Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24588813

Volunteering on Frank Jackson's campaign for mayor of Cleveland in 2005, I was not surprised to hear a very unpleasant and vulgar word beginning with the letter 'n' used two different times. Still irritated, to be sure, but not surprised. Cleveland is a prime example of a town where racism still flourishes. This is why Obama's tossing of his former pastor under the proverbial bus did absolutely no good, and may have even hurt his campaign in the long run. Obama cannot separate himself from his African roots no matter how hard he tries, no matter how white and nonthreatening he tries to make himself to white people. Obama was never going to get the bigot vote. Yet he thought he could simply by making a few speeches.

It saddens, but doesn't surprise me that some of his followers are shocked to see racism alive and well on the campaign trail. No, their candidate cannot work miracles, cannot simply talk his way past hatred or heal racial divides by dissing his own as angry old relics. But why are these folk shocked? The other night I was having a political argument with my friend and mentor about Jeremiah Wright. He thinks Wright is a racist because the preacher believes AIDS may have been an invention of the white man to use against Blacks. While I disagree, and don't think that is the case (no one would be crazy enough to create a virus that destroys the human immune system and think it wouldn't affect everyone instead of just one group), I can see -- given our history of experimentation with contagions and upon humans -- why Wright and others like him might not think it such a far-fetched theory. And that appears to be the only thing my friend thinks makes Wright a racist. Never mind that false preachers such as Hagee, Falwell, and Robertson have actually blamed America for things such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and other major disasters -- all for imagined crimes of immorality.

The point is that just because Barack Obama waves his oratorical magic wand and declares an end to racism in politics doesn't mean his snake oil pitch has worked, and no one should be expressing any surprise over this.

     Sometimes writing these essays are a chore and seem demanding, then there are other times when they seem to write themselves, this is one of the latter. I have written extensively about America's war on drugs and all the ills and problems that it has caused. First of all let me state that I am not a conspiracy theorist. I do not believe that racism is involved in every aspect of life in America, at least it hasn't been in my life. However, there are times when it plays a major role in how we interact with one another. The war on drugs and the death penalty are probably two of the most egregious ways in which racism does play a role in America. The recent results of a couple of studies highlight the disparity in our criminal justice system that can not be explained by any other means.

Both Senators McCain and Clinton have bragged that they have greater foreign policy experience than Barack Obama, and that they would be ready for that 3am call.

Clinton:

McCain:

Both Senators Clinton and McCain  had their 3am call when Colombia forces attacked and killed Raul Reyes FARC's second in command, just inside Ecuador's territory. These are their statements right after the attack:

Senator Hillary Clinton was quick to back the Colombian president unconditionally by supporting his military attack... and "That statement provides proof-positive of Senator Clinton's bent when it comes to US policy in Latin America: to use any crisis to prop-up the Colombian leader while attempting to forward the related agenda of demonizing Venezuela for the problems that Colombia causes in the region. Clinton's instincts on Colombia are identical to those of the Bush administration and those of the Clinton administration before it: continuance of a doctrine that is hostile to human rights and democracy in the region."

"Senator McCain is forthright about speaking in behalf of one of our strongest allies in the hemisphere, president Uribe, he has clearly put up with cross border sanctuaries for far to long with  FARC and in the name of hot pursuit going after FARC which is a terrorist organization.... Uribe was absolutely right in doing what he did." (emphasis mine)

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


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(Cross-posted from Daily Kos)

After last week's primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, the media narrative shifted dramatically against Hillary Clinton. She lost big in North Carolina and barely held off Barack Obama in Indiana. Not even a week later, and she lost her long-standing lead in superdelegates as well. That being said, tomorrow's primary in West Virginia is going to be a blowout for Clinton. Both Clinton and her husband have toured the state fairly extensively, while Obama has made only 3 stops in-state (he visited Beckley and Charleston in March, and he came back to Charleston again today). The polling averages show Clinton leading Obama between 30-40 points, which is likely where the final result will be.

While many folks are worried that an extremely bad result affecting Obama's chances tomorrow, the truth is that Clinton will recoup roughly half of the superdelegates that Obama has netted during the past week. It's going to be his second-worst loss after Arkansas, but the math isn't fungible at this point such that the media narrative will flip against him.

By Nathan Henderson-James

In the wake of increasing media scrutiny and aggressive push-back from voting rights activists, the fight over Missouri's proposed Constitutional amendment requiring proof of citizenship documents in order to register to vote moves to the State Senate today. The New York Times chose to make this issue the lead story on their front page today, Monday May 11, 2008 and Art Levine, writing at the Huffington Post gives a very good analysis of the potential impact of the law and the work being done both to push this draconian voter disenfranchisement measure and to fight for the voting rights of up to 240,000 Missouri voters.

