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

Charter Schools are part of the problem, not part of the solution

Now that the red state, republicans have control of the Alabama government expect a big push for new ideas like Charter Schools with the fake concern about poor, black children being forced to attend them there failing public schools. meababs urges folks to use caution before jumping on the charter school bandwagon and I agree.

Charter Schools=Bad

My experience w/ charter schools is pretty extensive, and my wife happened to teach at one for 6 years before she was unfairly dismissed from her position.

When I arrived here in Alabama I was a bit surprised that there are no charter schools here. In Colorado, more times than not, charters are set up by disaffected, disgruntled parents unhappy with their neighborhood schools. Usually these parents feign outrage at such things like low test scores and lack of accountability on the part of their neighborhood schools and turn to creating their own charter schools as a way of getting around some of those issues.

But there are other things that charter schools help your kids do. That is, get away from brown/black kids. There are some exceptions to the rule, but the color most prevalent in many charter schools is white. While charter schools by law are not supposed to discriminate and are open enrollment, there are plenty of things that charter schools can do make sure your brown/black child does not attend there. More often than not, charter schools are located in affluent neighborhoods, and are not subject to the same rules regarding transportation that traditional public schools have to follow. Read, if you are poor and don't have a car, then you're going to have to find a way to get your kids to school cause the district isn't going to help.

Second thing is curriculum, specifically the whole "Core Knowledge" (CK) movement. Basically with CK you can count on your kids learning material approximately one grade level above their own. If your child is in need to remediation, SPED or "resource" services, they aren't going to get it at the charter school. Charter schools do not have to offer services for their curriculum. If your child does not perform to the expectations the charter school will ask you to transfer your child to a traditional public school.

Third is cost, to you and the district. Charter schools are on average funded at about 60% of what a traditional public school is. It is not uncommon for parents to be expected to purchase books, materials in addition to being able to fulfill certain fundraising obligations to the school. Most charter schools also require some kind of uniform as well. One outfit could easily cost a parent $50 to $100. You can't very well expect your kid to wear the same outfit day in and day out so you can figure that cost to be closer to $200. If you have more than one kid at the school, fuhgedaboutit, at least you can count on maybe being able to pass uniforms from older kids down to younger siblings.

Many charter schools also have some sort of community service demand too. That is parents are expected to perform on average 40 hours of volunteer work at the school per school year. Now on the surface, that sounds like a great idea, but as a parent, do you really want to be required to volunteer? I'm all for parental involvement, but the thought having to be at my kids school 2 hours a week just doesn't really sit well with me. There is also the time issue, my wife and I both work, and taking that extra time off, whether its during or after school isn't feasible. If you're a single parent that requirement might be lowered, but you are still having to take time out, unsupported, and as you are a single parent that might just not be possible.

There is also the whole part about the teachers too. Teachers are not going to be accountable to the school district in the same way a teacher at a traditional public school is going to be. Charter school teachers are working at the behest of the board governing their school and may be hired or fired at a whim, because get this, they don't have to follow state tenure or union rules! Some states do not even require charter school teachers to be certificated educators! Also, charter teachers are going to make much less than their public school counterparts. My wife with 6 years of experience and a masters, was making only $38K, if she were to have worked at a traditional school, she would have made about $42K.

Charter schools are just another way the conservatives try to backdoor privatize education. Not just parents can set up charter schools, a for profit company can come in and request they be able to set up a school. The premise is that they hope to be able to convince the district to allow them to operate multiple charter schools under the premise they can do things cheaper. Do you really want your kid being educated by a for profit company basically doing the work of the lowest bidder?

With all the private schools here in Alabama, bleeding parents dry for the simple fact they don't want their kids to have to go to school with brown or black kids, the state seems to be ripe for laws allowing charter schools. Now parents will be able to have their "school choice" at a fraction of the cost private school would have required. My sincere hope is that AEA and the Dems will fight this tooth and nail, because its a slippery slope when your state starts authorizing charter schools.

Why not embrace a program of innovationthat works within the current Alabama education system? Contrary to what many Republicans (and apparently Artur Davis) believe, the AEA is not opposed to educational innovation. They are just extremely reluctant to place public school teachers at the mercy of those who use "reform" as a euphemism for union-busting. I think a gubernatorial candidate who did not use the AEA as a political punching bag to score points with GOPers would find the AEA a very willing partner on bold education reforms if they pledged to work with the AEA and not against them.

My main problem with charter schools is they are thinly disguised private schools funded with all the taxpayer dollars that all taxpayers children can't attend. That's not a new idea, nor is it a good idea considering the sad sorry state of separate and unequal education in Alabama, where the Alabama Education Association is considered public enemy#1 but teaching hate and discontent is OK.

Only in AmeriBama.

Redeyes Wake the F%^k Up Rant

Democrats need to wake up and smell the @#$ coffee. I've been screaming this at the top of my lungs for years, but instead of listening to me I was was banished from the front pages of a blog that is supposed to connect progressive voices. We will never get our message out as long as those of us who stand up for the middle and lower class; we who stand up for the teachers and education; we who stand up for good paying jobs and unions; we who believe in the freedom of the individual to choose - be it religion or no religion or otherwise; are marginalized and minimized by the status quo. We will never get our message out until we have an effective counter to the right wing noise machine aka talk radio.

Of course it would help if ALL of us were on the same page and we didn't have the reform wing, the anti choice wing, the conservative wing, the blue dog wing, the anti teachers and education wing, the anti labor wing, the anti affirmative action wing etc. A bird only has two wings and they must work together in order for the bird to fly.

In the interest of time I am going to re post an original Redeye WTF Rant in my own voice when I tried to sound the alarm in 2009.

W=Where, Why, Who, When or What.

T=The

F=The F word,

WTF is the democratic party?

WTF have we lost 2 special elections in a row?

WTF did we even have to have 2 special elections in the first place?

WTF was the GOTV?

WTF were the town hall meetings and rallies?

WTF were the television, radio newspapers ads?

WTF was the freaking organization?

WTF where Artur Davis and Ron Sparks?

WTF is in charge?

I tired to calm down, really I did, but I'm pi$$ed. Before I go any further let me be perfectly clear, this rant is not directed at anyone specifically, it is directed to everyone collectively and rhetorically.

One thing I'll give the republicans credit for. They always bring their A game and they play to win. If they weren't anti minority, anti choice, anti gay rights, anti labor etc. they would be my kind of party. They know how to play to PR/spin game. They know how to excite their base. They know how to frame the issues so they look like the good guys instead of the bad guys they really are. Of course it doesn't hurt they have the media and the Injustice system as enablers.

