An Interview With Mavis Staples

Mavis Staples talks with Tavis Smiley in an awesome interview from April, 26th. She is talking about real music and real history.

Listen Here

P.S. "Respect Yourself" was written by St. Louis singer Luther Ingram, who died a few weeks ago.

Legend of Black Radio Passes On

UPDATE: Bernie Hayes Comments on Rod King

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my comments

St. Louis, (And Black Radio) loses a radio pioneer

Dr. Jockenstein (Rod King) died today. King was a radio fixture for three decades. He was one of the great DJ’s of Black radio, from an older tradition, where Black DJ’s & their stations were really a part of uplifting the community (unlike today). The nation is losing these great African American DJ’s, as many are now getting up in age and passing on. I am no longer a fan of Black radio- have not been for several years, because the whole format has changed so much....DJ's like Jock are a rarity on the radio, since many are moving on.

Jock got his nickname from George Clinton many years ago, after the two worked together for a concert. They were friends ever since. Whenever Parliament came to town, Jock was the man….. This was also the case with other artists who visited the city over the years.

Jock was also a member of the St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame, which includes some very well known broadcasters, known locally and nationally. See his Hall of Fame entry online under the name “Rod King”.

Jock was also active in the community for all sorts of causes over the years….too many to list. He was always involved in something.

Bernie Hayes, another great St. Louis DJ, columnist, and a nationally respected historian of Black radio, will no doubt have comments about the passing of Jock…. I will try to post the comments here.

I was already working on a playlist of St. Louis Soul (music from artists who were born in St. Louis, got their start or developed their craft in St. Louis, or were a big part of the St. Louis community)….. So that will partly be my toast to Jock and DJ’s like him, who are now passing on.

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Here is an article from the St. Louis Post Dispatch online

DJ 'Dr. Jockenstein' dies at 55
By D. Paul Harris
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/30/2007

Roderick G. “Rod” King, , aka, Dr. Jockenstein, the legendary disc jockey who for three decades mentored other DJs and played the music and offered the talk that drew thousands of fans and radio listeners, died this morning at St. Anthony's Medical Center after a long illness.

King suffered a stroke in 2002 and never fully recovered. He was 55.
King worked at several local radio stations during his career. His last radio stint was with KMJM-FM, 104.9, where on Saturday afternoons hosted the “slammin jammin oldies” program.

Sylvester Caldwell, a.k.a. “Sylvester the Cat” a longtime friend and colleague, said King was a “true radio personality” and a mentor to generations of disc jockeys.

“Jock has paved the way and opened the door for upcoming jocks like me to carrying the torch,” said Caldwell, 47, who currently host the “slammin jammin oldies” program. “He was truly one of a kind.”

Israel Naming Forest In Honor of Coretta Scott King

But do we want that "honor"? I say we because Coretta Scott King= us.....she is a representative & symbol of an entire segment of people in this country, whether the world likes it or not and regardless of whether the King family likes it or not.

This is a very dubious "honor", from a country who's practices have been widely described as Apartheid, in terms of how it deals with Palestians. Now, I am not saying that this is the correct or incorrect view...but the fact is, many DO hold this view, including a former U.S. President. And based on the conditions in Palestine, the analogy is probably at least partly true. There are some elements of Apartheid that can be found in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

See Report Here

I can't be 100% certain where Dr. King would stand on this issue if he were still alive. On one hand, we know that Israel & its vicinity, sits on sacred religious ground, of great importance to at least 3 major religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Dr. King, being a minister of the Christian gospel, may have appreciated having Coretta considered for the honor. However, there was another part of Dr. King that (I believe) would have told him to decline the honor, based on principles of Justice, his legacy of Civil Rights and his love for Peace.

This has to be one of the most awkward and ironic "honors" that I have ever heard of. Are the Israelis completely in the dark about what the King legacy is really all about? Are they doing this for their own purposes, to spruce up their own image? (This seems to be a good possibility).

The King family should not allow themselves, The country, or African Americans to be played on this issue. They should not allow Israel to use us in a way that makes us pawns in their dispute with Arabs (and much of the rest of the world). The Israelis are not stupid...they know full well that Martin and Coretta are powerful symbols of Peace and Justice around the world. Should Israel be allowed to co-opt this positive image?

The Palestinians (the people of color struggling under occupation) and poor people of color all over the world must therefore be confused about this "honor". Most believe that Dr. King would have been on their side in the struggle against poverty, Apartheid, racial and religious discrimination, unjust wars, colonialism, imperialism, military occupation, etc.

Of course the Congressional Black Caucus seems to be supporting the effort, completely overlooking Israels track record regarding the treatment of Palestinians. This kind of irony is just beyond strange to me. Did the CBC lose its collective mind on this issue? Have they forgotten their own history? If so, how quickly some of us forget. WE were the Palestinians not so long ago. Although, we didn't usually resort to violence.

Yes, Black Americans and Jews formed bonds throughout the years, however, Dr. King was a man of principle..... he was probably the most principled man that I know of. I don't think that he would have sat quietly while the Apartheid of Arabs took place..... not on his watch.

Money also seems to be part of this deal....according to the above report, which would help explain why the CBC is willing to sell the souls of black folks so easily.... and to play dumb on the question of what Dr. King stood for. I just think back to the last Israeli attack against Lebanon (attacking a nation for something that Hezbollah thugs did) and of all the hundreds of innocent men, women and babies that were slaughtered, mostly by Israel. I know in my heart and soul that Dr. King would not have been in support of that war. So the irony here is killing me.

This is also yet another strike against the CBC. The list of CBC mis-steps keeps piling up.

George Tenet Causes a Big Stir With New Book

Former CIA Director George Tenet, makes waves with his new book and his appearance on 60 Minutes. Watch 60 Minutes Interview Here. Even to this day Tenet seems to be conflicted, caught between his loyalty to Bush and his desire to protect his own reputation (under attack by the neo-cons). The book is light on criticism of Bush and instead zeros in on Dick Cheney and the neo-cons who were the puppetmasters behind Bush.

There was one comment that Tenet made that bothered me (just one of a few)..... The comment was that "The CIA does not torture".

Come on now George!!!

It has been pretty well established that some torture took place. We have had CIA operatives kidnapping people (some innocent) from all over the Middle East and Europe. Many have ended up in Cuba. Those released have confirmed that some torture took place.

Hear an award winning audio documentary about Gitmo prisoners. Several former prisoners tell their stories about life at Gitmo. The prisoners in the story were innocent. Some were sold-out to American troops by their countrymen so that the reportees could collect money. Keep in mind that Afghanistan was (and is) one of the poorest countries in the world. Therefore, the offer of money in exchange for "tips" led to a lot of false reports and innocent people being taken into custody and sent to Gitmo. This was one of the biggest flaws in the whole system. This led to a situation where interrogators were wasting their time talking to innocent folks.

The prisoners tell stories about how they were forced to tell interrogators what they wanted to hear in order to avoid being harmed. They also talk about some of the ridiculous questions that they were asked during the interrogations.
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Previous Blog Entry On This Subject

Sr Army Officer Criticizes Leadership of Generals

Lt. Col. Paul Yingling criticizes Generals in new editorial; stating that they have not provided good leadership in Iraq.

It is unusual for an active duty officer to publicly criticize officers of higher rank. The article, entitled "A Failure of Generalship" can be found in the Armed Forces Journal.

Hear Audio Report from NPR.

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Report from The Washington Post

Report from the BBC

Atlanta Officers Plead Guilty in Death of 92 Year Old

Two Atlanta Police officers pleaded guilty last week for the death of a 92 year old woman shot dead during a botched drug raid.

Meanwhile, the New York Times is reporting a culture of widespread corruption within the Atlanta Police Department.

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Previous postings on this story

Eldery woman shot, FBI taking over case

Prosecutors may seek murder charges

Alberto Gonzales Assistant Monica Goodling Granted Immunity

Monica Goodling, the former Justice Department official who was in the middle of the firings of 8 U.S. Prosecutors, has been granted immunity by the U.S. Congress. She is now free to tell on her former bosses. I can't wait for these hearings to get started. :)

Things are not going too well right now for Alberto Gonzales or for the rest of the Bush Administration.

While the Congressional investigations move forward, another investigation is also starting, which will examine what Karl Rove and other White House officials were doing during the planning for these firings.

If that was not enough, Jack Abramoff is still around.... as well as other Republican Congressmen who are under indictment....and some or all may be cooperating with Federal investigators/Grand Juries.

U.S. Missile Defense Plan Is Damaging International Security

A Proposed U.S. Missile Defense Plan for Europe is Already Damaging International Security and Stability. Relations With Russia Are Being Set Back By Decades.

"The U.S. Is Raising the Risk of Mutual Destruction"-- Russian Pres. Vladamir Putin

A proposed U.S. missile defense system for Europe is already causing international instability. Relations between Russia and Europe have reached their lowest point since the demise of the Soviet Union.

At a time when the U.S. can least afford a new diplomatic crisis, the neo-cons have created yet another problem for the country. The Bush administration (without the knowledge of the American people and with no debate), has plans to put a missile defense system, including an early warning radar system, in Eastern Europe. Such a move is very likely to trigger a new arms race and has set back U.S.- Russia relations by 20 years.

The plan calls for interceptor missiles to be hosted by Poland and the Czech Republic. However, there is no good reason for such a system. Any benefits are far outweighed by the consequences. Russia has already stated that it will counter this move. Russian President Putin has announced that Russia may no longer honor a long standing European Security Treaty, called the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty or CFE treaty. The treaty is one of the bedrocks of European stability. The treaty limits the number of troops and the amount (and type) of weapons that can be deployed in the border areas between Russia and Eastern Europe. The treaty basically created a large demilitarized zone, and was designed to prevent arms races, and accidental military clashes.

This move by Russia (to possibly pull out of the CFE treaty) will likely pave the way for a Russian military build-up of some kind in Europe, which could include the deployment of nuclear weapons. Of Course the U.S. and NATO may respond...and then there could be a tit for tat situation that spirals almost out of control.

The U.S. claims that the system is not aimed at Russia, however, there is no other logical explanation for it. No other nation would require this kind of U.S. Plan. Iran does not pose such a threat at the moment. And even if it did, the U.S. has other options, such as mobile naval based TMD systems and other systems that could deal with such a threat.

This U.S. initiative is reckless and is already having a negative impact on international security. It is another example of Bush administration incompetence on the world stage. Luckily there are several European governments that are weary about the U.S. and its anti-missile plan. They are not enthusiastic about a new arms race and instability on their continent. Hopefully these countries will be able to kill this deal before it kills us. This plan does nothing to increase our security.

For Russia, this is yet another threat in a long lost of threats that it sees from the U.S. Russia has already seen U.S. meddling in the conflict in the Russian region of Chechnya, the invasion of Iraq of which Russia had economic interests, the attack against Russia's ally Yugoslavia, the U.S. push for Kosovo independencs, the U.S. threatening Russian interests in Iran, an out of control expansion of NATO right up to Russia's doorstep, basically in an effort to surround, isolate & intimidate Russia and as a symbolic way to humiliate Russia. The proposed additional NATO nations offer nothing of military significance, just like the newest NATO members. Many of these countries are unstable and have known disputes with neighbors. Bringing these countries into NATO actually raises the risk of a military confrontation, rather than deterring one. Ukraine and Georgia are the newest countries nominated for NATO membership. These are two very unstable countries with a lot of political, and ethnic turmoil. But I believe that the European and U.S. defense industries are at least partly behind this. Each new NATO country has to have new upgraded military hardware that matches up with the U.S. and the rest of Europe....big business for the defense industry.

Russia has also seen U.S. meddling in its disputes with Georgia and Ukraine, and is still upset about the U.S. withdrawal from the ABM treaty. Let's put this into perspective. If the U.S. had a former giant foe who was making alliances with one country after another, moving closer to our borders and even surrounding our territory, Americans would not only be nervous but would be pretty upset and angry. But let's consider that the same rival was also invading other countries (as the U.S. is doing today) putting military force at the heart of its international political strategy....if Americans were facing this, they would be in a panic. So the Russian reaction (so far) is not surprising or unreasonable....and should have been predicted by policymakers in Washington DC who are paid six figure salaries to know this ahead of time.

The Peace and Anti-War community in the U.S. and around the world must make this missile defense dispute a top priority. Hopefully European governments will get an earful from their citizens, encouraging Europe to scrap this plan.

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Related Links

Russia still willing to negotiate with neighbors

A Roundup of the Weeks Events

The On Point Public radio program offers great analysis of the past weeks events.

Topics include the Democratic Debate in South Carolina, Iraq legislation (and the strategy by Congressional Democrats to get Bush to veto their Iraq funding bill), George Tenet and more.

Listen to Program Here

George Tenet Comes Out Of The Shadows With New Book

Former CIA director George Tenet is breaking his silence about his experiences with the Bush Administration. In a new book entitled "At The Center of the Storm: my years at the CIA", Tenet candidly discusses what was happening in the inner-circle of the White House during the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq. He states that there was no real debate within the White House before the war.

George Tenet says that the Bush Administration used him as a scapegoat. His "Slam Dunk" comment was taken out of context and overblown.

This is yet another blow for the Bush Administration. Although the claims of no real debate taking place is not surprising. This only confirms what many people (myself included) thought all along. It is clear that the Bush administration wanted to go to war with Iraq even before 9/11. In fact, they wanted to go to war with Iraq before Bush even became President. If you read old documents from the PNAC (Project for a New American Century), a right-wing neo-conservative group that basically became the foundation of the Bush administration, you will find that interest in the Middle East, particularly Iraq, and concern for oil are spelled out. The use of military power to inject Democracy into the Middle East and to control energy are major aims of the organization.

Some believe that Tenet followed along too willingly, and allowed himself to be used, and that he even facilitated the Iraq disaster when he probably knew better. He should have spoken up while he was still in office.

George Tenet will be on 60 Minutes Today. This will be the kickoff of several speaking engagements and interviews that he will do all across the country. I will blog his interviews here, so stay tuned.

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The Moderate Voice Is Also Covering the Tenet Story

An Example of Corporate and Government Pimping

Hear a quick example of how the Government (and Corporate America) pimps ordinary citizens.

The following story is from St. Louis Radio station KMOX AM. The story is about a St. Louis area resident, Jo Anne Bailey, who had her property (home) value increase by 50% after a mandatory assessment by the County Government. This is done so that the County gets more in tax revenue. Yet at the same time, her property was determined to be blighted by the local government, so that her property can be snatched through eminent domain. Ms. Bailey's home is located on land where developers want to build commercial property. Her home happens to be in an area where some of St. Louis County's most prime real-estate is located....so it's far from being "blighted". This area has homes that range anywhere from three hundred thousand to over a million dollars.

