Redeye's Sunday Morning Roundup and Recap

Who says the stimulus isn't working in Alabama?

One of the problems President Barack Obama’s administration is having in convincing the nation — particularly the Republicans and those in the so-called Tea Party movement — that his economic policies are sound is that it is difficult to prove a negative.

Little know Alabama black history fact h/t Ashley Boyd, staff writer for the Tuscaloosa Times.

It's been 60 years since the death of Tuscaloosa's first — and Alabama's second — formally educated black architect, and only a few remember his name.

Baptist minister Allen Durough was first introduced to Wallace Rayfield after he cut his leg on one of Rayfield's old printing plates while cleaning out his barn in McCalla in 1993.

Durough, who had purchased the property from an antiques dealer, found several hundred of Rayfield's drawings, floor plans, business advertisements, portraits and graphic art pieces that were housed in the barn. He did some research and discovered Rayfield's range of accomplishments.

“Wallace Rayfield is arguably one of the most important architects in Alabama,” said Amber Baker, a University of Alabama graduate assistant who helped write the introduction to Durough's book “The Rayfield Architectural Legacy.”

In honor of Howard Zinn, who died this past week, please read Dissent as Democracy.

The indefatigable Zinn maintained a prolific activist and academic jab fueled by his political and social activism nurtured during The Civil Rights Movement. The esteemed historian and controversial rabble rouser's seminal work, "The People's History of the United States," endures as a popular and beloved history book giving voice to the often marginalized, oppressed and downtrodden members of our society conveniently edited out of the textbooks. Despite his advanced age, he was still touring, giving lectures, and showed no signs of stopping.

Nance Gregg has compiled and excellent week in review Just THIS about THAT.

My favorite;

While Obama continues to play chess, the GOP continues to demonstrate that tiddly-winks are beyond their skill set – and besides, nonny-nonny, they ain’t playing at all. And if there was any doubt about the matter, the American public was educated, in no uncertain terms, by the Smartest Guy in the Room (and surrounding environs, including the universe as we know it) on Wednesday night. Smirkless and heh-heh-less, President Smackdown was generous with handing out the rope – lest the Republicans not already have enough to hang themselves.

There's lots more good stuff!

Peace Out.

State of the Union After Party!

To the dismay of the right wing and the talking teevee pundit heads, President Obama knocked it out of the ball park last night with his State of the Union address last night. He opened up a big ole can of whup a$$ on EVERYBODY from the cowardly dems to the Supreme 5. He kicked butt and took names. Now that's what I'm talking about! Accomplished.

SOTU Afterparty rundown;
Ta-Nehisi Coats says she just remembered Chris Matthews was white. This is what Matthews said about Obama;

I was trying to think about who he was tonight. It's interesting; he is post-racial, by all appearances. I forgot he was black tonight for an hour. He's gone a long way to become a leader of this country and past so much history in just a year or two. I mean it's something we don't even think about. I was watching and I said, wait a minute, he's an African-American guy in front of a bunch of other white people and there he is, president of the United States, and we've completely forgotten that tonight -- completely forgotten it. I think it was in the scope of the discussion, it was so broad ranging, so in tune with so many problems and aspects and aspects of American life. That you don't think in terms of the old tribalism and the old ethnicity. It was astounding in that regard, a very subtle fact. It's so hard to even talk about it. Maybe I shouldn't talk about it, but I am.

Crooks and Liars has an excellent run down of the republicans sitting on their thumbs during the SOTU. To paraquote my girl Rep. Maxine Waters(D CA), "Let them reveal themselves. Let them define themselves for who they really are." *Snicker*

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito must not have gotten the be nice memo. But I guess it's hard to be nice when someone is racking you over the coals. :)
Alito's reaction was a sharp break from the unwritten rule of Supreme Court etiquette at presidential addresses to Congress. Justices rarely applaud even the most uncontroversial of presidential remarks. None of the other justices in attendance tonight, including Chief Justice John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy, the author of the campaign finance opinion, showed any visible reaction while seated in the court's usual front row seats at the annual event.

That Obama is a bad mother shut your mouth. He told the dems to buck up, extended an olive branch to republicans (good luck with that) and opened a can on the Supreme Five and praised his wife in one smooth swoope. Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Roundtree don't have anything on him!

On a serious note, Howard Zinn died yesterday. In honor of
his memory agitate and organize. And remember, "dissent is the highest form of patriotism"