tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43606891727162040132024-03-12T21:39:22.223-07:00The Chronicles Of S.A.L.T. (Socially Awkward Life of Ty)Faith, politics, satire, pop culture, and navigating life as a Socially Awkward Man.Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-79471297406462525892017-10-24T20:15:00.001-07:002017-10-24T20:22:19.627-07:00Are We Finally Heading Towards A GOP Extinction-Level Event?Another year, another moment closer to... the collapse of the Republican Party?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijrKIDpEN4ZCCwXF6FphhDTPhEaicEoSQlxXaQDpof1cDNB45FLFMcYLJ3_FZrWmk0vlXSNckzgwSvKRU9wVHQFXBurXMjkfntZrqgsuQhNWkLXJckkbhFBaukJUtfvGmfKUcjN2j9WUE/s400/Dinosaur+meteor.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...so much winning, amirite?</td></tr>
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Last year, I wrote that we, as a country, <a href="http://chroniclesofsalt.blogspot.com/2016/08/we-need-republican-extinction-level.html" target="_blank">needed a Republican Extinction-Level Event</a>. As it turned out, the Republicans won. Donald John Trump ascended to the Presidency. The Republicans had run the table. They controlled the Presidency, the majority in both houses in Congress, and the majority in the Supreme Court. So, it would seem that the Republicans finally have their mandate to push whatever God-forsaken agenda through that they see fit, right? The prophecies of Grover Norquist had reached fulfillment, and the Republicans finally found an idiot who had enough working digits to sign whatever legislation is thrown in front of him, right?</div>
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Right? RIGHT, CHARLIE MURPHY?</div>
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Continue to rest in peace, Charlie. I'll take it from here.</div>
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It seems that despite Dolt 45's promises of much bigly winning, he's having a bit of a challenge getting his agenda passed. And by having a bit of challenge, what I mean is that his agenda is a veritable dumpster fire.</div>
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His plans to repeal and replace ObamaCare? Crashed and burned.</div>
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Travel bans? Judges keep laying the smack down.</div>
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The Wall? Don't make me laugh.</div>
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In the Senate, the GOP had a razor-thin margin, and could not afford to lose anyone. John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins put the goon hands to the repeal procedure. McCain seems to be on a path to redeem himself and claim the mantle of "maverick" that he never really earned. And now, a bigger update.</div>
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Two Republican Senators are not running for their seats again, and they are going HAM on Dolt 45. Senator Bob Corker (R - TN) has invoked images of a day care with his tweets to the President, and I would never be a fan of Corker. But his hashtag <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-senator-corker-couldnt-get-elected-dog-catcher" target="_blank">#AlertTheDaycareStaff</a> in response to a Trumpian Level Covfefe Tweetstorm is pretty darned funny. And Jeff Flake of Arizona is retiring and is having his own come-to-Jesus moment by condemning the President in no uncertain terms.</div>
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As a side note, a couple of things: </div>
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1) Neither of these guys are heroes. They both voted for all of Dolt 45's cabinet choices, except for one each. And these two gentlemen are speaking up NOW, since they decided that they have nothing to lose. To use a favorite analogy of mine, it would be like Dr. Victor Frankenstein openly stating that the monster is out of control.</div>
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2) Both of these gentlemen, as well as the Republican Party, helped to build Trump. They supported his agenda, voted for his cabinet picks, and would have supported Trump's agenda if Trump himself wasn't about as appealing as onions disguised as taffy apples.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for onion taffy apple prank" height="315" src="https://static.twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/Caramel-onions.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some people just want to watch the world burn.</td></tr>
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But what are the long-term consequences? Is it a victory for human oxygen thief and white supremacist propaganda chieftain Steve Bannon? After all, he can use his connections to add harder-right Republicans to the mix. Will it be a victory for the Democrats? Only if the Democrats can mobilize and take advantage, even though these are red states. Will other Republicans join Flake and Sessions and publicly condemn Dolt 45? Will we have to wait until after the GOP tries to pass their disastrous tax cut plans for the obscenely rich?<br />
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Only time will tell.<br />
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But not too much time, since Dolt 45 seems to want to push us ever closer to <a href="https://thebulletin.org/timeline" target="_blank">nuclear midnight</a>... as of now, we're only 3 minutes to midnight.</div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-74766940891502226432017-10-19T20:17:00.001-07:002017-10-19T20:17:20.931-07:00Can We NOT Normalize George W. Bush?!<div style="text-align: justify;">
There are a lot of things going on with the wretched administration of Dolt 45. He's vile, petty, vindictive, and completely unfit to serve. He may have legitimate psychological problems. He's a racist, and he previously had a propaganda chieftain for white supremacists serving as his chief adviser.</div>
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Some Republicans have completely distanced themselves from Trump, and others have different lines of demarcation that determine when they've had enough. Some of their "come to Jesus" moments arrive when they realize that Dolt 45's plans, mindset, policies, and the like affect them PERSONALLY. People like Joe Scarborough are some of the Doctors Frankenstein that helped to legitimize Trump. And to this day, while Joe rails on about the monster that's ransacking the village, he still has not offered a mea culpa for HIS role in creating monster.</div>
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And speaking of monsters, this brings us to the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. Donald Trump is so awful that people are longing for the bumbling idiocy of Bush. Today, a former President who was so reviled that he couldn't even campaign for his successor <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/19/politics/bush-speech-trump-bigotry/index.html" target="_blank">delivered a speech</a> that some are saying makes him one of the "faces of the resistance." </div>
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NO.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLCCL5TJGU1jG2yktOjiIDgC5vzN3SQs8NbgcdILci-YIx6_sYbMJHXfB-ZiEfs7aYE-i05zvERvg6fxXXv9Qpdaa8kW9l83h4GyKapUySyfz_2KvtAqpdBA-CMz9ZFeM8Hw61U2BnmM/s1600/G+Dub+Michelle+O.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1161" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLCCL5TJGU1jG2yktOjiIDgC5vzN3SQs8NbgcdILci-YIx6_sYbMJHXfB-ZiEfs7aYE-i05zvERvg6fxXXv9Qpdaa8kW9l83h4GyKapUySyfz_2KvtAqpdBA-CMz9ZFeM8Hw61U2BnmM/s320/G+Dub+Michelle+O.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Um... NO. That's not cute. Never forget.</td></tr>
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Do you see this picture? It's one of the many that is helping to sanitize George Bush's image, and make him palatable and respectable. And before we go about longing for the carefree days of Uncurious George And The Administration That Couldn't, we need to remember his real track record and "accomplishments."</div>
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<i>(Note: I'm not angry at Michelle Obama for snuggling with that dopey moron of a POTUS, I'm bothered by the memes that this picture generated which helped to normalize him. So there.)</i></div>
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<b>HURRICANE KATRINA:</b> Under his watch, New Orleans suffered catastrophic losses in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His appointed Director of FEMA, Michael Brown, had absolutely no experience in emergency management. As Rachel Maddow put it, Brown's appointment was seen more as a patronage hire than one to bring the best man on for the job. As American citizens suffered, Bush applauded Brown by infamously stating that Brown was doing "a heckuva job."</div>
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<b>IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN:</b> In the aftermath of 9/11, America had a ton of global capital. The whole world was pretty much with this country. And what did Bush do? He created a propaganda machine that led us into war with Iraq who -- and this is important -- HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11. We went to war against a regime that had done nothing to us, against a leader that, by all objective measures, was secular and kept sectarian violence down. Taking Saddam Hussein out created a power vacuum, and since nature abhors a vacuum, that vacuum was filled by extremists. </div>
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As for Afghanistan, it was almost an afterthought that turned into a quagmire. There's a reason why Afghanistan is called "The Graveyard Of Empires." </div>
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On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I wrote this to express my <a href="http://shutchergobbigemowf.blogspot.com/2011/09/911-never-forget.html" target="_blank">disgust at what 9/11 has become</a>, most of which happened during the Bush Administration. I also wrote<a href="http://shutchergobbigemowf.blogspot.com/2014/09/throwback-thursday-presents-rebirth-of.html" target="_blank"> this to express my disgust</a> at the Republican Party's <strike>snuff film</strike> tribute to 9/11 during the RNC Convention in 2008. And for God's sake, how can you forget THIS?</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZKe93X7RrehduRj8oCCBq5p9shtPi01UROsR_e7IE9oDS_tkEOMToH8Zr-hU4ZhXwlnEnRnRtR9iXRIk_5BUyDdrObeiSXvfLrLCwf_hUrOa_MoXZSHXb-8mg-sAKqHVr9gZUgbWS7U/s1600/Bush+Mission+Accomplished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="460" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZKe93X7RrehduRj8oCCBq5p9shtPi01UROsR_e7IE9oDS_tkEOMToH8Zr-hU4ZhXwlnEnRnRtR9iXRIk_5BUyDdrObeiSXvfLrLCwf_hUrOa_MoXZSHXb-8mg-sAKqHVr9gZUgbWS7U/s320/Bush+Mission+Accomplished.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still want him back?!</td></tr>
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I could go on, including how he got elected in the FIRST place. And don't get me started on the fact that his two Supreme Court appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, voted to support Citizens United.</div>
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I understand the need for Republican allies. There are some great ones in the form of Anna Navarro, Steve Schmidt, and others. But we shouldn't be so bereft of allies that we have to depend on one of history's greatest monsters as an ally, simply because he's a Rhodes Scholar and Elder Statesman in comparison to his Republican successor. A 16-minute speech does not a real ally make.</div>
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Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-87974813187829898802017-10-10T18:25:00.001-07:002017-10-10T18:33:11.157-07:00If I Ruled The World - How I Would Have NFL Players Respond To Roger Goodell And Dolt 45<div style="text-align: justify;">
The "take a knee" protests continue. They were started by Colin Kaepernick, who protested by sitting out the playing of the National Anthem when the San Francisco 49'ers played. Since then, players have been taking a knee across the league, and Kaepernick has been "de facto" blackballed by the NFL owners. Oh, you can SAY that there is no collusion between the owners, and you'd be partially right. There is no WRITTEN policy that says that the NFL owners have agreed to keep Colin Kaepernick from a job. But that doesn't automatically exonerate the owners.</div>
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After all, the Miami Dolphins decided to <a href="http://blog.masslive.com/patriots/2017/08/jay_cutler_comes_out_of_retire.html" target="_blank">beg Jay Cutler to come out of retirement to play</a>, and he did so <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2726119-jay-cutler-says-his-wife-kristin-cavallari-pushed-him-to-sign-with-dolphins" target="_blank">reluctantly</a>. You can't convince me that under different circumstances, Kaepernick would have at least been given a first or second look. Then again, the world just found out what may have <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/2017/10/9/16447456/miami-dolphins-coach-video-resign-explained" target="_blank">contributed to the decision to bring in Cutler</a>, at least partially. Via video. Heh.</div>
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But I digress, as I am wont to do.</div>
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Afterwards a bunch of owners (and players, reluctantly) usurped the protest message to turn it into a message of "unity", where the owner locks arms with the players. In one case, the Dallas Cowboys showed just how a league owner can change the narrative of a protest. They took a knee <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/us/nfl-trump-take-knee-protests-cowboys-cardinals/index.html" target="_blank">BEFORE the playing of the National Anthem,</a> and then stood up during its play. Owner Jerry Jones <a href="https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2017/10/08/cowboys-owner-jerry-jones-player-disrespects-flag-allowed-play" target="_blank">took it a step further</a> and said that "anyone who disrespects the flag will not be allowed to play."</div>
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Enter NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Goodell, caving to pressure from on high by the prince of darkness himself (aka Dolt 45 and his burgeoning kleptocracy) stated<a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/roger-goodell-pens-letter-to-nfl-teams-believes-everyone-should-stand_us_59dd1036e4b04fc4e1e92d41?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009" target="_blank"> in a letter that everyone should stand</a> for the National Anthem. He says that this is an effort to "move past the controversy." That "controversy" being pro football players silently protesting against police brutality, in case anyone forgot. In other words, "Alright you uppity nigras, you did your thing long enough... time to shut up and do what we tell you do to... BOY."</div>
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How will the players respond? Will players in Dallas risk taking a knee? Will other owners follow Jerry Jones' lead and bench players who decide to protest? The players here have the power in numbers, and if they use it, they can create a seismic shift in protests for social justice. And how would I do it?</div>
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Here's how.</div>
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On a given Sunday afternoon or night, or Monday night, the players take the field as usual. The coin is flipped, and the kicking team kicks to the receiving team. At the first play from the line of scrimmage, the center snaps the ball.</div>
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The defense instantly takes a knee.</div>
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The offense then takes a knee.</div>
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And since the play isn't considered "dead" until the player with the ball (in this case, the QB) is tackled, takes a knee, or runs out of bounds, he remains motionless. The quarterback holds the ball in one hand. And with the other hand, he slowly raises a fist to the air. Then, after about a minute, in front of worldwide sponsors with advertisers throwing a conniption fit, he slowly descends to take a knee.</div>
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The play is then whistled dead, and the rest of the game continues, as if nothing ever happened. </div>
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When asked why they did this, a spokesman for either team can say that they will not be threatened into silence by their owners or by a sitting President of the United States. And if the owners don't like it, what are they going to do? Bench both teams? Fine them? Suspend them? Any negative consequences will mushroom far beyond what the owners had intended. The players have strength in numbers.</div>
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Will they do this? It's doubtful. But hey, a guy can dream, can't he?</div>
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Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-72051532839155934122017-10-03T18:11:00.000-07:002017-10-03T18:12:57.662-07:00Name-Checking And Concern-Trolling Chicago -- Will It Ever Stop?<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here we are, in the wake of another mass shooting. The <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/02/us/las-vegas-shooting-live/index.html" target="_blank">shooting on the Las Vegas Strip</a> at a Country Music Festival is going down in U.S. history as the worst ever. As of now, 59 people are dead, and hundreds are injured, and recovering from their injuries.</div>
