Vision Circle

Al Sharpton and Rap

Recently, I was involved in a mini-discussion with some members of The Conservative Brotherhood concerning "Black leaders" and what they have said vs. what the mainstream media reports they have said.

One of the things I mentioned was, despite the claims, Al Sharpton and some other "Black leaders" had spoken out against the filth in rap.

To that end, I quote Something by Al Sharpton as it appeared in Davey D's website.

With all the stuff going on in this world, all they're worried about is being able to call a woman out of her name?! That's their cause? First of all, it's wrong. But second, it is insulting. These rappers and "hip-hop impresarios" weren't worried about unemployment or the financial conditions of those who support their records and made them stars. They weren't worried about the education system that keeps too many of their fans and families in poverty. They weren't worried about voting rights. They didn't have any conferences on any of that. There wasn't one seminar entitled "Economic Empowerment" or "Jobs for the 21st Century."

No, they want the right to call somebody a ho or a bitch - somebody who brought them into this world. As far as I'm concerned, they are low-down devious things who aren't worth the millions of dollars young people spend t o make them stars.

Charter School Results

When the recent report was released stating that children in charter schools were not out performing students in more traditional public schools, I thought that the comparison was not valid.

The major reason is, the kids in charter schools are more likely to be kids who are under performing.

Clarence Page takes it one step further:

You don't need to read very far into the AFT report, for example, before you discover that the gap in test scores between charter and public schools disappears when you take race into account. Compare white students with white students and blacks with blacks and Hispanics with Hispanics and the gap in scores between the charters and traditional public schools goes away.

That's important because charter schools enroll a higher proportion of minority students. More than half of charter school pupils were black, Hispanic or American Indian in the 1999-2000 academic year, compared with one-third for all public schools, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.

Charters also enroll a higher proportion of students who were not doing well for one reason or another in public schools, which makes the stories of successful charters all the more amazing.

Check out the entire article.

Gov. Ehrlich, Kiss My ...., II

Maybe I should subtitle this, "Checkin' A Fool".

Jack Kemp, after being selected as Bob Dole's running mate, said that he felt as though he was in the "wilderness" because the Republican party had treated him as an outcast. He said it was because of his calls for Republicans to go for the Black vote. Should I mention he's a white Republican?

Faye Anderson, who was part of the GOP's New Majority Council, the "minority outreach arm," quit the Republican party after Sen. Lott's association with the CofCC became known. Should I mention she's a Black Republican?

Shannon Reeves, the former head of the Oakland NAACP, and a Republican, has stated that at a GOP convention, his white peers thought he was member of the serving staff.

So, Gov. Ehrlich, are you going to say anything about your own party now?

In your run for office, YOU stated that you will not concede the Black vote to Democrats, as your peers have done. Are you going to call their actions racist?

Are you going to say that because THEY, the Republicans, EXPECT Blacks to think a certain way, that THAT is racist?

You've been checked fool!

Yeah. I'm pissed.

Blacks and charity.

It's not stated in this article, but a Chronicle of Philanthropy survey also states as a percentage of our income, blacks are the most charitable Americans.

Thanks to Booker Rising for some good news on Blacks and charities.

Why I Don't Like Jeese Lee Peterson

I don't like Jesse Lee Peterson.

I just don't like him.

His line of thought makes no sense. To me, he has a conclusion, then he starts at some arbitrary point, and then draws a crooked line to get to his conclusion.

The man said that Denzel Washington hates America and does not believe in God.

Let's look at something from World Net Daily.

"You know, I haven't seen "Fahrenheit 9/11" because I live in America," he said. "I grew up here. I'm an ex-slave. I'm a result of what this country can do. So it's nothing new to me. I'm not surprised at all. It's just business as usual. What I want to talk about is what are we doing right now today for these young kids that – that are coming home? ... Are they getting the support and the love they need from us? And maybe that story is being told, but I sure haven't seen that much in the news."

That's a quote from Denzel Washington.

So, that's a man who hates America?

If you read the article, Washington is battling Meryl Streep over her taking a Bible passage out of context.

The man's lack of thinking is painful.

Yet World Net Daily wants to push him off as a "Black leader"?

Gov. Ehrlich, Kiss My ....

