I'm sure you have noticed I have not been posting lately. Unfortunately I will not be able to post for a while due to technical difficulties with my internet connection.
Hopefully the issue is resolved in the next few days, but until then you will have to go elsewhere for all the latest news on race and ethnicity and just about everything else.
Here are some sites I like to visit:
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
The Count Down - 363
"The president listened too much to the vice president ... of course, the presidents bears the ultimate responsibility, but he was very badly served by both the vice president and, most of all, the secretary of defense ... Rumsfeld will go down in history, along with McNamara, as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history."
- Sen, John McCain (R-AZ) quoted in the Politico, Jan. 24, 2007
- Sen, John McCain (R-AZ) quoted in the Politico, Jan. 24, 2007
'Party of Racism'
Racial gaffes by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, the meteoric rise of Sen. Barack Obama and the pivotal role of the South Carolina primary on Saturday have intensified the issue of race in the Democratic Party, which makes Bruce Bartlett seem like a prophet of sorts.
In his new book, "Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past," Mr. Bartlett chronicles the party's history from slavery to the civil rights era and beyond, providing a look at such figures as South Carolina's "Pitchfork Ben" Tillman and other racist Democrats.
"At least on a historical level, the Democratic Party has always been the party of racism," Mr. Bartlett said in a telephone interview with The Washington Times.
A former Reagan administration official whose previous book "Impostor" criticized President Bush for straying from conservative policies, Mr. Bartlett said the purpose of his latest book is to challenge Democrats' "party of inclusion" mantra and to encourage black voters to dutifully consider the merits of both major parties.
"One purpose of the book was to give Republicans a kind of story to tell, if they decide to go into the black community and talk to black leaders," he said. "I think at an abstract level there are a lot of blacks who recognize that being almost totally part of one political party and not being involved with the other is not good for them."
Mr. Bartlett said the black community would increase its political clout by putting its 40 million or so votes into play for each party to court, rather than aligning more than 90 percent of those votes with the Democratic Party. This is similar to the way Hispanics have shifted parties on the immigration issue.
"Rightly or wrongly, [Republican candidates] have adopted the anti-illegal-immigrant position," Mr. Bartlett said.
If Democratic candidates win big in the November elections, "Hispanics are going to do better. It's a bigger community, a much faster-growing community ... and some black leaders are going to come to the realization that they do not have the same leverage within the Democrat coalition," he said.
Such calculations might be necessary, Mr. Bartlett said, but the rhetoric among presidential candidates has made race an indelibly touchy topic for both major parties, and missteps could prove costly to either side.
He noted the uproar over a comment by Mrs. Clinton this month that seemed to diminish the accomplishments of Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement.
"Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It took a president to get it done," Mrs. Clinton said Jan. 7 in New Hampshire.
"It's a revealing comment," Mr. Bartlett said, "exactly the sort of thing that, if a Republican said it, would be viewed as racist."
Mr. Bartlett said such incidents give Republicans an opportunity to find common ground with black Americans and fight for their vote.
"Republicans have to make a major effort to reach out to the black community. They have a responsibility to, even if the payoff is low, because if you're going to be a national party you have to represent everybody in the country," he said.
The rise of Mr. Obama as a challenger to Mrs. Clinton indicates the urgency for Republicans to establish their appeal to black voters.
"If [Republicans] start to talk now about the Democratic Party's racist past, then they'll help prepare themselves for dealing with the possibility of running against a black candidate and being able to frame some of their criticism of him, that they undoubtedly will have, in terms that will not be viewed as potentially racist," he said. "It's going to be a difficult balancing act."
-By L.A. Holmes
In his new book, "Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past," Mr. Bartlett chronicles the party's history from slavery to the civil rights era and beyond, providing a look at such figures as South Carolina's "Pitchfork Ben" Tillman and other racist Democrats.
"At least on a historical level, the Democratic Party has always been the party of racism," Mr. Bartlett said in a telephone interview with The Washington Times.
A former Reagan administration official whose previous book "Impostor" criticized President Bush for straying from conservative policies, Mr. Bartlett said the purpose of his latest book is to challenge Democrats' "party of inclusion" mantra and to encourage black voters to dutifully consider the merits of both major parties.
"One purpose of the book was to give Republicans a kind of story to tell, if they decide to go into the black community and talk to black leaders," he said. "I think at an abstract level there are a lot of blacks who recognize that being almost totally part of one political party and not being involved with the other is not good for them."
Mr. Bartlett said the black community would increase its political clout by putting its 40 million or so votes into play for each party to court, rather than aligning more than 90 percent of those votes with the Democratic Party. This is similar to the way Hispanics have shifted parties on the immigration issue.
"Rightly or wrongly, [Republican candidates] have adopted the anti-illegal-immigrant position," Mr. Bartlett said.
If Democratic candidates win big in the November elections, "Hispanics are going to do better. It's a bigger community, a much faster-growing community ... and some black leaders are going to come to the realization that they do not have the same leverage within the Democrat coalition," he said.
Such calculations might be necessary, Mr. Bartlett said, but the rhetoric among presidential candidates has made race an indelibly touchy topic for both major parties, and missteps could prove costly to either side.