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Of course, this means that conservatives take their lead from the blood-soaked terrorist organization disguised as a lobbying group, the National Rifle Association, or NAMB... er, NRA. We have seen the usual talking points, including the "thoughts and prayers" comments from the Republicans. As a side note, let me add this:</div>
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<b>THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS FROM REPUBLICANS ARE USELESS</b>. They have blood on their hands, as well. The NRA has bought them, lock, stock and barrel. To hear them talk about "thoughts and prayers" is beyond infuriating. As a Christian, and especially as a minister, I'm not dismissing the power of prayer. My faith tells me that there is supernatural power in prayer. But my teachings ALSO inform me that "faith without works is dead." That's Scripture, according to James 2:26. And the website "GotQuestions" elucidates on this point by stating "Faith without works is dead <a href="https://www.gotquestions.org/faith-without-works-dead.html" target="_blank">because it reveals a heart that has not been transformed by God</a>." Don't tell me about any conservative "thoughts and prayers" when they continue to accept NRA blood money and parrot the same NRA talking points, especially in the wake of tragedies involving guns, and propagate obscene lies about President Obama planning a massive gun grab, because screw the Constitution.</div>
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But I digress.</div>
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My point here is that, as usual, Chicago has become the favorite talking point to deflect from any legitimate conversations. It started in earnest with President Obama, with GOP idiots (and some "woke" folks -- but that's a point for another time) saying that President Obama didn't magically fix Chicago since he became President of the United States. It's become a classic Battle Cry of the Stupid Conservative:</div>
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REASONABLE PERSON: We need to do something about crime.</div>
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Conservative: OH YEAH? Well what about Chicago? Crime is skyrocketing, and President Blackie McBlackenbush did nothing to fix it!</div>
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RP: Black Lives Matter is holding a march to protest police brutality.</div>
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Con: OH YEAH? Why aren't they marching in Chicago against the killings?!</div>
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Even Dolt 45, aka the President, is no stranger to name-checking and concern-trolling Chicago. He made the "hellscape" of Chicago a cornerstone of his campaign, and he continues to mention Chicago in situations that don't call for it.</div>
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This brings us to the present day. Enter sentient colostomy bag, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of evangelical charlatan Mike Huckabee and Press Secretary to the President.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I am not a very smart woe-man..."</td></tr>
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After this weapons-grade moron (who almost makes you long for the days of Sean Spicer hiding in a bush, dodging reporters) said that we shouldn't politicize the massacre, she said <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/2017/10/sarah-huckabee-sanders-blames-chicago-not" target="_blank">this</a> in regards to a conversation about gun laws.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"I think if you look to Chicago, where you had over 4,000 victims of gun-related crimes. Last year they have the strictest gun laws in the country and that certainly hasn't helped there, so when that time comes for those conversations to take place, then I think we need to look at things that may actually have a real impact."</span></blockquote>
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Then, she followed it up by saying <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/340286-white-house-chicago-gun-violence-driven-by-morality" target="_blank">this</a>:</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2b2c30; font-family: "graphik web" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">I think that the problem there is pretty clear that it’s a crime problem. I think that crime is probably driven more by morality than anything else...</span></blockquote>
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If Huckabee is going to concern-troll and name-check, she should at least come close to getting her facts right. Yes, Chicago has strict laws. But guns still find their way here. Why? Because neighboring states have gun laws that are a lot more lax. For example, if someone wanted to, they could hop right across the border to <strike>avoid the soda-pop tax</strike> get a gun. Even as far back as 2012 - 2013, there were indicators that traffickers were using an informal <a href="http://chicagoist.com/2013/01/30/new_york_times_maps_where_chicago_g.php" target="_blank">Dixie Pipeline</a> to transport guns from southern states (again, with very lax gun laws) to here. Thankfully, lots of people, including my Congressman Robin Kelly, <a href="https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20171002/downtown/most-of-chicagos-illegal-guns-come-from-trump-country-rep-says" target="_blank">pushed back</a> with factual information.</div>
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I'm under no delusions that my fair city is a utopia where gun violence is a thing of the past. Chicago, like every major city, has its issues, and issues involving gun violence and the Black community cannot be resolved with simple slogans and finger-pointing. And it would be nice if we had a President of the United States who didn't feel the need to scapegoat and play the blame-game when things got hot. And we could have had that...</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
...but her emails.</div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-62369045296454438532016-10-31T16:41:00.001-07:002016-10-31T16:46:20.184-07:00Trump, The Evangelical Right, And My Light Bulb Moment.<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7dhk1" data-offset-key="52ahe-0-0" style="background-color: white;">
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<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I always wondered why conservative Christians were so behind Trump. I've asked for months why this was the case, especially considering that Trump is the antithesis of the FAMILY VALUES that the Evangelical Right demands of its leadership. Conservatives gave the answer, but just now, I started putting the pieces together. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Conservatives responded that their acceptance of Trump was because they were electing a Commander-In-Chief, and not a Theologian-In-Chief. They were electing a President of the U.S., and not a Sunday School teacher. So, what was it that made Trump different than every FAMILY VALUES stump speech given at every conservative event from CPAC to Wisconsin's State Fair to every Republican Convention, ESPECIALLY in the wake of Bill Clinton's presidency?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Then a name hit me like a ton of bricks, and it all made sense. <b>GROVER NORQUIST</b>. You remember him, right? The unelected guy that MUST know where the bodies are buried, because he had Republican candidates for high office sign his "pledge"? He described the REAL reason that conservatives are embracing a thrice-married, twice-divorced man whose previous marriages ended in adultery. The real reason why they're accepting a man who did an introduction to a softcore porn video. The real reason why they continue to embrace a man who bragged about sexual abuse, called his daughter a nice piece of [REDACTED], a man who bragged about walking into the dressing room of his beauty pageant contestants to ogle at the (sometimes teenaged) naked bodies, and a man who praised foreign dictators.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Grover Norquist once said this:
</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">All we have to do is replace Obama. ... We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don't need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget. ...<b> We just need a president to sign this stuff. We don't need someone to think it up or design it. </b>The leadership now for the modern conservative movement for the next 20 years will be coming out of the House and the Senate.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">And there it is.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
To the evangelical Christian conservatives that support Trump, they're not supporting him because of his genius, or even his business acumen. To them, a President Trump is a means to an end. Everything that the conservatives want will come through a candidate who, by all accounts, wants to look at the Presidency as a figurehead position ANYWAY, leaving the real heavy lifting to his "true believing" conservative running mate, Gov. Mike Pence.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
The conservative base may look at Trump as the solution to their problems, because he and he alone can fix them. But to the power-brokers supporting him, including the Evangelical conservatives, Trump is nothing more than a useful idiot. All they would need to do is put a pen and a law in Trump's hand, and Trump will sign it.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
So what does this mean? Two things:</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
1) It forever exposes the hypocrisy of the Evangelical Right's "Family Values" platform, as they put their support behind an almost literal Golden Calf and idolizer of his own name. Just about everything Trump stands for (especially in his personal life) runs contradictory to the teachings of Jesus. Trump brags about his wealth, and he only defines how "good" people are in terms of how it benefits HIM. Trump has said that he doesn't really see the need for repentance. And don't get me started on the "Two Corinthians" thing.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
2) Now that I have the answer to this question, it doesn't matter how conservatives convince themselves that Trump is "a newborn Christian", or claim that he can be baptized on national TV to convince people of his faith.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
The Evangelical Right was looking for a useful idiot.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
And in Donald Trump, they found him.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Vote accordingly.</span></span></div>
</div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-13777149158766113512016-09-28T20:09:00.002-07:002016-09-28T20:09:45.334-07:00Treat Yo' Self. A Paradigm Shift.It's not often that I treat myself. And normally, when I do, it's to something like a movie or a big restaurant breakfast.<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGVRarFixrKIvta8qQgCvtg53gZ8Tlsed1t4W_oNlZbiPWdqA5EPRwCbX8mFsZ7gjIbDSl1DZri_QZk5MbvtnlbZE9YU7JabCZqEorrMxlSxbZqzIJ11OE_Dw8HzAjgLvbNHWKki8s2w/s1600/pancakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGVRarFixrKIvta8qQgCvtg53gZ8Tlsed1t4W_oNlZbiPWdqA5EPRwCbX8mFsZ7gjIbDSl1DZri_QZk5MbvtnlbZE9YU7JabCZqEorrMxlSxbZqzIJ11OE_Dw8HzAjgLvbNHWKki8s2w/s320/pancakes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Hey Big Spender..."</i></td></tr>
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<div>
But I rarely, if ever, go BIG in terms of treating myself.</div>
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Until now.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last month, I pulled the trigger on one of my bigger "Treat Yo' Self" moments, when I booked a cruise (to the BAHAMAS) for myself and friends. It would not have been something that I would normally do for myself. And once I pulled the trigger, it felt good. It felt REALLY good.</div>
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Then it hit me. I rarely treat myself because I'm always thinking about what type of unexpected emergencies or "priorities" that I need to take care of. "I can't go here, because something might happen to my truck." Or, "I can't do that thing, because I need to squirrel money away in case my computer dies." And it occurred to me that no matter what, things will happen.</div>
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My old PC died unexpectedly.</div>
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My truck needed repairs.</div>
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By God's grace, I was able to take care of those things, but I still wasn't treating myself.</div>
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Planning this cruise caused me to shift my thinking.</div>
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My truck would need repairs, whether I went on vacation or not. My PC would have died whether I traveled or not. So instead of sitting around, watching everyone's adventures from a ringside seat (tip of the hat to the person that talked about this to me today), I'm getting in the ring.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I'm actually planning my cruise with some friends. And sure enough, my truck needed some more repairs. I took care of that and STILL kept positive about my plans. Oddly enough, had my truck's repairs came about prior to planning this cruise, it would have steered me into a ditch.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The last time I took a real, honest-to-goodness, bonafide vacation was several years ago, when I spent a glorious week in sunny California.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEinKROxZBeHKKCnwrPop4Zn2jenkmmhjOdOozzxkqgANGmL1cyJlRUr2wy6peAWr7ucAJ4Xcn1qnsymLGMFJ6_JcyuAUKPa1jGr3AfUYeRlGpq-8GfxPIOaKQrogCl6S-465FneMCh5Y/s1600/IMG_0399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEinKROxZBeHKKCnwrPop4Zn2jenkmmhjOdOozzxkqgANGmL1cyJlRUr2wy6peAWr7ucAJ4Xcn1qnsymLGMFJ6_JcyuAUKPa1jGr3AfUYeRlGpq-8GfxPIOaKQrogCl6S-465FneMCh5Y/s320/IMG_0399.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Part of my vacation included Jules Winfield explaining the Bonnie Situation.</i></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Things are going to happen. Things may break, or emergencies may pop up. But none of that prevents anyone from enjoying and living their lives to the fullest. This will happen if I plan a cruise, watch my woefully neglected Netflix queue, or take a nap. My pastor even spoke about the importance of getting away for a bit, even if it's for a drive across state lines for a few hours.</div>
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Now that I know that the world won't collapse upon itself if and when I plan something, I plan on doing this more often. It may be a matter of baby steps, but I do plan on doing things like this more often.</div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZsABTmT1_M0/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZsABTmT1_M0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">...because if I don't, who will?</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
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BECAUSE I'M GOING ON A <strike>GODD*MNED</strike> GOD-BLESSED CRUISE.</div>
