Playing the Black Card

When black folks raise a legitimate issue regarding racial inequalities/injustice, Righty's and the media say we are  playing the Race Card, in an attempt to marginalize and minimize the issue.   It's their way of saying STFU and STFD and wait on us to decide what is racist, or not.  RedEye Roll

So what do you call it when Righty's and the media play the Black Card?  What's the Black Card you ask?  Everyone knows the easiest and only  way for a black face to be a Talking TeeVee Pundit Head, or a rising star, is to be a black, conservative, republican.

Case in point, Artur Davis  (r. turncoat) was the only black face taking part of the Round Table discussion on  ABC's This Week.   As if he speaks for the majority of black folks.  As if he has any credibility.  But that's the point, he doesn't have any credibility, that's why he's on TeeVee.

The same can be said for former republican chair Michael Steele, and former Presidential candidate Herman Cain.

Righty's and the media aren't the only ones who play the Black Card, so called Progressive outlets do it to.

Left in Alabama played the Black Card big time during the recent Alabama Gubernatorial race, to the extent those who didn't go along to get along with them, like myself, were banned from the Blog.

I have to wonder if they are playing a new Black Card in a recent post praising Congresswoman Terri Sewell for being in the forefront of a Congressional Black Congress walkout over Attorney General Eric Holder being charged with Contempt of Congress.  As if that's a big deal.

In the interest of full disclosure, I supported Sewell's opponent Sheila Smoot in the Democratic Primary ( the last straw leading to my banishment) because I felt (and still do) the citizens of Congressional District 7 need and deserve a  an experienced, proven, representative after 8 years of Artur Davis (r. sellout).

Terri Sewell represents Alabama's 7th district, which includes Alabama's Black Belt region, home to some of the poorest counties in America.  Looking at Sewell's Website, I see her, dressed in designer suits, carrying a designer purse, in the forefront of photo ops, announcing grants/funding for USDA, and jobs for everywhere except the Black Belt Region.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Terri Sewell personally, and I don't begrudge her ability to purchase designer shoes/clothes/purses. She is a smart, accomplished, young lady from a good family who I'm sure are very proud of her.  But it's not about her, it's about the people in the 7th district.

I don't live, or work in the 7th district, but I have friends and family who are residents of the Black Belt region, and I can tell you they were hurting when Sewell was elected and they are still hurting now.  Especially since the TeaPublicans took over the Alabama Government.

I HOPE Left in Alabama isn't playing a new Black Card in an attempt to redeem themselves for playing the old Black Card, for the sake of the residents in the Black Belt region.

It's not about color of the skin, it's about the content of the agenda.

The Lowdown Grand Old Party in Action

What do you want to bet if the Loudon County Democratic Party sent out a Halloween mailer with a picture of George W. Bush with a bullet through his head the republicans would jumped on them like white on rice and rendition the person responsible off to Gitmo for some water boarding or worse?

Yep. The House gop spent the day making sure "In God We Trust" is still our motto, creating ZERO jobs in the process. The gop motto should be "In God We Trust to feed, cloth and provide shelter for all you poor, folks who were dumb enough to fall for our Okey Doke".

the House of Representatives spent a fair amount of time yesterday ignoring the major issues of the day, and instead debating a resolution "reaffirming" that "In God We Trust" is still the national motto. The measure has no force of law, was purely symbolic, was responding to a non-existent threat, and by all appearances, was a complete waste of time.

As a practical matter, the resolution effectively declared, "Just in case anyone forgot, the national motto is still the national motto." What a valuable use of Congress' time.

Yep, the right wingers are on a Low down dirty roll. Now they are claiming ACORN is running Occupy Orlando and trying to ruin America. Forget for the moment that ACORN no longer exists.

We tried to tell some of y'all the republicans wanted to bring back slavery, but did y'all listen? Nooooo. We were just race baiting, racist, dinosaurs. Missy Ann Coulter says the blacks she and the republiklan party own (Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas etc.) are better than the blacks the democratic party own. I guess she didn't get the Emancipation Proclamation memo.

Most of us black folks in A-merry-ca know that we don't fit into a certain narrative that some folks have of their beloved country. We are here but we don't really belong. "If only they could have picked their own damn cotton".. that kind of thing.

Speaking of Herman Cain, only the republican presidential front runner could surge in the polls and raise money after being accused of sexual harassment. I thought the gop was the family values party? Snark
What happened to Christian, Compassionate Conservatism?

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) is on the defensive after making a controversial immigration comparison.

The South Carolina congressman participated in a Q&A event with Furman University students on Monday evening. The appearance generated national attention after he made an unusual tie between United States immigration issues and a house without doors.

