Rep Trent Franks wants Slavery BACK

Again, I can’t make this stuff up but here we go with yet another Republican making an idiotic comment. Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ) actually thinks that African Americans were better off without the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution. President Abraham Lincoln was wrong, and slavery was a good thing for African Americans if you listen to this bone head! And Franks is probably thinking that this is all President Obama’s (African American) fault because abortion is legal in the United States. But all of the Republican Presidents since the Roe v. Wade decision by SCOTUS in 1973 get a free pass?

I'm going to go way out on a limb and call Franks an IDIOT! Did I also mention that Franks is an IDIOT. Just to be clear, Franks picture is right there in the dictionary when you look up IDIOT! And to sum up just briefly, Trent Franks (R-AZ) is an IDIOT!

FRANKS: In this country, we had slavery for God knows how long. And now we look back on it and we say “How brave were they? What was the matter with them? You know, I can’t believe, you know, four million slaves. This is incredible.” And we’re right, we’re right. We should look back on that with criticism. It is a crushing mark on America’s soul. And yet today, half of all black children are aborted. Half of all black children are aborted. Far more of the African-American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by policies of slavery. And I think, What does it take to get us to wake up? – Think Progress

Think Progress has the video of the Congressman discussing his opinion on what he believes is best for African Americans. I’ve taken the liberty (Hope they don’t mind) of posting some of the comments from this article over at Think Progress:

“May I recommend a month in shackles, crossing the Atlantic in the hold of a wooden cargo ship, with no latrines. Drink your own urine, congressman, and enjoy.”

“If you have to delineate the merits of slavery to bash a woman’s choice, then you don’t have an argument anymore.”

“In most societies, “crazy” people are kept on the fringes. In America, they get elected as Republican politicians. The fact that this man “represents” a group of people who put him in office is shameful.”

“. . . waiting for the non-apology “my comments were taken out of context” apology in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .”

”After twenty-five years, it’s clear that conservatism only works for the benefit of the rich and powerful. Conservatism has damaged our economy and shoved America down the road to plutocracy. The racist anti-science stances that modern conservatives take doesn’t help with their image either.”

“When barbarians want to discuss the economic success of slavery, it’s time to bar the gates and boil the oil.”

Just adding my own two cents to the topic I’m wondering what Michael Steele (African American) the current Chairman of the GOP, thinks about Representative Trent Franks thoughts on slavery? For the record I would like to be very clear that I do not think that Trent Franks opinion is that of the majority of opinion of the Republican Party. Franks is just an IDIOT and all political parties have plenty of those.

Somebody over at the GOP needs to have a talk with Mr. Franks or just whack him upside the head for being an IDIOT.

Papamoka

*** Post Tribune has picked up this post... Thanks!

America's Angry and Intolerant Right

Hello Papamoka Bloggers! What did you find shocking about the right-wing demonstrations this past weekend? Was it the number of people? Was it the fact they were practically all white? Was it the crazy signage? Was it the outrageously propagandist Pravda-like media coverage by Glenn Beck on FOX?
To me it was the hatred, racism, bigotry and more. I know it's controversial, but I'm calling them out. I think it's past time to play the "hate card" people.

Playing the Hate Card

Yes, I said the "hate card." That means calling them out on a whole variety of hate-based intolerance. In my personal opinion, the protesters this weekend seemed to hate anything they cannot identify with, control or understand.

Let me be specific. They seem to hate change. They seem to hate anybody who spends money they covet, consider their own or don't control. They seem to hate people in power over them. They seem to hate anything they don't understand. I would even go so far as to say they even seem to hate people who don't look like them, based on their response to our current president.

There I said it. I think they're racists, bigots, homophobes/intolerants, and those who love the status quo so much they hate anybody who threatens it.

It's clear they try to dress it up as a 'call to arms' singing the constant Republican oppositional refrain when out-of-power: less government, less spending, less socialism, more justice, more freedom, more patriotism and more America. They spin everything using those same tired refrains and sadly a certain percentage of Americans always buy it, but this time it seems worse.

Glenn Beck and American Propaganda

They seem angrier than usual. They've found a rallying cry and a friend in Glenn Beck, one of the scariest people in media today. This is a man who has admitted to a willingness to say anything [on air] to whip his fans into a feeding frenzy. He's all about ratings, fame and power, and it's very scary. I think the man is capable of anything.

Beck is a major problem for our country. Like so many propagandists throughout history, he will destroy many lives and livelihoods before it's all over.

Did you see the visuals on FOX this Saturday? Beck was hosting all day while he narrated the protests along with a parade of propaganda featuring George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, the Statue of Liberty, the Declaration, the Constitution, war heroes and all the other iconic images of America.

Simply put, he was trying to say that we - Democrats - are destroying the real America. He practically accused us of pissing on the purple mountains majesty and the amber waves of grain. I was so repulsed by his abuse of our great American history and iconography that I wanted to puke.

He's the worst of the worst, using brilliant images of tolerance to sell lies, hate and deceit. It's clear that Beck must be destroyed.

Hating President Obama

Anyway, the radical throngs watching those images seem to possess a serious, unprovoked common-thread-of-craziness. In addition to hating any change (which is probably why most voted for John McCain), they also all seem to share an inexplicable, serious opposition to anything supported by or affiliated with our current president - President Barack Hussein Obama.

They seem to dislike or hate him, and certainly don't respect him. Most don't even consider him an American citizen.

Despite his likable nature, his diplomatic and statesman-like skills, they can't stand the man. What could it be? My guess is his skin color and/or his perceived ethnicity. In other words, he's not enough like them, or American enough for them. It's crazy, but it's true. I doubt anything we can say will change their warped minds.

Just ask yourself a few questions if you don't believe it.
1) What about past liberal presidents with so-called "far-reaching" agendas?

Bill Clinton was one who tried serious health care reform. Did they call him a "traitor," a "communist," or worst of all, a "terrorist?" They impeached him for fooling around with a chubby girl, but they never took to the streets and accused him of being a Hitler or a Nazi. They never accused him of being unAmerican or a threat of any kind. They still treated him as a legitimate president.

2) What about past presidents who actually passed expensive health care legislation that increased entitlement programs costing the federal government billions while adding to the deficit?

It's true, George W. Bush supported SCHIP and Medicare Part D. The two health care reforms cost the government billions, added to the deficit, did not exclude illegal aliens, and were supported by the vast majority of Republicans in both houses - including Joe - "You Lie" - Wilson from South Carolina. Where were the protests then?

There is either a serious double-standard going on, or something's not quite right in the GOP.

Republican Political Hypocrisy

The truth is most Republicans don't care about government and spending unless Democrats are in power. Remember, let's all say it together, all money is Republican. Democrats can argue for reforms until they're blue in the face, but the Republicans (in knee-jerk opposition) will still reject them unless they control the money, the process, and get all the credit.