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Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-23766786696012505092016-09-03T04:26:00.000-07:002016-09-03T05:03:02.355-07:00How To Get Black People To Objectively And Critically Analyze The Democratic Party (Pro-Tip: Not Like This)<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A friend of mine suggested to a Facebook group I'm in that we watch the video. The video begins with Quannell X. Quannell X is an "activist" that I was done with years ago, after watching him and Guardian Angels head Curtis Sliwa go head to head, and eventually making, of all things, Sean Hannity look like the voice of reason. That's an almost unpardonable sin. But, despite my own misgivings about Quannell, I powered through the video. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The video is an attempt to get Black people to take a critical look at the Democratic Party, and to stop with the undying loyalty that Black people have towards the Democrats. As an attempt to get Black people to look beyond the Democratic Party or consider the Republicans, this video fails. And here's why. I posted the following comments in the group. And since I believe that sharing is caring, here are my comments for everybody.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nuQZpU92iNw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nuQZpU92iNw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Quannell X segment was just half of the video. The other half featured the creator of the video attempting to make the case about Black people and loyalty to the Democratic Party. </span></span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, his attempt fell short. For example, as I said earlier, he invoked "Democrat Plantation." Personally, that's a term that I can't stand, and yes, I coined the term "Pet Negro Apologist." But Black conservatives throw out the "Democrat Plantation" term to prove that THEY'VE escaped the "plantation" and left everyone else behind. And the people who invoke that term usually (and almost to a fault) ignore the racism that oozes and seeps from every pore of the current GOP.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Next, the Civil Rights leader says that while Trump is only "rumored" to be connected with the Klan, Hillary Clinton has legitimate ties. And as I mentioned before, the proof is the standard "ROBERT KKK BYRD" card. It doesn't work when it comes from Sean Hannity, and it doesn't work when Black people play that card. And whenever I talk to people and they play that card, I simply ask them why current white supremacists, like David Duke, Breitbart (the civil rights leader completely dismissed Breitbart's white supremacist ties, even though Bannon himself said that they're basically an alt-right clearing house) and others are flocking behind Trump and saying that he speaks THEIR language.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Civil Rights leader then goes on to list the Republican accomplishments for Black people. He starts with the 13th and 14th Amendments, and ends with Civil Rights legislation. He, like everyone else, completely ignored the Southern Strategy and the ideological switch that took place between both parties.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Which brings us to where we are now. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does the Democratic Party take the Black vote for granted? Yes. Oui. Si. Are *SOME* of us loyal? Absolutely, to a fault. That loyalty is what wound up killing Clinton's 2008 run, because she took it for granted that Bill Clinton's Black Community "goodwill" would be automatically conferred upon her. When Bill showed his behind after the South Carolina primary, Hillary got her wake up call. But she was in the midst of a horrible campaign ran by (until now) the worst campaign manager in modern history, Mark Penn. No one forgets how she was in a Black church talkin' about how she "don't feel no ways tah'rd."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">No one forgets how her Black surrogates at the time were her unofficial attack dogs, from Bob Johnson floating balloons about then-Senator Obama's drug use to John Lewis saying that Obama should wait his turn, to Jesse Jackson forever cutting himself off from the Obama Administration when he said, on Fox News, on a hot mic, that he wanted to "cut Obama's nuts off."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where was I? Oh yeah. Today.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Is Hillary Clinton the perfect candidate? Not to me. Elizabeth Warren and Senator Sanders were my 1A and 1B choices. But when it comes to things that I support, like the restoration of the Voting Rights Act, the reversal of Citizens United (interesting that the HEAD of Citizens United is now an active part of the Trump campaign), support for unions, support for a living wage, an expansion of Obamacare into something like single-payer, a President Hillary Clinton is more likely to accomplish that. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Doesn't mean that she will... after all, President Obama campaigned on universal health care, but wound up with the CONSERVATIVE compromise of the ACA. And President Obama has fallen short on several progressive issues. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">But dang it, I go rambling again. This is almost like my blog post. ANYWAY... </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(ed. note: It is now a blog post... heh...)</i></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">YES, as informed Black voters, we have to hold the Democratic Party that we (those of us that vote Democratic) accountable. The accountability works up and down the ticket, at EVERY ELECTION. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">If Republicans want to woo Black voters, they have GOT to do better than the surrogates that they send out now. They have GOT to stop it with the "Black plantation" remarks, and assume that a light bulb will go off and they'll automatically switch parties. And while the Democrats aren't perfect regarding race, they are MILES ahead of the GOP. The GOP had a chance to nip the bigotry of their party in the bud with Michael Steele as head of the RNC. But when push came to shove, Steele kissed the ring of Boss Limbaugh and was nothing more than a figurehead. He was ousted and replaced with useless tub of goo Reince Priebus.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnv19dI2TEoKusJajhsRdPmzlDIiWQkSQ_lWD8tCmojTRe3XKZmXHmOwD1C9q9I2Mi61hnAPKsKuoqY6xep-mjBe0VHq_QOHPGnrefgsZAI87y94FTKoAudPAQv6RCItybTfbxUft4-Go/s1600/Diamond+and+silk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnv19dI2TEoKusJajhsRdPmzlDIiWQkSQ_lWD8tCmojTRe3XKZmXHmOwD1C9q9I2Mi61hnAPKsKuoqY6xep-mjBe0VHq_QOHPGnrefgsZAI87y94FTKoAudPAQv6RCItybTfbxUft4-Go/s320/Diamond+and+silk.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THIS is who the GOP/Donald Trump is sending out. For God's sake, NO. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Locally, the Republican platform stands for everything that I'm against, including things like "right to work" and the belief that tax cuts for big businesses will trickle down to the electorate. I'm against the privatization of essential government services. I'm a Christian, but I'm against my faith being used as a cudgel against anyone who doesn't pray and worship the way I pray and worship. And more often than not, the so-called Party of Family Values is nothing more than the Party of Rank Hypocrisy and Deflection.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, we need to hold our elected officials accountable. And yes, changes need to be made. But as I said earlier, the changes that are needed are best implemented at the local level, and not attempted every four years. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've been doing a little research on Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, and they're not much better. Despite Stein being an MD, she has cozied up to anti-vaxxers and has said some goofy things about wi-fi being dangerous. Anyone who is in favor of civil rights legislation, voting rights legislation, government agencies that protect the public, etc should be against the Libertarian party. Their solution is to leave everything alone and let the market figure it out. So, if the EpiPen obscene price hike offends you, and companies polluting water, and fracking offends you, and if openly-racist businesses and establishments offend you (separate-but-equal, anyone?), then the Libertarian Party isn't for you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Completely dismissing the Tea Potty behavior, the casual and blatant racism from the party, and history is not an objective analysis as to why Black people should join the Republicans. If they want to start wooing Black people, they can actually FOLLOW the things listed in their GOP Autopsy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Until then, I welcome the upcoming Republican Extinction Level Event and hopes that the party as it stands now gets wiped off the face of the earth. The survivors will have no choice but to reevaluate themselves or die from the fallout.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Additional Note: My friend who runs the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PrimarilyPolitics/?fref=ts" target="_blank">Primarily Politics Facebook Page</a> covered Republican Outreach in a three-part video series. Do yourself a favor and check them out. He covers a lot of things that I mentioned here.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Part 1: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68cZskmdtG0" target="_blank">Say No To The Democrat Plantation</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Part 2: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmLhXWMBphk" target="_blank"> Stop Attacking The President</a></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">Part 3: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dZlYwtVJgM" target="_blank">Don't Ever Send Black Republicans To Recruit Black People</a></span>Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-320919110689145722016-08-15T18:19:00.000-07:002016-08-15T18:19:09.035-07:00We Need A Republican Extinction Level Event.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Look, I am all for the utter
destruction of the Republican Party as it stands now. Republican Presidential nominee Donald J. Trump
represents a GOP Extinction Level Event, similar to the cataclysm that wiped
out the dinosaurs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijrKIDpEN4ZCCwXF6FphhDTPhEaicEoSQlxXaQDpof1cDNB45FLFMcYLJ3_FZrWmk0vlXSNckzgwSvKRU9wVHQFXBurXMjkfntZrqgsuQhNWkLXJckkbhFBaukJUtfvGmfKUcjN2j9WUE/s1600/Dinosaur+meteor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijrKIDpEN4ZCCwXF6FphhDTPhEaicEoSQlxXaQDpof1cDNB45FLFMcYLJ3_FZrWmk0vlXSNckzgwSvKRU9wVHQFXBurXMjkfntZrqgsuQhNWkLXJckkbhFBaukJUtfvGmfKUcjN2j9WUE/s400/Dinosaur+meteor.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I see markings on the side... T... R...U..."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In the wake of Frankenstein’s Monster wreaking
havoc all over the GOP village, some high-profile Republicans have taken to
endorsing Hillary Clinton for President.
Each Republican has had his or her tipping point, from the criticism of
Khizr Khan to thinly-veiled assassination threats …er, 2<sup>nd</sup>
Amendment Remedies to “save” the country from a mass gun confiscation under a
Clinton Administration. Maybe the new President Clinton can store the confiscated guns in the same room where President Obama stored guns during his administration:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UUOO22nGQwNMDHtoTbqb7ZnxkqxbIxSUhvM5Q16ZxRbeMXnr5dcGzGOP12a6W5kIs-KsCDLoka8cM6g7h8OKlLNjIYoA5VD7fmCUHv0hL4aZ6W0R5djQp_cEwucuZiDc-TJ8RDHifvU/s1600/Obama+confiscated+guns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UUOO22nGQwNMDHtoTbqb7ZnxkqxbIxSUhvM5Q16ZxRbeMXnr5dcGzGOP12a6W5kIs-KsCDLoka8cM6g7h8OKlLNjIYoA5VD7fmCUHv0hL4aZ6W0R5djQp_cEwucuZiDc-TJ8RDHifvU/s320/Obama+confiscated+guns.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But why let facts get in the way of a good screed?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
One of the biggest defections
that made a social media splash was the <a href="http://www.smobserved.com/story/2016/08/15/politics/letter-from-the-harvard-republican-club-rejecting-donald-trump/1711.html" target="_blank">open letter from the Harvard Republican Club</a>.<i> </i>They cited
concerns about Trump from a policy and temperament perspective. They cited his divisive campaign rhetoric and
said that he is “poisoning (the) country and our children.” They even went on to say that he is an
existential “threat to the survival of the Republic.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Between this and other
high-profile defections, including a letter from dozens of Republicans asking for
Reince Priebus to defund Trump, and 50 former GOP security officials penning an
open letter (insert hyperlink), it would appear that the GOP is a done
deal. But not so fast.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Not only must Donald Trump be
stopped, but the Republican Party as we know it must be relegated to the
dustbin of history. The common (and
problematic) theme with these defections is the belief that Donald Trump is
some sort of anomaly, or that he came out of nowhere. Nothing could be further from the Truth. Donald Trump DID NOT HAPPEN IN A VACUUM. He is the living embodiment of every Tea
Potty-er talking about taking their country back. Trump legitimized the Birther Movement. Former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney
kissed Trump’s ring. Everything the
Republicans have been doing, ESPECIALLY since 2008, has led to the creation and
rise of Donald Trump, Republican Presidential Nominee. Every racist joke and meme, every comment about taking the country back (by force if necessary), every utterance by weapons-grade moron Sarah Palin, every comment about President Obama being "exotic", "other", or "uppity", every right-wing evangelical praying that Michelle Obama become a widow and the Obama children become fatherless, it was all part of a toxic, hate-filled stew. That stew became sentient in the form of Donald Trump.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In 2012, the GOP created a report known informally as their <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/6-big-takeaways-from-the-rnc-s-incredible-2012-autopsy" target="_blank">GOP Autopsy</a>. They wanted
to be introspective and look at what went wrong in the wake of their defeat in
2012. The purpose of this autopsy was to
consider ideas like the acceptance of minorities, immigration reform, and expanding their so-called
“Big Tent.” Then, Trump happened, and
the Republican base basically said <b>“F THE AUTOPSY, WHITE SUPREMACY FOR THE
WIN.”</b> But again, this did not happen in
a vacuum. Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan,
John McCain, and other Republicans claim to be repulsed by Trump, but have not
withdrawn their endorsements. This is despite Trump insulting McCain as a POW, and Ryan went so far as to denounce Trump's comments as "racist." </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The GOP hasn’t learned their
lessons from their autopsy. This
paragraph from the Harvard Republicans confirms it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>This fall, we will instead focus our
efforts on reclaiming the Republican Party from those who have done it
considerable harm, campaigning for candidates who will uphold the conservative
principles that have defined the Republican Party for generations</i>. We will work
to ensure both chambers of Congress remain in Republican hands, continuing to
protect against executive overreach regardless of who wins the election this
November.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Donald Trump holds views that
are antithetical to our values not only as Republicans, but as Americans.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We call on our party's elected
leaders to renounce their support of Donald Trump, and urge our fellow College
Republicans to join us in condemning and withholding their endorsement from
this dangerous man.<i> <b>The conservative movement in America should not and will
not go quietly into the night.</b></i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
They are planning on preserving
the same down-ballot party members that created the cesspool known as today’s
Republican Party. They are hoping that,
at BEST, Trump will be soundly defeated for the Presidency, but the conservatives can
preserve the House and the Senate (and subsequently, the Supreme Court), and then continue the obstruction, with the goal
of making Secretary Clinton a one-term President. This is why they must be defeated up and down
the ballot. Donald Trump is the
standard-bearer, and everyone with an (R) attached to his or her name must
suffer the electoral consequences.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Why? Because if the entire Republican Party isn’t
obliterated, what will happen is that someone else will fill the void. And that person will be just as vile as
Trump, but more politically polished and seasoned. What we’ll get is someone who is a perverse
hybrid of Paul Ryan, Donald Trump, and David Duke. The only way to prevent that is to send the message that the era of the Republican Party of today is OVER. Anything less than total obliteration gives them leave to try again. And again. And again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
They didn’t learn the easy way,
now it’s time for the party to learn the hard way. Just as meteors wiped out the dinosaurs, we are in a position to wipe out the Republican Party as we know it. It's up to us to push the button on Election Day that signals the Apocalypse, the Republican Extinction Level Event.</div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-58500149940861969672016-07-17T20:28:00.001-07:002016-07-17T20:28:17.002-07:00Blue Lives Have Never NOT Mattered.First things first.<br />
<br />
Being a police officer is a dangerous, and often thankless job. They are charged with running towards the danger, while everyone else runs away. Good police officers put their lives on the line whenever they're on the street, and in many cases, a traffic stop can lead to horrific results.<br />
<br />
But recently, especially in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and people demanding accountability for bad (emphasis on BAD, I can't emphasize "BAD" enough) cops, police officers and their defenders have responded with Blue Lives Matter. This counter-movement gives the appearance that law enforcement officials en masse are under attack, and that their lives don't matter, and that they are being victimized by Black Lives Matter activists and other ne'er do wells. <br />
<br />
But here is the truth of the matter. Even if we look beyond the face value of what "Blue Lives Matter" means (a career choice as opposed to a skin color), "Blue Lives" have ALWAYS mattered. Yes, police are held to a higher standard, and one of their own is taken out, it is indeed a tragedy. No one (reasonable) is saying that it was a good thing that this happened. The best way to prove that Blue Lives have always mattered, look at the response when even a single police officer is shot or otherwise killed.<br />
<br />
When a police officer gets shot, here's what's NOT going to happen:<br />
<br />
* Media outlets diving into the officer's history, to see if his background justified him getting shot.<br />
* Law enforcement officials protecting the identity of the shooter.<br />
* A community circling the wagons around the shooter.<br />
* A prosecution team that will poison the well so that an indictment won't be handed down.<br />
