"This night is not the end this night is just the beginning" ~Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed shows us how to win elections in #SweetHomeAlabama

The votes have been counted and ALL the people have spoken in Montgomery, Alabama.  

Alabama's capital, a city once known as the cradle of the Confederacy and later the birthplace of the civil rights movement, elected its first African American mayor Tuesday.

EYE would like to thank those in the white male-dominated Alabama media for their remarkable restraint and not enabling the racism by advertising Steven Reed is the son of the most hated Black Man in Alabama until after the election.

Reed was already the first black probate judge elected in Montgomery County and was one of the first to issue marriage licenses to gay couples in the state. His father, Joe Reed, is the longtime leader of the black caucus of the Alabama Democratic Party. Woods, who owns WCOV-TV, is the son of the late broadcasting executive Charles Woods, a perennial Alabama candidate for more than 30 years.

And then there is this: 

Reed also expands on the legacy of his father, Joe Reed, a local politician who has served as chairman of the Alabama Democratic Conference for decades. According to the Post, the elder Reed was elected to the Montgomery City Council In 1975—along with three other black elected officials, they were the first black politicians to hold office in Montgomery since Reconstruction.

Psst, DNC.  This is what happens when all the fingers on the hand work together.

Reed secured 67 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s runoff election, beating his opponent, local tv station owner David Woods by 16,000 votes, reports CNN.

So now comes the hard part.  Will the first African American Mayor of the Cradle of the Confederacy be allowed to actually govern or will he be another black/brown face that doesn't want to be a black voice?

The Washington Post reports Pressley said she's not interested in bringing "a chair to an old table."

“This is the time to shake that table. ... We don’t need any more brown faces that don’t want to be a brown voice,” Pressley reportedly said during the event. “We don’t need any more black faces that don’t want to be a black voice.”

Pressley's comments followed a tumultuous week of Democratic infighting, as establishment Democrats continue to clash with a new wave of elected progressives in the party.

 Time will tell the truth. 

Democrats have become consumed by nasty fights over racial politics, even as the 2020 White House contenders ramp up their outreach to the black and Latino voters who will play a critical role in determining the party’s presidential nominee.

Congratulations Mayor Reed.  EYE hope you can and will keep your winning coalition together and refrain from listening to those who advise you to throw your base under the bus. 

If you want to be truly disgusted today browse through the reader comments on Al.com #SweetHomeAlabama

Help me identify this racist man who harassed her.

This is Regions Bank in Montgomery Alabama by Eastdale Mall.https://t.co/B2qgrUIxQN

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) April 13, 2016

What's that you say?   Regions Bank is "shocked and appalled" by the racially fueled attack on an African American woman at an ATM at one of their branches in Montgomery, AL?  EYE am shocked and appalled they they are shocked and appalled.

Regions has spoken with the woman in the video and offered support and assistance to her, he said. Bank officials have also spoken to the man in the video.
"Due to privacy laws, we are limited in what we can share, but in a situation in which a customer verbally abuses another customer or a Regions associate, we close that customer's account," King said.

They are protecting the identity of the offender because privacy, but EYE would like to know who this gentleman (sic) is. For all EYE know he could be someone in a position of power and influence. He could be one of the anonymous commentators on Al.com. 

Again, if you want to know how they really feel, and who the people who have influence and power pander too, look no farther than the comment section at Al.com.  

From the Files of Stuck on Stoopid in Alabama Second Editon

Artur Davis

Just when you thought things couldn't get any wackier in Sweet Home Alabama we learn former democrat turned republican,  Congress Critter Artur Davis is back and running for Mayor of Montgomery, Al.

Either Davis  believes voters in Montgomery have a chronic case of amnesia, or, he thinks they are stuck on stoopid.

Bye-bye, Democratic Party ... or as the right wing Daily Caller originally put it: Former Alabama Democratic Rep. Artur Davis has come out of the closet -- as a Republican.

In the interest of full disclosure, and for those who don't know,  Artur Davis ripped his drawers with me a six ago, and I hold my non support of his gubernatorial aspirations partially responsible for me being booted and banned from the pages of Left in Alabama. 

Davis supporter, and regular columnist for Alabama Media Group Cameron Smith  says,  Even if you don't like Artur Davis Montgomery should hear him out.

