HustleKnockin'

Harry Reid Was Actually Right

"He Told The Truth"
And Three More Reasons to leave Senator Harry Reid Alone:

I’m going to do something I don’t normally do here on Hustleknockin—defend dumbass politicians. But here's one time where it's needed; so here goes:

Leave Senator Harry Reid alone.

I’m a college educated African American with a muslim name and no discernable negro dialect—except when I want one; and as such, I’m about as offended by Harry Reid’s “light-skinned/no negro dialect” comment as I was in Feb 2007 when Joe Biden said of his then-democratic primary rival: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy” Biden said of Obama. “I mean, that's a storybook, man."

In short, I’m not offended by Reid's words one bit.

Reason #1: It’s100% true.

Fact is, Barack Obama became the most electable Black candidate in the history of national US politics for as much as what he isn’t as what he is.

Harry Reid knows that politics is about electability and electability is about mass appeal—both rational and irrational. Reid, Biden and their pseudo-enlightened hand-wringing critics on all sides know that there’s a big ugly reason why, since the US declared its independence 1776 we’ve only had 123 Blacks in Congress (out of 9,000 plus); only 6 black senators (out of 1,913 total)—ever; a and 5 black governors—ever, and as of 2010, exactly one non-white US president. Harry Reid knows that there’s an ugly reason why despite raising more money than any candidate in history and bdespite having a whole host of other political assets, Obama still lost almost 57% of White voters to McCain/Palin, a ticket that had more holes than a warehouse fulla mesh.

Harry Reid knows that if Barack Obama had Michelle Obama’s skin tone, Hilary Clinton would be celebrating her first year as the first female president of the United States. Harry Reid knows that if Barack Obama had the “negro dialect” of Jesse Jackson of Al Sharpton, or Tavis Smiley or Chris Rock, regardless of his intelligence or policies, he’d probably still be in the Illinois State Senate or maybe in the House of Reps. (Don’t believe me? Hilary Clinton has a great “negro dialect,” but she still lost.)

Harry Reid knows that if Barack Obama had been the great-great-grandson of US-born slaves (instead of the son of a Nigerian immigrant and a Kansas woman of Irish ancestry) he’d probably have gotten about as much support from the DNC as the Green Party gave to Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente.

Reid knows the game. As does every member of every political party at every level in America knows the game.  Obama knew his advantages and played them right into the White House.

But singling out Senator Reid (and Biden before him) is no different than the white politicians who single out Black Churches once every 4 years so they can feign the holy ghost, tell half-assed, half-baked white-guilt stories and accuse their opponents of wanting to bring back Jim Crow for votes—it’s an easy way to pretend you care racially equality knowing good and hell well that you really don’t.

Problem #2: This comment is old as hell.

Reid’s comment has been an open secret since he said it back in 2008; and we all know, Washington can’t keep secrets worth a damn. So the real question is why are all these “get Reid” folks mad now? I swear, the only thing worse than phony outrage is phony outrage covered in cobwebs. (Now where’s my bug spray?)
 
Problem #3: Reid’s Apology was more Insulting.

Reid’s comment was the most honest observation about race in America any white politician has made since John Edwards’ Two Americas speech in 2003. But instead of defending it for what it was—an acknowledgment of the double-standard laced minefield politicians of color must face—Harry Reid has cowered and caved while his attackers—none of whom want a genuine dialogue on race in politics—have corralled Reid’s comment into the old binary (and easily disposed of) “offensive-or-not” box.

Problem #3: Who's Mad, Really?

Funny how most Black folks, online and off aren’t that really mad at Reid, at least not enough to sound off about it. Sure some are, like Michael Eric Dyson, as we’re not monolithic on any issue these days. But based on what I’ve seen on TV and read online, this has been reduced to i pissing contest between White Conservatives and White Liberals arguing over what’s offensive to Black Americans.

That’s mighty, um, Aavatar of all y’all.

One of these days White politicians and White commentators are gonna learn to let Black folks decide for ourselves who the anti-black racists are and what's actually offensive to us, and leave it at that. One of these days…

Problem #4: Where’s the Reform, Harry?

Harry Reid and the DNC’s refusal to fight for a public option, and dragging ass on sweeping reforms in the education system, the prison system or the predatory lenders and credit card hustlers) all of which disproportionately hurts Blacks and other communities of color says far more about how Reid and the DNC truly see Black folks than which n-word he uses.

