new.

This is not that difficult, is it? Our choice certainly isn't.

The White vote

Champ25 — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 01:46:44 EST

I've been hearing alot about the white vote, the black vote, the hispanic vote, etc. I think Obama should make a statement stating he doesn't buy into the race vote only the vote on changing politics. Stratigically after Ohio and Texas he can see how that plays out because of believe it or not race does still matter in America and its a shame. Barack is so charasmatic I think he can pull it off and not offend a particular race. Politics you got to play smart and what isn't broke you shouldn't fix but maybe if this gets stretched out he should try to play that card a little more and let America know he is for America, the entire United States of America and not one particular demographic.

A Change of Mind

Kevin — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:45:42 EST

Briefly, I'm a middle-aged, conservative, white collar, white guy from Pennsylvania. I just registered as a Democrat for the first time in my life (and 7 prior presidential elections) specifically so I could vote for Obama in the PA Primary, and then again in the general election.

Can Someone Explain?

Zax — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:49:28 EST

Someone? Anyone? Please explain to me because I just can't understand this. What makes Obama black? I mean, I don't get it. He is bi-racial. He is still 50% white. I don't mean this in any negative way.

I just don't understand why, if a person has one parent of African decent is he/she then considered 100% black. It doesn't matter what other race or ethnicity that the other parent is. Be it Asian, Hispanic, French, Irish ... And don't tell me it's because he is a little browner and has hair like African peoples. That's not true. I have cousins who are bi-racial and you would think them to be white or Hispanic if you were to see them. However they are still considered black. Don't say it's because the father is black. You will find both white and Hispanic men and women married into my family. Yet all the offspring have been categorized as black. Why?

So what are you if you are Italian and French? Are you Italian or French? Asian and White? Hispanic and Asian? Native American & Irish?

I thought America was supposed to be the "melting pot". Why when we melt together we must choose one part of our heritage and not the other? Obama by being bi-racial is the changing face of America. Everyone should stop identifying him as black or white but identify him for who he really is. He is us. The people of America today. He represents the African-American and the Caucasian American, the Native American, Hispanic, Asian and all the other races, ethnic groups, cultures, and heritages that this country is comprised of. I mean he's the changing face of America.

What Do Smears Against Obama Say About Society?

funkfresh01 — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:31:18 EST

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-obamamuslim_thinkfeb24,0,6345949.story

Author: Ahmed M. Rehab

OK, we get the point. Barack Obama is not a Muslim. He has made that clear, time and again.

As well he should: The rumors are baseless, maliciously spun by political adversaries with the intention of taking votes away from Obama's promising presidential campaign run.

Obama is entitled to set the record straight. But that's not the end of the story.

The broader issue is: What does this attempt to smear Obama say about our society?

More personally, what does it say about my newborn nephew's standing in society? Is he entitled to the dreams of his Muslim father that the boy could grow up to be president if he works as hard as Obama and is as ambitious?

Obama has not gone far enough to challenge the notion that religious affiliation could disqualify Americans from serving their nation. Nor has Mitt Romney, a Mormon, Mike Huckabee, a Baptist, or any other candidate.

It's time for all of them to be quizzed on the meaning of citizenship as preached and practiced in this great democracy. As a voter, I would much rather know their stance on equal employment policies than which church they attend.

Whenever I address young Muslim audiences that may be struggling with identity issues, I remind them that this is their country, too. I tell them they should observe their civic duties, vote and, if it behooves them, run for public office and help bring about the positive reform they often passively expect of others.

Republicans for Obama

Halford Fairchild, Ph.D. — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:53:03 EST

A tax client of mine (my business is www.fairchildtaxservice.com) and I shared our giddiness, yesterday, over this campaign. She told me the story about her mother, an 82 year old, white, lifelong conservative Republican. The mother, older, white, Republican, went to hear Barack. Now, she wears a Barack sticker, swears by him, and is organizing her old cronies to vote for this dynamic, charismatic leader.

Barack Obama has the ability to unite this country across the old lines of division that have kept us separated.

That this why he will win, in November, by a landslide.

I am so happy to be a part of this movement.

REALLY NEED A DIFFERENCE MADE!!!!!!!!!!

Ronna — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:05:36 EST

I have been married for 36 years with 2 grown children and 2 grandchildren. I am 51 years old and my husband is 54 years old. All of our life we have tried to get ahead and it is still day to day living, no insurance, no retirement, no savings. We are a average family I believe middle class white as if that makes any difference it is just hard. I love my country and really want to believe in Senator Obama's promises, Our country is setup the way it is for a reason, the President alone can not deliver promises he has to be able to communicate with the Senate and House to get things done. I believe that just maybe Barack can be this communicator. I'll tell you one thing it can't get any worse. Go OBAMA