I can't let this one pass! My take: This guy is absolutely racist and bigoted, yet he had a Black girlfriend. Racist white men want to have their cake and eat it too. They also insist Black women to assimilate to their white male supremacist culture. That won't work because some Black women aren't giving up Blackness and Black culture. At the same time, those men denigrate Black men and women, telling them that they're "inferior" and have no rights bound to respect. I wish some of my Black sisters in the "BWE" movment talk about this one. How can one be with a man that is a racist and have one's sanity intact?
That's white male privilege at work. Entitled to have women of all races and be racist and hateful at the same time. That proves Kristen Maye's and many other Black womens' viewpoint about racism in interracial relationships. That painful history of Whites and Blacks along with Whites not giving up their "White Privilege" status and contemporary racism.
Polling company generates talking point about high Black turnout. Republicans continue to discredit Black voters as race obsessed and "gubmint" dependents.
The Pew Research Poll which is one of the many polls that got it wrong on the election made a shocking theme to the rise in the Black voter participation and the high turnout in last year's election.
For the first time in American history, the Black voter turnout surpassed the White voter turnout.
What helped President Barack Obama succeed in trouncing that perennial loser Mitt Romney, was the non-White vote. That means it was a heavy turnout of Black and Hispanic voters.
The Republicans publicity tour is to regain what little they've had in minority support. They haven't tried nor succeeded in dealing with issues facing Black America.
All the Republicans done was say Benghazi, Obama witch hunts and Obama phones.
Of course, these issues haven't put food on the plate. With the rising cost of food, fuel and heating oil, many Americans are turning to food banks and food stamp assistance. The Republicans want to cut entitlements and severely dent the safety nets because they're obsessed with watching videos from Loserville or the links from The Guy Who Throws Shit To The Wall.
These issues don't help Black and Hispanic Americans find work. Yet, the Republican Party complains constantly about how high Black unemployment is overwhelmingly high and they haven't passed one law that benefits.
These issues that the Republicans are harping on doesn't benefit in the area of interest of Black America or the general public.
These issues only achieve short term success among the ever so annoying right wing agitators from the talk radio and blog circuit. Continuously denying reality, conservatives are rallying for President Barack Obama's impending "impeachment" over these controversies.
By the Republicans taking the bait on these "scandals", they're reckoning with the loss of a voting block.
The Hispanic vote is very important as the Black voter. The Black voter is probably a permanent voting block for the Democratic Party. The Democrats are working hard to pass immigration reform. The Republicans are trying to push even more intrusive laws to stop Blacks from voting, undocumented workers from achieving citizenship, and LGBT community from marriage. They want to get into a woman's legs to prevent abortions. But yet when a woman has many children out of wedlock, the Republicans call them "gubmint" dependents and sluts.
Pew Research Center produced the talking points to those condescending White Republicans and their Black conservatives allies. They wrote that the Black vote could have been overwhelming due to inconsistencies in the highly populated Black areas.
The Census Bureau made big news last week when it reported that the black voter turnout rate (66.2%) exceeded the white voter turnout rate (64.1%) for the first time ever in 2012. But a closer look at the numbers raises some intriguing questions.
Valued and never taken for granted.
It’s possible that the lines may have first crossed in 2008. But it’s also possible they may not have crossed at all.
Let’s start with the second scenario. It’s based on data that suggest that last year, blacks may have been more inclined than whites to report that they voted when in fact they didn't. This is known as a “social desirability bias,” a familiar concern among survey researchers.
So they're saying "social desirability bias". Meaning that Blacks turnout because they were inspired to have the first Black president. Yeah, that's true.
Never in history, you would see such a turnout for the Black candidate. There have been many Black politicos who would run for president and never achieve the goal of being the nominee of a national ticket.
Only Barack Obama managed to beat back Hillary Clinton, a heavily favored Democratic candidate to become the nominee and eventually the president. Clinton being a face familiar in the White House as the former first lady, and later U.S. senator had huge Black support.
Until the Iowa caucuses, Clinton had almost 80% of the Black vote. But when Obama won the Iowa caucus, many Blacks started to notice. Obama managed to pull in Black voters after South Carolina win. Since then, the Obama campaign made it a top priority to help first time Black voters turnout for him. And in 2012, he to keep his supporters rallied up, despite pessimism.
Pew stated: [Might this be] because non-voting blacks were more eager than non-voting whites to tell survey takers that they voted for the first ever African-American president? While there’s no way of knowing for sure, the data are suggestive. When we plotted the state discrepancies in 2008 and 2004, we found a similar pattern, but we also found the racial skew was stronger in 2008 and 2012, the two elections in which Obama was on the ballot, than in 2004.
To better understand these patterns, we computed a “correlation coefficient,” which measures the relationship between two phenomena of interest—in this case, the over reporting of turnout in a state (the difference between the estimated and official voter turnout rates) and the share of a state’s adult population that is black. Our analysis finds a positive correlation of .52 (on a scale of -1 to 1) in 2012, .54 in 2008 and .41 in 2004. If we remove the two biggest outliers in the scatter plot analysis—Mississippi and Washington—the overall correlation remains positive, but it is only about half as large.
It’s also important to note that some states with small black populations over-reported, while a few states with large black populations under-reported. For example, the Census Bureau estimated that New Mexico’s voter turnout rate was 61.6%, compared with the official tally of 55%. New Mexico has a small share of blacks (2.7%) in its voting eligible population. On the other hand, the Census Bureau findings from Maryland, which has an age-eligible electorate that is 29% black, suggest that respondents under-reported their turnout by 2.5 percentage points.
Finally, it is also worth noting that just because voting was more widely over-reported in states with higher African-American populations, there is no way of knowing if blacks or non-blacks were more likely to over-report. This correlation is intriguing, but not definitive. In addition, one should keep in mind that the Census Bureau’s findings from individual states are subject to margins of error that may account for some of the apparent discrepancies in estimated and actual turnout rates.
Bottom line: This analysis doesn’t prove the Census Bureau’s finding is wrong. Nor does it negate the long-term turnout trends, which show that black turnout has been rising since 1996. It may, however, merit an asterisk alongside the claim that blacks turned out at a higher rate than whites in 2012.
Black conservatives constant whine about President Obama not caring about the Black community.
But wait, what about the first scenario—the possibility that this milestone actually occurred in 2008, not 2012?
That assessment is based an analysis that removes from the pool of eligible voters all adults who have been disenfranchised as a result of felony convictions, something the Census Bureau does not (and cannot) do. According to the Sentencing Project, an advocacy group, nearly 6 million adults are ineligible to vote for that reason, a disproportionate share of who are black. If you recalculate turnout rates after removing those disenfranchised voters, then 68.5% of eligible blacks voted in 2008, compared with 67% of eligible whites, according to Bernard L. Fraga, a political scientist studying at Harvard. The Census Bureau, by contrast, had 66.1% of whites voting that year, compared with 64.7% of blacks.
