"Beating Stupidity" Is as "Beating Stupidity" does

There is the misconception by some (not to be confused with all) that black people are horrible parents and see racism everything including parenting.

Yeah, that’s not a thing that is unique to the black community BUT it is unique that blacks get upset at  being told not to behave in a way that does not draw negative attention.
I don’t want to be perceived as trash, so I don’t dress or act like trash. It’s a pretty simple concept, it’s called parenting…
Respect authority, respect yourself, stay out of trouble, it is pretty straightforward.
Why the black community insists on acting like being told not to dress/act/mimic thugs is outrageous is beyond me and that attitude is getting people killed.

Oh really? What about  the daughters of  George Zimmerman defense Attorney Don West, who thought it appropriate to post of picture of them enjoying we beat stupidity celebration ice cream cones on Instagram ,after their father underlined the fact Rachael Jeantel couldn't read cursive for the benefit of the jury, the general public and everyone else looking as a reason to dismiss her testimony?

The media has consistently treated Jeantel as if she were some sassy alien life-form. The New York Daily News story about yesterday’s proceedings focused on Jeantel-as-sideshow, calling the cursive story an “especially cringe-worthy moment,” and noting that, “[a]t one point, the key prosecution witness blurted out, ‘That’s retarded, Sir’ in response to West’s suggestion that Martin attacked Zimmerman.” On Piers Morgan Tonight, Morgan repeated the phrase “creepy-ass cracker” as if it were some inscrutable bit of baby talk. The day before, panelist Jayne Weintraub disdainfully asserted that “it's really not about this young woman's … credibility, because her credibility, it's a wash whatever her testimony is. Yes, she was a difficult witness. She was impossible.”

And what did Don West have to say about the actions of his daughters?

 “As a parent, we’re not always proud of things our children do, but we love them anyway, and then we move on.”

Oh, OK.  Nothing to see here.  Move along.  Let's not even get into how inappropriate this is. But, let's note that she hashtagged #dadkilledit in the courtroom for a murder trial, where someone was actually killed.

Don West, and the white, male, dominated, media just don't get it.  And that's what has me concerned about the ability of the 100% white 0% African American jury to feel the pain of being black in America.

The racial empathy gap is also a problem of our criminal justice system. Consider research on the impact of race on jury decisions. A 2002 experiment showed the power of race, empathy, and punishment. The researchers asked 90 white students to act as jurors and evaluate a larceny case. The manipulation, as you might suspect, is whether the defendant was black or white. But before jurors decided the defendant’s fate, they participated in an “empathy induction task.” Some jurors were assigned to a high-empathy condition and asked to imagine themselves in the defendant’s position. Other jurors were assigned to a low-empathy condition and asked to simply remain objective. Ultimately, the jurors gave black defendants harsher sentences (4.17 years) than whites (3.04 years)—even in the high-empathy condition (3.26 years versus 2.20 years, respectively)—and felt less empathy for black defendants.

 Honestly Redeye, if I were black I don't think I'd have the courage to have children in this country.~havealittletak

  We  pray.

Post Racial My Donkey

field negro:  Who is preventing us from being "post racial"?

On a national level, statistically, African-Americans have far less opportunities handed to them, they generate less income than white Americans, own less homes, and have a much higher chance of living in poverty than non-black Americans. In spite of this, I still have never witnessed an African-American racially targeting a white American for being “more privileged” than they are. While I’m sure that there are some black Americans who may not particularly care for white Americans, I cannot fathom that racism against whites is more prevalent than racism against blacks. Additionally, if African-Americans were to racially target white Americans, they lack a system of organized support behind them. However, white Americans who are racist or participate in racially fueled acts of violence, can do so knowing that the KKK will support their “efforts.”

 

 If blacks use the N words why can't whites?  So unfair Waahh!

Given the past and present racism of whites, there is probably no public use of the word by a white person that would not reasonably offend at least a fair number of black people. Whites who still want to use the word anyway want to disrespect blacks. Why would they want to do that? Because they are racist.

It's a white world after all.
Conservative Whites control all of the political power there, and they are enacting legislation and adopting policies both neglectful of the needs of minorities – in health care, education, employment – as well as some that are downright hostile to the rights of African-Americans , e.g., the assault on voting rights through photo identification laws and other means.
Last month, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies published a report based on a survey of the five Deep South states (the states with the proportionally largest black populations – Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina) on attitudes toward Medicaid expansion. Majorities of the populations in all five states, and large majorities of African-Americans in those states, favored expansion. The state legislatures in those five states oppose expansion, and the disproportionally uninsured Black populations of those states will suffer the consequences.

Redeye tiptoeing away from the computer to go pray.

