Notorious RBG Kneecaps Kaep

UPDATE: The Business Insider reported: "U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday called her criticism of National Football League player Colin Kaepernick "inappropriately dismissive and harsh" and said she should not have commented on his protest against racism and police brutality in the United States." In the NYTimes Justice Ginsburg said she should have declined to comment.

“Some of you have inquired about a book interview in which I was asked how I felt about Colin Kaepernick and other N.F.L. players who refused to stand for the national anthem,” she wrote in a note to reporters. “Barely aware of the incident or its purpose, my comments were inappropriately dismissive and harsh. I should have declined to respond.”

We're getting close now. Election season is almost over, and I can barely wait for it to end. I suspect that a lot of folks feel the way I do now. I'm about numb from the droning din of the election antics, the daily charges and counter-charges pitched across the partisan divide of character assassinations.

Today, one thing stood out to me, and it had nothing to do with the election. It is about Colin Kaepernick. And one of the Supreme Court's icons, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  

Katie Couric interviewed her, and asked about Kaep's "taking the knee." (By the way, without any disrespect to the venerable Rosa Parks, my opinion is that "taking the knee" is preferable in these circumstances and this time period to "staying seated" because, now, it is more difficult to criticize a person on bended knee than one protesting by staying seated.)    

I am flabbergasted at Justice Ginsburg's response.

"When asked by Couric how she feels about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and other athletes, refusing to stand for the anthem, Ginsburg replied, "I think it's really dumb of them...I think it's a terrible thing to do, but I wouldn't lock a person up for doing it. I would point out how ridiculous it seems to me to do such an act...What I would do is strongly take issue with the point of view that they are expressing when they do that."

"All I can say is that I am sensitive to discrimination on any basis because I have experienced that upset...I looked at that sign, and I said, 'I am a Jew, but I'm an American, and Americans are not supposed to say such things," she recalled.

Whiplash!

On the one hand, a carefully calibrated, peaceful, prominent protest against oppression is characterized by a Supreme Court Justice as "dumb...terrible...ridiculous" even as she expresses in the interview that she is "sensitive to discrimination" while taking issue with the protesters "point of view."

Without doubt, the esteemed Justice is much smarter and accomplished than I, but her response exposes a duplicity of her position of epic proportions.

Colin was clear and explicit in his statement.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

Our flag and anthem declare our national principles.

My white stripes stand for liberty and equality for all.
My blue is the blue of heaven, loyalty, and faith.
I represent these eternal principles: liberty, justice, and humanity.
I embody American freedom: freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the sanctity of the home.

I take the knee with Kaep, hand over heart, - and encourage you to, too, at every opportunity.  

RedEye's Midweek Rundown

Real life and Blogging Life are on a collision course today, as it should be, real life won, so please accept this rundown for your reading pleasure until EYE return.

Donald Trump turns full racist and the other GOP candidates seem like the voice of reason.  Don't fall for the Okey Doke.  This is who/what they are.

So, the  United States Supreme Court that stopped the Florida recount in 2000, and, overturned Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act because Obama ,is poised to overturn one man one vote.

What If Christians were seen like Muslims?  

EYE am just saying....

Update~ What Looks Like #VoterSuppression on an Ordinary Day in #SweetHomeAlabama

#MediaDrivenNarrativeAlert:   Gov. Robert Bentley, left to right, Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., and Peggy Wallace Kennedy, daughter of former Gov. George Wallace, in a commemoration of the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery (Julie Bennett/ jbennett@al.com)

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Alabama get voter suppression right!  (pun intended).

Alabama has followed its voter ID requirement that went into effect last year with closing drivers license offices in eight of 10 counties with majority black voting populations. The voter suppression effect is complimented by raising the fee for driver license renewal from $23.50 to $36.25 earlier this year.

EYE don't know why the Alabama Media Group , EYE am look at Y-O-U, Kyle Whitmire, John Archibald, and Dale "Jackson", are acting all shocked and awed Alabama has figured out a way to remain the reddest of the red, Confederate Slave States... today, tomorrow and forever.

EYE don't know why some people are acting all shocked and ashamed to learn Alabama to stop issuing drivers licenses in counties with 75% black registered voters.  Didn't Alabama State Senator Hank Sanders (D. Selma) try to tell y'all?

