Celebrating Kwanzaa 2013~ day 2: What's in a name?

 

The second principle of the Nguzo Saba is  Kujichagalia (pronounced koo-jee-chah-GOO-lee-ah) Self-Determination -To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves. 


What's in a name?  Ask the powers that be at  Huntsville City Schools.  In their haste to kill democracy and fairness the Huntsville City School Board of Education, under the ruthless command of Superintendent Casey WARdynski   declared

"From now on, this land will be ruled by the Tigers. We are, after all, the strongest, fastest and wisest of all animals. Therefore, we are the only fit rulers." they claimed.
A little mouse spoke up from the crowd, " But we have a council where we make our decisions together, we don't need or want any ruler." One of the tigers let out a roar so loud and fierce that the poor mouse started running and didn't stop until he was in the land of the humans. To this day, he lives in the houses of humans.

Despite petitions, marches, and protest the Huntsville City School BOE decided they are the rulers and the people be damned.  If the BOE spent half as much time trying to scheme their way out from under the federal desegregation order and furthering their political careers ensuring that ALL children  had equal access to a quality public school,  Huntsville would be One City One Vision  and companies would be begging to locate here.

Purposely withholding vital info from the people/community that will be affected is a nice nasty way of saying......"You are not valued as a person".......We know what is best for you, even though we need your tax dollars........We will do what we want in your community because we don't live in your community.

Slapping a new name on the outside of the school building won't change what's happening on the inside of the building.  The taxpayers have the right to self determination, instead they are being punished for it.

A proverb often quoted during Kwanzaa reads: “I am because we are; because we are, I am.” Harambee! (Let’s pull together!)

"It's been a banner year for racism in the media and #Black Santa is not amused"

It's been a banner year for racism and race baiting in the media — and #BlackSanta is not amused http://t.co/lKIKm82Xti
— ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) December 24, 2013

Happy Merry Everything to Everyone!

Celebrating and Living Kwanzaa: Sowing and Harvesting Seeds of Good

RedEye (get it?) would like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy, healthy, safe, holiday season. Postings will be light as RedEye takes time off to eat, drink and be merry with friends and family. Here are some must reads for you to read until  the RedEye returns.

Today Marks Two Months That Legal Schnauzer Rodger Shuler Has Been Unlawfully Jailed in Shelby County. 

"As Americans celebrate Christmas, I hope they will take a moment to realize their constitutional protections are rotting out from underneath them," Shuler said. "The prior restraint doctrine that grows from the first amendment and is supposed to protect my reporting in this case dates to 1780, and that predates the Lewis and Clark expedition. If our judiciary is so corrupt that it can't get simple constitutional law like this correct, then we are about to become more like Communist China that any of us care to admit."

Only in AmeriBama

Farewell to the "Most Hated White Man in the South"

  “Don’t ever go back to Birmingham. You’ll never be welcomed. You are a disgrace. You are the most hated white man in the south.”

You get the Twelve Months of Crazy you vote for.

No, 2013 really has made a name for itself in only one way. It was a year of general political incompetence, frothing buffoonery and self-made disasters. It was the year a chastened Republican Party did a lot of soul-searching as to why the voters no longer liked them, and followed it up by doing all of those same things twice over. We continued our tradition of not being able to accomplish even the most basic of legislative tasks; we were introduced to new battle lines declaring that however many children needed to be shot down in their classrooms, it was the price we were willing to pay for maintaining the collective white male gun erection; we saw the slow sinking of every last political savior into swamps of their own making.

What's that you say?  Better health care for blacks depends on the states?  I'm shocked!  Shocked I tell you!  Not.

 Of the 41.3 million uninsured Americans and legal U.S. residents, 16 percent are Black. African-Americans tend to be uninsured at a higher rate than other Americans, statistics show. While 16 percent of all non elderly U.S. citizens and other lawful residents are uninsured, 20 percent of eligible African-Americans lack health insurance.
Many of those uninsured live in Florida (677,000), Georgia (631,000), Texas (617,000), North Carolina (380,000) and New York (354,000).
But four of those five leading states – all except New York – do not plan to expand Medicaid, which advocates said is troubling as many African-Americans lack insurance because of meager incomes.

It's the Media that's making us stupid.

From Thomas Friedman, to Richard Cohen to Peggy Noonan and more. Here is Alex Pareene's worst of the worst.

The Poverty Rate in Alabama remains unchanged, seventh highest in U.S. but that's OK, at least Alabama is #1 in college football.  Snark

Ooops!  Black Male Dance Groups Stirs Controversy in Semmes Alabama Christmas Parade.