In the end,both the DNC and RNC along with assorted political hacks  and media whores are, once again using race, specifically black folks as fodder in their holier-than-thou war. And I for one am offended by this.

(But hey what do I know? I'm just a dark-skinned negro with a terrorist-sounding name.)

Is Roman Polanski the Willie Horton of 2010?

Not sure this is what you had in mind for a Sunday, but I felt it, so I'm riding on it again!

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Will Roman Polanski become the Willie Horton of the 2010 elections?

By: B. Canseco

For as long as I can remember, a cornerstone of the GOP’s  political strategy is secular righteousness—we’re divinely charged to be in charge. And the flipside of that is Liberals are destroying America’s soul. To that end GOPers and Conservatives are always looking for proof that liberals are destroying the moral fabric of America—be it support of abortion, gay rights, affirmative action, “soft on war” foreign policy or “socialist” economic ventures… the “liberalism is a sin of the societal soul” angle’s their forte.

That’s why I wonder if Hollywood’s (stunningly blind) support of Roman Polanski in recent months will be used against the left in 2010 elections, which will be in key states all over the US. and have a huge impact in the Senate, the House of Reps and several governors mansions...

So-called wedge issues tend to play better in local and state elections than in national ones as you can tailor to your marketplace.

I can just imagine posters and mailings and web initiatives tying Polanski to education “do you want pedophile lovers setting our schools’ curriculum”? I can hear Glenn Beck and Limbaugh and Coulter ranting about the so-called Hollywood Crazies and their "lack of family values" and "moral relativism"...

For those of you who don't remember Willie Horton, here's why you should be concerned:
 

Now the thing to keep in mind is Michael Dukakis had nothing to do with Willie Horton getting furloughed. Nothing. In fact, Horton wasn't even being held in Mass. the state Dukakis was governor of. It was a total absolute conflation that played on largely racial fears of angry black criminalized men roaming the streets and coming after "our women and children" and the Left's supposed lack of regard for tough prosecution.

In every election all parties and candidates engage in similar sorts of blurring of facts and playing on fears to stir up voters. Keep in mind, this is the age of "Hussein Obama," the socialist Kenyan. And Townhallers with guns...

The Polanski case seems to be ripe for such an effort. It would be petty, distract from larger issues, pick at wounds—new and old, and provoke visceral outrage from multiple corners, both pro and con. ,p>And hey, isn't that what modern politics is all about?

We Defunded A.C.O.R.N. What About Blackwater?

I like Jeremy Scahill over at The Nation. I figure anybody crazy enough to go after Blackwater and all sorts of governmental malfeasance without wearing a flack jacket can't be all bad. Besides, the guy does his research and is seldom wrong.

Now last week i wrote about the hypocrisy of trying to these numb-nuts bringing down A.C.O.R.N. and the weakness of Congress revoking ACORN's funding. (see here)

Seems that Jeremy agread with me and took it one step further when he now asks: Since we got ACORN Why not defund BlackWater?

My guess is someone is gonna pay this poor Scahill guy a visit sooner or later. Chin up kid... I got my share of threats for KNOCK THE HUSTLE, but I'm still breathing. Broke, but rich in oxygen, nonetheless. Tho, methinks you're gonna need to invest in a current passport and some friends with good hiding places before this is all over. Stay safe, dude. And keep writing.

As for everyone else, here's some of J's genius at work. Read more of his stuff at The Nation, Rebelreports.com, and follow him on Twitter: @jeremyscahill.

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Where is the Defund Blackwater Act?

By Jeremy Scahill

September 25, 2009

Republican Congressional leaders are continuing their witch hunt against ACORN, the grassroots community group dedicated to helping poor and working-class people. Their campaign has gained bipartisan legislative support in the form of the Defund ACORN Act of 2009, which has now passed the House and Senate. Yet the bill was written so broadly that, as Ryan Grim at the Huffington Post has pointed out, it could "plausibly defund the entire military-industrial complex."

According to the Project on Oversight and Government Reform, this legislation could potentially eliminate a virtual Who's Who of defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing and KBR and other corporations like AT&T, FedEx and Dell.