Alabamians from both ends of the political spectrum are willing to take pot shots at Davis. Democrats rejected his gubernatorial bid because he was not liberal enough for their base, and many Republicans are skeptical of a candidate who used to be a Democratic gubernatorial candidate. And then there is the matter of his leaving for Virginia once that race was done.
But unlike many politicians, Davis is more interested in answering his critics than avoiding them.

 Pots shots?  Is that what you call honest criticism of Davis' actions?

Alabama District 7 is 61.7% African-American. 72.2% live in urban areas (primarily Birmingham, Bessemer, Tuscaloosa, Selma and Demopolis). The district’s median per capita income was $26,672.
NO group is disproportionately uninsured than Black folks, and he voted AGAINST healthcare reform.
Uh huh.
No group is at the BOTTOM of nearly all healthcare statistics like Black folks, and he voted AGAINST healthcare reform.
Uh huh.

RedEYE can't wait to see how Davis answers his critics. 

Davis is a political enigma in Alabama, the kind of moderate pragmatist that drives the partisan purists wild, a market-minded politician who sees a helpful role for government to play. Davis embraces it noting,

RedEYE can't wait to see how that embracing nothing works out for Artur this time.

Stuck on Stoopid in Alabama to be continued.....

Then As Now: Struggling to Vote

All Jimmie Lee Jackson wanted was the right to vote.
Jackson, a deacon of the St. James Baptist Church in Marion, Alabama, had tried to register to vote without success for four years. Jackson and 500 peaceful protesters had planned a peaceful walk from the church to the county jail and back, singing hymns. Jackson never made it back to the church. They were attacked by Alabama police and state troopers and beaten with clubs. Many protesters took refuge in a cafe behind the church. There, Jackson attempted to protect his mother from being beaten when he was shot twice in the abdomen by a trooper. He was unarmed. Injured badly, he was still able to run out of the cafe, followed by the troopers who continued to club him. He died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Selma, on February 26, 1965. He was only 26 years old.
Jimmie Lee Jackson was the inspiration for the first Selma to Montgomery march that occurred a few days later, known as “Bloody Sunday.” On March 7, 1965, an estimated 525 to 600 civil rights marchers led by John Lewis were again met by state troopers and beaten with nightsticks, gassed, and trampled by mounted troopers. Immediately after "Bloody Sunday," Dr. Martin Luther King organized a second march on Tuesday, March 9, leading 2,500 marchers to a prayer. That night, three white ministers who had come to support the march were beaten by the Ku Klux Klan, killing one of the ministers who was refused treatment at the local hospital because he supported the march.
Because of the impact of the marches, President Johnson presented a bill to Congress, saying "What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and state of America. It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life. Their cause must be our cause, too, because it is not just Negroes but really it is all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome." The bill was the Voting Rights Act. When Dr. King heard this speech, a tear rolled down his cheek.
Finally, on this day, March 21, 1965, Dr. King attempted to complete the march from Selma, where Jimmy Lee Jackson died, to Montgomery Alabama. The march started with close to 8,000 people. By the time, Dr. King reached the Montgomery capitol on Thursday, March 25, nearly 25,000 people were with him. Most of the participants were black, but some were white and some were Asian and Latino. Spiritual leaders of multiple races religions and faith had marched abreast with Dr. King. King delivered the speech "How Long, Not Long." "The end we seek," King told the crowd, "is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. ... I know you are asking today, How long will it take? I come to say to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long."
The Voting Rights Act became law on Aug. 6. 1965.


Republished courtesy of Jon S. Randal: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=548167005228298&set=a.115630875148582.7129.100001050091122&type=1&theater

The Department of Public Safety and Me

I consider myself a law abiding citizen who has never intentionally broken any laws, so you can imagine my surprise when I attempted to renew my Alabama drivers license to learn they were suspended.

What?!  
When?!
Why?!

The nice clerk at the Court House asked me if I had any unpaid traffic tickets?  I said not to my knowledge.  She  informed me I would have to go the local Department of Public Safety office for answers/reinstatement before they could renew my license. I said OK, do you know what time they close?   She replied they closed at 5:00 PM.  The clock on the wall in the court house read 4:15 PM.  The DVM is about 5-8 minutes away, so off I go.