WTF is wrong with the democratic party? It's as if they don't want to win. It's as if they are afraid to stand up and fight for what is right (no pun). Who/WhatTF are they afraid of?

Rest of Rant (be sure and read the comments)

Monday Morning Talking Points

Hey Alabama Democrats! Stop worrying about what the republican party might complain about. See that's part of our(democrats) problem, we spend far too much time worrying about what the gop might do, say or complain about. Who cares what they think? I mean,really. They have ZERO creditability. Think about it. What have they been right (pun intended) ever? When have they been on the right (pun intended) side of an important issue? What right (pun intended) do they have to choose our leaders and set our agenda? Are they sitting around worrying about giving Democrats something to complain about? Heck no. While we're wasting time and resources worrying about them they are organizing, planning and plotting on how to turn the winners into the losers and the losers into the winners.

When are folks going to stop judging black people by stereotypes?

The myth that black people are failures academically, unemployed, and lazy has a strong grip in the minds of whites who buy into that falsehood. In the eyes of some white folks professional and smart academic black people like you do not exist. Why do they think that? Because it is drilled into their heads day and night through msm media, television, radio, and books.

Why don't conservatives oppose the war on drugs? Do you think the reason might be HERE?

The criminal justice approach to drug use has contributed to the increasing numbers of African Americans that are subjected to the American criminal justice process. This increase can be attributed to a justice system that disproportionately incarcerates African Americans for drug law violations. Most of the people being locked up in American prisons are African American drug offenders.

I guess it depends on what the definition of a small business IS. Debunk the right wing spin that taxing those who earn over $250,00 a year will hurt "small business".

It's a standard Republican response to nearly anything -- equal pay, access for the disabled, worker safety -- but the cause du jour is ending tax cuts for the wealthy. Obviously, America can't afford to reduce the deficit and keep giving millionaires a pass on taxes, but Republicans cry "It will hurt small businesses" to end those juicy tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

Instead of making the rich richer by extending the Bu$h tax cuts, here is a Deficit Reduction Plan that doesn't shaft we the peeps. I wonder what part of trickle down, vodoo economics don't work doesn't the gop infused, media enabled Tea Party understand?

With democrats like this, who needs republicans?

Time to stop playing nice. Light up the phone lines and let ‘em have it

Yes it is!
Yes we can!
Yes we will take our country back from the gop infused, media enabled Tea Party!

I cannot let these brazen lies stand

Since I am being accused of hacking into mooncats LiA account and posting a diary calling out Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III(R. Azalea Trail Maids) for his opposition to the DREAM ACT like that's a bad thing, I am compelled to correct some of the brazen lies contained in comments by Sessions apologist/supporters.

mooncat

Jeff Sessions opposes educating brown kids (+)

Jeff Sessions is the GOP point man against the DREAM Act, which is pretty fitting considering his past racist statements. Sessions has authored a "white paper" with 10 point talking points against the act.

Brazen lie #1

While I support any immigrants right to become a citizen, why should we make it even more complicated than it already is by adding loopholes to naturalization process? If a Democrat had come up with the "white paper" instead of Sessions, I would agree with it still, just the same. And by the way, the majority of Democrats support Sessions points.

I don't know what "majority of democrats" the commenter refers to, but here is the OFFICIAL Democratic Party position on immigration reform.

We will extend the promise of citizenship to those still struggling for freedom. Today’s immigration laws do not reflect our values or serve our security, and we will work for real reform. The solution is not to establish a massive new status of second-class workers; that betrays our values and hurts all working people. Undocumented immigrants within our borders who clear a background check, work hard and pay taxes should have a path to earn full participation in America. We will hasten family reunification for parents and children, husbands and wives, and offer more English-language and civic education classes so immigrants can assume all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. As we undertake these steps, we will work with our neighbors to strengthen our security so we are safer from those who would come here to harm us. We are a nation of immigrants, and from Arab-Americans in California to Latinos in Florida, we share the dream of a better life in the country we love

Brazen lie #2

First of all, pandering to immigration by the Republicans, Democrats, liberals and conservatives is just a vote buying game. The majority of Democrats oppose naturalization of illegals and support some type of substantial border protection.

First of all, unlike republicans, democrats don't do things in order to "buy votes", which I assume is another way of saying pander for partisan political gain, democrats support the DREAM Act because it's the right thing thing to do. The second point has already been refuted.

Then you have people like Mo Brooks that didn't go overboard with his immigration rhetoric like Peterson & James, but they still campaigned on something they cannot possibly deliver. But they sure did drive home the point of how the illegals take American jobs and such. (trying to appeal to the racist voters) When finally Mo Brooks, Robert Bentley and others outlined just how they would solve the immigration problem, all they came up with is e-freekin-verify. That idea's not worth the paper it's printed on. All that does is create a bigger market for hackers and fake ID makers. The only way to stop illegal immigration would require at least one million troops along the border. And that would be MUCH too expensive.

Brazen lie #3

The white exodus from the Alabama Democratic Party is for exactly the same reason, only here mooncat is playing the role of Joe Reed.

Nope, the reason for the white exodus from the Alabama Democratic Party is there are more of them than there are of us. There are more white democrats (and I use that term loosely) who care more about sending them there illegals back to Mexico than they do their city, county, state and country. The playing the role of Joe Reed race baiting was meant as a slam but it's actually a complement to mooncat for calling out the racist racism.

Brazen lies #4,5,6,7

I'm tired of trying to talk reasonably with Democrats. You guys complain about previous administrations spending habits but are now ok by doubling down on the spending. You argument? They spent us into this recession... We can spend ourselves out.

The fact of the matter is, our social entitlements programs are struggling as it is. You want to pour millions of more people into these programs without finding a way to shore up our current obligations. Its just plain ignorant.

Why is it impossible to work to improve the situation for all Mexicans? Not just the ones who break our laws? If all you bleeding heart liberals out there really stood behind what you say instead of just pandering for votes then you'd be pushing for America to work with Mexico to improve its impoverished. To improve its economy, to improve its job market so that suddenly America isn't as appealing to break into. But nah, if they are in Mexico, then that means they can't vote democrat.

is type of rhetoric. The ADP converted an 100+ year reign in the majority into a republican super majority. I guess all us racist white folk got tired of the status quo.