So pick your data source and write your own history
No Pew, you get this straight, for over 50 years, the Black community fought their asses off to vote.
I mean Republicans aren't the NEW BLACK.
We just need to take a chill and understand that we are American too. We're not second class citizens those in the conservative/white supremacist bubble made us out to be.
We just broke the color barrier. The first Black president in modern history. No one would expect this could happen this fast. Right into the 2000s, our first Black president. Yeah, there's a monumental significance in the Black community. No doubt about it. But to discredit the high turnout to just "us Black folk" voting on race is another reason why there's no place for Black people in the Republican Party.
So take your statistics and condescending rhetoric and sample polls somewhere else!
We don't believe you and we'll keep proving you wrong.
We here at Journal de la Reyna mourn the loss of these individuals in this tragic incident in Northeastern Ohio. The picture is of crash victim 15-year old Ramone White.
In the northeast city of Warren, Ohio, a community is mourning six teens who died in a tragic accident.
Alexis Cayson. Single mother of a son.
They said this could is one of the worst accidents in the county's history.
A woman lost control of her vehicle and hit the guardrail. The vehicle flipped and landed in the water. The accident killed six and left two badly injured.
The woman and her teenage passengers were speeding on a local road according to Ohio State Highway Patrol and it led to this fatal incident.
The tragedy affect the town because the local law enforcement known some of these victims. One tragedy that certainly hitting the news, the young woman driving the vehicle was a mother of a young child.
The Associated Press and WKBN-27 Youngstown-Warren reports that the six teenagers who died in the accident are: Alexis Cayson, 19; Andrique Bennett, 14; Kirklan M. Behner, 15; Daylan Ray, 15; Brandon A. Murray, 17; and Ramone M. White, 15. All the victims were from Warren.
Investigators said Cayson was driving at the time of the crash and that they believe speed was a factor.
Andrique Bennett.
Two teens were students at Willard K-8 school, two were students at Warren G. Harding High School and one was a past student at Harding, according to the school district spokesman, Aaron Schwab. Schwab in a statement said they are unsure if the sixth teen was a former student in Warren.
Brian K. Henry, 18, and Asher C. Lewis, 15, both of Warren, were treated for injuries at St. Joseph Health Center and Trumbull Memorial.
Kirklan Behner.
Some were wearing seatbelts, said Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Brian Holt, the commander of the Southington post.
All eight were friends who lived in the same east side neighborhood, a family member said.
Troopers said a 1998 Honda Passport, driven by Alexis Cayson and containing seven passengers, was traveling south on Pine Street around 7 a.m. when it veered off the left side of the road, struck a guardrail, and rolled over onto its roof in a nearby pond area.
Two of the occupants escaped the crash and went to a nearby residence and called 911.
Daylan Ray.
Five victims were removed from inside the SUV. A sixth victim was ejected and was located under the vehicle. Two of the victims died at the hospital from trauma related to hypothermic drowning.
Holt said the SUV is registered to Marguis Stephenson of Youngstown and that none of those killed or injured should have had access to the vehicle. Troopers are still investigating how they got the vehicle and why they were driving early in the morning. Holt also said he would not speculate on alcohol or drug use being a factor in the crash until autopsies are completed.
"As far as the vehicle is concerned, our preliminary investigation shows that none of the occupants had expressed permission to be in possession of the vehicle," said Holt. "However, no reports have been filed or anything of that nature at this time."
Town in mourning of the death of six teens.
Ashia Cayson learned of her sister's death just before 9 a.m. She said that she had been thinking of her and was planning to get in touch with her soon. She also said that Alexis Cayson leaves behind a four-year-old son.
"She was loving. She was silly, and she was a clown. She liked to make everybody laugh even when we were sad," said Cayson. "I just want everybody to know that if you are going through something, pick up the phone and call your siblings, your family and tell them you love them. You never know what can happen. Tomorrow is not promised to anybody."
Warren Mayor Doug Franklin is offering his support to all of the families of the victims and has met with some of them personally.
The pictures of the deceased. The sixth victim's photo was released at the time.
“I have taken most of this morning to meet with all the family members that I possibly could at both hospitals,” said Franklin. “We’re going to pull together for them.”
Warren City Council President Bob Dean, who is related to one of the victims, said he plans to set up a fund at a local bank where the money donated will go directly to the funeral homes that will be providing services.
“What we always try to do, take the burden of worrying about the expenses off the plate of the family,” said Dean. “We think there are enough people, as always in our town when we have these kinds of tragedies, they step right up and we will get it done."
The Daily Telegraph and Associated Press along with WKBN contribute to this story.
Such tragedies like this shouldn't happen in America. Even though some of the victims were wearing their seatbelts, I am assuming some didn't know how to swim or free themselves from an entrapment.
Alexis Cayson is a young mother. She leaves behind a child. That young child will celebrate memorable moments without the backing of his mother.
Again, this story already got the internet buzzing. For the fact that the victims were Black and young, you already know what's happening in the White supremacists watering holes.
We all know that somehow President Barack Obama name will be uttered by these lunatics in the conservative/white supremacist bubble.
We all know that racial slurs and phony statistics would be written and devolved among comment sections of any social or news website.
We all know that conservatives will blame Democratic leaders in Washington or a majority Black city. They always fault Democrats or Black leaders for the reckless behavior of children and their parents (especially if they're of color).
We all know that conservatives and white supremacists are cheering the death of these innocent individuals.
These innocent young people didn't deserve this fate.
We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to families of Alexis Cayson, Andrique Bennett, Kirklan M. Behner, Daylan Ray, Brandon A. Murray, and Ramone M. White. We send our prayers to the survivors Brian K. Henry and Asher C. Lewis.
Conservatives and the white supremacists are working the nexus of bigotry. They've already considered Detroit, Michigan a city ruined by the Niggers and the Nigger lovers in Washington, DC.
With Detroit being majority Black, it's always figured by some radical right wing extremist, the turmoils of the once booming manufacturing city being the faults of the Democratic Party, the unions, racial integration and liberalism.
Never blaming the corporations who shut down the factories putting hundreds out of work. Never understanding that White flight that plagues urban areas because of school busing and forced integration.
Now when I decided to go up to Detroit, my family always warn me that it's not safe going through the city at dark. Although, I don't fear any man, woman or beast, I always adhere to my surroundings.
Whenever I go to Detroit, I usually head to Windsor, Ontario in Canada. I love to see the skyscrapers of the city. Whenever I go to the Caesar's Windsor casino, I always take a look at the United States from the other side. I love to see the city from the Detroit River. Sometimes I like to ride around the neighborhoods of Grand River Avenue, Gratiot Avenue, Telegraph Road, and Eight Mile Road.
I've driven on many freeways in Detroit. I've traveled on the Chrysler Freeway/Fisher Freeway (Interstate 75), the Lodge Freeway (M-10) and Jeffries Freeway (Interstate 96) and Edsel Ford Freeway (Interstate 94).
Detroit may seem like a slum to those who never been there, but in my opinion, it's a nice city and I enjoy being there.