I arrive in the parking lot at the Department of Public Safety at exactly 4:25 PM.  There are three cars in lot including mine.  The sign on the outside of door says the hours are  Monday-Friday 7:30 AM until 5:00 PM, except holidays.  Inside there are two young women waiting,  a boy and his father being served,  and 5 female employees.  I explain to the woman sitting behind the desk I need to reinstate my drivers license and she handed me a piece of paper told me to fill it out and bring it back tomorrow morning because they "stop working at 4:30 PM because they had to get ready to leave at 5:00 PM".


Excuse Me?
The sign on the door says you don't close until 5:00 PM?
They told me at the court house you closed at 5:00 PM?
How can you stop processing request 30 minutes prior to closing?
Why do I have to come back when I'm here now?
What if I can't come back tomorrow at 7:30?

Answer, and I quote- You don't think we can close at 5 and leave at 5 do you?  We have to set the alarm and lock up the building.  There is a sign on the inside of the building that says we stop processing Drivers License at 4:30.

So know we know.  Although they are being paid to work until to 5 PM they stop working 30 minutes early at the local DPS office. I could see if there were a line to be processed stopping people from getting in line at 4:30, but the office had more employees than customers. Our tax dollars at work.  On us.

I proceeded to use my cell phone to take a picture of the clock on the wall to document the time but was informed I didn't have permission to take their picture and I could be sued.

Oh really?  
Please sue me for taking pictures!


 I explained I wasn't taking their picture, I was taking a picture of the clock but since they had on official State Trooper Uniforms I acquiesced.


RedEye Roll

At approximately 4:29 PM I placed a call to the State Department of Motor Vehicles in Montgomery.  I explained to the nice lady who answered the phone my drivers license had been suspended and I wanted to know why and to reinstate them if necessary.

Did she tell me to call back tomorrow because they stopped processing request at 4:30 PM because they had to get ready to close the office at 5:00 PM?  Nope.  She asked for my DL number and the last four of my SS#.  I gave them to her and learned my license were suspended because I didn't respond to a random request for proof of insurance I never received, because it went to my old address, and they do not forward.  I was told when I presented proof of insurance my DL would be reinstated immediately.   Thankfully I don't have to return to the local Department of Public Safety.  I'm pretty sure I'm on their sh#t list.

Let's play What If and What About?

What if I had been stopped by police, or involved in an accident and discovered my license were suspended?

What if I needed a valid Drivers License to board an air plane for work or an emergency?

What if I needed a valid Drivers License to register to VOTE?

What if I couldn't come back to my local DPS the following day?

What about the time and resources already spent?

What about the people who work from 7:30 AM until 5:00 PM M-F?

Why is it so hard for tax payers to get basic services?

I wonder if I had been a white male/female tax payer would I have been told by the female African American Alabama State Employee to come back tomorrow because they stopped processing 30 minutes prior to closing?

The reason I'm asking is because the two young women waiting to be served, and the boy and his father being served  where white,  3 of the 5 State employees were African Americans, with the two African Americans doing the fussing, I mean talking.

Wondering why we are required to have proof of liability insurance to have a Drivers License but not required to have proof of health insurance if we get sick and have to go to the Doctor/Hospital.  Oh wait....


If it's this hard to get my drivers license renewed I wonder how hard it's going to be for tax payers to obtain a state issued Voter ID card?  


RedEye tiptoeing away from the computer to go have my license renewed. 

RedEye Around AmeriBama

What's that you say? There are poor people in Birmingham, Alabama?  I am shocked!  Shocked I tell you.  Not.

We've got to pray just to make it today... the Freedom from Religion Foundation is challenging the Huntsville City Council's prayer tradition.  Now we wait and see if elected city leaders waste public money to fight the challenge.

Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D CD7) introduced a bi-partisan resolution commemorating the Historic Selma to Montgomery Marches of 1965.   Psst Terri...bi-partisan my Donkey...the locals are getting the fire hoses and the dogs ready.

Those silly, white, republican men believe the Alabama "cooch jabbin act of 2012" actually   protects life and respects women."  So, who is going to protect and respect life and women from republican men?