The Greenville News details Duncan's words:

"It's kind of like having a house -- and you're not homeowners, a lot of folks in this room, but your moms and dads are -- taking the door off the hinges and allowing any kind of vagrant, or animal, or just somebody that's hungry, or somebody that wants to do your dishes for you, to come in. And you can't say, 'No you can't come in.' And you can’t say, 'No you can’t stay all night.' Or 'No you can't have this benefit, using my deodorant.'"

Republicans are mean and low down. Blame them there tree hugging, Birkenstock wearing, hybrid car driving, long haired, anti war, Liberals and them there, lazy, baby making, welfare loving black folks.

RedEye's Random Rants

Agabond must be reading this blog because they hit the nail on it's head with this post, which explains the difference between white racism and so called black racism. Black racism is not a mirror image of white racism. It is not equal and opposite. Instead it is different in scale and kind:

FED UP, this quote is for Y-O-U and yours.

Blacks do commit hate crimes and so on, but to think black racism is equal and opposite to white racism is to miss the nature of both white racism and black racism. White racism is institutional and cultural and a hundred times more powerful. Black racism is personal and, to a large degree, is a weakened form of white racism.

Some readers think I am just flipping the script, that I am a black Stormfront or something. A black Stormfront would talk about “whitey” and “white devils” and imagine blacks violently wiping out whites and so on. The strange thing is, nearly everyone who talks about that kind of stuff on this blog is white. So much so that when a black commenter talks like that I suspect him (it is always a him)

I hear you Mack Lyons.

A number of blogs have suffered from individuals who stumble in said discussions and dictate their own opinions, drawn from experiences that may be alien or inapplicable to the situations alluded to in the discussions. They expect everyone else to stop and listen, thereby becoming the center of attention by presenting themselves as a sage bearer of advice. Such advice usually comes from a perspective that's had zero experience with the discussion subjects or anything remotely similar.

But I refuse to moderate or ban people from this blog because I don't agree with their point of view, or, how they present their point of view. This blog was started because someone accused me of doing the very thing you described above. Everyone has the right to express their opinion in their own way. Readers have the right to react in their own way. Most of the time FED UP is on speech ignore, which is my right. The Trolls are everywhere but I can't suppress free speech. I just can't.

Welcome to my blogroll TheSkepticOne! You are my kind of Blogger!

But this is America, where equality and justice are still determined by the color of your skin. Studies continue to show that when the victim is white, 9 times out of 10, the Black defendant is given the death penalty...regardless of where the trial takes place in this country.

And believe it or not, a sitting United States Supreme Court Justice says it's okay to put an innocent man to death in America because the Constitution doesn't address the matter.

Birmingham Home Girl is a day late and a dollar short.

In the hopes of cleaning up history’s view of her and I guess selling more books.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the Bush administration was dismissive toward her concerns over security in a post-war Iraq, according to excerpts from her autobiography that Rice tweeted about Sunday.

How the republicans plan to steal the 2012 Presidential election with Artur Davis providing the get away car and Herman Cain driving it away. Cheating is not winning.

"Once again, a major political party in the United States is running on a platform of making it more difficult for people to vote, specifically for the poor, the elderly, minority voters, and college students. Once again, the kind of "voter fraud" that these laws supposedly stop, a "national crisis" has never been documented. These laws exist for one reason: to tilt the electorate in favor of the Republican party. Period."

The rule of law or the rule of the jungle? I report. You decide.

Months of acts of aggression culminating in an extrajudicial execution sends a message to other countries, and even non-state actors, who find the US or any of its NATO allies to be a foe is that one must kill or be killed. This is the rule of the jungle, not of international law.

What a difference a Judge makes in Sweet Home Alabama. One Judge uses the 1901 Alabama Constitution to declare contract provision in Alabama immigration law unconstitutional in pending lawsuits. And another Judge uses the 1901 Alabama Constitution to keep a current law intact unconstitutionally discriminates against black and poor schoolchildren in Alabama.

"Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round"

"Free at Last, Free at Last."

RedEye Around Alabama

Alabama's Senate republicans vote to kill Obama's job bill Yeee Haw! Snark

"Any senator who votes no should have to look you in the eye and tell you what exactly they're opposed to," Obama said to a union audience in Pittsburgh. "I think they'll have a hard time explaining why they voted no on this bill — other than the fact that I proposed it."

Incoming! gop tool, I mean, pResidential candidate Herman Cain is coming to sweet home Alabama. Instead of doing anything short of shooting so called illegal immigrants he wants to electrocute them, nod, nod, wink, wink.

GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain came down hard on immigration Saturday on the campaign trail, telling crowds in Tennessee that part of his policy would be to build an electrified fence on the Mexican border that could potentially kill anyone trying to enter the country illegally.