Dressed in red and white Santa sweaters and snug white shorts, the four young men performed a routine that entailed a combination of sharp thrusts, swaying and elaborate hip movements. Each member also sported pristine make-up.

Read on!  Read often!  Knowledge is power!

"Down is Up, White is Black, and Do You See Those Dark Skinned Racist?"

H/T Left in Alabama

Can a clever scheme calling for diversity to attract more white voters change reality? I don't know but the ConservaDems are sure trying. First they picked up their marbles, stomped off the playground, and seceded from the Alabama Democratic Party.  Now they are basically calling the State Democratic Party a bunch of homophobic/bigots/sexist/racist (take your pick), when nothing could be further from the truth.  In other words they are framing the issues to make themselves look like the good guys.

Now, this seems like a no-brainer, because the charter and by-laws of the DNC already require states to "Establish standards and rules of procedure to afford all members of the Democratic Party full, timely and equal opportunities to participate in decisions concerning the selection of candidates, the formulation of policy, and the conduct of other Party affairs, without prejudice on the basis of sex, race, age (if of voting age), color, creed, national origin, religion, economic status, sexual orientation, ethnic identity or physical disability"
It's long past time for the SDEC to get with the program.

Uh, the SDEC has always been with the program thank you very much. This is white privilege disguised as a diversity issue.  It continues to be a source of consternation to the Alabama, white power structure they keep being outsmarted by the State Democratic Executive Committee led by their arch enemy Dr. Joe L. Reed.

To refresh your memory Left in Alabama, has followed the diversity amendment for some time. You can read the sad, sorry, saga (my words)  here,  here,  and  here.   You won't see any comments from me in the comment section because  I've been banned for life from Left in Alabama because the administrators didn't like the content of my comments and other post.  That's right (pun intended), the same Informed. Involved.  Progressive. blog who has followed the diversity amendment for some time refuse to admit they banned the only diversity they had.

A big thank you to commenter Yellowdog  for calling them out:

 I want the Alabama Democratic Party to reflect my political views. I want the candidate I vote for to reflect at least some basic core Democratic views.

If the Democratic Party reflects the hopes and aspirations of the majority of the black community this is an outcome I consider fair and reasonable.

Our calling should be to stand up for inclusion and diversity as an outcome of our political views. If most white Americans do not support inclusion and diversity, they should not support the Democratic Party (and in Alabama most whites do not).

The idea we should call for some kind of "diversity" to represent the Alabama Democratic Party - to make it more attractive to white
voters - is crass and exploitative and would have nothing to do with
our principles and beliefs.

We support inclusion, diversity, and tolerance should be the attraction to all voters including whites. Gaming the system to get a few more ignorant white votes would and has gotten us nowhere.

 Attacking the messenger is so creepily Republican.~Yellowdog

RedEye Reports.  You Decide.

"Haters gonna Hate"

Whether you hate her or you hate him, they are not the problem… Your hate is the problem (poster) pic.twitter.com/HWogGOxWBk
— Kennett Area Dems (@KennettDems) December 19, 2013

Don't Think.  Vote Republican.

Meet the haters.
We’re talking about the voters who’ve had it with all Washington politicians: President Obama, congressional Republicans and congressional Democrats. Despite their distaste for, well, everyone, when push comes to shove, these voters are lining up squarely behind GOP candidates for Congress.

Edit~ "Ensure that the Alabama Democratic Party Welcomes Inclusion and Diversity" My Donkey

“Don’t just overlook the hard work that we did,” said one black woman who canvassed for Doug Jones.

It appears the proponents of diluting diversity in the Alabama Democratic Party haven't given up the attack, I mean, fight.

As the petition signature page says:

Allow debate and a vote on a bylaw amendment that mirrors Democratic National Committee language to define ‘minority’ in order to make the party more inclusive, diverse, and to expand participation. For too long, the Alabama Democratic Party’s bylaws have not been reflective of the changing electorate in Alabama. It is time the Alabama Democratic Party joined the rest of the nation and defined ‘minority’ under National Democratic Party guidelines.

The proponents of inclusion and diversity must have the Alabama Democratic Party confused with the Alabama Republican Party , because if the photo above doesn't depict inclusion and diversity I don't know what does.

This isn't about inclusion and diversity, it's about reducing the representation of African Americans in the Alabama Democratic Party.

There is a perception that the ADP caters to black voters but ignores white voters. A significant number of Democrats, some on the SDEC, have expressed concern to me that the ADP will "become like Mississippi" where, I gather, race is the significant difference between the two parties. If you want to run for office and you're white, you run as a Republican, if you're black you run as a Democrat. Now, I know that isn't strictly the case in Mississippi since they recently had a white Democrat run (unsuccessfully) for Senate, but this is a huge concern for people who care about the Democratic party in Alabama.