Hank Sanders knew the red, republican, controlled House would pass the Voter ID bill to disenfranchise black/poor/brown voters.

The Alabama Legislature, under Republican control for the first time since Reconstruction, passed a voter ID law this year. The law takes effect in 2014.
Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin have passed laws this year that allow voters without the required photo ID to cast provisional ballots, but the voters must return to a specific location with that ID within a certain time limit for their ballots to count.
Indiana and Georgia already had such laws. Other states have photo ID laws too, but provide different way to verify a voter’s identity without a photo ID. Texas and South Carolina are awaiting approval for their laws from the Justice Department because of those are among that states with a history of voting rights suppression and discrimination.

EYE knew when the republican majority Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act because things had changed dramatically in the south,  clearing the way for republicans to gerrymander their way to a permanent majority,  this was going to happen.  And it's too late to call for a justice department investigation into the closings Mr. Archibald, Sir.

Maybe if the Alabama Democratic Party had joined with The Alabama Democratic Conference instead of fighting with the Alabama Democratic Conference we wouldn't be in this mess.

EYE am just saying...

Still think Voter ID laws aren’t meant to keep folks from voting? What other purpose can they possibly serve? Back in 2011, Alabama passed a voter ID law requiring Photo ID. For most Americans, that’s a driver’s license.
Unfortunately for folks living in Alabama’s “Black Belt” – the state’s 15 mostly Black counties – those driver’s licences are about to become a LOT harder to get. Why? Because on Thursday, October 1, the state’s shutting down a staggering 31 driver’s license offices, leaving only four open.
Officials claim they’re doing this because of budget cuts, but it looks a lot more like the GOP-controlled state legislature wants to keep Black people from voting. After all, this certainly isn’t the first time the state of Alabama’s tried to keep Black people from voting. And now that the majority -GOP Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, they’re free to do it again.

EYE Report.  YOU Decide. 

Personal Note on BLM and Bernie Sanders

I've been quiet, quiet for a reason. I have been trying to listen to this commentary on Bernie and BLM. So, I thought I would at least check in. 

I'm a Bernie supporter, and have been to see him in person at Madison and Dubuque. And, yes, the crowds are predominately white, despite the notable exception of a white woman in Dubuque who sported a "Black Lives Matter" t-shirt and introduced herself as a member of the Dubuque NAACP.  At those two rallies, the demographics and the season could explain the crowd's whiteness.

The black population in Madison is 7.3%  The Madison rally, which drew 10,000, happened before school started, so many students would not have attended the rally. That said, the number of African-American students at UW-Madison is only 2.9%, or 1,235 students.

Dubuque is a much smaller community than Madison, roughly only 25% as large, and its black population is only 4.0%. The rally itself was much smaller, too, with less than 2,000 people attending.

Income and wealth inequality is an important part of Bernie's proposals, and he notes that it is an important aspect of racial justice, too. He breaks his racial justice proposals into four violence categories: physical, political, legal, and economic, and as he writes about them, you can see how closely linked he recognizes them to be.

As more people learn about Bernie, an aspect that will be raised is: "How is he going to pay for all this?" Fortunately, his senatorial committee memberships on Budget, Joint Economic, Environment and Public Works, Energy and Natural Resources, Veterans Affairs, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions position him well to make informed decisions about changes that will have huge, dynamic impacts on our economy and nation.

Bernie knows where to cut and where to tax to pay for his visionary changes, like free public college tuition, by imposing a small tax on Wall Street transactions.

Here's another example of the far-reaching change that Sanders envisions: worker co-ops.

"We need to develop new economic models to increase job creation and productivity. Instead of giving huge tax breaks to corporations which ship our jobs to China and other low-wage countries, we need to provide assistance to workers who want to purchase their own businesses by establishing worker-owned cooperatives. Studay after study shows that when workers have an ownership stake in the businesses they work for, productivity goes up, absenteeism goes down and employees are much more satisfied with their jobs."

And as banking and corporate systems have failed to meet the needs of the American economy and its workers, this one change could have a huge impact in bettering the lives of working Americans. It is literally people joining together to take control of their working lives and incomes.

One of Bernie's themes is "We Stand Together" (perhaps drawn from Nickelback) and indeed it is around that theme that he delivered these lines in Portland.