A federal judges has issued a restraining order against the republican, Alabama Secretary of State regarding absentee ballots.  And they claim they are worried about black voter fraud?  Thanks to the Help America Vote Act, Morgan County is getting i-pads for voting precincts.  Yep, that ought to help Americans vote.  Snark


Attention Huntsville City School Board of Mis-education...you might want to rethink that "Wilderness Program"  as an Alternative School Policy.  Here is what I see happening...assigning non certified  TFA teachers to Title 1 (predominately black) schools without training in class room management or Federal  Law= a lot of black/brown/poor/special education students sent off to God knows where.


RIP Andrew Breitbart 

Welcome to my Blog Roll Uppity Negro Network

"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?

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.

The White Elephant in the Alabama Democratic Tent

Allow me to give you a history lesson of the Alabama Democratic Party in the words of someone who not only lived the overt racism of a political party that refused to accept blacks as members, but continues to work tirelessly to make sure marginalized voices are heard in the body politic of Alabama. H/T RevJZ

Back in 1966, after an election in which, having won voting rights after the
1965 Selma to Montgomery March, in which I lost two dear friend, Rev Jim
Reeb and Viola Liuzzo, blacks rushed to register to vote and to run for office, most considered themselves to be Democrats . Gov Wallace (a democrat) refused to allow them to run for office as Democrats. To combat the continuing absolute racism of the Alabama Democratic Party, some of us created another Democratic Party, the National Democratic Party of Alabama (NDPA), went through a difficult struggle, and elected the first blacks to office in Alabama as Democrats! But the ADP fought as a fully segregated party for almost 10 years as the NDPA came to hold over 100 elected offices,more than any other state!!! Then and only then did the ADP want us, and we forgivingly moved into the ADP. But of course its leadership remained fully racist and we have been struggling to change that ever since. But racists continued to run for and hold office as Democrats. It never fully changed. That makes it clear why people are still very suspicious of attitudes in the ADP.

It was the party of George Wallace then, it's the party of George Wallace now.The question is, will it be the party of George Wallace forever?

Links for clarity;
Viola Luizzo

Rev. James Reeb

Voting Rights Act 1965

Selma to Montgomery March

George C. Wallace

"We were living in terrible times. We were fighting for the right to breath"

African American Alabama democrats are still fighting for the right to be members of the ADP because everyone tiptoes around the big white elephant standing in the middle of the Alabama Democratic Party Tent.

In the end we will not remember the words of enemies, but the silence of our friends.~Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Why I "carp and whine", and why I wish I didn't have to~a very personal diary

It's no secret I started this blog after I my front page privileges were revoked at Left in Alabama. It's also no secret I've been "carping and whining" about being treated unfairly. What does surprise me is those who say I don't have the right(no pun) to carp and whine, and that I should just STFU, get over it and move on. Now some of the people who are saying this don't know me and I don't know them, but some of the people who are saying this DO know me and I know them, so I'm surprised they would think I would not stand up for my rights, my reputation and just go quietly into that good night.

For those of you who don't know me, let me give you some background information to offer insight about who I am and what I stand for, and why I carp and whine when I am treated unfairly.

I was born in a segregated Alabama Army base hospital the same year Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus in Montgomery,Alabama, sparking the Montgomery bus boycott. My life was colored (pun intended)with the sometimes violent historical struggle for equal, civil and human rights not just in Alabama but in the United States of America.

I was raised by parents who taught me I had the same rights and privileges as my fellow Americans, but because of the color of my skin there were those who wanted to deny my rights. They said I should always fight for my rights because fighting for my rights meant I was fighting for other African Americans rights as well.

I was raised in a church that taught me Jesus loves the little children, red, and yellow black and white, they are precious in his sight. So yes, I'm one of those uppity African Americans who knows I have equal rights and is willing to fight for them.

My parents were active and involved in the civil rights movement, so when it came time to integrate one of local schools high schools in 1967 I was volunteered, I mean chosen, to be one of 10 African American students, one male and one female, to enroll in the 7th grade. We were trained to practice the principle of non violent social change and civil disobedience espoused by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Meaning we wouldn't retaliate when when we were called names, pushed, shoved, tripped or had bleach thrown on our clothes. I sometimes wonder if things wouldn't have been different if they had chosen those who would have retaliated, but I digress.