This is what Maryland Gov. Ehrlich said:

On the opening day of a Republican National Convention that will showcase a prominent Marylander to attract African-Americans, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. today called the Democratic Party "racist" in its appeal to blacks.

Baltimore Sun
(Registration required)

Gov. Ehrlich, KISS MY...

... In Maryland, it was the previous Republican nominee, Ellen Sauerbry, who accepted an invitation to speak to a Black group, and then later "turned down" the invitation because her advisor said that speaking to a Black group would upset her base.

It is your Lt. Gov., Michael Steele, who has stated on Black radio stations in Maryland, and other radio stations in Maryland, that the GOP dropped the ball in not seeking the votes of Blacks.

So, how in the hell can Ehrlich then state what he stated?

And how can you, Michael Steele, back it up?

You sir, are talking out of the side of your neck!

Living What You Believe

What really bothers me about the "conservative vs. liberal debate" is that it's mostly soundbite material designed to get people wound up one way or the other.

For an example, see Ann Coulter. And give the woman a pork chop. She needs to gain weight.

Ambra, IMO, makes an important distinction:

What I am interested in is how conservative thought plays into our daily lives. What does it look like in the home? What does it look like in education? In music? On the campus?

I am of the persuasion that a conservative worldview is far more important than conservative policy.

I can't argue her approach to her worldview. She's keeping it real.

USA Basketball

I've moved. For the last week I've been in the process of moving from Saint Louis to Baltimore.

I caught the last two minutes of US-Argentina somewhere in West Virginia on a K-Mart television screen obscured by a blue light.

I've been reading a LITTLE bit of commentary on the squad. As a lifetime baller with middling skills, I've got one question particularly for the conservative commentators.

Has anyone suggested COMPETING for slots the next time around?

Open the team up to International players like Scoonie Penn, or even folks like Jarvis Walker. Open it up to high schoolers, to college players, and to pros. Make cuts. Hell, make it a reality show. Then put them on the road against competition a year ahead of time at least.

Silly Season Comments

A great example of an asinine comment made during the silly season is:

We haven't had an attack against us since 9-11 because of the policies of George W. Bush!

Please!

Does anyone remember Richard "The Shoe Bomber" Reid? He failed because he couldn't light his shoe. He failed because someone on the plane saw him and started fighting him.

U.S. B-Ball

The comments directed towards the U.S. team are troubling.

The comments concerning the composition of the team are accurate. The comments about their boorish behavior is accurate.

But people in the U.S. rooting against the U.S. team seems to be a bit much. It's colored with something else, I think.

(Pun intended).

Other comments:

M. King.

Baldilocks

Jason Whitlock on ESPN Page 2

Vet vs. Vet

Some Vietnam vets are supporting Kerry. Some Vietnam vets are not supporting Kerry and with good reason.

Mr. Kerry, you have re-opened the madness of the Vietnam War and the garbage the men and women faced when they returned from that "conflict."

Thank you Mr. Kerry. You have showed that you are at least as much as a divider as is President Bush.

I believe the patrol boat vet who supported your version of events.

I believe the patrol boat vets who don't support your version of events.

In the "heat of battle," what really happened can be hard to determine.

But you, Mr. Kerry, are an idiot. There is no other way to state it. Who else but an idiot would rely on being a "war hero" with your anti-Vietnam statements, on tape, just waiting for you?

You are disqualified just for being an idiot.

"Reporting for duty"?

Dismissed!

The Flintstones Bit James Brown!

So, I'm listening to my James Brown 50th Anniversary Collection CD at work. (Or, should I say the licensed copy? :-\)

Anyway, I'm doing my thing when I hear a familiar riff.

So I think.

Then it hits me!!!!

The Flintstones "Bedrock, Twist Twist" song!

".... In Bedroooooooccccckkkkkk!!!!!
Twist
Twist"

Dang! The Flintstones bit James Brown!

Now I'm listening to the CD to get the song...

[Edit] The song is Night Train

Tavis Smiley

I like Tavis Smiley's NPR show. He generally has guests to represent "both sides" of the issue.

On The Tom Joyner Morning Show, he's more himself, which means he's more of a Democrat supporter. As such, he seems to give them a pass. Although sometimes he will make comments that lets the audience know he's not happy.

