GOP Translator

Update-The Color of Change in a Culture of Fear and Intimidation

"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe"~Fredrick Douglas

Casey you have to break the mold and prove you're not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu types and the entire entitlement crowd! Do that, and you'll be doing the job you were hired to do! Oh yeah, not to mention striking down all racial transfers. And that includes allowing not allowing whites to racially transfer either. If you don't like where your child goes to school, move to where they can be zoned into a school of your preference, that's what I had to do!~allin13times


And much of the public buys into the message thatour schools are finally being run by people who do things the right way, who follow the rules, who don't just put their friends, regardless of their inexperience or incompetence into highly paid positions of power.~Geek Pavaler

It's too late, the contracts been signed, and nothing I say is going to change anything.~havealittletalk

The public gives us their two most precious resources; their children and their taxdollars. We must protect both to the best of our ability.~Casey Wardynski

Wardynski's Pinnacle Proposal-So Many, Many, Many Things Wrong Here~Mertz Center Monitor

US Congressional Investigations don't stop abusive rehab centers

Significant opportunity for fraud

"When all the fingers on the hand work together they form a mighty fist"

I am wondering how long the Alabama LapDog Press is going to continue to ignore the upcoming  Selma to Montgomery March, which organizers predict will be bigger than the original march, due to Alabama's ongoing slide back to the days of Jim Crow and Slavery.   One thing they can't ignore is the revenue (money), and the attention it's bringing to Sweet Home Alabama.

Five fingers pointing the blame don’t amount to nothin. But together they make a mighty fist which can strike a mighty blow.~ Mother Jo from the movie Soul Food

Hosts

Faya Rose Toure and Senator Hank Sanders

National Union Officers

Arlene Holt Baker and Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO; Randi Weingarten, AFT; Tom Buffenbarger, IAM; Bob King, UAW; Lee Saunders, AFSCME; Mary Kay Henry, Eliseo Medina & Gerald Hudson, SEIU; Bill Lucy, CBTU; Cecil Roberts, UMWA.

National Coalitions

Benjamin Jealous, NAACP; Rev. Al Sharpton, NAN; Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow-Push; Deepak Bhargava, CCC; Janet Murguia, La Raza.

Congressional Delegation

Congressman John Lewis will lead a delegation of members of Congress that will participate in the Selma-to-Montgomery activities.

Student Delegations

Administration, Faculty, and Students at Alabama State University and Tuskegee University will mobilize the campuses to participate in the week of activities, including teach-ins.

Bus Operations

AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils, along with Community Services Liaisons, in Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, Mobile, Birmingham and Jackson, Miss. have set up bus operations working with local unions and community partners. These buses will attend the March 9th rally at the State Capitol. In addition, there are buses being organized by AFGE, SEIU, UMWA, USW, UAW, CBTU, and our Coalition partners. If you are interested in bus operations, please contact them directly:

Denise Mays: 404-525-3559
Janine Brown: 404-527-7417
Michael Allen: 615-780-2413
Pat Rabbeitt: 251-431-0101
Casel Jones: 901-299-5261
Terry Davis: 205-903-1568
Jim Evans: 601-209-2928

Schedule of Events
March 4
Brown Chapel AME Church services 7 a.m.
Rally and March across Bridge 1:30 p.m.
March 5-9
March each day starts at 9 a.m.
Evening community events at 6 p.m.
March 9
Alabama State University event 9 a.m.
Rally at State Capitol 11:30 a.m.

Now is the time for all good Americans to work together to form a mighty fist and fight take our country back from the right (wrong) wingers.  I will be there.  Will you?

Republicans are not pro life, they are anti choice

The majority of the American people, including me, are pro-life.  How many people do you know who are anti-life?  I mean, really?

Republicans are pro-life as long as it's a fetus after it's born they are anti-life.  Don't believe me?  Ask the family of the late  Troy Anthony Davis.  Isn't it funny how republicans will trust a woman with a child, but not with a choice?

Attention republican men!  If you are against contraceptives, don't use them.  If you are against abortion don't have one.

Women are throwing down the gauntlet.

.

H/T YELLOWDOG GRANNY

It. Is. On.

President Obama Stands With American Workers

Senator Clay Scofield pulls out of Vaginal Probe Ultrasound bill

Snark intended. After being the top story on The Rachael Maddow Show, the Ed Show and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, the dishonorable state Senator Clay Scofield is withdrawing  the Let's make State Senator Greg Reed  Richer Bill.  Yep, now Clay say's he will clarify the language and give women the choice between a forced vaginal probe ultra sound, or an abdominal ultrasound before she can obtain a safe, legal abortion.  Bless his heart.