13. "If a bank is too big to fail, I think it's too big to exist."

12. "We must end the embarrassment of this country being the only country on earth that does not guarantee workers paid medical and family leave."

11. "We see kids getting criminal records for having marijuana, but the CEOs of these large institutions get away with theft."

10. On the Koch brothers: "When you have one family spending more than either political party, that is not democracy, that is oligarchy, and that has got to end."

9. On Republicans: "What they mean by family values is that our gay brothers and sisters should not be able to marry and enjoy all the benefits of citizenship. I disagree."

8. "Men, stand with the women and demand pay equity. There is no defensible reason why women are making 78 cents on the dollar. That has got to change."

7. On attendance: "Portland, you have done it better than anyone else."

6. "A minimum wage of $7 an hour is a starvation wage. I applaud those cities - Seattle, Los Angeles and others - that have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. And that is exactly what we will do at the federal level."

5. On the very rich: "The have unlimited sums of money. But we have something they do not have. We have a united people."

4. "Every public college and university in America will be tuition-free."

3.  "The cost of war is real, and it is terrible. I believe that war should be the last resort, not the first resort."

2. On his Supreme Court nominees: "They will have to tell the American people that their first order of business will be to overturn Citizens United."

1. "This campaign is sending a message to the billionaire class: Yes, we have the guts to take you on."

"Dream big!" Sanders bellows in rallies (though he was hoarse in Dubuque), and that is part of his rallying cry as he kick starts our peaceful political revolution.

"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.

The Day after the #SOTU and the Repubs are mad now....#IWonTwice

Does Boener have to look like he's getting a colonoscopy everytime Obama says something good about America? I thought Repubs loved America?
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) January 21, 2015

President Obama didn't call out the republicans (and some democrats) to my satisfaction, but he did  throw some major shade  with a drop the microphone moment  that has republicans begging for cheese to go with their whine. 

Republicans tried to get snarky with President Obama during the State Of The Union, but were quickly shot down by an off the cuff presidential reply. After the exchange, conservative media cowered and whined about the president’s “rudeness.”

They can dish out the rudeness but they can't take it, and I suspect rudeness  is code for Uppity, but I digress. Obama isn't the first democratic President to throw shade at republicans, but he's the first African American President, and that's what makes them mad.

So how are they going to get Obama for daring get Uppity  I mean rude to them?  Well, first it was the Voting Rights Act now the republican controlled Supreme Court's Poised To Make It Easier To Deny Someone A Home Because They are Black. 

 For four years, civil rights advocates have struggled to keep the Supreme Court from eliminating a key prong of federal fair housing law. This year, their luck is probably going to run out. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, a case that could leave many victims of housing discrimination unable to win their case in court. Based on the justices’ unusual eagerness to hear the issue presented by Inclusive Communities, their decision is likely to end badly for civil rights.

Let's be clear, republicans showed us who/what they really are last night.

They don't want your child(ren) to have access to a quality public education.

They don't want anyone to have access to quality, affordable health care.

They want to build more new prisons than new schools.

They want to recruit our sons and daughters to fight wars based on dead wrong intelligence.

They are against Fair Housing.
 
They are against poor women (not to be confused with rich women) having access to a safe legal abortion.

They are against equal pay for women, heck they against fair pay for period.

They hate us for our freedom.  I thought I would throw that one in for flavor.

This is the party the media enabled to take control of the House and the Senate.

I HOPE they are happy.

It's like Deja VooDoo All Over Again....

How the GOP Bought, Rigged, Stole and Lynched the 2014 Election http://t.co/nB7V59Wlvq #pjnet #ccot #p2 pic.twitter.com/WffzfYc3Ed
— Blue DuPage (@BlueDuPage) November 12, 2014

Read all about it.

2014 Links I Like

 

 Colorlines A Racial Justice Bucket List for 2014:

The fresh page of a new year—what a thrilling place to be. And to kick off 2014, Colorlines asked several community leaders to share their racial justice wishes for the year. We wanted to to know, what are some truly attainable victories for justice in the coming year? And how could any one of us help achieve them? Just reading the list we received gives me a lot of life and excitement for what lies ahead.