* People almost everywhere blaming the cop for his getting shot.<br />
* An investigation that moves at a snail's pace.<br />
* Alternately, a quickie investigation that only serves to fit a pre-prepared narrative.<br />
* A look into what really happened ONLY after compelling, air tight video of the shooting is released.<br />
* The shooting victim's treatment as "oh well, stuff happens."<br />
* Video footage of the shooting victim's demise, dominating the news cycle and being aired repeatedly.<br />
* Picture after picture of the police officer's bloodied and bullet-ridden body flooding social media.<br />
<br />
You see, when a police officer is killed, people will pursue the shooter to the very gates of Hell until the officer's family sees justice. Blue Lives have always mattered. <br />
<br />
Wait. Scratch that. There is ONE exception to the rule that Blue Lives have always mattered. And that exception?<br />
<br />
When police retaliate against one of their own for daring to cross the Thin Blue Line, then, suddenly, Blue Lives don't matter as much. It was demonstrated in the case of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Serpico" target="_blank">NYPD detective Frank Serpico</a>, who became a whisteblower against corruption in the New York Police Department. Side note, I should check out the movie based on his life.<br />
<br />
Then there's this (and this is only the tip of the iceberg):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhc7n5d7NG4mp1TFue13tySDXbWExtSv0D031Y8ycnXzCdgKFDcccUoZZl0tbUn3qImQAHrEUXGwUjkd5QoTvMH93-TZbPZhGGFrglqTfYoR3r-8W3VpJkPk_-ngArI3jDIicRA06MBDk/s1600/Break+the+blue+wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhc7n5d7NG4mp1TFue13tySDXbWExtSv0D031Y8ycnXzCdgKFDcccUoZZl0tbUn3qImQAHrEUXGwUjkd5QoTvMH93-TZbPZhGGFrglqTfYoR3r-8W3VpJkPk_-ngArI3jDIicRA06MBDk/s320/Break+the+blue+wall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
All of these law enforcement officials were trying to do the right thing, and they faced retaliation from their peers and superiors. Recently, police officers have been shot, and the narrative (of course) is that these shootings are the result of Black Lives Matter activists. Rushes to judgment are made, suspects are incorrectly identified, and mayhem ensues. The fact of the matter is that there is a chasm of mistrust between law enforcement and the people that they have been sworn to protect. We have heard talk about training police officers, and saw videos about how to respond when pulled over by the police, but very few people are addressing one key component.<br />
<br />
If you want to rebuild trust between the police and the community, you MUST tear down the Blue Wall of Silence and allow the good police officers to cross the Thin Blue Line to weed out the worst in their ranks. They should be able to do so without fear of retaliation from their peers or superiors. A good cop shouldn't have to worry about a call for backup or assistance suddenly going unanswered, or "delayed."<br />
<br />
"But Ty", I hear you saying, because frankly, you ask too many questions, "...police overall are good, and the good ones shouldn't be lumped in with the bad ones."<br />
<br />
And that is true. And unfortunately, it's a luxury that isn't extended to groups like "Black Lives Matter." Whenever someone in a Black Lives Matter rally/march/protest says or does something stupid, the entire movement is blamed. The entire cause is denigrated because of the actions of some outliers, who may be more interested in being opportunistic slugs than being agents of change. <br />
<br />
Imagine if that logic were extended to the Men and Women in Blue:<br />
<ul>
<li>Under the power and authority of his badge, <b>Daniel Holtzclaw</b> raped women he knew couldn't fight back.</li>
<li>Under the power and authority of his badge, <b>Joe Gliniewicz </b>stole from youth police organizations and planned to murder those investigating him.</li>
<li>Under the power and authority of his badge, <b>Jason Van Dyke</b> emptied his weapon into the body of Laquan McDonald, and lied about the encounter.</li>
<li>Under the power and authority of his badge, <b>Jon Burge</b> led a campaign of systematic torture that led to scores of individuals confessing to crimes they did not commit.</li>
<li>Police officer <b>Anthony Abbate </b>tried to hide behind the Blue Wall of Silence, which attempted to protect him, after he savagely and brutally attacked a female bartender.</li>
<li>And then there's this:</li>
</ul>
<div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcbschicago%2Fvideos%2F10154271817488338%2F&show_text=0&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
WHY DOES SHE STILL HAVE A JOB?!<br />
<br />
Do any of these law enforcement abominations prevent anyone from supporting something like "Blue Lives Matter"?<br />
<br />
If not, then why let outliers within the Black Lives Matter movement shape your perspective of the movement and its purpose as a whole? Privilege doesn't allow for the "lone wolf" scenario to be extended to anyone who isn't white, male, and Christian.<br />
<br />
Blue Lives have always mattered, and it does a grave injustice to everyone involved to pretend that it doesn't especially when this rallying cry is used to undermine legitimate aims to call for accountability and equal protection under the law in regards to police officers. We need everyone, from the President of the United States on down, to demand that police officers who violate the public trust are immediately fired and prosecuted. And when they are sued, put their pensions and salaries on the line. Let them put some financial skin in the game, and watch complaints plummet.<br />
<br />
Encourage police officers to cross the Thin Blue Line. Smash the Blue Wall of Silence. Stop rushing to judgment and accepting the "official" police narrative until the investigations are complete. Hold the bad officers accountable immediately.<br />
<br />
These are several ways to rebuild the broken trust that exists between police and citizens. And these things must be done YESTERDAY.Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-53220004456660851812016-06-27T20:49:00.000-07:002016-06-27T20:49:03.288-07:00Vice-President Elizabeth Warren? Not So FastMadame Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton Von DemocraticParty is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Presidency of the United States. Senator Bernie Sanders is out of contention, but has not conceded yet. But Sanders has expressed that he will vote for Clinton. We are now at the state where we get to speculate on the Vice-Presidential picks. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One name has been coming up, time after time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Progressive firebrand Senator Elizabeth Warren.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1330719/images/o-ELIZABETH-WARREN-facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1330719/images/o-ELIZABETH-WARREN-facebook.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hm. How many more ways can I get under Donald Trump's skin?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I love Senator Warren. She has been bringing the pain on progressive issues for a little while now. She has been very vocal about such issues as reining in the payday loan industry. Recently, she has been taking the fight straight to Republican nominee and <i>ignorant f&%*muppet</i> Donald Trump (thanks, Scots, for the beautifully obscene insults). She has been consistent and relentless, and as Ice T put it back in 1987, Warren is "like a pit bull lockin' on a doberman's neck."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Senator Warren had a recent joint campaign event with Hillary Clinton, and continued to stick her thumb into Trump's eye. And the <i>bloviating fleshbag</i> and <i>clueless numpty's</i> only response was to call Sen. Warren "Goofy Elizabeth" and "Pocahontas." Warren has demonstrated that she runs circles around Trump by doing this: <a href="http://www.elizabethwarren.com/" target="_blank">POCAHONTAS</a>. <--- go ahead. Click on the link. Sheer genius.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Does that mean that she would make a great Vice President? She's obviously a great surrogate. And personally, I think that Hillary Clinton should be thanking sweet baby Jesus that Warren did not make a run for the Presidency. She would have given Hillary more fits than then-Senator Obama did. But she didn't, a slue of others including Bernie Sanders did, and now here we are. But let's discuss Senator Warren as a Vice-Presidential candidate.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
NO.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqjMhZ7x_xFbu5GEqnY8hoGnF09RKJC_ACphwuwFm3knVGHbn5Kg2oZ2E_6lWM9UJWB5A6Qprnqz0aAMwAgDW-A31OKrd8gHPk6WCwPesJcfVkI4ve38WxUy-nTAvx90Drh0mKLKlTpeM/s1600/Grumpy+Cat+No.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqjMhZ7x_xFbu5GEqnY8hoGnF09RKJC_ACphwuwFm3knVGHbn5Kg2oZ2E_6lWM9UJWB5A6Qprnqz0aAMwAgDW-A31OKrd8gHPk6WCwPesJcfVkI4ve38WxUy-nTAvx90Drh0mKLKlTpeM/s1600/Grumpy+Cat+No.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div>
It's not due to qualifications, as she is imminently qualified. Elizabeth Warren should not be Secretary Clinton's running mate for the following reasons.</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>1: MAKE-UP OF THE U.S. SENATE</b></div>
<div>
If Senator Warren becomes Vice President, that creates a vacancy in the Senate. If we have learned nothing over the last eight years, we should have learned that a sitting President needs all the support in Congress he/she can get. We have been dealing with partisan obstructionism for most of the past 8 years. There are no guarantees in politics, including the type of Senator that would replace Vice-President Warren. This segment from this <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/06/06/3784898/harry-reid-quietly-laying-groundwork-elizabeth-warren-vice-president/" target="_blank">ThinkProgress article</a> pretty much sums it up.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br /><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">// Massachusetts currently has a Republican governor, who would be able to name a temporary replacement to fill Warren’s senate seat if the Massachusetts lawmaker became vice president. And, even though this seat would</span></span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> eventually be filled by the winner of a special election, there’s no certainty that Massachusetts voters will choose another Democrat to fill Warren’s seat. Just ask former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA). //</span></span></span></blockquote>
<div>
As crucial as this election is, and considering everything that's at state, we can't afford to have a Republican fill a seat vacated by Warren, no matter how temporary. And as the segment lays out, there's no guarantee that a special election would seat a progressive. After all, the late Liberal Lion of the Senate was replaced by Scott Brown.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>2. THE GOOD SOLDIER</b></div>
<div>
One of the things that makes a good Vice-President is the ability to be a good soldier. No one has proved that point better than President Obama's own personal enforcer, Vice President Joe Biden.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdcSV7O8oFmldrLgTuvqbSu83zTQu8faR8G8bMxmUKiHItIEvczaRqbsFDecPLrT_gqbvme6G-Y_W6SeUDAGaOCY-XnWdYW2RqCEshqrDjUS8PFOvWKmxLy_RRIImilnJ8ZqNPprmCmk/s1600/Obama+Biden+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdcSV7O8oFmldrLgTuvqbSu83zTQu8faR8G8bMxmUKiHItIEvczaRqbsFDecPLrT_gqbvme6G-Y_W6SeUDAGaOCY-XnWdYW2RqCEshqrDjUS8PFOvWKmxLy_RRIImilnJ8ZqNPprmCmk/s320/Obama+Biden+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Throughout President Obama's two terms, Joe Biden has been loyal to a fault. And like the best lieutenants, he did not outshine the man in charge. Even with his so-called gaffes, he did not draw attention away from the President or steal the President's spotlight. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Which brings us to Senator Warren. As much of a surrogate that she is for Secretary Clinton, does this mean that she will take a back seat to President Clinton? Hillary Clinton needs someone who wouldn't overshadow her, and Senator Warren's current status as a progressive firebrand could run the risk of stealing the spotlight from the always-pragmatic Clinton. Whoever Clinton picks, it will be someone that won't have the crowd thinking "Why didn't THIS person win?" And the LAST thing that she needs to pick is someone who will run the country from behind the dark curtain.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKFh9YV_Aab2OkFUL5pJ0qP9APWxCXeHaf0ySicV5lY-zdm6g02-pw8nVDd9Fhk-Q8gi1r3tFuAflokxSitUIguvc_KU1rR5y2tKwxamjKDru0-cRYfdbRN_ctEfMpuKPRPghtE8DtRhU/s1600/Cheney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKFh9YV_Aab2OkFUL5pJ0qP9APWxCXeHaf0ySicV5lY-zdm6g02-pw8nVDd9Fhk-Q8gi1r3tFuAflokxSitUIguvc_KU1rR5y2tKwxamjKDru0-cRYfdbRN_ctEfMpuKPRPghtE8DtRhU/s320/Cheney.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah... "Vice" President... yeah, right.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b>3. KEEPING PRESIDENT CLINTON HONEST</b></div>
<div>
I have a theory that President Obama governed as a center-right Republican and got a pass. And to quote the great philosopher Herman Cain, I don't have the facts to back that up. But I believe that overall, we were so focused on the obstruction that President Obama faced, and getting what seemed to be the most basic things done, that we didn't hold him accountable enough for such things as support for the TransPacific Partnership and not bringing criminal charges to the bankers and hedge fund managers that collapsed the economy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Now, we are in a position to keep the White House Democratic, and we may be in a position to take back the Senate and the House of Representatives, and reshape the United States Supreme Court. So, we will need to make sure that President Clinton has all of the Congressional support she needs, to pass her legislative ideas.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But remember, as much as Clinton campaigned about being a progressive, she's pretty much as center-right as President Obama is, and even moreso on issues such as national security. We have to make sure that President Clinton is fulfilling her promises, and not giving away the store to Wall Street. This is why Senator Warren is still needed in the Senate. Senator Bernie Sanders has done a great job of pushing Secretary Clinton to the left on a lot of campaign issues, including things like a living wage. Senators like Warren, Sanders, and others more to her ideological left will (hopefully) assure that Clinton's pendulum won't swing more towards the right.</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>4. DE-FANGING SENATOR WARREN</b></div>
<div>
This is probably the biggest reason why I don't feel that Warren should be Clinton's VP. As mentioned earlier, Senator Warren is becoming a progressive firebrand, with the gravitas to be taken seriously and not dismissed as a loon. A Vice-President Warren can't call out President Clinton if Clinton decides that fracking is cool, or that payday loan institutions have no pals in the White House. A Warren Vice-Presidency pretty much silences Warren, and relegates her to the role of Clinton's lieutenant, Clinton's second-in-command. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Senator Warren needs to continue to bring the pain from the Senate floor. And there are plenty of other qualified people who will gladly fulfill the role of Clinton's Good Lieutenant.</div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-3666648518092712732016-06-20T05:45:00.000-07:002016-06-20T05:45:29.204-07:00Inside The GOP Convention... A S.A.L.T. ExclusiveThrough the magic of time travel, I was able to view the last day of the GOP Convention, and I am here to tell you how it all unfolded. Buckle up, kids.<br />
<br />
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<br />
<br />
Ted Nugent and Scott Baio just finished their rendition of the National Anthem.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.progressive.org/sites/default/public_files/13396122194_f10cc3e5aa_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.progressive.org/sites/default/public_files/13396122194_f10cc3e5aa_o.png" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh Say Can You Gun, by the gun's early gun... </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Chachi was in rare form, blaming President Obama for the fact that crescent rolls aren't called "Big C bread", and the audience applauded with glee. Shouts of "USA, USA" rose from the audience, and the White Aryan Resistance and members of the Ku Klux Klan embraced each other in this new spirit of renewed brotherhood. They exchanged cross-burning techniques and figured out the best angle in which to give the Hitler salute.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/56e4b0dd1e00008700703eea.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/56e4b0dd1e00008700703eea.jpeg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's baking KKKookies and bringing milk. WHITE milk, of course.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Everyone is stoked. They know that today is the day that they will pick their new Supreme Leader, who will finally fulfill the promise of making that pesky Barack Obama a one-term President. <br />
<br />
Suddenly, all the lights go out.<br />
<br />
The crowd gasps with anticipation.<br />
<br />
A single spotlight shines on the stage, and it follows a lone tricycle to the center of the stage.<br />
<br />