The Detroit metropolitan region currently holds roughly one-half of the state's population. With White people leaving en masse, most of Detroit is left in ruins while the young Blacks and Hispanic suffer in a future of crime and no way out.
Detroit remains one of the most racially segregated cities in the United States.
Blacks moved to the city en masse to escape Jim Crow laws in the south and find jobs.
However, they soon found themselves excluded from white areas of the city—through violence, laws, and economic discrimination (e.g., redlining).
White residents attacked black homes: breaking windows, starting fires, and exploding bombs.
The pattern of segregation was later magnified by white migration to the suburbs.
A traditional boundary between black and white is Eight Mile Road, which separates the city from suburbs to the north.
Long a major population center and major engine of worldwide automobile manufacturing, Detroit has gone through a continuing economic decline.
Detroit reached its population peak in the 1950 census at over 1.8 million people, and as of the 2010 census has less than half that amount at just over 700,000 residents. The city has declined in population with each subsequent census since 1950, for a total loss exceeding 60 percent by 2010.
The New York Times reports that Republican governor Rick Synder issue a call for an emergency manager.
This person wield sweeping powers to reshape the city. This is attracting a great amount of controversy.
The hiring of an emergency manager underscored a long, troubling arc for Detroit. Once the cradle of the American auto industry and the nation’s fourth most populous city, it is now less than half the size it was decades ago and has a public sector plagued by more than $14 billion in long-term liabilities and annual worries of cash shortfalls.
The notion set off a flurry of pointed and sometimes emotional reactions here, including an unavoidable racial and political component. Detroit is a mostly black city dominated by Democrats in a mostly white state where Republicans, including Mr. Snyder, control the capital.
At a time when many municipalities are struggling financially, five cities and three school districts in Michigan alone are already under supervision from a state-appointed emergency financial manager. But municipal finance experts pointed out that Detroit is on a different scale. “Detroit is a huge and prominent American city, so anything that happens with Detroit will set a much bigger precedent,” said Matt Fabian, a managing director at Municipal Market Advisors. “There isn’t a lot of precedent with the state taking control of a city this size.”
For decades, states have used a range of methods, including oversight boards and appointed receivers, to step in and stabilize cities that appeared to be headed toward bankruptcy or default. The methods — and the powers and roles of those charged with overseeing a troubled city — vary widely from state to state, as do opinions about whether they work. A financial control board helped New York City return from the edge of crisis in the 1970s, but such intense state involvement is more often needed in smaller cities.
For more than a year, Detroit leaders had raced to ward off an emergency manager. With a similar possibility looming last spring, city officials entered into a legal deal, giving the state some oversight as Detroit tried to cut spending and staff members and collect more tax revenue. It was not enough, said state officials, who re-examined the city’s books in recent weeks and said they found a pattern of overly optimistic revenue estimates, poor and conflicting record-keeping and endless borrowing to make up for shortfalls.
“There have been many good people that have had many plans, many attempts to turn this around — they haven’t worked,” Mr. Snyder said on Friday during a town hall meeting broadcast on local television, the start of a concerted state effort to sell the notion of an outside manager to city residents. “The way I view it, today is a day to call all hands on deck.”
While some Detroit residents saw state intervention as one more very public indication of a city crumbling, others hailed it as the first promising sign of real repair. The city’s business leaders lauded the plan, noting that Detroit’s private sector had experienced tangible signs of growth and reinvestment — including newly filled downtown offices and young entrepreneurs opening dress shops — even as the public sector had lagged.
“Bring it on,” Sandy K. Baruah, the chairman of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, said of state management. “This sends a positive message to business that Detroit is fixing its problems.”
But Detroit city officials, who have 10 days to seek reconsideration from the governor before a state board formally appoints a manager as early as this month, objected strenuously. Under a much-debated state law, an appointed manager would ultimately hold powers to cut city spending, change contracts with labor unions, merge or eliminate city departments, urge the sale of city assets and even, if all else failed, recommend bankruptcy proceedings. In an election year for mayor and the City Council, many candidates, incumbents and community leaders denounced the move as an affront to democracy and a state takeover, and called for legal action.
“For one individual to be able to wipe out the duties of our duly-elected officials, that’s more or less a dictatorship, and it’s against everything that America is supposed to be about,” said the Rev. Wendell Anthony, the president of the local NAACP. “If you come into Detroit,” Mr. Anthony said, “you own Detroit. You own education. You own police and fire.”
Mayor Dave Bing, who has not said whether he would seek re-election, was more tempered than most in his critique, suggesting that while he opposed an emergency manager, there might be a way for the state and city to work together. “I will look at the impact of the governor’s decision as well as other options, to determine my next course of action,” he said.
Michigan’s emergency manager law — and the possibility that Detroit, the state’s largest city, might be affected by it — has been a matter of contention for several years. After Mr. Snyder became governor in 2010, he and the Republican-held Legislature approved changes to the state’s two-decade-old law, giving such managers more wide-reaching powers, including the ability to drop union contracts with cities. In November, voters rejected that new version of the law, but the Legislature quickly passed a third version, which also allows relatively broad powers to change the terms of labor contracts and which will take effect this month.
But many here wonder whether any emergency manager, under any version of the law, will be enough to solve Detroit’s woes, which are in some way a reflection of the city’s own story. Beyond the nagging budget questions and the mounting debt is a place that grew with the auto industry into a city of more than 1.8 million residents and 139 square miles, then shrank decade after decade even as the city’s boundaries and infrastructure did not. With a tax base of some among about 713,000 remaining residents, Detroiters complain of late buses, high crime and darkened streetlights.
The commercialization of our holidays continues on and on! Corporations want that money! And at the expense of their underpaid and unappreciated workers, some companies may be open on Christmas.
First things first, the Walmart theory. Walmart is the world's largest retail company. This year they will be closed on Christmas. But if this company should open on Christmas day, expect all retail companies to follow. Many companies are looking into these ideas of keeping their operations active everyday.
Since Thanksgiving, our society has been pressured to get the new gadgets and do dads. They've pushed, shoved, fought, stole and even shot at one another on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Retail loves the holiday season. It helps end their fiscal years in the black and not the red!
The country's largest fast food provider is encouraging their franchises to stay open on Christmas.
McDonald’s Corp. reportedly is asking franchise operations to remain open on Christmas Day to help boost the burger behemoth’s sales, says a report from trade publication Advertising Age.
“Starting with Thanksgiving, ensure your restaurants are open throughout the holidays,” McDonald’s USA
Chief Operating Officer Jim Johannesen wrote Nov. 8 in a company memo obtained by Ad Age. “Our largest holiday opportunity as a system is Christmas Day. Last year, (company-operated) restaurants that opened on Christmas averaged $5,500 in sales.”
The publication estimated Oak Brook, Ill-based McDonald’s made $36 million on Thanksgiving Day this year assuming $6,000 in sales at each of 6,000 U.S. restaurants that were open for the holiday.