The Republicans spend trillions of taxpayer money benefiting multi-national private corporations (military-industrial, insurance, finance, health care, pharmaceutical and more) and nobody lifts a sign. The Democrats try to reform huge problems of economic waste, to make them more efficient and helpful to the American people, and the GOP rats come out of the woodwork with their chants and slogans.

Economic efficiencies be damned, as long as the Republicans can transfer American taxpayer wealth from ordinary Americans to their corrupt constituencies.

Obvious Republican Inconsistencies

If Republicans (the protesters) are so passionate about federal spending and government waste, why didn't they speak up more during the Bush years? Most of them whole-heartedly supported the Bush agenda, despite the outrageous costs, increases in entitlement and dept-spending, war-profiteering, lack of serious accounting practices, illegalities and questionable constitutional behavior, and much more.

Who were the patriots then? They were Democrats, and the hundreds of thousands and millions over the years who protested what is proven to be true corruption and waste. Unfortunately, we didn't have a 24/7 network to tout our message all day like the GOP. Sadly, most of America ignored our message at the time. Even the LA and NY Times ignored us, despite both displaying a huge picture and headlines about Saturday's political debacle.

To most observers it's clear that today's right-wing is not motivated by any passion for an honest government, but more about what government is in power. It's clear they're all about having their own people in power. Once in power, corruption and waste be damned.

Occam's Razor Proves It

Finally, for the ones who still doubt the Republicans and their media are playing the hate card, I suggest you try to think about it scientifically. Use what most scientists use: Occam's razor. The principle states, "when you have competing theories that make similar predictions, the simplest one is usually the right one." My theory is simple: we're witnessing the forces of hatred and/or intolerance motivated by fear and ignorance against something they don't understand - embodied by President Obama.

My theory (that hate and intolerance is at work) is far more likely than a large group of Americans angry about a bunch of issues they never seemed to understand before, ignored or were indifferent about during the dark days of the Bush Administration. Occam's Razor seems to support my conclusion. The other seems too far-fetched and unlikely.

The Republicans, the New Klan?

Back to the protests. I was an eyewitness to one here in LA. I drove by our local federal building here to see what our local protesters were complaining about and was shocked to say the least. It was awful! A few wore swastika ribbons on their sleeves, and most were screaming horrible things about our president. The anger was palpable; the fear and loathing psychological.

I'm not kidding when I say that I felt like I was at a Klan rally. There were a few Obama supporters trying to protest the lies, but the "tea party" crowd was just getting more angry and screaming louder. They didn't seem to want to hear any debate. They just seemed angry and acted how I imagined Klansman would act. They seemed irrational to say the least.

I left before any fighting broke out, thanking God that I wasn't in DC witnessing the same political nightmare on a much larger scale.

I don't care what FOX "News" or any other media says, Saturday's right-wing "9/12" "tea party" protests had nothing to do with political policies, government waste or patriotism. That's pure BS! The crowd I witnessed, which I'm pretty sure was the same one marching in DC based on watching TV, were motivated by darker forces.

Even if they don't know it themselves, that crowd is angry because somebody they didn't vote for and don't identify with is sitting in their Oval Office spending what they consider to be their money, and it pisses them the hell off. That's how I see it at least.

Conclusion

We're obviously witnessing a serious case of blow-back after Obama's election victory. The protesters are making it clear they have no intention of working problems out with our team. Despite the fact that over a billion dollars of good American money was spent on a multi-year campaign and one man clearly won an overwhelming victory, the radical right is trying to annul the process. Well, that's BS!

There was an election. It's time for the radical right to stop their irrational and undemocratic interference in the legitimate political process. They are trying to 'delegitimize' our duly-elected president, and we cannot allow them to do it. The Republicans are rife with hatred, racism and intolerance these days. So much so that I question their legitimacy as a political party right now. Sadly, like so many, I see them more as a cult or a Klan these days.

Still, we cannot allow them to derail what is right and just. Their sea of bobbing placards and hand-lettered signs cannot be allowed to distract us from the truth. The truth is that most people should be angry about the legacy and incompetence of George W. Bush and the Republicans, and happy that a good and decent man like President Obama is trying to save our economy and America along with it.

Michael Boh

Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor

from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Glenn Beck is a Racist

It makes me really pissed off whenever I see racism in America. I don’t care where it is coming from or whom it is directed at but I have no stomach for it. I thought and I may have been ignorantly blessed that the KKK was a dead organization but Glenn Beck of Fox News actually had the audacity to call President Obama a racist against all white people? Somebody buy that dude a sheet to hide his face and some boards to build a cross to ignite on the White House lawn. I will be damned if I will ever buy one single product from anyone that spends money advertising on this idiots show on Fox!

"This president has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over again who has a deep-seated hatred for white people ... this guy is, I believe, a racist." - Color of Change

Video Link




Color of Change is running a ban on Fox News show host Glenn Beck and it is gaining momentum with Fox News advertisers. And it SHOULD! Advertisers are bailing out on Fox. Glenn Beck came on as a guest for the morning show and gave his personal opinion of the President. That is not the so called “Entertainment” point of his so called show. He called the President of the United States of America a racist. His own personal opinion. So it is only right that the people paying this man to have his “Personal” opinion have a say when he not only steps over the line but burns the bridge, a cross, and pretty much declares himself a racist against the first African American President.

Just a snippet from the Huffington Post that I found on Memeorandum on the progress of the ban called for by colorofchange.org on Fox News and Glenn Beck…

Big news today. We've confirmed that eight more major advertisers have pulled their support from Glenn Beck's show -- Wal-Mart, Best Buy, CVS, Travelocity, Allergan (maker of Restasis), Ally Bank, Broadview Security, and Re-Bath.

Overall, twenty advertisers have now ended their support of Beck. - Huffington Post

My congratulations and heartfelt thanks to all the advertisers that sent Fox News a firm message by pulling the checkbook on this moron and the network that supports his personal message of hate to America. This lily white Irish American has not one ounce of patience for hatred in my country and Fox News should just fire Glenn Beck for being an idiot with a loaded gun that happens to be his mouth.

For the record, I am fully supporting Color of Change in their mission to plead with all Fox News advertisers to pull all of their funding from his show.

Papamoka

Pat Buchanan, the other White Meat

It doesn't take much to come to the conclusion that Pat Buchanan, former Nixon speech writer and Republican candidate for President long ago in a galaxy far far away is a white supremist. In his fat and happy little world, all things are controlled by rich, white, Republicans. There are no woman equal to the task of the SCOTUS, there are no people of any race other than his lily white skin that deserve to be in high office.

I think it is only right that we award Mr. Buchanan the SCUMBAG trophy. This idiot that MSNBC has on the payroll for every news magazine show they have is a throwback to times long gone bye bye. I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears for this interview with Rachel Maddow with our SCUMBAG recipient. Pat actually thinks that America was built only by rich white folks. He actually thinks that someone like Judge Sotomayor, who graduated at the top of her class isn’t smart enough for SCOTUS??? MSNBC should fire his fat white ass! Or is MSNBC backing up what their paid political spokesman has to say?