Psst Clay...we choose neither.   Just pull out of our reproductive choices.  You got that?

Let's get something straight about the GOP war on women....it's a war on poor/black/brown women without access to health insurance.   Rich women, or women with access to health insurance won't have to jump through hoops to obtain a safe, legal, abortion.   Nope, it's the poor/black/brown women republicans refer to as having babies so the government can take care of them.  The poor/black/brown  women they don't want to have access to contraceptives or access to quality, affordable health care.

Either the republicans hate poor/brown/black women, or, they want them turn them into Breeders.

Alabama State Senator Hank Sanders tried to tell some of y'all if the republicans took over they were going to take us back to the days of Jim Crow and Slavery.

Alabama in the house at the Academy Awards in Hollywood, California

Montgomery, Alabama native, and Auburn University grad , actress Octavia Spencer won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as an uppity maid in The Help,   a novel written by University of Alabama grad Kathryn Stockett .  Isn't it nice when Alabama is recognized in a positive light for something instead of football, bigotry and ignorance?

Montgomery's sister city  Birmingham was also represented at the Academy Awards, with the nomination of the short film Foot soldier:  The barber of Birmingham , putting the spotlight on the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights movement such as the late James Armstrong, who dedicated his life to fighting for civil rights.

We owe James Armstrong, Colonel Stone Johnson and the other foot soldiers a debt of gratitude that is priceless.

The struggle continues. Reverend Al Sharpton, along with the AFL-CIO and other grass roots organizations, will lead foot soldiers in a  march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama beginning March 4 in, ending  March 9, 2012 to protest the new voter laws, or as I call them, the keep black folks from voting laws.

Black voters are not engaged in voter fraud.  The right to vote is sacred to black voters.

All roads lead to Montgomery, Alabama ,the birthplace of Academy Award winning actress Octavia Spencer.

Bill Maher: Crazy Stupid Politics

Get the popcorn and enjoy Bill Maher's "Crazy Stupid Politics."

If it hangs on you, note the time when it stopped and reload the page. Happened to me, but it's worth the inconvenience. Enjoy!

If it's Sunday it's time to Meet the Pest 2nd Edition

Kyle Whitmire takes the prize for the best headline of the decade. Pun intended? Or, another surge for Mr. Goody Two Shoes?  I thought republicans didn't like elitist snobs?

 

Alabama U.S. Rep. Bob Aderholt says he will BACK Santorum in Alabama's republican primary.  I wonder why?  

Willard Mitt Romney needs a Cadillac strategy.  I wonder what part of the state of Michigan doesn't like him doesn't he understand?

Just because a group labels themselves moral or the majority doesn't make it true.  WE are the majority.  And WE are right! Pun intended

The  white, male, red, republican, Alabama Legislature, introduced the Let's make Sen. Greg Reed (republican 5) richer bill.  Yee Haw!  And they say democrats are unethical and corrupt?  Yeah right. Pun intended.

Bill Maher tells  rich democrats to get off their rich Donkey's and donate to super Pacs supporting President Obama or else.

What looks like Bats#it crazy on an ordinary day in AmeriBama

H/T Kingcockfight

It's official, President Barack Hussein Obama has driven the gop crazy.  So much so, even die heart republicans are asking  is it time to abandon the republican party, and  Jeb Bush is trying to disarm the circular firing squad.   I do believe the Suckers are waking up and smelling the Tea. Pun Intended.

Alabama Legislature 2012:  Bill could require anal probe inserted in republican male candidates to get on the ballot.  Snark  Not to be left out of the stuck on stupid,  State Senator Clay Scofield (r. Guntersville) introduced a bill requiring women to have a vaginal ultrasound before having an abortion.  Why don't they call it the make Doctors and Ultrasound Companies richer bill?  I'm just saying...

Give me some ideological purity over winning any day, any time, any place.  What's the good in winning as a democrat but governing like a republican?  I mean, really?

And that's this week in Bats#t Crazy AmeriBama.

"Our long national nightmare is over" I HOPE

What I learned from the last  gop republican Presidential debate, if anything.

This is the republican way.

Honey how can I tell if republicans care about me?

John King is still skeered of Newt Gingrich and the rest of the gop warmongers.