But McDonald’s capitalistic hunger isn't as radical as some might think.
The Huffington Post reports that Denny’s, Starbucks Corp. and other food merchants expect to have “almost all” restaurants and shops open Dec. 25. Burger King Worldwide Inc. , Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. and Yum Brands Inc.'s Pizza Hut and Taco Bell are among national chains that say some restaurants will be open, at least for limited hours.
Dublin-based Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ:WEN) is one of the chains that expects few or none of its operations to be running on that day.
I love it and I bet most of you too. McDonald's is the largest fast food provider in the world.
Seasons bright at McDonald's. Some locations may be open on Christmas.
Some are praising the idea, others are slamming it as another attempt for ruining the holidays of their employees.
Is it a good idea?
Anyways, these businesses Walgreen's, 7-Eleven, Exxon, and the Waffle House are open everyday.
A list of operations that are 24/7, 365.
Hospitals
Police Department
Fire Department
Airports
Hotels
Public Transportation (in cities with populations over 50,000)
Gas Stations
Toll Roads (highways, bridges, ferries, and tunnels)
Trucking
Railroads
News
Power Companies
Car Washes
Movie Theaters (depending on movies being released)
Social Networks
Comfort Groups (suicide prevention and homeless shelters)
Controversial Florida politician Allen West of Florida is getting his recount. The Black Republican refuses to concede his race because he claims that there's antics at the ballot box! His Democratic opponent Patrick Murphy won by slim margin and the embattled Republican won't give up!
Defeated Florida Republican congressman Allen West isn't giving up his seat. He's contesting the results of the election.
His opponent Patrick Murphy is representative-elect and he's about to be seated shortly. But the Tea Party endorsed congressman isn't willing to let that happen. For you see, West is one of two Black members of a majority White political party hasn't conceded his race. There's thoughts of deception on his mind.
The Republican is fighting his defeat in the court. And with two strikes on his belt, he'll end up having one more opportunity before officially striking out.
The St. Lucie County Canvassing Board ordered a recount of early ballots in his race against Democrat Patrick Murphy for Florida's 18th Congressional District, NBC Miami reports.
West, a controversial freshman congressman elected in the 2010 Republican landslide, appeared to have lost his contest against Murphy by 0.7 percentage points after all ballots were initially counted last week. The margin of victory was too large to trigger a recount, and the state of Florida certified the race's results on November 10. West, however, refused to concede, claiming "discrepancies" in early voting results.
A federal judge had ruled against West's request for a recount earlier on Friday, saying he lacked the authority to make such an order. The St. Lucie Canvassing Board then ruled by a 2-1 vote to recount early ballots in the race, although it denied West's request to recount absentee ballots as well. "A series of tabulation errors by the county has raised suspicion among West's campaign and it's supporters and appeared to motivate the board's favorable vote," according to NBC Miami.
Murphy's campaign has dismissed calls for a recount, insisting that West is merely trying to cling to the spotlight after a clear defeat. West's campaign struck back, saying in a statement:
Patrick Murphy has had such a good time with Nancy Pelosi pretending to be a congressman, he realizes a recount would likely derail his plans, and that's why his lawyers promised a lawsuit if all votes are recounted fairly and accurately. It's an interesting stance from a candidate who said he was the clear and outright winner.
St. Lucie County has until Sunday to file its certified results with Florida. It is one of three counties included in Florida's 18th Congressional District.
This why people like West and Mitt Romney are doomed for political failure. They don't care about the constituents. In their minds, if you're a supporter of the president, they think of you as a dependent of government entitlements and victims. It's clear that Republicans haven't gotten the message. And mark my words, if they don't get their act together, in 2014 the Democrats will steamroll over them.
The long lines and possibility of dirty tactics continue.
A day left and it's going to be the razor finish for either Republican Mitt Romney or President Barack Obama, the Democratic incumbent.
Most want this election over with.
So what do they do?
Early vote.
President Barack Obama had an advantage in the early voting! The Republicans are seizing upon the Gallup Poll showing that Mitt Romney has a slim advantage. But yet if Mitt Romney has an advantage, I wonder how many people are standing in line ready to vote for him?
I mean in the states of Ohio, Florida and Virginia, many Americans are frustrated with the wait. What could take a few moments is now holding on for up to five hours and limited times.
The Republicans are trying to curb early voting by having it limited and passing legislation for state issued identification for those to vote.
They really want to steal this election for Romney.
These final days are going to bring the worse of the Republicans. They're already trying to undermine the message of a potential defeat of their nominee.
The Republican poll watchers will be in minority neighborhoods watching for the Black guy with a hoodie on and the elderly Black woman who sits in a wheelchair. Republicans are going to find a controversy even if there's none! So as usual they'll be a person representing either Breitbart or The Daily Caller trying to find that one ignorant Black person who will say anything for a dollar or a chance to say something to rile up White voters.
Minority neighborhoods are going to be plagued with Republican pollsters willing to put their cameras in the faces of voters. They're trying to put the camera on the "scary Black person" so they pass it along to Fox News, The Drudge Report, Breitbart, and The Daily Caller. And then it gets repetitive plays on conservative talk radio and the like.
The governor of Florida is not going to allow any early voting after tonight. The governor refuses to extend hours for those who waited hours for the early casting ballots.
The state of Ohio is the center of every political election. Mitt Romney is placing his bets on this state. And if the GOP gets its way, it's going to be long night of waiting for who wins this state.
The president and Romney have already hired lawyers for any contested district or area where there's a possibility for voter fraud or suppression.
I am for one really concerned about this!
I am cautiously optimistic about this election. I am confident that this will be a fair election, but there's likely going to be some attempt to undermine the president.
The nation's oldest Black university Wilberforce is facing tough times. The students are frustrated with conditions at the university and they demand things change! The warn that Wilberforce University could be doomed if things don't get back together.
The nation's oldest Black university is 20 miles from Dayton, Ohio and 50 miles from Columbus, Ohio in the remote area of Wilberforce, Ohio.
Students are protesting that Wilberforce and nearby Central State University are going to fold if the administration officials don't get their acts together. Many students are upset that college tuition is on the rise and the conditions of the campus are still poorer than most advance colleges in urban cities.
The students are threatening to leave the school and its gotten locals attention. For many years the two predominantly Black colleges were struggling in fiscal matters. Each college was at the brink of being permanently shut down. The state has helped the colleges through the fiscal emergencies but its still a long way to go.
The Dayton Daily News reports that the nation’s oldest private historically black university faced a protest by more than half its population on Wednesday as students threatened to withdraw over what they claim is mismanagement of the school.
These were happier times at Wilberforce University. Things are so bad some students threaten to leave the school.
Students at Wilberforce University met outside the administration building to deliver a message to university President Patricia Lofton Hardaway and demand change of “diminishing conditions.” The students said without action, they believe the 156-year-old university will close by 2015.
“We need some immediate change now,” said senior Brandon Harvey, president of the student government and protest organizer. “Academic life, spiritual life and social life are at an all-time low. I’m afraid when I come back three to five years from now, Wilberforce University will not be alive.”
