Update to the Post on Dating and Race

NPR's Michel Martin provides some context for the report.

Secret Service Under Strain

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Charges To Be Filed in Balloon Boy Fiasco - Why Am I Not Surprised?

Authorities are seeking charges against Richard Heene, the father of the 6 year old who was reportedly trapped in an experimental balloon in Colorado earlier this week. My instincts were telling me that something was not right about this story right from the start. Certain things just didn't add up.

And the more I learn about the Heene's, the more I realize how good my instincts are.

The media just loves the sensational...(it doesn't actually matter if it's really newsworthy or not)....and they all want to be first to bring you the non-news. Just consider all of the more important stories that they broke away from or neglected because of this nonsense.... (President Obama's New Orleans trip for one).

And as I suspected...this family appears to be a mess. Richard Heene looks like a piece of work... He looks wasted to me. It's no surprise that authorities with Colorado family services have also launched an investigation.

I wonder how many poor urban kids were killed, attacked, or went missing that day and couldn't get news coverage even if their families begged (because their stories aren't sensational enough to be a money-maker for the corporate media)?

'Why do they hate you?'

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President Obama's Weekly Address

Hendrix and Grusin Two for One

Hear a part two (alt. Take) "Three Days of the Condor"

Another Racist Republican In Race Flap Over Comments Targeting Obama - But I Forgot... It's Not About Race

Yet another racist incident that's not about race.... it's about Obama's policies.

I wonder how long Republicans will use that argument before finally conceding that their Party is made up of a lot of racist, bigoted jackasses like Bill Otto (and countless others). I mean really... those who stay informed about these incidents knew that this Republican response to criticism of the Birthers and the Tea Partiers - the argument that folks like President Carter had it all wrong -- was a phony argument from the beginning. Just how far will they try to carry it?

How many of these incidents have we had since the Republicans declared that they weren't part of a racist political party...that their criticism of Obama was purely driven by policy?

Onto this story from the Kansas City Star:

A video featuring a Kansas legislator criticizing President Barack Obama's policies while wearing a hat describing opossum as "the other dark meat" was removed Thursday from YouTube, where the lawmaker had posted it last month.

Republican Rep. Bill Otto said he didn't remove the video, titled "RedNeck Rap," and didn't know why it had been taken down. Google Inc., YouTube's owner, could offer no explanation.

Otto said criticism of the video was unfounded. He said the hat's saying, which he repeats at the end of the short video, refers to redneck stereotypes, not Obama.

The White House declined to comment Thursday, but Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, called the video "disturbing." He said it's logical to see the reference as being to the first black president's race.

In the video, Otto pauses after criticizing Obama and his policies, repeats the saying on the cap and adds, "A little greasy, but hey."

See the full report.

The video was mysteriously removed from Youtube.... but I was able to find a screen capture (I try my damndest to get as much information as possible).

Here is a great report from a Kansas City blog.

This doesn't surprise me considering it's a State Rep. from Kansas. I enjoyed the few years I spent there growing up. The white kids who were my age accepted me with open arms (this was in 1984,85). But it's also the first place where I experienced overt racism... being called "Nigger" by an adult. It was just some racist jackass driving by in his car...which was outfitted with a loudspeaker. And I also recall a rebel flag in the back window. But it stuck with me (I was only about 12 years old at the time). It caused me to want to find out more regarding what race was all about and where I fit in. It changed my perspective quite a bit.

But I believe that race and racism is just as much a generational thing as it is a geographical one.

4th Grader Asks Obama: Why Do People Hate You?

Children have a way of reflecting the truth...with no spin. A child tends to be more honest about the reflection that America reveals of itself when held to the mirror.

Looks Like I Was On To Something When I Wrote About Race and Dating

It looks like I am not going crazy afterall... in fact, I probably hit the nail on the head when I wrote about race and dating in the post "White Men Only".

I have written about this several times, but I believe that was my latest entry on the issue.

UPDATE:

NPR Segment (Tell Me More with Michel Martin) provides some context for this report. Listen Here.