Hear Story

Local governments basically admit to being frauds when they do this, because property that goes up 50% in value can't be blighted..... especially in an area of prime real-estate. In the case of St. Louis County, I think that the government unintentionally slipped up and exposed its own fraud. This was apparently a case of different government agencies not communicating (or conspiring) good enough.

The tax assessment should provide the homeowner with plenty of ammo to fight the blighted claim on her property. But the Federal government has to do something about this kind of government sanctioned fraud...conducted in cooperation with Corporations. This is why the Supreme Court ruling from a couple of years ago, allowing local governments to take land for "private" use was a bad deal.....because it opened the floodgates for this kind of fraud....basically legalizing it. There were not enough safeguards in place to protect citizens from this kind of government abuse.

This is a classic example of a local government abusing the "blight" laws for corporate interests. The concept of listing property as blighted was originally intended to be a catalyst for redeveloping and improving poor, run-down areas. However, in recent years, blight laws have been abused by governments in more middle class or upscale areas, to assist corporate entities with taking private property, mainly homes and small businesses, so that larger commercial properties can be built.

Citizens like Ms. Bailey are catching hell coming and going. On one hand, her property faced an extremely high property assessment for the purpose of increasing her taxes, but on the other hand her land has been slapped with the "blighted" title so that her property can be taken at rock bottom prices. By getting hit with the "blighted" label, developers will be able to get away with offering the homeowner lowball amounts rather than a fair market price. Furthermore, if developers decided for some reason to change their minds and move on, Ms. Bailey is then stuck with a "blighted" home or a home that once had that label. This would make it harder to sell the home.

The African American Roundtable

Hear another great African American roundtable discussion from NPR.

Program from Friday, April 27th.

Guests discuss Thursday's debate between Democratic candidates for president; and Vice President Dick Cheney's commencement speech at Brigham Young University.

Joining the panel: Mary Frances Berry, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania; Joe Davidson, an editor at The Washington Post; Nat Irvin, professor of future studies at Wake Forest University.

Listen To Program (link fixed)

Race is onstage in South Carolina debate

Democrats may have to address the issues of inequality and justice

Those stately homes sit on the mostly white side of town. In the city's poor black neighborhoods, the odd laundromat and ramshackle corner grocery are spread amid broken-down cars and beat-up furniture left stranded on the buckled sidewalks. A decrepit mobile home park and some clapboard homes — windows gone, porches collapsed, boards missing — seem scarcely fit for human habitation.

Those disparities could force an uncomfortable conversation. The issues likely to come up in tonight's Democratic presidential debate are familiar ones — the war in Iraq, healthcare, the economy, education. The big difference in South Carolina is race, which overlays just about every policy discussion in the state, as it has since Emancipation and reconstruction.

"Here you have to face issues that candidates shy away from elsewhere," said state Rep. Bakari T. Sellers, who went to school in Orangeburg and now represents the district next door. "Issues of justice and inequality. Issues of race."

I'm looking forward to this debate. I want the candidates to acknowledge some awful truths and put forth substantive proposals on how to deal with the problems that have been caused by government policies born of racism. I know that's a lofty order, and I'll probably be disappointed, but that's what I want.

"When you look at the candidates up on the stage, the whole world will think how far we've come," said Bakari Sellers, who has driven past All Star bowling alley countless times yet never set foot inside. "But if you look just below the surface here in South Carolina, where you have the Confederate flag still flying, where you have such widespread inequality, you see how far we still have to go."

It'll be interesting to see how far the candidates are willing to go.

make it plain

Hey John McCain "its your support for Bush and his Iraq war ... Stupid"

I'm not with this nit-wit, Whit Ayres regarding his comments in WaPo regarding John McCain when he said:

"It's a far more competitive race than it was six months ago, but I think people continually have a tendency to jump to premature conclusions about political campaigns," said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster not working for any of the candidates. He added that McCain's "national stature is so great and the campaign's fundraising potential is so great that it would be a serious mistake to write him off prematurely."

Both, Nit-Wit, Whit Ayres, and John McCain have to be some stupid bastard's to think the American people are going to support his campaign. McCain can launch his bid for the White House all he wants. His candidacy is going nowhere fast.

This turkey is done! Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has surged past McCain in national polls because of one thing, McCains public and private support for Bush's unpopular war and policy in Iraq.

"Its your support for Bush and his Iraq war... Stupid"

African American Political Pundit is a regular contributor to Mirror on America

Remember Jessica Lynch?

Lynch Tells The Truth About The Lies of Bush & Company

Jessica Lynch was the U.S. Army Private who was turned into a war hero by the Bush Administration in an effort to stir up emotions of Patriotism and to help sell the War in Iraq. She was used as a propaganda tool. This was particularly effective at the time because the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 were still fresh in the minds of Americans. The public at the time (not very knowledgeable about what the hell was going on in the World) had fallen for the lie told by the Bush administration that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11.

Lynch was captured in the early days of the Iraq War, suffering various injuries. The myth that was sold at the time said that she fought off several enemy fighters single-handedly, while she lay wounded. She quickly gained hero status. Of course we have since learned that this was all a lie, perpetrated by top military officers and by the Bush administration to tamper with the emotions of the American public...to strengthen support for the war (which was already strong at the time). It was just a part of a whole series of lies used by the Bush Administration to bolster support for the war.
Well today, for the first time, Jessica Lynch went before Congress to tell the whole ugly truth about the situation and how she was glorified for political purposes. She was joined by Kevin Tillman, the brother of Pat Tillman, who was also used for propaganda purposes.

The Hearing Was Conducted by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Chairman- Henry Waxman.

Hear Lynch's Historic Testimony

Hear the Testimony of Kevin Tillman

Watch The Full Hearing

The People Behind the Images

British TV personality Louis Theroux looks at the U.S. Rap industry, and explores how the negative images in Rap are promoted.

They have been able to warp the minds of consumers & the artists.
Unable to find the full video.

"Black death is being pimped by Corporations" -- Chuck D. in Documentary, Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.

The video speaks for itself.



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See the Documentary- Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes (Video At Bottom of Page).

Random Thoughts, April 24th

I just watched the Anderson Cooper Special Report from CNN about "Snitching" -The predominantly Black urban practice of not cooperating with Police, not providing witness information, etc. and in the process, protecting criminals. BLACK FOLKS ARE KILLING THEIR OWN WITH THIS FOOLISHNESS!!!

As a black man, I am embarrassed by this nonsense. What we are seeing is the mental genocide of Black people in this country. Their hearts are still pumping blood through their veins, but the souls of some Black folks are dead....and their minds are on vacation.
I see no hope for this situation.... which is driven by the ignorant Rap culture. Nothing will change it overnight. This is because Rap culture has such a strong influence on Black Americans. This is why I am glad I don't listen to the stuff. In fact, I pride myself on being Rap-Free for the past 16 years.

But as I have mentioned before.... just a few things will change this situation...

#1. Parenting/Restoration of Family. I have covered Bill Cosby quite a bit on this blog as he spoke about the need for Black people to get back to good parenting and to restore the concept of family (a value that no longer holds prominence in Black Culture). There are too many "Parents" who have no business with children... many just don't have the upbringing to provide good guidance and a healthy environment for a child. The fact that Black culture is going down the toilet should be no surprise to anyone who is paying attention.

#2. The second thing that could change this situation is Black women finally standing up and saying "No More"!. They must reject the negative images of women created by Rap culture and by corporations. However, I don't see this happening anytime soon. Black women are some of the biggest consumers of this music. How ironic is that sh*t? When they should be protesting it, they are out buying the CD's and bobbing their heads to the music....providing a living for the
very people who are degrading them. Not a day goes by where i'm not pissed off by this craziness.

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I don't watch much TV..... much of the programming is just asinine. But over the past few months, I have become hooked on the re-runs of the Amazing Race. strangely enough, I never caught the original programs.... because of my working hours.

The show is a good escape.... you can mentally put yourself in the different places where they travel. Plus, they always seem to find a way to hook you....to get you to tune in for the next episode.

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Too many things to do, and not enough time to do them.

I am trying to go back to school again... all part of self improvement, and making myself "viable". And an effort to get "established".

In my 30+ years, I have never really been in a position to really enjoy life.... to stop and smell the flowers. I have been stuck in this meaningless paperchase....of which I have reaped no benefits as of yet. I am beginning to wonder if any of my efforts have been worth it.

I often see lesser men who have everything.... girlfriends/wives (some gorgeous), families, are home owners, and have their financial situations in order....and seem happy. So somewhere I must have taken a wayward turn.

In American culture people are increasingly defined by class. In fact, the U.S. is becoming more like a Caste system...like in India. Your social circles are defined by your economic class. Your relationship with the opposite sex is determined by class. Almost every aspect of life is determined by class level. We are defined by job, income, our zip codes, appearance, race, etc... and on top of that, it is now becoming harder to move from one class to another. This lack of class mobility is one of the main characteristics of a Caste system.

Can we really be surprised by the actions of Cho Seung-Hui? Yes, he was probably predisposed to murder-suicide because of one or more mental conditions, but he was certainly helped along by pressures & conditions in American culture. He was, in part, an American creation. As an immigrant from S. Korea, he was teased by his American classmates, who (while teasing him) mistakenly called him Chinese. This kind of ethnic, religious and cultural ignorance is pervasive and ingrained in American culture. With that kind of taunting, it is a miracle that he did not have major issues sooner than he did. But on top of that, he was under pressure from his family and community to "do well". "Doing Well" for Asian immigrants means measuring up to a white standard. This is especially the case for the men. For Asian women.... what do you often see? What does "doing well" mean for them? It often means meeting and marrying a White man.... meaning a White man who is "successful".... has plenty of money, etc etc. This is actually encouraged in many Asian families.... parents wanting their daughters to marry White men...with the idea that this person would be the best for their daughter because of the assumption that they are successful, have financial wealth, etc. It's sickening.

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I am looking forward to the Summer. I will probably be in school or signed up by then (unless a job offer comes). I am hoping to get into Washington University in St. Louis.... one of the best Universities in the World. I wish I would have started last year....but I needed a break after just finishing a degree at another University. Washington University is a diamond in the rough for St. Louis. I often think that it is one of the few good reasons why anyone should move here, lol.

I know that I probably can't afford it.... because I am in enough debt as is. But I have to be able to compete. If I change my mind and decide to go somewhere else, it will probably be Webster University (another good school...though not as good as Washington U.), where I have already earned a degree. I can't really go wrong with either school.

It just seems that as a Black man... there is no such thing as having too much education.
I just wish I had some help on these student loans.... which total between 50 and 60 thousand at this point. These people are already calling me wanting their money.... but I have the same crappy job that I had a year ago.... so I have no money for them. I have a policy now of not answering the phone because of all the calls from the loan companies. They'll get their money....but i'm in no hurry. Hell....why can't education be free in this country? At least the first two years of college should be free IMO. This goes back to the class thing... poor folks start off at a disadvantage....because they either can't afford college at all....have to join the military for money, or have to go deep into debt.... starting their lives tens of thousands of dollars behind. This is what priviledged kids take for granted....they typically don't have to worry about these kinds of problems.


That's enough for now.....

Bush Administration Facing New Investigation

The White House is facing a new investigation from the Office of Special Counsel. The Investigation will focus on White House Operations, particularly the activities of Karl Rove and his involvement in the firings of U.S. Attorneys. See here and here. The agency will be looking for violations of the Hatch Act.

I'm skeptical about these kinds of investigations. Although the agency is independent, the person leading the probe was appointed by Bush. These investigations never seem to go anywhere. But even the news of a new investigation won't be good for Bush & Co. or the Republican Party, especially with the election next year.

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Previous Post On This Issue

New PBS Documentary - Gangs Of Iraq

PBS has just released a great new documentary- Gangs of Iraq. The program takes a look at the effort to recruit & train Iraqi security forces, and how religious and tribal divisions have made it nearly impossible to put effective military and police forces in place in Iraq. Iraqi police and military personnel often put tribal and religious loyalties ahead of their jobs. This made it easy for Iraqi security forces to be infiltrated by militant groups.

The training of these security forces is important if Iraq is to defend itself and handle its own affairs.

Watch Documentary Online

See a companion page of video diaries made by ordinary Iraqis

Mainpage with Related Links

Imus Backlash Finally Producing Some Results

But It's Not Even Close to Being Enough

St. Louis based broadcasters Michael and Steve Roberts are leading the way towards cleaning up the garbage (Rap) that is put over the airwaves. The entrepreneurs have just announced that they will stop playing music with offensive lyrics.

The trend is catching on with broadcasters across the country. A major FM station in New York has decided to change its format away from thug rap to something less offensive and a little less damaging to the community.

Unfortunately, these broadcasters have not gone far enough. For example, the Roberts brothers say that while they will cut out the most offensive material, they will still play plenty of other rap, including rap from the artists whos lyrics they have had to ban. To me this is like doing Cancer surgery and only cutting out SOME of the disease. As we all know.... you must remove all of the disease if the patient (in this case young Black America) is to survive.
That's what thug rap is for the so-called "Black community"... it's a Cancer.

Now Russell Simmons, One of the Kings of Coonery, is doing an about face by calling for the elimination of 3 words from Rap lyrics. This could be a start, but it really doesn't get to the heart of the matter. The misogyny will still be expressed in other ways....especially in the videos. And as far as the words, the Rap culture can and will simply create euphemisms to replace these words... doing very little to blunt the impact of this language.

What we are seeing with the Roberts brothers, Russell Simmons, New York's 105 FM and others calling for these bans, is more likely an effort to sanitize the negatives of the Rap industry so that it will be more acceptable without really changing in a fundamental sense. It's like putting Sheeps clothing on a wolf.... or sugar coating a poison pill. Even if these efforts are successful, Rap will not be any less dangerous or damaging to society....especially to Black youth.

Misogyny, senseless materialism, "bling", an over emphasis on sex, thuggery, irresponsibility, and other ignorance will continue to be the overriding messages carried by this degenerate "Black" cultural expression. This is what needs to change. And until it does, Black culture will continue to go down the toilet.

And one voice that is missing in the debate is the voice of Black women. Where are Black women on this issue? They continue to be silent. Perhaps they are too busy bobbing their heads to the same kind of rap music that has been degrading them for much of the past decade. The irony is unbelievable.