How about some inclusion and diversity among  the Left in Alabama contributors? 

Today's Must Reads
The White Elephant in the Democratic Tent

So, now we know how "white Dems" really feel

RedEye Reports.  You Decide.

The Plan to Dilute the Diversity in the Alabama State Democratic Party Not Dead Yet *sigh*

This is one of those time I would pay money to be allowed to post on Left in Alabama, the Involved.  Informed. Progressive.  blog of record for Alabama Progressives (not to be confused with  Alabama liberals).   I understand why I was banned because the Involved. Informed. Progressives. can't stand for their point of view to be questioned or challenged.  It's their way or the highway.  Sound familiar?

I guess it depends on what their definition of diversity IS.

The new administration put forth a plan to increase diversity in the delegation -- with proportional representation for African American, hispanic, native American, Asian/Pacific islander, GLBT and disabled populations, as well as those 35 and under.  The old guard dug their heels in against including other classes in the diversity requirement -- and eventually won in the wee hours of Saturday morning.  Minority still means "black" and nothing else to certain people on the SDEC Board.

 All of a sudden everybody wants to be considered black, I mean, a  minority.  The new amendment would expand the ADP's Executive Board to include: the President of the Alabama Democratic Conference, the President of the Alabama College Democrats, the President of the Alabama Federation of Democratic Women, the President of the Alabama Young Democrats, the President of the Alabama Democratic Hispanic Caucus, and the President of the Alabama Stonewall Democrats.

It's all about race.  And therein lies the problem. The "minority" representation has long been a bone of contention among some (not to confused with all) within the Alabama Democratic Party.  They are trying to dilute the ONLY black folks representation with Hispanic and "other minorities".  The question is why?

Today's Must Read:
Joe M. Reed Esq. for Alabama State Democratic Party Chair

RedEye report.  You decide.

All 1% sales tax increases aren't created equal, but that's OK

 

Tonight the Mayor of  "One City One Vision" will hold a town hall meeting on the neglected side of town (aka District 1), to ask the taxpayers who have the least to give more, and support a 1% sales tax increase that will benefit the taxpayers who have the most.

Mayor Tommy Battle is asking the council to raise the city's sales tax from 8 percent to 9 percent on most purchases. The 1-cent hike would generate an estimated $30 million to $34 million annually -- $25 million of which will be earmarked for major roads.
The rest would go toward industrial incentives and capital needs such as parks, green ways, bike paths and sidewalks.

According to Councilman Richard Showers, Sr. the only project slated for District 1, the Mastin Lake Road Overpass, would not be finished until 2020.  According to my math, that's 7 years from now.  As for parks, green ways, bike paths and sidewalks, none of that will be happening in District 1 either.  What District 1 can get is a new school building they didn't ask for or need. What they can't get are grocery stores and restaurants, or,  keep the name of  J.O. Johnson High School.

 A penny-on-the-dollar sales tax hike would add $8 to the cost of an $800 big-screen TV, $5 to the cost of a $500 iPad, $1.50 to a $150 grocery bill and 50 cents to a $50 restaurant meal.

But here's the real deal....it's either raise taxes on everybody, or cut out some fat from government spending   on those who need it the most. You know, the people who can't afford the cost of an $800 big screen TV, $5 to the cost of a $500 iPad, $1.50 to a $150 grocery bill and 50 cents to a $50 restaurant bill. 

Taxpayers in District 1 are damned if they do vote for the 1% sales tax increase, and damned if they don't vote for the 1% sales tax increase.

RedEye Report. You Decide.

"The Slow Motion Lynching of President Barack Obama"

patheos.com

Written by  Frank Schaeffer

So I’ve changed from a white guy who used to read news about some black man getting shot or beaten by cops or stand-your-ground types who assumed that the black man must have “done something,” to a white guy who figures that the black man was probably getting lynched. I’ve changed ideology but I’ve also changed my gut intuitive reactions.
I’ve changed because if this country will lynch a brilliant, civil, kind, humble, compassionate, moderate, articulate, black intellectual we’re lucky enough to have in the White House, we’ll lynch anyone. What chance does an anonymous black man pulled over in a traffic stop have of fair treatment when the former editor of the Harvard Law Review is being lynched?

Truth.

"Dear Santa, it's me Melissa"

A letter to Santa Claus, racial lightening rod

So given that I know a little something about how awful it is to have cable news hosts unwittingly launch an army of angry trolls in your direction, this is not a letter to Kelly. I thought I’d address my letter to the man who is used to getting an awful lot of mail this time of year.