He noted the uproar over a comment by Mrs. Clinton this month that seemed to diminish the accomplishments of Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement.
"Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It took a president to get it done," Mrs. Clinton said Jan. 7 in New Hampshire.
"It's a revealing comment," Mr. Bartlett said, "exactly the sort of thing that, if a Republican said it, would be viewed as racist."
Mr. Bartlett said such incidents give Republicans an opportunity to find common ground with black Americans and fight for their vote.
"Republicans have to make a major effort to reach out to the black community. They have a responsibility to, even if the payoff is low, because if you're going to be a national party you have to represent everybody in the country," he said.
The rise of Mr. Obama as a challenger to Mrs. Clinton indicates the urgency for Republicans to establish their appeal to black voters.
"If [Republicans] start to talk now about the Democratic Party's racist past, then they'll help prepare themselves for dealing with the possibility of running against a black candidate and being able to frame some of their criticism of him, that they undoubtedly will have, in terms that will not be viewed as potentially racist," he said. "It's going to be a difficult balancing act."
-By L.A. Holmes
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Count Down - 363
"He was a state sponsor of terror. In other words, the government had declared, 'you are a state sponsor of terror.'"
- George W, Bush, on Saddam Hussein, Manhattan, Ks, Jan. 23, 2006
- George W, Bush, on Saddam Hussein, Manhattan, Ks, Jan. 23, 2006
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Count Down - 364
At a meeting of the Republican National Committee on Jan. 22, 2002, Karl Rove explained the administration strategy for using Americans' fear of terrorism as apolitical tool by saying, "We can go to the country on this issue because they trust protecting and strengthening America's military might and thereby protecting America."
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Count Down 366
In early 2002 President Bush issued a secret executive order authorizing the National Security Agency to engage in electronic eavesdropping, without judicial warrant, on phone calls between Americans and foreign nationals.
The President's action was of dubious legality; He had failed to abide by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which provides a court oversee government domestic spying in the name of national security.
The President's action was of dubious legality; He had failed to abide by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which provides a court oversee government domestic spying in the name of national security.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The Count Down - 367
"The response to the drowning of New Orleans has been a failure on every level. President Bush's eloquent promise in Jackson Square to rebuild higher and better soothed the nation. But since then there has been no concrete action plan for reconstruction -- only a patchwork of programs marked by dithering, bickering and bureaucratic finger-pointing throughout."
- New York Times editorial, Jan. 19, 2007, almost 18 months after the hurricanes.
- New York Times editorial, Jan. 19, 2007, almost 18 months after the hurricanes.
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Count Down
There are 368 days until Bush is ousted from the White House. Until that day lets see how the American media interprets his nonsense.
"Despite protest from conservatives, President Bush appointed an openly gay man as his assistant secretary of commerce. Bush claimed a gay man is perfect for the commerce department, 'Those people love to shop.'"
- Conan O'Brien, June 2005
"Despite protest from conservatives, President Bush appointed an openly gay man as his assistant secretary of commerce. Bush claimed a gay man is perfect for the commerce department, 'Those people love to shop.'"
- Conan O'Brien, June 2005
Thursday, January 17, 2008
The Count Down
There are 369 days until Bush makes his farewell address. Until that day lets hail the former chief.
"Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime. [Also] until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry ... we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions.
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the Federal government.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."
- President Eisenhower, during his farewell address, Jan. 17, 1961
"Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime. [Also] until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry ... we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions.
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the Federal government.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."
- President Eisenhower, during his farewell address, Jan. 17, 1961
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
OWN
I don't know how many of you are interested in Oprah, I often don't agree with her position on things that black people produce and her all white audience, but I respect her hustle and aspire to be like her, a billionaire black female journalist. Her journey I'm sure was extremely difficult and I respect that she came out on top. Recently she announced some more big things in her life, she has a TV show, a book club, a magazine, people who hang onto her every word, a XM radio station and now a television network. Here's the story:
As Oprah Winfrey recalls it, she was struggling with whether her nationally syndicated talk show would or even could pull itself out of the muck that was enveloping daytime TV when she wrote a particularly ambitious yet prophetic journal entry.
She wrote on May 24, 1992, of wanting to leverage her top-rated program to fulfill her "vision of creating my own network" to teach people "to be all they can be in the world and living their best lives," Winfrey said Tuesday as she and Discovery Communications Chief Executive David Zaslav unveiled the fulfillment of that long-held dream.
OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network is set to make its debut in the second half of next year in 70 million homes on what is now the Discovery Health Network.
The multiplatform media venture, which will include the Oprah.com Web site, will be a 50-50 venture owned by Discovery and Winfrey's Harpo Productions, with Winfrey as its chairwoman and enjoying editorial control.
For Winfrey, one of the world's most powerful media moguls, whose Chicago-based empire already extends well beyond "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to include O magazine, the "Oprah & Friends" channel on XM Satellite Radio and a movie and television production company, this is more than a mere dream come true.
It is an opportunity to establish a legacy.
"The truth of the matter is one day the show has to end," Winfrey, who will turn 54 this month, said in a call with reporters. "That may be 2011 [when its current syndication deal expires] and that may be after 2011. ... This is an evolution of what I've been able to do every day. I will now have the opportunity to do that 24 hours a day on a platform that goes on forever.