Beyond the mild protest against Nelly by Spellman College, Black women have not taken a clear stand in this debate, nor have they really made a whimper. They have been absent.... MIA in this debate. What happened to the Black women of the 1960's and 70's (or the 80's for that matter)? There use to be a thread of consciousness among them. I have often wondered if they even care what their image is (collectively speaking.... because I know there are a few who do care quite a lot). When there is a demeaning comment, or image in the media....particularly from Rap, they have usually been muted. This is what made the Imus situation stand out and made it so hypocritical.

Juanita Millender McDonald Passes Away

She was one of the few CBC members who was outspoken about the situation in Darfur. If the CBC wants to honor her memory, then they would be much more aggressive on Darfur and other issues. She also pushed for reform of the election process.... something high on the list of issues for me.

Report

Audio Report

Bio

High Turnout in French Election

The French elections are an example of Democracy in action.

Perhaps the U.S. could take notes.

74% voter turnout, multiple parties to choose from (more than 2 significant parties)....no media determining who the favorites are and brainwashing the people.... The people decide, NOT the media. As an American I can't help but get a little green with envy. The U.S. has nothing close to this kind of system. But the U.S. LOVES to boast that it is the greatest Democracy on earth.

The Black Minstrel Show Continues

The following is a post from co-blogger Sonya. She comments on a 60 minutes discussion between Anderson Cooper & Thug rapper (& Cancer to the "Black Community) Cameron Giles. They discuss the issue of "snitching".

Cam'ron: Snitching Hurts "Code Of Ethics"
Rapper Also Tells Anderson Cooper It Would Hurt His Business

(CBS) Rap star Cam'ron says there's no situation — including a serial killer living next door — that would cause him to help police in any way, because to do so would hurt his music sales and violate his "code of ethics."

Cam'ron, whose real name is Cameron Giles, talks to CNN's Anderson Cooper for a 60 Minutes report on how the hip-hop culture's message to shun the police has undermined efforts to solve murders across the country.

That doesn't make a bit of sense.

"If I knew the serial killer was living next door to me?" Giles responds to a hypothetical question posed by Cooper. "I wouldn't call and tell anybody on him—but I'd probably move. But I'm not going to call and be like, 'The serial killer's in 4E.'"

Giles' "code of ethics" also extends to crimes committed against him. After being shot and wounded by gunmen, Giles refused to cooperate with police. Why?

"Because … it would definitely hurt my business, and the way I was raised, I just don't do that," says Giles.

Pressed by Cooper, who says had he been the victim, he would want his attacker to be caught, Giles explains further: "But then again, you're not going to be on the stage tonight in the middle of, say, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, with people with gold and platinum teeth and dreadlocks jumping up and down singing your songs, either. We're in two different lines of business."

A sellout by any other name...

"So for you, it's really about business?" Cooper asks.

"It's about business," Giles says, "but it's still also a code of ethics."

Excuse me for a moment while I gag.

Ethics? I call it moral bankruptcy. Inordinate selfishness. Absolute ignorance. What has taken hold of the psyche of a significant number of black people is a pathology so profound that it defies all logic and understanding.

I expect that at some point in the future there will be a lightbulb moment for those who have adopted the code of the lawless and thoughtlessly made themselves willing victims of the predators in their midst. But until that time comes, too many decent people will bear the brunt of the damage resulting from the ignorant rantings of Cam'ron and his kind.

__________________

Cross Posted from Make It Plain

My thoughts:

I don't think there is any hope for the Black community, with this kind of mindset being so pervasive.

It's embarrassing to me as a Black man. Especially when I see so many Black folks defending this nonsense.

Ethics? I call it moral bankruptcy. Inordinate selfishness. Absolute ignorance. What has taken hold of the psyche of a significant number of black people is a pathology so profound that it defies all logic and understanding.

You hit the nail right on the head. Blacks are activily taking part in their own degradation and destruction...and it defies all good sense.

You also mentioned a lightbulb moment might come.... but that light should have lit up in the minds of black folks a long time ago. Look at what is happening in the major metro areas across this country... especially in places like DC, Philly, St. Louis, New Orleans, Houston.... & other places where crime & gang activity is way up. The school systems and other institutions in some of these urban areas are also in disarray. How bad does this have to get before a light goes off?

I honestly believe that these light bulbs are blown. It is time for someone to change the bulbs. The problem is... I don't know if that is even possible....because the skulls of Black folk may be too thick... they are stubborn.

They listen to the rappers more than they listen to their pastors, or their teachers.
Cam'ron mentioned something very profound/revealing...when he stated "the way I was raised, I just don't do that,".

As far as i'm concerned, this is the key. PARENTING. This is why Bill Cosby was right. And this is also why he got such a huge backlash.... because people did not want to look in the mirror.

Good parenting in the so-called "Black Community" is basically non-existent. Parenting in Black America is certainly inadequate. There are always a few good parents who do a great job...but I am referring to the masses of households. Black America is in a crisis when it comes to parenting... this is one of the key sources to all of this poisoning of the brain that we see with Black youth.

This is why Black youth are so out of control (and I see it all the time). This is why they struggle in school...why they are prone to trouble, why they have run-ins with Police. They are not used to boundaries....No one ever set boundaries for them growing up. Therefore they do not respect authority and lack discipline & a sense of responsibility. So they lash out when someone finally sets boundaries for them (usually when it's already too late).

What will turn this thing around? Because I just don't see lightbulbs going off for these people. The Black community is constantly hitting a new low...and each time it does... the light bulbs do not light up.

Recent light bulb moments where lights failed to turn on:

1. Black women and AIDS.

2. The Black drop out rates

3. Black rates of incarceration

4. Katrina

5. and now Don Imus

And there have been several others. But the light bulbs just don't seem to come on, no matter how bad things get.

One of the first steps will have to be rebuilding the concept of family within the so-called "Black Community". A sense of values and morals has to be brought back. And good parenting will have to be key. Other ethnic groups know the importance of parenting...and as a result, youth of other backgrounds generally don't have problems that are as severe as those faced by Black and Latino youth.

New York Times On The Decline Of St. Louis

The New York Times recently took an honest look at my hometown. The city has serious problems, although the wider Metro area is doing well.
The city is attempting to renew itself....but it is progressing too slowly. The city is not condusive to any real recovery.... the crime, the political foolishness, the severe blight, loss of population, the school system, the red tape...all discourage any meaningful or aggressive investment effort. St. Louis never seemed to learn from other cities that have been more successful....such as Atlanta, Cleveland, Seattle, etc. It takes so long to get anything done in St. Louis....whether it's building a hotel, redeveloping blighted areas, building roads, etc. This is also a town where major projects often seem to fall through. "The Bottle District" project- a major proposal to build new condos and retail facilities near the Riverfront (including new skyscrapers) is the latest big project to collapse. Ground was actually broken on the project a couple of years ago, but no work was ever done. The investors, fed up with red tape, eventually pulled out.
It's still hard to go downtown and enjoy an event. Parking can run from $10-15 (Who the hell wants to pay that much just to park?). And even if you do find parking, you have to walk quite a distance to get to your event. This is why I avoid downtown. The other reason is the crime. Other cities that have been successful at revitilizing their downtowns have tackled both problems.... creating plenty of free parking to encourage more downtown visitors (and new residents), AND dealing effectively with any crime issues.

See Report

Training Iraqi Security Forces No Longer Top Priority

U.S. policy-makers have backed off from the idea that training Iraqis should be a top priority.

But this tells me that the U.S. is not serious about seeking an exit strategy. Because training Iraqis would be a key factor in any plan to pull U.S. troops out. But I have believed all along that the U.S. planned to stay in Iraq for several years.

See Report from The Moderate Voice

Interview With Jeremy Scahill

Hear an interview with Jeremy Scahill, Author of book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the Worlds Most Powerful Mercenary Private Army.

LISTEN

________________

Related Posts

View Documentary entitled "Private Warriors". The use of private contractors has created a separate private paramilitary branch of the U.S. Government in Iraq.

View Documentary "Iraq For Sale- The War Profiteers"

How Halliburton is Stealing Your Money

World Facing New Showdown Over Kosovo

Kosovo Independence Could Spark a New Conflict in the Balkans

Just when the U.S. can least afford to stir up another conflict, it appears to be pushing for a diplomatic confrontation over Kosovo Independence.

Russia and Serbia have always vowed that they would not allow Kosovo to become an Independent State. The U.S. sought to delay dealing with the issue in 1999, fearing a wider & more costly dispute. Now the issue has returned.

The U.S. will soon help clear the way for a final vote in the UN which would grant independence to the Serbian province, which has effectively been a UN protectorate since the U.S. led a bombing campaign in 1999 which squashed a civil war and ejected Serbian forces.

But if the Kosovo problem flares up again, it could be an even more dangerous situation than before, because the White House is full of brainless pro-war politicians (not much different from the Clinton Administration in that respect). However, the Bush Administration is much less tactful. The Kosovo situation would require intense & delicate diplomacy to prevent a major political and military problem.

A new Cold War has already begun (but as I like to remind people....the old Cold War never really ended). A renewed conflict in Kosovo could make matters worse, setting Europe, The U.S. and Russia back 20 years.

The last flare up in Kosovo in 1999, nearly led to a confrontation between Russia and NATO.

The Following is from the Herald Tribune

BELGRADE, Serbia: The United States and Russia are heading for a clash in the U.N. Security Council over a U.S.-backed plan that would grant independence to Serbia's breakaway province Kosovo — a diplomatic standoff that could unleash renewed violence.

Washington is pushing a Security Council resolution which it hopes would lead to Kosovo's quick split from Serbia. Russia, a traditional Serb ally, is threatening to block the plan.

The impasse is the latest irritant in relations between the United States and Russia, which is reasserting itself on the international stage largely through its influence as an energy giant. Other high-profile disagreements include U.S. plans to station elements of an anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, and Russia's support for breakaway regions in Georgia and Moldova.

The European Union is seeking to break the deadlock by offering Serbia the prospect of quick membership in the 27-nation bloc if it drops its opposition to the U.N. draft. EU foreign ministers are meeting with their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday in Luxembourg to try to reconcile differences.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said this week that the United States considers independence the only option for the predominantly Muslim region, and has suggested that Washington may recognize Kosovo's split even if Russia vetoes the U.N. plan in the Security Council.

But Lavrov responded in Belgrade on Thursday by noting that unilateral recognition would "endanger the stability" of the Balkans — scene in the 1990s the worst carnage in Europe since World War II — and would be "absolutely unacceptable."

Kosovo has been under U.N. and NATO administration since a 78-day NATO-led air war that halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in 1999 that killed 10,000 people and left nearly a million displaced.

Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, have for decades been seeking independence from Belgrade. But Serbia and Kosovo's Serb minority say the province is the heart of their medieval homeland and must remain within its borders.

Moscow's position is that the U.N. proposal on Kosovo would set a dangerous precedent for separatists elsewhere in the world by dismembering a sovereign U.N. member against its government's will.

Russia supports Serbia's stand to continue negotiating with rival Kosovo Albanians to reach a compromise, something Washington says is impossible after more than a year of deadlock.

Burns said that delaying Kosovo's independence "would lead to more violence, rather than less" — an assertion Lavrov dismissed as "blackmail."
Burns also hinted that the U.S. would support a declaration of independence by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian-dominated parliament.

"We expect that Kosovo's leaders will subsequently declare their independence," Burns said. "The U.S. and other countries will then recognize the new state."
Belgrade officials, who demanded anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Russia is suggesting to the Serbian officials to move some 200 of its police and military staff into the Serb-populated northern Kosovo regions in case the province's independence is recognized without the U.N. Council's consent, an apparent move to keep at least a part of Kosovo under its control.

"You know what that would trigger?" said a ranking Western diplomat, indicating that NATO and EU troops stationed in Kosovo would have to respond with force against the Serbian incursion.

Source

Veterans Struggling to Get Healthcare

Public Radio report on how Veterans are still struggling to get healthcare.

These issues keep cropping up, just as the Bush administration claims that it is doing everything it can for American military personnel.

Alberto Gonzales Flops At Senate Hearing

By DAVID ESPO
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Desperate for support among fellow Republicans, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales faced grim prospects Friday after a bruising Senate hearing that produced one outright call for resignation and a fistful of invitations and hints to quit.

One GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, John Cornyn of Texas, predicted Gonzales would weather the furor and said he should. "Frankly, I don't think the Democrats are going to be satisfied with the resignation by Al Gonzales," he said.

Gonzales gave no indication Friday that he was leaving.

Continue Here

Watch Hearings
Part 1 and Part 2

I knew that he would not leave quickly.... this is why I did not jump on the bandwagon that assumed over the last month, that he would be gone by now.

Although I do believe that he will not finish his term as Attorney General.
What people have to remember is that the Bush administration never does anything quickly, unless it has to do with stealing & diverting taxpayer money, dropping bombs, or curtailing civil liberties. Consider how long it took for the Bush-ites to get rid of Donald Rumsfeld?

Hopefully the next AG will be less loyal to Bush & Co....and will be more loyal to the law. I would also like to see someone with actual experience as a prosecutor.

I personally believe that AG's should not be chosen by the President at all. I think the AG should be chosen via national election and should serve 4 year terms. The position should also avoid dealing with political parties. Until there is an independent Justice Department, politicians will continue to get away with all sorts of misconduct.

________________

Blog Entry from Truthdig

The Fired U.S. Attorneys React to Gonzales' Testimony

"I Yield You No Ground"

Dreier: Will the gentlewoman yield?

Holmes Norton: I will not yield, sir. The District of Columbia has spent 206 years yielding to people who would deny them the vote. I yield you no ground. Not during my time. You have had your say, and your say has been that you think the people who live in your capital are not entitled to a vote in their House. Shame on you.

The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton was the commencement speaker at my law school graduation. Her thesis was: "The law can be noble, and the law can be base." I thought she was wonderful then. I think she's wonderful now. She has ably served the citizens of the District of Columbia as their non-voting Delegate in the House of Representatives since 1991.

It appears that the District of Columbia may finally get a full congressional seat as the House has passed legislation to add one seat for D.C. and another seat for Utah. Of course, it's still an uphill battle because there aren't enough votes in the Senate to avoid a filibuster by republicans, and if it makes it out of the Senate, Bush has threatened to veto it. Republicans don't want the residents of the District of Columbia to have representation. Per the Washington Post:

The House Republican leadership strongly opposed the bill, saying it violates the constitutional requirement that representatives come from states. "This legislation was constitutionally suspect last month, and it is constitutionally suspect today," said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas).