The crowd starts to go wild! They can't possibly figure out what's going on, but they figure that it's something that will completely destroy the liberal media.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a5.img.talkingpointsmemo.com/image/upload/c_fill,fl_keep_iptc,g_faces,h_365,w_652/nszxq8ao8uuxcktex5u2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://a5.img.talkingpointsmemo.com/image/upload/c_fill,fl_keep_iptc,g_faces,h_365,w_652/nszxq8ao8uuxcktex5u2.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Maybe it's like when that Clint Eastwood feller talked to that empty stool! YEE HAW!!! I gits it! Oblammo is the empty tricycle!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The spotlight on the tricycle remains, and the house lights flicker. A buzz and crackle of static emanates through the sound system. The static clears, and this song begins playing.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vhSHXGM7kgE/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vhSHXGM7kgE?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
While this song is playing, the giant ReaganTron6000 monitors flicker between a series of test patterns, static, and random error messages. Then, this image appears on the screen:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAEv6foxXDjfJJ0Yce83hcmUAzzcSM5yg54ryp2SsfktbqHzNToYMMGmMYlukmyfUeueBwLea3t3H3USQDtknR9l3Xwm_l75IaiOrQNY8oIvpxuwR-rokIXXOtVpBJY9Gol2cMNXpElY/s1600/Jigsaw+Killer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAEv6foxXDjfJJ0Yce83hcmUAzzcSM5yg54ryp2SsfktbqHzNToYMMGmMYlukmyfUeueBwLea3t3H3USQDtknR9l3Xwm_l75IaiOrQNY8oIvpxuwR-rokIXXOtVpBJY9Gol2cMNXpElY/s320/Jigsaw+Killer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Most of the crowd think that this is yet another mockery of President Obama, and the clap and yelp like rabid hyenas on bath salts. The yelping dies down as some Republicans begin to recognize that face, and connect it to the tricycle and the music. The excited and victorious atmosphere is now transformed to an atmosphere of terror. At that moment, the "keynote speech" begins.<br />
<br />
<b>"Hello, Republicans. You have been misleading the populace with the trickle-down prophecies of St. Ronald of Reagan, and you have been demonizing poor people, minorities, and anyone who isn't a white, Christian male for decades. With the election of President Barack Hussein Obama in 2008, you turned dog-whistle rhetoric into full-blown, uncompromising bigotry.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"You formed a cabal to block every initiative that this President offers, promising to make him a one-term President on the day of his inauguration. You gave voice to, and legitimized, a weapons-grade moron in the form of Sarah Palin. In 2010, you took advantage of voter disaffection and ushered in a wave of do-nothing politicians in the form of the Tea<strike> Potty</strike> Party. The rise of the Tea Party gave political birth to the likes of Ted Cruz, Joni Ernst, Tom Cotton, Mark Kirk, and other people who aren't qualified to write bylaws for a game of tag, let alone write laws for the United States. You have stepped into the abyss willingly and gleefully.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"In 2012, you had a chance to redeem yourself, and to prove that you were not clinically insane. But you rejected relative moderate John Huntsman as your party's candidate for the Presidency, and went with billionaire vulture capitalist Mitt Romney, Romney, of course, was defeated handily.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"Your party's members have been disrespectful to the President, even yelling 'You lie' during a State of the Union address. You have descended into the mouth of madness when you convinced yourself that the President is a Kenyan-born socialist Muslim communist anti-American, exotic 'other.' The National Rifle Association has convinced you that this 'usurper' is coming for your guns, causing you to panic and buy every gun in stock. The NRA, the gun manufacturers, and the hedge fund mangers that invest in them are laughing at you, all the way to the bank.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"You made your choice this year when you selected a leader of the Birther movement to be the standard-bearer for your party. You allowed Donald Trump to ascend from reality TV show host to the presumptive Republican nominee. And Mr. Trump, rather than tone down incendiary rhetoric to move towards the 'center' of political discourse, continued to wallow in racism, bigotry conspiracy theories, and vicious innuendo that would make TMZ blush with pride. Your candidate has revoked press privileges for any media outlet that has not kissed his ring. Reporters are finally beginning to hold Mr. Trump to task for his comments about President Obama having allowed a madman to murder 49 people and injure dozens more in this country's latest mass shooting.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"Now, you must make one more choice. Choose Donald Trump as the nominee, and you seal your party's fate as that of racists, bigots, the hateful, and the ignorant. Every down-ballot candidate in your party will be connected to the nominee.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"Choose another person to be the nominee, and you will create chaos from the rabid, violent mouthbreathers that Donald Trump has encouraged throughout the campaign. Your party will be splintered into tiny racist shards, unable to reassemble and take the White House.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"But understand this, Republicans and your delegates. No matter which option you choose, the end result for the Republican Party will be...</b><br />
<br />
<i>** Jigsaw removes his mask, and the true terrifying mastermind reveals himself **</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByynqEVbbsfuReWKuNb2Y9TkwiSXM6zGeOMz9JUYy5gWOrNx3zBiNT6G6GdxtKP2VU8KxdTggiTHQIcrxics1ctpIWYUzzIGWAOUIUsdT1wyVW1dxFbswWR7x6eMbFA1fkwVRWxwYoX8/s1600/Reince+Priebus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByynqEVbbsfuReWKuNb2Y9TkwiSXM6zGeOMz9JUYy5gWOrNx3zBiNT6G6GdxtKP2VU8KxdTggiTHQIcrxics1ctpIWYUzzIGWAOUIUsdT1wyVW1dxFbswWR7x6eMbFA1fkwVRWxwYoX8/s320/Reince+Priebus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">...GAME OVER."</span></b></div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-83527455244803557052016-06-15T17:44:00.001-07:002016-06-15T17:44:20.577-07:00Attention, Protesters: Stay Away From The RNC Convention!This is Donald J. Trump.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXc2H2BC77FuQfa964LF7SdzXRHq3Rn-_W3aYomo38w3gCkJWKeC4Uw8IPZUAYAZuWBM5WdYKX6TnC_tJUXQ_81FF-4tZ0QF1VV5HiPt4CXCkB0bmvMds5OSxrw8RNJOto-oVOZL7wrNg/s1600/Angry+Trump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXc2H2BC77FuQfa964LF7SdzXRHq3Rn-_W3aYomo38w3gCkJWKeC4Uw8IPZUAYAZuWBM5WdYKX6TnC_tJUXQ_81FF-4tZ0QF1VV5HiPt4CXCkB0bmvMds5OSxrw8RNJOto-oVOZL7wrNg/s320/Angry+Trump.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The mushroom clouds and apocalypse are gonna be YOOOOJ!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
He is the presumptive Republican nominee for the Presidency of the United States. Later, we can discuss how we got here. But for now, let's focus on the near future. And the near future is the upcoming Republican National Committee Convention. This is the huge event where they officially nominate the candidate as their party's standard bearer.<br />
<br />
Now, Trump campaign rallies have been rife with violence against protesters, so much so that a video superimposed Trump encouraging violence against protesters with footage of civil rights protesters being beaten and attacked by the police, and the <a href="http://americasvoice.org/blog/stop-youre-watch-trump-video-mother-jones/" target="_blank">result is truly horrifying and terribly accurate</a>. Yes, we've been here before, and this is the America that Trump wants to take us back to.<br />
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I'm hoping that the protesters stay away from the RNC convention this year. Not because they may be subject to assault by Trump staffers, and harassed and attacked by Trump supporters. <br />
<br />
No.<br />
<br />
Protesters need to stay away from the RNC protest because it will be a cataclysmic disaster. Every day that passes presents a new opportunity for Trump to alienate a potential voter base. His most recent remarks put him square against the U.S. Army, when he accused "an" Army of stealing cash meant for Iraqi citizens.<br />
<br />
Yep, Trump is attacking the troops.<br />
<br />
Trump's campaign is a living, breathing dumpster fire. Or, as my friend who runs the<a href="https://www.facebook.com/PrimarilyPolitics/?fref=ts" target="_blank"> Primarily Politics Facebook Page</a> says, it's a Trumpster Fire.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6UqpJ2b3fgrQZSWlKjALyOkQVdThNlp1wv1y0u76X1jCEqcjT64imjWcCplgHAwEYMlTPxK3eKQzJACKK22uPu0lVbemm6glMG6PHE3IclROupdR3W_9b9xo9zJE6-T0bm7DKCtIGAA/s1600/Dumpster+Fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6UqpJ2b3fgrQZSWlKjALyOkQVdThNlp1wv1y0u76X1jCEqcjT64imjWcCplgHAwEYMlTPxK3eKQzJACKK22uPu0lVbemm6glMG6PHE3IclROupdR3W_9b9xo9zJE6-T0bm7DKCtIGAA/s320/Dumpster+Fire.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: Donald Trump's Campaign, coming to an alley near you</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The reason why protesters should stay away is because the Republican Party is in the verge of collapse. Republicans everywhere are either trying to disavow Trump, or having regrets about endorsing him, or hint at some sort of palace coup at the convention. They will either nominate Trump, signaling Republican Armageddon, or they will work behind the scenes to nominate someone else, much to Trump's and his supporters' chagrin... which will also signal Republican Armageddon.<br />
<br />
What we need is to let this entire cataclysm play itself out. The last thing any of these warring factions needs is a common enemy to unite them. We don't need to see Trump supporters distracted by things such as immigration reform, Trump's racism, Trump's sexism, Trump's failed businesses, Trump's comments about the military, or any of that. We need for them to focus on Trump, and whether or not Paul Ryan will stab Trump in the back.<br />
<br />
This is a grand opportunity for anyone opposed to anything that the Tea Potty and the Republicans stand for. And when it comes time for the Convention to roll around, all we have to do sit back and watch it all unfold.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicf4QFjVYNPKRWQQtPNyoeL-WfRt1vGMoHA4U_xkE2aFZrphBXv1Hb0sDQi57CDJ4EMdAO7X38zmtGG3RYTgLB9EthYD_s1DmeCrPA_wWp5dbx4V2y2YyOoKJW4ikMOfaOn8yL8KICTvE/s1600/Mushroom+Cloud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicf4QFjVYNPKRWQQtPNyoeL-WfRt1vGMoHA4U_xkE2aFZrphBXv1Hb0sDQi57CDJ4EMdAO7X38zmtGG3RYTgLB9EthYD_s1DmeCrPA_wWp5dbx4V2y2YyOoKJW4ikMOfaOn8yL8KICTvE/s320/Mushroom+Cloud.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The RNC Convention concludes on a positive note.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
But hey, if you must go, stay out of the blast radius and bring the hotdogs and marshmallows. S'mores for everybody.Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-50735283380033889012016-06-13T09:56:00.000-07:002016-06-13T13:30:24.223-07:00Media, DO YOUR JOB REGARDING DONALD TRUMP.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ILQOcdguHISqm8AM0rqiE32xYsLAxhUFAzUoQgdahYzJkH-_z0kfw_r5OBuN4wiZS8uFtUpFBjWYWu_7hshVj5MthjVLKHHSDI0dWraHcwnKhE9LfgjeRmFFew-F-00ZTjbCUOIvhcc/s1600/Trump+Hugging+Flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ILQOcdguHISqm8AM0rqiE32xYsLAxhUFAzUoQgdahYzJkH-_z0kfw_r5OBuN4wiZS8uFtUpFBjWYWu_7hshVj5MthjVLKHHSDI0dWraHcwnKhE9LfgjeRmFFew-F-00ZTjbCUOIvhcc/s320/Trump+Hugging+Flag.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flag, show us on the doll where the orange monster touched you....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Donald Trump is several things. He's a misogynist, a bully, and a racist. He's a blowhard, he's crass, and his ostentatious display of wealth represents the worst of humanity. He is the living embodiment of the Scripture that teaches that the love of money is the root of all evil. He only measures a person's goodness by relating it to what they can do for him, personally (work for him, do business with him, tell great stories about his wealth). He has no use for anyone that can't do anything for him directly. This includes the idiot voters who mistake the rantings of a power-mad lunatic for qualifications to be the President of the United States.</div>
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Donald Trump is also the presumptive Republican nominee for the Presidency of the United States. Time and time again, he has proven just how unfit he is for office. His response to every tragedy around the world is to somehow bring it back to how great he is.</div>
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The horrific Orlando shooting is no exception. Rather than offer support to the families of the dead and injured, Trump took the moment to humble-brag by accepting congratulations from his supporters about how right they are about Trump's stance on Islam and terrorism. He also went to one of his familiar trope of attacking President Obama.</div>
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Let's be clear. Trump has been attacking President Obama from the beginning, by launching and supporting birtherism. Trump has been peddling in the filth of racism and bigotry for years, and his "campaign" to prove that President Obama was not a U.S. Citizen led to a demand that a sitting President "show his papers" to prove that he's a citizen. So, Trump's latest salvo against the President comes as no surprise.</div>
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This time, Trump suggests that President Obama is <a href="http://www.politicususa.com/2016/06/13/sick-moment-trump-orlando-attack-suggest-obama-secret-muslim.html" target="_blank">either weak, or secretly a Muslim terrorist sympathizer</a>. These were Trump's words.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;"> “What I want them to do is be tough and vigilant. Our government, we’re led by a man that is a very– look, we’re led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he’s got something else in mind. And the something else in mind, you know, people can’t believe it. People cannot — they cannot believe that President Obama is acting the ways he acts and can’t even mention the words radical Islamic terrorism. There’s something going on. It’s inconceivable. There’s something going on, and I know there’s gonna be.”</span></blockquote>
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Seriously.</div>
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<div>
Now, it's time for the real media to do its job. Jake Tapper <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/03/politics/donald-trump-tapper-lead/" target="_blank">did a brilliant job</a> of holding Trump to his comments about Judge Gonzalo Curiel. Tapper did not let up on calling Trump on Trump's insistence that Curiel's Hispanic background somehow disqualified the judge from the case involving the fraudulent Trump University.<br />
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Again, Trump is the Republican Party's standard bearer, and that party's nominee for the Presidency. Tapper interview notwithstanding, the media outlets have literally been letting Trump phone in the interviews, direct the conversation, and dictate what should or shouldn't be discussed. In light of Trump's callous and un-statesmanlike response to the Orlando shooting, the media should be asking him tough questions. Questions like:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Early on in Trump's campaign, <b>he stated that he knows how to defeat ISIS</b>, and that he knows more than the media and the generals. <b>What does he know, how did he acquire the information, and why is he holding it from the American people?</b> If his response is that he won't reveal his plans to defeat ISIS unless/until he is elected President, ask him why he is blackmailing American citizens.</li>
<li>Since the attacker in the Orlando shooting was born in America, <b>how would his plan to deport Muslims affect American-born Muslims? </b> Will they be rounded up and placed in concentration or internment caps?</li>
<li>Would he agree with President Obama's comments about someone on an FBI terrorist watch-list still being able to buy a gun? <b> Or does he support the NRA's assertion that everybody should have guns, and regulation is for commies?</b></li>
<li>What is he willing to do to address conservative supporters that wallow in<b> Christian extremism, who treat the Orlando shooting as an example of God's divine retribution?</b></li>
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The media should be asking him these questions all the time. And they should not let him off the hook. They should demand that he answer the questions, or declare that the interview is over. They shouldn't allow him to phone interviews in, as he has abused phone privileges. Media outlets, hold him accountable or you risk a journalistic catastrophe on par with the appalling run-up to the Iraq War.<br />
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You have a job to do, media. <br />
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<b>DO YOUR JOB</b>.</div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-59159477978338054972016-06-08T03:05:00.000-07:002016-06-08T03:40:35.989-07:00Democrats, Progressives, We Gon' Be Alright...<div>
...to quote Kendrick Lamar. Here's why.</div>
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During the 2008 campaign...</div>
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<br /></div>