Here we go from You Tube…
Video Link



Thank you Rachel Maddow for bitch slapping this moron! Here is your SCUMBAG award Pat, hand crafted by artisans working with a shovel down at the local sewerage treatment plant. You might want to run the AC in your car on the way home Pat, heat tends to make our trophy give off odors that tend to match the words coming out of your mouth.

Papamoka

Stereotyping Crime

Bonnie Sweeten pulled a John Stuart (Murdered his pregnant wife in Boston and blamed it on a black man he made up) and blamed a black man for abducting her and putting her and her child in the trunk of his car. The only problem was that she in fact went to Disney World in Florida and there was no abduction while she and her daughter vacationed! Luxury accommodations to boot! She was just released on one million bail.

I’m pissed and I’m not even an African American! This crime by Bonnie Sweeten is right up their with the idiot that used her car mirror to carve a backwards “B” in her forehead and blamed a black man for it during the closing months of the Presidential election. This crap of pulling out all the stops and racially profiling one nationality is over the edge racism by this woman. It makes no sense to me at all and I dare anyone to try and talk me into why it makes sense. This woman should be charged with a hate crime along with any other charges they can slam her butt with. There should have been no bail for her sorry ass!

Since I’m not supposed to copy and paste any Associated Press articles you can click here for the MSNBC link to the article. Cross your fingers that I don’t get sued for linking to an AP article hosted on MSNBC.

This pisses me off because there is racial profiling in our nation and it is rampant. I have many friends that are African American, one is a local police officer, another friend is a Turnpike worker, another is just a guy doing a job fixing stuff at a medical school, another is a friend that works with kids with Down Syndrome, another friend works at a nursing home taking care of the elderly. I could go on but I should not have to. These are all hard working Americans and several of them have kids in our nations military. Why does a person like Bonnie Sweeten identify them all as a people and criminals? Where does she get off and the main stream media get a pass moving on as if they didn’t participate in her crime as well. Has any broadcast journalist on the network news apologized for stereotyping African Americans like Bonnie Sweeten did? “We apologize to report to our African American viewers and listeners that we wrongly reported the Bonnie Sweeten story.” That would be nice, won’t happen, but it would be nice to see and hear.

There once was a time in America where all of the Irish immigrants and all of their children were labeled as criminals and deviants of society. Same goes for the Italians, Germans, Jews, and the list goes on. If you were not Anglo Saxon then you were scum. We as a people all fought hard to overcome that label and our African American friends are doing the same thing today. I back them and congratulate them for standing proud.

Crimes happen in our country every single day and the ones committing them are not always black. Yes they are Irish, Italian, Polish, German, French, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Russian, Greek, Muslim, Catholic, Jew, Protestant, and yes sometimes African American. The end thought here is that crime knows of no ethnic boundaries and neither does the law. All of them end up going to jail and that is where Bonnie Sweeten should go for this hate crime.

Papamoka

Boston Racist Talk Radio

In one of the bluest of blue states is a growing angry right wing political movement that harkens back to the early days when racism was cool, when it was okay to look down on your fellow man with disgust because they simply just did not fit in. Boston and New England has been doing this very same thing generation after generation for centuries and the only thing that has changed is the nationality or race of the people that the blue bloods attack. Trust me, I grew up with an Archie Bunker father but a Maude mother, and thank God above for my mother!

Jay Severin in the Boston talk radio media thought it was okay to deface an entire people based on the swine flue that has raced across the nation just like every other flue. His racist attitude and derogatory comments towards everyone that is of Mexican descent is disgusting and I for one that happens to live in New England will not put up with it. Check out this video from Ed Schultz from MSNBC on the self righteous pig that Severin is…

Video Link

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Criminaliens? Please tell me that Jay Severin is not the “Potential” spokesman for the new Republican Party! I would so much love it if he were. Then I could go toe to toe with him and just label him as a bigot and a racist. Then I could go on as to how the same mentality screwed over Irish immigrants from the 1860’s to the 1930’s and beyond until my ancestors learned to join the democracy and change the system to an American inclusive society where the Irish ran the police departments, they ran the city governments, and they eventually immigrated to the federal government. Eventually, elected an Irish Catholic to the Presidency and a Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neil. These same Irish Jay Severin would have called the scum of society and the least "Primitive" of people at the time. Tell you what Mr. Severin, my Irish grandfather was your so called Mexican less than one hundred years ago and I have no patience for your intollerance of your fellow man just because they look different or happen to speak a language you do not understand.

Jay Severin is racist, an elitist, and a wealthy man that made his money off of the backs of citizens that think it is still cool to use the term “Wet Back” or “Nigger” or any other racist terminology to describe an American citizen that he believes threatens his great white race. What pisses Jay Severin off is the fact that someone of Mexican descent actually worked thier ass off to afford and pay a mortgage, buy a house, and they had the audacity to move into his closeted yet in his mind perfect definition of what the world should be. A world where everyone is white, everyone is blonde and blue eyed, preferably from Iceland, and they will all bow to his demand that he has a far higher intellect than everyone he knows or condescends to speak to. Jay Severin is a racist scumbag and the radio station he works for and their advertisers should have nothing to do with his message of hate.

Jay Severin and his lawyers or spokesman will try to spin this into a Liberal and left wing hanging of the opposition. That is what I would do. In respect to the rest of the crew of WTKK FM Talk Radio in Boston, Jay should just take his opinions out of New England much like the Dinosaurs moved on to greener pastures and into the history and science books we all learn from today. Take his hate of all Hispanics and his definition of "Criminaliens" off to the lands he sees as the perfect society. Maybe the rest of the WTKK staff will survive if he just exit’s the species that is talk radio on this extreme right wing radio station. My apologies to Jim Braude, the lone Liberal still on the air at WTKK 96.9 FM.

“No Jay Severin’s need apply here“. That should be, and is a sign you can proudly put up in your window or store front. You sir, Jay Severin, get a formal “Screw You” Papamoka one finger salute! America and her melting pot of people have no time for you or the folks that think or believe like you that we can blame any nationality for our nations problems. When the Mexican argument of blame runs out, who is he going to go after next? Think about it!

Papamoka

Obama Egg Salad Inauguration

We buy eggs by the 18 count at the grocery store simply because we have five baby girls to feed. Depending on what supermarket we go to, the eggs in the 18 count pack will be brown or white. Makes no difference to me, eggs are eggs, the kids just love eggs for breakfast, lunch, or anytime. Over easy with buttered toast and bacon, hard boiled straight out of the shell, egg salad sandwiches, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, omelets with ham and cheese, and of course, our family favorite, Westerns with ground up ham and onions and the rest of the desired additional ingredients served up personally by Papamoka aka Daddy for each member of the family. Most of all they love egg salad sandwiches. Mom makes it one way and Dad another. End result, full bellies, happy bellies, and happy children. Eggs are just eggs no matter the color of the shell.

