#BernieSanders Supporters can dish out the name calling, personal attacks, insults and lies, but they can't take them. #ThereIsMoreThanAWhiffOfHypocrisy

8 Reasons Why the Mainstream Media's Propagation of the Forgiveness Narrative is Problematic for Black People

#FeelTheBern?  Sanders supporters continue to attack the messenger because they can't attack the message.  Their personal attacks on the Black Lives Matter Movement's female activist are every bit as offensive and sexist as Donald Trumps attack on Megyn Kelly.  Their attempt to discredit the Black Lives Matter Movement,  define the real Black Lives Matter Movement. and discredit the character of the activist is pure paternalism, which is another form of racism.  

Notably, it wasn’t two Black women who kept Bernie from speaking in Seattle. It was a White man, a Bernie supporter, who organized the event who shut it down, said the event was over, and informed the crowd that Sanders would not be speaking because he couldn’t agree with the “methods of direct action” of the Black women in front of him.

Let me give it to you straight, Bernie Sanders supporters don't decide who/what is best for Black people.  We don't need you to "take care of us".  We will decide who are leaders are.   

Respectability politics definitely play a role here. The argument goes: If these loud, destructive, rude protesters would only mellow out, they'd realize that you catch more flies with honey. Don't upset or alienate your white allies. Don't piss on your best friend. Don't put your best friend in a compromising position. He can't help you until he gets on the inside. So be nice, play fair, and wait your turn. You're making black people look bad.

Bernie Sanders, or any other democratic candidate will not win the primary without the vote of black women.  Fact.  Calling young black women who are trying to make a difference idiots and childish, horrible, brats, is not the way to win the black female vote.  These young women are the Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou Hammers of our time.  They are our daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts, cousins, friends, and nieces. We stand by them and with them.  Stop with the angry black woman narrative. Yes, we are angry because we are tired of crying over the graves of our loved ones.  You will never know our fear, or our pain. therefore you don't get to decide how we express it.  You got that?

Don't condemn our anger. Don't denounce our pain as savage. What's savage is the cruel inhumanity and brutality of the police. Condemn that.~Amandla Stenberg

Bernie Sanders supporters just don't get it.  Why should black women support him after this?  How are we to believe he is the person who will best address our concerns when his supporters call us ignorant and delusional because we won't go along to get along?  Your progressiveness is not enough, we need more. 

Two Black women called for a moment of silence for Mike Brown a year after he was gunned down, left bleeding in the street for 4.5 hours, and White “progressives” shouted, booed, and chanted the name of a White man throughout that moment.
How much more committed to a “negative peace” can we get than literally shouting down the memory of a Black youth whose murder helped to spark this movement?
And how much more “devoted to ‘order'” can we be than to lecture Black people about what direct actions are and are not “hurting your cause”? (Notably, this language I’ve seen from countless White folks shows that we do not see the cause of racial justice as OUR cause – it’s that cause over there that we will tolerate so long as it doesn’t disrupt our Bernie rally.)
And how much more of a “stumbling block” can our self-proclaimed “allyship” be to racial justice when it’s so feeble as to proclaim, “I am a strong ally of the Black Lives Matter movement, but I’m not sure how to be an ally when they are this disrespectful to the only candidate that has actually done anything for minorities” (actual quote from one of the 15 or so social media threads I’m following as I write this article)?

Black Lives Matter is not a moment, it's a movement. A movement created by three strong, black, bold, intelligent, brave, young women.  They are our hope for the future of our republic.  EYE stand by them and with them all the darn way, all the darn day.  As much as it pains me to quote Dubya, you're either with us, or you're against us.

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.~Frederick Douglas

Sanders needs to, as the young people say, get some of his supporters in check, before they drive more supporters like me away.

"Let them define themselves, let them reveal who they are" Rep. Maxine Waters (D CA)

Alabama State Troopers in Black Robes H/T Field Negro

No doubt Chief Justice Roberts is hoping for a "better future", because he didn't like this past election very much. He, and others like him, are hoping that the new schemes that republican state houses are coming up with to make it harder and harder for poor people and people of color to vote, will make it easier for them to win elections and impose their extreme will on the rest of us.

Rep Waters:     "One of the things we can't do is, we can't let them distract from what we're all about, and what we're trying to accomplish. We're trying to keep the focus on comprehensive, universal health care reform, and they're going all over the place. They are desperate, uh, they don't have leadership, uh, they really don't know what to do, and so, I think we're going to continue to see a lot of crazy things happening, like all of the, uh, outrage that has been demonstrated at these town hall meetings, like the kind of statement that Congresswoman Jenkins made, and let them define themselves, let them reveal who they are. The American public needs to see that."