Perhaps one of the most jarring comparisons here is the fact that ACORN is being attacked. Yet the Obama administration continues to contract with Blackwater, the Bush administration's favorite mercenary company, which is headed by Erik Prince. Prince was a major donor to Republican causes and campaigns, including those of some of the Defund ACORN bill's sponsors, like Indiana Republican Mike Pence, one of the key figures hunting down Van Jones. A former employee recently described Prince as a man who "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe" and said that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."

Blackwater has a $217 million security contract through the State Department in Iraq--a contract just extended indefinitely by the Obama administration. It also holds a $210 million State Department "security" contract in Afghanistan, running through 2011 and another multimillion-dollar contract with the Defense Department for "training" in Kabul. This is on top of Blackwater's clandestine work for the CIA, including continuing work on the drone bombing campaign in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This also does not take into account Blackwater's lucrative domestic work training law enforcement and military forces in the United States at the company's compounds in North Carolina, California and Illinois, nor the private "security" work it does for entities like the International Republican Institute, nor the work it does in training "faith-based organizations." Nor does it include the contracts doled out to Prince's private CIA, Total Intelligence Solutions, which works for foreign governments and Fortune 500 corporations.

Then there is this fact: Blackwater was paid more than $73 million for federally funded, no-bid security contracts with the Department of Homeland Security in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, billing taxpayers $950 per man per day, a spending decision the Bush administration called "the best value to the government." In the wake of the hurricane ACORN, meanwhile, only helped poor people who were suffering as a result of the government's total failure to respond.

A recent federal audit of Blackwater, compiled by the State Department and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, suggests the company may have to repay some $55 million to the government for allegedly failing to meet the terms of just one federal contract in Iraq--which, it is important to note, is $2 million more than the total amount allotted by the government to ACORN over the past fifteen years. (The company also cannot account for one federally funded "deep fat fryer" in Iraq, according to the audit.)

Since 2003 Blackwater has raked in well over $1 billion in security contracts alone--all of which were kicked off by a no-bid contract to guard former Coalitional Provisional Authority head Paul Bremer. Let's also remember that Blackwater was estimated in Congressional hearings in 2007 to earn some 90 percent of its revenue from the government. Prince refused to disclose his salary but said it was more than $1 million. Blackwater has been or is being investigated by Congress, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the Justice Department and the IRS, among other agencies, for a range of issues from arms smuggling to manslaughter to tax evasion. One of its operatives pleaded guilty to killing an innocent, unarmed Iraqi civilian, while five others have been indicted on manslaughter and other charges stemming from the 2007 Nisour Square massacre, during which seventeen Iraqi civilians were gunned down. The company is also facing a slew of civil lawsuits alleging war crimes and extrajudicial killings in Iraq.

Here is a question for the Democratic lawmakers that voted in support of the Defund ACORN Act: how do you justify making this a major league legislative priority while Blackwater continues to be armed and dangerous around the globe on the US government payroll? Where is the Defund Blackwater Act?

Obama, Dems + the GOP reject Jimmy Carter

Conservatives and Kooks Cheer

as Obama Ditches Jimmy Carter
By: B. Canseco

Jimmy Carter didn't deserve Obama repudiating him last week. Jimmy Carter didn't deserve the legions of GOPers and Conservatives giving Obama the condescending-whiteboy-attaboy for downplaying the factor of race in the motivation of many of Obama's critics. Jimmy Carter didn't deserve having legions of (mostly white) liberals remaining silent as he got picked on once again. Jimmy Carter just didn't deserve any of it.

Carter didn't deserve it because Jimmy Carter was right. And deep down, we all know he was right. But this wasn't the first time Carter's been right.

For long as I can remember, if there's one thing liberals and conservative alike always seem to agree on is that Jimmy Carter was the one president nobody wanted to be president. if you think John McCain was the unwanted nominee by the GOP, you should study Carter's run.

Growing up, my mom and my dad always liked Jimmy Carter. They smiled whenever they saw him on TV. I asked them why and they’d tell me, “when a southern white man who owns a plantation can talk about injustice, you can trust him.”

But that’s Jimmy Carter—the dumbass, bible-thumpin' peanut farmer from Georgia. At least, that’s how he’s  remembered (and still known) in most circles.