Over at Reuters they have this on race relations and the incoming 44th President of the United States…

Obama inauguration turns page in race relations
Sun Jan 18, 2009 1:18pm EST

By Matthew Bigg
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Anyone looking for evidence of the change represented by the United States electing an African-American as president could start with the White House itself. It was built 200 years ago using black slave labor.

Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama marks a feel-good moment for the country. Many hope it is a sign that America's travails over race, older than the country itself, are being resolved.

Outgoing President George W. Bush was quick to make the point in his farewell address, saying that Obama's story -- his black father was from Kenya, his white mother from Kansas -- represents "the enduring promise of our land."

For black Americans, the moment is particularly poignant.

"When Barack raises his hand, every black person in the nation should raise their hand because there's a new sense of pride that we have in being an American that we've never had before," said Lawrence Carter, dean of the Martin Luther King International Chapel at Atlanta's Morehouse College. - Reuters

Racism in America makes about as much sense as segregating brown eggs from white eggs while you are boiling eggs for egg salad sandwiches for lunch. Just today we had half a carton of white eggs and half a carton of brown eggs in the fridge. All of them went into the same boiling hot water and it came to me that I was making an Obama egg salad! Politically, he has brought the racism out of politics and turned a page on how our future will be for all people in America. We are all in the same melting hot pot together in today’s economic crisis and the only difference between us all is the color of the shell on the egg. And what do we all do with the shells of the eggs when we peel them away to reveal the gem underneath to make egg salad? We toss the shells in the damn trash. All eggs are the same, and so are all people. Especially here in America.

Much like snowflakes, nobody makes egg salad the same but we all love it! I wonder how Martin Luther King Jr. would have liked his egg salad on Tuesday? I’m pretty sure he would have loved to taste a bite of the Obama egg salad sandwich.

Happy Birthday Doctor King. Your work and tragic loss made this all possible. Have a sandwich, all we have is egg salad! Your dream has come true and it comes with a mix of special ingredients we all call Americans. And my congratulations to Barack Obama for having a job that nobody in their right mind would want during these difficult days. Grab an egg salad sandwich Barack, you are going to need to keep your strength up my friend.

Papamoka

KKK for RNC Chairman

Is the Republican party nuts or is it just me? Chip Saltsman sent out a CD with a very racist song concerning our next President and Republicans are actually now making excuses for this whack job. The song on the CD parodying Puff the Magic dragon with Barack the Magic Negro is more or less putting the KKK on the front line of the RNC and they seem to think it is all okay to do. Even Rush Limbaugh is cool with it because he thinks its comedy. Rush has even gone so far to throw up a link to the song on his site??? How about making a song about Rush the Pill Popping Junkie? Is that okay?

How far is the RNC willing to go to place itself as an extremist political party more in line with the politics of 1930’s Germany? Politico has this to say on the excuses spouting from the Republican’s in office on behalf of the racist scumbag Saltsman…

'Magic Negro' flap might help Saltsman
By ANDY BARR 12/30/08 4:31 AM EST

The controversy surrounding a comedy CD distributed by Republican National Committee chairman candidate Chip Saltsman has not torpedoed his bid and might have inadvertently helped it.

Four days after news broke that the former Tennessee GOP chairman had sent a CD including a song titled “Barack the Magic Negro” to the RNC members he is courting, some of those officials are rallying around the embattled Saltsman, with a few questioning whether the national media and his opponents are piling on.

“When I heard about the story, I had to figure out what was going on for myself,” said Mark Ellis, the chairman of the Maine Republican Party. “When I found out what this was about I had to ask, ‘Boy, what’s the big deal here?’ because there wasn’t any.”

Alabama Republican Committeeman Paul Reynolds said the fact the Saltsman sent him a CD with the song on it “didn’t bother me one bit.”

“Chip probably could have thought it through a bit more, but he was doing everyone a favor by giving us a gift,” he said. “This is just people looking for something to make an issue of.”

“I don’t think he intended it as any kind of racial slur. I think he intended it as a humor gift,” Oklahoma GOP Committeewoman Carolyn McClarty added. “I think it was innocently done by Chip.” - Politico

I’m sorry but I think racism at any level against anyone is simply disgusting and I can not look at it, listen to it, or even put up with it. This clown from Tennessee thinks its funny to use the word Negro when describing our next President and I find it EXTREMELY offensive. If you have to stoop that low to gain the power of your political party then you don’t have a clue as to what politics is truly all about. Let me explain… If I were of African American decent, and I happened to be in the House or the Senate or for that matter in the White House, I would never give this son of a biscuit eater the time of day. Matter of fact, one does not have to be of African American descent to do this. All of the Congress should participate in this. Additionally, I would lobby every other member of my respective house of government to ostracize Saltsman and every single bill he tried to get passed. Then I would work with his states political process to unseat him in the very next election even if I had to campaign every single available free moment. That is how you deal with morons that think it is okay to call my President, Barack Obama, a negro.

I’m a firm believer that we all must stand up against racism and now that fight goes on to defending our President’s heritage simply because of the color of his skin. Not one of the people in the Politco post would stand face to face with any black man and call him a negro but it is okay if Chip Saltsman does? This is bull and they are lying to themselves.

Just when we thought change in the American consciousness of race has happened we get idiots that remind us all that we have to keep pounding back at ignorance. Thus I end this post with screw you Saltsman you racist puke bag moron! I’ve got ten dollars to bet that you wouldn’t have the guts to call President Obama a negro to his face because you might just get punched out by a Jew, a Mick, a Whop, a Polack, a Ruskie, a Gook, a Fag, a Lesbo, a Spic, a Wet Back, a Canuck, a Chink, and a (insert your nationality hear) ______.

Papamoka

Skin Heads Targeted Obama and 102 Others for Assassination

Leave it to idiotic Skin Heads to think that they were bright enough to covertly carry off an assassination attempt on Barack Obama and 102 other African Americans. I’m sure it was not difficult for federal agents to track down two skin heads with swastika tatoos. This is the second group arrested for making an attempt on Obama and this scares me to the bone. At the times of greatest change in this nations history, the most ignorant amongst us used a bullet too silence that change. Not this time though. Thank God for that! And of course the ATF, FBI, Secret Service and everyone that followed up on these two morons are to be thanked as well.

CNN has this and more to say on it…

Men charged with plotting to kill Obama

(CNN) -- Federal prosecutors charged two men with plotting a "killing spree" against African-Americans that would have been capped with an attempt to kill Sen. Barack Obama while they wore white tuxedos, federal officials said Monday.

The U.S. attorney's office in Jackson, Tennessee, said Daniel Cowart, 20, and Paul Schlesselman, 18, were self-described white supremacists who met online through a mutual friend.

Both men have been charged with illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun, conspiracy to rob a federally licensed gun dealer and making threats against a presidential candidate.