I guess it depends on what the meaning of to talk reasonably with democrats IS, if it's listen to and adhere to right wing talking points and tortured logic, no we democrats aren't hearing it. We democrats were right (no pun) to complain about the previous administrations out of control spending on all war all the time, raiding the deficit to give the rich a tax cut and creating debt as far as the eye can see.

The fact of the matter is without those "social entitlement programs" righty's rail against like Medicare, Social Security, and aid to dependent children people would suffer and die.

Instead of trying to tell another country what to do, why not enact comprehensive immigration reform in this country? In other words let America run America and let Mexico run Mexico. We don't believe in "nation building", remember? It's Country First. A country founded by immigrants. Remember? If you want immigrants to vote republican instead of democrats, give them a reason to vote for the gop instead of against the gop.

Please do continue this type of rhetoric. The ADP converted an 100+ year reign in the majority into a republican super majority. I guess all us racist white folk got tired of the status quo

Translation: STFU and let us continue to oppress black/brown and red folks and maintain the status quo.

mooncat asks

What would the GOP do without Southern racists to carry their water?

What indeed.

Let them define themselves, let them reveal who they are~Rep. Maxine Waters

Update: How do you like "Scam Newton" Now?

For all the tasteless, immature, tacky, degenerate, haters, who chose to impugn the character of Auburn Quarterback Cam Newton, a talented young man, who only wants to play football, and whose only crime is he plays for Auburn...... this blog is for Y-O-U!

For the Bama Fans who thought it would be a good idea to profit from the alleged "pay to play" controversy by marketing Scam Newton gear ...this blog is for Y-O-U.  

EYE have to ask, why would they defame and malign Cam Newton? No evidence. No trial. Just hearsay and innuendo. I wonder how they are feeling now? But hey, this is Alabama, where football is King, and Justice is blind, crippled and crazy. You don't need a picture to see the collective disappointment on the faces of Alabama fans tonight.

As Cam Newton was leaving the field today he looked up to the heavens and said "Thank You God". He's not a scam. He's a child of God, and somebodies son. His father is not an "over zealous" pimp, he's a man of God, and an involved/concerned parent. Is Cam Newton perfect? No. He's admitted to a youthful indiscretions, but that's in the past, it shouldn't negatively affect his future.

Any Auburn fans who watched the Iron Bowl today and lost hope after the first half must have forgotten last year, when Auburn jumped out in the lead only to find themselves short at the end of the game.

Auburn managed to come from behind and win in hostile territory today, which gives me HOPE for the future of the Alabama democratic party. We (democrats) need a head coach with a winning strategy. We need a skilled quarterback to pass the ball. We need wide receivers who will catch the ball and run with it. We need to start judging potential leaders based on the content of their character, not the color of their skin.

I told them my system was based on the "ant plan", that I'd gotten the idea while watching a colony of ants in Africa during the war. A whole bunch of ants working towards a common goal.~Coach Paul Bear Bryant

War CAM Eagle!

Red State Pigskin and PoliTricks~correction

I stand corrected, from my inbox~ Redeye, it's the CRIMSON TIDE of the University of Alabama thank you very much and we are going to whup Auburns Donkey today.

And they say I refuse to correct factual errors when they are pointed out to me. *Snark*

Are you ready for some football? Today is the day of the biggest game of the year in Alabama when the Tigers of Auburn take on the CRIMSON TIDE of the University of Alabama. I will tell you right now I am a proud, unapologetic, win or lose, Auburn Fan so anything I say can and will be biased towards the Tigers. I am praying to the God I serve they roll the Tide off the field today with Cam Newton leading the way to another undefeated football season on The Plains. Amen.

Football comes in a close second to PoliTricks in Alabama, but political junkies like myself can tie the two together. Take the big game today for an example..let's pretend the Auburn Tigers are the Alabama Democratic Party...it's game day..who should start as Quarterback....a seasoned player with a proven track record of success, who is feared by the other team.....or a mild mannered, fresh face? Think about it.

War Damn Eagle!
Redeye tiptoeing away from the computer to go to the Iron Bowl.

Ron Sparks can be the chair of the white wing of the ADP,

and, Joe Reed can be the chair of the black wing of the ADP. Oh wait...been there, done that. Therein lies the party. The white wing and black wing are fighting against each other and never the two shall meet. The white wing only tolerates the black wing so they can win elections, then after they win they throw them under the bus. The black wing tolerates the white wing because hey, where else are they going to go? The gop? Not hardly.

Fsct: The 90+% Dem vote for blacks regardless of behavior has rendered that block feckless. You get lip-service and nothing more. The GOP won't get you and the Dems got ya. h/tDaleJackson

The white wing will accept and tolerate black democrats who they deem as not being racist towards white folks (whatever the F that means), as a matter of fact the white wing is trying to get rid of them there gerrymandered voting districts so they can decide who represents black folks, or not. The white wing of the democratic party believes the black wing of the democratic party need/want the government to take care of them. The black wing of the democratic party used to be able to count on the white wing to stand with them when it came to voting rights, civil rights, equal rights, women's rights and labor,but that was when the democratic party stood for something besides winning elections.

The white wing of the ADP cares more about white collar, middle class issues such as constitution reform and ethics reform. The black wing of the democratic party care more about access to quality affordable healthcare for all Americans, even republicans, equal rights, civil rights and the right to organize. The black wing of the democratic party is fighting for it's life.

As long as there are two seperate and unequal wings of the democratic party, the republicans will continue to be the winners and we DEMOCRATS will continue to be losers. You're either with the democratic party or you're against the democratic party. You're either for equal, civil, human,labor rights or you're against equal, civil, human,labor rights. You're either against a woman's right to choose or you're against a woman's right to choose. You either believe we are all created equal or you don't believe we are all created equal. If you don't believe in these democratic values, you are NOT a democrat.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Redeye's Wednesday Blog Stroll

Only in America~ Two Black Mississippi women have been in prison for 16 years, serving double-life sentences for an $11 armed robbery.

Stop Everything! White folks are being treated like black/brown/red/Muslim folks!

Don't blame me for Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III latest uh... blunder, I voted straight democrat.

Extra! Extra! Read about the best state Legislature money can buy and them there Alabama Aisle Jumpers.

Gridlock today! Gridlock tomorrow! Gridlock forever! YeeHaw!

The right (pun intended) war.

The only people who viewed Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ron Sparks as a "one trick pony" are the "one trick" ethics reform phonies. Former democratic governor Don Siegelmans lottery plan didn't "fail" because it was a bad plan, it was rejected by the same anti gambling bots who want to tell grown a$$ people what they can or cannot do with their own damn money in Alabama. It's time for real democrats to stand up and take their party back from the pretend democrats. If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.