Sandy Hook

RT @laureldavilacpa: 18 Ways To Reduce Gun Violence http://t.co/tt1Q3Wmpdd pic.twitter.com/SQFf1oWYQd #PDMFNB #UniteBlue #Newtown
— Gail Mountain (@GKMTNtwits) December 15, 2013

It's not about Santa Claus, it's about President Obama

I mean we are talking about a magical man who slides down your chimney down every Christmas Eve

In another glaring example of the media enabled stereotype that everything white is good, and everything black  (except black Friday)  is bad,  Fox News' Megyn Kelly,  along with three white guests asserted  Santa Claus just is white.

The argument that Santa must be white spills over into conversations about other, equally fictional characters. Can James Bond or Spider-Man be played by people of color? Why not? And yet some people will tell you—believe me—that they have to be white. Of course, some people also believe that characters who were written as people of color are not actually people of color. Which goes to show how deeply rooted the idea of “whiteness” as the default really is. And that presumption carries over into our everyday lives as well, sometimes with sad results.

White Santa=Good
White President=Good
White Entertainment Television=Good

Black Santa=Bad
Black President=Bad
Black Entertainment Television=Bad

Most white Americans see blacks, anyone who is visibly African, as inferior. In the past, they used this to justify owning slaves. Today it justifies the inequality between the races.~Abagond

RedEye report. You decide.

" They fear us because we are the generation that will see freedom."

Fist Dap Uppity Negro Network TM 

 While the young people, black and white, didn’t face the same de jure struggles with segregation and apartheid here in the United States as we crossed the threshold into the last decade of the millennium, the society was coming to grips with the gross failures and the results of institutional racism that was just a part of the American capitalist system. 

If you never read another thing I post, Mandela and A Millennial Generation's Connection to the Civil Rights Movement  is a must read into the hearts and minds of the generation of African Americans, who didn't march, protest, boycott, struggle, and sacrifice during the American Civil Rights Movement, but were shaped by the struggle of those across the Atlantic who suffered hard oppression of colonization only six years short of the 3rd millennium of this new epoch.

Mandela had a tangible effect on millennials and that’s a fact that shouldn’t be missed.  Mandela gave us a glimpse into what it meant to be a citizen overseas who had watched water hoses and attack dogs turned on non-violent protesters.  While that was our story, uniquely an American Negro story born in the crucible of 1963 and later through 1965, my generation was able to see what impact the human story has on a global society.  We saw the protests to “Free Mandela” and “Free South Africa” and the story of the Soweto uprising in the 1970s was fixed clearly in our minds–do they hate us so much that they would kill our youth?

Thank you The Uppity Negro for restoring my belief that Children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way.  Lead on.  Lead often.

"Mandela, Gil- Scott Heron, and Johannasburg"

I am posting this song by the late, great, Gil Scott- Heron in honor of the late, great, Nelson Mandela.

"An  ideal for which I am prepared to die" Mandela made this statement from the dock at the opening of his trial on charges of sabotage, Supreme court of South Africa, Pretoria, April 20 1964

Rest in Peace Nelson Mandela and Gil Scott- Heron, you left our world a better place. 

"Hamba Kahle Mkhululi Wethu" (Go well our emancipator)

There has been drumming and singing outside of Nelson Mandela's home every since his passing.  It is the African way! In music the drum represents the heart beat....song represents the breath of life, a fitting tribute.

From the dancing and singing, people are expressing their celebration of a life but also keep a spirit alive – a spirit of hope and reconciliation.

Par for the course when an African American leader dies the mainstream media counts on us having collective, cultural amnesia as they  whitewash (pun intended) how republicans really felt about Nelson Mandela, what he stood for, and why Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27years.

Mandela was a political activist and agitator. He did not shy away from controversy and he did not seek — or obtain — universal approval. Before and after his release from prison, he embraced an unabashedly progressive and provocative platform. As one commentator put it shortly after the announcement of the freedom fighter’s death, “Mandela will never, ever be your minstrel. Over the next few days you will try so, so hard to make him something he was not, and you will fail. You will try to smooth him, to sandblast him, to take away his Malcolm X. You will try to hide his anger from view.”

I almost feel sorry for Ted Cruz who got trashed by his fan base for having the nerve to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela on  face book.  Bill O'Riellly and the other Lords of Loud won't make the same mistake.