 I'd argue this is the opposite of restraint; it's activism. The justices decided to substitute their judgment for the people's and their elected lawmakers, because they felt like it.

We should probably  riot.  NOT!  This would be the perfect excuse for them to use all those guns they've been stocking every since President Obama was elected.

What daily life is like in the place that spawned Shelby County v Holder

Well, Shelby County is a prosperous, pretty place that features lots of gorgeous trees, mountains, and bodies of water--I can throw a rock from my backyard and almost hit the natural splendor of Oak Mountain State Park. The county, especially in the northern section closest to Birmingham, features numerous fine places to shop and dine, with some of the most attractive neighborhoods you will find anywhere.

But what about those pesky justice issues? In that regard, Shelby County is a cesspool. The county seat is in a little hellhole called Columbiana, and when you take one step into the city limits, it's as if you've entered a time warp and gone back to . . . oh, about 1912.

5 people in robes said they are bigger than the voters of CA and Congress combined.And bigger than God.May He forgive us all.
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 26, 2013

Fannie Lou Hamer  ~on northern racism, speaking in New York: The man'll shoot you in the face in Mississippi, and you turn around he'll shoot you in the back here.

Herding Cats aka The Alabama Democratic Party

Alabama Democratic Party Cat Herding Update

The time to inform democratic voters the democratic nominee for the Supreme Court is a bigot is BEFORE the democratic primary not AFTER the fact.  It's kind of like trying to UN-RING a Bell.

There is a huge disconnect between the Big Cats and the Big Dogs within the ADP , which manifest itself in the Big Cats deciding who should represent the interest of Alabama's   poor/black/brown citizens. 

Instead of trying to un-ring a bell, why isn't the ADP organizing in support of former Governor Don Siegelman instead of offering prayers for him and his family?

Again- para quoting the late Civil Rights Activist Fannie Lou Hammer, you can pray until you are blue in the face but unless you get off your knees and do something, God isn't going to give you anything.

RedEye over and out....for now

Update~Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman sentenced to 78 months in prison for being too Liberal for Alabama

Update: Famed former State Attorney General Robert Abrams is speaking up against the imprisonment of Don Siegelman.  Speaking of Abrams, remember his son  Don Abrams?  I wonder what happened to him?

The Rightards are having multiple orgasms because Public Enemy #1 will be off the streets of the great state of ALABAMASTAN,  when Don Siegelman returns to jail after being re sentenced for a crime he shouldn't have been sentenced for in the first place, by the same judge who sentenced him the first time.  Whew

I repeat...if democratic leadership (and I use that term loosely) is afraid to stand up to the right-wing bullies, we should all be afraid.  Very afraid.

If the Left were anything like the Right we wouldn't be in this mess. When liberal democrats are attacked by the right and in the press, progressive (and I use that term loosely) democrats, suppress, cower, and help the bad guys put away the good guys.

Alabama Democratic Party Chair Mark Kennedy released a milk toast statement (IMHO) following the ruling,( para-quoting), the thoughts and prayers of the Alabama Democratic Party are with Governor Siegelman and his family today.

As the late Civil Rights activist Fannie Lou Hammer said, you can pray until you are blue in the face, but until you get off your knees and do something God isn't going to hand you anything.

The reason republicans can target liberal democrats is because we let them.  President Obama received 18% of the white vote in Alabama in 2008, which means a large majority of white democrats either voted for John McCain or stayed their Donkey's at home.  Republicans gained control of the governor's mansion and the state house in 2012 because of white flight.  Happy now?

Today's Must Reads
Let's Help Don Siegelman

Selective Prosecution

The Don Siegelman Case in All its Glory
.

Punk me once....Can't Punk me again

A group calling themselves Democrats for Dr.Griffith released an endorsement of republican candidates who they believe  "can least mess up our current situation".  In other words, the lessor of two evils.  I wonder what part of the lessor of two evils is still evil don't they understand?  But I digress.

To my democratic friends and family considering crossing over and voting for Parker Griffith because he's not Mo Brooks, Don't. Parker Griffin is playing to democrats, HOPING we will forget how he pimped and punk'd us.  Punk me once...Can't punk me again.

Vote in your own damn primary on March 13, 2012.  If a democrat votes in the republican primary they forfeit their right to vote in the democratic primary.  We don't have a dog in the gop dog fight.  It doesn't matter which man wins because they are both republicans.   Republicans  who are are against everything we stand for.