Liberals largely hated Carter because he wasn't cool; not hip enough; Carter has never been one for spitting out wild-ass  smart-aleck attacks  against the obvious right -wing targets just to get attention. Plus he was southern farmer who owned a plantation—and that just reminded the Dems too much of their LBJ roots. Also Carter didn't play the "southern strategy" that so many white dems (and RNCers) played to win.

But I also think Liberals hate on Jimmy Carter to this day, largely because he’s a devout Christian. If there’s one thing liberals hate more than conservatives, it’s Christians. At some point liberals in America convinced themselves that faith in anything beyond science and logic is the sole domain of mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging hate-mongering fools. (You could be the smartest guy in the room, the most caring woman in town, but you tell a liberal that you’re a born-again Christian and out come the backhanded compliments and verbal slams to your face and behind your back.)

It didn't help that Jimmy Carter came out and endorsed Obama's run in 2008; while most thought he'd side with fellow southerner Bill Clinton's wife, he knocked the long-rumored idea of a Barack Obama-Hilary Clinton ticket by saying, "If you take that 50 percent who just don't want to vote for Clinton and add it to whatever element there might be who don't think Obama is white enough or old enough or experienced enough or because he's got a middle name that sounds Arab, you could have the worst of both worlds". It was typical Carter—blunt, plain, and deep down inside, true. Needless to say, the Clintons still hate Jimmy Carter.

Besides his being a democrat, Conservatives hate Carter not because he's a Christian—but because he's not their kind of Christian. For Jimmy Carter Christianity meant following Christ not the GOP. Christianity also meant speaking out against injustice, serving the poor, building up and not bullying, and challenging folks to do good and not just talking about how good you think you are. The GOP hated that. Still does.

Fact is, Jimmy Carter is the only Christian politician that acts more like a Christian than a politician. I’ll go a step further and add that despite being a democrat, Carter’s more Christian than 99% of the GOP and damn near all so-called conservatives. And what’s worse is deep down inside, they all know it.

And if that ain’t enough, they also hated Carter for his politics, which were greatly tied to  his faith. Carter didn’t believe capitalism was the savior of the world and favored regulating the increasingly greedy knuckleheads on Wall St. He got slammed for that. He got blamed for the oil shortage of 1979, too. Even though he really had little to do with it.

Carter also chose to talk enemies as well as allies; and to and when possible negotiate with Middle Eastern countries and the then-USSR, a no-no for neo-cons who thought it made America soft. Carter  just thought it was the humane and intelligent thing to do.

As a result everybody gave Jimmy Carter 4 years of aggravation, indifference and blame for everything that didn’t get done in his administration.

Since leaving politics, Jimmy Carter has done more for the poor, homeless and disenfranchised than all his critics combined. He didn't start habitat For humanity, but he made it into the organization it is today. In fact, thanks to his work with habitat, Jimmy Carter's built more homes in the post-Katrina gulf than the Obama, Clinton, Bush administrations (and even Brad Pitt combined). Not that anyone cares what Jimmy Carter does these days.

Also Carter’s pissed of whole chunks Jews and Neocons alike in his recent bestseller "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," a book that—gasps—criticizes ALL sides in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (I’m sorry but when you’ve got folks that have been fighting off ‘n’ on for 2,000 plus years, at some point everybody’s a little culpable.) But for some reason, to say anything beyond “There is no greater friend to Israel than me” is to guarantee being accused of firing up ovens and digging lye pits.

So when Jimmy Carter said Barack Obama was being criticized because lots of people don’t believe in and still wont accept a black person as President, he knows what he’s talking about. Carter's been criticized by everyone for everything and nothing. He knows the difference between personal attacks and political posturing. He knows the difference between doubt and dissent. And as my momma said, a south white plantation owner probably racism knows racism when he sees it.
 
But when the Obama Admin responded to questions about Carter’s observation by saying Jimmy Carter was wrong and distancing themselves from him, once again Barrack Obama proved two things: (1) People still don’t respect Jimmy Carter. And (2): Barrack Obama would rather stand up to his friends than stand up to his enemies.
 
Forget what you heard: Jimmy Carter is a G. I’m talking posturepedic slept-on. He’ll be fine. He’ll keep building more homes and helping more poor people and doing more good around the world than all his critics combined.

But Obama’s another story. If this keeps up, at some point within the next 3 years Obama’s gonna run out of people to distance himself from/repudiate in the name of appeasement; and all he’ll be left is those who never have and never will respect him or his agenda.