Please. Republicans couldn't care less about the Constitution. Elections have shown us time and time again that the republican party will do whatever it can to prevent as many black people as possible from having a voice in government. It's just that simple. Except for the few like Rep. Thomas Davis:

The House legislation is sponsored by Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) and the city's non-voting congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D). Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) has also championed the measure, leading thousands of demonstrators to Congress this week to demand representation for the city.

"This is a great and historic day for the residents of the District of Columbia," Fenty said in a statement after the vote. "I look forward to the continued success of the D.C. Voting Rights Act and urge the Senate to take up this important legislation immediately."

Kudos to the Democratic leadership and staffers who made this legislative victory possible:

Democrats had expected to use their majority in the House to pass the legislation last month. But Republicans introduced a motion to send the bill back to committee with added language stripping the District of its tough anti-gun laws.

That put the Democratic leaders in a box. They knew that some Democratic members from pro-gun areas would feel obliged to back the motion. If it passed, however, it would have subjected the legislation to potentially lengthy delays in committee, and possibly even killed it, the leaders said.

Democrats realized they had inadvertently turned the D.C. voting-rights bill into a target for all sorts of motions. The source of their trouble: they had added a provision at the last minute to pay for the new House seats. That provision widened the range of permissible attachments to the bill.

In recent weeks, Democratic staffers successfully crafted legislation that would be shielded from such parliamentary maneuvers. They put forward two bills: one adding the House seats, and another that would pay for them, by tweaking a tax provision.

As mentioned above, this is but one skirmish in the long battle against taxation without representation. But as long as D.C. residents, and those who support them, remain steadfast and yield no ground, they will be victorious.

Cross-posted at make it plain

Update to German Army Story

German Army Instructor seen in video has now been fired. Report Here

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Previous Post

Ghetto Nation - A Book By Cora Daniels

With Ghettonation, acclaimed journalist and author, Cora Daniels, takes on one of the most explosive issues in our country today in this thoughtful critique of America's embrace of a ghetto persona that is demeaning to women, devalues education, celebrates the worst African American stereotypes, and contributes to the destruction of civil peace. Her investigation exposes the central role of corporate America in exploiting the idea of ghettoness as a hip cultural idiom, despite its disturbing ramifications, as a means of making money. She showcases Black rappers raised in privileged families who have taken on the ghetto persona and sold millions of albums, and not so Black celebrities such as Paris Hilton, who have adopted ghetto attitudes and styles in pursuit of attention and notoriety. She also gets personal, exploring her own relationship to ghetto and the ways in which she is both part and outside the Ghettonation.

Daniels infuses this serious look at the degradation of American society with the honesty, found in her debut book Black Power Inc., as well as humor - including lists of events and people that deserve placement in the Ghetto Hall of Fame and a short section written entirely in ghetto slang. The result is not only a timely engrossing expose, that will surely trigger much needed debate, but also Ghettonation is a poignant call for action.

See a Book Review From the Washington Post.




Hear 2 Interviews with Author Cora Daniels

Interview 1

Interview 2

Report from USA Today

See Authors Website Here, CoraDaniels.com

See Blog Here

Commentary - The Imus Distraction

The Imus Distraction

By James Harris

Longtime radio personality Don Imus and his executive producer, Bernard McGuirk, have been fired by MSNBC and CBS for their racially charged dialogue during which they referred to members of the Rutgers women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos.” Imus and McGuirk’s comments triggered sharp opposition from black leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. And though both civil rights bigwigs have made careers out of these kinds of remonstrations, I think Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be ashamed of the way that Jackson and Sharpton have pimped his legacy.

During the civil rights movement, blacks fought to gain a seat at the table, asking for basic human rights—to be able to drink from the same fountain as whites, not to be lynched by lawmakers and so on. King’s leadership in the 1950s and ’60s stemmed from one hope: “That little black boys and little black girls would be able to sit at the table of brotherhood with little white boys and little white girls.” King’s dream has, for the most part, come true.

But in the time since, what have blacks and black leaders done with their civil rights? What have leaders like Jackson and Sharpton done to strengthen the spirit of black children who continue to grow up in violent and disjointed communities? By and large, predominantly black areas have festered in tragedy while black leadership has failed to reverse the plight of the black populace.

Michael Eric Dyson, an author and a University of Pennsylvania professor, explained on NBC’s “Today” show that if people like Imus “are using the airwaves to spread hate, [their and] his racial epithets must be met with equal force.” Imus has indeed been met with blunt and comparable force from the black community and from advertisers General Motors and Procter & Gamble. But given the fact that black male high school graduates in their 20s are jobless at a rate of 30 to 50 percent and black male dropouts are jobless at a rate of 60 to 70 percent and, as board Co-Chair of AIDS Project of the East Bay Michon Coleman explained to me, black women account for nearly 70 percent of all new AIDS cases in the United States, there are far more pressing matters for blacks than an inundated radio loudmouth.

If Imus and his cohorts get on the radio and scream “Nigger!” repeatedly for four hours, that has nothing to do with black people. Why does it matter what he says? If the black family is to be made strong, then blacks must take responsibility for their own uplift. And, yes, protest is part of that responsibility, but this particular protest was a waste of time.

I have spoken to Al Sharpton on a few occasions; his radio show and TV show are outstanding. Simply put, he gets it. But I would ask the Reverend, when are blacks going to get past protest of racist diatribe and get to the reparation of the black family? If blacks fail to start reconstruction on their broken social and economic structures and don’t collaborate to start open, honest dialogue about the misogyny and violence that bedevil hip-hop and about the tendency of black men to find homes in prisons across America, then progress will continue to evade those who need it most.

The Imus episode and the surrounding hoopla only divert the attention of America as they force us to recognize the obvious: that there are still racists among us. Dr. King’s legacy was never about making sure whites like Imus didn’t use inflammatory language, but rather it was about the establishment of dignity and pride for blacks who had been stripped of their humanity. What happened to that struggle, to that kind of improvement? I will not—nor should you—celebrate the dismissal of Imus, because after his 15 minutes of shame are over, black men will still be slaying each other with unbelievable frequency in Camden, N.J.—only minutes from Rutgers University. Don Imus may be out of a job, but black pride is still fading into the abyss.

James Harris is a radio producer and filmmaker based in San Francisco, Calif. He has worked in radio for nearly ten years, producing a variety of talk and music content. James is currently directing and producing a documentary film exploring the economic undercurrent of Hurricane Katrina. James holds a BA in Communication from Santa Clara University.

Source

Virginia Tech Suspect Identified - Plenty of Warning Signs

The Virginia Tech shooting suspect has been identified.

Warning Signs Overlooked Again?

According to classmates and instructors, there were plenty of warning signs that indicated something was wrong. However, an effective reporting system may not have been in place.

Various Articles

Suspect identified: Report from the Guardian and the NY Times.

Suspects Writings Raised Questions: From the Houston Chronicle

The blog entry below is from Ian MacFarlane, a former classmate of the suspect and current AOL employee.


What happened yesterday:

When I first heard about the multiple shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday, my first thought was about my friends, and my second thought was "I bet it was Seung Cho."

Cho was in my playwriting class last fall, and nobody seemed to think much of him at first. He would sit by himself whenever possible, and didn't like talking to anyone. I don't think I've ever actually heard his voice before. He was just so quiet and kept to himself. Looking back, he fit the exact stereotype of what one would typically think of as a "school shooter" – a loner, obsessed with violence, and serious personal problems. Some of us in class tried to talk to him to be nice and get him out of his shell, but he refused talking to anyone. It was like he didn't want to be friends with anybody. One friend of mine tried to offer him some Halloween candy that she still had, but he slowly shook his head, refusing it. He just came to class every day and submitted his work on time, as I understand it.

A major part of the playwriting class was peer reviews. We would write one-act plays and submit them to an online repository called Blackboard for everyone in the class to read and comment about in class the next day. Typically, the students give their opinions about the plays and suggest ways to make it better, the professor gives his insights, then asks the author to comment about the play in class.

When we read Cho's plays, it was like something out of a nightmare. The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of. Before Cho got to class that day, we students were talking to each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school shooter. I was even thinking of scenarios of what I would do in case he did come in with a gun, I was that freaked out about him. When the students gave reviews of his play in class, we were very careful with our words in case he decided to snap. Even the professor didn't pressure him to give closing comments.

After hearing about the mass shootings, I sent one of my friends a Facebook message asking him if he knew anything about Seung Cho and if he could have been involved. He replied: "dude that's EXACTLY what I was thinking! No, I haven't heard anything, but seriously, that was the first thing I thought when I heard he was Asian."

While I "knew" Cho, I always wished there was something I could do for him, but I couldn't think of anything. As far as notifying authorities, there isn't (to my knowledge) any system set up that lets people say "Hey! This guy has some issues! Maybe you should look into this guy!" If there were, I definitely would have tried to get the kid some help. I think that could have had a good chance of averting yesterday's tragedy more than anything.

While I was hesitant at first to release these plays (because I didn't know if there are laws against it), I had to put myself in the shoes of the average person researching this situation. I'd want to know everything I could about the killer to figure out what could drive a person to do something like this and hopefully prevent it in the future. Also, I hope this might help people start caring about others more no matter how weird they might seem, because if this was some kind of cry for attention, then he should have gotten it a long time ago.

As far as the victims go, as I was heading to bed last night, I heard that my good friend Stack (Ryan Clark) was one of the first confirmed dead. I didn't want to believe that I'd never get to talk to him again, and all I could think about was how much I could tell him how much his friendship meant to me. During my junior year, Ryan, another friend and I used to get breakfast on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Shultz Dining Hall, one of the cafeterias on campus, and it was always the highlight of my day. He could talk forever it seemed and always made us laugh. He was a good friend, not just to me, but to a lot of people, and I'll miss him a lot.

Source

Below are 2 plays written by suspect, Cho Seung-Hui.

WARNING: Writings Contain Profanity and Disturbing Events

Play #1: Richard McBeef

Play #2: Mr. Brownstone

32 Murdered on Virginia Tech Campus - Not Exactly A Surprise

Monday April 16, 2007

By SUE LINDSEY
Associated Press Writer

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP)- A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, in a classroom across campus Monday, killing at least 30 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history, government officials told The Associated Press. The gunman was killed, bringing the death toll to 31. Update: Total now 33, including gunman.

``Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions,'' said Virginia Tech president Charles Steger. ``The university is shocked and indeed horrified.''

It was not immediately clear whether the gunman was shot by police or took his own life. His name was not released, and investigators offered no motive for the attack. It was not known if the gunman was a student.

The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus, with students complaining that the university did not warn them about the first burst of gunfire until more than two hours later.

Continue Here

_________________________

My Commentary

This was a terrible story to wake up to. It's horrifying.
But I can't say that it is surprising to me. Story from NY Times.

I studied this issue when I was in college. Law Enforcement and Academia refer to this as an "active shooter" incident. This has been a problem that has been widely debated over the past several years.

College campuses (and schools in general) are notoriously open to this kind of incident. This is one of the biggest holes in U.S. "homeland security". The country has not learned from Columbine, and other similar events.

It is easy for a suspect to walk into one of these campuses to do a mass shooting attack. And if a domestic suspect can so easily attack one of our college campuses.... then it would be extremely easy for Al Qaeda to do it. This debate has to be framed in the wider context of Homeland security and terrorism preparedness.

This is part of the big hole in security that the Bush Administration has left open. It has been due to a complete lack of leadership at the top.

The North Hollywood Bank Robbery of 1997 and the Columbine High School massacre of 1999 are probably the two biggest incidents that changed how Law Enforcement approaches active shooters. After these incidents (and several others over the years) many police departments realized that they had to respond to these events more quickly. As a result, many departments formed rapid response units. These units are typically made up of regular street officers who have additional training and are allowed to carry assault rifles & body armor in their patrol cars. These officers can go directly into the area of danger to attempt to neutralize the threat as soon as they arrive at the scene.

This response was needed because it typically takes SWAT teams 10-15 minutes or more to respond to these kinds of incidents (far too late). Many SWAT members are not working at the same time, and have to respond from home or from various parts of a metro area. Equipment has to be brought to an active shooting scene from a central station. Once at a scene, it can take another 5-10 minutes to assess the situation and develop a plan. All of this takes too long. In fact, the original concept of SWAT, which was born in Los Angeles, was not designed to deal with the kind of active shooter situations that we see today, where several people are being shot execution style, over a short time frame. SWAT was created to deal with hostage situations and barricaded individuals, and to carry out dangerous surprise raids. SWAT is more of a long-haul approach, where teams take several minutes to set up and are prepared to wait for several hours before a resolution is reached. But for active shooter situations, SWAT is not very effective at all. Active shooting incidents are almost always over and done with by the time SWAT units arrive. This has been well known for quite some time and is proven over and over again, yet Police departments and local governments across the country have been slow to make the changes necessary to effectively deal with this problem.

In the case of Virginia Tech, SWAT units were already in the area or on alert after the smaller initial shooting, but were still unable to reach victims at the second location in time. However, first responders (who were probably not fully prepared) did appear to arrive while the shooting was still underway.

For active shooters, Law Enforcement needs a time sensitive response... This has been what the Academic community and the Law Enforcement community has been debating for years now. This is how the idea of rapid response units came about. The consensus that has developed on this issue is that first responders are most likely going to have the best chance at stopping such events in progress...and therefore, first responders should be properly equipped to handle these situations.

The problem with the rapid response concept has been a lack of funding, a lack of training, and an uneven implimentation across the country. Most big city departments now have some kind of plan in place for dealing with active shooters, especially in the wake of 911 with the percieved threat of terrorism. However, many of the smaller communities, have not put plans in place. This is problematic, considering that many of our college campuses are in smaller suburban and rural areas. County Sherrifs and small town Police Departments must now sit down and come up with plans to deal with this kind of problem. The small Police Departments that don't have plans and procedures in place, must now come up with an effective policy, and for those Police agencies that do have some kind of plan in place, they must refine those plans.

Even for those places where a rapid response plan is in place, there has not been uniformity regarding procedures. For instance, in St. Louis County Missouri, only patrol Sergeants are allowed to have the assualt rifles....while in other departments, any trained officer can have the extra firepower. In my opinion, the more the merrier, because it's all about decreasing the response time, so that suspects can be killed or cornered before they are allowed to murder more people. Rapid response plans will not prevent all deaths and are not designed to. The aim of rapid response units is to reduce the number of people killed in these kinds of events.