"This network isn't just about me," she said. "It's using the voice and the brand and the vision, but it really is about creating possibilities for any number of people ... to extend the vision in a way that obviously I cannot 24 hours a day."
The new channel is being created through a cashless transaction. Winfrey's Harpo Productions will be responsible for OWN's programming, branding and creative vision. Discovery Communications' contribution will be its nine-year-old Discovery Health Channel, as well as distribution, origination and other operational requirements.
"There's no stronger brand in media than the Oprah brand," Zaslav said.
While OWN will launch in this country, as part of Discovery's portfolio that includes Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet, Discovery Communications reaches 173 countries and Zaslav said he looks to take OWN global.
Until the end of her syndication deal, Winfrey cannot rerun episodes of her daytime show on the new channel. She has an option to end the program at the end of the 2009-10 TV season and her contract ends in 2011. She said she expects to decide this fall how long she wants to continue the show, seen locally weekdays at 9 a.m. and 11:05 p.m. on WLS-Ch. 7.
OWN offers her the opportunity, perhaps, to bid up her own price by providing a legitimate option. Or it could be a secondary outlet for her, much like her satellite radio channel, which is filled mostly with personalities she has nurtured on her TV show, such as Gayle King, design expert Nate Berkus, personal trainer Bob Greene and heart surgeon Mehmet Oz.
"Over the years, there's no one that's better at spotting talent and developing talent and, as chairman of this multimedia company, that's a big strength that we're going to lean on," Zaslav said.
Harpo programming
The new channel will have access to other programming from Harpo, which is producing reality shows for ABC as well as TV movies.
No decision has yet been made about where the new network will be based. First, Winfrey must choose a chief executive to handle day-to-day operations, someone who understands what she wants.
Winfrey was an original investor in the Oxygen cable channel, which launched in 1998 and was sold in October to NBC Universal for $925 million, but she eventually scaled back her involvement because, she said, "the channel did not reflect my voice."
Zaslav was moved to approach Winfrey after his wife gave him a copy of her O magazine.
He apparently won Winfrey over by professing he cared less about ratings than staying true to one's brand.
"Having spent the past 22 years, every day ... where your life is controlled by ratings, the idea of creating programming that's just really good for people allowing people to respond to it based upon the niche you're going to build for it was the most exciting thing I ever heard," Winfrey said.
It all goes back to that 1992 journal entry.
"I wrote that when I was going through the conflict of the Jerry Springers and everybody was going to trash TV, and I was trying to figure out for myself what I really wanted, in what direction I wanted to go," Winfrey said. "That's how I started thinking ... one day I'm going to have my own network so I can do it the way I want to do it."
-Phil Rosenthal, Tribune reporter
As Oprah Winfrey recalls it, she was struggling with whether her nationally syndicated talk show would or even could pull itself out of the muck that was enveloping daytime TV when she wrote a particularly ambitious yet prophetic journal entry.
She wrote on May 24, 1992, of wanting to leverage her top-rated program to fulfill her "vision of creating my own network" to teach people "to be all they can be in the world and living their best lives," Winfrey said Tuesday as she and Discovery Communications Chief Executive David Zaslav unveiled the fulfillment of that long-held dream.
OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network is set to make its debut in the second half of next year in 70 million homes on what is now the Discovery Health Network.
The multiplatform media venture, which will include the Oprah.com Web site, will be a 50-50 venture owned by Discovery and Winfrey's Harpo Productions, with Winfrey as its chairwoman and enjoying editorial control.
For Winfrey, one of the world's most powerful media moguls, whose Chicago-based empire already extends well beyond "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to include O magazine, the "Oprah & Friends" channel on XM Satellite Radio and a movie and television production company, this is more than a mere dream come true.
It is an opportunity to establish a legacy.
"The truth of the matter is one day the show has to end," Winfrey, who will turn 54 this month, said in a call with reporters. "That may be 2011 [when its current syndication deal expires] and that may be after 2011. ... This is an evolution of what I've been able to do every day. I will now have the opportunity to do that 24 hours a day on a platform that goes on forever.
"This network isn't just about me," she said. "It's using the voice and the brand and the vision, but it really is about creating possibilities for any number of people ... to extend the vision in a way that obviously I cannot 24 hours a day."
The new channel is being created through a cashless transaction. Winfrey's Harpo Productions will be responsible for OWN's programming, branding and creative vision. Discovery Communications' contribution will be its nine-year-old Discovery Health Channel, as well as distribution, origination and other operational requirements.
"There's no stronger brand in media than the Oprah brand," Zaslav said.
While OWN will launch in this country, as part of Discovery's portfolio that includes Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet, Discovery Communications reaches 173 countries and Zaslav said he looks to take OWN global.
Until the end of her syndication deal, Winfrey cannot rerun episodes of her daytime show on the new channel. She has an option to end the program at the end of the 2009-10 TV season and her contract ends in 2011. She said she expects to decide this fall how long she wants to continue the show, seen locally weekdays at 9 a.m. and 11:05 p.m. on WLS-Ch. 7.