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...P.U.M.A. was so much of a thing that people thought that it would split the Democratic Party...</div>
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...then-Senator Clinton invoked Rev. Jeremiah Wright, stating that he would not be HER pastor (side note: People who never listened to the sermon don't know that during that "infamous" sermon, the oh-so-terrible Rev. Dr. Wright praised President Clinton as "an intelligent friend in the White House", as opposed to the "dumb Dixiecrat" that succeeded him).</div>
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...then-Senator Clinton stated that she wished the primaries were run like the Republican primaries...</div>
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...Bill Clinton showed his behind in dismissing then-Senator Obama's South Carolina victory...</div>
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...I was so concerned about then-Senator Clinton's upcoming speech, thinking that she was going to send the Democratic Party into chaos and give in to P.U.M.A. acolytes...</div>
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...then-Senator Clinton used the assassination of Robert Kennedy, and hinted that an assassination is still plausible (much to everyone's horror) as a reason to stay in the race and not concede...</div>
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...then-Senator Clinton was caught lying about being under sniper fire, to the point that comedian Sinbad fact-checked her...</div>
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...her campaign was run by Mark Penn, who proved to be completely outclassed by the Obama campaign in every area...</div>
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...then-Senator Clinton went to a Black church, talking about "I don't feel no ways tah'r'd..."</div>
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...lastly, Clinton gave, at that time, the most dynamic speech of her campaign, her concession speech which included a full-throated, unequivocal endorsement of then-Senator Obama. And gave an equally dynamic speech at the DNC Convention.</div>
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At times, the 2008 campaign was very nasty. It was a clash of sexism vs. racism. Then-Senator Clinton campaigned as if the Presidency was a foregone conclusion, and that campaigning was a mere formality. She took the Black vote for granted, and she paid dearly for it. She campaigned as if the "goodwill" generated by Bill Clinton's presidency would automatically be conferred upon her.</div>
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Then-Senator Clinton erased a lot of rancor and built bridges with her speeches congratulating and endorsing then-Senator Obama.</div>
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<div>
Now, the roles are switched, with Secretary Hillary Clinton as the presumptive nominee and Senator Bernie Sanders as the underdog candidate. This race has had its moments, with the rise of "Bernie Bros" playing the role that P.U.M.A. played last time around. And, the Democratic National Committee has a patently awful chairman in the person of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, who makes RNC chief and useless tub of goo Reince Priebus look competent by comparison. Her obvious bias towards Sec. Clinton was the LEAST of Wasserman-Schultz's sins, as she oversaw tremendous congressional and gubernatorial losses for the Democrats in previous years.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
But despite Wasserman-Schultz, and despite allegations of a "rigged" contest, we now have Madame Secretary Hillary R. Clinton as the presumptive nominee for the Presidency of the United States. And, love it or hate it, we gon' be alright.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Why?</div>
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Because after all of the venom and bile of the 2008 campaign, both sides came together, only leaving outliers to kvetch and moan about the results.</div>
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<div>
We gon' be alright because the Republicans have put up, without hyperbole, the WORST candidate in their party's history. This candidate is so bad that two living Presidents in HIS party won't endorse him, and Republican politicians are trying to jump ship to disconnect themselves from their party's standard-bearer. But it won't work. I'm looking at YOU, Senator Mark Kirk.</div>
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We gon' be alright because we were alright in 2008, when the candidate that didn't win lent her full support to the winner.</div>
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<div>
We gon' be alright if Bernie Sanders makes an equally dynamic speech, offering a full-throated endorsement of Secretary Clinton while still being a (better) advocate for progressive issues. I'm optimistic that despite it all, Sanders will "do the job" (to use a pro-wrestling fan term) and endorse the party's nominee unequivocally. The onus is now on him to help bridge the gap between his supporters and hers. If Sanders is the man of character that I believe him to be, then his concession speech will be graceful, eloquent, and positive. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Lastly, we gon' be alright because President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and others will all be unleashed (Sen. Warren has already been giving Trump the "Samsonite Luggage Test" treatment). Robert Reich said it best when he endorsed Senator Sanders: Secretary Clinton is the best candidate for the system we have now. And like it or not, we're here now. We gon' be alright if we coalesce behind Secretary Clinton while the GOP dumpster fire rages out of control.</div>
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<div>
We can do this. We can vote down-ballot, to get rid of the Tea Potty once and for all, relegating them to the dustbin of history. </div>
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WE GON' BE ALRIGHT.</div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-38421260073276470862016-06-01T18:08:00.000-07:002016-06-01T18:08:04.287-07:00The Roots Remake - Is It Needed?<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
The History Channel went and did it. They messed around and rebooted a groundbreaking series. In a departure from their usual programming (which seems to be "All Hitler, All The Time"), they remade the classic TV series "Roots."</div>
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If you're my age, which is somewhere between "older than a Millennial" and "younger than a Baby Boomer", then there's only one "Roots" you remember.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1B8OsALZUoCfKMiOIqu4ehEpiiMfVtSbc0HFCU3JnVMcu1WnwEu-3i_dqfEE1sJXkTTN29ZsTF8o7RGusk76NggrvKveP-QW7bY9raOzem6vvb81RmzO8ZpPve_eUDxjDMdkbQ6so33w/s1600/Original+Roots+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1B8OsALZUoCfKMiOIqu4ehEpiiMfVtSbc0HFCU3JnVMcu1WnwEu-3i_dqfEE1sJXkTTN29ZsTF8o7RGusk76NggrvKveP-QW7bY9raOzem6vvb81RmzO8ZpPve_eUDxjDMdkbQ6so33w/s320/Original+Roots+Cover.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
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THIS ONE.</div>
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As far as Black pop culture was concerned, this was the definitive telling of the horrors of the TransAtlantic Slave trade and African-American history. We felt the pain when Kunta Kinte finally told the slavemaster that his name was "Toby." I remember an older Kunta Kinte saying, after he got his foot chopped off, saying "I'm not gon' learn to walk... I'm gon' learn to RUN", and feeling a bit of pride. And how many of us held up newborn babies to the moonlight?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGYvMJ07y0u4UIPT8WVrNIV053ns9HpeZYu0u9rwfaPA-5RWTPcQRI3y9rcxhS7HBnNkIY_ghb8-C5i7PCjOCHda9vzuSBIZqfkYm5qOd1Xw4MV7cSi4I_S66QSlOr8NjLRuHd4vhFSVw/s1600/Baby+Ceremony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGYvMJ07y0u4UIPT8WVrNIV053ns9HpeZYu0u9rwfaPA-5RWTPcQRI3y9rcxhS7HBnNkIY_ghb8-C5i7PCjOCHda9vzuSBIZqfkYm5qOd1Xw4MV7cSi4I_S66QSlOr8NjLRuHd4vhFSVw/s320/Baby+Ceremony.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>No, I didn't do this. I was a kid when the original first came out, for goodness' sake.</i></div>
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The Original Recipe Roots gave us an almost complete timeline from slavery and captivity to freedom, to every aspect of American History, to Alex Haley going back to the Motherland to meet his family. It was about as good a Black History class as what was being taught in the schools.</div>
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Fast forward to 2016.</div>
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We are in an age of reboots. Batman has been rebooted to rescue us from the dark ages of the Schumacher era...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuuYuZ1cYxR_mYYgWwYCqa_OHdKWOxNhk-QXj9rZH-9U-PX4-0ex2wDrEwYRpDmTu2Zq5biUhgX2thFaqa-u3Rdxwl2lIYEi8zk3GJpvbwBeL7iaBeIKe_9tQed4tNsZcRu5Rl2-rcTz8/s1600/Batman+Schumacher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuuYuZ1cYxR_mYYgWwYCqa_OHdKWOxNhk-QXj9rZH-9U-PX4-0ex2wDrEwYRpDmTu2Zq5biUhgX2thFaqa-u3Rdxwl2lIYEi8zk3GJpvbwBeL7iaBeIKe_9tQed4tNsZcRu5Rl2-rcTz8/s320/Batman+Schumacher.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>NEVER FORGET</i></div>
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...to Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne meets the Marlboro Man, to Ben Affleck picking up the cowl. Spider-Man has been rebooted so many times that Aunt Mae is getting younger and younger at each reboot. Ghostbusters is being rebooted with women. Superman has... </div>
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...there have been a lot of reboots, is all I'm saying.</div>
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Of course, the natural instinct is to boo and hiss at any idea of a remake of Roots, for several reasons.</div>
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1) Original Recipe Roots was a classic, and should not be touched. Clearly, Hollywood is out of ideas if they have to desecrate the sacred grounds of this classic.</div>
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2) Aren't we TIRED of "slave narrative" movies? Geez! Every movie has to be about slaves and Black degradation and humiliation. "12 Years A Slave"? It was good, but come on... "Django Unchained"? Really? Who greenlit THAT? Blah blah blah, rat-a-tat-tat, hibbity jibbity.</div>
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Funny thing about point #2. <a href="http://shadowandact.com/2016/05/31/lets-finally-put-to-bed-the-claim-that-the-majority-of-american-films-starring-black-actors-are-slave-narratives/" target="_blank">This comprehensive piece</a> completely dispels the myth that the majority of American movies with Black actors are slave narratives. It also points out something that is more horrifying. If you look at the timeline of movies from 2006 until now, you will see that<b> Tyler Perry has released more movies than movies with so-called "slave narratives." </b> </div>
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THAT should horrify you. (snark)</div>
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Of course, the new Roots miniseries is making the rounds in social media. A person asked this:</div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.32px;">// What are these slaves movies going to do besides piss us off again //</span></blockquote>
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That's when I responded with this, as to what "slave movies are going to do":</div>
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How about countering the efforts of conservatives to rewrite history? A Texas history book tried to reduce the TransAtlantic Slave Trade to "migrant worker patterns" for people "looking for better opportunities."<br />If it takes a million reboots of "Roots" to report history accurately, I am here for it. I don't have to watch them, but at least more people will know that the horrors of slavery weren't part of a "job creation program."</blockquote>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">You see, slavery has always been under attack by conservatives. They have been telling Black people to "get over slavery", since it ended hundreds of years ago. That point fails to mention the aftermath of slavery, from the Reconstruction to Jim Crow laws to the Civil Rights movement to modern attacks on the Voting Rights Act. And if they aren't trying to minimize the horrors of slavery (something that's never said to any other group that has been subjugated and marginalized), they're trying to rewrite history.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">A geography book publisher tried to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/04/living/mcgraw-hill-slavery-textbook-mom-complaint-feat/" target="_blank">rewrite enslaved Africans</a> as "immigrants" or "workers." And a map even had THIS picture:</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqsLbXBJpHnzmwlk9N-nIp2SqNuW3bIVDf6av2KANyLxFOiokqG9SBylM4U2dg7BkHlmUn-YuSlyxSiwBit3ky1t5Pw_R7Xwuo7LfpjHORWu9WqSrNOVM8sePSxdysa1OoXMomA-JzWk/s1600/slave+textbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqsLbXBJpHnzmwlk9N-nIp2SqNuW3bIVDf6av2KANyLxFOiokqG9SBylM4U2dg7BkHlmUn-YuSlyxSiwBit3ky1t5Pw_R7Xwuo7LfpjHORWu9WqSrNOVM8sePSxdysa1OoXMomA-JzWk/s320/slave+textbook.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;"><i>Y'all see that, right?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">Pet Negro Apologists like Jesse Lee Peterson try to give everyone the Black Conservative Perspective, by uttering such weapons-grade nonsense like "We should be thanking God for slavery!" </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">And that's when it hit me. Just as a meme that I saw stating that the Ghostbusters redo wasn't for the fans of the original, but it was for little girls who dream of owning their own proton packs and sending demonic spirits back to the gates of Hell, the Roots remake may just not be for me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">It may not BE for those of us who are fully aware of the horrors of slavery. It may not BE for those of us who saw the original series in our formative years, and gave us a sense of a knowledge of who we are and where we come from. We, the Black Generation X-ers who grew up on "Good Times", "The Jeffersons", Sugar Hill Gang, early Public Enemy, and "All In The Family", may not BE the target audience for this venture.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">THIS venture may be for those who have no idea just how horrible and dehumanizing slavery was. It may be for those whose only exposure to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the "I Have A Dream" speech that's played every February. It may be for those who are being taught that the TransAtlantic Slave Trade was nothing more than "migrant worker patterns."</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">And you know what?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">I'm here for it. I may not watch the new series (more about my own personal preferences than taking a stand one way or another). And I don't have to watch it. None of us do. But if it takes another "slave narrative" to combat any attempts to whitewash slavery, I'm here for it. I'm here for it all day. Because if we're not careful, the tales of horror and abuse and ungodly dehumanizing get reduced to happy-clappy stuff like slaves who are happy to cook for George Washington, and Sally Hemings/Thomas Jefferson is a torrid tale of a forbidden love affair.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">In the meantime, I'll be over there waiting for the reign of T'Challa to begin.</span></span></div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-14596550463814452172016-03-09T18:58:00.001-08:002016-03-09T18:58:29.819-08:00Me Vs. The Human Dumpster Fire (A Dating Ghost Protocol Horror Story)<i>Ed. note: I'm bringing this story up so that I can submit it to someone collecting dating horror stories, and edited it from the time(s) I posted originally, on a private blog</i><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Prelude: The Introduction</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, I renewed my subscription to Match.com. A girl "winked" at me. I went to her profile, and her headline said that she's looking for someone six feet tall, light-skinned or dark skinned. Undaunted, I responded by letting her know right off the bat that I'm nowhere near six feet tall. She responded, and we started exchanging e-mails.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She already sent up a red flag in our conversation. She wondered why it was taking me so long to respond to her e-mails. "So long" being 5 minutes. She said that it took me so long to respond because I was apparently talking to someone else. It didn't hit me until after the fact that she said something that is, well, pretty dog-gone stupid. I told her that she can't get upset if it takes me a few minutes to respond to an e-mail, because I can't do anything until I get the e-mail notification. In hindsight, what I should have said was "Even if I WERE talking to someone, we're talking on a DATING SITE, and neither of us are committed to ANYONE." That was another "hindsight" moment. But going forward, it has given me a little insight of what I'm getting into.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Which brings me to my next point.