Harvey said 337 students requested withdraw forms on Wednesday, and they will leave the school by fall 2013 if conditions do not improve. According to Wilberforce, 510 students are presently enrolled at the university. In response to the rally, university trustees met on Wednesday, but the board declined to comment until today, said university spokeswoman Marcia Copeland Hudson.
Hardaway immediately after receiving the students’ letter said she had not heard “a clear, consistent message in terms of what (the students’) issues are.” She said, however, that she and other administrators have always had an open door policy with students.
“We will continue to be open to speak with students and address their concerns,” she said. “The university continues to work in the best interest of the students. We don’t take this as a gauntlet; as a line in the sand. Students are our reason for existing and we have long been a place of access and success and we know that we will continue.”
The students’ complaints over dwindling enrollment, rising tuition and living costs, the pay of administrators versus the compensation of faculty, mold in a dorm and declining quality of student services echo some of the issues raised by faculty last year.
In September 2011, faculty and a group called Concerned Citizens of Green County filed a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General alleging the Board of Trustees and Hardaway were “violating the fiduciary duties to the university through malfeasance and gross negligence,” the Dayton Daily News reported at the time.
The complaint also charged that the university is spending down its endowment too low and was more than $24 million in debt. The university’s endowment in 2010 was nearly $11 million, according to their most recent federal filing as a nonprofit.
The attorney general’s office said they cannot comment on any possible investigation.
Hardaway, whose compensation for 2010 was reported as $143,792, in the past has confirmed to the Daily News that in order to balance the budget, Wilberforce has been forced to furlough employees, stop payments to retirement accounts and withhold paychecks.
Wilberforce is now less than half of 2005’s enrollment of 1,170, according to historical data kept by the Ohio Board of Regents. Greene County and the state recently approved up to $282,000 to demolish five buildings on campus, including the married student apartments on Wilberforce Switch Road, a single-family home on U.S. 42 and dormitories on North Bickett Road.
Harvey said Wilberforce is not preparing students to compete in a global environment. He added that the event “was a total disrespect to the student body by the president” because she did not come down from her office to address the group.
During their event, the students walked to Central State University, the public historically black college just across the street, to request transfer forms and request a meeting with President Cynthia Jackson Hammond.
“She explained to them that while she appreciated them coming over, that protocol is very important,” said CSU spokeswoman Gayle Barge. “And that they should have open dialog and should be talking to President Hardaway.”
No kidding. Black voters aren't supporting Mitt Romney.
According to the NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll, the Romney/Ryan ticket has finally cracked a milestone. They have managed to keep less than 2% of African American vote. To make this clear, Mitt Romney has zero support from the Black community.
That's not good. President Barack Obama has 94% of the support with 6% undecided.
So I am guessing that Jesse Lee Peterson, Angela McGlowan, Congressman Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Congressman Allen West (R-Florida), and many Black Republicans cover only .0001% of the Black vote.
No, it's not about racism. It's about Mitt Romney not appealing to voters on issues that affect the Black community.
So don't bother us about the overwhelming support of President Barack Obama. Why the Black community isn't into the Republican Party?
And don't try to rehash that false argument that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican. You may lose more support.
Matt Drudge and the his cabal of racist jackasses click to the story. Add their usual word salad of insults towards Blacks, Hispanics, President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, and you got a real swingers party.
The last time a riot broke out in a city and the media covered it was the costly and yet deadly Los Angeles riots of 1992. I am guessing that conservatives are trying to get the ball running on this story. Unfortunately, the media is covering that white guy who shot up a suburban movie theater. The Drudge Report and likely a conservative agitator will address this as the LA Riots in the age of Barack Obama.
By Doug Irving, Eric Carpenter, Sean Emery and Micheal Mello of the Orange County Register are covering the riots and they've reported that a handful of citizens were arrested after a melee broke out in the California city of Anaheim. Police officers shot an unarmed person and I am assuming that the U.S. Justice Department and FBI are looking into the matter.
Remember that conservatives and White supremacists are rooting for an all out race war. They want the Blacks and Hispanics/Latinos to get riled up and destroy property. In turn they can claim that it's those evil traitors (uh, the progressives, the Democratic Party, President Barack Obama, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Nancy Pelosi) rooting on chaos while "patriots" like Mitt Romney and Darrell Issa are willing to help these "folks" get off the dependency of government.
They've reported that more than 20 people under arrest, police reported restoring order Wednesday morning after a fourth day of clashes between officers and protesters angry over two fatal officer-involved shootings in Anaheim last weekend.
At least five people were reported hurt in the unrest, with crowds setting fires, smashing windows and throwing rocks and other projectiles at officers in riot gear who fired non-lethal rounds at demonstrators refusing to disperse.
One person was taken to a hospital after being struck in the head with a pepper ball fired by police. Two Register reporters were injured – one was hit in the head with a rock and the other hit in the foot with a projectile. Both will get medical attention today.
A police officer suffered a minor arm injury, said Sgt. Bob Dunn, an Anaheim police spokesman.
Manuel Diaz, 25 was gunned down by the Anaheim Police. He was a petty criminal a citizen that was unarmed when the police confronted him. The officers claimed that he held something in waistband and they opened fire.
Additionally, one person was injured during a fight among protesters.
Police battled "pockets of unrest" in downtown Anaheim late Tuesday night, hours after a large crowd attempting to get inside City Hall broke into violent protest.
About 20 minutes before Tuesday's 5 p.m. City Council meeting, a 200-strong crowd tried to get inside the packed City Hall.
They were rebuffed by police officers who cited fire standards and would not let anyone else into the crowded council chambers, where the council held its regular meeting and talked about what the crowd was upset about: two police shootings over the weekend.
A half-dozen officers blocked City Hall's entrance, while the crowd gathered around and hurled obscenities.
As the crowd pressed closer, officers with helmets and batons came out the front door and pushed the protesters back, angering them.
After several minutes, some protesters called for everyone to hit the street.
For the next five-hours-plus, the tug of war between protesters and police persisted.
The crowd marched along Anaheim Boulevard to Lincoln Avenue, going into the street and blocking traffic.
Some pounded traffic signs and pulled trash cans into the street, while others pulled back the cans. One man with a bullhorn shouted how the protest was to be peaceful. A boy spray-painted a utility box. Some protesters grabbed sand from flower beds and a traffic cone and threw them at officers.
Anaheim police were assisted by officers from Garden Grove, Tustin, Brea, Fullerton and other agencies.
About 7:40, police lined across Broadway and in front of City Hall in riot gear. The crowd, now 500 strong and peaceful, stood about. Women with strollers came out to take a look. A church handed out fliers, "Jesus loves you. Come to our church."
At 8 p.m., police from a helicopter's speaker told the crowd to leave the Broadway/Anaheim Boulevard intersection or face arrest. Few, if any, budged.
Authorities announced a dispersal order at Anaheim and Broadway shortly before 9 p.m., then released pepper balls at the feet of the protesters, prompting the crowd to move rapidly away.