Conservative Whites control all of the political power there, and they are enacting legislation and adopting policies both neglectful of the needs of minorities – in health care, education, employment – as well as some that are downright hostile to the rights of African-Americans , e.g., the assault on voting rights through photo identification laws and other means.
Last month, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies published a report based on a survey of the five Deep South states (the states with the proportionally largest black populations – Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina) on attitudes toward Medicaid expansion. Majorities of the populations in all five states, and large majorities of African-Americans in those states, favored expansion. The state legislatures in those five states oppose expansion, and the disproportionally uninsured Black populations of those states will suffer the consequences.
- See more at: http://blackpoliticsontheweb.com/2013/06/29/state-of-equality-and-justice-in-america-there-is-strong-statistical-evidence-that-politics-is-re-segregating/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BlackPoliticsontheWeb+%28Headlines+from+BlackPoliticsontheWeb.com%29#sthash.SxeAJbDZ.dpuf

Conservative Whites control all of the political power there, and they are enacting legislation and adopting policies both neglectful of the needs of minorities – in health care, education, employment – as well as some that are downright hostile to the rights of African-Americans , e.g., the assault on voting rights through photo identification laws and other means.
Last month, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies published a report based on a survey of the five Deep South states (the states with the proportionally largest black populations – Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina) on attitudes toward Medicaid expansion. Majorities of the populations in all five states, and large majorities of African-Americans in those states, favored expansion. The state legislatures in those five states oppose expansion, and the disproportionally uninsured Black populations of those states will suffer the consequences.
- See more at: http://blackpoliticsontheweb.com/2013/06/29/state-of-equality-and-justice-in-america-there-is-strong-statistical-evidence-that-politics-is-re-segregating/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BlackPoliticsontheWeb+%28Headlines+from+BlackPoliticsontheWeb.com%29#sthash.SxeAJbDZ.dpuf

Conservative Whites control all of the political power there, and they are enacting legislation and adopting policies both neglectful of the needs of minorities – in health care, education, employment – as well as some that are downright hostile to the rights of African-Americans , e.g., the assault on voting rights through photo identification laws and other means.
Last month, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies published a report based on a survey of the five Deep South states (the states with the proportionally largest black populations – Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina) on attitudes toward Medicaid expansion. Majorities of the populations in all five states, and large majorities of African-Americans in those states, favored expansion. The state legislatures in those five states oppose expansion, and the disproportionally uninsured Black populations of those states will suffer the consequences.
- See more at: http://blackpoliticsontheweb.com/2013/06/29/state-of-equality-and-justice-in-america-there-is-strong-statistical-evidence-that-politics-is-re-segregating/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BlackPoliticsontheWeb+%28Headlines+from+BlackPoliticsontheWeb.com%29#sthash.SxeAJbDZ.dpuf

Update~This could be your son....if you were a horrible parent.....

Dale Jackson is a morning radio host for WVNN. The Huntsville Times/File

Radio Boy has his nerve talking about some body's parent(s), and calling the prosecution's key witness in the George Zimmerman trial ignorant, ridiculous and un-credible (his non word not mine) because she was disrespectful to the man who was trying to get the Creepy person  who profiled, stalked, and shot her unarmed friend through the heart acquitted.

I want to write you an apology for this whole world, even if it’s not my place to apologize. I’m so sorry that you’re sitting on the stand right now, being interrogated like a criminal instead of another victim. I’m so sorry that people are judging you, fixated more on your beautiful brown skin, your carefully applied make-up, your body, your being, than your trauma and your pain. I’m sorry that you were born into a country where a man can pursue and kill a black boy, your friend, and go home the same night with the blessings of law enforcement officers. I’m sorry that you’ve been re traumatized, stigmatized, defamed, and attacked just because you were unlucky enough to love a black boy, to share time with him, to be the last one he ever called.
I’m so sorry for your loss.

 This is one of those rare occasions when I agree with Radio Boy~ no one wants to see their kids like this girl behaved, no one accepts their kids this way,  but I would be proud to call Racheal Jeantal my daughter, grand daughter, Aunt, cousin, friend.

" if there is anything that black people can understand that those judging her are not, it's the loss of life without justice."

States Rights Today. States Rights Tommorrow. States Rights Forever.

To my LBGT brothers and sisters,  I'm happy The Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, paving the way for same sex marriage, but I can't join in your celebrations because the Supreme Court resurrected the ghost of George Wallace and overturned the Voting Rights Act ,thereby bringing Jim Crow back with a vengeance.

Yes, bigotry is dying for some,  but it's not dying when it comes to poor, black/brown people having equal rights, and now we are forced to depend on the gop infused, media enabled, TeaPublicans to give us a new Voting Rights Act.

The struggle continues.

 

 Are you with us......?

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

Alabama State Troopers in Black Robes H/T Field Negro

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tweet of the Day

We might as well call it the Voting Whites Act from now on. #SCOTUS #VRA #Shelby
— Glen Allen Walken (@GlenAllenWalken) June 25, 2013

I weep for "Four Little Girls, and all of the others who lost their life fighting for the right to vote in the United States of America

The Congressional Gold Medal has been posthumously awarded to four girls killed in the 1963 bombing of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church. President Obama signed the legislation Friday, as (from left) Birmingham Mayor William Bell, Dr. Sharon Malone Holder, Attorney General Eric Holder, Rep. Terri Sewell, and relatives of Denise McNair and Carole Robertson look on.

What's wrong with this picture?  Here's hint, relatives of Denise McNair look on because Denise McNairs critically ill 85+  year old father is in jail. convicted of bribery and the conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with the construction and repairs of the Birmingham sewer system.

In the Summer of 2005 a multi-count indictment naming 21 defendants was filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in connection with alleged bribery, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. As of April 2008 fifteen individuals have been convicted of bribery.

• Chris McNair (Jefferson County Commission), convicted December 2006, pleaded guilty during appeal in February 2007, sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in June 2007, but later freed after he was granted a new trial.
• Gary White (Jefferson County Commission), convicted on 9 counts, but granted a new trial
• Mary Buckelew (Jefferson County Commission), agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice in exchange for cooperation with investigators.
• Jack Swann, (Director of Environmental Services), sentenced to 102 months imprisonment and $350,000 in restitution to the County. Currently free on appeal.
• Harry T. Chandler (Assistant Director of Environmental Services), sentenced to 2 years probation and a $33,000 fine
• Ronald Wilson (Chief Engineer for Environmental Services), sentenced to 13 months imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Released February 2008.
• Clarence Barber, former County Maintenance Chief, sentenced to 5 months imprisonment. Scheduled for release in June 2008.
• Larry Creel, sentenced to probation.

As expected the United States Supreme Court over turned Section 5 of the Voting Right Act, and I have that same pit in my stomach I had when the Supreme Court ruled in Bush v. Gore .  A lot of us tried to tell y'all It's The Supreme Court Stupid, but did you listen to us?  Nope.  So here we are, Mission Accomplished, it's about to get uglier because this ruling opens the door to republican gerrymandering, Voter suppression ensuring a permanent republican majority.  Yee Haw!

“This is a devastating blow to Americans, particularly African-Americans, who are now at the mercy of state governments. Given last year’s attempts by states to change voting rules, it is absurd to say that we do not need these protections.~ Rev. Al Sharpton

To say that I am angry is an understatement.  

I'm angry the Supreme Court stopped the vote count in Florida because it would do irreparable harm to George W. Bush, who ended up doing irreparable harm to we the people.  Strike that, we the black/brown/poor/disabled/ people.  The next time someone say's it doesn't matter who the President is, remember Supreme can Federal Court nominations.

I'm angry that not one democrat would sign the challenge to the 2000 election.

I'm angry at President Obama for not restoring honest and integrity to the United States Justice System like he promised.

I'm angry at the so-called mainstream media for enabling the gop infused Tea Party to take control of our government.

I'm angry at Alabama democrats.  If they fought the ALGOP with the same intensity they fight Joe Reed, we wouldn't be in this mess.  Instead of all the fingers on the hand working together to form a mighty fist,  they had to go and form their own group because the ADP party catered to blacks at the expense of whites, like that's a bad thing.  Instead of fighting the GOP, they want to be the gop.

To be clear, this ruling means the Fox is guarding the Hen House, and we the people can't even vote the Fox out of the Hen House.

God, help America. 

RedEye tiptoeing away from the computer to go weep.

Paula Deen is a Rapper not a Racist. Oh, OK.

According to Radio Boy, Bill Maher, and even  Reverend Al Sharpton, Paula Deen is not a racist because Rappers.

Who at our age hasn't used a word that was totally inappropriate; or told or listened to a joke that was directed towards a race (Pollock, Indians, Red Necks, etc. etc.) Rappers can use whatever language they want and that's acceptable," defended Wilma Martin Scarborough on Deen's Facebook page.

When racist people say racist things, then say they are not racist, that just makes them more racist.

Today's Must Reads

Five Terms You Might Not Know Are Considered Racist

Four Bad Reasons People Give for Using the N word

What say Y'all?

Trayvon Benjamin Martin Date of birth: Feb 5, 1995; Date of passing: Feb 26, 2012

Lost in all the horrible politics surrounding his death is the story of a boy. Before he became yet another flash point in America's painful and never-ending racial drama, Trayvon Martin was just a normal teenager. Here, at last, is the story of what was lost on that February night.

Today's Must Read

Trayvon Martin Family Interview

Knock. Knock.

Who's there?

If You.

If You Who?

If You can't dazzle them with brilliance then baffle them with Bull Poop.

After arguing unsuccessfully to eject the victims (Trayvon Martin) next of kin (Tracy and Sabrina Martin) from the courtroom, accusing the victims father (Tracy Martin) of cursing at a Zimmerman  supporter, and listening to an effective and powerful opening statement by the State of Florida,  the defense did what any good defense attorney would do when they try to defend the indefensible....tell a Knock Knock Joke that is so not funny.

According to the defense. the victim  armed himself with the concrete sidewalk and used it to smash George Zimmerman's head ... That is a deadly weapon."

If I were on the jury, my first question would be- what was Trayvon Martin's motive for arming himself with a concrete sidewalk and using it to smash George Zimmerman's head? I mean, really? 

Oh, and by the way, this is how most people look immediately after their  face has been smashed into the concrete.

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- William Frazier, who claimed police beat him and abused him in a Feb. 1 traffic stop, turned himself in to police today on three warrants from the incident in question.Frazier suffered minor injuries after police pulled him from his car, placed him on the ground and handcuffed him after he fled from police for about three miles. [Watch video of the pursuit and arrest]

Monday Morning Talking Points

The Zimmerman trail starts today and unlike my friend Mack Lyon's I plan to cover it like white-on-bleached-and-processed-rice.

Alabama Democratic Party-RIP?  This is the question and cough cough analysis posed by Left in Alabama's Resident Righty.  As much as it pains me to agree, for all intent and purposes the ADP is dead, but not for the reasons raised by someone who is not a member of the Alabama Democratic Party, and will never be a member of the Alabama Democratic Party.  The Alabama Democratic Party died because it pandered to the Righty's at the expense of their traditional democratic base.   And who wins if the Alabama Democratic Party is dead and gone?  Mission Accomplished.

SCOTUS is expected to overturn Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act today and other stuff today.

Stay tuned.

Update ~"We need to pray just to make it today" MC Hammer

That's word,we pray(pray,pray)
We got to pray
Just to make it today
I said we pray(pray) ah,yeah,pray(pray)
We got to pra
Just to make it to pray

That's word,we pray

After reading Mack Lyon's look at the all-white jury in the Zimmerman trial courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel it's going to take more than praying for justice,  it's going to take some Divine intervention because as of right now, it doesn't smell or look good.

I hate to keep returning to the Paula Deen and The Help analogy... but based on my personal experience I  can't help (no pun) agreeing with Mack Lyons~This trial has all the elements of a monumental clusterf^*k, one with deep-setting effects that could last for years if not decades.

 I can't say I have white female friends because I really don't know if they are my friends or not because when it all comes down to it I'm black and they are white, and when I get out of my place so speak, they never fail to remind me of their superiority.

Friends, strike that, real friends treat each other as equals.  Real friends can agree to disagree and still remain friends.  With one or two exceptions, this has not been my experience.  This is what has me praying there are more Miss Skeeters  and Miss Celia's on the Zimmerman jury than Miss Hilly's.

 

Note it's not African Americans who are acting like Thugs because they can't have their way.

Only in America do we have to "pray for justice".

 

 For Trayvon Martin's parents, faith in God, and in the justice system

“It’s supposed to get easier, the more you do this. The more I do it, the harder it gets,” Tracy Martin told the crowd. “God gives the tough battles to the toughest soldiers. I’ve been through tough battles, and this is one of the toughest, the toughest.”
“We’re going to be the voice for Trayvon,” Tracy Martin added. “We have to sit through the negativity. We have the prayers of family and friends and we have the prayers of our pastors.”

I knew when the prosecutors informed Judge Debra Nelson the 9-11  audio testimony was central to their case they  weren't going to be allowed to present it in court.  Chalk it up as another win for the defense.

One expert ruled out Zimmerman as the screamer and another said it was Martin. A defense expert argued there was not enough audio to determine who the screams are coming from. Zimmerman's attorneys also argued that the state experts' analysis is flawed.

 What Margherite said:

r.e. the Zimmerman trial: Now that the judge has excluded testimony that might "confuse" the jury and pre-emptied the use of descriptive language by the prosecution before the jury even hears it, the words "kangaroo court" leap into my mind before this political theater gets going.

The 100% female and 0% African American  judge and jury are already confused IMHO. One of the jurors referred to  the peaceful protest calling for the arrest of George Zimmerman as riots. Another one questioned why Tryavon was out at that time of night, despite the fact he was killed at 7:16 PM  while walking from the store where he purchased a bag of Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea, wearing a hoodie because it was raining, to his father's house, talking on the cell phone to his girl friends, minding his own damn business.

I join Trayvon's parents, friends, and pastors, in their prayers for justice (not to be confused with revenge).  I pray the jury looks at the evidence and doesn't believe Trayvon Martin deserved to be profiled, stalked and killed because he was not told to not to dress/act/mimic thugs because of bad parenting. 

As I was screaming and raising my banner all I could think about was Trayvon’s parents. Wondering how they’re enduring such agony and hurt. How they’re sleeping at night knowing what happened to their son. I also thought about the many reasons why I attended the march that day. Trayvon Martin could have easily been me or someone that I love. As the federal department of justice takes over the investigation of this case I hope for the facts to be revealed and for justice to be served for Trayvon Martin and his family. May his death not be in vain.

Amen and Amen.

Paula Deen, "The Help", and the George Zimmerman jury

They say life imitates art and the first thing I thought about when I heard the Zimmerman jury is 100% women and 0% African American  was the characterization of white women in  The Help.

The story revolves around three different characters: Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson and Skeeter Phelan as they document their lives on the different side of the racial barrier. Aibileen and Minny are black maids working for rich white families whilst Skeeter is the daughter of a rich family that employs "the help" which refers to the black maids. Minny is a black maid with a quick tongue and an inability to act like maids were expected to in the novel's depicted setting. This big mouth often gets her into trouble, and usually fired from her job. Racial issues of overcoming long-standing barriers in customs and laws are experienced by all of the characters. The lives and morals of Southern socialites are also explored.

In light of the recent Paula Deen revelations and our rich southern heritage it's the racial issues of overcoming long-standing barriers in customs and laws that concern me the most.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, juror E-6 -- a young, married white woman who warned her two adolescent children not to go out at night because of Martin's shooting -- reported that her husband owns guns. Juror B-37, a middle-aged white woman with two adult children who described the protests in Sanford as "rioting," reported that both she and her husband have concealed carry weapons permits, though she has let hers lapse, reports the paper.
Baez also cited the jurors' race -- five are white, and one is Hispanic, the Orlando Sentinel reports -- as a boost for the defense. The racial and ethnic makeup of potential jurors is relevant because prosecutors have alleged that Zimmerman profiled Martin in following the teen as Martin was walking back from a convenience store to the home of his father's fiancee.

I have to hand it to Zimmerman's attorney,  Mark O'Mara is one slick cookie.

After Thursday's hearing, Zimmerman's attorney Mark O'Mara was asked what he would say to people concerned there were no black jurors.
"People can look at it and have this response — that there's no blacks on the jury, or no this or no that, or no men on the jury," he said. "Tell me that we did something wrong in the process and I'll agree with you."

I guess it depends on what your definition of doing something wrong IS. 

This case should not be about race, but the attorneys’ failure to pick a more diverse group of six people is certain to reignite the issue, especially if the 100 percent all-female/non-African-American jury finds Mr. Zimmerman not guilty.

Tweet of the Day, Today's Must Read

If we’re going to CUT stuff, let’s cut the number of Tea Party Republicans in Congress and leave Social Security and Medicare alone.
— Captain Clarion (@citizensrock) June 13, 2013

Today's Must Read
Psssst...Before You Jump on the Cory Booker Booker Bandwagon , There's Something You Should Know

 

" If you like Obama, you’ll like Booker a little less. Booker is Obama without the identifiably African-American affectation. But if you’ve been disappointed by Obama’s penchant to cave to Republicans on everything from taxes to Shirley Sherrod, then Booker isn’t your guy."

RedEye Around the Web

The Big Cats at Left in Alabama had a "warm fuzzy" for Congress Critter Mo Brooks before they didn't have a warm fuzzy for Mo Brooks.  I tried to tell them the facts didn't fit the narrative, but did they listen to me?  Nope. They yanked my microphone (figuratively and literally).

All:
I look forward to a great event.  Thank you, Left in Alabama, Tea Parties, Alabama A&M students, GOPers, Dale Jackson, Will Anderson, labor unions, and everyone else who, with vigor and dignity, sends a loud and clear message that the Alabama 5th Congressional District has every right to expect that our congressman will conduct himself with dignity and honor.
This is what citizenship should be about.
While some of us we may disagree on the best course for America, we all agree that our Washington leaders should, at a minimum, be truthful.
Sincerely,
Mo Brooks

Remember when I said   it takes people in positions of  power to exercise racism?

As the United States Supreme Court prepares to announce it's ruling in Shelby County vs Holder, which would overturn Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act on the grounds things have changed in Sweet Home Alabama, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange is seeking sanctions against Macon County plaintiffs and attorneys who filed a federal lawsuit claiming his raids on the Victory Land casino constitute a violation of the U.S. Voting Rights Act.

Under the radar and out of the media spotlight a rolling disaster on auto-pilot is happening.

 Slowly but surely, away from the glare of the national spotlight, the sequestration policy is doing exactly what it was intended to do: it's hurting the nation's economy and taking benefits from American families that need them. Worse, the sequester is undermining the country for no reason.

Read on.  Read often.

Dale Jackson just convicted George Zimmerman in one sentence

"Why the black community insists on acting like being told not to dress/act/mimic thugs is outrageous is beyond me and that attitude is getting people killed." Dale Jackson The Attack Machine 6/12/2013

I'm not a lawyer, or a detective,  but I watch a lot of them on TeeVee, and they all say means ( the ability of the defendant to commit the crime), motive (the reason the defendant felt the need to commit the crime), and opportunity ( whether or not the defendant had the chance to commit the crime), are the three aspects of a crime that must be established before guilt can be determined.  Dale Jackson laid out the George Zimmerman's motive for profiling, stalking, and killing, Trayvon Martin in one sentence.

According to Radio Boy ~"The simple point is this, they started with race based killing and refuse to let facts stop that story."

This is what happens…

• Zimmerman followed Martin
• Martin took exception
• Martin confronts Zimmerman about being followed
• Martin and Zimmerman scuffled
• Martin was winning
• Zimmerman fears for his life
• Zimmerman kills Martin
• The end

Radio Boy doesn't know exactly what happened unless he was an eye witness, so he is relaying Hearsay.  As the lawyers on TeeVee say, he assumes facts not in evidence.  So let me offer a rebuttal and set the record straight with facts that are in evidence.

Trayvon Martin was stalked, hunted, murdered, for the crime of WALKING WHILE BLACK

HE HAD NOTHING BUT SKITTLES AND ICED TEA.

HE WAS MINDING HIS OWN DAMN BUSINESS ON THAT NIGHT…IN THAT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT..

TRAYVON WAS A VICTIM PREYED UPON BY A CRIMINAL VIGILANTE THUG WHO DECIDED TO BE JUDGE, JURY AND EXECUTIONER FOR TRAYVON.

Why Dale Jackson thinks this is OK is beyond me, unless he was raised that way.  To my knowledge  White children aren't told not to act/dress/mimic thugs by their parents. 

The inherent social contract that modern western society has placed on black folks is this:  If you want upward social mobility, a good job, and fair and equitable treatment, and avoid being pulled over, arrested, constantly harassed, expelled from school, or murdered, then don't LOOK or ACT like a NIGGER.  Don’t be stereotypically loud, obnoxious, combative or arrogant. Don’t wear gang colours, baggy pants, doo-rags, bandanas, wave caps or Timberlands. Not only were we told to act JUST like the REST of society – we were told to act BETTER. And if we acted the same as others, we faced STIFFER consequences and that was just the way it was. And you know what the WORST part about this deal is – we TOOK it.

Psst Dale!  MSNBC isn't the one that sees racism in everything including parenting.......  your beef is with Toure,  he is employed by MSNBC,  he doesn't own MSNBC.  That's just like saying WVNN sees racism in everything because you are employed by them.

About that "when facts don't fit the narrative" thingy

Alabama's segregationist Governor George Wallace blocking the entrance to the University of Alabama to prevent two black students enrolling at the University of Alabama, 11 June 1963. Photograph: AP

 

Sigh.  So not only is today the 50 anniversary of the assassination of Medgar Evers it is also the 50th anniversary of the former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace's famous stand in the school house door  preventing Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood from enrolling in the University of Alabama. 

So what is the media driven narrative of the day......White Americans are the good guys of history.

The truth is, like everyone else, White Americans are a mix of good and evil.
That said, they are nowhere nearly as good as they imagine. That for several reasons:

1. American exceptionalism. They see themselves as being above history, the shining city on the hill, a light to all the world, what the whole world wants to be like. God is on their side. This goes back to the Puritans. They thought God was on their side too – as they burned peaceful Pequot Indians alive. Little has changed.
2. Moral blindness. To maintain their self-image as Basically Good they do not face up to the evil they do – which makes them yet more evil.
3. They write the history books - as winners do. But, as if basking in their own whitewashed mythology was not good enough, they also believe in the Teflon Theory of History:  that anything bad that took place over 30 years ago is Ancient History – it has Absolutely No Effect on the present.
4. They control the world’s biggest media machine – meaning they live in a land filled with their own self-serving lies and point of view.

Case in point, a quick Google Search regarding the Anniversary will take you A daughter's Struggle to Overcome A Legacy of Segregation: NPR and A view from the football office:  Assistant Coach remembers Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.  It's more about whites than blacks.  But that's to expected from the Alabama press.

On another note, I can't figure out how blacks can forgive and forget former Governor George Wallace's real sins,  yet some white American's (not to be confused with all) can't forgive Joe Reed for standing up and fighting for equal, civil and human rights and standing up for public education, and public school educators?

SMH

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the Assassination of Medgar Evers

 

Once Upon a Time in America

Fifty years ago today Medgar Evers was gunned down by a white supremacist. His crime? 

Bit by bit, Evers cultivated community resistance against inequity. He made bumper stickers, led protests and investigated vigilante violence, such as the murder of Emmett Till.
As Evers’ accomplishments grew, so did the determination of white supremacists to stop him. On the night of June 12, a member of the White Citizens’ Council shot Evers in the back as he walked from his car to his home. The murder took place just hours after President Kennedy had given a powerful speech supporting civil rights.
Evers’ death was but one violent act among many committed by segregationists who were set on stopping the movement. Community organizers acknowledged the danger, but continued to build the movement at the local level. In so doing, they ultimately overcame this violent opposition. Their individual courage made universal change possible.

Ironically the Roberts Court is poised to strike down section 5 of the Voting Rights Act Evers and others lost their lives fighting for  any day now.  Even more ironic is the fact the case was bought before the court on  behalf of  Shelby County Alabama  ,which happens to be represented by none other than Alabama State  Senator Scott (Aborigines) Beason.

Shelby County is involved in a United States Supreme Court case in the current session challenging the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Shelby County’s argument is one, essentially, of equal protection. While emphasizing the progress the South has made, they further the argument that if every district is not covered by Section Five’s preclearance requirement, none can be. Mr. Rein, the attorney for Shelby County, argues that the formula of the 1965 VRA deciding which States to cover is not tailored to today’s situation—that it was a formula made for 1965, and should therefore not be applied today. Essentially, that Shelby County should be left alone to do run their elections however they wish in their own backyard.

Well, we all know how that will turn out .

Well, I’m going to be real honest with you: The Republican Party doesn’t want black people to vote if they’re going to vote 9 to 1 for Democrats.

 MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and others are planning a caravan across Alabama on June 14 to encourage the U.S. Supreme Court to save a major portion of the Voting Rights Act.

What to do when the facts don't fit the narrative?

Ban/Cut/Suppress the person(s) who points it out of course.

Apparently, Neil Cavuto got quite a bit of pushback after he raged at and cut the microphone of Democrat Julian Epstein over the weekend.

Cavuto said:
These issues surround us my friends, and to minimize their threat or slope them off as individual incidents, each bearing no resemblance to the other, makes a mockery of us all. That is why I got angry. That is why I interrupted Julian who is otherwise a friend. This is foolish, and that is why after repeated attempts to get him to shut up about making this a political discussion I simply decided to cut his mike.

What we have here in the United States of America  is a convenient constitution for some of the people.

It's OK  to try to aid your friend if you are a republican.

Remember when the republicans said "If you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about." when Bush was the President?

Republicans were infuriated by the “breaking news” that Obama and the NSA have been listening to our phone conversations. They conveniently forget that it was George W. Bush who directed the NSA to start this eavesdropping program. In fact, PBS/Frontline ran a program that explained the surveillance program in great detail with interviews of the Bush Administration officials involved. Frontline ran the original report on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and there was nothing said by Republicans. The report was re-run on April 11, 2013 with additional footage on the Boston Marathon Bombing. This was less than two months ago, and again, not a peep was heard from Republicans. But now the NSA surveillance under the Obama Administration dovetails nicely with the IRS “scandal”, so the radical right is up-in-arms and in full scandal mode.

If you have to suppress dissent in order to have the last word that means your words aren't right (no pun intended), and the facts don't fit the narrative.

While you're watching that nice lady whine about being persecuted...

No More Mister Nice Blog

  I hope the conversation isn't limited to how mean the IRS was to her and how much she loves freedom and the Constitution and our American way of life. I hope she gets around to talking about the speech her fourteen-year-old daughter, Desiree, delivered to a tea party rally last year, in which she compared modern-day America to the dystopia of The Hunger Games:

Gee, 14 year old Desiree sounds just like Alabama Congress Critter Mo Brooks.....they must have the same speech writer.   

I see the Righty's are gearing up for a giant sized, media enabled, Weapon of Mass Distraction....

The new and re-energized Alabama Democrat party is going to kickoff the 2014 election cycle with a June 14 caravan across the state featuring … Louis Farrakhan. Maybe they can keep him in Alabama and offer him the party chairmanship.

Waiting for the "media" to make it about Louis Farrakhan instead of the reason Louis Farrakhan and other Civil Rights leaders are coming to Sweet Home Alabama in 1-2-3...

 Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and others are planning a caravan across Alabama on June 14 to encourage the U.S. Supreme Court to save a major portion of the Voting Rights Act.
Southern Christian Leadership Conference CEO Charles Steele said the National Coalition of Leaders to Save Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is also calling on Justice Antonin Scalia to step aside from the court case because of public comments he made.The leaders, including state Sen. Hank Sanders and Alabama Democratic Conference Chairman Joe Reed, said the caravan will start at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham on June 14 and then visit Shelby County, which brought the challenge to the Voting Rights Act. That will be followed by stops in Selma and at the Capitol in Montgomery.

 And what exactly were those public comments you ask?

WASHINGTON, DC — There were audible gasps in the Supreme Court’s lawyers’ lounge, where audio of the oral argument is pumped in for members of the Supreme Court bar, when Justice Antonin Scalia offered his assessment of a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. He called it a “perpetuation of racial entitlement.”

Then there is this....

 Speaking on Friday at the University of Richmond, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia denounced the concept of a "living Constitution" and said the 14th Amendment was not written with the intent of granting equal protection to ALL Americans. Just the heterosexual ones.

 But, but Louis Farrakhan...

Here we go again, It must have been "the tone and tenor" of something I said.

 

First I was banned from the AL.com forum because I opposed George W. Bush's policies, especially the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Then I was banned from Left in Alabama because I didn't support Artur Davis for Governor of Alabama.

 Next I was banned from The Attack Machine for defending the feckless leader of a failed party.  Now I've been "un" friended (yes I know that's not a word)  by a friend on face book and removed from their Yahoo group because I stood up for Dr. Joe Reed and Nancy Worley. Sigh

The funny thing is it's OK for them to attack  Reed and Worley and accuse them of corruption, racism,  bigotry and everything else under the sun, but when I defend or rebut the charges  made against them I'm attacking democrats and being divisive.

There is a lot of misinformation being spread that needs to be cleared up.  The Alabama Democratic Party isn't in debt because Joe Reed is borrowing and spending money like there is no tomorrow.  Most of the debt stemmed from elections before Kennedy’s tenure and from former Gov. Don Siegelman’s failed drive for a state lottery in 1999.

It's not true no one wants to lead the Alabama Democratic Party because they don't want to bow down to Joe Reed.

 Birmingham attorney Ed Gentle had sought the chairmanship, but Worley said Gentle decided not to take the post on a judge’s advice because of his work as a special master in a couple of cases involving politics.

It's not true  donors won't contribute to the ADP as long as Joe Reed is in control with no accountability.

“I can tell you we are broke, but today I’ll remove two of the brokes,” Worley said.
Worley said some donors stepped up "to keep the doors open for the party" and the rent is now paid through June at the party headquarters in Montgomery.
“We are working the bills down as we can get money,” Worley said.
Worley said about half of the party's $500,000 debt dates back to the 1999 lottery referendum when the party spent considerable funds on get out the vote efforts.

I could care less about being banned from the AL.com forum and The Attack Machine because I expect them to close their eyes, ears, and mind, to people who don't agree with them, and you would think I would learn by now real  friends respect each others opinions and treat them as  equals. 

 I've discovered a disturbing pattern in all of this...don't like what I'm saying, ,on't  want to heari it.........shut me out   and maybe I will go away.  If that doesn't work.....  shut you down, or worse. 

I still believe we should test the theory that all will magically be right (pun intended) and white men will flock back to the party, a new generation of leaders will emerge, candidates will run for office, and donors will dig deep into their pockets  if the Alabama Democratic Party got rid of Joe Reed and his bunch.

While the ADP is destroying it's on the Roberts Court is poised to strike down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. I'm going to say as an African American I feel like I'm under attack not only by the republicans, but the democrats too.   Republicans don't want us to vote,  and some democrats (not confused with all) don't want us to have any power.  What to do and where to go?

In any event I'm through with the ADP vs ADM psycho drama and moving on to something important.
Black leaders plan caravan in support of Voting Rights Act.

The National Coalition of Leaders to Save Section 5 announced on Tuesday that Farrakhan would join them for a June 14 caravan and pilgrimage that will stop at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, at the Shelby County courthouse in Columbiana, at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and conclude with a 4 p.m. event at the state Capitol in Montgomery.

The caravan will start at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama  where four little girls were killed when a bomb exploded during Sunday school class, in the state where their killer died after serving 6 months in prison, and the 85 year old father of one of those girls is serving time in prison convicted of bribery and conspiracy in 2007 for his role in the Jefferson County sewer scandal.

I wouldn't want to see/hear/think about stuff like this either.

RedEye tiptoeing away from the computer to 'Comfort the disturbed, disturb the comfortable' one blog post at a time.

 

Wanted: Alabama Democrats: I Do Not Want to Hear One Word of Complaint About Dr. Joe Reed. Not One.

Wanted: Alabama Democrats: I Do Not Want to Hear One Word of Complaint About Dr. Joe Reed. Not One.

 Reed has one thing in common with Justin Bieber: everyone seems either to hate him, or to love him.

I would like to thank fellow Blogger Publiux X for this succinct summary of what the situation is at present and for the factual information about the inner workings of the Alabama State Democratic Executive Committee.  Speaking as someone on the outside looking in, it separated fact from fiction and cleared up a lot of preconceived notions/ misconceptions.

I don't hate Reed or anyone else for that matter.  Hate was a "bad word" in my house growing up.  I couldn't even say I  hate spinach, much less someone.  Growing up during the turbulent Civil Rights era my parents embraced the non- violent philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who preached that hate was just cancer.  They taught me there is a difference between hating someone, and strongly disagreeing with their point of view or their actions.  In other words, they taught me to hate the action(s) not the person doing the action(s).

I don't love Reed.   What I love is the body of work that represents his advocacy for minority representation, i.e black folks, in Alabama. 

In 1975, Joe Reed led the efforts to get equitable representation for blacks on the Montgomery City Council. His efforts resulted in four blacks of nine 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. He drafted two 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.

Before reading this post, I was under the impression Joe Reed stacked the decks and controlled the SDEC and manipulated and intimidated his cheerleaders but that's not exactly true.  Joe Reed is the effective leader of a strong, unified, voting block.   Looking at the current roster of the SDEC there are no blind followers or cheerleaders in that bunch.  If they didn't agree with Dr. Reed and what he was doing they wouldn't vote to support him.

Reed had almost all of his troops present Saturday, and still only produced 90-95 votes on the typical issue. There is every chance that he can be outvoted if 200 or more members (including the Reed group) grace us with their presence, and engage in the slightest degree of organization and planning.

To Joe Reed's credit, he's a good Cat Herder.   And therein lies the problem for those who want to dilute the power of Reed's coalition.  My question is why would they want to dilute the black representation within the ADP?  Ain't we a democrat too?  Don't we all support the same agenda?  Aren't we all working towards the same goal?

I will tell both sides of that fight, that we cannot beat the Republicans without the votes Joe Reed and his supporters represent.

One thing I give republicans credit for, they don't eat their own.  They stand by their guy or gal no matter what.  They are unified. They keep their eyes on the prize.   Much like Reed and his bunch.

In a touchy-feely sense, the SDEC is not “the Party.” The Party consists of the hundreds of thousands of working Alabamians who share our belief in public education, equality, and the value of human dignity over corporate profits. But in the eyes of the Democratic National Committee, and in the view of the Code of Alabama, the SDEC is “the Party.” 

 I will close by offering a sincere apology to someone I consider a friend for something I wrote which they took extreme offense with to the degree they have severed our friendship, or what I thought was our friendship. This is what I wrote:

According to some democrats (and I use that term loosely) If Joe Reed would step down and take all of his cheerleaders with him eventually others would step up to lead the Alabama Democratic Party   and the ADP will have awesome, qualified, dedicated people coming out of the woodwork to step up to leadership positions including Chair & Vice chair of the ADP as well as candidates for office.

We all say things in the heat of the moment, and I admit I can give as good as I get, but this is one of those times when I didn't consider the impact of my words.  This person is a big D Democrat in every sense of the word, and I shouldn't have implied or questioned their loyalty and dedication to the party.  What I was trying to say in my own clumsy way was let's test the theory that Joe Reed is what is wrong with the ADP.  It was never my intent or my desire to hurt or do harm.   Although they have told me to never contact them again, I want them to know my door and my heart is always open.  It is my firm belief that tolerant people can agree to disagree.