He backed away from that proposal Sunday morning, however, saying he wasn't serious about the idea.

So what's up with these pro-life republicans always talking about killing people? I mean, really?

Memo to Herman Cain, black folks are not going to be proud to have one of their own running for President and vote for you out of racial pride. Ask Alan Keys, Michael Steele and Artur Davis how that worked out for them. OK?

Teach for America coming to Huntsville City Schools???? Oh crap.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The Huntsville school system could have its pick from up to 110 of the "best and brightest" new teachers in the U.S. if the board approves the superintendent's latest staffing plan.
The board last week began considering a three-year, $550,000 contract with Teach for America, a non-profit organization that recruits recent college graduates from all backgrounds to teach for two years in schools in poor neighborhoods. The goal of the program is to close student achievement gaps.

This is not about closing the achievement gap This is taxpayer supported UNION BUSTING. How in the world are "recent college graduates from all backgrounds" going to close the achievement gap? What are they going to do that a certified experienced teacher didn't do? Wake up people! I guess this is why Alabama's two Senators voted against the Jobs Bill which would put teachers back work.

Left in Alabama Blogger archangelsk expressed real concerns about the program when it was announced Teach for America was coming to Alabama's Black Belt.

I am all for bringing in the best and brightest, but as an unemployed teacher, one who is victim of last years proration of the school budget, I am kind of concerned how this would affect my wife's and my own job prospects for the next school year. I also think that its weird how the Teach for America jobs only run two years, one year short of a tenure year. It sort of amounts to having scab workers come on to a work site.

These thirty teachers, will I have lost out on a possible teaching position because TfA can offer their candidates as a cheaper alternative to myself? I have my Masters Degree and two years experience, I know I would be starting a couple rungs ahead of these folks, is that fair to other prospective teachers in the districts?

A lot of these school districts are losing teaching units, meaning their enrollments are down. At my wife's school, her principal has already been told she will have one less 3rd Grade teacher next year. Out of the 5 there now, 3 are tenured and guaranteed positions, leaving my wife and the other teacher to vie for the last position. But what if the school district springs a TfA candidate on my wife's principal?

I'm sure the group is well intentioned, I wonder if there is anyone with TfA or the area LEA's who could answer some of my questions.

LiA Blogger bluebearcat said TFA is not the cure

Teach for America has very noble intentions - and hopefully this will bring some much needed publicity and relief to the ongoing problems of the Black Belt - but TfA has been far from an unqualified success in the areas it already operates. It is one of those programs that appears brilliant at first glance, but upon a closer look there are some problems.

First, the premise behind the program is fundamentally condescending towards teachers and students already in the schools. Basically, it's "(Mostly rich) kids from 'good' colleges can step in with barely any training and outperform the school's teachers who have both training and experience in the area." TFA participants I have known have been in universal agreement that the "training" the program provides is woefully inadequate to actually managing a classroom, especially in environments that would seriously test an experienced teacher unused to the unique socio-economic problems these schools are often dealing with.

Second, as the program has expanded, their selection process has become increasingly inconsistent. No, I was never rejected by their program but I did have one brilliant friend who was a UAB history major with a 3.9 GPA, mock trial law champion, great people person, etc. who was never even given an interview while another friend from Samford got in despite a much lower GPA and much less impressive social skills. She quit after a few weeks in the classroom.

Third, there are some serious questions about some of the data that TFA reports. TFA requires all applicants to sign a contract agreeing not to publish anything negative about their TFA experience until their two year commitment is completed.

Finally, archangel's concerns are legitimate as well. A school system in North Carolina hired 100 TFA participants after laying off hundreds of traditionally certified teachers.

Union Busting, Privatization coming right up. And who benefits? Not we the little people, that's for sure.

Monday Morning Talking Points

Congress Critter Mo Brooks (r.) is having a Town Hall Meeting in conjunction with the South Huntsville Civic (sic) Association tonight at the Grissom High School Auditorium, 7901 Bailey Cove Rd. Be there or be square. Since Mo is holding the meeting in south Huntsville he probably won't answer questions from the "low I.Q. north Huntsville residents or from the "project" dwellers", so I would suggest making some wearable signs that ask "Where are the jobs", or, "Why did you vote for the let women die act?", or, "Hey Mo! Can we bring back slavery now that you've done everything short of shooting illegals"? or, "When our elected officials don't listen to the will of the people isn't that treason"?

Instructions for making a wearable sign, get an 8x10 piece of paper, write or print your message, punch a hole at the top of each end, insert a string/ribbon in the holes and tie it around your neck like a necklace. It's perfectly legal.

The Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads really need to do a better job of vetting the republican pResidential candidates before they hype them up as the front runner. Did they not know Herman Cain got his 666 I mean 999 economic plan sounds like it came straight out of Sim City?

WASHINGTON -- In Herman Cain's America, the tax code would be very, very simple: The corporate income tax rate would be 9 percent, the personal income tax rate would be 9 percent and the national sales tax rate would be 9 percent.

But there's already a 999 plan out there, in a land called SimCity.

Long before Cain was running for president and getting attention for his 999 plan, the residents of SimCity 4 -- which was released in 2003 -- were living under a system where the default tax rate was 9 percent for commercial taxes, 9 percent for industrial taxes and 9 percent for residential taxes. (That is, of course, if you didn't use the cheat codes to get unlimited money and avoid taxes altogether.)

Do they not know about Cain's ties to the Koch brother?

Cain's campaign manager and a number of aides have worked for Americans for Prosperity, or AFP, the advocacy group founded with support from billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, which lobbies for lower taxes and less government regulation and spending. Cain credits a businessman who served on an AFP advisory board with helping devise his "9-9-9" plan to rewrite the nation's tax code. And his years of speaking at AFP events have given the businessman and radio host a network of loyal grassroots fans.

I said it in 2000 and I say it again in 2011, the 2012 Presidential election is about the courts, I won't say stupid, because we the people aren't stupid, but the media thinks we are stupid. That's why they are talking about fences, and cults and other weapons of mass distortions.

The Democrats have been falling over each other in recent weeks, desperate to come up with reasons why the American people should send President Obama back to the White house next year. Incredibly, they have ignored the most blatantly obvious one. It's time we have a serious discussion regarding the ramifications of a Republican victory in 2012 - and what it would mean for the future of this Republic if even one more right wing extremist is appointed to sit on that court.

I'll tell you what it would mean, it would mean more Americans could be killed despite there being reasonable doubt about their guilt.

"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both."Louis Brandeis

Enough said.

So, how's that Batsh#t Crazy you voted for working out for you?

I mean, really? At one time I HOPED they weren't all Batsh#t crazy

Surely I thought, there were some sane republicans who understood this;
Times are tough. The working people of this country are not just losing their jobs, they are losing their homes and in some cases, their entire way of life. Their dignity. Their respect. Men can't earn a decent living so that they can raise their heads with pride around their children. Women can't get a break from their increasing burdens. Children are piling up their disappointments. Our great men of commerce are weak and corrupt. Our defenders are weathered by war, deployed far from home. The political institutions that are tasked with governing are broken. The men who lead them are inadequate to the challenges before them. It is very difficult to look at the state of our union and find it strong. We the people have got to do something about it and it has to start now.

I wondered how how long it was going to take the TeaBaggers to realized they'd been Punk'd.

If, in the future, Republicans ever again ask “Where are the jobs?” it will be because they’ve forgotten where they buried the ones they killed. For now, though, it’s clear they remember all too well. Like a serial killer returning to a favorite dump site to reminisce or further ravage a corpse, Republicans are returning to the scene of the crime for a bit of fun with the still-fresh remains of 240,000 jobs the GOP killed off last month.

Yep, the chickens are coming home to roost. Snicker This is what happens when you care more about emptying the clip on them there illegals, and keeping them there Aborigines in their place, keeping women from choosing to have a safe legal abortion, and making sure President Obama is a failure, than you care about having a J-O-B and being able to provide for your family.

If the Alabama Democratic Party were smart, and I'm not saying they are, they would use the Batsh#t Crazy as a teaching tool and snatch our government back in 2014. H/T Publius IX

To be clear, I am not predicting that we Democrats will retake one or both houses of the Legislature in 2014. I am making it emphatically clear that it is reasonable that we might do so. Even as the GOP laid plans and worked for four years to make Alabamofascism possible, we need to be working now to reverse it. Candidate recruitment, fundraising, and work on the ongoing voter list system are critical. More particularly, our media message needs to step up just a bit. Voters need to be helped to think of those three-hour lines at the car tag office as “Republican lines.” This needs to be a full-court press, including repeated media statements from local Democratic leaders, and letters to the editor. Poultry producers need to be invited to Democratic meetings where they can hear the workforce-killing HB56 condemned. Protests against the moral outrage that is HB56 are good, but it is when we speak to the interests of 2010 GOP voters that we will regain a Democratic Legislature.

Is the Alabama Democratic Party going to allow Mo short of killing illegal immigrants Brooks to run unopposed? God, I HOPE not.

BTW,did you know we are on the brink of another government shutdown? Nope. Because the media we have is focused on other weapons of mass distraction.

And Herman Cain says black voters are brainwashed?

LOL!