When that day comes, hopefully Obama will be smart enough to call up the peanut farmer guy—he’ll show ‘em how to move when everybody’s against you.

Hey Barack, you owe Kanye an apology!

Barack Obama owes Kanye West an Apology!
By: B. Canseco

Add President of the United States to the list of people Kanye West has ticked off.

Say what you want about Ye, but how many non-politicians can claim that they got a sitting US president to call them a jackass to the media? This is more punk than Sid Vicious, more metal than Metallica and more rebellious than Public Enemy.

I mean, the President of the United States took time out of his day to call you a jackass. That's big-time! (Download Pres_Obama_calls _Kanye_a.Jackass if you haven't heard it yet.)

But the real question is when will Barack Obama apologize to Kanye West?

Ever since he’s been a national figure, whenever Barack Obama insults someone, he ends up apologizing. Here's some highlights:

In 2008 during the democratic primary race against Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama referred to HRC as “she's no Annie Oakley” which was a dig at her newfound, seemingly pandering NRA allegiance. The comment drove most every female supporter of HRC’s (including Geraldine Ferraro) into a fit and they demanded an apology. Next thing you know, Obama apologized.

Back in April 09, Barack Obama went to Europe and gave a speech in Strasbourg, where Obama said that historically America had failed to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world and had been “arrogant and dismissive” in dealing with Europe. US Republicans Conservatives such as Limbaugh, all of Fox News, etc all but rioted in the streets.

And Obama apologized.

In March 09 when obama was on the Tonight Show talking about his poor bowling skills he said he looked like he "was in the Special Olympics." Well they got mad and demanded an apology. And Obama apologized.

Now when Obama heard his friend and Ivy League professor Skip Gates was arrested by Mass. police Sgt. Willam Crowley Obama said Crowley “behaved stupidly.” Despite having Crowley’s stupidity proven by his own police report and the words he spoke interviews which proved that Crowley arrested Gates ONLY AFTER ascertaining that (1) Gates was not a criminal (2) No crime had occurred (3) Gates was in fact the owner of the residence in question (4)Gates was no threat to himself, Crowley and the entire Mass. Police dept demanded an apology from Obama.

And they got it. Obama apologized, despite the fact his characterization of Crowley as “being stupid” was not only accurate, but a generous understatement at worst.

And these are just the highlights. In just a few short months, Obama has become Apologizer In Chief,  saying he’s sorry to everybody with a gripe about anything he says or does. It’s part of his “reaching across the aisles” strategy, I guess.

So now it’s Kanye’s turn. Barack needs to pucker up and have a plate of kanye crow.

Now is Kanye a Jackass? At times, yes. Did Kanye behave jackassedly towards Taylor Swift at the VMAs? Obviously. And it’s not the first time Ye’s done this at an awards show, etiher.

But again, this is about Obama’s history of folding like starched creases in the face of bogus outrage; and I see no reason for him to stand his ground now. Kanye’s no bigger a jackass than the other jackasses that Barack Obama has appeased, apologized to and cowtowed to in recent years. So…

*clears throat*

Barack Obama: You owe Kanye West an apology! How dare you slander this hardworking American for his passionate display of his freedom of speech, you lying, over-promising, godless socialist!  Apologize right now!

Now if Obama doesn't apologize to Kanye West, this will show me that Obama's level of fortitude begins and ends with petulant peripherally relevant pop stars. Not politicians who insult the president or call him a liar. Not hate spewing race-baiting media outlets. Not corrupt lyinging corporations who take bailout money and give it to their undeerworked, incompetetant execs. No...

Just pop stars.

My guess is all those rappers who took shots at GWB had better not get any ideas about going in on OB. He ain't havin' it.

Jackasses.

Inglourious Basterds! Holocaust Sensationalists...

Inglorious Basterds:
Holocaust Sensationalists vs. Holocaust Survivors
By: B. Canseco

When Brad Pitt snorts out, "We're killin' Nazis!" in that crunchy cartoonish twang from his new flick, there's a who cross section of America that thinks dumping a few clips into Obama and his supporters is a good place to start.