OWN offers her the opportunity, perhaps, to bid up her own price by providing a legitimate option. Or it could be a secondary outlet for her, much like her satellite radio channel, which is filled mostly with personalities she has nurtured on her TV show, such as Gayle King, design expert Nate Berkus, personal trainer Bob Greene and heart surgeon Mehmet Oz.
"Over the years, there's no one that's better at spotting talent and developing talent and, as chairman of this multimedia company, that's a big strength that we're going to lean on," Zaslav said.
Harpo programming
The new channel will have access to other programming from Harpo, which is producing reality shows for ABC as well as TV movies.
No decision has yet been made about where the new network will be based. First, Winfrey must choose a chief executive to handle day-to-day operations, someone who understands what she wants.
Winfrey was an original investor in the Oxygen cable channel, which launched in 1998 and was sold in October to NBC Universal for $925 million, but she eventually scaled back her involvement because, she said, "the channel did not reflect my voice."
Zaslav was moved to approach Winfrey after his wife gave him a copy of her O magazine.
He apparently won Winfrey over by professing he cared less about ratings than staying true to one's brand.
"Having spent the past 22 years, every day ... where your life is controlled by ratings, the idea of creating programming that's just really good for people allowing people to respond to it based upon the niche you're going to build for it was the most exciting thing I ever heard," Winfrey said.
It all goes back to that 1992 journal entry.
"I wrote that when I was going through the conflict of the Jerry Springers and everybody was going to trash TV, and I was trying to figure out for myself what I really wanted, in what direction I wanted to go," Winfrey said. "That's how I started thinking ... one day I'm going to have my own network so I can do it the way I want to do it."
-Phil Rosenthal, Tribune reporter
Graffiti investigated as hate crime
The graffiti spray-painted on the black fence of a black Arizona family is being investigated as a hate crime.
Homeowner James Tribble said his wife called him Sunday while he was golfing to tell him she had found the graffiti containing a racial epithet on the inside of the block fence.
"It was the n-word written across and then with the letter 'g.' I assumed it means 'get out,' but you know, who knows?" Tribble said. Tribble said he thought the vandals might have been scared away before they could finish.
Tribble is black and has a white wife. The couple have three children together.
Tribble said other minority families in the neighborhood have been targeted. About two months ago, he said, mailboxes in front of two houses occupied by minorities were vandalized.
"They're specifically hitting the minorities of the neighborhood so it's obvious they know what they're doing and who they're doing it to," Tribble said.
Tribble said he has no plans to move, but his family's safety is his primary concern.
"It definitely hurts, you know. It definitely does hurt. And when you have a family on top of that, it makes you just fear for your family, fear for yourself, for your property," Tribble said.
Homeowner James Tribble said his wife called him Sunday while he was golfing to tell him she had found the graffiti containing a racial epithet on the inside of the block fence.
"It was the n-word written across and then with the letter 'g.' I assumed it means 'get out,' but you know, who knows?" Tribble said. Tribble said he thought the vandals might have been scared away before they could finish.
Tribble is black and has a white wife. The couple have three children together.
Tribble said other minority families in the neighborhood have been targeted. About two months ago, he said, mailboxes in front of two houses occupied by minorities were vandalized.
"They're specifically hitting the minorities of the neighborhood so it's obvious they know what they're doing and who they're doing it to," Tribble said.
Tribble said he has no plans to move, but his family's safety is his primary concern.
"It definitely hurts, you know. It definitely does hurt. And when you have a family on top of that, it makes you just fear for your family, fear for yourself, for your property," Tribble said.
White Supremacist march
A white supremacist group will able to march in Jena, La. on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day without putting up the customary $10,000 bond, says a federal judge.
"After two status conferences with all parties and a federal judge, we acknowledge that our ordinance does not pass First Amendment scrutiny," Mayor Murphy R. McMillin said in a news release Friday. "As we have said from the beginning, we are going to comply with the law. Although we disagree with the position of the Nationalist Movement, and with the beliefs that the group promotes, we respect the rights of its constituents to express those beliefs."
The Nationalist Movement announced they would march in Jena on MLK day back in September. The march was provoked by a rally in Jena for the six black teens standing trial for jumping a white teen. Thousands descended on the small town to demand the county prosecutor reduced the attempted murder charges the underage teens faced.
The prosecutors have since reduced the charges to second-degree assault. One defendant, Mychal Bell, has been tried and convicted. The conviction was thrown out by an appeals court which ruled that he should never have been tried as an adult, because he was only 17 at the time of the crime. However, he is now serving eight months on a separate, earlier juvenile offense.
"After two status conferences with all parties and a federal judge, we acknowledge that our ordinance does not pass First Amendment scrutiny," Mayor Murphy R. McMillin said in a news release Friday. "As we have said from the beginning, we are going to comply with the law. Although we disagree with the position of the Nationalist Movement, and with the beliefs that the group promotes, we respect the rights of its constituents to express those beliefs."
The Nationalist Movement announced they would march in Jena on MLK day back in September. The march was provoked by a rally in Jena for the six black teens standing trial for jumping a white teen. Thousands descended on the small town to demand the county prosecutor reduced the attempted murder charges the underage teens faced.