I don't know what the plan was for Virginia Tech or for the Blacksburg Virginia Police Department or Montgomery County Sheriff. But from what I can tell, the response appeared confused and may have been botched. It doesn't appear that any rapid response plan was effectively used. But the large size of the campus should be taken into account. This kind of confusion is common when you have various police agencies (probably well over half a dozen in this case) attempting to respond to this kind of call, and trying to communicate and plan on the fly as the situation evolves.

This also highlights the need to have effective campus Police on hand. College Campuses and High Schools of a certain size should be required by law to have an adequate police staff on hand. Campus police typically will know the area the best- knowing how to get to various buildings, specific offices, knowing the roads in and out, etc. Local police typically have trouble finding specific buildings on such large sprawling campuses... so it's unrealistic to expect them to quickly locate a suspect.

Local police departments in these kinds of communities (along with State & Federal agencies) must practice together at least once a year, and should become familiar with major attractions like college campuses, malls, hospitals, etc, so that confusion can be minimized.

It is also important for College campuses to have certain security procedures in place to begin with, so that it would not be so easy for a suspect to walk freely throughout these kinds of facilities without being challenged...either by systems or by people. Campuses need badge systems for access to buildings...regardless of how much students will complain. There should also be an ability for campus buildings to be locked down and secured (from a central location if needed) before people are allowed in and out. I don't know if such systems would have stopped this shooting considering that the suspect could have been connected with the University as a student or former student. But it would help tremendously.

This hole in Americas domestic security can no longer be ignored. The Bush administration will be forced (unfortunately they have to be forced into doing things) into making policy and funding security initiatives for dealing with this problem.

Now some people will call for more gun control. I am pro-gun control, but it is not clear whether that would have made a difference in this case. We don't have enough information on this case yet to determine if that was a factor. The suspect was not likely someone with a criminal record who would have been prevented from obtaining a weapon. So that would not be an issue if that is the case. Ban guns altogether? That's not going to happen in a country where the right to bear arms is protected under the 2nd amendment of the Constitution. In order to ban weapons, a Constitutional amendment would be required....and that would be impossible. The NRA, one of the most powerful lobbying groups in U.S. history, would work very hard to squash any effort to ban firearms. So in this particular case I don't see the issue of gun control or a lack thereof as being a major factor. Like I mentioned, I am someone who is in favor of gun control. But gun control cannot prevent all of these incidents...and is not designed to. Gun control is designed to make it harder for criminals to obtain guns through legitimate means, to force gun dealers to keep records and play by the rules, to keep certain kinds of weapons & ammunition off the street, and to allow authorities to track gun sales. Gun control does not equal a ban on all firearms.

The fact is, in a country where gun ownership is legal, there will always be a good supply of these weapons. People will have access to them. So I see no way to prevent someone (with no criminal record) from obtaining a weapon to carry out one of these horrific acts. There is no way to screen law abiding purchasers of guns to determine what their intentions are. And even if you make it harder for citizens to get guns through legitimate means, they will still have access to firearms on the street- via the underground market. Therefore the focus must be on how to prevent or mitigate these kinds of attacks after the point where someone has obtained a firearm... more counseling and mental health programs, better security at vulnerable locations, better access control systems, increased deployment and better use of rapid response units, better coordination with security and local law enforcement personnel, etc.

Fox Viewers Least Informed According to Pew

Pew Survey Finds Most Knowledgeable Americans Watch 'Daily Show' and 'Colbert'-- and Visit Newspaper Sites

By Editor and Publisher Staff

Published: April 15, 2007

(NEW YORK) A new survey of 1,502 adults released Sunday by Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that despite the mass appeal of the Internet and cable news since a previous poll in 1989, Americans' knowledge of national affairs has slipped a little. For example, only 69% know that Dick Cheney is vice president, while 74% could identify Dan Quayle in that post in 1989.

Other details are equally eye-opening. Pew judged the levels of knowledgeability (correct answers) among those surveyed and found that those who scored the highest were regular watchers of Comedy Central's The Daily Show and Colbert Report. They tied with regular readers of major newspapers in the top spot -- with 54% of them getting 2 out of 3 questions correct. Watchers of the Lehrer News Hour on PBS followed just behind.

Virtually bringing up the rear were regular watchers of Fox News. Only 1 in 3 could answer 2 out of 3 questions correctly. Fox topped only network morning show viewers.

Told that Shia was one group of Muslims struggling in Iraq, only 32% of the total sample could name "Sunni" as the other key group.

The percentage of those who knew their state's governor dropped to 2 in 3. Almost half know that Rep. Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of the House and 2 in 3 know that Condi Rice is secretary of state. But just 29% can identify Scooter Libby, 21% know Robert Gates and 15% can name Sen. Harry Reid.

But nearly 9 in 10 knew about President Bush's troop escalation in Iraq.

Men scored higher than women, and older Americans did better than younger, on average. Democrats and Republicans were about equally represented in the most knowledgeable group but there were more Republicans in the least aware group.

Source: Editor & Publisher

Revisiting Ann Coulter

My Ann Coulter post has caused quite a stir on the blogoshere....
Becoming by far the most hit post on MOA.

Of course, I never intended for it to get so much attention.... I actually wish some of my other good postings (much more informative and interesting) would have gotten that many hits. Folks who have discovered my blog through this posting have been missing out.

German Army Recruits Told to Imagine Killing Blacks

A video recently released shows a German army recruit being told, during rifle training, to imagine killing Black Americans. See BBC report and video.

This sent chills down my spine because I lived in Germany for more than 3 years, back when I was a teenager. I came in contact with the German Army on a daily basis. German troops (not American forces) were responsible for guarding the joint German/U.S. Army Post where my father was stationed. We lived in a sprawling U.S. Housing area, just outside of the small Post. So whenever I would go to base, I had to be checked by Germans. Luckily the Germans that I came in contact with were usually reasonable, approachable people. I can't recall any major problems.... they usually knew who the military dependents were...and (if we were not on any alerts) they would just wave you through half the time. But you never really knew what was really on their minds... largely because of the language barrier.

I hope that this was just an isolated situation....and that the German military does something to discourage this kind of activity in the future. But then again....if they do change, will it be because they really wanted to change, or because they got caught this time? You can never get the true answer to this kind of question.

I would also like to know how long this had been going on? I'm sure that it didn't start with the incident that was released on video.

The U.S. government has been far too quiet on this story, although diplomatically I hope that someone is saying something. You have a foreign government (ally or not) telling its soldiers to imagine killing U.S. citizens, and we hardly hear a peep from our government? Something is wrong with that picture. If this had occurred between any other 2 countries, it would likely be considered a major diplomatic incident. Depending on how you look at it, the lacking U.S. response either shows that the countries have a very good, mature relationship, or it shows a high level of indifference on the part of White America regarding this story (particularly among the elites in Washington D.C.).

This irks me, considering the number of Black Americans who have participated in the defense of that country, and considering how U.S. taxpayers basically built the modern Germany...and continued to subsidize that country for decades.

Additional Report from The Guardian

New Co-Blogger

MOA has recently added a new co-blogger. She is a #1 draft pick in the world of blogging. :)

Sonya is a screenwriter & blogger from Los Angeles.
She offers Progressive commentary here a few times a month.
She also has her own blog called “Make It Plain”.

Her resume is so impressive that the rest of her bio has to remain under wraps. I am glad to have her as a co-blogger for MOA.

I am still looking to add 1-2 more co-bloggers. It would be good to finally have a full blogging team.... Hopefully I can have that in place by the Summer.

I would like to cut my blogging by half. I also need to take a hiatus....

More Imus & Why I Struggle With Being Black

Ben Chavis & Russell Simmons

Russell Simmons and Ben Chavis, two pimps who see themselves as leaders for Black people, have released a statement supporting the behavior of rappers who use degrading language. They say that rappers should be held to a different standard than Imus, and therefore should get a pass. This is their response to the heat that the Rap industry is now feeling after the Don Imus incident. This is the response I predicted from the Rap world... I mentioned that they would try to split hairs and make excuses.

Russell Simmons and Ben Chavis are perfect examples of why Black Culture is going down the toilet. They are examples of what I hate about "Black America". For one, they are showing the World that “Black leaders” in this country are Hypocrites…. The rest of Black America as a whole now runs the risk of being labeled as hypocritical because of these thugs.

Every now and then I come across a person or an issue that reminds me of what I hate about being African American. Russell Simmons and Ben Chavis are the latest to bring those feelings out. Race is a huge internal struggle for The Angry Independent. I have struggled with race (my own race) since I was in Middle School. Black Americas reaction to the Imus situation is one of those things that makes me hate being Black.... at least momentarily. It's something that comes and goes....but it has been one of my biggest struggles since I was a young man.... It probably started in the 5th grade when I began attending an almost all-white school in Kansas (I spent part of my youth growing up in rural/urban Kansas..among other places). I guess you can say that this is something that I have in common with Barak Obama. Prior to that I had gone to mixed schools and predominantly Black schools in the St. Louis area. But from the 5th grade on... I went to schools where the vast majority of students were White. I experienced the usual racism that you get in those settings.

I always wondered how things would be different if I were White. Would the stereotypes go away, would my professional and social life be better, would my childhood have been any better, would my future be better, would my love life be better....and when I think of each one of those things... the answer has to be a resounding yes.

I am more convinced than ever that “Black America” will never be able to fully advance like it should until these kinds of Cancers (Rap moguls and some of these old civil rights pimps) are cut out of the community. The thug rap culture, especially the music, must be dismantled if Blacks in urban America want to regain hope and if Black culture is to be redeemed. When someone has Cancer, typically the best way to deal with it is to cut it out or fry it...kill it. Rap music & the thug Rap culture is Black Americas Cancer.... and it has metastasized all over the body. Black America has to eventually decide how to defeat this disease.....or if it even wants to fight it (Black folks haven't even gotten to that point yet). I hate to say it but when it comes to Black America, it may already be too late to save the patient.

Of course Rap music is not the direct cause or the only cause for the ills that plague Black America, but it plays a big role in reinforcing certain lifestyles that-when combined with other factors- contribute to conditions that hurt Black folks, especially Black youth. Rap is like a mental prison that has become a barrier for Black folks, making it hard for them to take the steps necessary to deal with their social, political, and economic conditions.

Non-Blacks are going to look at me as if Hypocrite is written across my forehead, because of this Imus nonsense. In fact, I have already been catching hell about that issue at work from white counterparts… Black Americans everywhere might as well get ready to deal with being labeled hypocrites. This is only the beginning. My white co-workers get so riled up about this that it takes 10 minutes for them to realize that I am not in the Al Sharpton or Russell Simmons camp.

This will be one more thing that Black males will have to put up with…. As if being Black was not enough. All courtesy of an ignorant backward “Black leadership”.
But pimps like Russell Simmons and Ben Chavis DO NOT represent me. They represent the half of Black Americans who support the foul language and vile depictions of Black people (particularly women) in Rap. I just saw a report on CNN Headline news where one goofy rapper stated that the rap community should support Imus and his statements (I am not making this sh*t up). Black America is dealing with a very serious problem in the form of Rap music and Rap culture.

Unfortunately I don't think Black America will fight very hard to change it... in a few weeks....it will be back to business as usual. Hell, some Black women even defend this sickness. Ironically, Black women are the key to any solution. I always mention that Black women MUST be the catalyst for changing this situation. But I don't have much hope that Black women will take up this challenge.

Meanwhile, Al Sharpton is calling for a “Dialogue” with rappers. A Dialogue? No firings? No protests? No calls to advertisers? No boycotts?

This sounds like the same lame bull…. That he was calling for before. It looks like we are back to business as usual.

I will try to use this blog to keep track of & highlight rap moguls, so-called "Black leaders" & Black intellectuals who are making excuses for rappers and do not want rappers or the Rap industry to be held accountable.

People like Ben Chavis and Russell Simmons make me embarrassed to be Black in America.

_________________________

RELATED ARTICLES

Imus pays for his slurs; rappers bank on them

After Imus: Rap Deserves a Slap in the Face (A Christian womans perspective)

Get rid of Imus -- and sexist rap, too

Imus Got His Trash Talk Pass Yanked, Now Yank it for Blacks Who Talk The Same (by Earl Ofari Hutchinson)

Don Imus Is Out At NBC and CBS

Imus has finally been fired by NBC and now by CBS radio. This was a decision driven by the advertisers who began to bail on these two networks.

I am happy with the decision, but hope that it doesn't become a model for Black hypocrisy. Black America has just raised the bar for itself in terms of what kind of language is acceptable. Now this standard must be applied across the board. Hopefully this aggressive effort to have folks fired, to organize protests, to have advertisers pull their ads, etc will not end with Don Imus.

Many African Americans have tried to make excuses for this kind of language when it comes from within the "Black Community".

Others are sort of stuck on the fence, saying that they don't agree with the language, but it's the "White man's" fault- White Executives at record companies are calling the shots that determine what rappers say and determine how women (especially Black women) are depicted in music videos.

And then there are other African Americans like myself who feel that the standard that we held Don Imus to, must be the same standard that is applied across the board. Anything less is wrong, and hypocritical....and will make "Black America" look bad in the end.

I don't buy the argument that it's the "White man's" fault...that White Executives are behind all of these ills. There was more truth to that 10-15 years ago. However, this is not so much the case anymore. Many of these Black rappers are also top moguls, who either have their own record labels or control their own sub-labels under the umbrella of larger record companies. Rap moguls (thugs)- such as Jay-Z, Sean Puffy Combs, Damon Dash, Dr. Dre, Master P, Irving Lorenzo, Cash Money, 50 cent, Jermaine Dupri, and many others- have full artistic control over what they do. There is no one holding a gun to their heads, telling them exactly what to say and how to depict women. These are grown men (& women...in the case of Debra Lee of BET) who make a conscious decision to engage in this behavior. So that argument about the White man making them do it can no longer fly. Black America has to start taking responsibility for the poison that it has helped to create. Of course the wider American culture must also be held accountable, but Black culture has been hiding behind that for too long. It's time for "Black America" to own up to its responsibility and culpability on this issue and it must finally do something (substantial) about the problem.

Hear a discussion from earlier in the week.

White House Says Documents Are Missing

Congress has recently approved more subpoenas in the case of the fired Federal Attorneys, but the White House now says that many of the e-mails have conveniently gone missing. Also see story from the Washington Post.