Now as an African-American I see a perverse, comical irony in watching a bunch of angry, almost exclusively White, people calling the nation's first Black/multiethnic president a "Nazi". Now I'm not too worked up over it all because I don't think Obama's in any danger. I've dealt with my share of bigots and hate mongers in my life and these folks aren't too much different.  With few exceptions, these people are largely too cowardly and too stupid to pull something like a presidential assassination off. Long as the Secret Service is doing its job, they ought to be able to handle the handful of bravehearts among them.

But as Katy Abram and others are proving, these folks are also too intellectually lazy to ever be engaged in civil discourse. But just in case, to be on the safe side, I'd like them to meet Sol Berger.

I met Mr. Berger a few weeks back at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Since about 1994, Mr. Berger goes over to the M.O.T. and talks about his time as a Holocaust survivor.

Ever seen that 'Defiance' movie—the one with Daniel Craig from '08? Yeah, that one. It's about how Jews and assorted European ethnics hid out in a forest for years to escape being murdered by the Nazi troops. Well, Sol Berger was one of those folks. He lived in a forest with hundreds of others for like 3 years. He ran from country to country all over Europe to get as far away from the Nazis as possible. He had to pretend to be Roman Catholic just to hide his Jewish identity from roving Nazi sympathizers that had taken over Europe. Berger lost much of his family to the gas chambers and firing squads.

By 1950 Berger ended up in the US where he and his wife—another holocaust survivor whom he married on the run, after knowing for  her for about 2 weeks—have lived a pretty prosperous life since.

One of Sol's surviving brothers used to speak at the Museum Of Tolerance until the early 1990s when he got too sick to continue. That's when Sol took his place.

Sol told us that while he never talked about his life until then, his brother begged him to go tell his story because, "there are people who still don't believe it happened. They say the holocaust was a fraud. Tell your story so they know the truth."

He's been speaking his truth for years now.

He's a little old man, but he's twice the storyteller that I am. Maybe because he doesn't have to make anything up. Those are the best stories--the ones that you've lived through. The ones' you've survived. the ones that give you nightmares every night, as Sol says he'd had every night for the last +55 years straight.

When I see these fools on TV talking about how Obama is a Nazi I think of Sol Berger and what he went through. When I hear Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh warning of "death panels" I think of Sol Berger hiding in a basement with his brother as Nazi troops rolled through their town. When I see critics claiming that "our country is being taken from us" I think of people like Sol.

When I see this picture plastered all over the place:—

I think about what Mussolini's thugs and Hitler's minions did. And what it must've been like for folks like Sol knowing that while he was running for his life, he had to also run away from his homeland because it really wasn't his anymore. It wasn't anyone's—not anyone sane, at least.

To a lesser degree, when I see all these angry bitter, gun-clinging, bible-thumping-but-not-reading fools yelling slurs and slogans, I think of my older sister who lived the first 15 years of her life under Jim Crow and was forced to go to segregated schools.

I think of my parents and grandparents who grew up knowing there was nowhere else to run or hide even though the country they were raised in saw them as not human and not equal under the law...

Now let's be clear: I don't worship Obama. I don't agree with a lot of what he's doing.

But Hitler?

Ask Sol Berger about Hitler. Ask Jews who survived the Holocaust about socialism and tyranny. Ask African Americans who survived Jim Crow about having "their country" taken away from them. Ask the black residents of Washington DC who are allowed neither a governor nor senators what it means to be marginalized and misrepresented by their own government.

If any of these birthing-townhalling-gun worshippin so-called "real American" people had the courage or them calm to ask Sol Berger (or my parents) about what it  means to experience your country and your government turning on you, they wouldn't get the answers they're looking for, but they'd get the answers they need to hear.

Obama: Every Silver Lining has a Cloud...

While everyone's cheering Obama's win as ushering in a new danw in U.S. politics and society, let's keep a couple things in mind:

We just lost the only Black Senator in the U.S. Once Obama's sworn in on 1/17/09, Illinois will lose the second Black Senator in US history since Reconstruction. (Carol Moseley Braun was the first, having served (1992-96).

In fact, we've only had 5 Black Senators in U.S. History: Barack Obama (2004-2008), Carol Moseley Braun (1992-96)  Hiram Revels (1870-71), Blanche Bruce (1875 –1881) and Ed Brooke (1966-1972).