That is all.

CNN: Bras Liberate Women From Sex Slavery

Denver, Colorado - Staring down a mountain of bras in her basement, Kimba Langas knew things had gotten out of hand.

The stay-at-home-mom started collecting unwanted bras as a way to help women on the other side of the world. It started small through word of mouth, and then a Facebook page.

Read the rest.

Smithsonian's African-American History Museum an 'Opportunity for Understanding'

Watch African-American Museum an 'Opportunity for Understanding' on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Ground was broken Wednesday on the National Mall for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, set to open in 2015. Jeffrey Brown discusses the pivotal moment in the long, $500 million effort to showcase the stories and experiences of black Americans with journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson.
Read the transcript.

Attention White People....You can NOT use the N word

You just can't.  I don't know why it's so hard for some of you to understand why black folks can use the N word but  you can't, but let me see if I can break it down for you.

The N word is a noun in the English lexicon used by white peoples as an ethnic slur  to describe black people.

The N word is a noun in the English lexicon used by black people to describe each other, negatively or positively.

The word these days basically is equal to "guy", "man", or "dude." At least that's how *I* think of it. For example, rarely will you see girls referred to as n**gas. Only males are called this. Then there's a broader use of the word where it simply means "a black person." I think this use of the word was common during slavery, it wasn't considered offensive. Even after slavery ended, blacks still referred to each other as n*** because they were used to the word. Of course, since this word was common during slavery, some racists began to use to word to mean "slave" or "inferior person." Anyway, it's generally assumed that when a white person says it, they are trying to be rude or insult the person. That's why some people get offended. I don't buy into the whole "trying to take a bad word and make it good" idea. If that were the case, then why don't they call themselves other racist names? After all, there are numerous insulting names for people of African descent, yet n*** is the only word used. It's hard to get a group of people to stop using a word that they've been using it for so long. That would be like trying to get Australians to stop saying "mate."

Here is a list of acceptable nouns you can use as code for the N word.

Muslim
Socialist
Radical Islam
Buffoon
Idiot
Moron

Feel free to use the N word  if you so choose, but remember there may be consequences  for doing so.

Any questions?

Santorum's Phony "Authenticity"

You've probably noticed that Rick Santorum is spending a good deal of time "mis-speaking" about President Obama, and then backtracking to explain what he claims he actually meant. Conservatives are worried that Romney is too moderate, and conservative pundits like half-term governor Palin and Rush "Oxycontin" Limbaugh regularly reinforce that talking point.

So, in their wearying search for a candidate that reflects their far-right, tea partier positions, Republican primary voters are susceptible to Santorum's shtick that "he is a politician who says what he believes. In a turbulent primary season, Republican voters have placed as much importance, if not more, on candidates’ biography and authenticity as on policy."

It's unlikely that a well-educated man like Santorum (who holds undergraduate, MBA and JD degrees) isn't thinking before speaking. It's unlikely that he confused "theology" with "ideology" as he claimed; it's even more frightening if they equate as interchangeable words in his mind.

Santorum's gaffes aren't random; they are contrived to appeal to primal white folks' fears about the bluh people. Whether it's saying that Obama is a "Jeremiah Wright Christian" or Santorum's media aide describing President Obama's "radical Islamic policies", the accusations are designed to raise irrational suspicions and fears.

Strong words, those: frightening, irrational. But Santorum has played in that "One Toke Over the Line Sweet Jesus" sandbox before, when in 2008 at Ave Maria College he declared that "this was a Protestant country and the Protestant ethic, mainstream, mainline Protestantism, and of course we look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it."

Some of us would assert that it's the Catholic Church in a shambles of its own making: engaging over decades in an international conspiracy to aid and abet criminal pedophiliac clergy from detection and prosecution.

But do the Santorum supporters know of his warped assessment of the state of Protestantism? Of his chameleon-like changeability? Is that the authenticity they claim to seek? Will it hurt him or help him?

In the WP Politics section, Felicia Sonmez gives Five Reasons Why Santorum's Campaign-Trail "Misstatements" May Help Him.

How ironic it will be if the Republican primary voters shun "Milque Toast Moderate" Mitt for the "Mis-Speaking, Flame-Throwing, Bat-Shit Crazy" Santorum - all in the name of authenticity, of course.

After publishing this, I found that Drudge is reporting on Santorum's Satan War.

The former senator from Pennsylvania warned in 2008 how politics and government are falling to Satan.