When Clinton was in office, Tavis was very easy on the administration. When Gore ran for the election, he was harder on Gore. This was especially the case when Gore's "short list" didn't include any Blacks.

His commentary on the matter was biting. During the same race, he did a commentary piece that caused the CBC and the DNC to fear that the Black vote may stay home. At the end of the election cycle, he said that he thought it was time that Blacks access their support of Democrats. But nothing really came out of that commentary.

A few weeks ago, Tavis commented on Blacks supporting Democrats but getting nothing in return. He made it a 2 part commentary. And the end of the first part, I thought he would announce that Blacks should sit this election out, or that Blacks should register as independents or as Republicans, en masse. But it didn't go that way. Instead he said that Blacks should register and vote in this election.

After he came back from vacation, he "came up with an idea" to canvas "Blacks" to see what was of high interest to Blacks. He decided to do this so that a "contract with Black America" could be developed. His aim is to get any politico who wants the Black vote to sign this contract. If they don't sign it, they shouldn't get the support of Blacks.

Fundamentally, I like the idea of not giving your vote to politicians who don't support you or stand for what you believe. So in one respect this is a good thing. But suppose a Democrat signs and a Republican signs. Then what?

And suppose the contract contains things that Republicans say they are against, so the Republican politican doesn't sign it and the Democrat does signs it. But then once in office, nothing happens?

Then what?

Suppose vouchers are one of the things that the contract says politicians should support? Do you think a Democrat will support it?

The ideas of what should be in the contract will come from people who email Tavis and those who take the time to join in on a webchat.

The Black America Web website has details.

Since this is the internet, suppose the email and webchat gets "hi-jacked" by Republicans?

It will be interesting to see what comes out of it. I dont' think much will come out of it.

What's In A Name?

What's in a name? To me, other than the means to address a person, not much.

If parents decide to attribute more to the means of addressing their child, that's fine.

This piece by The Black Informant provides his insight into giving Black children a "Black sounding name".

In the end, since all names are made up, all names are legitimate, even if they do seem silly.

Booker Rising gets right to the point. One that seems to be untouchable.

Republican Claims Racism

Republican claims racism.

Ok, check this out. I first heard about this on The Tom Joyner Morning Show:

Nadia Naffe, who worked as a Field Director in Southwest Florida for the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), filed a lawsuit today in federal court alleging race discrimination and retaliation on the job. Along with the RPOF, the lawsuit names the Republican National Committee and Bush-Cheney '04 as defendants.

See the link for more details.

Thanks to M. King for the link.

Policial Advertising

Let me compare President Bush to Maryland Gov. Ehrlich if I may.

Bush increased funding to HBCUs. Ehrlich increased funding to MD HBCUs.
Bush did little or no advertising of this fact. Ehrlich made it known. In a Democrat leaning state, the message got out.

Ehrlich, with the aid of Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, revamped the Minority Business Enterprise program in Maryland. Evidently, Bush has increased SBA support of Black business. Ehrlich got the message out.

Who is to blame here?

Black and Dems, II

[ On edit ] Adding link to Avery's blog entry that caused my note.

I understand why Blacks support Democrats.

Democrats took Goldwater's anti-Civil Rights Act stance and played a good game of politics with it. Let's be real here. Even if Goldwater's stance was one concerning federal government over reaching its bounds, what did that nuanced stance mean to my elders? A Democrat president signed the Civil Rights Act while making public statements against the segregationist Dixiecrats.

Now, people imply, or flat out say, that Blacks are stupid for supporting Democrats when you consider the Democrat history.

I'm a registered independent, so what do I know? So I'll point you to Jack Kemp and I ask that you Google "Jack Kemp" to see what he has written about Blacks and the GOP.

Black voters are faced with "the devil I know vs. the devil I don't know" situation.

But, I ask, why should Blacks vote for Republicans when Republicans refuse to go to Blacks and ask for their vote?

Black GOP'ers

White Republicans messed up with the Black vote.

If I remember correctly, Nixon received 20% of the Black vote. But then he implemented the Southern Strategy.

So, why is it left to Black Republicans to make inroads into the Black community?