Some regrouped nearby, while others scattered throughout downtown.
Police took at least five people into custody, one for resisting arrest, said Sgt. Bob Dunn. A fight between demonstrators left one person "significantly injured," but the victim is expected to survive.
Rocks were thrown at police throughout the protests. Officers deployed bean bags and pepper balls.
Numerous trash bin fires in nearby neighborhoods were reported throughout the evening. The crowd also broke windows to some downtown businesses, including a Starbucks.
Earlier in the evening, four or five men were seen filling 1-gallon glass bottles with gasoline and placing rags in them at an Arco Station at Anaheim Boulevard and Broadway, said Jon Dunton, a legal representative for the business. Police were called and directed employees to shut down the pumps.
While the number of protesters decreased throughout the night, police said those who remained were "intent on causing trouble."
"They seem to be destructive," Dunn said.
Police expected to remain on alert throughout the night. By 10:30 p.m. the large groups had dispersed, but there were more than 100 scattered protesters causing "pockets of unrest" in the downtown area, Dunn said.
"We hope to restore order by the morning," Dunn said.
Tim Pool, an independent journalist who goes by Timcast on Ustream and Twitter, did a live webcast from the Anaheim protests.
On his webcast, at least six fires could be seen within about 45 minutes. The fires were in a trash bin, on the side of roads and alleys and inside a garbage can, which melted. He also witnessed a woman being struck in the legs.
Pool stayed behind police lines for most of the night, but when he veered out, he was fired upon with pepper balls and impact rounds, despite showing a press pass, he said. As of 10:35 p.m., he was unable to get back to the action.
Earlier in the day, the Anaheim Police Association said that the Anaheim officer who fired a fatal shot at an unarmed man this weekend saw some kind of object in the man's waistband and feared it was a weapon.
The association's account, and a $50 million lawsuit filed by the man's mother, offered new details about the shooting that killed 25-year-old Manuel Angel Diaz. An attorney for Diaz's mother said he was shot in the back, then fell to his knees and was shot again in the head.
Police have described Diaz as a known gang member and said he fled on foot down a residential alleyway when officers approached him Saturday afternoon. They have declined to speak in any more detail about what led to the shooting.
The next day, an Anaheim gang officer shot and killed another man, Joel Mathew Acevedo, 21, in an unrelated incident. Police also described Acevedo as a known gang member and said he opened fire on officers during a foot chase.
The back-to-back shootings have sparked several demonstrations.
"The community is scared and angry," said Joanne Sosa, who helped organize Tuesday's protest. "We don't want violence, we just want those people (in City Hall) to know things need to change."
Diaz was talking with friends when police confronted them, according to an attorney representing Diaz's mother in her lawsuit against the city. All three ran, and two officers chased Diaz, attorney Dana Douglas said in a statement.
One of the officers had recognized Diaz as a known gang member and saw him holding a "concealed object" in his waistband with both hands, according to the police association. He ignored their orders to stop running, then pulled the object from his waistband and turned toward the officers, the association said.
"Feeling that Diaz was drawing a weapon, the officer opened fire on Diaz to stop the threat," the association said in its statement. Anaheim police said after the shooting that Diaz was not armed; the association declined to say what the object that the officer reported seeing was.
The attorney for Diaz's mother called that account of the shooting an "absolute fabrication." She said Diaz was shot in the back and the back of the head, so it would have been "physically impossible" for him to have turned toward the officers. She also said no witnesses she interviewed had seen Diaz turn.
A city spokeswoman did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Douglas said she also filed a formal claim for damages against the city, a precursor to a lawsuit in state court.
The day after Diaz was killed, a gang investigator patrolling a nearby neighborhood saw a stolen vehicle and tried to pull it over, according to the police association. The driver instead led officers on a short pursuit and crashed; three people got out and ran.
One of them, Acevedo, turned during the chase and fired a handgun at an officer, the police association said.
The officer returned fire, killing him. A handgun was recovered next to his body.
Russia Today is possibly the most trusted news in the world.
Court records show that Acevedo pleaded guilty in 2010 to resisting a peace officer and in 2009 to street terrorism and receiving stolen property. Diaz pleaded guilty in 2011 to drug charges and in 2008 to having a firearm on school grounds, with a street-gang enhancement, records show.
The two shootings in two days brought to six the number of officer-involved shootings in Anaheim so far this year; five were fatal.
Officers fired bean bags and pepper spray into a group of protesters that had gathered near the scene of the Diaz shooting Saturday. A police dog also escaped its handler and charged into the crowd.
"It's wrong what the police are doing. It's like it's 'shoot to kill' now," said Pauline Miltimore, who joined Tuesday's protest outside City Hall and said she was Acevedo's cousin. "Even if it doesn't make a difference, I have to (protest). It broke my heart when I found out."
The FBI is reviewing whether a civil-rights investigation is warranted after the two shootings, spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. City leaders have also invited the state Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office to investigate.
The District Attorney's Office is investigating both shootings, which is standard protocol for officer-involved shootings.
It was reported that Sherman Hemsley, the sarcastic comedian of the breakout television show The Jeffersons, died on Tuesday. He was 74 years old according to the Washington Post. He never married and had no children.
The Jeffersons a spin-off of All In The Family rose to top prominence with issues that tackled drugs, suicide, poverty, racism. gun violence and social themes. With a catchy theme song "We're Movin' On Up!", people got accustomed to George Jefferson, wife Louise (Weezy), son Lionel, housekeeper Florence and the neighbors of the East New York deluxe apartment.
Sherman Hemsley grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He dropped out of school and joined the United States Air Force, where he served for four years. On leaving the Air Force, he returned to Philadelphia where he worked for the Post Office during the day while attending acting school at night. He then moved to New York, continuing to work for the Post Office during the day while working as an actor at night.
Sherman Hemsley performed with local groups in Philadelphia before moving to New York to study with Lloyd Richards at the Negro Ensemble Company. Shortly after, he joined Vinnette Carroll's Urban Arts Company appearing in these productions: But Never Jam Today, The Lottery, Old Judge Mose is Dead, Moon On A Rainbow Shawl, Step Lively Boys, Croesus, and The Witch. He made his Broadway debut in Purlie and toured with the show for a year. In the summer of 1972 he joined the Vinnette Carroll musical Sorry, I Can't Cope ensemble in Toronto, followed a month later in the American Conservatory Theater production at the Geary Theater. This production had Hemsley in Act I performing the solo "Lookin' Over From Your Side" and in "Sermon" in Act II.
George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley) and Weezy (Isabel Sanford)
Though Hemsley was largely typecast as George Jefferson, he continued to work steadily after the show's cancellation. He teamed up with the show's original cast members when The Jeffersons moved to Broadway for a brief period.