The men planned to kill more than 100 African-Americans, including 14 who would be beheaded, according to the affidavit. But federal law enforcement sources said there was no evidence Cowart, of Bells, Tennessee, and Schlesselman, of West Helena, Arkansas, had any details of Obama's schedule. - CNN

One of the things that I have heard and read in many left leaning blogs and conversations with friends is the fear that someone, somewhere will never find it acceptable for a black man to be President and will use that as an excuse to assassinate Obama. Sometimes I too have feared the same because outright ignorance is out there in America and blindly accepted simply because it was the way these idiots were raised. I feel bad for them. I really do because getting to know someone different than you can be a life changing experience. It is far to easy to hold onto ignorant fear than shake another mans hand simply because they are different than you. Laziness and fear is how ignorant people that would make an attempt on anyone elses life because of the color of their skin is a copout. Unfortunately, for Skin Heads and people like the KKK I don’t ever think you or I will ever be able to educate them as to how wrong they are when they use racism to feel superior in their shallow little life.

You Tube Video Link

This nations greatness was not born out of a people that accepted the status quo. It was born of a people that saw a far brighter future for the next generation and that legacy has been passed on from the generation of Washingtion and Jefferson right on up the ladder of future leaders of this great nation that knew that without a challenge for change our nation would stagnate. Our society and people are best when we are reaching for a better way for all.

As much as I fear the idiotic fringe in America I think, and I honestly believe that Barack Obama is well aware of this kind of possibility but chooses to push forward for the betterment of all in our nation. You can’t count Obama as a coward faced with the number of attempts on his life so far.

Thank you ATF, FBI, Secret Service and all the law enforcement people that have once more prevented this kind of abomination on the American people. Lock the scum up and throw away the damn key!

Papamoka

True Colors in Politics

I have no tolerance with racism in my life what so ever! From anyone against anyone that is an American citizen. Absolutely none. End of discussion. I grew up hearing the stories from my father and mother on the racism that my grandmother and grandfather faced in the new world. “Irish Need Not Apply” signs for job openings and apologies from landlords in the area they landed in outright saying that they do not rent to the Irish!

I’m not an African American but I do happen to know that the African American people of this nations last generation and this generation, are still reading the signs “Irish Need Not Apply” or we don’t rent to your kind and that is disgustingly wrong. As many gains we as a people have made in this nation over the last forty years, when it comes to civil rights there is still racism against many people for many reason that bares no common sense.

What pisses me off even more is that racist people declare themselves McCain supporters and transpose their ignorance onto a noble public servant. Mind you, I’m not defending John McCain, he can explain his pride in the debate last night of “All of his rally supporters” and what he meant from his mouth to God’s ears. Explain this Senator McCain? Tell me and the Independent and Moderate voters that you are proud of these people or tell them they are dead wrong!

Video Link



Should we all look at the Republican Base as all racists and just call it a draw because the Democrat Base is the rainbow of American races. Videos like this one make me think that John McCain needs to seriously reconsider his funding of education in America or would he prefer that this kind of understanding of common knowledge is acceptable. If he is cool with his supporters going so negative with believing Obama is a Muslim, and the rest of the crap that they would rather believe in then John McCain must be the next coming of Christ for them. Jesus Christ 2.0 or George Bush 2.0, same thing very different philosophies for caring for your fellow man.

Lets go extreme on what McCain supporters really believe. Apparently they still believe Barack Obama is still a Muslim and not a Christian since a baby so Al Jazeera America has this on it. Yes it is a Muslim and Arab news agency, so the hell what? The video speaks for itself...

Video Link



If this is the Republican political base that elected George Bush then I am so glad that I never voted for him in either election for President. I’m sure that many of the clear thinking Republican’s never thought this type of mentality was ever possible. I know that my Republican friends don’t think this way and I mean in a racist intolerant way! Thank God above some people in the Republican party are not this misunderstanding of the real issues. Real issues like education, healthcare, and taxes are not based on any candidates religion, race, gender, or even if they were or are a lawyer! To this kind of political base there is the color of your skin, your religion, and email hysterics taken as the word of God from the Holy Bible. And all those emails about winning the lottery in another country are true by the way. Just send your checking account number and they will deposit the money for you… NOT!

If this is the base John McCain is so proud of then he can have them, and in that respect I’m sure that many educated Independent and Moderate voters would agree with me on this topic. If racist comments are what it takes to win this Presidential election from your supporters then I honestly can’t support the candidate they support with so much hateful, offensive, and frankly un-American language.

I think the words in our Constitution read “We the people” not “Some of the People”.

Racism pisses me off and if you don’t like that I’m pissed off about it then don’t read this site. If this kind of garbage in America is okay with you then I DO NOT WANT YOU READING THIS SITE! We are a melting pot of many nations but we are all Americans and anyone that tells you that that fact is inacurate is not correct and is in fact morally corrupted.

“You are your brothers keeper” goes beyond the hour you are in church once a week and yes I attend services! As an American Irish descendent from County Claire and Cork, I’m endorsing the real Irishman in this race, Senator Obama of Illinois.

Papamoka

*****My good friend Gun Toting Liberal has allowed me to cross post this post on his "Must Read" political site! Thank you GTL!

*****My blogging friend Joe Gandelman of The Moderate Voice dedicated a post to this article. Thank you Joe!

GOP News Letter AKA Hate Letter

With the death of John F. Kennedy came the fight from Lyndon Johnson for Civil Rights and a new awakening of America to include all people in our society. When Senator Robert Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. were gunned down, others, many others jumped in to fight the fight that was right. Some were just store keepers or office clerks and not even remotely politically connected to the masses but they did what they could to make our nation a better place to live for all. They were not just Democrats either, Republicans jumped in with both feet as well and our nation has made great progress over the last forty plus years.

Change in this nation has taken a long time and yet the fight must continue so that our children’s lives are not based in racism but in respect of ones abilities as a man or a woman. When you see stories that appear in the news and on the internet like this one it makes you that much more aware that ignorance in the nation is still out there.

By MICHELLE DeARMOND
The Press-Enterprise

The latest newsletter by an Inland Republican women's group depicts Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama surrounded by a watermelon, ribs and a bucket of fried chicken, prompting outrage in political circles.

The October newsletter by the Chaffey Community Republican Women, Federated says if Obama is elected his image will appear on food stamps -- instead of dollar bills like other presidents. The statement is followed by an illustration of "Obama Bucks" -- a phony $10 bill featuring Obama's face on a donkey's body, labeled "United States Food Stamps."

The GOP newsletter, which was sent to about 200 members and associates of the group by e-mail and regular mail last week, is drawing harsh criticism from members of the political group, elected leaders, party officials and others as racist.