Three Ways to Fight Racism in 2014

2014 will be the year this is made clear to everyone: Racism is not simply personal prejudice/bigotry that only manifests in the form of being unkind to someone on the basis of their skin color or calling them a derogatory name. Racism is a system of oppression, one that creates a society of first- and second-class citizens by denying rights and access to resources to non-white people. Racism is a system of power created by and maintained through public policy. Racist rhetoric or action is anything that reinforces/upholds that system.

Why do whites hate, demonize and look down on blacks?

• Racist messages in jokes, history books, the news and on television, etc,
• Material self-interest,
• Fear of becoming an outcast among whites

Why Courts should matter to African Americans

We must begin to educate the African American Community to understand the importance of their vote and how these courts impact their lives. Since the war on drugs began, more African Americans have been sentenced to prison under the Federal Court System because of the drug laws that have been implemented. African Americans have been disenfranchised because of decisions by Judges regarding voting rights laws that have been enacted in the states. Employment discrimination suits are heard by federal judges and most of the decisions are rendered by a judge. It is important to understand the power that you, the African American Voter have on your livelihoods and well being. There are environmental issues that physically affect our communities and depending on the position of the judge, these issues results don’t necessarily end in our favor.

KarremAbdul-Jabbar:   Supreme Court "Back Sliding" on Race Relations

When asked how the country was doing “on the racial front” but Rose, Abdul-Jabbar answered, “I think we’ve been doing some back sliding. You know what I’ve seen you know some of the Supreme Court decisions and all this effort to suppress….minority voters. I don’t get it. It seems like we’re moving backwards. But I guess we are just gonna have to keep up the fight.”

Feel free to share any links you like! 

Republicans declare racism ended because Rosa Parks

Today we remember Rosa Parks’ bold stand and her role in ending racism. pic.twitter.com/uxIj1QmtkU
— RNC (@GOP) December 1, 2013

The Republican National Committee claimed in a tweet that racism is dead, “Today we remember Rosa Parks’ bold stand and her role in ending racism.”
And then they corrected it with “Previous tweet should have read ‘Today we remember Rose Parks’ bold stand and her role in fighting to end racism.’ Apparently someone informed them that contrary to their PR push, minorities are still insisting that racism exists.

Hear Rosa Parks in her own voice, in her own words describing what happened on  December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, AL.


Today's Must Read
If Only Rosa Parks had an AR15 and 100 Round Mag

I wonder if Rosa Parks had boarded the bus armed with an AR 15 and 100 rounds of ammunition would the bus driver have ordered her to give up her seat in the "colored" section so a white man could sit down?  What if she had jut stood her ground  with an AR15?   As a matter of fact, there probably wouldn't have been a "colored" section if black folks had exercised their 2nd amendment rights.  Oh wait....black folks don't  have 2nd amendment rights back then.   Big Snark

Racism has ended my Donkey.

Tweet of the Century & Today's Must Read(s) and Weep

Funny how the same Repubs whining about 7 hours on ACA website never had problem with ppl waiting in line 7 hours to VOTE. @FoxNews @cspanwj
— Physguy (@physguy2) October 22, 2013

 Read 'Em and Weep

Hell Naw we ain't fergittn!   The Alabama Secretary of State released it's voter suppression guidelines.

Don't you wish democrats had the nerve to shut down the government until the  Voter ID law was defunded?

Republiklan governors are hurting more people than the Affordable Care Act Website. Warning Rude language.

With  Annoying Dems like Debbie Wassermann Schultz who needs republicans?  Real Democrat Alan Grayson is under fire for telling  the truth.  I mean, really?

Speaking of the Tea Party.... Tea party groups seeks to hide donors under Jim Crow-Era exemptions

What's on your must read list?

FreeDon Siegelman Sunday

Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman is arguably America’s most high-profile  political prisoner

 

Why is former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman in jail?  I mean, really? Why is it OK for republicans to shut down the government (except for the military industrial complex) unless President Obama delays and defunds a law that was passed by congress, signed into to law, and upheld by the United States Supreme Court, but it is against the law for former Governor Don Siegelman to appoint a campaign contributor to a board?

In 2009, a bipartisan amicus brief by 91 former state attorneys general urged the Supreme Court to use Siegelman’s case to enunciate a clear standard for establishing quid pro quo bribery. Today’s confusion and the resulting prosecutorial discretion chill the exercise of constitutional rights of political participation and can imprison people unjustly.~George Will

You think?