Which brings me back to why I carp and whine about being treated unfairly and how it relates to my privileges and my user name being revoked at Left in Alabama. Being one of 10 African Americans in the whole school, and the only African American female in the 7th grade was lonely. It didn't start out that way. On the first day of school I was befriended by a fellow new student who happened to be white. As she made friends, I made friends and everything was great until one day a mean girl who couldn't get past the color of my skin started calling her a N word lover. In addition to that some of the teachers took it upon themselves to notify the parents of the girls who befriended me and inform them they were associating with me.

So, one day I had friends, the next day they were telling me their parents said they couldn't be my friend any more. When I asked why, the mean girl said "because you're a N word and decent people don't associate with N words". Things went down hill from there, I often tell people I'm the worlds best square dancer because I can square dance by myself. The PE teacher taught square dancing but wouldn't make any of the students be my partner because they would have to hold my hand.

 I didn't whine when students harassed me and those in authority looked the other way. I didn't carp about sitting along in a sea of confederate flags while the band played Dixie at official school functions. I didn't carp and whine then because I believed future me's wouldn't have to whine and carp. That's why it pains me that I'm still carping and whining and why I wish with all my heart I didn't have too.

I don't like carping and whining about being treated unfairly, but if I must I must. It continues to amaze me that those who call themselves progressives/democrats are the ones that gave me something to carp and whine about because I thought we were on the same side.

Countrycat and I and several others have felt like voices crying in the wilderness as we warned that the apparent message of Democrats in the Legislature -- "The other guys are a lot worse than us!" -- was a sure loser and that nominating candidates who looked and campaigned just like the (losing) candidates in previous years was a recipe for disaster. Turns out we were right. It sucks to be right, but I don't think that means we'll be less influential in the future or are struggling for relevance. In some ways blogging in opposition to the majority is going to be a lot easier -- much less concern about friendly fire incidents, if you know what I mean.

That wasn't the apparent message of Democrats that the other guys are a lot worse than us, that's what YOU helped frame the message to be. And we didn't nominate candidate who looked and campaigned just like the loosing candidates in previous years because democrats WON in previous years. You and Countrycat were right (pun intended) all right, you supported and endorsed the losing candidate who pandered to the right at the expense of the traditional democratic base, and suppressed voices like mine who were crying in the wilderness, in favor of the moderate/conservative voices, just like the mean girl who couldn't stand to see progress at school and those in authority who enabled her by looking the other way.

I am respectfully requesting my user name and posting privileges be restored at Left in Alabama so that will be one less issue I will have to carp and whine about in the coming year. It is important that we progressives/liberals/democrats/Americans unite behind our party and our platform because divided we fall. When all the fingers on the hand work together they form a mighty fist. Remember?

End the end we will not remember the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hank Sanders was right (no pun)

Well what do you know? Southern Slavery Apologist Plan Celebration of Confederacy and Civil War on the steps of the Cradle of the Confederacy in Montgomery, Alabama.

The events include a “secession ball” in the former slave port of Charleston (“a joyous night of music, dancing, food and drink,” says the invitation), which will be replicated on a smaller scale in other cities. A parade is being planned in Montgomery, Ala., along with a mock swearing-in of Jefferson Davis as president of the Confederacy.

I wonder if they are going to make black folks dress up like slaves and wear chains and shackles? Yes that was a snark. Kinda. And before the it's about our Southern Heritage/History crowd kicks into full gear, what Oliver Willis said;

No, it isn’t “southern pride” or any of the b.s. euphemisms used down south to defend raping history and promoting the whitewash of the confederacy. It’s apologizing for those who went to war for the right to keep slaves:

Hell No! We ain't fergittin! Evah!

A friend of mine was drafted into the Army in 1963(4). While serving at Restone Arsenal he was the first African American to be awarded base soldier of the month. White soldiers were given a $50.00 meal allowance and a free night at the Russell Erskine Hotel (whites only). Black soldiers were given $50.00 and a free night at the Gladys Jane Hotel(black owned but anyone could stay there). My friend thought that was fundamentally unfair so he went through the base chain of command and with the help of the local NAACP was allowed to spend the night and eat dinner at the Russell Erskine Hotel the same as his white counter parts.

A few months later, in the jungle of Viet Nam he says one of his Vietnamese friends asked him, "If democracy is so great why do you have to go all over the world pushing it down people's throats"?