The prosecutors have since reduced the charges to second-degree assault. One defendant, Mychal Bell, has been tried and convicted. The conviction was thrown out by an appeals court which ruled that he should never have been tried as an adult, because he was only 17 at the time of the crime. However, he is now serving eight months on a separate, earlier juvenile offense.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Count Down
There are 371 days until Bush makes his final descent from the White House. Until that day lets see what the American media has to say about him.
"Only this president, only in this time, only with this dangerous, even messianic certitude, could answer a country demanding an exit strategy from Iraq by offering an entrance strategy in Iran. Only this president could look out over a vista of 3,008 dead and 22,834 wounded in Iraq, and finally say, 'Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me' -- only to follow that by proposing to repeat the identical mistake ... in Iran ... This is diplomacy by skimming; it is internationalism by drawing pictures of Superman in the margins of the textbooks; it is a presidency of Cliff's Notes."
- Keith Olberman, MSNBC Countdown, Jan. 11, 2007
"Only this president, only in this time, only with this dangerous, even messianic certitude, could answer a country demanding an exit strategy from Iraq by offering an entrance strategy in Iran. Only this president could look out over a vista of 3,008 dead and 22,834 wounded in Iraq, and finally say, 'Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me' -- only to follow that by proposing to repeat the identical mistake ... in Iran ... This is diplomacy by skimming; it is internationalism by drawing pictures of Superman in the margins of the textbooks; it is a presidency of Cliff's Notes."
- Keith Olberman, MSNBC Countdown, Jan. 11, 2007
Monday, January 14, 2008
The Count Down
There are 372 days until Bush is ousted from the White House, lets see what the New York Times has to say about him.
"President Bush always had one asset he could fall back on: the self-confidence of a born salesman. Like Harold Hill in The Music Man, he knew how to roll out a new product, however deceptive or useless, with conviction and stagecraft. What the world saw on Wednesday night was a defeated Willy Loman who looked as broken as his war. His flop sweat was palpable even if you turned down the sound ...."
- Frank Rich, The New York Times, Jan. 14, 2007, shortly after Bush announced to the nation that he was sending more troops to Iraq
"President Bush always had one asset he could fall back on: the self-confidence of a born salesman. Like Harold Hill in The Music Man, he knew how to roll out a new product, however deceptive or useless, with conviction and stagecraft. What the world saw on Wednesday night was a defeated Willy Loman who looked as broken as his war. His flop sweat was palpable even if you turned down the sound ...."
- Frank Rich, The New York Times, Jan. 14, 2007, shortly after Bush announced to the nation that he was sending more troops to Iraq
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The Count Down
There are 373 days until Bush leaves the oval office. I'm tired of coming up with a line for this so lets here we go.
"The consequences of failure are clear: Radical Islamic extremists would grow in strength and gain new recruits ... Our enemies would have a safe haven from which to plan and launch attacks on the American people."
- President Bush's speech to the nation announcing his decision to send 20,000 more troops to Baghdad, Jan. 10, 2007
"... The risks are far greater that Iraqi Shiites and Kurds would end up fighting Sunnis, if not each other. Iranian influence would grow. Sunni nations would intervene ... The primary risk is civil war with broad regional implications, not a Sunni extremist victory."
- Anthony H. Cordesman, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, analyzing Bush's speech in the New York Times, Jan. 12, 2007
"The consequences of failure are clear: Radical Islamic extremists would grow in strength and gain new recruits ... Our enemies would have a safe haven from which to plan and launch attacks on the American people."
- President Bush's speech to the nation announcing his decision to send 20,000 more troops to Baghdad, Jan. 10, 2007
"... The risks are far greater that Iraqi Shiites and Kurds would end up fighting Sunnis, if not each other. Iranian influence would grow. Sunni nations would intervene ... The primary risk is civil war with broad regional implications, not a Sunni extremist victory."
- Anthony H. Cordesman, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, analyzing Bush's speech in the New York Times, Jan. 12, 2007
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The Count Down
There are 374 days until the end of the Bush administration until that day lets try and make sense of a strange mans ramblings.
"It's more than a risk, it's a riverboat gamble. There's no question that under our sustem [Bush is] going to be able to stop him. But he's going to face so many battles over these next few months, on funding for the war, on every decision he makes, that he's basically taking the nation into another nightmare of conflict over a war that no one sees any end to."
- Leon Panetta, Democratic member of the Iraq Study Group, on Jan. 11, 2007, the day after Bush ordered 20,000 more troops to Bgahdad
"It's more than a risk, it's a riverboat gamble. There's no question that under our sustem [Bush is] going to be able to stop him. But he's going to face so many battles over these next few months, on funding for the war, on every decision he makes, that he's basically taking the nation into another nightmare of conflict over a war that no one sees any end to."
- Leon Panetta, Democratic member of the Iraq Study Group, on Jan. 11, 2007, the day after Bush ordered 20,000 more troops to Bgahdad
Friday, January 11, 2008
The Count Down
There are 375 days until Bush is ousted from the White House. Until that day lets see what people think of him.
"President Bush told Americans last night that failure in Iraq would be a disaster. The disaster is Mr. Bush's war, and he has already failed. Last night was his chance to stop offering more fog and be honest with the nation, and he did not take it."