The group's president, Diane Fedele, said she plans to send an apology letter to her members and to apologize at the club's meeting next week. She said she simply wanted to deride a comment Obama made over the summer about how as an African-American he "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills." PE.COM

I would like to be clear that this kind of idiocy knows no political party but it seems that in this political race for President that some idiots are going out of there way to show their lack of respect for all of their fellow Americans. Now more than ever, all Americans need to work together to fix the problems we have. Keeping our eye on the ball of racism while we work on the rest of the garbage life is throwing at us too!

We can all do better and the way to do that is point it out loud and clear and let other people know that this is not acceptable behavior as an American.

Papamoka

*****Chicago Sun Times has picked up this post. Thank You!

Warning to Racists and Bigots

I’m taking a huge risk on writing this post but I think the American experiment as our fore fathers saw it, as the Presidency of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan and Clinton foresaw that it needs discussion. McCain and his campaign is blindly playing the race card and as just one American voter I don’t like it one bit! As an Irish, Catholic, White father of five daughters, a Democrat, a Moderate, and an Independent voter, I don't like it one bit. When they play the us against them card it tick's me off. Apparently, the McCain Palin campaign can not assimilate into the real America that exists all around us. We are a melting pot and that is the genuine reason why America is so great.

One of the greatest fears of most people in America is that your own thoughts will not be included in the current debate. Wall Street has a bailout plan so the mega rich and their investments are safe, what about you? This campaign for President is going to get ugly, the advertisements will go super nova with deceptions and lies based on context taken from wherever from each of the candidates. That is what politics is, it happens, it is the expected path when the stakes are this high. This is a Presidential election. Make no mistake about it, the man or woman in the executive office of the Presidency is the leader of the free world. So why would someone wanting that high office want to play the race card? Why would they do that other than fear?

Over at the LA Times they have this little tid bit that I need to discuss further…

By Peter Wallsten, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 5, 2008

WHITEWOOD, VA. -- The isolated towns of Virginia's Appalachian coal region are home to strong labor unions and Democratic political machines that date back generations. Yet voters here who eagerly pushed Democrats into the Senate and the governor's office are resisting Barack Obama.

Some Americans say Obama's race and uncommon background make them uncomfortable -- here those people include Democratic precinct chairmen and get-out-the-vote workers. Many Americans receive e-mails falsely calling Obama a Muslim -- here a local newspaper columnist has joked in print that Obama would have the White House painted black and would put Islamic symbols on the U.S. flag. - Los Angeles Times


You and I could use FactCheck.org to clarify and learn the truth but the mud hitting the fan is more important than the facts to most voters. They hear a sound bite and that is gospel truth! They hear the reply to the sound bite and they look at a dirty liar. Not the person that originated the sound bite but the one defending themselves.

I’m puzzled but I understand the politics of the desperation of the McCain campaign to do anything to win. John McCain and Sarah Palin will do anything short of using the “N” word when it comes to describing their political opponent Barack Obama for the Presidency. A word I personally despise. This is not 1958 or 1968! I’m offended already but I’m a political junkie and I have a rough clue as to how McCain will move his political campaign to try and win this race for President. In each video they come out with over the next thirty or so days they will dance around the word but not mention it directly. Thinking they are above board, above accusation, they will dance around the subject that a black man can not be President but a white woman with absolutely no clue in national politics is okay one heart beat away from John McCain? They have to travel this path simply because they can not win on the real issues that face all Americans! They can not match Obama on the issues so they have to go to dirty political tactics. When you have nothing left to offer then why not go extreme racist and show your true colors?

John McCain has begun to travel down that path in his political campaign that smells of racism and that is a path that America must never follow. Which leads to the question if McCain is not truly a racist? This is not the 1950’s, 1960’s or the 1970’s! A time period comfortable to John McCain but not so comfortable for today’s voters. That was thirty, fourty, and fifty years ago. That was then, this is now. And yes I read that book! America has grown up since the time of John McCain and his upbringing where racism was acceptable in the good old boys club in not just Washington but in many of our Governors offices that is frankly no longer acceptable all across America.

Brietbart has this opinion and thought to check out...

Dare John McCain talk about the issues as passionately as Barack Obama then we have a discussion on politics and reason to vote for one or the other for President. When the McCain campaign is grabbing at the edges of the cliff as the polls are falling they will use any tactic and count on you as an ignorant voter to fall for racism as a last ditch effort to survive. Let him go, he is not worth it. If he has to bash African Americans to win the vote then what will he do next to win? Is your nationality immune from ridicule?

When you take the time to really look at the issues and where each candidate for President stands, you see the real difference. One candidate is for Americans and the other is for protecting the status quo of corporate America. You get to decide and pick just one.

Obama is looking out for you, John McCain is looking out for the friends of George Bush and the gravy train to come if we elect McCain as President. It’s your vote ultimately that counts. Racism or a new America that finally includes all Americans?

So what do you think?

Papamoka

*****Gun Toting Liberal has linked in... Thank You!

Race Relations Be Damned

Listening to talk radio or watching even the network television news you find an avenue of opinions that run contrary to the current trend that favors Hillary Clinton because of the fact that Barack Obama just happens to be a black man. When I was trying to toss down a burger at the local Wendy’s I was shocked to hear the many controversial and frankly racist comments made about Senator Obama that were thrown at his campaign workers by so called residents of West Virginia.

When I woke up this morning it was 2008 and not 1968. Trust me, my five children let me know that fact is true every single day. In 1968 I was five years old and now I have my youngest that is five. In each of their eyes they do not see the color of a persons skin but the heart of the friends they choose. Race is not an issue in their eyes or heart and I thank God above that we as parents have been able to raise them without that ugly personality trait.

America was a very separatist society back before 1968 and in the progress that has been made in all that time since many African American’s have prospered and were finally free to be the potential person that they could become. My child has the potential that is the same as any African American and all they have to do is work for it and earn it. That is the American way. Then you hear the draw back on the polling numbers and reports of whites verse black voters and race lines in the vote and it all disgusts me to the bone. MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX did a non stop reporting of why white people would not vote for Obama in West Virginia and the undertone that I perceived as a viewer was that they were playing the race card simply because one of the candidates is a black man and the other is a white woman. Basically, they labeled everyone that didn’t vote for Obama as a racist.

Today I heard of all kinds of racist incidents that the Obama campaign is facing including a Curious George cartoon with an Obama 08 sign depicting Obama as the monkey. Even Rush Limbaugh is running from the mishap simply because he had no clue as to who Curious George was and why it was associated with Obama. Something I find hard to believe is that Rush was ignorant when he claims every single day that his brain is on loan from God in his broadcast. The character and authors of the Curious George character have been around for over 67 years! Margret and H.A. Rey, Curious George's creators worked on children’s books for decades! Rush apologized when he found out how racist the caller was. Then he banned the caller for life.

We don’t need hate in America for or against fellow American’s in any form, function, or broadcast. It serves no purpose other than to divide us as a people and prove out that ignorance of another human being is not only contagious but full of contempt. In the past decade we have seen separation of American’s based on wealth and this kind of thought on race bashing only serves that style of degradation of our people even further. It’s truly up to you as an individual to say enough is enough.