"This is a spiritual war. And the Father of Lies has his sights on what you would think the Father of Lies would have his sights on: a good, decent, powerful, influential country - the United States of America.

Time to review Lawrence Britt's 14 Characteristics of Fascism, in particular, the 8th:

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. Unlike communist regimes, the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the ruling elite’s behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the religion was generally swept under the rug. Propaganda kept up the illusion that the ruling elites were defenders of the faith and opponents of the “godless.” A perception was manufactured that opposing the power elite was tantamount to an attack on religion.

It's Presidents Day in America!~Correction

Aren't we lucky to have 4 former Presidents living among us as we celebrate Presidents Day?  Although two out of the 4 weren't my first, second, or even third choice, and I disagreed with practically everything they stood for, I respect the office of the President.  It's too bad TeaPublicans can't, or won't, give the office of the President an iota of respect as long as it's occupied by President Barack Hussein Obama.  You would think he sent our troops to war based on dead wrong intelligence and was selected by the Supreme Court or something.

Since Presidents Day occurs during Black History Month, it's only fitting to acknowledge the fact 8 former Presidents were slave owners.   Slaves not only built the White House and the United States Capitol, but they were also forced to slave inside the White House. This was during the time when whites wanted the government to take care of bluh people.    

I am sharing this Open letter to President Obama from RobM I found in the comment section in the afternoon open thread at Jack&Jill Politics

President Obama
I am sending you $1 today. This is not a donation to your Presidential reelection bid. it is a request you buy me a lottery ticket the next time it reaches $100 million. I have no problem splitting it w/ you and voluntarily paying %30 in federal taxes.
I am sure you are looking at this w/ your W-T-F face the First lady has seen after you come down from talking to PM Netanyahu and are asked to walk Bo. The one where you are thinking I'm been listening to it now I have to go clean it up!
Hopefully, you have gotten past that and are reading the rest of this. I am asking because you know you have to be the luckiest man alive. You are running for re-election after dealing w/ a racist American Taliban and media assault that can not even admit you came into the job w/ the worst possible fires on the stove short of the stove going nuclear on you. You belong to a party that can't organize itself to have a press conference to announce a policy w/o sounding like they are cleaning up after Bo; eyweeww! you have opposition for the job in tow men. One isn't liked by anybody but those w/ money. In fact, he can't even win an election w/o cheating(Maine and Iowa). and now in his 3rd home state, he has to bring in Donald Trump to help beat the Ayatollah. Two, the other is a card-carrying Ayatollah who believes you worship trees. I'll bet there are members of your own party begging you to come campaign in their district just so they can look good by the company they keep, though I doubt they'll let you in the house w/o putting away the silver.
So as you can see there is solid proof you are the luckiest pol ever. I would just like a piece of that change.

PS if you don't want to go to acknowledge this letter by buying a ticket could you at least tell me if this series of numbers work; 3/12/47 & 5/10/58. They are Mittens and Lil' Ricky's birth dates.

RedEye's Monday Must Reads

"Trust but Verify"  jumped into my mind after reading Geek Pavaler's post, Wardynski:  Just Trust Me.  HCS Commandant, I mean Superintendent, Casey Wardynski's  Internal Review   found major problems  within the systems business practices under the  leadership of his predecessor.  There's only one problem...his predecessor couldn't do a thing without the approval of the same people who hired him as a replacement. You see, the way things work,  The Superintendent recommends policies, and the School Board adopts the policies, or not.  So, if the school system had major problems under the leadership of his predecessor, blame the majority of the present members of the school board for adopting the recommendations.

You know, the same school board that is adopting YOUR recommendations, Sir.  BTW, the United States Department of Justice found some major problems with the school systems desegregation order and other inequalities.  And, what about the major problems of with the lack of transparency and accountability to we the tax payers?  Why should we just trust you with out verifying what you are telling us is the truth?  I'm just saying....

What do Michelle Rhee and Foster Friess have in common?  In case you are wondering who Michelle Rhee and Foster  Fries are, and  their connections to Alabama and the future of education in this state, click on the hyperlinks.  Then weep for Alabama's poor, black and brown students, and our HOPE for their futures.

Alabama republicans prefile bill to bring back slavery by any other name.  Must see YouTube.

Read On.  Read Often.