- New York Times editorial, Jan. 11, 2007
"President Bush told Americans last night that failure in Iraq would be a disaster. The disaster is Mr. Bush's war, and he has already failed. Last night was his chance to stop offering more fog and be honest with the nation, and he did not take it."
- New York Times editorial, Jan. 11, 2007
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The Count Down
There are 376 days until the end of the Bush administration. Until that day lets look at some nonsensical mess.
"I have committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq ... Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not."
- George W. Bush, during his speech to the nation, Jan. 10, 2007
"I have committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq ... Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not."
- George W. Bush, during his speech to the nation, Jan. 10, 2007
Hillary's plan
Just days before the New Hampshire primaries candidate Hillary Clinton broke down in tears, while the tears some like genuine tears in a plea for her case, was it really that way. Or was it that she was saying hiddenly "save me from this black man." In the primaries the senior population came out in record numbers to speak their minds and they would rather have a woman who has done nothing for her the state where she is the senator, than a black man who is making changes. See what Robert Redding Jr. has to say.
What's most interesting about the recent vote in New Hampshire is how Sen. Hillary Clinton was able to pull the race card by crying herself into a win over big, bad Black Sen. Barack Obama. She cried or teared-up when asked what keeps her going just a day ahead of the state's primary against a surging Obama. "It's not easy and I couldn't do it if I just didn't," Clinton replied, "you know, passionately believe it was the right thing to do. You know, I have so many opportunities from this country, I just don't want to see us fall backwards (her voice is now breaking as people applaud). This is very personal for me it's not just political, it's …I see what's happening, we have to reverse it and some people think elections are a game."
While tearfully proclaiming that she “didn’t want to see us fall backward” that’s exactly where she took us. The implication was that only she, among all the candidates, especially Obama, could lead our country into the future. How disingenuous and insulting, not only to the other candidates, but especially to the black folks who faithfully support the Clinton machine. Most pundits immediately cited the obvious historic example Maine's Ed Muskie's tearing episode. Muskie, who was upset at attacks on his wife, lost the race for the White House back in 1972. He has since said that he did not cry, but that it was just snow melting on his face. Clinton, however, has not denied that she was on the verge of tears — she actually confirmed it during an interview with Fox News.
Her admission comes as some pundits had said that if a man can't get away with crying then Clinton — who is trying to be the first female to reach the presidency — certainly can't.
Now it is general knowledge that crying is the oldest trick in the book and can be very helpful. Crying usually works in relationships, when some try to get their partner to stay with them.
The reason it worked for the usually composed Clinton is because we are in uncharted waters. The pundits forget that crying also works as a rally cry among Whites anytime a White woman is in distress due to the unwanted advances of a Black man — or any man for that matter. One of the most famous examples in this post-slavery society we live in is the Emmett Till incident.
We know that single women turned out to vote for Clinton because of her tears, a constituency that had begun to fall for Obama's message of hope and change. The crying even convinced some Obama supporters to vote for her, according to Fox News. The fact is, we had Obama, a black man, doing extremely well in New Hampshire's polls – he had been down by as many as 20 points in the weeks leading up to the election, but surged after his convincing win in Iowa. He immediately began to lead in the New Hampshire by as many as 10 percentage points, according to polls.
His defeat yesterday effectively caps his surge and has many pundits asking what happened? Well, Clinton did something you won't hear about on most news networks or read about in most newspapers and that is, she took us back to slavery and Jim Crow - she cried foul and whites fell for it.
What's most interesting about the recent vote in New Hampshire is how Sen. Hillary Clinton was able to pull the race card by crying herself into a win over big, bad Black Sen. Barack Obama. She cried or teared-up when asked what keeps her going just a day ahead of the state's primary against a surging Obama. "It's not easy and I couldn't do it if I just didn't," Clinton replied, "you know, passionately believe it was the right thing to do. You know, I have so many opportunities from this country, I just don't want to see us fall backwards (her voice is now breaking as people applaud). This is very personal for me it's not just political, it's …I see what's happening, we have to reverse it and some people think elections are a game."
While tearfully proclaiming that she “didn’t want to see us fall backward” that’s exactly where she took us. The implication was that only she, among all the candidates, especially Obama, could lead our country into the future. How disingenuous and insulting, not only to the other candidates, but especially to the black folks who faithfully support the Clinton machine. Most pundits immediately cited the obvious historic example Maine's Ed Muskie's tearing episode. Muskie, who was upset at attacks on his wife, lost the race for the White House back in 1972. He has since said that he did not cry, but that it was just snow melting on his face. Clinton, however, has not denied that she was on the verge of tears — she actually confirmed it during an interview with Fox News.
Her admission comes as some pundits had said that if a man can't get away with crying then Clinton — who is trying to be the first female to reach the presidency — certainly can't.
Now it is general knowledge that crying is the oldest trick in the book and can be very helpful. Crying usually works in relationships, when some try to get their partner to stay with them.
The reason it worked for the usually composed Clinton is because we are in uncharted waters. The pundits forget that crying also works as a rally cry among Whites anytime a White woman is in distress due to the unwanted advances of a Black man — or any man for that matter. One of the most famous examples in this post-slavery society we live in is the Emmett Till incident.