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She has kids. 5 of them. They range in age from 2 to 20-something. She worried that her having so many kids would be a deal-breaker. I thought about it, and right off the bat, even though she has a basketball team's starting line-up's worth of kids, it won't be an automatic deal-breaker. I wondered internally if my feelings were based on me trying to "prove" that I'm "different." Thankfully, the answer is "no." Because initially, having kids is not a deal-breaker on the outset. It's not a deal-breaker because we are just getting to know each other. After we meet, then we'll see.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Main Event:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, I went on an early coffee date with [name redacted], the girl I met from Match.com. It's a day off, and it's beautiful outside, so I figure "What have I got to lose?" Since she doesn't have a car, it meant that I had to pick her up from her house. I don't have a problem with that. She gives me her address, and I go out to her house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She lives in an apartment building, and the building doesn't have a doorbell. Plus, I don't know which apartment she lives in (she didn't specify). So, I shoot her a text to let her know that I was outside. 8 minutes later, she responds. A few minutes later, I see the door opens.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh, sweet mother of God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think I did a good job of hiding just how terrified I was, and I could swear that I heard the "Godzilla" theme in the background. I mean, I knew that she had 5 kids, but according to her profile, her body type was listed as "average." Not "curvy", or "Big & Beautiful" or "a few extra pounds." She was fully-blown morbidly obese, waddling and working up a sweat as she walked to my car. I've seen women who have had a gang of kids, and you couldn't tell that they had ONE. She, however, looked like her body was ravaged by childbirth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And cake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And extra cake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And ice cream.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And extra cheeseburgers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And extra chicken wings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And even more cake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You get the idea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a few minutes to process what had just unfolded in front of me, I get out of my car to greet her. What's the first thing she says to me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Wow. I didn't think you'd be THIS short."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I swear before God and on everything that I hold dear that it took everything within me to hold back from saying "I didn't think you'd be this fat", getting back in my car, and driving off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, please believe that I don't expect a woman that I encounter to be a perfect, Beyonce-like specimen, because I don't. Lord knows I won't be gracing the covers of any fitness magazines. "Curvy" is fine, "a few extra pounds" is fine. But when you say that your body type is "average", and it turns out that you mean "average in comparison to a Buick 225", then we have a problem.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">...Sorry, I'm not into dating 'Deuce and a Quarters'...</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And then to compound that with YOUR assessment about MY height... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let me back up for a minute.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Her profile heading says that she's looking for men 6' tall. When I responded to her wink, I told her that I was well under 6'. My profile lists my height as 5' 6", and that's only because it won't let me say that I'm 5', 5 <span style="font-size: x-small;">1/2</span>". And make no mistake: I don't have any hang-ups about my height. I KNOW I'm short, and I'm cool with it. And I don't begrudge a lady that's looking for a taller guy. If that's her preference, then that's cool.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The 5 kids wasn't a deal breaker, but her comment most certainly was. But, I didn't end it. We still went out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the way out, we chatted a little bit, and she unfolded the horror story that is her life in front of me. She has two baby-daddies (her words), and that's only because the oldest baby-daddies was killed. The apartment that she lives in is in foreclosure, so she and her kids will have to move. As it turned out, her eldest child, a daughter, doesn't live with her, but is staying with her. The oldest daughter is on a 4-year scholarship to a college in South Carolina, I think. She was using her son's disability payments to pay her rent. But since the building's in foreclosure, she doesn't get those payments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I told her that I work for the Unemployment Office on 119th. She told me that she's going to be assigned to the Public Aid office right next door.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By the way: The two remaining baby-daddies? On drugs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When we get to our destination, we chat some more. Some of it is small talk, like favorite movies and stuff. Other times, she pulls back the curtain on some of her dating experiences. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Like how she gave it up on the first date to another dude she met on Match.com, and how another dude told her to take the bus home after she wouldn't put up with his disrespect. She told me about how guys are after her for her body (I almost choked at that), and they ask her right on the outset for nekkid pictures of her (see the above looks of horror).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She talked about going back to school for massage therapy or something in the medical assistant field, which is fine. But it doesn't sound like she has any desires beyond that. She also told me that she is interested in getting some sort of lap band surgery or something.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The bottom line is that this one is certainly a no-go. There are far too many things going on there, things that I'm not in a position to (or even want to) deal with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Her number of kids didn't do her in... but her comment, and just about everything else with her did.</span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And when I think about it, it's still a good thing... because it gives me a better gauge on what ARE my deal-breakers, beyond being Tyler Perry fans... heh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One more thing:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the second time that someone has been "disillusioned" by my height. The first time was a girl who "thought that I'd be taller", even though I TOLD her how tall I was. If I recall correctly, she thought that I'd be taller than the actual height I mentioned. And as it turned out, she happened to be built like a refrigerator box.</span></div>
</div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-36537858663723679412015-12-22T16:15:00.000-08:002015-12-22T16:15:11.428-08:00S.A.L.T. Wayback Presents - R. Kelly To Write Memoirs<i>Ed. Note: In 2009, it was announced that R. Kelly was writing his memoirs. Pepperidge Farm remembers, and so do I, especially in the wake of R. Kelly making the news again.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>__________________</i><br />
<br />
R. Kelly is preparing to enter into a media realm. As reported elsewhere, R. Kelly will be preparing to <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/kelly/1930014,r-klly-untitled-memoir-120909.article" target="_blank">write his memoirs</a>. In a blockbuster <a href="http://chubbyafro.com/">Chubby Afro</a>/Shut'cher Gobbige Mowf EXCLUSIVE, we have acquired leaked first drafts of some of this explosive tome.<br />
<br />
R. Kelly (born Robert Sylvester Kelly) begins by telling the world what drew him to the cut-throat, lucrative, and intense business of being an entertainer:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s173/BigTy68/Humor/KellyMemoirCh1.jpg" style="height: 320px; width: 277px;" title="R. Kelly's Memoir, Chapter 1" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Kelz and his humble beginnings</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
Very telling. Very telling.<br />
<br />
In this yet-untitled memoir, Kelly also explains the creative process behind his hit R&B opera, "Trapped In The Closet, Parts 1 through Infinity":<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s173/BigTy68/Humor/KellyMemoirTrapped.jpg" style="height: 319px; width: 248px;" title="Trapped In The Closet" /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">Kelly details the intense creative process behind "Trapped In The Closet"</span></div>
<br />
The piece-de-resistance of the leaked excerpts is next. Finally free to speak his mind about the child pornography charges that have dogged him for years, Kelly uses his memoir to express exactly how that infamous night went down. Kelly breaking his silence on this issue is incredible. Simply incredible:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s173/BigTy68/Humor/KellyMemoirCase.jpg" height="320" title="Kelly Expresses Himself About The Case" width="244" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">R. Kelly finally breaks his silence on the charges that he faced</span></span>.</div>
<br />
<br />
We expect that this memoir will set the literary world aflame.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned, as we may have more exclusive excerpts in the near future.Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-22913732996376208042015-12-09T17:24:00.001-08:002015-12-09T20:05:36.971-08:00Boss Rahm Must Go! (...but not so fast...)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/emanuel_rtr_img.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/emanuel_rtr_img.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Behold Boss Rahm. The Rahm-Father. Chicago's mayor, the Honorable Rahm Emanuel. He managed to squeak into his second term as mayor in 2014, after defeating candidate Jesus "Chuy" Garcia in a run-off election. For what it's worth, the restructuring of the mayoral race was designed to prevent such a thing from happening. Chicago's mayors are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_Chicago" target="_blank">selected by popular vote</a>, in a non-partisan race. If no candidate has 50% of the vote, then a run-off election decides the winner. He was elected in 2011, with his primary positives being not Pharaoh Richard Daley and the former Chief of Staff for President Obama.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But enough history.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Right now, Boss Rahm is very vulnerable. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Laquan_McDonald" target="_blank">shooting death of Laquan McDonald</a> has revealed some horrifying information about the city of Chicago, the Chicago Police Department, and the stink goes all the way up to the 5th Floor of City Hall. Long story short, Laquan was shot by the police. The police spun a narrative saying that Laquan, while high on PCP, lunged at the police, forcing Officer Jason Van Dyke to open fire, shooting Laquan twice in the chest and killing him. That was the prevailing narrative for over a year, and the narrative was carried through in press releases and comments from the head of the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police. But for a whistle-blower, some actual investigative journalists, the Freedom of Information Act, and a judge's court order, that would STILL be the prevailing narrative.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But thanks to these efforts, the truth came out. The horrific video (which is available everywhere on the 'net) shows Laquan walking AWAY from the cops, with Van Dyke then opening fire twice. And after Laquan's body hits the ground, Van Dyke empties his clip, shooting Laquan 14 more times. 14 more bullets enter into a dead teenager's body. The video was so damning and so revealing that the city settled with the family for $5 million, even before the family had a chance to file a civil or wrongful-death suit. And guess who fought to keep the video from being released?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You guessed it, Boss Rahm.</div>
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<br /></div>
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After the video was released, the city has seen protest after protest. They were peaceful protests, and as a side note, I will never buy the Chicago Sun-Times for their coverage of the Black Friday protests.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCVDLMUrNK2MBYgMg4642G063Wk5yB09LId-EA2rl7-P5fXOclegdn4c1E6mQTmuzel7hnajeFdIddM0VjHG7UTwZv7nOyQSFCc0s6M84HNU7b676NGGC0VBZ7RTpKP-jkpKnaKQKREo/s1600/Sun+Times+Rage+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCVDLMUrNK2MBYgMg4642G063Wk5yB09LId-EA2rl7-P5fXOclegdn4c1E6mQTmuzel7hnajeFdIddM0VjHG7UTwZv7nOyQSFCc0s6M84HNU7b676NGGC0VBZ7RTpKP-jkpKnaKQKREo/s320/Sun+Times+Rage+Cover.jpg" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: Irresponsible journalism and something to line your cat's litter box.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Cook County District Attorney Anita Alvarez actually charged Officer Van Dyke with murder, but her record with prosecuting police and being on the side of the people<a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/red-cup-adventures/2015/12/anita-alvarez-works-for-the-police-not-the-people/" target="_blank"> isn't exactly stellar</a>. She is vulnerable, as well, as her former allies are turning on her and abandoning her. But this isn't about her for now, although she has her own metric ton of questions that need to be answered.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Since the video has been released, lots of people are taking the hit. Garry McCarthy was the first major figure to take a hit. After meeting with the media, Garry assured himself that everything was fine.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.trbimg.com/img-5654a77a/turbine/chi-rahm-emanuel-garry-mccarthy-ct0032534008-20151124/600/600x600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-5654a77a/turbine/chi-rahm-emanuel-garry-mccarthy-ct0032534008-20151124/600/600x600" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McCarthy: Rahm, did you hear that? Sounds like a bus...<br />
Rahm: No, didn't here a thing... now if you can just stand over THERE...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>** THUMPITY THUMP THUMP **</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That was the sound of Boss Rahm throwing McCarthy under the bus. But that was just the first in several dominoes to fall. U.S. Attorney General has announced that the U.S. Justice Department will <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/07/us/chicago-police-justice-department-laquan-mcdonald-investigation/" target="_blank">investigate the Chicago Police Department</a> in the wake of the Laquan McDonald shooting. And the aftermath has caused other rats to leave the sinking ship. <a href="http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Chicago-Chief-of-Detectives-Resigns-360810361.html" target="_blank">Among them are</a> Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Constantine "Dean" Andrews, and Scott Ando, the head of the Independent Police Review Authority. The latter is especially interesting, since the purpose of the Independent Police Review Authority was to independently investigate bad cops. But the Blue Wall of Silence was so pervasive that one of its investigators was fired because he wouldn't cook the books to make police look good.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Which brings us back to the very vulnerable Boss Rahm. He is trying to salvage his career <a href="http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Mayor-Emanuel-New-Police-Task-Force-Tuesday-359212521.html" target="_blank">by creating a "Task Force"</a> to "strengthen the fabric of trust between the Chicago Police Department and the communities it protects. But that is doing little to reduce the calls for Boss Rahm to be tossed from office. There was a huge protest today (12/9) that spilled into the James R. Thompson Center, because City Hall was locked down. The calls for Boss Rahm to step down are coming from all corners of the city. But I think that Boss Rahm should not be given the luxury of resigning from office. Voters have notoriously short memories, and if Boss Rahm is allowed to walk away, the outrage that is felt now will have dissipated by the time the next mayoral election rolls around.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the wake of these shootings, investigations, and whatever else the Justice Department uncovers, Boss Rahm should stay in office. He should stay in office and answer all of the questions he has to face. He should have to answer questions about what he knew about the Laquan McDonald shooting, and when he knew it. He should answer questions about why, under his watch, an Independent Police Review Authority inspector was fired for doing exactly what his job called for him to do. Every remaining moment of Boss Rahm's mayoral career should be moments holding him accountable for everything that happened under his watch. Every Chicago tax payer's dollar that was used to settle cases involving terrible police officers. Every officer in the McDonald shooting that signed off on the original, false narrative that remains on the job. Every school privatization horror story involving terrible food. Every dollar of funds used in Barbara Byrd-Bennett's schemes (and what did he know about HER, and when did he know THAT)?<br />