Why should Black Republicans clean up the mess of white Republicans?

I just don't understand it.

Jewish voters vote 80-85% for Democrats but the Republicans still go after the Jewish vote.

But similar percentages and white Republicans say the Black community is a lost vote.

And now the Black Republicans have to clean up their mess.

I don't get it.

Michael Steele

He's the Lt. Gov. of Maryland.

He's a Republican.

He's also Black.

He lead the effort to revamp the Minority Business Enterprise effort in Maryland. They expect Black business to go from getting 1-3% of Maryland state contracts, to about 15-20%. (That's from memory so it may be wrong).

He's a long time Republican.

After Ellen Sauerbry lost her second run for Maryland gov., she was offered the spot to head the Maryland GOP. She refused and suggested Steele get the spot. She did so because she got hammered by Black voters.

When he was the GOP chair, he went on WOLB, a Black talk radio station in Baltimore, and had a weekly show where he represented Republican interests. He caught some heat, but he also earned respect. He also didn't try to say that the GOP didn't have problem.

When Robert Ehrlich (R) made a run for gov., his first choice was a female Democrat but she refused. He then tapped Steele. Before he accepted, he made it clear to Erhlich that they had to go for the Black vote. Previously, Ehrlich said that he would not concede the Black vote, so they agreed in that area.

Ehrlich won. Now Bush has tapped him to head the Black Republican for Bush effort. Now he's going to give a keynote address at the GOP convention.

And he's going to appear at the Hip Hop Forum.

I like Steele.

But it still stinks that Black Republicans are left to clean up the mess left by white Republicans.

Silly Season

The presidential election season is here. From now on, I call it the silly season.

*Sigh*

"Victimology"

Victimology.

Can someone give me a definition that makes sense?

Right now, I conclude that it's useless rhetorical hyperbole soon to be over used like "political correctness".

Long Term Friends

My uncle had a great cookout yesterday.
Some Temps, some James Brown, some EW&F, some Smokey, some Stephanies Mills...

A LOT of good food.

Many of his long term friends were there. One mentioned that he enjoyed these types of things, more so to see people he hasn't seen in years. He said he thinks about his younger days more and wonders what happened to certain people. The cookout was a good way for him to find out.

That's deep.

Now I have a different understanding of why some people read the obits.

The NAACP

The NAACP is not getting the younger Blacks to join their organization. That's the reason why they chose Ben Chavis to head their organization. He was said to have the ability to cross the generational divide. He couldn't do it, plus he drove the NAACP further into the red.

Skip to today and the NAACP still has the same problem. This, along with some of their own actions, is causing the NAACP membership to fall.

So I still wonder why "Black conservatives" feel the need to target the organization as the enemy. Let the "natural order of events" do them in.

Or is it something else that is feared?

Stats, II

OK, let's do another one:

There are more Blacks in jail than college

Let's look at a 10 year span to see if the quote is really meaningful.

Lets say 10 people are in jail for that time.

For the start of the 10 year span, 4 people are in college. Let's assume they graduate in 4 years. After the 4 years, another 4 people enter college. They graduate in 4 years. At the 8 year point, 8 people have graduated. The next year another 4 enter college.

During that 10 years, 10 people have been in prison, 8 have graduated college, with another 4 on track to graduate. That amounts to 12 people.

That's a simple scenario. But, hopefully, it points out the problem with that comparison. A comparison first started by liberals, now taken up by conservatives.

Stats

Let's assume you have 100 of gidgets. Of those 100, 5 are purple. The rest of them are brown. For some reason, the brown gidgets start to turn purple.

At t0, there are 5 that are purple. At t1, there are 10 that are purple. That's a change of 100%.

At t2, there are 15 that are purple. That's a change of 50% over t1.

At t3, there are 20 that are purple. That's a change of 33 1/3% over t2.

Even though there is a constant increase of 5 units per unit of time, the percentage of change falls.

Remember that the next time someone says:

In fact, the growth of the black middle class was more rapid before affirmative action programs were put in place.

Ask more questions to determine how this is measured and what is meant.