Apparently the criminal organization in the White House has been using private back-channel e-mail services, set up by the RNC, for official government business (in violation of the Hatch Act). Part of the back-channel system involves purging e-mails (in violation of the Presidential Records Act of 1978). Several of the e-mails just happen to pertain to the Congressional investigation into the motives involved in the firings of 8 U.S. Attorneys.

But Patrick Leahy, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, says that he doesn't believe the White House and will push to have the e-mails recovered.

I sense a cover-up here. There must be something that they want to hide. However, I doubt if the Congress will be able to get to the bottom of what the White House has been up to. As I stated in an earlier post, Bush & Co. operate like a Mob organization....covering their tracks, using back-channel communications, etc.

However, Congress could pass more laws making it harder for White House officials to use back-channel communications and could stiffen the panalties for violations of laws like the Presidential Records Act.

_____________________

Hear audio report from NPR

Suicide Bomber Strikes The Iraqi Parliament

A suicide bomber struck the Iraqi Parliament yesterday, killing at least 8 people and wounding 2 dozen others. The brazen attack took place deep inside the green zone, the supposedly secure area of the Iraqi Capital.

The latest incidents (including the destruction of a bridge in a separate bombing) do not reflect well on the new security initiative in Baghdad. If bombers can attack the most secure areas, then they can attack anywhere....which is the message that insurgents wanted to send.

__________________

Hear audio story from NPR

Cold War Rages In Ukraine

Just a couple of years after sweeping to power on the shoulders of the "Orange Revolution", Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko finds himself in a political crisis.

Over the past few years, Ukraine has been one of the hotspots of a renewed Cold War between Russia and the West. Both the U.S. and Russia have been engaged in a proxy political battle, meddling in the internal affairs of Ukraine in order to gain strategic influence. The U.S. has been supporting the pro-Western Yushchenko while Russia has been supporting their man, the pro-Russian Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovich.

The latest from the WaPo

Ukraine president, PM make few moves to compromise
By Ron Popeski
Reuters

Thursday, April 12, 2007; 11:39 AM

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's antagonistic leaders said on Thursday they favored a compromise to resolve a standoff prompted by the president's dissolution of parliament, but neither appeared to make immediate concessions.

President Viktor Yushchenko, swept to power by the mass protests of the 2004 "Orange Revolution," dissolved the chamber and called a new parliamentary election for May 27 after months of sniping with his arch rival, Ukraine's prime minister.

Continue reading...

D.A. Craig Watkins Makes A Difference

New Prosecutor Revisits Justice in Dallas

District Attorney Embraces Innocence Project and 'Smart on Crime' Approach

By Sylvia Moreno

Washington Post Staff Writer

Sworn in as Dallas County district attorney on Jan. 1 -- he is the first elected black district attorney in Texas -- Watkins fired or accepted the resignations of almost two dozen high-level white prosecutors and began hiring minorities and women.

And in an unprecedented act for any jurisdiction in the nation, he announced he would allow the Texas affiliate of the Innocence Project to review hundreds of Dallas County cases dating back to 1970 to decide whether DNA tests should be conducted to validate past convictions. At 12 in the past five years, Dallas has more post-conviction DNA exonerations than any county in the nation and more than at least two states. A 13th exoneration, of a Dallas County man, is expected to be announced within days.

Of the 12 men exonerated, 9 were African American. Who is Craig Watkins that he would be concerned enough about the notion of justice to invite the Innocence Project to examine convictions obtained by the district attorney's office?

He's black, he's a Democrat, he's young, he was a defense lawyer with an office in a southside neighborhood, and he has no prosecutorial experience -- unless he counts a year-long internship handling misdemeanors in the city prosecutor's office. His two previous applications to work as an assistant district attorney in Dallas County were rejected, in fact, by an office in which a prosecutor once produced a manual on how to exclude minorities from Texas juries.

On paper, Watkins appears to be the last person who would be elected D.A. in Dallas County or anywhere else in Texas. Nevertheless, his is a story that illustrates how one can never underestimate the resolve of a citizenry fed up with the status quo:

In November, Watkins, 39, was elected as part of a Democratic sweep in Dallas in which the party took 42 judgeships and six other countywide offices. He is the first Democratic district attorney in 20 years. During the campaign he promised to be "smart on crime," not just tough on crime; to ask for the death penalty when appropriate but also to advocate for better rehabilitation programs and post-release support services for ex-convicts.

As stated by Senator Barbara Boxer, elections have consequences. Fortunately for the people of Dallas County, those consequences include having a district attorney who wants to make sure the right people are behind bars. Watkins' decision to open all the office's cases to scrutiny by the Innocence Project represents a monumental change in policy as pointed out in a Chicago Tribune article :

The new district attorney is taking aim at the many disputed convictions during the law-and-order tenure of the late Henry Wade, who was top prosecutor from 1951 to 1987 and is known nationally for his role in Roe vs. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion.

"The mentality of the office at that time was, 'I don't care if there is some doubt, let's make sure we keep up our conviction rate,'" Watkins said.

The new prosecutor, who is 6-foot-5 and soft-spoken, acknowledges that critics call his approach "hug-a-thug." But he says, "We're not being soft on crime. We're being sure we get the right person going to jail.

The next man to be exonerated will be the 13th since 2001 and out of those, the 10th African American:

James Curtis Giles, 53, has spent nearly half of his life, including 10 years in prison and 14 years on the sex offender registry, trying to prove his innocence in a 1982 rape case.

Giles' exoneration would be the third in Dallas County since Watkins took office. On Monday, more than a decade after Giles' release, a prosecutor acknowledged the arrest had been a case of mistaken identity, and a judge recommended he be exonerated. The final step is for an appeals court to approve.

Giles was found guilty in 1983 of participating in a 1982 gang rape of a pregnant woman. The victim picked him out of a photo lineup, even though he was bigger and a decade older than the teenage assailant she initially described to police. That identification was the only evidence linking Giles to the crime. The victim never saw him in person until the trial. He was the only black man in the courtroom besides a bailiff.

At this point it's impossible to predict how Watkins will fare as district attorney. One can only hope that he continues to exercise sound judgment while keeping the political wolves at bay. It's unavoidable that Watkins will be viewed as a black man releasing other black men from prison, and that's not going to sit well with a lot of folks. However, I remain cautiously optimistic that this represents a major step forward in criminal justice reform.

Cross post from make it plain

Make It Plain - The Malcolm X Documentary

View the Malcolm X Documentary- Make It Plain

Video At End Of Post

I was considering posting this documentary before the Don Imus situation became a big issue. But now that the issue has come up, this video is even more important.

I do not agree with all (or even most) of Malcolm X’s positions on social and political issues. Although towards the end of his life he began to moderate some of his views.

However, what I admire about Malcolm was his presence as a man. It was his giant spirit and no nonsense attitude. He was a man who stood up for his beliefs and principles in a way that few others ever have, before or since. Where are these kinds of men today? Where have they gone? They certainly do not exist anymore, especially within the so-called African American community. People like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are lightweights in the shadows of giants like MLK, Malcolm, Du Bois, Bob Marley, Evers, Adam Clayton Powell and a few others.
These men were of a different breed….a breed of men who are unfortunately extinct.
That brings me to the issue of Don Imus. Well Angry Independent, what does Malcolm X have to do with the Don Imus situation?

This degeneration of Black culture has been allowed to happen under Jesse Jackson & Al Sharpton’s watch. This is why they are lightweights, and failures when it comes to this issue. They have been timid- too scared to really confront (full force) the Rap community & the nonsense that they perpetuate, as well as the radio stations, record companies, etc that support them. Instead of getting a handle on this situation years ago, it has been allowed to fester into what we see today. The good Reverends Jesse and Al have been too afraid of making folks angry within their own community. They have bent over backwards to appease Rappers and to embrace their behavior. They put image and money over principle and integrity.

Only a very few strong black men have carried the real banner of black pride, responsibility and accountability. People like Dr. Cornel West, Bill Cosby, Juan Williams, & Carlton Ridenhour come to mind….but it’s a small few. The majority of these so-called “leaders” have not acted in the best interests of the masses. And here we are…we find ourselves in these kinds of positions over and over again. And instead of challenging Hip Hop culture, people like Al Sharpton and Michael Eric Dyson defend the behaviors of Rappers and literally make excuses for their behavior- suggesting that it is o.k. when Rappers do it (even though it's more frequent, more vile, and more damaging). According to the Dyson crowd, there should be two different standards….one for Don Imus because he’s a white man, and another standard for those within the Black community (Rap music in particular) who do even worse. The Dyson crowd says that Rappers deserve a pass....that Blacks should look the other way when it comes to Rap, just like they always have. Dyson and his cohorts are engaged in the kind of splitting of hairs game that people play when they want to avoid responsibility. But it's really a disgusting display of hypocrisy on their part that makes Black folks look bad in the end. They want to shield Black thugs from being held accountable... this has become Michael Eric Dyson's hustle.

How would Malcolm deal with the Imus situation? Yes, he would call for the resignation or firing of Don Imus. There is no doubt about that. But I also have no doubt whatsoever that Malcolm would be reaching for his mirror…. To hold it up to the Black Community. He would be working to fight against this kind of behavior within the Black community, from the rappers, the urban radio stations, and record companies, with the same determination that we see in the case of Don Imus. Malcolm would be pushing for the firings of those in urban America who put the same things over the airwaves on a daily basis….calling Black women B****, Whores, degrading our women on TV, etc.

Malcolm X would not tolerate this nonsense, and he definitely would not make excuses for ignorant rappers and urban radio stations within his own community that were doing the same thing that Imus is being punished for. Malcolm would not tolerate this hairsplitting, double standard bull. Malcolm always pushed introspection within the Black community... his core teachings centered around self respect, having a knowledge of self, and the idea of Blacks taking responsibility for their own communities. Therefore, Malcolm would have been smack dab in the middle of this internal debate about the treatment and image of Black women (and women in general) within the so-called Black community...particularly as it relates to Rap music.

You have these degenerate so-called Black intellectuals, such as Todd Boyd out of USC, Roland Martin, and Michael Eric Dyson (and others from this crowd) who have been supporting the behavior of the Rap Community and have been covering for this nonsense for years. Just within the past 2 days I have seen Michael Eric Dyson and Roland Martin on CNN defending/making excuses for elements within the so-called Black community who engage in far worse behavior on a daily basis, than that of Don Imus. I would love to see how Malcolm would deal with these lightweight bastards if he were here today.

Malcolm would be grabbing folks by their necks (figuratively and literally) within the so-called Black community, demanding that this nonsense stop. Radio stations, record labels and rappers that failed to comply would literally have hell to pay. BET? I'm not sure if Bull**** Entertainment Television would even exist in its current form. In fact, none of this would have gotten as bad as it has if it were Malcolm’s watch. Instead it has been Jesse’s watch…and Sharpton’s watch, and Andrew Young’s watch, and the modern NAACP’s watch…. Well, they have all FAILED miserably. You can’t send chumps to do a man’s job.

Malcolm, although I did not agree with some of his more radical views, was an example of the kind of Black man (in terms of presence, strength and integrity) that is missing in today’s society.

Don Imus Under Fire - My Slightly Different Take

Are Black Civil Rights Elites Really Concerned About Their Young Black Women Being Degraded?

Don Imus has really caused a stir with his comments regarding the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. There is no good excuse for his “Nappy Headed Ho’s” reference used to describe the women.

Hear Imus Discussing the issue with Rev. Al Sharpton

Imus Has Now Been Suspended by MSNBC and by His Radio Networks

Al Sharpton and others have come down hard on Imus (as they should) and are calling for Imus to be fired or resign from MSNBC. I agree with Sharpton that this kind of language should not be permitted over Federally sanctioned (taxpayer supported) airwaves. I couldn’t agree more. Which helps me build up to my point….

I support my fellow bloggers (especially the African American bloggers) up to this point in the discussion. Then we come to a fork in the road. I stayed at this fork in the road for a long time, debating which way I would go. Most of my fellow bloggers have chosen to take the route to the left, which comes down hard on Imus, calls for his firing or resignation, (and maybe calls the man a few deserving names)…and asks “How dare he call black women Ho’s”.. They support protests outside of the NBC stations, support boycotts, etc until Imus is fired. The Angry Independent is o.k. with that.
But then everyone goes home and lives happily ever after…. That seems to be the road most traveled in this debate.

****************

Not So Fast Reverend Al, Jesse Jackson, Michael Eric Dyson!!!

Back at that fork in the road, I chose to go to the right. It was the road with no one on it…. This road leads to the Town of “Black Introspection”. The scenery along this road is clear. You see Black hypocrisy, and opportunist preachers …relics from the civil rights movement of 1 or 2 previous generations, who are desperate to keep their names and faces in the news. Every time one of these situations come up, there they are….taking the headlines.

But let’s put this thing into perspective. Here you have a White man, Don Imus, who utters the words “Nappy Headed Ho’ s” one time, and these “Black Leaders” want to send his ass to the gallows (Like Saddam). I don't know if he's a hardcore racist or not. His statements certainly could be called racist... Although he appears to have a track record of making comments that are out of order. I think the man is unbelievably ignorant for sure.

Sharpton has put this issue in the context of our Beautiful Black women should not be degraded and called “Ho’s” over the airwaves. O.k., fair enough, but in doing so, Mr. Sharpton and others have opened up a can of worms that they can’t put the lid back onto.

What I find strange in all this (and maybe I’m the only one) is that the so-called Black leadership seems to have selective amnesia on this issue. They want to scalp this man for saying “Nappy Headed Ho’s”? They want to do all of this organizing and protesting against this man??? When at the same time, within the so-called “Black Community” this kind of language, often from Black rappers, is par for the course. The use of the terms B*** and Ho’s, has become the standard for describing Black women. Not only that, but the rappers go even further and describe in graphic terms what they want these women to do (or what these women have done). And yes, this kind of sickness goes out over the airwaves via urban radio stations in Black Communities from Coast to Coast EVERYDAY!!!! EVERYDAY!!!! EVERYDAY!!!!

And even worse, the images that Black rapper thugs have perpetuated of Black women in rap videos is beyond deplorable. These images are 100 times worst than anything Imus did. His one offense doesn’t even come close to the severity or the frequency of offenses that Blacks perpetuate against other Blacks on a daily basis. No one has degraded people of color (particularly Black women) more effectively than other Black folks from the Rap/R&B/Entertainment world.

This is a very serious problem within the African American community.