Today's Must Read
Dana Siegelman Interview:  A Glimpse into American Injustice

Playing Politics with Suckers Lives Day 2

I understand that Teapublitarian voters are a bunch of mindless rubes, but does Eric Cantor think the rest of America is just as stupid?


Mission Accomplished:  The Tea Party Shutdown of the government continues.

WASHINGTON — The Tea Party Republicans should hang a “Mission Accomplished” banner across the House of Representatives. They could flank it with large portraits of Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who has in fact, if not in name, replaced John Boehner as Speaker of the House. The right-wing extremists got exactly what they wanted. Now, what will the country do about it?

The Real Story of the GOP Shutdown:  50 Years of GOP Race Baiting:

On the day the Affordable Care Act takes effect, the U.S. government is shut down, and it may be permanently broken. You’ll read lots of explanations for the dysfunction, but the simple truth is this: It’s the culmination of 50 years of evolving yet consistent Republican strategy to depict government as the enemy, an oppressor that works primarily as the protector of and provider for African-Americans, to the detriment of everyone else. The fact that everything came apart under our first African-American president wasn’t an accident, it was probably inevitable.

Hostage Taking is All They Have

"In a democracy, hostage tactics are the last resort for those who can’t otherwise win their fights through elections, can’t win their fights in Congress, can’t win their fights for the Presidency, and can’t win their fights in Courts," Warren said. "For this right-wing minority, hostage-taking is all they have left – a last gasp of those who cannot cope with the realities of our democracy."

The GOP Takes It's Clothes Off in Public:  It's Not a Pretty Sight, Even For Some Republicans

And so, the "moderate" (ho, ho, ho) House Republicans tell us that what they are afraid of is primary challenges from the "Tea Party" should they vote for rationality on the continuing resolution matter and then on the perhaps more important debt ceiling increase that is just around the corner. Well yes, many of them would face such challenges, but the overall national leadership of the GOP is just as afraid of them as any individual House member is. For in the highly gerrymandered districts inhabited by so many Republicans in the House, many of those challenges would be effective. But then, in the general election, given decent Democratic candidates with some money from the DNC, even in gerrymandered districts, as happened in a few elections in 2010 and 2012, the far-rightists might be so far-right, that Democrats might be able to take over the House. To say nothing of what it might do to GOP chances in the state–wide elections for Governor and Senator. Then there's Ted Cruz and 2016. A big OY! on that one.

 That Thing about Congress Being "Exempted from ObamaCare?  A Huge Whopper

You might’ve heard just about every Republican member of Congress, along with Fox News and AM talk radio, shrieking about how President Obama has “exempted” Congress from Obamacare. The point they’re trying to make is that Obamacare is so awful and so ridiculous that the Obama administration has offered Congress a Get-Out-Of-Obamacare-Free card. Taking it one step further, they’re insisting that if Obamacare isn’t good enough for Congress, why should the American people be forced to endure its awfulness? The people should be exempted, too, which means the elimination of the individual mandate, and, without the mandate (a Republican idea by the way), premiums would skyrocket and the law would explode. Political sabotage, pure and simple.

Radical GOP House Made Safe by Gerrymandering:  

Bad politicians were sent to Washington by Citizens United, Gerrymandering, and Voter Suppression.

But let’s not forget who draws the lines for redistricting—state lawmakers (and in a few states, commissions appointed by the states). These legislators are often chosen in midterm and off-year elections in which the composition of the electorate has tended to be older and whiter than in presidential election years. That helps explain why the Democrats took a beating in 2010. The lesson is that midterm elections can have big consequences. If Democrats ever want to win back the House, they have to get their people to the polls in the off years. And if the Supreme Court guts the Voting Rights Act, it will be more important than ever.

Field Negro ~ I know that most of you reading this haven't felt it yet, but my fear is that we will feel it in unspeakable ways down the line. Our national security is at stake. The safety of our air travel will be jeopardized and the lives of poor children will be disrupted.

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.

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.

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.

Snowy Saturday Reading List and Week in Review

I guess the media believes if they regurgitate republican talking points over and over again the American people will believe it's the truth instead of a media-driven narrative.  Here's the deal, in a nutshell, Republicans refuse to budge on tax breaks for the rich, President Obama refuses to cut Social Security and Medicare.  And that my friends is all you really need to know.