Hip Hop and Basketball

ESPN's Page 3 has a column by Bomani Jones newest addition to Africana.com. I believe that hip-hop is the most powerful form of popular culture on the planet. I also think that if the Olympics were to go down the way I think they're going to, my favorite wouldn't be Amanda Beard (who is fly), or the little gymnast that could, but rather it would be Allen Iverson. Who has exemplified the best of what it means to be an urban patriot.

What is Conservatism

By now, Agre's piece on Conservatism has made the rounds.

There is no doubt that he's right on the history. At every point in modern time European conservatives and their American progeny fought against the expansion of citizenship rights, and fought for the preservation of an aristocratic hegemony largely based on inheritance rather than merit. I think much of modern black conservatism fits here as well--definitely the works of Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, and old Glenn Loury. The works of conservative blacks are much more amenable, as I believe they are about preserving what SHOULD be preserved--the best of black American tradition and culture. I believe this heritage to be "naturally" democratic. I place "naturally" in quotes because if Asians were enslaved rather than Africans we'd be making the same argument about "yellow" American tradition and culture.

But there are caveats here.

Stanley Crouch and Albert Murray for example would both drown hip-hop if they could--all comments about "I only mean gangster rap" notwithstanding. And even though Cosby has spent more loot on trying to help black people than most people with his wealth it is also very clear where he stands.

Reading the Agre piece though the one thing that really stood out for me was the following quote:

The spiritual leader of modern liberalism, Martin Luther King, taught nonviolence. This has been narrowly construed in terms of not killing people. But, as King made clear, it has other meanings as well. You have to love your enemies. This is difficult: the reality of conservatism is so extreme that it is difficult even to discuss without sounding hateful. There is also an intellectual dimension to nonviolence. Nonviolence means, among other things, not cooperating in the destruction of conscience and language. Nonviolence implies reason. Analyze the various would-be aristocracies, therefore, and explain them in plain language, but do not stereotype them. Nonviolence also has an epistemological dimension. Few of us have the skill to hate with a clear mind. Conservatism is very complicated, and you cannot defeat it by shouting slogans. This is the difficulty with Michael Moore. He talks American, which is good. But he is not intellectually nonviolent. He is not remotely as bad as Ann Coulter, and liberals have criticized him much more thoroughly than conservatives have criticized Ann Coulter. But he is not a model for liberal politics. There is no doubt that Martin Luther King would be in George Bush's face. But how? That is why liberals need a language.

I used to slit throats for a living. Some people think I still do. My students mainly. But while I still believe in wrecking fools, I have grown more and more interested in what Agre calls the epistomological dimension of nonviolence. What does it mean to disagree with someone without being disagreeable? To FORCEFULLY disagree without slapping the shit out of somebody, physically or intellectually? It's one thing to fight back in the spirit of self-defense. I haven't gone King in the face of someone trying to take me out. But it's a totally different thing to purposely go on the attack to demean and dehumanize someone.

I still maintain the option of pulling the Ginsu out. But I'm not trying to use it anymore unless I really have to. Our goal isn't to eradicate the enemy. Our goal is to convert the enemy. Because we all live here...and we aren't going anywhere.

Being Hip Hop

KRS-One came to the yard a couple of years ago as part of a lecture series. Most people my age, a little bit older, and a little bit younger, owe their careers to KRS-One somehow. It'd be hard to find anyone claiming hip-hop even a little bit that doesn't owe a debt to the Blastmaster.

When he spoke, he used hiphop to weave a much larger narrative about youth culture than perhaps was warranted. Arguing that hiphop extended farther back than Afrika Bambaata and the Zulu Nation, farther back than Malcolm X even. I understand what he was trying to do--until very recently universities didn't think that hip-hop was a valid artform worth studying on its own. And this wasn't just the white boys talking. Even brothers and sisters were likely to compare hip-hop to bebop in order to grant hip-hop "legitimacy."

Like hip-hop needs legitimacy at this point.

Anyway, over at allhiphop.com, one of KRS-One's former boys challenges KRS to a debate. KRS-One demures. The central beef seems to be KRS-One's attempt to make hiphop an ethnicity/religion. Adisa doesn't buy it, and thinks its dangerous to even make this attempt.

I'm not really sure why the debate is even important. Take a group of 100 people, split them in two and make them the same in every way except one. One group claims hiphop as an ethnic identity, and one doesn't.