In a reply to my comment on Real History Lisa's fine post regarding the death of the so-called "DC Madam" (One of the 'last people' to see the DC Madam alive...), Bootribber martini wrote:

What's your take on the NYC fashion geek's TShirts that asks "Who shot Obama?" ?

Seems there's good reason to call those shirts tasteless, but they do also make people review the situation in their mind; determine "NO ONE!" as the answer; and possibly also leave people a bit more alert to the risk that Obama runs, if he is elected.

(The answer should remain "no one!!")

What steps, other than something like that TShirt, would you think are best for average citizens to consider taking?

This got me to thinking...out of the box, as is my habit and perhaps (God help me) my only true talent...and I wrote the following. It grew too large to be a simple reply, so I am posting it here as a stand-alone post.

Read on if you are interested.

The Rehabilitation Project Force, or RPF for short.  It is a little-known branch of Scientology's elite corps of followers.  However, it is where the elite go when they have fallen from the Church's good graces.  It is also one of the more controversial policies the Church has, and is (like nearly all of their policies) cloaked in the right to practice religion.

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them..."
--Karl  Popper  

More below the fold.

Assuming Barack Obama actually gets the nomination (we cannot rule out Clinton somehow nabbing it at the brokered convention), I think there are perhaps three politicians who could possibly add to his ticket going into the general election:

John Edwards - His populist talk and devotion to working class issues, combined with his skills as an attorney, make him an ideal vice presidential candidate.  He managed to sell himself as one in 2004, and although he didn't get enough footing to remain in contention for the nomination this year he still has a base of supporters who could help bridge the divide between Obama's followers and Clinton's.  But this is unlikely, because Edwards is an economic populist, and corporate Democrat Obama blew it big time when he tried to finagle an endorsement only to end up angering Donna Edwards by attacking her husband's health care plan.

Christopher Dodd - Dodd has the stones to go toe to toe with adversaries on the campaign trail, and he has shown leadership in the Senate by shaming Obama and Clinton into voting against one of the appropriations bills for the occupation of Iraq.  I see no reason why he couldn't make a strong ally on the campaign trail.

Bill Richardson - Although I don't think he'll add much to an Obama ticket going into November, his executive experience is desperately needed in the White House.  He could be seen to help the senator make a case that he can bring in people who know the ins and outs of governing (as opposed to legislating).

Assuming Hillary Clinton manages somehow to get the nomination at convention, I see only two potential candidates who could possibly help her win in November:

Ted Strickland - Although he has only been governor of Ohio for roughly a year and a half, he has shown he can get things done.  He has also demonstrated an ability to get the GOP in the Buckeye State's legislature to play ball on things like the budget.

John Edwards - This is a somewhat unlikely pick considering the former senator from North Carolina is an economic populist and Clinton is an economic conservative whose support of NAFTA is likely to continue should she win the White House.  But the two of them are closer on important issue such as health care than either of them are to Obama, and while Edwards did go after her on the campaign trail he didn't make it personal like the Illinois senator has.

Regardless of which Prima Donna ultimately gets the Democratic nomination, the only way to add to the ticket is to pick a populist vice presidential candidate, or one with executive experience.

The topic below was originally posted in my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal, as well as Wild, Wild Left, the Peace Tree, Independent Bloggers Alliance, Out of Iraq Bloggers Caucus and Worldwide Sawdust.

The corporate media, blogs and our individual attention spans are understandably consumed by the celebrity hype of presidential politics these days. Mothers Day however offers an opportunity for all of us to reflect on our society and individual families.

Women have made remarkable gains the past forty years. Indeed when Billy Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in their famous 1973 tennis match, women were typically denied credit cards simply for being women. Today women are CEOs, television news anchors and Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House.

The collapse of Clinton's campaign has created a panic among people who have come to rely on Clinton for their daily bread.This includes courtiers like Mark Penn, Harold Ickes,and others.

Hillary's collapse has also created a fundamental change in the way Washington's pecking order is arranged.Lobbying outfits like AIPAC, the Pharma Lobby and others are seeing that threatening candidates by witholding funds is no longer going to work.Obama's ability to raise millions of donations from small donors has just about killed the influence of these lobbying outfits.

We are looking at a new era in US politics.The old entrenched oligarchy has felt the tremors and does not know what to do.

Obama will be the first President who will be in a position to shape policy the way he wants.

Scary stuff, eh?

This general election more than most will test the courage of voters to avoid lesser-evil strategic voting that has propped up our two-party plutocracy.  People with intelligence and conscience must resist peer pressure and the temptation to vote against John McCain by voting for Barack Obama.