They can't all be Batsh#t Crazy~edit

I've been thinking about the current defections in the Alabama Democratic Party. Although I've long suspected the ADP was infiltrated with closet republicans, and called all kinds of names for expressing my theory, what if the Alabama GOP has some closet democrats hiding in it? I mean, they can't all be Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove, Faux News, Hate Radio, minority/immigrant/public school/sexist haters.

What if some republicans actually support the right for all Americans to have access to quality health care if they get sick?

What if there are some Republicans who support public education, public school teachers, administrators, and support personnel?

What if there are some Republicans who don't want to go back to the days of Slavery and Jim Crow and believe all men are created equal and deserve equal rights?

What if some republicans believe in a woman's right to choose to have a safe, legal abortion?

What if there are some republicans believe the courts and the ballot box are where the Bingo issue should be addressed.

What if there are some Republicans who support hate crimes legislation and equal pay for equal work?

What if there are some Republicans who support extending unemployment insurance to the millions of unemployed Americans.

What if there are some Republicans who don't support extending the Bush tax cut to rich?

What if there are some Republicans who support peace overall war, all terror and all hate all the time?

What if there are some Republicans who want to restore honor to our system of justice?

What if some republicans don't approve of sending our troops to war based on dead wrong intelligence, torture, and spying on Americans without a warrant?

What if there are some real republicans out there just waiting for a chance to take their party back from the Tea Baggers?

Surely there are some Republicans who know;

Times are tough. The working people of this country are not just losing their jobs, t 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.

Surely there are some Republicans who love their country more than they love their party.

What is it, exactly, that the Republican Party stands for? They have a PR rep for being strong on the military, strong on fiscal discipline and strong on traditional values. The problem is that over the last couple of years we have seen that, as a group, they really don’t have any credibility on any of these issues.

Come on over to the right (pun intended) side.

WWRD?~Update

From my inbox~They should do the HONORABLE thing and resign! If they resigned, a special
election would be called to fill their empty seats. They could run as "new"
Republicans in a Primary which they might not win, or they could wait four
years, while "proving" themselves in their new Party and run as R's then. Even
if they won the Republican Primary as four-year "card-carrying R's," at least
two of them (in my opinion) would have difficulty winning the General Election
as Republicans.

There is no honor among thieves.


What would republicans do if members of their party were jumping ship in order to give their opposition a super majority in the State House?

A. Would they file a lawsuit against the members for perpetrating a fraud on republican voters and the republican party?

B. Would they call for the immediate resignation of the party members?

C. Would they elect a tired old man with a mean streak as their party chair?

D. Consider it a purge and say good riddance?

E. All of the above?

Statement on Party Switchers
In the biggest national Republican electoral sweep in well over a generation some Democrats survived and won re-election. The gentlemen changing parties today had just won re-election as Democrats, not Republicans; and they did so with the money, time, votes and volunteerism of thousands of Democrats from across the state. Their switch today baffles the voters and upends the process of elections. “These gentlemen have been my friends for a long time and I respect each of them personally, but I am saddened and hurt by their decision today, said Democratic Chairman Joe Turnham.”

The Republican members of the legislature have put on a full-court press to push all white Democrats to change parties after the election. Instead of respecting and working with the Democrats of the House and Senate who were fairly elected under their own party label, Republicans have with today’s announcement made it clear that they want to run Alabama as a partisan-only supermajority and will seek to impugn the rights and voices of Democrats who do not switch and come over.

The tough tasks of governing in Alabama in these lean days will require the contributions of every single member working in unison to solve problems. If today’s party-switchers felt themselves to be irrelevant in the minority, then that is a wrong assumption. They now join a majority that will be responsible for upcoming massive cuts to classroom teachers, healthcare, law enforcement and other basic services. Their switch will aid and abet draconian redistricting plans that will hurt their former Democratic Caucus members.

If today’s switchers truly believe in the ideals of the Republican Party and the democratic process; they could resign, then seek re-election in a special election in a Republican Primary and General Election and let the voters of their districts validate their switch today. Each of them should also immediately refund the monies given to them by their Democratic Caucus.

Notes:

Rep. Steve Hurst received over $50,000 from his former Democratic House caucus in his bid for re-election.

Rep. Alan Boothe received 2,644 votes November 2nd from voters in his home county of Pike who voted a straight Democratic ticket.

Rep Mike Millican received 1,103 straight Democratic votes in his home county of Marion alone.

Both Representatives Mike Millican and Alan Boothe had no Republican opposition.

One of Rep. Leslie Vance’s district counties, Russell, voted 5,094 straight Democratic tickets to 2,209 straight Republican tickets.

Rep. Vance won with more than sixty percent of the vote.

Just so we are clear about what at stake here, if the 4 Democrats flip flop to the gop they will have a super majority, meaning they pass any bill they want without opposition.

Remember what Hank Sanders said to CNN's Anderson Cooper?

Cooper asked Sanders what evidence he had that the Republican opponents would take Alabama back to Jim Crow days. Sanders said, "Well, there's a certain mean spiritness that's out there, not only in Alabama but it's in America. And that makes this election extremely important."

WWRD?

The winners vs the losers, the new American Way

That's right (pun intended), America the Beautiful is no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave, with liberty and justice for all, It's America the Corporation, land of the haves and the have nots, with liberty and justice for the fortunate few, the rest are on their own. Where the rich get richer and the rest get the shaft. God Bless the New American Way!

According the people in control of our state and national government, the federal government is trying to "redistribute the wealth" by taking from the winners and giving to the losers. Asking the winners to pay their fair share of taxes means the federal government is punishing the winners for being successful. According to the powerful privileged, the winners are winners through hard work, and the losers are losers because they are lazy and want the government to take care of them. The losers don't deserve to have access to quality affordable health care if they get sick because they are well...losers. The losers should just go somewhere and STFD and STFU. And to think, this comes from the family values, compassionate, christian, conservative crowd. There is more than a whiff of hypocrisy.

So, how and when did this happen? When did the United States of America morph into the United States of the Rich vs Middle Class/Poor? How did the billionaires convince the have nots they were their friend?

In the next month, despite all their loud rhetoric about the "deficit crisis," the Republicans want to add $700 billion to the national debt over the next 10 years by extending Bush's tax breaks for the top 2 percent. Families who earn $1 million a year or more would receive, on average, a tax break of $100,000 a year. The Republicans also want to eliminate or significantly reduce the estate tax, which has existed since 1916. Its elimination would add, over 10 years, about $1 trillion to our national debt and all of the benefits would go to the top 0.3 percent. Over 99.7 percent of American families would not gain a nickel. The Walton family of WalMart would receive an estimated tax break of more than $30 billion by repealing the estate tax.