While Senator Cruz appears to be taking the high road for once in his political life, his Facebook commenters would not let the Tea Party favorite get away with stepping out of their pure ideological line.  Praising Mandela was a step too far for Cruz fans and the ugliness, historical inaccuracies, and racism in the comments on the post should serve as an illustration that the tea party as a serious political entity has jumped the shark.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

GOP playing the Race Card from their Race Deck

this is the fox panel discussing a campaign on white privilege #withoutcomment pic.twitter.com/DgOZlQKV
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) February 20, 2013

Token Black  RNC Spokesman: "What Exactly Has the President Done for the Black Community.  More to the point,  what has the RNC done to, I mean, for the Blacks?

What has the GOP done for blacks?
Voter suppression
Cutting food stamps
Cutting Pell Grants
Denying health care
Bankrupting Detroit, Governor cut back block grants to Detroit
Gutting Head Start
Cutting education
Enriching charter school administrators
Spending more on prisons than education
GOP achievement that they are so proud of.

 Race card:  Something white people say when they want to belittle black folks problems.   

Media Is Growing More White, but don't tell anyone.

As the American Society of Newspaper Editors has reported, racial and ethnic minorities make up less than 13 percent of newsroom employees. Minority ownership of television stations hovers around 3 percent, while radio station ownership is at 7 percent, despite the fact that the minority population of the U.S. is roughly 28 percent.

 RedEye tiptoeing away from the computer to go play cards....

"The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" Bama style

In the interest of full disclosure I am a win or lose, die heart Auburn Tiger fan, that said, I am not a die heart Auburn Tiger fanatic.  My Daddy used to say some body's got to win, some body's got to lose, and if you can't stand to lose, don't play the game.  Evidently some (not to be confused with all) Alabama fanatics (not to be confused with fans) didn't get the memo because the after math of this years Iron Bowl is even more shocking and awful.

Unless you've been living in a hole in the ground over the past few days you are aware of the War Damn Miracle at Jordan Hare, where the Tigers of Auburn topped the Crimson Tide of Alabama in literally the last second of the game.  I won't bore you with another replay of what happened because I want to talk about what happened after the game. All I'm going to say is some (not to be confused with all) Bama fans (not to be confused with fanatics) take being sore losers all the way to the top floor and them some.

First, Alabama fans take to twitter, to unleash death threats towards Kicker after loss to Auburn, but here's the kicker (pun intended), they lashed out at the wrong Kicker. YeeHaw!

All it takes is a quick Twitter search to reveal homophobic, vile hate speech (which won't be linked to, since this is a family website), death threats and any number of other disgusting insults being tossed Foster's way.

If that wasn't bad enough, a young woman was shot and killed by another young woman allegedly because because the victim didn't seem properly upset because Alabama lost the game.  Here's the kicker (pun intended), The red, republican, controlled Alabama state legislature passed a new open carry gun laws this year, but it's illegal to bring a weapon into sporting events or other public places (I wonder why?), but you can  leave it in your car/truck/RV in the parking lot.

God, guns, alcohol and football rule in Alabama, not necessarily in that order.

  Introspection is necessary because this national gravitational pull toward football in Alabama took place fifty-eight years to the day (give or take a day) that Rosa Parks entered history and would not be moved from her bus seat in nearby Montgomery. Fifty-eight years ago in the storied Southeastern Conference, the only way an African-American player could get on the field would be to tend to the grounds. Yet on Saturday millions of Alabama viewers and an overwhelmingly white crowd of damn near 100,000 people crowded the stands shouting themselves hoarse for two teams that are overwhelmingly African-American.

War Damn Eagle

Republicans declare racism ended because Rosa Parks

Today we remember Rosa Parks’ bold stand and her role in ending racism. pic.twitter.com/uxIj1QmtkU
— RNC (@GOP) December 1, 2013

The Republican National Committee claimed in a tweet that racism is dead, “Today we remember Rosa Parks’ bold stand and her role in ending racism.”
And then they corrected it with “Previous tweet should have read ‘Today we remember Rose Parks’ bold stand and her role in fighting to end racism.’ Apparently someone informed them that contrary to their PR push, minorities are still insisting that racism exists.

Hear Rosa Parks in her own voice, in her own words describing what happened on  December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, AL.


Today's Must Read
If Only Rosa Parks had an AR15 and 100 Round Mag

I wonder if Rosa Parks had boarded the bus armed with an AR 15 and 100 rounds of ammunition would the bus driver have ordered her to give up her seat in the "colored" section so a white man could sit down?  What if she had jut stood her ground  with an AR15?   As a matter of fact, there probably wouldn't have been a "colored" section if black folks had exercised their 2nd amendment rights.  Oh wait....black folks don't  have 2nd amendment rights back then.   Big Snark

Racism has ended my Donkey.