Are there any substantive differences between the two? Does the police treat them differently? Do they engage in different behavior? Do they have different attitudes?

Hip-hop is the most powerful popular cultural force on the planet, bar none. And the fact that people take the artform seriously enough to engage in a debate about its contours is a good thing. But damn, aren't there more important things even within hiphop to debate about? I believe that hip-hop began with Afrika Bambaata and that the first hip-hop crew was the Zulu Nation. Malcolm X couldn't have been hiphop anymore than I could've been a seed in someone's head two years before I was born. But so what? KRS-One isn't writing an academic treatise on this shit.

Thanks to Jimi for bringing this up.

Reparations

I support reparations for the suvivors of Jim Crow.

Think about this one: my mother lived through that period. At one point, all of the women in the family were maids. After the civil rights laws and after movement in the right direction because of the slowing of the racism inertia, the income started to go up.

Now she's retired and getting social security. But if she didn't have to go through the crap of Jim Crow and discrimination, the amount of money being received would be more than it is now.

I like the federal tax idea, though she wouldn't be helped much, I would.

Believe. Me. I. Would.

The Black Slate (On the DL)

Today's edition of The Black Slate deals with the myth of "Down Low" activity being a significant cause of HIV/AIDS. I read yet another piece about JL King (author of the first DL book I believe--he isn't worth linking to), and got pissed. As I told someone, it is always an easy thing to make a buck off of black pathology. And while we're blaming DL black men, the administration is cutting HIV/AIDS funds on the one hand, and telling people condom's supposedly don't work on the other.

Self Hate

Is hyper-criticism of yourself a form of self-hate?

Is not seeing anything good about yourself a form of self-hate?

Is only pointing out the negatives about yourself a form of self-hate?

Is only comparing yourself to others, in the negative, a form of self-hate?

The Black Rorschach

It all started with this picture above. Cobb argues that this is a litmust test. He's definitely right. You either feel this picture like we do, or you don't. The same way that you either felt Ali back when he first changed his name, or you didn't. The same way you either felt the Fab Five or you didn't. The same way you felt Jack Johnson, or you didn't. The same way you felt Tommie Smith and John Carlos, or you didn't.

Remember the big tiff about how the Harlem League Little Leaguers were whooping it up a bit too much? I didn't think so. I didn't remember it either until I read Ralph.

Make that RE-read Ralph.

But many of these same folks would've cut out their spleen to be there when Babe Ruth called it.

S-Train posts the picture...and gets almost 15 emails telling him to go to hell.

Kid, you should strip those emails of their identifiable markers, and post them mugs.

Damn, I wish Ralph Wiley were still here.

But since he isn't coming back, I'll leave you with an extended quote.

Let me suggest this to you. Babe Ruth was a hot dog. Only nobody ever says he was. They say he ate a lot of hot dogs, but baseball historians, most of them, never say he was one, and TV baseball analysts and commentators unanimously never say he was one.

Who was Fernando Frias, knowingly or not, emulating in the first place, when he pointed with his bat to center field? As many times as I've heard it reverently said to be "Ruth's called shot" against the Chicago Wildebeest Cubs in the World Series, nobody has ever called it "hot dogging." And then when the Babe trotted oh-so-slowly around the bases, he was laughing, cackling, pushing out with his arms, signifying, "Get off me, get off me!" You might hear this scenario called "amazing," but not "hot dogging."

No "hot dog." No vitriol. No revulsion. No hate. No editorials demanding someone be held accountable. For what? Hot dogging? Or being poor, non-white, yet still daring to be good at baseball?

He was talking about the Little Leaguers, but what he wrote could've easily applied to mo greene and the rest. This isn't war...it's a track meet. You want them to stop?

Strap on some gotdamn spikes and get on the damn track.

Thought so.

Send comments to CDC TODAY!

Monday is the last day to comment on proposed regulations that would cut funding for HIV from organizations that said anything about condoms other than the "fact" that they are not effective in preventing the spread of disease. While I understand the viewpoint of those who believe that discussions about sex should be reserved to the private sphere, I think this viewpoint is not based on sound science. If you are interested please read and comment.