We know that single women turned out to vote for Clinton because of her tears, a constituency that had begun to fall for Obama's message of hope and change. The crying even convinced some Obama supporters to vote for her, according to Fox News. The fact is, we had Obama, a black man, doing extremely well in New Hampshire's polls – he had been down by as many as 20 points in the weeks leading up to the election, but surged after his convincing win in Iowa. He immediately began to lead in the New Hampshire by as many as 10 percentage points, according to polls.
His defeat yesterday effectively caps his surge and has many pundits asking what happened? Well, Clinton did something you won't hear about on most news networks or read about in most newspapers and that is, she took us back to slavery and Jim Crow - she cried foul and whites fell for it.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Count Down
There are 377 days until Bush is ousted from the Oval Office. Until that day lets see how much of a hypocrit Bush can be.
In January 2007, Saddam Hussein was executed over the objections of the Bush administration.
Instead of being tried for crimes against humanity, Hussein was sent to the gallows for the political murders of Shiites following a 1982 assassination attempt. The implication was that justice was important only for Hussein's crimes against Shiites, and not those committed against Sunnis and Kurds, further deepenind factional rifts in Iraq.
George W. Bush expressed his disappointment with the manner in which Hussein was executed, saying in a 60 Minutes interview that he did not believe in "vengeance." This was the same man who in part justified deposing Saddam in 2002, because "he tried to kill my dad."
In January 2007, Saddam Hussein was executed over the objections of the Bush administration.
Instead of being tried for crimes against humanity, Hussein was sent to the gallows for the political murders of Shiites following a 1982 assassination attempt. The implication was that justice was important only for Hussein's crimes against Shiites, and not those committed against Sunnis and Kurds, further deepenind factional rifts in Iraq.
George W. Bush expressed his disappointment with the manner in which Hussein was executed, saying in a 60 Minutes interview that he did not believe in "vengeance." This was the same man who in part justified deposing Saddam in 2002, because "he tried to kill my dad."
Monday, January 7, 2008
The Count Down
There are 379 days until the end of the Bush administration, until that day lets look back at his policy.
"One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end."
- George W. Bush, celebrating the first anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act, Washington, D.C., Jan. 8, 2003
"One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end."
- George W. Bush, celebrating the first anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act, Washington, D.C., Jan. 8, 2003
Sunday, January 6, 2008
The Count Down
There are 380 days until Bush is ousted from the Oval Office. Until that day lets laugh to keep from crying.
"Senator John McCain recently compared the situation in Iraq to the Vietnam era -- to which President Bush replied, 'What does Iraq have in common with drinking beer in Texas?'"
- Craig Kilborn, November 2003
"Senator John McCain recently compared the situation in Iraq to the Vietnam era -- to which President Bush replied, 'What does Iraq have in common with drinking beer in Texas?'"
- Craig Kilborn, November 2003
You know what really grinds my gears?????
When you go to the ATM machine and the person at the machine is taking a million years at the machine. The money is not there buddy. If you have to go over the same transaction four times, just face it your broke.
You should not take longer than three minutes at the ATM machine, there should be a time limit, if your not finished with what you need to do in three minutes then your card should be taken from you and you should be escorted off the premises. If you think you can't handle the complicated ATM machine then go inside the bank and do what you have to do. Have some face time with a teller that can take you step by step through your banking needs. Get to the bank before 4 p.m.
People like me, go to the ATM machine because they want to be in and out. But you slow pokes out here make it difficult for the rest of us. Get with the program or go home, the rest of the world has better things to do than stand behind you at the ATM machine.
You should not take longer than three minutes at the ATM machine, there should be a time limit, if your not finished with what you need to do in three minutes then your card should be taken from you and you should be escorted off the premises. If you think you can't handle the complicated ATM machine then go inside the bank and do what you have to do. Have some face time with a teller that can take you step by step through your banking needs. Get to the bank before 4 p.m.
People like me, go to the ATM machine because they want to be in and out. But you slow pokes out here make it difficult for the rest of us. Get with the program or go home, the rest of the world has better things to do than stand behind you at the ATM machine.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
The Count Down
There are 381 days until Bush is ousted from the White House. Until that day lets analyze the hypocrisy of our democracy.
Don Rumsfield, then special envoy of President Ronald Reagan, met with Reagan administration friend Saddam Hussein on Jan. 1, 1984. Twelve years later, The Washington Post reported that the United States "in a shift in policy, has informed friendly Persian Gulf nations that the defeat of Iraq in the three-year-old war with Iran would be 'contrary to U.S. interests.'" This was the same Iraq that was using mustard and nerve gas in the Iran-Iraq war back in the day when WMDs were okay.
Don Rumsfield, then special envoy of President Ronald Reagan, met with Reagan administration friend Saddam Hussein on Jan. 1, 1984. Twelve years later, The Washington Post reported that the United States "in a shift in policy, has informed friendly Persian Gulf nations that the defeat of Iraq in the three-year-old war with Iran would be 'contrary to U.S. interests.'" This was the same Iraq that was using mustard and nerve gas in the Iran-Iraq war back in the day when WMDs were okay.