 Don't forget this is the same media who enabled Bush and Dick to take our troops to war based on DEAD WRONG INTELLIGENCE, and who told us the 2012 presidential election was going to be close.  As a matter of fact, what has the media been right (no pun) about lately? 

There is one thing I will agree with the Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads on, President Obama has no one to blame but himself for this sad, sorry, state of affairs.  Why he didn't believe republicans when they said they wanted him to fail I don't know.  Did he honestly believe the Sequester would be so awful republicans would compromise?  Everybody knows you can't compromise with a Suicide Bomber.  Their mission is to blow you up if they have to blow themselves up in the process...... so be it.

The Republican war on black voters, I mean entitlements, was in full force last week.  Everyone is expecting the Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II Supreme Court to overturn Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 since it was the only thing that prevented Republicans from stealing the election...again.

Republican hubris mushroomed into Republican arrogance as Alabama republicans invited Alabamians to kiss it this week under the guise they helping poor children flee failing schools.

By using this twilight legerdemain to pass a complex, watershed piece of legislation, Republicans avoided any input from our state's educators, from our state's financial experts and, most important, from we the people.
What an open display of contempt for the public: No need to bother writing your state senator or representative about your thoughts on tax credits to raise money for private schools. They don't need to hear from the likes of you.
Republican legislators disappeared into a cloakroom and practically had their way with us while we didn't even know it.

If Republicans are having their way with us, shouldn't we at least enjoy it?  I mean, really?

“Republicans heralded it as a historic day for education and life-altering for children stuck in poorly performing schools. But tempers boiled over as Democrats called the maneuver “sleaziness” and a “bait and switch.”"
On the other side of the aisle:
Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, as she was leaving the House chamber threw her hands over her head and shouted, “Welcome to the new confederacy where a bunch of white men are now going to take over black schools.”

Blast from the past re-post.

  I've noticed a renewed interest in WTF did Joe Reed to do you?, which gave me the opportunity to correct some typo's and update some links. The original content is unchanged. Looking back I have to wonder how Left in Alabama feels about Joe Reed now. Their candidate, Artur Davis ,was anti AEA and pro privatizing  public education in Alabama, and he was backed by the business community in and outside of the state.  That's a group with little love for entitlements, I mean,  social programs such as access to quality, affordable health care, equal access to a quality public education, a poor woman's right to choose to have a safe, legal abortion, access to birth control, LBGT rights, and the right to vote, and have that vote count.

 All roads lead to Selma mobilizing to Free Don Siegelman! H/T Sharron via Pam's List

LAST MINUTE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR SELMA TOMORROW!

We just found out some different procedures for tomorrow due to Secret Service for the Vice-President.

We will still be distributing shirts and signs, but we will not know for certain exactly where we can set up until we get there in the morning.

So just look for this banner of Gov. Siegelman and that is where we will be.

Some other things to note is EVERYONE will have to go through metal detectors.

The Bridge Crossing will still begin at 1:30. The march from Brown Chapel AME Church to the bridge will begin at 11:00am.

If we understood it correctly, Vice-President will speak at the bridge prior to the crossing at 1:30.

We'll figure it all out, but we will make sure we get these signs and t-shirts distributed to you before 1:30.

 Happy reading!

Black folks aren't "entitled" to vote in America

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Sigh

Thirteen years after the Florida recount, it looks like republicans are going to get their way, once again using the same Supreme Court that handed them the election,  to snatch Section 5 away from the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

If you can't beat em, suppress em.

Can't say I didn't see this day coming.

Race still  matters.  If the election of the first African American President bought out the worst in some (not to be confused with all) white Americans, his re-election has driven them over the edge.  The looming Sequester is the big payback for the people who re-elected President Obama. Obama voters, already feeling  the pain of republican polices stabbing them in the back,  the Sequester will  twist the knife.
 
Let's be honest.. the word entitlements, rather it be in regard to spending or voting, is code for lazy black folks who want the government to take care of them and give them free stuff.

 “The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America?’ No, no, no, not ‘God Bless America,’ ‘God Damn America.’”

This is what Reverend Jeremiah Wright was talking about.

Can you hear him now?