Democrats

Democrats take Black voters for granted.

It appears that the CBC is spineless and powerless within their own party. So, what good does it do? Are appearances deceiving in this respect? Did they get one Democrat sentator to challenge the 2000 election results in Florida?

After J.C. Watts announced his retirement, he appeared on "Meet the Press" with Charles Rangel, Rangel said, "I wish there were more J.C. Watts' so that I could get more concessions from my party."

Bill Clinton pimp smacked Jesse Jackson, Sr. with Sista Souljah, and Jackson still compaigned for Clinton.

Clinton pimp smacked the NAACP with comments concerning "personal responsibility." This was after the bimbo eruptions started!

Clinton showed white Democrats how to knock around Black voters and still get them to vote Democrat.

It doesn't phase me that the party doesn't support vouchers.

It phases me that Sen. Clinton is saying that when they get control, taxes are going to be raised. (Although if you pay attention, some Republican politicians are raising taxes as well).

Democrats controlled congress and the White House, yet drug sentencing disparity was not fully addressed.

When the late Ron Brown ran for DNC chair, other Democrats said that Brown could not be let to win the position. It took Bill Bradley to step up to the plate and call the comments being made racist. Meanwhile, Clinton sat around and did nothing. After Clinton won the election, he praised Ron Brown by saying Clinton's win would not have been possible without Brown. This appears in the book about Ron Brown, written by his daughter.

Stuff

The kid got dropped off to college today. Big WHOOOOP!!!

Poly..... Poly-tech-nic.... (requires registration)

Whenever I see a "Got Milk?" ad, I want to light up a shoulder held missle and let it rip.

Rules for Radicals

Doing a lot of reading for a paper I'm writing on The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual. Pulled out an old Saul Alinsky book, Rules for Radicals:

"I detest and fear dogma. I know that all revolutions must have ideologies to spur them on. That in the heat of conflict these ideologies tend to be smelted into rigid dogmas claiming exclusive possession of the truth, and the keys to paradise, is tragic. Dogma is the enemy of human freedom. Dogma must be watched for and apprehended at every turn and twist of the revolutionary movement. The human spirit glows from that small inner light of doubt whether we are right, while those who believe with complete certainty that they possess the right are dark inside and darken the world outside with cruelty, pain, and injustice. Those who enshrine the poor or Have-Nots are as guilty as other dogmatists and just as dangerous. To diminish the danger that ideologywill deteriorate into dogma, and to protect the free, open, questing, creative mind of man, as well as to allow for change, no ideology should be more specific than that of America's founding fathers: 'For the general welfare.'" (Alinksy, p. 4)

Simple Minded Comments

All Blacks should think alike is an example of a simple minded comment.

Democrats best "defend" Blacks is a simple minded comment.

The idea that any politician, no matter their party, can greatly help or hinder a group of people, is a simple minded comment.

The belief that Blacks blindly follow a "Black leader" is a simple minded comment.

The belief that Blacks sit around and do nothing while depending on the government to do something, is a simple minded comment.

It takes no thought to say it. It takes little thought to believe it.

It takes more thought and observation to understand that it ain't so.

A Conversation about Ebonics and Republicans

I play softball once a week. Still haven't relearned how to throw a ball up close, which is why I don't play infield...but can still play the outfield like, well I was going to say Ken Griffey, but he's had a whole host of injury problems.

So afterwards I was hanging with one of the players, a Latina teacher. She teaches a group of largely African American kids. She told me about how she tries to communicate the value of Standard English to the kids. "You don't want to sound stupid do you?" "You want to get a job don't you?" I hear this argument all the time, and it isn't just from non-blacks. My mother is a teacher and makes the same exact argument. So my friend asked me if she was being politically incorrect.

I don't know about being politically incorrect. I do know that if she wants to get kids to speak "Standard English" she's taking the wrong approach. The approach she SHOULD take could be instructive for Republican whites. Not for THIS election mind you--Bush is lucky if he gets even 10% of the black vote, and I'm thinking that black turnout is going to increase significantly this year because of Florida. But over the long term, perhaps. If they pay heed.