A picture is worth a thousand words

GOP 2012:  SO LADIES, HOW IS THAT "SMALL GOVERNMENT" THING WORKING OUT FOR YOU?  H/T What Would Jack Do

h?t JOBSANGER VIA LIBERALS ARE COOL

h/t STFU Hypocrites

Melissa Harris Perry Debuts Show on MSNBC

Melissa Harris-Perry is now "the first black progressive woman to ever solo-host her own news and politics show on a major corporate TV news outlet," wrote Jennifer Pozner earlier this week on Alternet.

MHP described the show this way: "It will be driven by the questions that are of particular intellectual and personal concern to me, so we’ll undoubtedly talk about issues of inequality -- racial and gender and class inequality. We’ll undoubtedly talk about Southern politics, and politics beyond the Beltway and the New York Amtrak stops. We will undoubtedly turn to maybe some surprising voices, voices you don't always hear on cable news."

A professor at Tulane, she recently authored "Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes and Black Women in America."

Watch the premiere program here.

Why Is President Obama So Different?

Bill Maher nails it as he questions why Republicans are OK with openly disrespecting President Obama. Gee whiz, what could the reason be?

It's not about disputing President Obama's policies. I'm talking about personal attacks, like Rick Santorum's recent assertion that Obama's "agenda is based on 'some phony theology. Not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology.' He later suggested that the president practices a different kind of Christianity.

'In the Christian church there are a lot of different stripes of Christianity,' he said. 'If the president says he's a Christian, he's a Christian.'"

This coming from an adherent to Roman Catholicism, a religion many believe to be a cult, that is, a phony theology.

The Story of Us: Five Years Ago Today

We've come a long way. Take a few minutes to reminisce! Remember?

Laying Whitney to Rest

Whitney Houston funeral: Ways fans can watch on TV and Internet (links)

Is this Alabama today? Alabama tomorrow? Alabama forever?

There is a mean spirit on the lose, not only in Alabama but in America, and that's what makes this election so important~Alabama State Senator Hanks Sanders (D.Selma) to CNN's Anderson Cooper when asked about his "race baiting robo call to democratic voters".

Senator Hank Sanders warning has come to pass, there is mean spirit on the lose, especially in Sweet Home Alabama. Pubic education, public school teachers, labor unions,voting rights, women, children and immigrants, are under constant and sustained attack from the red, republican,  Alabama state legislature, led by Governor Robert I will Eff Up the State for free Bentley.  You get what you pay for, or in this case, what you don't pay for.

 Alabama has one black Congressional representative out of seven, and it is driving some people crazy.  Some people refer to it Gerrymandering, and, hemming up black voters because although racism is dead (yeah right), blacks are too dumb to make electoral decisions for themselves.    They need white people to tell them who should represent them in Congress.   I guess they've forgotten how, and why, the 7th Congressional District came to pass.  But they certainly haven't forgotten, or forgiven, the black man responsible for it's creation.

The Voting Rights Act is not re segregating the south, the GOP is re segregating the south.  Republicans are using the redistricting process and passing tough Voter ID laws, to undermine minority voting power, suppress the vote, and ensure their parties dominance.  Why?  Because it's the only way they can win.

So here we go again...marching from the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement (Selma, AL), to the cradle of the Confederacy (Montgomery, AL) for the right to vote, immigrants rights, workers rights and education.  The five day march, sponsored by the National Action Network, the Congressional Black Caucus, the AFL-CIO, and other Civil Rights Organizations, will begin on March 4th, in remembrance of Bloody Sunday, culminating with a rally on March 9th in Montgomery.

All roads lead to the closing rally at Dexter Ave. Baptist Church, located in the shadow of the Cradle of the Confederacy, tomorrow, today and forever?

"I solemnly swear to keep women barefoot and pregnant"

 
Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. 

From our department of WTF???   Although non of the men pictured above has a vagina, this is the panel convened by Rep. Darrell Issa (r.CA) basically telling women to take an aspirin, stick it between your legs and call me in the morning, because you ain't getting no stinking birth control, and you're not going to have access to a safe, legal abortion either. Women are not relevant.   Republican Men Rule! Snark

Any woman voting for a republican is like a Turkey voting for Thanksgiving, or, a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders. 

Psst! Rep. Issa and Company!  If you are against birth control don't use it, and. if you are against abortions don't have one.   You have a choice.  So do women. It's called the Equal Rights Amendment.  Remember?

That is all you really need to know.

Change has come to some of the Alabama Airways!