Friday, January 4, 2008
The Count Down
There are 382 days until the end of the Bush administration, until that day lets look back at the wise words of a foolish man.
"Just remember it's the birds that's supposed to suffer, not the hunter."
- George W. Bush, advising quail hunter and New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, Roswell, New Meixco, Jan. 22, 2004.
"Just remember it's the birds that's supposed to suffer, not the hunter."
- George W. Bush, advising quail hunter and New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, Roswell, New Meixco, Jan. 22, 2004.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
The Count Down
There are 383 days until Bush is ousted out the White House. Until lets day lets talk about things that really matter ... taxes.
In 2006, the president's tax policy resulted in an average tax benefit of $23 for americans in the lowest 20 percent of personal income. The middle 20 percent of Americans received a benefit for $748. The top one percent of Americans received an average tax benefit of $39,000. Individuals making more than $10 million a year saw their tax bills decrease by an average of $500,000.
In 2006, the president's tax policy resulted in an average tax benefit of $23 for americans in the lowest 20 percent of personal income. The middle 20 percent of Americans received a benefit for $748. The top one percent of Americans received an average tax benefit of $39,000. Individuals making more than $10 million a year saw their tax bills decrease by an average of $500,000.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Count Down
There are 384 days until the end of Bush administration. Until that day lets talk about what really matters ... money.
In January 2007, The New York Times pointed out that the dollar had continued to slide against the Euro and the British pound and that the United Arab Emirates were joining the Russians, the Swiss, Venezuela, and others in shifting its currency reserves away from the dollar.
Further evidence of the Bush dollar losing its glow as the coin of the realm: Iran is leading the Middle East oil producers away from the traditional pricing of oil in U.S. dollars: it now prefers Euros.
When Bush took office the Euro was worth about .90 cents. As of March 2007, its worth about $1.33.
In January 2007, The New York Times pointed out that the dollar had continued to slide against the Euro and the British pound and that the United Arab Emirates were joining the Russians, the Swiss, Venezuela, and others in shifting its currency reserves away from the dollar.
Further evidence of the Bush dollar losing its glow as the coin of the realm: Iran is leading the Middle East oil producers away from the traditional pricing of oil in U.S. dollars: it now prefers Euros.
When Bush took office the Euro was worth about .90 cents. As of March 2007, its worth about $1.33.
Mandatory HIV test for pregnancy
New Jersey is changing the rules for prenatal care in this country. Recently the state bordering New York created laws mandating HIV test for pregnant women.
The bill signed just after Christmas, requires two tests for pregnant women at the beginning of the pregnancy and again in the third trimester.
However, mothers do have the right to object. If the mother does object, the objection will be noted and the baby will be tested at birth. Newborns will also be tested if the woman tests positive.
Four other states require this prenatal measure, including New York.
New Jersey records about 115,000 births each year. While there were no recorded mother-to-child transmissions this year, as of the June report, there were two children born infected in 2006 and seven born infected in 2005, according to the health department.
The bill signed just after Christmas, requires two tests for pregnant women at the beginning of the pregnancy and again in the third trimester.
However, mothers do have the right to object. If the mother does object, the objection will be noted and the baby will be tested at birth. Newborns will also be tested if the woman tests positive.
Four other states require this prenatal measure, including New York.
New Jersey records about 115,000 births each year. While there were no recorded mother-to-child transmissions this year, as of the June report, there were two children born infected in 2006 and seven born infected in 2005, according to the health department.
Police shoot Brooklyn man
A Brooklyn man was fatally shot by Police in the East New York section of Brooklyn Tuesday night.
The shooting occurred at approximately 9 p.m. The victim, whose name was not released, was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center. He was later pronounced dead.
Police will not release specific details of the melee. However a gun was recovered at the scene.
Witnesses claimed to hear gunshots, then screams, then more gunshots.
"I heard the shots," said Moises DeJesus, 14, who was with friends at his house nearby when the shooting occurred. "They were screaming, 'Get down! Get down!'"
"We didn’t want to go outside," said Delmas Ortiz, 14, who was with Moises. "We were worried we were going to get shot."
The shooting occurred at approximately 9 p.m. The victim, whose name was not released, was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center. He was later pronounced dead.
Police will not release specific details of the melee. However a gun was recovered at the scene.
Witnesses claimed to hear gunshots, then screams, then more gunshots.
"I heard the shots," said Moises DeJesus, 14, who was with friends at his house nearby when the shooting occurred. "They were screaming, 'Get down! Get down!'"
"We didn’t want to go outside," said Delmas Ortiz, 14, who was with Moises. "We were worried we were going to get shot."
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
The Count Down
There are 385 days until Bush is removed from the White House. Until that day lets reflect on years past."As you can possibly see, I have an injury myself -- not here at the hospital, but in combat with a cedar. I eventually won. The cedar gave me a little scratch. As a mater of fact, the Colonel asked if I needed first aid when she first saw me. I was able to avoid any major surgical operations here, but thanks for your compassion, Colonel."
-George W. Bush, after visiting with wounded veterans from the Amputee Care Center of Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Tx, Jan. 1, 2006
Kwanzaa
Today is the last day of Kwanzaa.Imani (Faith) To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
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