Democrats have a candidate for Congress, his name is C.L. Holley. He may not have a polished campaign style , but he is viable, intelligent, compassionate, willing, ready and able to represent the democratic wing of the democratic party.  Instead of criticizing and complaining about the way he is running his campaign and his slogan, HELP him.  Host a fundraiser, design his website, donate to his campaign,  create a blog.  Get off your Donkey's and do something! Help C.L. Holley help us.

A personal reminder to my fellow African American voters in CD-5 who call themselves independents (you know who you are), in the words of Fannie Lou Hammer, nobody is free until everybody' s free.

Speaking of democrats running as democrats then governing like a republican, is this the same Rep. Craig Ford who said he was a conservative democrat?  If so, again I say, if I wanted a conservative Governor, I would vote for a republican.  Everybody knows conservadem is code for I'm running on the democratic ticket to take advantage of the black, block vote.  

Punk me once....Can't punk me again.

RedEye'sTuesday Talking Points and Rant

For the record I am NOT one of those Americans who want a compromise on the debt ceiling. For one thing, compromising with the republicans is like a rape victim compromising with their attacker. For another thing, how come President Obama is the only President who has to jump through hoops to get the debt ceiling extended? Never mind. We know why. The republicans want to keep President Obama from doing anything. Strike that. republicans want to keep President Obama from doing anything for black/brown/poor people so we can be accused of standing around wanting a hand out. Snark

That's right (pun intended). Whites are getting richer while black and brown folks are getting the shaft, but it's not racism. Snark Before you start whinning about this being RedEye hollering racism again, you might want to check out the findings of a recent Pew Research study

From “Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks, Hispanics”, a study released on July 26 by the Pew Research Center

The median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly available government data from 2009.

These lopsided wealth ratios are the largest since the government began publishing such data a quarter century ago and roughly twice the size of the ratios that had prevailed between these three groups for the two decades prior to the Great Recession that ended in 2009.

The Pew Research analysis finds that, in percentage terms, the bursting of the housing market bubble in 2006 and the recession that followed from late 2007 to mid-2009 took a far greater toll on the wealth of minorities than whites. From 2005 to 2009, inflation-adjusted median wealth fell by 66% among Hispanic households and 53% among black households, compared with just 16% among white households.

As a result of these declines, the typical black household had just $5,677 in wealth (assets minus debts) in 2009; the typical Hispanic household had $6,325 in wealth; and the typical white household had $113,149.

And NO. An African American, democratic President cutting social programs does not make it more palatable for blacks because when white America get a cold, non white America gets pneumonia....and die because you know, we are the ones without access to quality affordable health care. I guess the plan is for us to die quickly.

The black middle class is on the verge of extinction. So don't think it's not your problem. If you are black in America it is your problem too.

As has been the case for more than half a century, the black unemployment rate, which is understated, has been running at twice the rate of white Americans. Black teenage unemployment rates are particularly dismal. They have been hovering around 40 percent, and the rate for both teenage males and females is currently more than 35 percent. High teenage unemployment, as well as a dismal job market for new college graduates, suggest that attaining or maintaining middle-class status is increasingly difficult for black youth, and the three paths that earlier generations of African-Americans took — work in the unionized manufacturing sector, public sector employment and more recently college and graduate education — either no longer functionally exist, or are much less reliable conduits to social mobility than they were even a decade ago.

We can't depend on the media we have to tell us what we need to know, because they are too busy telling us what they want us to know. That's why we don't know what we don't know. I sure do miss the good old days when the media kept our government from misleading us to enabling our government to mislead us.

It's been said many times. But it's never enough: the conventions of journalistic 'objectivity', as currently defined, frequently make journalists violate their biggest duty, which is honesty with readers. The top headline running now on CNN reads: "They're all talking, but no one is compromising, at least publicly. Democratic and GOP leaders appear unwilling to bend on proposals to raise the debt ceiling."

By any reasonable measure, this is simply false, even painfully so. It might be right to say they are not agreeing, that's demonstrable. But I don't think any observer -- one who has actually watched the specifics of the debate -- honestly believes that neither side is compromising. Indeed, even the firebreathers on the Republican side aren't suggesting this. Their argument is that the nature of the 'crisis' is so great that there can be no compromise on their basic demands. That is what it means when they say they will not support any new taxes as part of a global deal.

Compromising with the TeaPublicans is like a chicken compromising with Colonel Sanders.

House Speaker John Boehner often attacks the spendthrift ways of Washington.

“In Washington, more spending and more debt is business as usual,” the Republican leader from Ohio said in a televised address yesterday amid debate over the U.S. debt. “I’ve got news for Washington - those days are over.”

Yet the speaker, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell all voted for major drivers of the nation’s debt during the past decade: Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts and Medicare prescription drug benefits. They also voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, that rescued financial institutions and the auto industry.