When this kind of language is heard on a daily basis from often white owned (but Black operated) radio stations across the country-- playing songs that call Black women B****s, whores, etc…or that play material from rappers who are known to use this language and known to degrade Black women-- I don’t see the same kind of reaction from the so-called Black community. I don’t see the Rev. Al or Rev. Jesse Jackson reacting with the same kind of determination and vigor to get anyone fired or to have programs and stations taken off the air. The airwaves used by Hot 97 FM and the rest of these Cancers on the Black community are the same Federally regulated (taxpayer supported) airwaves used by Don Imus. The hypocrisy from “Black Leaders” could not be more striking.

I am still waiting for the protests of these Black urban radio stations that do this kind of thing EVERYDAY!!! I’m still waiting for Sharpton and his cohorts to demand that DJ’s and station managers be removed from some of these urban radio stations that push this poison EVERYDAY. I’m still waiting for Rev. Al to organize protests against BET, MTV and the record companies to get them to stop degrading Black women (and men) in the videos that they create and show. I’m waiting for the good Rev. Al to organize boycotts of the companies who peddle their products on the urban radio stations and on Empty V (MTV), and BET during the time slots when these kinds of songs and videos are being played.

Instead of coming out strongly against this kind of behavior, which is for the most part perpetuated by Black entertainers, the Black elite establishment (including the Civil Rights Royalty) has embraced this kind of nonsense. For example, Nelly, the St. Louis rapper behind the Tip drill video and controversy, was honored by the King family here in St. Louis just a few years ago (this was right after the Tip Drill Controversy heated up). The NAACP gives awards to these people every year….again, supporting the images and the messages that these rappers and entertainers perpetuate. The Black elite establishment is not really concerned about the image of Black women or the vile language that is used against them, otherwise they would not look the other way or condone it like they have been doing for so many years.

Just to be clear, I am not defending Don Imus. What he did was horrible. My point is, there are elements within the so-called Black community who do much worse than this on a routine basis, yet nothing happens to them…. They are not even mentioned for the most part. This kind of hypocrisy has to stop. If Black America is really concerned about the image (and the honor) of Black women then they shouldn’t start with Don Imus. If Black America is really concerned about Black women being called degrading names, then they shouldn’t start with Don Imus. If Black folks want to clean up the image of Black America and Black Culture, then they certainly shouldn’t start with Don Imus. They should start by looking at those within their own communities who are much more vile & more damaging than Don Imus, but who get away with their nonsense time and time again, because they are Black.

The so-called Black Community, and the Rev. Als and the Jesse Jacksons, should start by cleaning up their own house before burning down someone else’s. Maybe then, Black folks will get more respect. It’s much harder for Black folks to demand respect from those of other ethnicities (especially for Black women) when Black folks are not respecting their own.

Yes, let’s deal with Don Imus. But let’s not go home afterwards to live happily ever after as if this kind of thing is no longer a problem. It’s an even bigger problem within the “Black community”. So I hope these so-called Black leaders will be just as vigorous about dealing with this within their own community as they are now, when the target is Don Imus.

_________________

RELATED ARTICLES

Watch/Listen to Hip Hop Critic Davey D as he talks about the "Clear Channeling of America" during a major conference on media reform, which was held in St. Louis back in 2005.

View the PBS Documentary Entitled "Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes (Scroll to bottom of page).

The Return of the Minstrels. Scroll to the Bottom and hear an interview with writer Lonnae O'Neal Parker. Also read her column regarding the problem of degenerate Rap music.

The Return of the Minstrels Part II

_______________________

Story also reported at Rachels Tavern

Single and Celibate

See former child actresses Tia and Tamera Mowry fight their way through a discussion about celibacy/abstinence.

I am one of the few people on the planet who is celibate. This is mostly due to economic circumstance rather than a conscious choice. I have just not had many opportunities. I am not what women would consider "viable" as a mate.... since I do not earn much money, and I am still in development as a man (money being the primary measure for how men are rated by women). I didn't date until my 30's, and once I did I realized how much I hated it, and quickly stopped. I simply realized that I was not equipped for the task. I have become resigned to the fact that I will not reach "viability" until my 40's, when I have established some kind of meaningful career/income....and will therefore have more confidence on the dating scene.

But I have found celibacy to be a blessing in disguise. I have felt free. I am not tied down with relationship nonsense, not tied up with dating, and can spend more time on personal development. I have more time to go to school so that I can eventually get to where I need to be in life. (So that I CAN date with more confidence). Material things are not everything.... but I have learned how hard it is to even get a foot in the door & make a good first impression if you have nothing. The dating game (which I despise) is nothing but a shallow competition, especially between men. It's all about showing who has the most material status, and who could thus better support a family. Anyone who tells you that the dating game is anything other than this, is telling you a lie.

Over the past several years, we have been seeing feminism in reverse. It used to be that women wanted to work and be equal to men professionally, etc. That is still very much the case today, but there seems to be more women who want to be Housewives. There seems to be more women who want to marry into wealth (or at least comfort). Even women who are professionals and earn their own living want a man who is also a high wage earner. Therefore there has been a growing interest in men with good salaries. In fact, this is pretty much a pre-requisite if you want to have a wife/family.

So rather than toil, sweat and stress through all that, I chose to just wait it out. Once I am better positioned financially, navigating the dreaded dating scene will be easier to do.

So I see celibacy as more of a blessing.... because the freedom has been great. I don't have to deal with dating, I don't have to deal with chasing women, I don't have to deal with financial issues that couples deal with, I don't have to deal with STD's/Safe Sex, I don't have to deal with trying to impress anyone... (all things that I hate).

But I don't think this is possible for most people. Some people are not able to be alone....not even for a second. Some can't go without physical contact. To me, this is like a psychological prison cell that I am glad I am not confined in.

A Great Analysis of American Corporate Media

Media analyst Jeff Cohen takes a hard look at the state of Corporate News.
He discusses why real news has taken a back seat to entertainment.

Read/Listen Here

Congressional Black Caucus Still Plans Fox Debate

The Congressional Black Caucus still plans to sponsor a debate in September, hosted by the Fox Network. This is a network that has had nothing but contempt for African American causes, and for Progressive efforts in general. Fox News has been one of the biggest mouthpieces for the Republican Party over the last decade- a position that the network has held proudly and openly. Over the years, Fox has acted as a huge Conservative filter, distorting news and assisinating the character of Progressive figures for political gain.

Yet, the CBC wants to give the network such a big ticket event. It makes absolutely no sense, particularly at a time when Democrats and Progressives are beginning to unify behind a movement to isolate the network by shunning it. By avoiding interviews and giving more access to rivals, Progressives can choke off Fox News over time.

The actions of the CBC run counter to this effort. Some say that the CBC is motivated by money.... which seems plausible. I have warned more than a few times that the CBC could not be fully trusted and that they don't have the best interest of their constituents in mind.

Luckily, several Democratic Presidential candidates have begun to shun the network. John Edwards, Barak Obama and Hilary Clinton are pulling support for the CBC event. The DNC (Democratic National Committee) has also pulled its support for this CBC sponsored event.
It appears that the outcry against the CBC is beginning to show at least some progress.

One of Fox News' ploys involves bringing black faces onto the network to push a far right, neo-Conservative agenda.

See Snippets of Fox News' Fair and Balanced Coverage

ColorofChange.org

FoxAttacks.com

The Good Samaritan, Luke Chapter 10

Luke, Chapter 10: 25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

27 He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."

28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."


This has always been one of my favorite bible passages.

Why can't more "Christians" live by their own teachings?

Bush Administration Operating Like The Mob?

I have mentioned before that the Bush Administration seems to act more like a crime family, than an accountable Executive team running a "Democracy"....and I have to use the word Democracy very lightly.

A report from the On The Media program, a radio program that examines government and the media, seems to confirm my suspicions. Listen to segment here. The program reports that most of the top Bush Administration officials avoid using e-mail to communicate. Presumably this is done to avoid having those e-mails requested by Congress or the Courts if there was ever a "problem" (such as actually being held accountable to the people).

The first things that came to mind when I heard this story were the scenes from old gangster movies when the mobsters were always worried about being heard on wiretaps plotting their next crime. Much of this matches the real-life perils faced by the Mob. To dodge law enforcement, they often avoided using the phone and would only meet in person. I recall the Sopranos episode where Tony & Co. were in the basement to talk business and they had to turn the radio up loud to overwhelm any bugs that might have been planted. Sometimes mobsters would write messages back and forth on pieces of paper, or would go to out of the way places in order to talk, never going to the same location each time. John Gotti (The former "Teflon Don" of the Gambino Crime Family) was famous for using these tactics to avoid detection...although the FBI eventually caught up to him anyway.

It seems to me that you only do this kind of ducking and dodging if you are involved in shady activities that you don't want anyone to find out about. This level of secrecy just would not make sense for a White House that was playing by the rules.

Where there is smoke, there is usually fire.

Man Teaches 2 Year Old How To Use AK 47

The deterioration of young Black men continues to be evident in almost every image seen of the "black male". This is a very deep socio-economic, and cultural problem for African Americans.

Reports like this one out of Louisiana, don't give me much hope that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. I wanted to jump through my computer monitor when I saw this....


Louisiana pawn shop manager Dan Reese said he never thought he'd see a diaper-clad two-year-old holding an AK-47

Some folks have no business with children. I hope the Department of Child Welfare is looking into this matter. As I have stated many times, parenting classes should be mandatory for EVERYONE capable of bringing children into this world.

Rebuilding a real value system in the Black community, Rebuilding the "Black Family", and providing parenting education to young people should be near the top of the list of priorities for the NAACP. But with this issue (as with other issues) the NAACP seems to be missing in action.

Read Report Here

Watch Video

This report reminds me of the case about a month ago with the thugs teaching toddlers (literally) how to smoke marijuana. We are hearing about these crazy stories more often- they are not just isolated cases. Instead, these are signs of a wider cultural crisis for Black folks. These are all indications that show that modern Black culture has basically been destroyed. This is not the result of one or two social issues...this is a result of a combination of factors coming together over a period of time.

And people wanted to get mad at Bill Cosby??? Cosby should be considered for a Nobel Prize for raising the discussion among Black folks...a discussion that others wanted to avoid.

Additional Report
See Here

Ann Coulter Makes Fun of Darfur Genocide

Yes, Ann Coulter has once again reached a new low. How much lower can she dig?

See her sick comments from Salon.com

Also posted at Crooks and Liars

Coulter: "Who's running this holocaust in Darfur, FEMA?"

Yes, we realize we should really stop paying Ann Coulter any mind. Yes, we realize she's only looking for attention at this point, and yes, it does make us feel vaguely dirty to give it to her. But her latest column was just so over-the-top awful that we couldn't help ourselves.

Titled "If at First You Don't Appease -- Cry, Cry Again," the column is all over the place: from Iraq to pot-smoking hippies and -- of course -- Bill Clinton. But it starts with a discussion of Darfur, Sudan.

"These people can't even wrap up genocide," Coulter writes. "We've been hearing about this slaughter in Darfur forever -- and they still haven't finished.
The aggressors are moving like termites across that country. It's like
genocide by committee. Who's running this holocaust in Darfur, FEMA?"

Here, she is saying that the brutal rape, murder & genocide of Africans in Darfur is not happening fast enough for her.

Remember, this is a top spokesperson for the Republican Party.

Now that's compassion.

But Coulter's not done yet; first, she has to celebrate Passover in her own special way. "On this week, let us remember the message of Passover is that freedom doesn't come easy," Coulter says. "Moses had to grab Jews by the scruff of their necks and drag them to the desert for 40 years to get a generation capable of living in freedom -- and even then the Jews were complaining about it being too drafty ... Once free, they complained about the food ... Even in the desert, the Jews would not stop with the golden calves. God nearly let the whole lot of them perish in the desert, he was so angry about their idolatrous ways. Only when he had a new generation, born in freedom, that didn't complain about the food, did he lead them to the promised land."

And somehow, this all leads Coulter to the conclusion that "if you want a shorter rebuilding process, then we're going to have to wage less humane wars. The enemy -- as well as innocent civilians -- must be bombed into quivering terror."

-- Alex Koppelman

College and Economic Inequality

Harvard University Library

Are the nations top Colleges simply "finishing schools" or Country Clubs for students from affluent families? Do these elite Colleges, with their name recognition, contribute to the high inequality in America- in a sense helping to maintain wealth for the rich kids who attend, and helping to kill dreams for those who are rejected?

I say that these elite institutions are contributing to the inequality gap. There is a certain status or priviledge that is attained simply for attending a Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Brown, or any of the other institutions that are comparable to these schools. Such status follows the graduate for the rest of his or her life, and becomes almost an elite pass, making a life of affluence much easier to reach.

Yet those who are not rich often find it hard to enter the higher social/economic classes because they are often locked out of these kinds of institutions. Since Higher Education has so often been viewed as the key or pathway for those of lower means to achieve better financial & social opportunities, it is appropriate to look at access to Higher Education when looking at economic inequality.

The Public Radio program On Point examines the issue of how Higher Education and economic class are connected. The program also looks at the difficulties that poorer students face in terms of navigating the world of Higher Education, particularly the world of top ranked schools. The program hints at an economic class warfare taking place within the world of Higher Education.

One guest- Walter Benn Michaels- suggests that the problem of Colleges and economic opportunity is so bad that a broader solution should be found that could help even the playing field for all. The current appoach of using race to help determine College admission is too small of an approach. Diversity/inclusion based more on economics rather than race might be more effective in breaking down economic class barriers, and could help more poor students (large numbers of African Americans included). I agree with the idea of economic need being as big of a consideration (or an even more important factor altogether) than race when determining who gets into the nations top schools. Of course, ability and hard work should always be a part of the process of determining who gets in (although i'm not a fan of standardized test scores as a main tool for this decision because these tests tend to favor those who are White and among the Upper Middle Class and wealthy Classes).

This more "economic need" based admissions approach would also help to kill the often false assumption that many African Americans who are in top schools are simply Affirmative Action choices. This myth needs to die once and for all...an "economic need" approach to diversity could help to accomplish this while creating more access to a wider range of students at the same time. I am not suggesting that race could never be a factor, but it should not be the only factor or the main factor for school admissions. The race approach allows schools to simply grab tokens and engage in window dressing to give the appearance of diversity, when it is more important to deal with underlying economic disparities that often hinder students.

GUESTS

· Sam Dillon, a National Education Correspondent for The New York Times
· Walter Benn Michaels, Professor of English at University of Illinois at Chicago and author of "The Trouble with Diversity: How we Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality"
· Anthony Marx, President of Amherst College
· Walter Allen, Professor of Education at UCLA

Listen To Program

The African American Roundtable for This Week

Here is a great African American Roundtable discussion, from NPR's News and Notes program.