I’m just guessing but I think there are several different America’s and in parts of our nation there is still a racial problem. All of the MSM made West Virginia sound like the KKK headquarters and frankly that scares me. They single handedly manipulated the race for President into a racial bias and they sold it all across the airwaves and then the newspapers the next day.

My kids will grow up color blind and wear one pink sock and one blue sock to the school of life and if they are happy then so am I. No offense intended to the people of West Virginia that voted on the issues and not the color of a persons skin but the MSM made your state look like the racist capital of the United States.

Papamoka

Feel free to link to this post…

Obama on Racial Tension in America

Maybe I’m just an idiot that just does not or will not ever understand how anyone can be a racist in America. We as a people have come from all shores in our immigration based nation and yet in every couple of generations going all the way back to the first Pilgrims we have always had racism in America? Why? America is the land of opportunity for all so why does hate of a persons heritage exist? Why do people look at the color of a persons skin and stereotype them as the bad guys regardless of never actually getting to know them.

This nation was founded for one nationality and that is that we all are Americans. You can be an Irish American, a Polish American, an English American and an African American and one thing you have in common is that you are all Americans! Your neighbor, your coworkers, your fellow church members, and your elected leaders are all from diverse backgrounds that have made this nation great not because they cherish their personal heritage but because they believe in an America for all.

If you were running for President, would you be liable for what a friend says that for the most part in fact is true but is a divisive topic? Barack Obama is fighting that ownership and I have to agree with the Senator. We are a melting pot society and sometimes the hate surfaces to the top of the pot and spills over. Over at the Washington Post they have this on Obama and the Reverend Wright issue…

By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 18, 2008; 2:15 PM

In what his campaign billed as a major speech in Philadelphia, Obama tried to come to grips with the issue of race in his run for the presidency and to reinforce his primary theme that he can help bring fundamental change to the nation. His remarks were aimed at repairing the damage his campaign has suffered from his association with Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and addressing what he called a "particularly divisive turn" in recent weeks as videos of the fiery pastor's sermons have circulated.

Saying that America remains stuck in "a racial stalemate," the Illinois senator said he was not naive enough to believe that the divisions could be overcome in a single election. But he said Americans working together "can move beyond some of our old racial wounds."
He described his own heritage as a biracial American married to a black woman "who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave owners."

"I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible," Obama declared.

Jumping Ahead…

"I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community," Obama told supporters at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center. "I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother -- a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed her by on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe." - Washington Post

If you want to call Reverend Wright a racist then by all means do so. That title comes to the Reverend with years of experience of living as a black man in a white mans world in the cheap seats of his local community. While he works to make a better world for his fellow man he has seen the injustices of the world against his fellow man and they are his flock. If I were in his shoes I would be screaming at the rafters in disgust and his pointing this fact of life out is and should be the news. America needs to change its overall look on who Americans are and face the fact that people of color, African, Mexican, Peruvian, Cuban or any other color than white are Americans too!

I for one am a firm believer that you never forget where you came from and Senator Obama’s refusal to send his friend Reverend Wright to the dogs is admirable. Most politicians would have thrown Reverend Jeremiah Wright under the bus as they speeded off to the next campaign stop. What Obama said today is true of the American spirit and that simply is American’s never forget our past and our allies! If that isn’t a hint of Presidential qualities then I do not know what is.

I find it intriguing that people of the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish or Baptist faith are not bound by the labels that our Pope, Pastors, Rabbi’s, or Ministers are voicing from the pulpit as an individual but Barack Obama is? This was a bomb that was politically motivated to send the same message as the Bush 2000 race. Divide and conquer the voters and it backfired. America is changing year by year and those that refuse to accept that change will look to the past to bring down the leader of change. As the messenger of change in our American government Barack Obama has been the light and the hope for a better tomorrow. He has handled this issue like a true statesman and that is proof of how he will act as President of these United States of America.

Racism is an ugly word and it has no place in what America can be for all of its people. I’m personally blessed to have many people of many different nationalities that are Americans as friends. You get those friends by simply starting off with a hello and enjoy the conversations from there. Much like Smokey the Bear‘s message, only you can end Racism in America.

Papamoka

Feel free to link to or borrow this post…

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com and Bring It ON!

*****This post was picked up by Reuters

*****This post was picked up by Chicago Sun Times

*****I See My Dreams has linked to this post with "The Big Uneasy"

Technorati Tags:
Obama, Reverend Wright, Jeremiah Wright, Racism, Racist, Obama for President, Election, Democrats, Racial Stalemate, Clinton, McCain, Washington Post, William Branigin, African American, Black, Cuban American, Mexican American, Race Card, Black friends, White Racism, Black racism, Racism in politics, President, White House, Black America, Religion in politics, Hate Crimes, Bias, Immigrant, Immigration, America, Hate, voting, politics, Barack Obama, Interacial, American Politics, Hate in America, Change, Yes we Can, Together we can, Change is possible, Obama for President

Is America Ready For A Black President?

BY MICHAEL LINN JONES

My first reaction to such a question is, looking back over the last 16 years.....can we afford any more white ones? The political system has become so institutionally corrupt that those who control events in the now smoke-free rooms have no concept of how transparent their hubris is.

For the first time in American history, a man stands forth as a candidate for the presidency who is black. Barack Obama is not exactly a child of privilege, but his success in education and politics puts him firmly in the elite class.

Senator Joe Biden got blasted for commenting on the fact that Senator Obama is "clean, educated, etc." Poor choice of words maybe, but another way of putting it is that Obama is unique in that he is addressing ALL Americans, not just one particular ethnic group. With all due respect, the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton cannot do this without "betraying" their traditional base.

Obama may be that fluke, that rarity that Jackson and Sharpton will tell us happens despite the ingrained racism of American society. Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were flukes also in that they carried certain convictions about the wealth of a nation being more than Wall Street and its boosters. In fact, FDR was castigated as a "traitor to his class."

Perhaps Obama may be cast as a "traitor to his race" since that is how he is supposed to run for office. Not as an American, but as a victim. But this man is not. He is an inspiration in many ways, and God only knows how his abilities and accomplishments might make his ego swell to planet-sized proportions. We always pray that no matter how far a person goes in life, they maintain a sense of equilibrium.....that they remember where they came from.

This is not an endorsement of Senator Obama. There are some points upon which I am uncomfortable such as immigration policy and gun control. The title of his book, "The Audacity of Hope" bothers me. It seems to me that if in the America we now live the word "hope" can be tied to "audacity" then we've lost something as a people.

Of course, we already feel that way. No matter one's political persuasion, there seems to be much out of kilter in how the nation's business is done. It is way past time for someone to offer the people as a whole something beyond platitudes. Platitudes, by the way, is a fancy way of saying "bald-faced lies."