Enough!

You didn’t create Social Security and Medicare, the American People did – working their will through the efforts of Democratic Party leadership over the course of a 40 year struggle. You were not there. The blood and tears and courage it took to create these programs were not yours.

Americans who have paid their dues and paid their taxes for a lifetime expect it to be there when they need it. That was the promise. That is the cornerstone of our social contract as a nation.

Stop what you’re doing, now. You have no right. You have no mandate. Social Security and Medicare do not belong to you.

RedEye Rant over and out.

Real Liberal Quotes from Real Liberals, for the Real Liberal Mind to Chew On

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"~President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt had campaigned against Herbert Hoover in the 1932 presidential election by saying as little as possible about what he might do if elected. Through even the closest working relationships, none of the president-elect’s most intimate associates felt they knew him well, with the exception perhaps of his wife, Eleanor. The affable, witty Roosevelt used his great personal charm to keep most people at a distance. In campaign speeches, he favored a buoyant, optimistic, gently paternal tone spiced with humor. But his first inaugural address took on an unusually solemn, religious quality. And for good reason—by 1933 the depression had reached its depth. Roosevelt’s first inaugural address outlined in broad terms how he hoped to govern and reminded Americans that the nation’s “common difficulties” concerned “only material things.”

The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use — of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public.~Senator Robert F. Kennedy

First is the danger of futility; the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills — against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and 32-year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal. "Give me a place to stand," said Archimedes, "and I will move the world." These men moved the world, and so can we all.

"Politics is about the improvement of people’s lives, lessening human suffering, advancing the causes of peace and justice in our country and the world… Politics is what we create out of what we do, what we hope for, what we dare to imagine."~
Senator Paul Wellstone 1944-2002

I remember how he stood his ground in an era during which the needs of average Americans were largely ignored while power and money became even more concentrated in already wealthy, powerful hands; how he fought for economic justice, for universal health care, for a higher minimum wage and prescription drug benefits under Medicare; how he always had time to listen; how he challenged us, asking in The Conscience of a Liberal, ”How can we live in the richest, most privileged country in the world and still hear from Republicans, and too many Democrats, that we cannot afford to provide a good education for every child, that we cannot afford to provide health security for all our citizens?”; how he expressed concern for the safety of Muslim Americans after the 9-11 attacks; how he set aside an hour a week to talk with his interns to stay in touch with their lives; how he relied on and frequently sought the advice of his # 1 campaigner, his wife Sheila, who died with him; how he chose to run again despite the onset of multiple sclerosis, relying on his bubbling spirit to pick up the slack while the money poured in from out of state conservatives who were determined to bring him down; and how he was winning despite the efforts of corporations like the big pharmaceuticals that blessed his opponent with $200,000 while giving Wellstone $900 and change. Paul Wellstone was outspent time and again, but he was a winner because he played no favorites and was never outworked. Senator Tom Harken, Paul’s best friend and comrade through many Senate battles, fought back tears to say it best: “Paul was hampered by a bad back, but he had a backbone made of steel!”

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? 1967.

I believe it will end with a ruling of the 11th Circuit Court of
Appeals or a ruling of the U. S, Supreme Court. If this can happen to me, it can happen to mayors, congressman or presidents who appoint or take some action favorable to a contributor.

My conviction is anti-American in the sense politics must be funded and presidents who are elected appoint contributors as ambassadors, members of Congress vote in favor of issues that benefit contributors and governors appoint contributors to all kinds of positions. This is done every day in America, in every state and in Washington, DC.~Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman

"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired"~Fannie Lou Hammer

Fannie Lou Hamer, a Mississippi sharecropper, changed a nation's perspective on democracy.

Hamer became involved in the civil rights movement when she volunteered to attempt to register to vote in 1962. By then 45 years old and a mother, Hamer lost her job and continually risked her life because of her civil rights activism. Despite this and a brutal beating, Hamer spoke frequently to raise money for the movement, and helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, to challenge white domination of the Democratic Party. In 1964, the MDFP challenged the all-white Mississippi delegation to the Democratic Convention, and in l968, the Convention seated an integrated challenge delegation from Mississippi.

Deeply committed to improving life for poor minorities in her state, Hamer, working with the National Council of Negro Women and others, helped organize food cooperatives and other services. She continued political activities as well, helping to convene the National Women's Political Caucus in the 1970s. She is buried in her home town of Ruleville, Mississippi, where her tombstone reads, "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired."

"If you think Halloween is scary, don't vote on November 2nd and see how scary it will be"~Redeye