The problem with the way my friend, and most teachers, pitch the standard english vs. ebonics debate is twofold. The first is that it is technically inaccurate to argue that you can't make money with Ebonics. In as much as Ebonics is now synonymous with urbanity and with youth culture, you can make TONS of money using it. Why the hell do you think one of the slogans that a prominent cell company uses is "Where you at?" Why do you think the WNBA's slogan was "We got next?" Advertising execs recognize the cache in the black english vernacular. STUDENTS recognize its cache--one of the reasons I am a fairly effective and popular teacher is because I can convey dry information in a way that speaks to where kids are at. And part of that is using the BEV when required.

Ther other problem with the way it is pitched is similar. If you've got two people--one who speaks English, and one who speaks English and French--which would you say is more equipped? I'd go for the bi-lingual over the monolingual any day of the week. While I wouldn't argue that Ebonics/BEV constitutes a separate language, it does constitute a unique dialect that for some people might as well BE a separate language. So teaching kids standard English gives them a LEG UP on those kids who only KNOW standard English.

So you don't teach kids standard english so they can get "real jobs" and "sound intelligent". You teach kids standard english so they have the ability to speak more than one dialect.

I think this can be instructive for Republican whites. (I assume Republican blacks already know this...and I don't think much about black Republicans to be honest). Work on the assumption that black people KNOW what their issues are and have made a RATIONAL decision to support the DNC. If you work from there not only are you working from a much saner position (current arguments about blacks always seem to be based on some sort of pathology--black people have been duped, i.e. are too stupid to realize their TRUE interests), you are working from a position of respect. A position which, combined with sane policy proposals (significantly funding the EEOC for example to aggressively combat racism), may actually get you votes in 2012.

Both Sides Do It

"Black conservatives" say they are shunned and called names from other Blacks.

Let's address the latter, first. Rush Limbaugh frequently states that conservatives, in general, are blasted and called names. His term is racistbigotedsexisthomophobes. So why do "Black conservatives" and white conservatives point out the "special case" of Black conservatives being called names?

I've been in a circle of "Black conservatives" and have been called names for disagreeing with them. All the while, I was respectful. By the end, however, most of them started giving me respect because, I think, I was able to present my thoughts in a logical manner.

Now, let's address the former.

To do that, I like to use This example of Glenn Loury's treatment from the LEFT and the RIGHT.

Some choice bits:

He befriended William Bennett and William Kristol, his colleague at the Kennedy School. He sat at President Reagan's table at a White House dinner, and he socialized with Clarence Thomas. (Although the two no longer speak, Loury still keeps a picture in his office of himself with Thomas.)

In 1995, he founded the Center for New Black Leadership with a group of conservative black intellectuals that included his friend Shelby Steele, the essayist.

He was horrified by Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein's 1994 book, ''The Bell Curve,'' a social Darwinist tract arguing that black poverty was rooted in inferior intelligence. He was even more appalled by ''The End of Racism,'' the lurid assault on ''black failure'' written by Dinesh D'Souza when he was a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Not only did his conservative friends not share his rage; they were taken aback by it and tried, he says, to muzzle him. Commentary, which had welcomed Loury's writing in the past, refused to publish his critique of ''The Bell Curve.'' And though The Weekly Standard ran Loury's caustic review of D'Souza's book, it also published a lengthy response from the author. In 1995, Loury resigned from the American Enterprise Institute over its support of D'Souza.

Finally, this point:

A few days later, Steele phoned him. ''Where do you stand on race?'' Loury says Steele asked him. ''It's as if you're a racial loyalist here. I thought we all agreed.''

''No, Shelby and I didn't agree,'' Loury says now. ''I was always aware that, whatever I thought about race, I'm still black. Shelby's position. . . . '' Loury starts to laugh. ''I was about to say, Shelby's position was that we had to completely transcend race, though I can imagine saying those words, too. But my heart wasn't in them, whereas he really meant it. How could it have been otherwise? His mother was a white woman. His wife is a white woman. When he looked at his own children's racial identity and wondered about an oppressive world that would say to those children, 'Choose sides' -- a dilemma I'd never faced -- Shelby's angle of vision was really quite different from my own. So in all honesty, it was I who betrayed him, not he who betrayed me.'' The two men have not spoken since that conversation.

Is that enough to show that "both sides" do it?