I make a concerted effort to be in my car from 12-3 PM CST, Monday-Friday so I can listen to Keeping it Real with  Rev. Al Sharpton on XM 169 The Power.  Imagine my surprise when a the guest host identified a caller listening on WEUP AM radio in Huntsville, Alabama!!!  We don't have to listen to all Ru$h and Company, and all  Ru$h Wanna Bees  all the time anymore and I don't have to drive around to hear liberal talk!

Finally, conversation about social and political issues from the liberal prospective!  There is a saying, he/she who controls the message controls the outcome.   Why do republicans control the outcome?   Because they control the media.

Any media that dares report the truth is labeled liberal, like that's a bad thing.  In an effort not to appear liberal, the media adopted the false "fair and balanced" narrative.  It ought to be against the law to use the airways to misinform the public.  But it's not.  An informed electorate is an educated electorate.

It's not the Fairness Doctrine, but it's a start!  Liberals/progressives in Dothan, Alabama can listen to Keeping It Real on WAGF AM 1330, M-F, from 12-3 PM.   Keeping It Real is pending in Montgomery and Mobile. So stay tuned!  Tennessee Valley listeners can also listen online to conserve gas. :)

The number to the live line is 1-877-532-5797.  Get your  Liberal/Progressive Talk On!

Repeat after me....

You

Get

The

Bat#hit

Crazy

You

Vote

For

"Slavery by any other name" coming to a State Prison Near Y-O-U

H/T Metor Blade
Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America has a plan to expand its growing empire of private prisons it owns or manages. It wants buy existing prisons. The pitch is that this will help states with their revenue problems by providing a one-time lump-sum payment in exchange for a 20-year management contract and assurance that the prison will stay at 90 percent capacity during that time. A sweetheart deal.
The new approach of this so-called "corrections investment initiative" proposal is outlined in a letter to officials in 48 states from CCA's Executive Vice President General Counsel Harley G. Lappin. The letter was obtained by reporter Chris Kirkham.

And just how are states going to assure a 90% capacity rate for 20 years?  They are going to count on republican governors and republican controlled state legislatures, to privitize, I mean reform, the state educational system. and fuel the school to prison pipeline.

The ACLU's Racial Justice Program is committed to challenging the "school to prison pipeline," a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Many of these children have learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse or neglect, and would benefit from additional educational and counseling services. Instead, they are isolated, punished and pushed out. "Zero-tolerance" policies criminalize minor infractions of school rules, while high-stakes testing programs encourage educators to push out low-performing students to improve their schools' overall test scores. Students of color are especially vulnerable to push-out trends and the discriminatory application of discipline.

If the past is any guide, we can count on  the red, republican, confederate, slave states to jump at the chance to bring back slavery because we are chained to past.  Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

Hello this is Hank Sanders, Alabama state Senator, and I’m still mad as hell. I say hell no! I ain’t going back to the cotton fields of Jim Crow days. I’m going forward with Ron Sparks, Jim Folsom and others who would do right by all of us. I hope you are mad as hell and will not go back, and you have the power to choose. I will stand until hell freezes over for Ron Sparks for Governor and Jim Folsom for Lt. Governor on November the 2nd.
Paid for by Alabama New South.

 When asked by CNN's Anderson Cooper what evidence he had that the Republican opponents would take Alabama back to Jim Crow days.  Sanders said, "Well, there's a certain mean spiritness that's out there, not only in Alabama but it's in America.  And that makes this election extremely important."

You think?

Game On! Obama "Truth Team" Debuts 3 New Websites

MSNBC's First Read published:

"In a move reminiscent of Team Obama's 2008's "Fight the Smears" effort, the president's re-election campaign today launched its "Truth Team" along with three independent web sites offering opposition research and talking points for the president's backers on the ground.

The "network of supporters" has its hub at Obama's re-election web portal, which contains links to three individual sites. AttackWatch.com monitors the GOP 2012 candidates' slams of the administration's record; KeepingHisWord.com offers examples of Obama's fulfilled campaign promises; and KeepingGOPHonest.com critiques Republican presidential candidates' proposals with opposition research."

And Twitter buddy Egberto Willies told of a new website, Ask the Candidates, that uses artificial intelligence. Egberto wrote he "just tested it out with a lot of questions and then compared the virtual answers based entirely on the candidates previous statements."

Bookmark the links!

About those lazy "bluh"people who want the government to take care of them...