Bob Herbet says all we are good at is bulldozing money to the very wealthy

We’ve become a hapless, can’t-do society, and it’s, frankly, embarrassing. Public figures talk endlessly about “transformative changes” in public education, but the years go by and we see no such thing. Politicians across the spectrum insist that they are all about job creation while the employment situation in the real world remains beyond pathetic.

The winners are obsessed with so called deficit spending/reduction, constitution reform and ethics reform because it's a convenient weapon of mass distraction from the real issues, facing real people

In a recent poll, only 4% of Americans identified deficit reduction as the most important issue to be addressed in Congress right now. By comparison, 56% of Americans identified jobs and the economy as the most important issues. These polling results are one reason that it is important, as we explained previously, for the Democrats to avoid getting caught up in the current obsession in the D.C. media and political circles with the deficit.

How is it the winners have any creditability anyway?

What is it, exactly, that the Republican Party stands for? They have a PR rep for being strong on the military, strong on fiscal discipline and strong on traditional values. The problem is that over the last couple of years we have seen that, as a group, they really don’t have any credibility on any of these issues.

The idea that a part who is calling for 700 billion in tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, money that will have to be borrowed, while at the same time braying about the size of the deficit is not one that can truly be credible on the issue of financing the government. The tax breaks they are ready to defend, at the cost of raising the taxes on the middle class in the middle of the worst economic climate in more than two generations. Not a single Republican would answer what they would cut to pay for this windfall for the ultra wealthy prior to the election or even now.

When are the real republicans going to take their party back from the winners?

Boehner weeps for his dad. Cantor mumbles. Palin communes with bears. One of the least diverse, least intellectually-equipped group of freshmen Congressmen invades Washington soon--to lead, create, fix? Nah, to attack and tear up.

I want my Democracy back. You know, the one where there are no red states and blue states, but the United States of America, with liberty and justice for ALL not for some. The United States of America where black, brown, red children have equal opportunities. I want my American Way back. The American way of helping people who need help. The American Way where everybody has the inalienable right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, regardless of race, gender, circumstance or political party.

The Civil War within the Alabama Democratic Party

According to the progressive wing of the Alabama Democratic Party Dr. Joe Reed is the last person to lead the ADP for the following reasons;

1. It would be a disaster.

2. Joe Reed went to court to have his name put back on a building at Alabama State University, where he served on the board of Trustees.

3. Reed as De facto party chair has been a disaster. This is a case where past performance does guarantee future results...

4. Reed is not only a disaster, he's a disgrace and an embarrassment to representation of who we are and what we represent. He DOES NOT represent what we stand for on any level.

5. It's time for a fresh face, like Justice Mark Kennedy.

6. Joe Reed is part of the old guard who just can't let go. He has some power in Montgomery but he certainly can't represent the broad base. He is too racist and dictatorial. Note; there is no evidence of Reed being too racist.

7. Joe Reed spent time doing George Wallace's dirty work, telling black leaders this is not the time to move, wait before he ultimately saw the light and got himself in front of the movement that he had tried to thwart. Note Justice Mark Kennedy is married to Peggy Wallace, daughter of George Wallace.

8. Joe Reed is the epitome of out-of-touch. He epitomizes the racial bias that some older Southern blacks harbor towards Southern white, especially white progressives (Patricia Todd). He has expressed his bias against anyone who doesn't stand to further his bias agenda. Reed will generate a false sense of "not one of us" towards a black politico that actually attempts to push for a pluralistic platform. Let's not forget his homophobia, see Patricia Todd situation for proof. See the Patrica Todd situation here.

9. We need a clean break from the past. We need someone who can bridge the gap between the Davis folks and the Sparks/Reed folks.

The Democratic Wing of the Alabama Democratic Party believe Joe Reed is just what the Doctor (as in Howard Dean) ordered at this critical juncture for the following reasons;

1. Dr.  Reed as chair would chase all the pseudo dims out of the party. It' no way they are going to be lead by a black man like Joe Reed. Artur Davis yes, Reed no.

2. Dr. Reed would not pander to the right at the expense of the traditional democratic base i.e. women, minorities, LBGT, labor, public school teachers and support personnel.

3. Dr. Reed has a history of fighting for fairness and black representation.

4. Dr. Reed is not afraid of the right-wing bullies.

5. Dr. Reed is not republican lite and will not pander to the right at the expense of the traditional base and traditional democratic values.

6. Dr. Reed is also the perfect person to raise money -- and diversify sources of support for the party. There are untapped resources within the ADP. Dr. Reed has the ability to recruit and welcome disenfranchised/marginalized Democrats into the party.

7. Dr. Reed is more than capable of managing the party effectively --making sure papers are filed on time, candidates are vetted, election results certified, etc. AND make sure the ADP doesn't let the AL GOP get away with anything whatsoever outside the rules. In other words, be ready to pound the table, call BS and file suit if anybody tries any election-related funny business.

Note the difference in the two lists, the anti-Reed sides reasons are all personal and emotional, whereas the pro-Reed side states separate the political from the personal and states just the facts.

I don't know if there is a bridge between the progressive wing and the democratic wing of the democratic party. The ideological gaps are just too wide and run too deep. So maybe the Alabama Democratic Party is a thing of the past and we need to make a new plan. Maybe we should let the progressive wing have the ADP and the democratic wing of the democratic party should all switch to the republican party.

A modest proposal: Every voter in Alabama should register as a Republican.

Anyone who fails to do so effectively forfeits his vote, just as Republicans forfeited their votes when Democrats, if you could call them that, were in the same position Republicans enjoy today.

Alabama is and never was a "one-party" state; it was a no-party state in which the party primary allowed all factions to do battle.

In years past Alabama produced a fair number of progressives: Hugo Black, Jim Folsom, Lister Hill, Carl Elliott, to name a few.

It might be possible to do this once more if everyone registered as Republican. At the least this would exerting a moderating influence on any serious candidate.

Registering as a Republican would not prevent any voter from voting Democratic in presidential election -- just as "Democrats" of old voted for Eisenhower, Goldwater, Nixon, Reagan, etc.

I'm perfectly serious about this: If I were still living in Alabama, I would be a card-carrying registered Republican.

If you can't beat em, join em?