I guess it depends on what definition of modern day reparations IS.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, likened the black farmers program to "modern-day reparations" for African-Americans and argued along with Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., that the claims process is rife with fraud.

Reparations? Not hardly.

My mother and I were talking about the institution and the legacy of Slavery today. We were wondering why the republicans were so mean and hateful, when she reminded me today's republicans are yesterday's democrats, and this is the same mindset that fought a war and died in order to keep other human beings in bondage.

Slavery says on its existence that some human do not, cannot, and should own their selves.

So true.

So, theres a saying in Alabama, if you throw a rock at a pen full of pigs the one that squeals is the one that was hit. Ask Alabama State Senator Hank Sanders.

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.

Might as well change that to Alabama Old South.

Song of the South

Tuesday Professional Left Blog Stroll

I'm sick and tired of white, privileged individuals like John Archibald and Glenn Beck hiding behind the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. to suppress legitimate complaints of black folks and to bash black leaders.

Before Dr. King was acceptable to white folks he was called a communist, outside agitator/instigator who needed to stop whining and STFU. He was called Martin Luther Coon. He was arrested and jailed. His house was bombed. His phone was tapped. He faced constant death threats. Martin Luther King,Jr. didn't stop whining until he was forced to by an assassins bullet in Memphis, TN. Remember?

Legal Schnauzer connects the white privilege dots in the Kendra Lavender Marshall affair and draws the following conclusion;

My sense is that Alabama progressives are tired of Democrats, especially of the white and privileged variety, who try to straddle both sides of the political fence.

You get it Schnauzer. It's time for Democrats, especially of the white and privileged variety to stop straddling both sides of the fence. Pick a side.

Meanwhile under the radar in the Cradle of the Confederacy, Montgomery residents are accusing the City of demolishing homes to sidestep Eminent Domain Laws.

The city is intimidating people," she said. "They don't try to give people due process of setting up fines or even putting up a fluorescent poster in the front yard saying, 'We're going to demolish your house.'"

Residents and activists have accused city leaders of using a local blight ordinance to target low-income Montgomery residents so the city can take their property and re-sell it to high-end developers without paying compensation.

H/T Jack and Jill Politics.com for the video of Alabama's shameful secret. Uh, where is the defender of King's dream John Archbald when you need him? Now here is a case where real disenfranchised people of color could use his help and he is no where to be found. I have a dream one day the media will use their privilege and power for the good of all mankind regardless of race, gender, religion, or circumstance.

I will believe it when I see it. President Obama makes a commitment to restoring New Orleans Talk is cheap. Let's see some ACTION. It's been 5 years already.

Great way to win friends and influence people Alabama Federation of Democratic Women. Insult the female chair of the State Democratic Executive Committee then blame it on Joe Reed.

Ok, so I told Nancy Worley after the meeting that she didn't need to pay the Parlimentarian because much of the debate during the meeting was "out of order" according to Roberts Rules.

She rared up and told me that she was a "certified Parlimentarian" and that the meeting had been run properly. I retorted that maybe she needed to get more training.

Unfortunately, her "significant other" didn't approach me with fists raised and verbally and physically threaten me like he did Mooncat later....

Because I've been waiting YEARS to use that great line from Tootsie. If someone gets up in my face "I'll knee your balls up through the roof of your mouth."

Meouch! Wait, there's more;

And HELLO... a Point of Order overrides debate - assuming there is any. A Point of Order interrupts the discussion and Nancy just ignored it. So much for the "certified parlimentarian." Go back to school, Nancy!

After that performance, it's no wonder that our single woman on the SDEC executive board sat by herself at the AFDW gala dinner Saturday night and left all alone after the meeting.

Joe Reed made her do it!

There's a German proverb that summarizes what has happened to Nancy -- "whose bread i eat, his song i sing." Getting appointed top female official of the state committee was a feast, but now she's got to sing his song for dry crusts.

Meanwhile, didin't Reed get more control -- more people he will have the authority to put on the state committee -- by what was rammed through at the previous state ctte meeting? And, is there any legal way to give a little power back to delegates, apportioned on a basis that truly represents democratic voters of Alabama? Does anyone have an idea, a plan, on how to legally and politically astutely put the democratic back in the committee?

And they wonder why Nancy Worley said "we need to study this"?

Redeye over and out....for now.