America has had exactly 3 Black governors total. The first was Douglas Wilder who was elected Governor of Virginia in 1989 and served the one term in Virginia.  In Massachusetts, Deval Patrick was elected in 2006 as the second Black Governor. Right now, David Patterson of New york is the nation's only Black governor.

Why is that important? Because the real political power that effects the day-to-day lives of U.S. citizens resides not in the White House but in the US Senate, the U.S. Congress and in the Governors' mansions across the country.

Obama's election isn't reparations. It's not payback. And it's not a license to pretend that the past never happened or is so far out of view that it's irrelevant nor should it be an excuse to pretend that the future is so close that the present isn't worth acknowledging.

I'm a black male—from chicago, african heritage, muslim name. I'm educated. No prison record... yet I wouldn't wish the crap I've seen in my life as far as racial inequities and related societal hurdles on anyone. Only my parents saw worse and only their parents saw worse than them and so on.

So, as happy as I am for the new administration, I don't want to see Barack Obama reduced to another trophy in the America's-so-cool trophycase sitting right next to Motown, Will Smith, Jay-Z, Oprah, Bill Cosby, Michael Jordan, MLK, Jr. and Chris Rock. Yet I fear, that after only 4 days in that's where this thing is already headed—and at breakneck speed, no less.

Keep in mind, that in order to run and win Barack Obama ran a "post-racial race" aka (my race/people are only as relevant as the larger society's desire to ignore differences and their willingness to "get over it").

Obama also ran a race with almost no mention of: challenging the prison industry complex, prosecuting corrupt Wall Streeters who robbed our economy blind and committed fraud against invetors and homeowners, fixing racial inequities in education and the justice system, our neo-western foreign policy that pledges undying allegiance to Israel and European nations while condescending to if not outright-ignoring nations of color (Jamaica, Haiti, sub-sarahan African nations, Cuba,) demonizing an entire region of nations aka the Middel East, almost across the board. (Granted Darfur got a random mention in the primaries, but little more.)

Obama ran a campaign where the sum total of his inner-city agenda consisted of coming to my church in Chicago on Mothers' Day last year and getting in the pulpit to tell black men to raise their kids and turn the TV off, as if the sum total of our plight and culture boils down to entertainment and relationship choices.

But this is what Obama had to do just to overcome the bias, doubt, criticism and naysayers, most of whom were never held to standards anywhere near as high or as cruel and counterproductive. (Would we ever as any other ethnic candidate to get over their culture to the degree we demanded that Obama do?) Only Obama would be celebrated for ignoring the ongoing hurricane katrina aftermath to this extent. (After all, it's another reminder that we've "transcended racial inequities".)

So as we celebrate, let's not go blind to the reality or what we've done or what we still have to do.

I AM CHANGE...

One of the things I miss about NYC is dope events like this. Such is like in laidback Socal... Once you move beyond swapping screenplays and 8X10s, Valley life is definitely lackin' in the mixing/social front.

Anyway, my man sent me this... "you'll come thru right?" he wonders.

Yeah, soon as airline tix come down. I gotta travel more. I hate airports and palnes but do like movin' and being moved.

I wonder if Kim will pay her car bills, etc.

Who Wants To Buy My 2008 Presidential Vote?

That's right, people; I'm an active, legal registered voter and I'm selling my 2008 Presidential vote to the highest bidder. Why? Because:

(1) I need the money.
(2) Presidential candidates have money to spend on voters, especially in the general election.
3) I'm tired of trading my vote for lies and failed promises—something I've done for the last 5 elections.

Check out my EBay Link to bid on my actual vote in this November's election. Feel free to pass on the posters as you see fit.

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Hilary Clinton: "It's Not Over—Obama hasn't been assassinated yet."

Ever hear somebody say something so out there that all you can do is squint because you can't believe you actually saw the words come out of their mouth? Once again, HRC says something stunningly stupid and mean and quite possibly biased.

This sounds like a bad Dave Chappelle/Chris Rock political skit gone worse. Really worse.

June ain’t here yet. People get shot in June. Until June’s come and gone, I got me a shot. No pun intended.

It's official: This heffa’s lost her mind. Period. Flat out, lost her mind in baggage claim and she's just flyin' solo now—brain optional. Integrity optional. Shame optional.

Clinton's not just grasping for straws on this one; she’s grasping for the little wrappers the straws come in.