I knew this was going to happen

All of my political instincts told me there was going to be huge black, I mean backlash when Barack Hussein Obama won the 2008 Presidential election.

I knew all the talk of a post racial America, and the Abraham Lincoln narrative was just media driven bullpoop.

I knew the red,republican, confederate,slave states weren't going to let President Obama govern.

I knew the democrats would be spineless.

Based on this country's rich southern heritage and history I just knew it was going to be bad news for African Americans, our LBGT sisters and brothers, immigrants, labor,public schools,women's reproductive rights, voting rights, and health care reform.

As Bill Maher said, democrat is the new republican.

Last week Bill Maher called out Obama for pussy-footing around in the face of an audacious onslaught from Corporate America. He made clear that the President needs to show a little audacity of his own if he hopes to beat the health care companies, the energy companies, and the legions of powerful lobbyists swarming Capitol Hill.

I tried to tell y'all how this was going to play out way back when President Obama was first elected with one of my first blogs at Left in Alabama

Here is a quick Civics lesson so the right wing media talking points can be refuted. Democrats make a big mistake believing most people know how our Government works.

Although Democrats are in the majority in Congress it is a small majority, therefore Democrats CAN NOT OVER RIDE A VETO. This means any BILLS passed by Congress a VETO by the President or NOT SIGNED does NOT become LAW.

Democrats do have enough votes in the Senate to stop a filibuster, which in fact will KILL legislation. Democrats DO NOT have enough votes to remove the President or Vice President after Impeachment. Congress needs an over riding majority to pass legislation the President does not want.

Well we know how that story ended, democrats pussy footed around and lost the filibuster proof majority.

Then came the stimulus bill despite the gop and the right wing media's efforts to derail it. republican'ts gambled (pun intended) on the stimulus bill failing because they believed the American people will be stupid enough to vote them into power again.Oh wait...the America people were stoopid enough to vote them into power again! How did that happen you ask? Republican governors controlled the stimulus spending and they made sure the funds went to the people who didn't need it and not to the people it was intended to help so they could yell out of control,big government, spending, and ask where are the jobs,instead of the fact the economic stimulus package included one of the largest tax cuts in American history -- $282 billion in tax cuts over two years.

Of course the stimulus bill could not pass without some capitulation,I mean compromise on the part of POTUS,which a lot of folks,including moi tried to tell y'all was not a good idea.

Congressional leaders scale down plan to about $789 billion, a smaller package than versions of bill passed earlier by either body. Translation; Less spending for the poor and the middle class more tax cuts for the rich.

How did the winners become the losers and the losers become the winners? Check out this answer from my inbox;

These cuts were the price the Senate Democrats had to pay to get the three republican votes to filibuster proof the senate bill.. Without these three votes(giving the majority Democrats 61 votes) the Republican minority would still be filibustering on the floor of the Senate. Now the "conference " of the house and senate is hammering out a bill that can be supported by a simple majority of both bodies. And we'll have a bill for the President to sign. How wonderful it would have been for the Democrats to have elected 60 senators, so they would not have had to compromise with Republicans. Now Obama and the House democrats had to give up education and state incentive stimulus to have a bill at all, while the Republicans got additional tax cuts for the rich. It may not be the best system, but it beats hands down any other option.

To be clear republicans voted against the jobs bill, unemployment extension, and raising the minimum wage then campaigned and won on a where are the jobs,and we are going to create jobs meme, and the majority of the American people fell for it. Of course the gop infused,media enabled Tea Party helped.

To be clear, this is what Sessions and Shelby in the Senate and Griffith, Bright, Aderholt, Bacchus and the entire Bama House delegation (sans Davis) voted against on behalf of the Alabama citizens;

Impact on Alabama

Creating or saving 55,000 jobs over the next two years.
Providing a making work pay tax cut of up to $1,000 for 1,770,000 workers and their families
Making 70,000 families eligible for a new American Opportunity Tax Credit to make college affordable.
Offering an addition $100 per month in unemployment insurance benefits to 247,000 workers in Alabama who have lost their jobs this recession.
Providing funding to modernize at least 156 schools in Alabama so our children have the labs, classrooms and libraries they need to compete in the 21st century economy.
President Obama has made it clear that his recovery package is just one component of what we need to to to get the economy moving again. He knows that we also need to make sure we have better financial regulation, and that we act swiftly to get credit flowing again. And of course, we going to have to engage with our partners around the world.

Which brings me to the sad,sorry state of the democratic party in the reddest state in the union. Democrats are jumping ship like rats off the Titanic and republicans now have a super majority in the state house and the state senate. They aren't even pretending anymore because they now have the power to do anything they want to do. And what is the Alabama democratic party doing about it? When they aren't bashing and smashing Joe Reed they are standing around with their hands in their pockets whistling Dixie. Everybody was hollering at state Senator Hank Sanders because he sounded the alarm instead of listening to him. Or maybe they did listen to him but didn't care...per DaleJackson;

"The African American vote is a powerful voting block. Both parties realize they can't win elections without the African American vote, so is their plan to neutralize it's block voting strength? Really, the GOP did pretty good without them last election. Fsct(sic): The 90+% Dem vote for blacks regardless of behavior has rendered that block feckless. You get lip-service and nothing more. The GOP won't get you and the Dems got ya.

Were we punk'd? You betcha. Are we in trouble yet? You betcha. How did we get here, and where do we go from here? God only knows.

Redeye tiptoeing away from the computer still waiting to exhale...

I won't exhale until our sons and daughters are bought home from Iraq. I won't exhale until torture is stopped. I won't exhale until Gitmo is closed. I won't exhale until the next Attorney General is named. I won't exhale until all Americans have access to quality healthcare. I won't exhale until all children have equal access to a quality education. I won't exhale until won't until we have peace and prosperity again. I won't exhale until we get our democracy back.

Why should the democratic party include Moderates?

WTF is a "Moderate" anyway? Let me make this perfectly clear... I believe so called Moderates are republicans who infiltrate the democratic party in order to obstruct the agenda. You know, like the kid who jumps in and pi$$es in a crowded swimming pool.

There is no way in hell Alabama Democrats can win, much less get any portion of their agenda passed, if they rely on so called Moderates and I am sick and tired of democrats pandering to them at the expense of the traditional democratic base. I have to hand it to the gop, they don't allow such nonsense. You're either with the grand old party or you're against the grand old party, and they WIN each and ever time because they know a party divided will not stand. They don't throw the voters who will vote for them under the bus for the voters who might NOT vote for them. If they have a choice between a republican and a Moderate they will choose the republican every time. It's party first. Democrats would be wise to learn that lesson if they want to WIN. If they want to keep losing keep pandering to the right and taking the base for granted.