Be prepared, however, for some racial slandering if Senator Obama attains success in Iowa. It will be subtle, of course, with enough innuendo to protect the slinger from charges of outright racism while at the same time doing just that. And, ironically, the first such use of such tactics will not come from Republicans, but Democrats. I won't say who, but if it takes a village (whatever that means) then said village should not be walled and gated.

Before George W. Bush, I always felt that Lyndon Johnson was the worst president in my lifetime. But he wasn't all bad...I do admire Johnson appealing to a Southern audience in the 60's with a plea for a "real" election, one that wasn't the usual chant of "nigra, nigra, nigra." It brought applause and in truth was a gutsy thing to say. Racism in the South was the most easily discernable in those days, although it wasn't until his march on Marquette Park in Chicago that Martin Luther King got belted with a thrown rock.

Racism exists everywhere, and is such a useful catalyst for the selling of fear and hatred. I grew up in Florida during the Jim Crow days; my parents hated it and were rather radical for their time in refusing to acknowledge the inherent goodness of segregation. It didn't make them many friends, but my Old Man always said that people liking you was nice but respecting you was necessary first.

Agree with Barack Obama or not, try to ignore the clouds of racial chaff that will be thrown into the wind. Even if just for the novelty of the experience, try to judge him by the content of his character.

If any candidate in 2008 appeals to the better Angels of our nature rather than the poisonous veins of suspicion and resentment, then we might actually be getting a little slice of our nation back.

And I don't think it matters a damn what his skin color is.
********************************
Cross-posted at Michael Linn Jones.com

Imus Gone but not Forgotten

Don Imus screwed up and he became the target of everything that is racism in America. He was an easy target. He was a nationally syndicated talk radio giant amongst a field of diverse opinions politically.

One man lead this charge to stone Imus without considering if the people he offended with his comments would or could forgive Don Imus. The Reverend Al Sharpton beat this horse to death and ended the livelihood of Don Imus and his family.

But, big old hairy butt, the Reverend Sharpton now speaks out of the other side of his face in saying that this was never about Don Imus but about the abuse of our nation’s airwaves. Come again with the comments demanding Don Imus being fired Reverend Sharpton?

The outstanding athletes of the Rutgers young womans basketball team have forgiven Don Imus. If they can find it in their hearts to forgive him then the issue should be closed as the good Lord tells us. Then again Al Sharpton still has a week or two worth of stones to toss at Don Imus and needs this event to carry on. Publicity for Al Sharpton is the game he plays and he can have it. People can see that the emperor is naked!

Don Imus is a wealthy man by ordinary standards and I hope and pray that he and his wife will be able to continue the Kids with Cancer ranch activities. Being a private charity I would hope that people will still donate to the fun that kids enjoy and labor at for a stay at the Imus ranch. This isn’t a venture for self promotion but an outreach to bring children hope. I would love to see the Imus people submit a list just with the number of kids that have benefited from the good work that Imus and his family do for sick kids. Then let’s compare it to what Al Sharpton has for a list. No comparison is needed. Imus wins out across the board. MSNBC who canned the I-Man has this little piece on the Imus family personal charity...

By DEBORAH BAKER
Associated Press
(Picture Courtesy of MSNBC)
Updated: 4:42 p.m. PT April 14, 2007

RIBERA, N.M. - Don Imus's banishment from the public airwaves also deprives him of a critical platform to raise money for the sprawling Imus Ranch, where children with cancer and other illnesses get a taste of the cowboy life.

Before he was fired last week for calling the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos," Imus pointed to the northern New Mexico ranch to make his case that he is "a good person who said a bad thing."

With Imus out of a job, some wonder whether the pipeline to charity money will eventually dry up.

Snip

General Motors Corp. said Friday it would continue donating Chevrolet Suburbans for the ranch.
The Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey provides the doctors, nurses and "child life specialists" who attend every ranch session.

"While there is no excuse for these comments, we cannot overlook all of the good he has done for families of Bergen County and across the nation," the medical center said in a statement.

The nearly 4,000-acre ranch, at the foot of a mesa about 50 miles from Santa Fe, features a re-creation of the main street of a 19th-century Western town, a swimming pool, an indoor horse-riding arena, an outdoor rodeo arena, and barns.

Kids between 10 and 17 who have cancer or serious blood disorders, or who have lost siblings to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, spend seven days at the ranch in the summer, when Imus would broadcast from a studio there at no cost to their families. – MSNBC

Racism in America has to be addressed and I will never waiver on that fact. Pointing the finger and stoning someone out of existence is not the answer. Pointing the finger and asking someone to change is the answer. CBS Radio and MSNBC caved in to the hype and lost the message and their messenger at the same time. Corporate cowardice once more rears its ugly head. Then again, so have the many celebrities, news reporters and government servant friends of Don Imus chosen to shun him and distance themselves from him rather than defend his pleas for forgiveness.

America needs to focus on Americans and not on issues that will forever divide us if the messengers that are the supposed standard bearers speak for all of us. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson do not speak for all of America. African Americans need to think that they are Americans first and heritage comes second. Nobody else in this nation is Irish American, Polish American, German American, Mexican American, Brazilian American, and the list goes on.



Be an American and be what you can be as an American. Saying that you are an African American is a proud thing to claim but it is a cop out. You are either an American or not and that is just one solution to ending the racism in our nation. I am an American! That is a statement that I would prefer to defend at any cost to my own personal well being. “I am an American!” Say it with pride and you are an American.

The only one holding any of us back as Americans and no matter what race or creed is ourselves.
If Don Imus has lost his voice in defense of his own personal ignorance in our nation then we all need to talk about racism amongst ourselves in order to wipe it out. It is within each and every single one of us to take the steps needed to end the idiocy that is racism and racist comments. We need to look within our own hearts and minds and toss out the stereotype mentality of our fathers, father. America is populated by so many cultures and so very diverse of people that we need to focus on the big picture that is our children’s future. We all need to take turns stirring the great melting pot that is America and be willing to be a part of the bounty that is the greatest experiment mankind has ever known. We all need to recognize that being an American is bigger intellectually and spiritually than where our ancestors came from. We can do this and be a better people and be the beacon of hope that our nation is known for around the world.

Papamoka

Technorati Tags:imus, imus in the morning, wfan, kids with cancer, sids, walter reid, john mccain, john kerry, tim russert, chris matthews, howard fineman, msnbc, cbs radio, deidre imus, wyatt imus, fred imus, mike barnicle, new york radio, sports radio, sid green, wtkk, eagan and braude, jay severin, republicans, democrats, tom delay, rosie o'donnel, frank rich, the new york times, the la times, the washington post, sumner redstone, talk radio, rush limbaugh, bill o'rielly, fox news, nbc news, brian williams, mike wallace, chris wallace, abc news, cnn, air america, rachel maddow, stephanie miller, al franken, politics, al sharpton, jesse jackson, african american, racism, stone philips, andy rooney, save imus, friends of imus, bernie, charles
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator