Former pResident George W. Bush coming to #Selma to help republicans hijack the anniversary of Bloody Sunday

 

 Bush and his wife, Laura, will join President Obama and a  bipartisan congressional delegation, in Selma, Alabama on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday so republicans can pretend they care about black people being denied the right the vote,  and, because republicans must think we are stuck on stupid in AmeriBama.

“The Roberts Court proved again that it will not be deterred by Supreme Court precedent, the realities on the ground in our nation; nor will it defer to Congress even when the legislative branch is granted clear authority by the Constitution to remedy our nation's long history of discrimination against racial and language minorities,” said J. Gerald Hebert of the Campaign Legal Center. “The Court today declared racism dead in this country despite mountains of evidence to the contrary.”

And then there is THIS 

Now, the actual effect of the recount is obviously something of a side issue when assessing the actions of the Court. Nobody knew the outcome of the recount, only that it threatened to make Al Gore president, and stopping it would guarantee Bush’s victory. That is the environment in which five Republican-appointed justices essentially invented a one-time-only ruling to stop the recount. And that’s the relevant history in which to understand the Court’s decision to make up its own new legal theories about the regulation of the health-care market now.

Separate but equal Bloody Sunday commemorations coming right up, enabled by President Obama.

It's the republican way!

"I would not hurt a fly but everyday I get out of my apartment, I know I am at risk of being killed by a racist because of my skin and the system will do everything to justify why I had to be killed."

In America race is an issue because it is an issue

If George Zimmerman had stayed in his car like he was instructed to do by the 911 dispatcher maybe Trayvon Martin would be celebrating his 20th birthday, and we wouldn't be observing the injustice of the century.  I said maybe because police could have killed Trayvon Martin  for being black in America.

By the way, although George Zimmerman is not incarcerated, he will never be free. For the rest of his rotten life, he will be known as the real thug who followed and killed an unarmed African American teenager based on a false and racist assumption. In fact, given George Zimmerman frequent acts of violence and run in with the law, it is only a matter of time before he kills or hurts someone else.

"Sadly, the blood will be on  jurors' hands.

 : a jury of six women, five of them white and none of them Black, found Zimmerman not guilty, sparking national outrage and protests. Seemingly unaware of the furor invoked by the decision, Juror B-37—who wished to remain anonymous but nonetheless conducted a public interview and signed (then canceled) a book deal—stated, “All of us thought race did not play a role.” This was the same juror who, during jury selection, referred to Trayvon Martin as a “boy of color” whose murder was “an unfortunate incident.”

Who can blame them for remaining anonymous?

The identities of potential jurors in the Florida trial of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer accused of murdering teenager Trayvon Martin, will be kept confidential, the presiding judge ruled Wednesday.
Zimmerman is pleading not guilty to second-degree murder charges, contending he acted in self-defense.
Circuit Judge Debra Nelson also ruled that the potential jurors won’t be sequestered, and that during the selection process -- which is scheduled to get underway on Monday -- members of the jury pool will be referred to by numbers, not names.
"This is to be done in order to protect the prospective jurors from harassment and pressure from the public at large," Nelson wrote, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

"The blood will be on the American criminal injustice system filthy hands." 

A verdict that could have provided accountability, vindication, and healing did not happen. But we are a nation of laws. The outcome would have to be accepted if the trial was fair. The community would have to just move on if Zimmerman’s acquittal was based on the evidence at trial.
But that was not the case. Because the same suspicions and unexamined biases that Zimmerman harbored in one way or another coursed through the significant players in that courtroom: the defense attorneys, prosecutors, judge, and jury.

Know Truth.  Know Justice.  No Truth.  No Justice.

And we dare not rise up and protest because Riots.

Three years ago, Trayvon Martin left home for the store and never returned. We will never forget. You are our reason for being.

 Rest in power sweet child.

"They hate us for our Freedom" #RememberTrayvon #NoJusticeNoPeace #BlackLivesMatter

We've found "insufficient evidence" that America values black lives enough to hold vigilantes or police accountable for taking them.
— The Dream Defenders  (@Dreamdefenders) February 24, 2015

TRAVESTY, BREAKING NEWS: Today, the US Department of Justice has failed yet again to uphold its mission to ensure justice and public safety for ALL Americans. The DOJ announced it will NOT file charges against the known racist, violent vigilante George Zimmerman for killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on the night of Feb 26, 2012.
As we near the eve of the anniversary of Trayvon's death, we hold in our hearts and minds the devastating pain and suffering, and injustice that Black mothers and fathers, Black children and families have had to endure for generations and the all to familiar reality that we as Black people have no choice but to fight for our lives every single day.

This tragic event has sparked a movement that will not die, and birthed a new generation of young Black leaders who have filled the streets of America, demanding justice and shifting the consciousness of people across the nation.
Let us turn our rightful frustration into action, and grow a movement to hold the criminal justice system accountable. ‪#‎RememberTrayvon‬

We can blame the Roberts Court for gutting the civil rights laws.

Federal law surrounding racially motivated police shootings is unaccountably convoluted and hopelessly muddled. But one thing is clear: In their current form, our federal civil rights laws let cops pull the trigger with near-total impunity.

It wasn’t always that way. The law under which Holder could theoretically charge Wilson, now called Section 242, was passed in 1870 to secure robust legal protections for newly freed blacks in the South. Congress had recently passed amendments guaranteeing former slaves citizenship, equal protection of the laws, due process, and voting rights, which the states (including several under Reconstruction in the South) then ratified. But a number of viciously racist groups, including the newly formed Ku Klux Klan, had effectively negated these new rights, terrorizing black communities through arson, beatings, and lynching.

Congress had already passed laws requiring Southern states to recognize their black citizens’ newfound freedoms. But violent groups like the KKK were often aided if not led by local governments and law enforcement. Blacks suddenly had a vastly expanded roster of rights, yet racist officials and crooked cops were colluding to ensure that they couldn’t exercise any of them. So Congress passed the Enforcement Act of 1870, part of which survives today as Section 242. As its title suggests, the act enforced the new amendments by making it a federal crime to deprive any person of his constitutional rights while acting “under color of any law.”

We can blame ourselves.

Truth first then justice.
We’re the ones that failed. Not us specifically, but the people who knew and understood the truth and common sense and had the format to speak out about it. We let another narrative take place so we can avoid calling what we are seeing what it really is.
For example:
We let the media tell us that GZ said the word punk instead of calling them racist for trying to clean something up that was so damn obviously racist.

And we dare not rise up.

For some reason African Americans are supposed to accept the decision of the secret grand jury without question.

 Even as verdict after verdict continues to excuse White authority figures of their wrongdoing, the Black community is expected to understand that police officers have a very hard job. The Black community is expected to understand that approximately 150 police officers are killed in the line of duty each year, the Black community is expected to understand that police officers are human too, the Black community is expected to understand that police officers are just doing their job and the Black community is expected to understand that even if a police officer is in the wrong, you are supposed to remain submissive and never talk back.

For some reason when African Americans peacefully assemble to voice their outrage, or, to plead for justice, it's called a riot.

  During questioning, she referred multiple times to "riots" in Sanford after Trayvon Martin was killed. "I knew there was rioting, but I guess [the authorities] had it pretty well organized," she says at one point. In fact, despite a great deal of salivating anticipation by the media both before and after the trial, there were no riots in Sanford, Florida.

 Trayvon belongs to all America and until you see him as your child too, we all remain in bondage.

From the Files of Stuck on Stoopid in #AmeriBama Tuesday Edition

Fist Dap Frank Matthews

How often does a newspaper fire a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter?

 As nonsensical as it sounds, al.com/The Birmingham News pulled off the unusual feat by ushering reporter Joey Kennedy out the door recently. Veronica Kennedy, Joey's wife, broke the news on her Facebook page and said he received no severance pay, just a final paycheck and notice that his insurance would end on February 28.

Left in Alabama, the Informed. Involved. Progressive. Blog of record, has the nerve to  blame the Alabama Democratic Party, and the Alabama Education Association for the Decline and Fall of the ADP and the AEA,  they enabled. 

In 2010, many Alabama Democratic candidates forgot their base, ran from their party, and failed to run on any issues that mattered to Alabama families.

Eye tried to tell some of Y'all, A party divided will NOT stand.  But did you listen?  Noooo.  That would have been too much like right(pun intended).

What Nancy Worley said all the damn way!

Worley said in a phone interview Monday it was unfortunate that Kennedy decided to resign and “take his toys and go home,” but she feels that people will return to the Alabama Democratic Party as they see the policies of the Republican super majority in the Legislature “taking care of the rich” and how those decisions affect them.
“We’re looking at a golden opportunity in the upcoming election in 2014, because quite frankly the Republicans have so many negative situations they have created for the state that I think people are going to feel the pinch in their pocketbook and they’re going to vote Democratic, like they once did,” she said.

Psst President Obama...please read this letter in preparation for your speech in #Selma on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

Dear President Obama,
This letter is in part to let you know that we are proud of you and your leadership. We are proud of the positive images you and your family provide for the nation in general and African Americans in particular.
However, we also write to share serious concerns voiced by many African Americans. We feel that an open letter will stimulate a broader dialogue.

Read On. Read Often.

About that #BlackOnBlackCrime Thingy......

MSNBC host Chris Hayes satirizes the right's concern with "black on black violence," rolling footage of a recent "surf riot" from Huntington Beach and asking when "the white community would gets its act together."

Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Joey Kennedy has been fired from the Alabama Media Group for being too liberal

Joey Kennedy via Alabama Political Reporter

Another one bites the dust.....
According to a Facebook post by Veronica Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Joey Kennedy has been fired from the Alabama Media Group.

“For those of you who haven't heard: My husband, Joey Kennedy, was fired by Alabama Media Group on Thursday for being 'too personally involved' in covering his beat and for 'threatening sources' wrote Mrs. Kennedy wrote of her husband's fate.
For years Kennedy has been pilloried over of his left-leaning columns. But it was his refusal to tailor his message to fit nicely into the every growing echo chamber of faux right-wing talking points that led to his declining voice on the pages of the Birmingham News and at al.com.

And they wonder why Alabama is solidly republican?

It's the media.

It doesn't pay to be too liberal in AmeriBama.

Update~ Huntsville school board unanimously approves segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever

J.R. Brooks, attorney for Huntsville City Schools (file) The Gate Keeper

Huntsville City Schools superintendent, and his media enablers claim the historic moment brings city wide equity.  I guess it depends on what their definition of citywide equity IS.

With no discussion following four hours of questions to its counsel, the Huntsville Board of Education unanimously approved the proposed consent order that plans out citywide rezoning.

 Superintendent Casey Wardynski, aided by the school's legal counsel and the U.S. Justice Department. The adopted plan will be presented to U.S. District Court on March 11 for judge approval. If approved, the school district can move forward with plans, including construction of new schools.
"It's an historic moment," Wardynski said excitedly after the board voted.

From the files of they must think U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala   has amnesia.

Judge Haikala took particular exception to much of Wardynski's testimony, from finding his comments on federal grants untrue to finding insubstantial his objections to the federal rezoning proposals.

"The Court strongly suspects that the district has chosen not to share many of the reasons for the choices that it made as it shaped its student assignment plan. The Court got a glimpse into the superintendent's thinking when the United States's cross-examined him about his objections to the government's rezoning proposals. When asked whether Hereford (Elementary) students would not benefit from attending Huntsville High, the superintendent, in an unguarded moment, replied '[t]hey [would] be going into schools that are not accustomed to dealing with students who are below grade level.'

She also admonished the Justice Department, but only to say they were being far too lax.

"From the record, it appears that years of relative calm and inactivity have lulled the government into a habit of checking in only when the district proposes actions that require the government's review. The government should be more proactive. Based on the current record, the Court does not know when inequities in educational programs arose in the district; however, standardized test scores from 10 years ago demonstrate disparate results among racially identifiable schools. Had the government been keeping an eye on that sort of information, it could have brought it to the Court's attention more quickly and enabled the Court and the district to address the issue in a timely fashion. "

It's Deja Voodoo all over again

"If there is unfairness, it is because life itself is unfair. The unfairness is not manmade," said Hugh McInnish, at-large member of the county's Republican Executive Committee.

It's like putting Lipstick on a Pit Bull

It seems the District was successful in pleading their case that it was in the best interest of the schools in North Huntsville to remain as they are and continue the same 'feeder' pattern," wrote Showers. "Failing schools feeding into failing schools."

Garbage in garbage out.  

The history in today's quick and quiet vote may not be apparent for years to come.
It's now up to Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala to set Huntsville on this uncharted road to unitary status.

Time will tell the truth.

The actions they are taking are pure segregation. You are merging every minority failing school onto one piece of land with schools with all black names,"

As usual the #hsvboe does what it does best, Covers Their Asses ,  the taxpayers be damned.

Thanks, Board, for doing such an excellent job of listening to and representing the public. No wonder you need your own personal public relations firm working for you at our expense.
Judge Haikala should send the parties back to the drawing board on this one and tell them that the public needs to be represented at the table because clearly our Board of Education is more concerned with explaining why they can’t address public concerns than they are actually, you know, representing the public that elected them.
You cannot unify the community without involving them in the process. Attempting to do so is like destroying the village to save it. Only a Colonel would think it an “historic moment.”

Prehistoric moment is more like it.         

Plans for Two Separate #Selma Bloody Sunday Marches Cancelled as Groups Unify! Mission Accomplished!

Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, said Friday he had hoped President Barack Obama would move his planned visit to Selma from Friday, March 7 to Sunday, March 8 to better accommodate local commemorations of the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” Sanders was joined by (left to right) Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery; Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery; Rep. Thad McClammy, D-Montgomery and Alabama Democratic Conference chairman Joe Reed.(Photo: Brian Lyman/Advertiser)

Hallelujah!  Organizers of the annual  Bridge Crossing Jubilee in #Selma, AL prevailed against an attempt by the largely White-run, Faith and Politics group, enabled by Rep. John Lewis (D. GA), to hijack Bloody Sunday for their own  partisan political gain.

The annual march, usually held on a Sunday in the first week of March, has been planned by state Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, and others annually since the 1970s. Sanders and other leaders said they were blindsided by Obama's announcement -- made in conjunction with U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. -- that the president would march on the anniversary date: March 7.

, and the largely White-run The Faith & Politics Institute, - See more at: http://www.afro.com/plans-for-two-separate-selma-marches-cancelled-as-groups-unify/#sthash.JamYsTEM.S0qzrYOZ.dpuf

and the largely White-run The Faith & Politics Institute, - See more at: http://www.afro.com/plans-for-two-separate-selma-marches-cancelled-as-groups-unify/#sthash.JamYsTEM.S0qzrYOZ.dpuf

Alabama's Black leaders and march organizers were right to be upset.

Sanders said there is a very specific reason for a Sunday march -- to commemorate "Bloody Sunday," that day on March 7, 1965, when state police beat marchers attempting to walk from Selma to Montgomery.
The marchers were stopped on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and driven back. The incident was recently captured in the Paramount film, "Selma."
Sanders said it has always been especially poignant that the civil rights marchers were beaten on a Sunday.
The 1965 march, which was eventually successful later in March 1965, was seen as helping pass the U.S. Voting Rights Act, which invalidated state laws designed to keep blacks from voting.
Sanders said any attempt to hold two marches, one on March 7 and one on March 8, would be "divisive," and would send the wrong signals to the world.

Ya think?  The end result, President Obama will speak in Selma on March 7, but there will be no march.  The one and only march will take place on SUNDAY, March 8, 2015.

 “Senator Barack Obama came to Selma and marched on Bloody Sunday when he was seeking to be President. President Bill Clinton came to Selma and marched on Bloody Sunday on March 5, 2000, on the 35^th Anniversary. Vice President Joe Biden came to Selma in 2013 and marched on Bloody Sunday. Attorney General Eric Holder came to Selma and marched on Bloody Sunday. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to Selma and marched on Bloody Sunday. They and so many others all recognized the sacredness of Bloody Sunday in their pilgrimages to Selma. Many leaders, civil rights and otherwise, have come to Bloody Sunday every single year for decades. Bloody Sunday is sacred. The Bloody Sunday March is sacred and cannot be aborted or redirected. It must be commemorated. It must be reenacted. It must be respected. It must be lifted. And it will on Sunday, March 8^th,” said Sen. Sanders.

The Bloody Sunday march is about something far greater than a presidential visit, rescheduling the observance to fit the schedule of a dignitary is unreasonable. State Sen. Hank Sanders, Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford and others who have stood firm on the scheduling should be commended.

Consider this your commendation.



One day when the Glory comes it will be ours....

The end result is that President Obama will speak in Selma on March 7, the actual anniversary of the Bloody Sunday, but there will be no march in Selma that Saturday or in Montgomery on Sunday. - See more at: http://www.afro.com/plans-for-two-separate-selma-marches-cancelled-as-groups-unify/#sthash.JamYsTEM.dpuf

#PatelAlabama: Governor apologizes to the government of India for Alabama police treating one of their citizens like "a skinny black man"

File photo - Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley looks around during a brief run through before he is inaugurated for his second term, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015, in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Let's Recap:
Two Madison Police officers converged on the 100 block of Hardiman Place last Friday following a complaint of a "really skinny black guy wearing a toboggan"  allegedly  peering into the garages of several homes.  The really skinny black guy wearing a toboggan turned out to be an elderly grandfather visiting from India, creating an international scandal.

Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman for India's External Affairs Ministry, said the government took the incident "very seriously" and was in contact with the U.S. mission in New Dehli.
The government also will contact officials in Washington and Alabama, Akbaruddin said in response to reporters' questions in New Dehli about the treatment of Sureshbhai (pronounced suh-RESH'-beye pah-TEL') Patel in the Tennessee Valley city of Madison.
"What we will communicate is that we are extremely disturbed," he said. "This is a matter of concern for us, and India and the U.S. as open pluralist societies need to address these issues and find ways in a mature manner so that these are aberrations and are not the norm."

All of this forced Alabama's Governor Robert Bentley (R) to apologize to the government of India for treating one of it's citizens like a "skinny black man wearing a toboggan".

I deeply regret the unfortunate use of excessive force by the Madison Police Department on Sureshbhai Patel and for the injuries sustained by Mr. Patel," Bentley wrote to Consul General Ajit Kumar in Atlanta. "I sincerely hope that Mr. Patel continues to improve and that he will regain full use of his legs."
Bentley said he has instructed the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to conduct an investigation into the incident parallel to one being done by the FBI.
"I wish to assure you and the government of India that we will see that justice is done arising from the use of excessive force under color of state law upon a citizen of India," Bentley wrote.

Psst Government of India!  Can you do something about the excessive force used on black/brown Americans in America too?

#PatelAlabama: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. A tale of tale of two grandfathers. One black. One brown. One American. One Not.

A tale of two elderly men of who were both brutalized by police but treated differently.

 

William Frazier, 80, in an emergency room shows injuries he says were inflicted by Huntsville police

Remember William Frazier,  who filed a brutality claim against the Huntsville Police Department and was arrested after he failed to stop for a pursuing police car for more than three miles, ran a red light, hit a curb and swerved around a stop stick before five officers pulled him from the car and took him to the ground?  This comes to mind in light of the recent take down by a Madison police officer  of the Indian grandfather, Sureshbhai Patel, who was partially paralyzed, after someone called to report a skinny black man in the neighborhood.

Fraziers' crime was being black.
Patel's crime seems to be being mistaken for black.


William Frazier files $8 million claim against the city of Huntsville.
 Sureshbhai Patel files suit against the City of Madison and the Police.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle defends the actions of Huntsville Police officers and blames the victim.
Madison Mayor Troy Trulock continued discussions with local Indian residents, and Alabama Governor Robert Bentley met with India's general consul.

The Huntsville City Attorney said Fraziers' injuries after police encounter are from arrest, not excessive force.
Madison Police fire, arrest officer who badly injured Indian grandfather during sidewalk stop

North Huntsville residents press for changes after elderly driver's police brutality claim

Sureshbhai Patel at Huntsville Hospital

Indian grandfather's injury by Madison Police officers prompts calls for cultural education.

Madison residents are embarrassed,  offended, and defensive by police assault on elderly grandfather, and a member of the local Indian community, started a Go Fund Me account to help raise funds for the Patel family.  

William Frazier was found guilty of attempting to allude police in city court

#PatelAlabama: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. A tale of tale of two grandfathers. One black. One brown. One American. One Not.

Eye Report.

You Decide.

RedEye's Monday Morning Meltdown #WhitePrivilege #ChapelHillShooting #PatelAlabama #JackieRobinsonWest #HBCU #Selma #LorettaLynch

📢 White Privilege: "We'll decide what is racist & what is not racist. We are the deciders of everything." pic.twitter.com/pf7y31Mpd4
— Nanticoke Lenape Bae (@MochaLisaccino) February 16, 2015

EYE am back! Did you miss me?  EYE am playing catch up, but here are some issues that caught my EYE to get the ball rolling.

A 57 year old grandfather from India,  Blogger Legal Schnauzer and three Muslim students discover what it's like to be black/brown in America.  Welcome to our world.

What's that you say?  Stripping the Jackie Robinson League of the their title is all about race?  I'm shocked!  Shocked I tell you!  NOT.

Given the racial politics of Chicago and a few of it’s surrounding suburbs, having one mostly white team start a witch hunt against an all black team just smells of racist attitudes.  I rarely use the term racist because often times people act on their ignorance based on prejudices and bigotry, but racist ideals and sensibilities often present themselves in larger ways that affect the metanarrative; it’s hard to label a person racist when so much of the system is slanted and a preferential treatment is automatically given to whites.  Operating in white privilege often means the subconscious, and perhaps unintentional discrimination of denial of persons of color, but in this case it is clearly intentional on not just the denial, but the removal of an earned prize and more importantly, the title.

I can't believe  HBCU's(Historically Black Colleges and Universities) are being criticized by the first African American President of the United States of America.  Strike that.  Yes.  EYE.  Can.   So much for Hope  for  Change we can  Believe  in.

Say it ain't so Joe! Lorretta Lynch is Codoleeza Rice with a law degree and the Senate committee is delaying a vote to confirm her? 

Today's Must Read
Selma in February

No keener an observer than Thurgood Marshall has rightfully made the point that, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, no other president in American history did more for the equal rights of African Americans than Lyndon - not Jack Kennedy, not Bill Clinton (the first "black" president) not even Barack Obama! In fact, Obama's presidency owes its very existence to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, both of which were signed into law by Johnson. I know it's fashionable these days to portray half-witted presidents from Texas in the most negative light (I'm guilty of that, believe me); it's just that Lyndon B. Johnson and George W. Bush just aren't in the same league - it's not even close. Think of it as comparing apples with decomposing ravens.

EYE Shall Return

Monday Morning Meltdown: #AlabamaMarriage #Selma #BloodySunday #BrianWilliams #WakeUpAmerica

#nerdland  Talking About Brian Williams Lying About His Iraq War, Let's Talk About LIARS!! THAT STARTED!! THE WAR!  pic.twitter.com/ewk5z0f3cr
— Larry  (@crazylary51) February 8, 2015

The media that enabled Bush and Dick to send our troops to war based on dead wrong intelligence to look for WMD that was NOT there, without body armor or an exit plan are furious at Brian Williams lies?  Oh. OK.

Politicians in Alabama never learn. It's Deja Voodoo all over again.

In the fight against gay marriage, Gov. Bentley, Attorney General Luther Strange and Chief Justice Roy Moore are a farce to be reckoned with.
Alabama's most powerful, brave and cuddly men are representing Alabama's best interests and fears by making a three-way stand in the courthouse door on an equal rights issue. What could go wrong?

 What's that you say?  President Obama's visit to Selma sparks division?  I'm shocked!  Shocked I tell you!  Not.

Sanders, who said he's marched on the front line only once in all the years he's helped organize the event, said he's happy Obama and the congressional delegation are coming to Selma.
"But if they couldn't have the entire front line to themselves and they decided to hold a separate march on Saturday, then there is something wrong with that," he said.

Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) Wetumpka Tea Party

The plot thickens.

Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, both Republicans, are busily recruiting colleagues to join the Faith and Politics Institute's pilgrimage to Alabama in March.
This week's march-related events in Washington include a Capitol Hill reception and a screening of the movie Selma exclusively for members of Congress. Lawmakers will receive personal, hand-delivered invitations to the march anniversary.

 It's the mainstream media, telling us what they want us to know instead of what we need to know to make informed decisions.  I wonder why?

After spending five months in the Shelby County Jail--I don't think I previously had even a speeding ticket on my record--I know about the dangers of taking on difficult stories.~Legal Schnauzer

Meltdown Complete.  For now.

This isn't the first time President Obama's used #Selma to divide us *Sigh*

H/T Media Matters for America

Let's recap.

The White House announced President Obama would be coming to Selma for a photo op, I mean to commemorate the anniversary of Bloody Sunday on Friday instead of Sunday, blindsiding march organizers, black elected officials, community activist, and foot soldiers.

Black elected officials called a press conference asking President Obama to participate in the annual Sunday march because any attempt to hold two marches, one on March 7 and one on March 8, would be "divisive," and would send the wrong signals to the world.   Ya think?

Let's go back in time to SUNDAY (not to be confused with Saturday) March 4, 2007, and the infamous battle for the hearts and minds of black voters at the annual Bridge Crossing.

SELMA, Alabama (CNN) -- The top two Democratic presidential contenders fought Sunday for the support of African-American voters in a place infamous for a bloody clash between voting rights protesters and police.
Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spoke at events marking the 42nd anniversary of the 1965 Selma voting rights march, a turning point in the civil rights movement that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

How well I remember having to choose between standing in a mile long line to hear Hillary Clinton, or, standing in an even longer line to hear  Barack Obama, give dueling speeches at two churches just a block apart.

 Selma officials say they cannot remember a time where competing presidential candidates showed up at the same time for the event. The presence of both candidates shows just how competitive the race has gotten when it comes to the African-American vote — a key Democratic constituency.

So, candidate Obama came to Alabama on Bloody Sunday, but President Obama is coming to Selma on Saturday?  I wonder why?  I'm just speculating, but I think THIS is the reason President Obama chose not to participate in the Bloody SUNDAY march.

Alabama black leaders invited the Rev. Jesse Jackson to speak out regarding Bloody Sunday during today's press conference, as he was in town discussing voting rights.
Jackson said the Voting Rights Act is eroding in the South since the Supreme Court struck down Section 4.
This section of the act required Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia to get clearance from the federal government or federal court before changing its voting laws.
"The Voting Rights Act is under assault," he said.
That's why the 50^th anniversary of Bloody Sunday -- the march from Selma to Montgomery that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act -- can't be seen as just a celebration, but as a protest for the unprotected, Jackson said.

Again, I'm speculating, but it seems like to me our President wants to commemorate the anniversary of Bloody SUNDAY on Saturday with style, not substance.  We can't have the first African American President of the United States marching in a protest for the unprotected can we?  Snark

Right on cue, every time black elected officials dare criticize President Obama's actions, the media can be counted on to find a black face (yes I said it) to co-sign the division. 

While some black leaders in Alabama are speaking out against President Barack Obama's plans to visit on the actual anniversary date of the Bloody Sunday march, others are simply excited about his return to Selma, no matter the day.
"The President is coming to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this historic event and we are excited that he is coming to this area," Senate Minority Leader Quinton T. Ross Jr. (D-Montgomery) said in a written statement.

I don't know who the unnamed others are, but the majority of Alabamians agree with Alabama State Senator Hank Sanders (D. Selma) .  There is also the rumor the group Faith and Politics unilaterally decided to move the Bloody SUNDAY commemoration from Saturday to Sunday in order to have a celebration on Sunday in Montgomery at the same time the Bloody Sunday event takes place. 

unilaterally decided to move the Bloody Sunday commemoration from Sunday to Saturday in order to have a celebration in Montgomery on Sunday at the time the Bloody Sunday March always takes place. - See more at: http://www.blackpressusa.com/an-open-letter-to-president-barack-obama-from-alabama-state-senator-hank-sanders/#sthash.PcJr3rlr.dpuf

President Obama, the moment was sacred because blood was shed. The moment was sacred because the blood was shed on Sunday, a holy day for so many. The moment was sacred because the day, the blood and the struggle came together in that time and space. Bloody Sunday is sacred. - See more at: http://www.blackpressusa.com/an-open-letter-to-president-barack-obama-from-alabama-state-senator-hank-sanders/#sthash.PcJr3rlr.dpuf

President Obama, the moment was sacred because blood was shed. The moment was sacred because the blood was shed on Sunday, a holy day for so many. The moment was sacred because the day, the blood and the struggle came together in that time and space. Bloody Sunday is sacred. - See more at: http://www.blackpressusa.com/an-open-letter-to-president-barack-obama-from-alabama-state-senator-hank-sanders/#sthash.PcJr3rlr.dpuf

Don't get me wrong, I love President Obama, but it's not about him, it's about the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice of the men, women, and children who were on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody SUNDAY.

Candidate Obama came to Selma on Bloody SUNDAY.

President Obama should come to Selma on Bloody SUNDAY too.

And the problem with President Obama comparing jihadist in the Middle East to acts of violence committed by the United State government is what exactly?

@RedEyesPage @DanteB4u @ShareThis pic.twitter.com/j2J7sIjPcu
— vivian harris (@HarrisVivian) February 7, 2015

Let's be clear:  The Obama Crusades Controversy is over weather it's OK to hate Muslims

 Obama's point was actually pretty simple. Let's not pretend that Islam itself is to blame for ISIS or that Muslims are inherently more violent, he suggested, because the problem of religious violence is not exclusive to any one religion. In other words, don't oversimplify the problem of ISIS to "Muslims are different from the rest of us."

The media enabled spin is in

President Barack Obama caused a wave of backlash after he compared the actions of Islamic State jihadists in the Middle East to acts of violence committed by Christian crusaders centuries ago.

And the problem with President Obama comparing the actions jihadist in the Middle East to acts of violence committed by the United State government  is what exactly?

Most Americans know about the murder of students by National Guard troops at Kent State in Ohio on May 4, 1970, which was later immortalized in song. A smaller group are probably aware of the city and state police murders, at Jackson State in Mississippi, on May 15, 1970. Students from the campus were protesting racism. Two young black people died, 15 students were wounded, and over 460 rounds were fired into a dormitory.
Two years before these tragedies occurred, three young black people who were protesting—not a war in Vietnam, but a war against black people called "segregation"—were killed by police. Twenty-seven more were shot (many in the back) or injured by being beaten with billy clubs. These events took place on February 8, 1968, in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and have come come to be known by those who do remember as "the Orangeburg Massacre."

This post is dedicated to  Delano Herman Middleton, 17,Samuel Ephesians Hammond Jr., 18, Henry Ezekial Smith, 19

RedEye Tiptoeing away from the computer to go pray.

No...Compasssionate, Conservative, Christians aren't violent, they are #Hypocrites

Ku Klux Klan members at a cross burning in 2005

So, the Conservative, Compassionate, Christian, Crowd have their knickers in a knot because President Obama told the truth and shamed the Devil at the National Prayer Breakfast last week.  The faux outrage is proof Americans are afraid to have an honest discussion about history.

 “Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history,” Obama said in his speech at the Washington Hilton. “And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.”

Hmm.....I wonder where did  President Obama learn his moral equivalency garbage?  It's not like Christians don't sin in the name of The Lord.  Snark



That's right (pun intended), President Obama learned his moral equivalency garbage from Reverend Jeremiah Wright.  You know,  his former pastor republicans, enabled by the media, forced him to reject, renounce, and repudiate for preaching the word.

“There is a tendency in us, a sinful tendency that can pervert and distort our faith.   In today’s world, when hate groups have their own Twitter accounts and bigotry can fester in hidden places in cyberspace, it can be even harder to counteract such intolerance. But God compels us to try.  And in this mission, I believe there are a few principles that can guide us, particularly those of us who profess to believe.”

" Obama made a speech that was full of the kind of humility that, you know, the Bible asks of people."

There is more than a whiff of hypocrisy.

#TrayvonMartin #RestInPeace #NoJusticeNoPeace #BlackLivesMatter #J4TM

@CivilRights Remembering #TrayvonMartin on what shd've been his 20th Birthday today #Trayvon #J4TM 02.05.95-02.26.12 pic.twitter.com/MAKpdcZLGm
— StarCreative (@StarCreativeI) February 5, 2015

Huntsville City Schools refuses to fulfill their legal obligation to eliminate segregation "root and branch" Sigh

May the farce be with you...

Huntsville City Schools and the Department of Justice held their final hearing of the public on the proposed the proposed consent order aimed at ending Huntsville City Schools' longtime federal desegregation order in the auditorium of Huntsville High School.  The first two hearings at Lee and Colombia were sparsely attended, but this one was well attended after someone started the rumor if the consent order were to be approved by Judge Haikala it would require students in south Huntsville to be bussed to scary, crime infested, north Huntsville schools where students are required to wear uniforms so administrators can differentiate them from gang members.

Complete with an online petition, which I hope they don't ignore like they did the J.O.Johnson students petition to keep their name, and lots of supporters,  including the Garrison Commander of Redstone Arsenal, students and parents pleaded with the Justice Department to just leave them the heck alone. They heaped praise on school district officials.  Hall Bryant Jr, who has grandchildren enrolled in Huntsville City Schools said Superintendent Casey Wardynski was not hired to "win a popularity contest."  

You got that right.  Casey Wardynski is doing the job he was hired to do.

Casey you have to break the mold and prove you're not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu (sic) types and the entire entitlement crowd! Do that, and you'll be doing the job you were hired to do! Oh yeah, not to mention striking down all racial transfers. And that includes allowing not allowing whites to racially transfer either. If you don't like where your child goes to school, move to where they can be zoned into a school of your preference, that's what I had to do!

That was the tone and tenor of most of speakers, if they weren't whining about being zoned from one great school to another great school, they were bragging about their ability to purchase a home in a "good school district" thereby confirming a defacto separate and unequal school district.

But, but, "unfairness of life"...

To be fair, I  can't blame south Huntsville parents for their activism. It would not be fair if the government forced them to enroll their children to failing public schools, but that's exactly what north Huntsville parents are forced to do. They are at the mercy of Majority to Minority Transfers, Magnet Schools (all on the north side of town), and other gimmicks designed to enhance desegregation.

It is obvious this school district is determined to maintain a dual school system.

Although the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown was ultimately unanimous, it occurred only after a hard-fought, multi-year campaign to persuade all nine justices to overturn the “separate but equal” doctrine that their predecessors had endorsed in the Court’s infamous 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. 

Time will tell the truth...

The consent order has not yet been approved by the school board. It also must be approved by the court before it can be implemented. 
U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala has scheduled a March 11 hearing on the consent order at the federal courthouse in Huntsville.

Stay Tuned.

#BlackHistory #Selma #BloodySunday It's not about Photo Ops, It's about sacrifice and courage

50 years ago today, 1,000 schoolchildren arrested in Selma & Marion Alabama during voter registration campaign pic.twitter.com/ztHHAgYjTf
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) February 3, 2015

Happy Monday

Remember When The #teaparty Urged Businesses 'Not To Hire A Single Person' to Hurt Obama? http://t.co/8bd0icHbJ2 #p2 pic.twitter.com/z3WeBRk1KC
— Casey (@pari_passu) January 31, 2015