This segment was taken from Thursday, April 5th.

The panel discusses Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) fundraising; Shaquanda Cotton- the Paris, Texas, teen who was serving a seven-year jail sentence for pushing a hall monitor is released; and Newt Gingrich calls Spanish a "ghetto" language.

Farai Chideya is joined by political consultant Walter Fields; economist and author Julianne Malveaux; and Ron Christie, former special assistant to President George W. Bush.

LISTEN TO PROGRAM

Thousands Expected For Pat Tillman Event

But What About Lavena Johnson?

Thousands are expected to take part in the annual Pat Tillman Run to benefit the Tillman Foundation.

However, another horrific Army death is not being covered at all by the mainstream Corporate media. Lavena Johnson was not rich or white. She was not a star pro-athlete who gave up a multi-million dollar NFL contract to join the U.S. Army. Lavena did not receive the hero send-off, nor the big fanfare upon the return home, like Tillman. And she certainly is not being immortalized like Tillman is today. Lavena did not make good propaganda footage for the Bush Administration.

But Lavena was a standout High School student...and was active in her church. She was also active in her community where she enjoyed helping others. She did the kinds of things that often go unsung.

Why is the Lavena Johnson case being overlooked by big media? Once again... (just like with the Darfur situation) this may be a case where the networks feel that the life of a Black individual is just not that important when compared to a Pat Tillman....a rich white man.... or even when compared to a white stripper for that matter.

I hate to bring up the issue of race.... and never intended to....but at this point race has to be looked at as a factor. It is pretty obvious that this is playing some role in this situation. Here we have a case that is more horrific than the Tillman case (as terrible as his case turned out to be). But not one story on it outside of the St. Louis Market. Essence Magazine covered the situation in a brief report...but there is only so much that magazine can do with such a limited market.

The BET Network? Bull**** Entertainment Television? PLEASE!!! If I could be President for a day.... one of the first things that I would try to do is close that disgraceful network down and arrest its executes for human rights violations.

This has been a story for only a few bloggers so far.... but I will keep pressing on.... as long as I have this canvas to work with....and as long as the story remains buried.
______________


Related Post about women in the military

Favs and Pet Peeves

I have been wanting to post a list of loves and hates.... but never seemed to get around to it.

All-time Favorite Movies
-In The Heat Of the Night
-A Bronx Tale
-Once Upon a Time In America
-A Raisin in the Sun
-Mississippi Burning
-Hotel Rwanda

All-time Favorite Music Artists
-Stevie Wonder
-Prince
-Bob Marley
-Curtis Mayfield
-Smokey Robinson
-Santana
-Miles Davis
-Marvin Gaye
-Grover Washington Jr.
-Donny Hathaway
-Boz Scaggs
-George Benson
-David Sanborn
-Herbie Hancock
-James Brown
-Gladys Knight
-Billie Holiday
-Joe Sample
-Roy Ayers
-Earth Wind and Fire
-Aretha Franklin
-Gil Scott Heron
-Chick Corea
-Bob James
-Donald Byrd

(and just about all of the 60's-70's Soul groups).

A Few Favorite Albums
-What's Going On- Marvin Gaye
-Songs In the Key of Life- Stevie Wonder
-Pieces of a Man- Gil Scott
-Kind of Blue- Miles
-Around the World in A Day- Prince


Favorite Meal(s)
-Chicken Cordon Bleu
-Pasta/Shrimp
-Sauteed Vegetables
-& a nice Salad
-I love just about any kind of Pizza...

Favorite Actors/Actresses
-Harvey Keitel
-Sydney Poitier
-James Earl Jones
-Denzel Washington
-Cicily Tyson
-Morgan Freeman
-Robert De Niro
-Halle Berry

Favorite Color
Blue


Things that I Cannot Stand

1. People driving & talking on cell phones...especially while trying to park. STOP IT PLEASE! And the biggest culprits seem to be people who can't drive to begin with.
USE A SPEAKER PHONE!
2. All of these damn movies w/ Black men wearing dresses. WTH? I thought that this would be a temporary thing when Eddie Murphy popularized it. But now it seems to be out of control.
3. Alcohol- Don't drink it, never have, and never will. I have seen this drug destroy too many lives (literally). Particularly the lives of several people in my own family.
4. Being stereotyped because of my race. This stuff can really drive you crazy. I try not to let it control me.
5. The out of control culture of consumerism.
6. Women w/ no substance whatsoever.
7. Poisonous rap music/culture.
8. Racism....injustice.
9. The USA's Anti- Democratic Political System.

What Would Be The First Thing That I Would Do If I Won the Lottery and Became a Multi-Millionaire?

-- Have you ever seen the Dave Chappelle Show episode where Dave has the relationship with Oprah?....Well, it would be something like that when I went back to work (if I would go in at all).

Then I would buy a modest $250,000 home. Once my family was taken care of... I would put together programs to help those who are less fortunate. I might push for the rebuilding of North and West St. Louis.... where large areas appear to have been hit by an atomic bomb.

I would definitely work to start job training programs for the poor in every major city in the USA. And I would contribute funds to fight AIDS and poverty in Africa.

A Brief Interview With John Edwards

John Edwards Interviewed After a New Hampshire Town Hall Event, on April 2nd.

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

Fundraising totals for the first quarter show that the money race is close for the most popular Democratic candidates. Obama is right on the heels of Hillary Clinton. By some measures Obama is doing better than Clinton, considering that he had twice the number of donors.

John Edwards is 3rd among Democratic candidates with a healthy $14 million.

But this obscene chase for money also shows the sickness of American Democracy. We essentially live in a system where leaders are selected based on who is the best fundraiser, rather than on the substance of the issues, the plans and platforms of the candidates, the track record, skill, charisma, and experience of the candidates, etc.

A system of publicly funded campaigns is desperately needed. In such a system, each major candidate would have the same amount of money. Candidates would no longer gain a huge advantage based on how many rich friends they have. This would go a long way towards leveling the playing field.

Public Campaign funding Needed

Article from Open Democracy.net

The University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee Says "Fair Elections Needed"

CampaignMoney.org

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My previous comments on this subject

On a Related Note: Amy Goodman recently spoke with Congressman Dennis Kucinich on the Democracy Now program.

Kucinich: "This Isn't American Idol, We're Choosing the President of the United States" - Kucinich on Corporate Media Campaign Coverage

Watch/Listen to Democracy Now Segment Here

Uncle Ben and Marketing Racism - Pimping Uncle Ben

AAO says: Yeah, they are making him the fake Chairman, but show me the money! This appears to be nothing more than a PR Scam, yes Mars, marketing 101.

What's up? Are black folks not buying "Uncle Ben's products like they use too?

Are the family members of the original “Uncle Ben" receiving his (long past due) Chairman's salary and royalties? Yeah we said it, money - $$$. If they (descendents) are not available, are nonprofit HBCU's, or inner city boys and girls clubs getting any $$$.

This is pure bogus to us. A fake Chairman of the Board. Soon they will be placing Kentucky Fried Chicken, Col. Sanders in Black Face"

Read more about the new Uncle Ben in the New York Times article titled:

Uncle Bean, Board Chairman

A racially charged advertising character, who for decades has been relegated to a minor role in the marketing of the products that still carry his name, is taking center stage in a campaign that gives him a makeover — Madison Avenue style — by promoting him to chairman of the company.

Newspaper ad and image of Uncle Ben in his office, Masterfoods USA

A Web site for Uncle Ben’s, unclebens.com, offers a look at his executive office.

The character is Uncle Ben, the symbol for more than 60 years of the Uncle Ben’s line of rices and side dishes now sold by the food giant Mars. The challenges confronting Mars in reviving a character as racially fraught as Uncle Ben were evidenced in the reactions of experts to a redesigned Web site (unclebens.com), which went live this week. Read More>

Nursing a Terrible Cold!!!

Suffering from a serious Cold! Head Congestion, Sore Throat, Nose out of order, Headache, ugly cough, sore lungs, weak.... I have it all. It would be nice if I had a beautiful young lady- any one of my wifeys- to feed me soup (Alyssa Milano, Alicia Keys, Rachael Ray, Nicole Ari Parker, Bianca Lawson, Rachel True, Essence Atkins, Lark Voorhies, Nicole Lyn, Lisa Bonet, Gabrielle, Halle, Sanaa Lathan, Michelle Rodriguez.....any one ...or two.. of you would be great.) I may have to go to the ER for this one.... but I will try to see if it gets any better. I'm one of the millions of Americans who lack adequate health insurance, so I don't want to deal with Hospitals unless absolutely necessary.

I had a list of things to write about...but I doubt if I will get around to doing much posting for the next couple of days. Most of you who know my writing pattern know I do most of my posting at the beginning of the week....because what little free time I have is at the beginning of the week.

However... I have almost 900 posts in the archives. There are a lot of gem posts on this site.... documentary videos, audio documentaries, all kinds of interviews, music, political commentary, and my own writings (Check out "My DMV Nightmare"). A lot of the things I post here are not found on many other sites.

There is enough material on this site to last you a month.

Also check out the PBS documentary "The Insurgency". This is an outstanding program that you can watch online. There are dozens of other gems. Just use the blogs search feature.

I also hope to change the site around at some point.... It has been a year and 3 months with the same look. But I don't have the technical savvy that I would like to have. I would like to keep the functionality that I have now....but change the color scheme. I also want to keep all archives in tact.... The Dubois image is also a keeper. Why do I use the image? For one.... he was a Civil/Human/and Justice Rights advocate who's views are often close to my own. His struggle with race (from outside and from within) is a struggle that I relate to. His quest to make change through writing, fighting for what was right non-violently, through challenging the logic of racism & injustice, and fighting for change through good strategy and by trying to impact policy.... these are still the best ways to deal with injustice today. Not knocking the work of others.... protests have in the past been very effective. But those 50's and 60's protests (the effective ones) were often connected to a larger plan and strategy... seldom were they effective on their own, isolated from a larger vision.

I'm not an academic genius like Dubois, but I relate to his visionary spirit. And he was relentless and told the truth, and was Socratic in his approach...always asking important questions and stirring debate. MLK was great, but his image is too generic. Plus he was a religious figure. I prefer a more secular figure as the image for the blog. Booker T. Washington was great too.... Booker T. and Dubois were both right about their positions a Century ago....although Booker T. would be considered more Conservative today. And Booker T. Washington's image is used quite a bit already (Booker Rising). So Dubois was my choice when I looked for an image that would say a lot about my blog. Dubois' vision is still so relevant to what is happening today. Since I am an Independent (an Independent Progressive with a few Conservative Tendancies, lol)....Dubois was the better fit as a symbol of what I believe.

I will need some assistance figuring out how to improve the site and create a more mellow scene for the eyes. I picked the current template because I didn't know how to do my own....and because of its functionality& structure.... not because of the color. Pink or Rose color is not really me, lol.

I'm thinking Blue, Black, Brown (earthtones).... these are colors that I generally prefer.

I thought about Wordpress....but migrating a blog is way over my head. lol. I researched the blog migration process and found it to be far to complicated....too much labor involved as well.

So I will be staying with blogger. Also.... I don't care for Wordpress' functionality for authors.

Blogger is easier to work with IMO.

Jib Jab Satire of American Corporate News Industry

Priceless!!!! ....and so true. Hat Tip to The Moderate Voice.

What We Call the News Send To Friends Funny Animations at JibJab

Iraq Violence Still Intense Despite Security Plan

Dead Bodies Outside of the Tal Afar Morgue

John McCain must have been suffering from a severe case of dementia when he stated last week that the U.S. was finally turning the corner and making significant progress in Iraq. How long have we been "turning the corner" in Iraq? They (the neo-cons) have been saying this for the past 4 years. The U.S. has been turning the same corners over and over again, since it has been in Iraq.

It's that strange neo-con Republican reality kicking in again.... Their perception of reality is usually different from the reality that the rest of us see. McCain has boxed himself into a tight corner on the Iraq issue; so much so that his entire Presidential campaign hinges on the outcome of the U.S. adventure there. This is why McCain wants to paint such a rosy picture of Iraq.... he has a big stake in making sure the public hears more good news than bad news.

But aid groups who are on the ground everyday paint a different picture. These are aid groups who have no political motives...they are not running for office. They say that living conditions in many areas are on the decline in Iraq.

Not to mention the upsurge in violence that occurred last week throughout Iraq, particularly in the town of Tal Afar. At least 150 Iraqis were killed in that town alone, in one attack. As I have mentioned in earlier postings regarding the U.S. troop surge, insurgents decided long ago that they would move out of Baghdad and would hit other parts of the country, in anticipation of increased security in the Capital. This is exactly what is playing out. A Truck Bomb last week was also the deadliest bombing attack since the war in Iraq began, more than 4 years ago.

There was another troubling aspect of the Tal Afar killings- Iraqi Policemen (Shias) were involved in revenge massacres. What does that say about the security situation in Iraq? Can these security forces be trusted with the country? Can the U.S. expect these people to Stand Up and provide security for their country, while maintaining the letter of the law and establishing legitimacy that the masses will respect once U.S. forces supposedly leave? ("Supposedly" because I have always felt that the whole idea of the U.S. leaving Iraq anytime within the next decade was probably a falsehood....but the media has taken that bait hook, line, and sinker).
Many analysts have pointed out that many of these Police officers and Army soldiers owe their primary allegience to their tribe and sect, before any alliegance to their jobs.

Even more troubling was the fact that many of the Iraqi officers involved in the massacres were recently arrested, but quickly released. To me, that move doesn't encourage all Iraqis to have confidence in their government.....especially the Sunni minority. This will only lead to more sectarian trouble down the road, because Sunnis will continue to feel that they have no chance at justice and fairness through "legitimate" avenues. Therefore, they will instead be more willing to seek help from Sunni militant groups.

Innocent Iraqi children were also ruthlessly mowed down by militants in last weeks bloody violence. Ironically, the victims were both Sunni and Shia children, playing together when they were killed. I would like to ask the Muslim radicals (cowards) where in the "Holy" Quran does it say slaughtering innocent babies is one of the Islamic virtues that must be followed in order to be a good Muslim?

Iraqi deaths were up 15% in March despite crackdown. And U.S. Troops have also paid a heavy price in Iraq over the last month- the first full month of the so-called security crackdown. The U.S. death toll in March was nearly double the toll of the Iraqi Army.

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The Moderate Voice Also Covered this Story

U.S. Surges & Iraq Violence Upsurges

Is The Surge Working?