What do Moderates stand for?

What is the Moderate agenda?

Are Moderates pro choice?

Are Moderates pro affirmative action?

Are Moderates pro labor?

Are Moderates pro civil rights, equal rights, human rights and LBGT rights?

Are Moderates pro public schools and public school teachers?

What are they moderate about?

–noun
6. a person who is moderate in opinion or opposed to extreme views and actions, esp. in politics or religion.
7. ( usually initial capital letter ) a member of a political party advocating moderate reform.

If Moderates stand for democratic values and democratic principles why not identify with the democratic party?

If Moderates don't stand for democratic values and democratic principles why should they be included in the democratic party?

If Moderates don't stand for democratic values and democratic principles why would they want to be included in the democratic party?

Moderates should get their own damn party.

Rant over.

I guess it depends on what the definition of a disaster IS

According to the Cats and other creatures at LiA (which I can mysteriously link to again), It would be a disaster (?) if Joe Reed were the Democratic party chair because he went to court to have his name put back on a building (So?) and,  He's not only a disaster, he's a disgrace and an embarrassment to representation of who we are and what we represent. He DOES NOT represent what I stand for on any level.

Reeds detractors have issued some some indictments that are long on rhetoric but short on facts. I invite them to explain why/how Joe Reed as party chair would be a disaster. Frankly, I don't see how much more of a disaster it could be since the state legislature turned from blue to blood red under the previous chair(s). Joe Reed couldn't do any worse, as a matter of fact he probably would do better. I'll bet he wouldn't fight for Alabama with a right leaning blog.

And who cares what Dale Jackson and Mike Hubbard think about who DEMOCRATS choose as their party chair? Are they waiting around and letting democrats choose their party leaders? Heck no. They get the meanest SOB they can find and back him/her all the way, which is why they WIN and we LOSE. See that's our (collective) problem, we spend too much time and energy worrying about what the gop wants, and what the gop is doing, and what the gop will say. F the gop. They are not our friends. They will never be our friends. They oppose everything we (collective) stand for. They don't sit around worrying about us, they are to busy plotting how to F us up.

Why keep pouring our resources down that rathole if they're goint to continue producing only Republican lite candidates? says the progressive with a history of supporting republican lite candidates.

JimmyMac(love your moniker) says it's Time for a fresh face, like Justice Mark Kennedy. Who the heck is Mark Kennedy and what has he done for the Democratic Party lately/ever? I would rather have an effective, familiar face with a proven track record at this critical time instead of a fresh face I know nothing about.

I repeat;

For one thing , Dr. Reed would chase all the pseudo dims,neo liberals, progressives, conservadems, moderates and independents out of the democratic tent once and for all. With *ahem* democrats like these who needs republicans? Democrats have to rise up and take their own party back from the infiltrators. That time is long overdue in Alabama.

Dr. Reed is not afraid of the right wing bully's. He wouldn't capitulate to republicans on any level. Dr. Reed has a history of fighting for the values real democrats share whether that be taking them on in the elections or in the media. He definitely wouldn't be republican lite.


Joe Reed is known as a “fighter for fairness” for black representation. In 1975, Joe Reed led the efforts to get equitable representation for blacks on the Montgomery City Council. His efforts resulted in four (4) blacks of nine (9) being elected. He served on the Montgomery City Council for 24 years. In the Democratic Party today, Alabama’s black representation exceeds all other states in the nation. For over 40 years he has led the effort to get more blacks elected and appointed to public office, including federal marshals, federal and state judges, members of the boards of registrars, legislators, county commissioners, city councils, and school boards. Due largely to his leadership, today Alabama has more black elected officials than any state in the nation. He drafted two (2) plans that increased black representation in the Alabama House of Representatives from 13 to 27; and in the Senate from 3 to 8 in 1982, and 1992, respectively. He also drew a reapportionment plan that provided for 25% (two of eight) majority black districts on the State Board of Education. Alabama is the only state in the nation where the Legislature reflects the state’s population of blacks and whites. Dr. Reed’s congressional plan also led to Alabama’s gaining a black congressional seat

What part of that is a disater Dardango?
What part of that are you against DemoGirl?

The uniformed and the misinformed

Thanks, teabaggers and ill-informed Alabamians for letting the "haves" gain control of the "have nots" once again!"

If you need proof the media we have are responsible for the ill-informed Alabamians/Americans letting the "haves" gain control of the "have nots once again", check out this discussion thread;

DM: “Racism as a natural and inescapable part of a power structure which protects the wealthy and powerful”

So if I wish to protect what is mine and not ‘redistribute” my wealth as Obama would like, that makes me racist?

Here is a fact for ya:

Winners tend to hang with winners (colorless) and losers tend to hang with losers and think of ways to take away what the winners have without the prerequisite knowledge/work that it took to get there.


Redeye: How is President Obama trying to make you re-distribute your wealth?

DM “So if I wish to protect what is mine and not ‘redistribute” my wealth as Obama would like, that makes me racist?”

Be advised I just stop replying to idiotic or obtuse questions/comments.

He taxes SUCCESS. Make too much he wants more than you currently pay, your health care program is too good he wants to tax it or replace it with something inferior. At the same time raising entitlement programs and paying off labor union bosses while the workers get nothing.

Support him all you wish (as I know you will), I know evil and incompetence when I see it. The evil is my opinion, the incompetence is a fact. How did asking those earning over 250 thousand to pay their fair share, and giving those who earn less than 250 per year a tax cut translate into He taxes SUCCESS and redistribution of wealth?

How did passing a bill that offered quality, affordable health care to those without insurance translate into taking from the haves and giving to the have nots, and forcing people who were happy with their insurance coverage to be replaced with something inferior?

How did the stimulus and the bailouts translate into raising entitlement programs and paying off labor union bosses?

How did saving the country from economic ruin and making it so if you get sick you can see a Doctor translate into evil and incompetence?

This is what 27/4 right-wing talk radio and Fox News will get you. It's the media.

Few in the press seem to want to educate the public about how we got into this fiscal crisis in the first place or why projected budget surpluses at the beginning of the Bush years were so needlessly squandered. And remember, those surpluses were turned into deficits through "bipartisan" agreements, such as the Bush tax cuts, the wars, and the bailouts. There's also precious little mention of the grotesque inequality in American society these days, which is worse than even during the Gilded Age. The establishment press seems determined to avoid the obvious conclusion: The rich, the super-rich, and the super-duper rich (as well as the conglomerates) must pay more in taxes to get the United States through the crisis. Ending the two debilitating wars and rolling back what Eisenhower called the "military-industrial complex" should be next. And the billions of dollars wasted in corporate welfare each year must be diverted to human needs.