Slavery by another name

I watched the PBS program," Slavery by Another Name" on PBS last night.  Needless to say, Sweet Home  Alabama was featured prominently.  It's no secret the present day South was built by forced black labor.    IMHO, it's still a crime to be black in Alabama.  

Our great country was built on the backs on black folks, while white folks were sitting on the porch sipping Mint Juleps that we made.  We don't want our government to "take care of us".  We want our government to protect us from our government. 

 Equally.

Today's Must Reads

Ramarley Graham

29 Days on Drugs-Day 10:  Another Fast Track to Nowhere 

The Case for Reparations

Criminologist Works to End Racist Prison System

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The failed war on drugs feeds a prison system built on racism, but how can it be ended? Now, conservatives, tea partiers, occupiers, unions, the church and influential people like Russell Simmons and former NAACP director Ben Chavis join together in support of Criminologist David Kennedy's work. He authored of "Don’t Shoot: One Man, A Street Fellowship, and the End of Violence in Inner-City America."

Anyone who is concerned about democracy and freedom should be concerned about the legal lynching of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman

The definition of  lynching in the unlawful hanging of a person by mob action.  Historically the term is most commonly applied to racist violence in the post-Civil War American south.   It is the worst kept secret in that Alabama democrats, with a few republicans thrown in for flavor, are being legally lynched by the republican controlled InJustice  Department, under the guise of cleaning up democratic  corruption and restoring faith in state government. 

The case of former Governor Don Siegelman and others, defines what those of us who live in the post-Civil War  South call a legal lynching.  The unlawful conviction of democrats for political gain.

This is one of those "we tried to tell some of y'all" moments.  George Will, Of All People Stands up for Justice in the Don Siegelman case. 

Who could have imagined that George Will would prove to be more progressive than Barack Obama on fundamental matters of justice?
Will, probably the nation's foremost conservative columnist, writes in his most recent piece that the U.S. Supreme Court should review the convictions of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and codefendant Richard Scrushy to ensure that overzealous prosecutors are not criminalizing standard political behavior.

Today's Must Reads
Quid Pro NO
I believe you and I have different definitions of racism, black Jefferson County Legislators 
A Back of the Bus Idea

RIP, Whitney

If it's Sunday, it's time to Meet the Pest!

Also known as, the complete opposite of the Sunday Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads telling us what they want us to know, instead of telling us what we need to know.  ~RedEye

Sunday Reading List with commentary

O-M-G!  Run for cover!!!  Pigs are flying!!! Conservative Pundit Head George Will is defending former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman (D), against allegations of bribery, versus former Alabama Congress Critter Artur Davis (DINO), who says Governor Siegelman should just give up on a new hearing. I can only shake my head.

The coverage of Whitney Houston's death is already annoying me immensely too.

What's that you say?  White Supremacist showcased at CPAC Conservative Conference?  I am shocked!  Shocked I tell you!  NOT.

Attention Alabama Democratic Party Chair Mark Kennedy, republicans didn't beat us in 2010 b/c of the grassroots, they beat us on message, money ,and in the media.

I read it on Daily Kos first, anonymous hackers accessed Mobile's amnesty program.

If you don't vote, then yes, the other side will win, and yes, they are going to turn you upside down and shake you until the change falls from your pockets. 

3 Black Alabama Legislators Defend Racism, After They Opposed Racism

Sigh.  Poor Alabama State Senator Scott Beason (racist, Gardendale).  In a pathetic attempt to defend himself against allegations of racism, three House Negroes  are defending the indefensible.  The only problem is,  two of the three black legislators are on VIDEO speaking at a press conference in OPPOSITION to Scott Beason. Ooops!  h/t CM

 This situation is proof White people fail to see how racism harms white people, as well as black people.  Instead of accepting responsibility for his  words and actions, Beason resorts to the Plantation Mentality and finds 3 black people to defend him against his own words and his own actions. What gets me is they honestly believe they are credible, and we the people are stoopid.

Judge Myron Thompson said Scott Beasons' motives were racially and politically motivated for becoming a whistler blower in the alleged vote-buying scheme to pass pro-gambling legislation in Alabama.  Key word, motives.  What Scott Beason said was racist.  I don't care how many black legislators come forward to defend him.  Watch how to tell people they sound racist.

I don't care what Scott Beason IS, I care about what Scott Beason DID.

Today's Must Read

5 Right Wing Governors Gutting Schools to Fund Prisons, Tax Breaks for the Rich...and a Bible Theme Park.  Yes, Alabama made the list.