Hillary Clinton just needs to go away.

Seriously. she needs to go home. lick her wounds and get ready for 2012 or 2016. Because this thing is beyond over. I don’t care what Rev. Run Wright says, I don't care what Hillary or Rush Limbaugh says, this thing is over.

Hillary’s only hope is if someone has YouTube footage of Barack Obama with Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, and Al Sharpton all butt-naked and running train on Reese Whitherspoon doggy style while Michelle Obama screams from behind the camera,  “Tear that snowbunny booty up, Barry! We Shall Overcome, Jesse! March on tha cooch Al!” And even then Barack is would still have the fresh constituency of interracial freaks voting for him. And believe me, that's a huge population.

I’ve done some tallying here. Out of the 46 state primaries and caucuses to date, Barack Obama has won 36. Hilary Clinton has won 16. When it comes to the magic number of 2025 required delegates, Obama's 177 delegates away while Clinton is over 300 away.

Too bad there are only 217 delegates and 6 races left.

Hilary Clinton, Paul Rosen, Hollywood Hoes + Campaign Fraud

Hey, hey hey... whutcha got to say? Hollywooood... Hollywood swingin'!

It’s one thing to cut a deal with a devil; it’s another thing to hire him as your CPA. Apparently Hilary Clinton and Bill have done both; and to great profits, no less.

Part I. This one’s a bout 9 minutes long, but worth viewing.

They on it, hardcore, ain't they? Just lying, schemin and stackin' chips like fat rats on a pirate ship.

Scroll down for part 2--it's a screamer.

(White) Sisters doing it for themselves!!!

"Part of what, again, has been sort of an anxiety for African-American women feminists like myself is that we're often asked to join up with white women's feminism, but only on their own terms, as long as we sort of remain silent about the ways in which our gender, our class, our sexual identity doesn't intersect, as long as we can be quiet about those things and join onto a single agenda."

—Melissa Harris-Lacewell, assoc. professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University speaking on Democracy Now

 

Hilary Clinton Misremembers Her Experience

Looks like Sinbad was right after all. (looks like I was right too.) Hilary didn't do what she said she did.

White Males need help: John McCain to the Rescue

Warning: “They want to break down the white Christian male power structure.”

In this clip, Bill O’Reilly, Pat Buchanan and now apparently John McCain are willing to fight tooth and nail to maintain the white male power structure. I swear, nothing's funnier than paranoid white people who fully appreciate their white-skin privilege enough to openly get their panties in a bunch over losing it.

You are so not gonna believe this clip—it’s only 56 seconds long, but well worth the viewing.

Lookin' at my Gucci—it's about that time...

it's tax time, kiddies. Get your W-2's, 1040s, etc and get wit it. H&R Block's one way to go, but if you look around, you can actually do better. My advice is don't just get "people"; get yourself a guy. Just one guy or a a woman...

Somebody who you can call/email throughout the year with questions and that will actually remember your name after April.

I got a guy like that. He's a CPA and he's good people. Fortunately, he's got a small clientele base--on purpose, so he can afford to take care of schlubs like me.

Now our families don't vacation together or anything like that, but i can drop him a note whenever I need to and he knows enough about me and what i do to help me out. So until you get somebody like that, it's good.

Barack Obama is just some lucky negro... I quit.

“Obama is lucky to be who he is. And the whole country is just caught up in it.”

Geraldine Ferraro strikes again.

And Simon Cowell can be a SuperDelegate...

This is from my boy Dave Mishevitz--a midwestern cat that I've known for like 10 years now. He’s a genuinely funny young brother.

It's a short but sharp take on our electoral process. It's pretty smart, albeit brief. The sad part is, after listening to it, you'll wonder if, given our landscape of entertainment blurring with news that big Dave might not be too far removed from being right.

The Reality of our '08 election

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Hilary Clinton bites Obama

Here’s Hilary in Mansassa, Virginia over the weekend. Doesn't this sound awfully familiar:

More Backwards Hustling from Hilary Clinton

Okay gang, if you're still trying to figure out what to do with your golden vote this fall, consider this:

Meet Lorna Brett , former  pres of the chicago chapter of N.O.W. and former friend of Hilary Clinton.  She is no longer Hilary's BFF. And if  you believe her side of things, she has good reason to feel this way.