It ought to be against the law to use the public airways to misinform the American people.

Redeye's Week in Review~edited

My Daddy says if you can't get in the front door, go around to the back door, so that's what I did after I couldn't get in the front door of Left in Alabama. I'm not calling any names, and there is a long list of possible suspects, but someone(s) want to dictate who I can or can not blog about, and what blog I can or can not link to. Ain't I a progressive blogger too? Don't I have the right to express my point of view too? Life for me ain't been no crystal stair and I've earned the right to speak my mind. Hope will never be silent, and neither will I.

The Teapublicans were on a roll this week. They aren't even pretending anymore.

If you have served as the League of the South's western Arkansas chapter chairman, you might be a newly elected member of the state House of Representatives.

This is who they really are.

I'm sure the American people went to the polls two weeks ago thinking that it would be a good idea to put a racist in charge of immigration policy in the House of Representatives.

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! The Auto Bailouts worked! Funny how we the peeps are finding this out AFTER the midterm elections.


I am going to have to give credit where credit is due, the Teapublicans don't give up until the last dogs dies. If only democrats would remember where they came from and fight for what is right (no pun).

there was a time, yes, distant, but not so distant, when to be a Democrat meant you fought for the cause of making the lives of the poor and disenfranchised better. And that "fighting" meant fighting; it meant being willing to take a bullet or a bomb if that's what was needed. Now we're not at that point by any stretch of the imagination. But when's the last time Democrats went on a crusade to help the poor? When is the last time the poor or the workers decided to fight for their rights (other than the right not to buy health insurance)? Now, it's all about the mythical middle class or about how much money rich people need in order to, maybe, perhaps, if we're nice and grovel, create a job or two.

The lesson of the 2010 midterm election...never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Forty-one percent of the electorate were self-identified conservatives. In 2006, only 32% of exit poll respondents identified with the same label. In comparison, self-identified liberals made up 20% of this year's electorate; in 2006, the percentage was identical.

The *ahem* ethics panel says the big House should lynch, I mean censure Rep. Charlie Rangel. And yes, the lynching, I mean censure will be televised.

The ethics panel had already decided that Rangel was guilty of 11 ethics violations, a result Rangel said was unfair. He said it was the committee's fault that he did not have a lawyer and walked out of the hearing, but the panel decided to go ahead.

The 11 charges against Rangel stemmed from four allegations: that Rangel used Congressional resources to raise money for an educational center bearing his name; did not report taxable income on a Dominican Republic rental villa; filed financial disclosure forms with inaccuracies; and set up a campaign office in a rent-controlled apartment in Harlem.

There was not a set precedent for House members found guilty of similar ethics violations, but the chief counsel of the ethics panel had recommended censure.

None dare call it racism, but President Obama just can't get no R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

I see the republi-clowns have their swag back. They basically told O to take his little kumbaya summit and shove it. We will meet with you on our time nigg...I mean Mr. President. We shellacked you, remember? Rather than sit down with O, their leaders met with those federalist society folks. How is that bi-partisan thing working out for ya? I say it's time to double down O, you can only play nice for so long. This is getting old. It seems like every few months the field has to tell you the same thing, but you won't learn. You still believe that these folks will play ball with your beige behind. News flash! It. Is. Never. Going. To. Happen.

It's not like it's the first time POTUS has been publicly dissed as the young people say. Psst Joe Wilson! It's a good thing your name isn't Charlie Rangel and you have an R behind your name instead of a D.

But Wilson's shocking disrespect for the office of the president - no Democrat ever shouted "liar" at W. when he was hawking a fake case for war in Iraq - convinced me: Some people just can't believe a black man is president and will never accept it.

"A lot of these outbursts have to do with delegitimizing him as a president," said Congressman Jim Clyburn, a senior member of the South Carolina delegation. Clyburn, the man who called out Bill Clinton on his racially tinged attacks on Obama in the primary, pushed Pelosi to pursue a formal resolution chastising Wilson.

What's that you say? The FBI is investigating Auburn Football Star Cam Newton? Why?

Yes, the same DOJ that has ignored the activities of Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and Co. is examining the recruitment of Cam Newton, Auburn University's star quarterback and the front runner for this year's Heisman Trophy.

The Cats, Twitter and the blogosphere are implicating, I mean feuling the speculation..

This is Alabama where football trumps all, but politics and gambling are close runners up. We've hit the trifecta this year with news that the FBI is getting involved in the Cam Newton recruiting controversy -- and asking questions about gambling magnate Milton McGregor. Combine a potential Heisman winner, a federal investigation and the state's most famous already indicted gambling promoter with accusations that young athletes are "being shopped to colleges" and watch the speculation soar.

Dubya broke ground on his pResidential Library this week *gag*. I wonder if his Mission Accomplished Banner will be put on display? Naahhh.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Field Negro readers. I am honored and humbled to be a member your blogroll. Field Negro behavior is welcomed and encouraged here.

Redeye tiptoeing away from the computer to go pray.

It's not wise to blog about Terri Sewell

Strike that, it's not wise for ME to blog about 7th District Congressperson elect Terri Sewell, nor is it wise for me to link to my damn own stuff at Left in Alabama.

Is it a coincidence that once again, almost a year to the date, I'm banned from logging on and linking to Left if Alabama after posting several posts critical of Terri Sewell?

Is it a coincidence that after an exchange with an anonymous poster accusing me of obsessing over Terri Sewell, not having an original thought just a lot of links to LiA and told to find my own voice, I'm banned from logging on and linking to Left in Alabama?

This isn't the first time someone(s) have tried to silence me and It probably won't be the last. It's a shame our sons and daughters are fighting, dying, and being maimed for life-fighting for Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan, but some us are fighting for equal rights and civil rights right here in the U.S.A.

I swear to the Lord
I still can't see
Why Democracy means
Everybody but me.
"The Black Man Speaks," from Jim Crow's Last Stand (1943)

Langston Hughes

Let America Be America Again, from A New Song (1938)
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed —
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek —
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay —
Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again —
The land that never has been yet —
And yet must be — the land where every man is free.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose —
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath —
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain —
All, all the stretch of these great green states —
And make America again!