Hemsley joined the cast of NBC's Amen in 1986 as Ernest Frye, an unscrupulous church deacon much like his George Jefferson character. The show enjoyed a run of five seasons, ending in 1991. Hemsley then was a voice actor in the ABC live-action puppet series Dinosaurs, where he played Bradley P. Richfield, main character Earl's sadistic boss. The show ran for five seasons, ending in 1994.
Hemsley largely retired from television acting, although he and Isabel Sanford appeared together in the late 1990s and in the early 2000s, reprising their roles in guest spots on television programs such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, commercials for The Gap, Old Navy and Denny's, and dry cleaning conventions. He and Sanford also made a cameo appearance in the film Sprung. They continued to work together on occasion until Sanford began having health problems leading to her death in 2004.
With Marla Gibbs who played wise cracking housekeeper Florence Johnston, Hemlsey and Sanford were a part of American television's iconic show The Jeffersons.
In recent years prior to his death, Hemsley has made a voice appearance as himself in the Seth McFarlane animated comedy Family Guy. He appeared in the film American Pie Presents: The Book of Love. In 2011, he reprised his role as George Jefferson once again, along with Marla Gibbs as Florence Johnston in Tyler Perry's House of Payne.
It's the way of the law, says the Supreme Court of the United States!
In a 5-4 decision, the liberal wing with Chief Justice John Roberts stated the law is validated and the Republicans concerns shouldn't stop the controversial individual mandate. Dissent comes from Justices Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Gingsberg, Steven Breyer, and Elena Kagan stood firm with the decision.
Earlier, I wrote that it was a 6-3 decision. But it turns out I was misinformed by The Drudge Report and CNN. The decision was another partisan 5-4. Justice Anthony Kennedy stood with the conservative wing. Kennedy is the only swing justice in the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the president's lawyers and the liberal wing of the court.
President Barack Obama's signature health care reform law is validated and the Republican governors and lawmakers are defeated!
This overreach of government claim made by Republicans is not good enough to stop the health care law!
In the words of Fox News and Steve Doocy, "THIS IS HUGE!"
Get ready for the reactionary outrage from the conservative/extremist wing of the Republican Party. Expect death threats from the deranged! The death threats and nasty insults will be directed towards President Barack Obama, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-California, Minority Leader), the Supreme Court Justices and those who defended the law.
An energized base of the Democratic Party and its allies of the progressive movement! The president will look a lot less weaker, I hope!
Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama will talk about it and of course we will too!
Update: 11:15am | June 28, 2012 - Congressman John Boehner (R-Ohio), the United States Speaker of The House announced that a congressional vote on repealing Obamacare is slated for July 7, 2012.
Update: 11:25am | June 28, 2012 - Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada), the Majority Leader of The United States Senate has applaud the decision and urged Congress to put forth jobs and student loans bill.
Update: 11:45am | June 28, 2012 - Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney delivers remarks to the ruling. Vows if he is elected, the law is repealed. Romney makes concerns to Supreme Court failure to acknowledge the law is a "job killer". Makes generic talking point speech about how "big government" and "intrusion" is not the way to victory. He makes blanket statements but no solutions.
Update: 12:15pm | June 28, 2012 - President Barack Obama delivers remarks to the nation. Addresses the American Health Care Reform Act decision and corrects the misinformation from conservatives agitators such as Rush Limbaugh. Takes a jab at Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
MSNBC obtains a cell phone video of Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) reacting to the news of the Supreme Court ruling. Unfortunately she was excited over a decision that didn't happen. It turns out it was in the favor of President Obama. Many conservatives are upset over Chief Justice John Roberts and they're taking their reactionary outrage online.
American mayors in major cities are demanding progress. Mayors are trying to revitalize their communities and the Congress is relativity screwing up with funds to help! The Republican controlled House of Representatives are delaying votes on the job/infrastructure and student loans bills. The Democratic Senate has went to bat on these issues only to have filibusters from Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina).
The Republicans won't vote on any bill without domestic austerity cuts. The Democrats won't concede to spending cuts to domestic programs. The Democrats are trying to wake up the public by saying the Republicans are intentionally trying to destroy the economy to get back into power.
Stockton, California, a community that's between San Francisco and Sacramento is going to be filing for bankruptcy if the Congress doesn't pass federal funding for the city.
California legislators have worked all they could and now Governor Jerry Brown is calling upon Congress to step in to prevent the city from being literally broke.
With nearly 300,000 people, Stockton could become the first American city with a major population to ever declare bankruptcy. According to the Associated Press, to plug next year's anticipated $26 million shortfall, the proposed
budget would suspend payments for debts and legal claims, reduce
payments for retiree medical benefits, further cut some pay and
benefits, and increase revenue through code enforcement and parking
citations.
The unemployment rate has doubled in Stockton over the past decade
and now hovers around 16 percent. One-fifth of residents live below the
poverty line, and the city has twice topped Forbes magazine's list of
"America's most miserable cities."
Under a bankruptcy filing, officials would retain power over
day-to-day city operations and staffing, but a judge would take over all
decisions concerning the city's debts, said Robert Benedetti, professor
of political science at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.
The judge would decide which creditors should be paid, how much and
in what order. He would make allowances for expenditures needed by the
city to function, and it would be up to city officials to decide how to
spend that money.
"One of the reasons a city might want to go the bankruptcy route is
that they don't want a situation where they have to pay out debts and
have to close the police or fire department," Benedetti said. "Filing
for Chapter 9 means you're asking the court to protect you against
lawsuits from people who hold your debt."
Stockton's bankruptcy would make it the largest city by population to
file for Chapter 9 protection, according to Jim Spiotto, a Chicago
bankruptcy lawyer who tracks such cases. He said Bridgeport, Conn., was
the largest city to file for bankruptcy, which it did in 1991, followed
by Vallejo, Calif., which filed in 2008.
America's Independent Voice, Rob Redding is focused. The issues of the Black community are the focus and he's wondering what's taking President Barack Obama so long with handling our matters!
As a loyal listener to the Rob Redding News Review Radio program, I must admit Rob Redding has a point!
He was criticizing the president's political expediency towards two core groups that are shaking. The president is focusing on them and not the Black community.
The Hispanic/Latino and the LGBT community are key factors to the president's base but the most loyal is the Black community. President Barack Obama recently came in favor of endorsing gay marriage and demanding the U.S. Justice Department and Homeland Security to focus on illegal immigrants who commit crimes. It leaves the notion that the president is willing to not deport undocumented workers who are working or going to school.
These controversies became political landmines for the conservatives and a distraction away from the message of the economy. The president acknowledges that the economy will be the clear focus between the Republican nominee and himself, but these culture wars instigated by the president and the Republican Party has Rob Redding writting a book called "Where's The Change? - Why Obama Nor The GOP Can Solve America's Problems." It's a critical book focusing on issues that the president failed at doing and of course the political discourse and blatant disrespect from the Republicans and their allies in the conservative movement.
For the last few years, Congress has been in gridlock. The 112th Congress has been least productive in history. It's matching close to the Republican controlled 80th Congress. The congress that President Harry Truman ran against and won his election.
President Barack Obama hasn't went to bat for the Black community as of, three years!
I have seen him attend the Congressional Black Caucus Dinner with the intentions of urging Blacks to take responsibility and stop complaining. The president understand that the needs of the Black community. But he's very cautious about it. Race is a factor to White voters. White conservative males are likely to provoke the Black community with inflammatory rhetoric that is deemed racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, condescending, and overreaching. The president responded to the criticism from some Black members of Congress urging the president to focus on the problems of the urban districts. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-California) was getting frustrated with the president delaying.
Unemployment in the Black community is about 20%. Has Blacks lives ever gotten better under the first Black president?
Black on Black crime is problematic. Every so often a young man is either dead before he reaches 25 years old. Has Blacks lives ever gotten better under the first Black president?
Black married families are not as popular as they used to be. More Blacks are likely having multiple sex partners and possibilities of catching a STD or HIV is higher. Has Blacks lives ever gotten better under the first Black president?
Black males are abandoning their children. Many single parents are struggling. Whether its a male or female, a dead beat parent could be a tax payer's burden. Many couples are having children and are struggling under a partisan Congress scared to pass a budget legislation and Republican state governors who focus on austerity cuts or intrusion tactics such as drug testing. Has Black lives ever gotten better under the first Black president?
With incidents like the vigilante killing of Trayvon Martin, the police beating of Rodney King, the police shootings of Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, and many police involved shootings, have Blacks lives ever gotten better under the first Black president?
Urban decay, white flight, manufacturing decline, an economic crisis overseas, partisan gridlock in Washington, states cutting back the public sector and an ongoing war in Afghanistan. Many Blacks are part of the problem we're facing as Americans. Has Black lives ever gotten better under the first Black president?
With issues that matter to the Black community, how can we get President Barack Obama to work harder for our votes?
Rob Redding explains this in his daily program. You can listen to his show on local radio stations across the country as well as SiriusXM's The Power. His program is also on Sunday. Email him at Rob@ReddingNewsReview.com.When he's on radio, you can call his toll free number 1-855-762-3080.
Weekdays 4pm and Sundays 7pm. For three hours you'll hear America's Independent Voice discuss issues with the government, the mainstream media and the Black community.
Media Matters for America, a non-profit liberal media resource group has been gunning for Fox News over the past few years. With the first African American to be elected as president, Barack Obama and the network have been at odds over issues. And with that, comes the blatant disrespect and subtle racism to him.
The conservative network wasted no time trying to tie the high educated Obama with racial stereotypes of Black culture. Last year, the president stated that his interest in hip-hop music rappers like Nas and Lil' Wayne, the website Fox Nation post the president's love for gangster rappers. First Lady Michelle Obama host a poetry session at the White House and invites rapper Common. Common becomes a "cop killing" rapper. Three days after the killing of Osama bin Laden. Now as the president celebrates his birthday at the White House and invites Chris Rock and Jay-Z to the event, it's a "Hip-Hop BBQ".
Say what you will—Fox Nation knows how to keep things unique. We also love the url for the item:
http://nation.foxnews.com/president-obama/2011/08/05/obama-parties-chris-rock-jay-z-and-whoopi-while-rome-burn
Towards the end of a recent interview with Rolling Stone, President Obama was asked about his musical preferences, he replied:
My iPod now has about 2,000 songs, and it is a source of great pleasure to me. I am probably still more heavily weighted toward the music of my childhood than I am the new stuff. There's still a lot of Stevie Wonder, a lot of Bob Dylan, a lot of Rolling Stones, a lot of R&B, a lot of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Those are the old standards.
A lot of classical music. I'm not a big opera buff in terms of going to opera, but there are days where Maria Callas is exactly what I need.
Thanks to Reggie [Love, the president's personal aide], my rap palate has greatly improved. Jay-Z used to be sort of what predominated, but now I've got a little Nas and a little Lil Wayne and some other stuff, but I would not claim to be an expert. Malia and Sasha are now getting old enough to where they start hipping me to things. Music is still a great source of joy and occasional solace in the midst of what can be some difficult days.
Soul, folk, rock, R&B, jazz, "A lot of classical", and some rap; sounds like a fairly diverse musical palate. This represents the musical tastes of a number of Americans of the president's generation, especially those with school age children. Diversity is good, unless you are reading the Fox Nation website. According to Huffington Post, Fox Nation took this description and briefly posted the headline, "President of the United States Loves Gansta Rap" with photos of tattoo laden Nas and Lil' Wayne thrown in for "flava".
How does the president's acknowledgment of an appreciation for rap music become a love for "gangsta rap"?
This is not too subtle code language from conservative media that the "de-racialized" President Obama has an affinity for some element of African-American culture and this is something to fear. Here is another example in a long list of examples of how some elements in the media and politics continue to play to the fears of too many in America by fanning the flames of prejudice and racism.
Since his days as a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Illinois Barack Obama has talked about equality and one America. During his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention he said that the greatness of this nation can be summed up in the declaration, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal... There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America." In his famous "race speech" in 2008 Senator Obama talked about continuing the long march, "of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America."
For too many in this country, this de-racialized race-neutral politics coming from a man of African decent is something to fear. Former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo opened the Tea Party convention by calling for a reinstatement of Jim Crow type literacy tests for voters and saying, "This is our country...Let's take it back." Who's country is it and Tancredo wants to take it back from whom?
Recently in an interview with National Review's Robert Costa former House speaker Newt Gingrich said,
"What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]? ...This is a person who is fundamentally out of touch with how the world works, who happened to have played a wonderful con, as a result of which he is now president." Again, not so subtle code language playing to the fear of President Obama's Kenyan heritage and to the unfounded rhetoric of the "birther" movement. Actually, anti-colonial behavior is a good thing if you are a victim of colonialism.
According to Rep. Pete King (R-NY), President Barack Obama is "probably the most threatened president ever." Most of these threats are not because of health care reform, the stimulus bill, or the problems with Israel. There are still too many people in America that refuse to allow him to govern as the president; they will oppose him at every turn because he's an African-American who is the president .
Numerous cartoons have featured President Obama and/or first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys, terrorists, or Muslim suicide bombers. What are they afraid of? President Obama has called for change not Mau Mau revolution. He is working within the established structure, not working to overthrow it. The president loves gansta' rap? During the Henry Louis Gates arrest in Cambridge, President Obama said that the arresting officers "acted stupidly" not as NWA said, "F**k the Police".
The Fox Nation claim that the "President of the United States Loves Gansta' Rap" is a bit far fetched and nothing but a scare tactic. It's the latest example in a long line of contradictions that are grounded in a fear of the African-American influence in a fictitious "post-racial" America. Or as Public Enemy would say, "Fear of a Black Planet".
Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program "Inside the Issues With Wilmer Leon," and a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email: wjl3us@yahoo.com.
Fox News and The Drudge Report caters to the worst of society. Subtle racism and misinformation creates the toxic environment that spawns in the conservatives who support the Tea Party let alone the entire Republican Party.