<br />
<i>Edited to add:</i><br />
<br />
In my haste, I forgot about a particular incident where Boss Rahm went into full Corleone mode. He basically said to youth leaders, Black clergy, and members of the City Council Black Caucus that "<a href="http://gawker.com/rahm-emanuel-reportedly-threatened-chicagos-black-leade-1745812220?trending_test_three_c&utm_expid=66866090-68.NesmD4FSTbKroxp5qEjtVQ.3&newstream=off&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F" target="_blank">it would be a shame if there were no jobs funneled into your community because of these protests.</a>" THAT was Boss Rahm being the same man who sent his opposition a dead fish wrapped in a newspaper.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If we have the political and intestinal fortitude, Boss Rahm can either be forced out of office in disgrace or (my preferred choice) dragged into the next mayoral race as a lame duck, which would be a first for Chicago. And up until that moment, the voters can actually put action behind the protests and show up at the polls in unprecedented amounts. Boss Rahm can receive the public condemnation and repudiation from the public that he so richly deserves as he is unceremoniously cast from office. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As for his replacement and the next mayor of Chicago? I have <a href="http://my.amaraforchicago.com/bio/" target="_blank">an idea</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://chicagomonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Enyia-Thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://chicagomonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Enyia-Thumb.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Honorable Dr. Amara Enyia, Mayor Of Chicago<br />
<i>...I can dream, can't I?</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-9835637529401017242015-10-16T17:34:00.003-07:002015-10-16T17:35:33.795-07:00Raven-Symone Corleone Strikes AgainAn open letter to Raven-Symone (Corleone - as in "Fredo Corleone").<br />
<br />
Dear Ms. Symone... or is it Raven-Symone'? Ms. Raven-Symone'? And why do you have a little accent over a silent "e"? <br />
<br />
I digress.<br />
<br />
Recently, you went on TV talking about how you wouldn't hire anyone with a "ghetto" name, using names like "Watermelondrea" for example. You have since <a href="http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6723055/raven-symone-apologizes-ghetto-name-view">apologized</a>. But before I get into what's grinding my gears, let me give you a gentle reminder.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/raven-symone-the-view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/raven-symone-the-view.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time..."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When you go on TV looking like Baretta's cockatoo after it fell into a vat of Kool-Aid, AND your name has a dash AND an accent-mark over a silent letter, you do not have the moral high ground to call anything else "embarrassing." But when it seems that you kinda hit rock bottom, you started digging.<br />
<br />
On national TV, you let yourself get checked by the Coultergeist. By Evil Incarnate. By Ann Coulter.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1793397/images/o-ANN-COULTER-facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1793397/images/o-ANN-COULTER-facebook.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: Evil Incarnate in its flesh costume</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Coultergeist was on "The View", and Raven attempted to call Coulter out on some of the hateful things that Coulter said. It should have been an easy task, since Coulter has gone on record spewing hate at anyone who isn't a white, Christian male. Race, religion, 911... you name it, there isn't a topic that she hasn't spewed hateful bile all over, corroding and corrupting everything she encounters. She's a racist, she's vile, and she is an attention whore. There is nothing that she won't say to keep her disgusting name and visage in the public eye. <br />
<br />
Which brings us to today, Raven. It sounded like you were attempting to shame Coulter, but this soulless monster has no shame. You brought up how it's mean of her to say mean things, and she countered with... well, let's go to the tape.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKztpOoEkk4" target="_blank">ANN COULTER SHUTS DOWN RAVEN SYMONE</a></div>
<br />
She counters your "feel good" comments with your comments about Black names and then... she shuts you up, because she claims that at least she is talking about policy, while you're just insulting people with their names. And then... SILENCE.<br />
<br />
How could you let her work you into a corner like that, when there is SO. MUCH. MATERIAL. to work from? The Coultergeist talks POLICY? You let that slide, and you have gone down in infamy like so many Hindenburgs. <br />
<br />
Oh, the humanity.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/03/article-2287608-186AEA9F000005DC-218_638x479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/03/article-2287608-186AEA9F000005DC-218_638x479.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artist's rendition of Raven Symone</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Do you not do any research on your show?<br />
<br />
"Our Blacks are better than their Blacks." - Ann Coulter on Black conservatives vs. Black liberals<br />
<br />
"These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by griefparrazies. I have never seen people enjoying their husband's deaths so much. - Ann Coulter on 9/11 widows<br />
<br />
"We need to execute people like (John Walker Lindh) in order to physically intimidate liberals."<br />
<br />
"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is that he did not go to the New York Times Building." - Ann Coulter on domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh<br />
<br />
"I think the government should be spying on all Arabs, engaging in torture as a televised spectator sport, dropping daisy cutters wantonly throughout the Middle East and sending liberals to Guantanamo." - Ann Coulter on civil liberties<br />
<br />
This was just off the top of the head, and with a very quick Google search. You let this venomous creature shut you down because she rope-a-doped (emphasis on DOPE, ya dope) you into a corner with claims that her comments are based solely on policy. NOTHING from what was quoted above has anything to do with "policy", except that it represents the worst of conservative ideology. Now, instead of the news cycle being about your stupid comment about names, the pop culture news cycle is about people actually and regretfully taking the Coultergeist's side, or at least giving her props for shutting you down.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.playbuzz.com/cdn/d9f95054-43d1-49cd-8d24-d6dd878cc31b/ef5804aa-5011-4313-8ce2-7637101cf8fc.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.playbuzz.com/cdn/d9f95054-43d1-49cd-8d24-d6dd878cc31b/ef5804aa-5011-4313-8ce2-7637101cf8fc.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A common reaction to having to choose between Raven Symone and the Coultergeist</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once again, you have disappointed everyone around you. There are no winners here.<br />
<br />
And once again, Raven Symone...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LAuL4nTa4futKfHjissULXUIXDLQf-3b9AXbIUqk_TLRcc9INMZvweILBNuGkzaSHCUbsOgZl4Hq8Vz5X_OKzudmCLxX-CRnyWe4iPelTfYovuVrc_yOln19alIIJaNr-NpDFG7OHRs/s1600/NegroCommunityFrowns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LAuL4nTa4futKfHjissULXUIXDLQf-3b9AXbIUqk_TLRcc9INMZvweILBNuGkzaSHCUbsOgZl4Hq8Vz5X_OKzudmCLxX-CRnyWe4iPelTfYovuVrc_yOln19alIIJaNr-NpDFG7OHRs/s320/NegroCommunityFrowns.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Do better, Raven-Symone Corleone. Let people know that you're "smart and not dumb, like people say."Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-28492992539977448682015-10-12T14:58:00.000-07:002015-10-12T20:30:02.989-07:00Tamir Rice And Why "Black Lives Matter" Is Needed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.wlwt.com/image/view/-/29898314/highRes/1/-/maxh/460/maxw/620/-/2rq11h/-/Tamir-Rice-jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.wlwt.com/image/view/-/29898314/highRes/1/-/maxh/460/maxw/620/-/2rq11h/-/Tamir-Rice-jpg.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The other day, "independent experts" have ruled that the Tamir Rice shooting <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/11/tamir-rice-shooting-justified-say-expert-reports-as-grand-jury-process-continues">was justified</a>. Of course, this set off a firestorm of controversy. I have been stating that this "justification" ruling was why Black Lives Matter was needed. And people have been responding that the Black Lives Matter movement is racist.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here is my response when people say that this movement is racist:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: rgb(246, 247, 248); color: #141823; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Black Lives Matter
is not racist. People tend to translate "Black Lives Matter" as
"Black Lives Matter, but others, not so much." But in reality, it's
"Black Lives Matter,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"></span><span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text0/=010"> </span>As
Well As Everyone Else's." Black Lives Matter isn't to the exclusion of
anyone else. In an ideal situation, the officer that shot Tamir Rice would be
under intense scrutiny. But when innocent Black people are shot by police,
THEIR lives are placed under a microscope. "They must have had it
coming." "They deserved it." "They were thugs anyway."</span><br data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text1/=010" />
<br data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text3/=010" />
<span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text4/=010">Tamir
Rice was a 12-year-old child playing with a toy gun, in a state where
open-carry is legal. It stands to reason that if Tamir was an adult with a real
gun, he would have survived his encounter. Now here, you might say that I'm
pulling the "race card", but I have seen plenty of videos of adult
white people with real guns encounter police, and they tell the police what's
what. One guy even told the police to stand down. Tamir Rice wasn't given that
luxury, as he was gunned down within seconds of his encounter with the police.</span><br data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text5/=010" />
<br data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text7/=010" />
<span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text8/=010">In
the wake of the shooting, and this "justification" ruling, more
people were blaming Tamir for the heinous crime of playing with his gun. In
another situation with cops and a white person with guns, there was a white
male walking the streets with a gun. When the police approached him, they
backed off. Then, they formed a perimeter. Then, they talked to the guy.
Eventually, they de-escalated the situation to the point where one of the
officers could sit on a curb next to the gunman, TALKING. Again, a luxury not
afforded young Mr. Rice.</span><br data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text9/=010" />
<br data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text11/=010" />
<span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text12/=010">Black
Lives Matter because the cop that shot Tamir should not have been on the
Cleveland police force to begin with, but TAMIR'S life was under a bigger
microscope than this officer's life. Black Lives Matter because a 12-year-old
Black child should have a greater benefit of the doubt in a case involving
lethal force than an objectively incompetent police officer.</span><br data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text13/=010" />
<br data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text15/=010" />
<span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text16/=010">Black
Lives Matter because Tamir Rice, John Crawford III, Amidou Diallo, Akai Gurley,
Rekesha Boyd, Sandra Bland, etc ad infinitum, should not have had death as the
ultimate consequence of their encounter with police. Black Lives Matter because
Abner Louima should not have been assaulted with a plunger. Black Lives Matter
because a baby should not be injured by a flash grenade. Black Lives Matter
because a Black teenaged girl shouldn't be slammed to the ground by a police
officer. Black Lives Matter because a Black woman shouldn't be pummeled by a
cop straddling her like he's working on MMA ground and pound techniques. Black Lives Matter because Bruce Springsteen should not have had to make this song:</span></span><br />
<span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aQMqWAiWPMs/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aQMqWAiWPMs?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
<span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3">
<br data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text19/=010" />
<span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text20/=010">And
to those who talk about white people facing police brutality, I would simply
ask these questions: Aren't you angry about that? If not, why not?</span></span><br />
<span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text20/=010"><br /></span></span>
<span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".2bl.1:5.0.1:$comment1033539713408947_1033545893408329/=10.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text20/=010">Because regardless, you still get killed for living in your American Skin.</span></span></div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-57087145169598883002015-08-15T19:43:00.001-07:002015-08-22T18:44:53.041-07:00Yes, The Southern Strategy Was A ThingConservatives love re-writing history. Advanced Placement (AP) History and other high school history classes are being rewritten to <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/07/30/3686060/conservatives-get-major-win-fight-ap-history-classes/">downplay all of the nasty things about America</a>, like Jim Crow or the Ku Klux Klan. Some have even gone so far as to re-write American History to feature <a href="http://www.alternet.org/education/texas-approves-textbooks-moses-honorary-founding-father">Moses as an honorary Founding Father</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://boryanabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Charlton-Heston-as-Moses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://boryanabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Charlton-Heston-as-Moses.jpg" height="181" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Fourscore and seven thousand years ago... wait... HERE is where the HAND OF GOD signed the Declaration of Independence..."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Recently, on MSNBC's Facebook page, I read a post from a guy stating why Republicans and Black people are "natural allies." He calmly stated his point, citing the Democratic Party's terrible track record with slavery and civil rights. However, like most conservatives and fans of revisionist history, his comments included a denial that the Southern Strategy ever happened. Rather than respond point for point, I just responded with the following, and this will be my official response when someone either states that the Democrats are still the party that supports slavery, that the Southern Strategy never happened, and/or the Republicans are the party of civil and human rights.<br />
<br />
<span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class=" UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0.$end:0:$text0:0">If
you believe that the Democrats that supported slavery are the same
Democrats today, then there's probably nothing that I can say to
convince you otherwise. However, here are some facts to consider:</span><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0.$end:0:$text1:0" /><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0.$end:0:$text3:0" /><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0.$end:0:$text4:0">1. If you ask any white supremacist, raci</span></span><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text0:0">st,
or member of any Aryan groups if they align themselves with the party
that has an African-American with the middle name of Hussein as their
standard bearer, their answers might surprise you. And, ask them if
they align themselves with a party that supports things such as marriage
equality, wage equality, affirmative action, and the like.</span><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text1:0" /><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text3:0" /><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text4:0">2.
Upon the election of President Obama, which party felt that it was no
problem mailing out racist mailers, such as those with the White House
covered in watermelons, or the President's face on a bucket of chicken?</span><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text5:0" /><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text7:0" /><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text8:0">3.
Regarding the horrors of slavery that the Republicans back then fought
against: Which party today is crying the loudest about the removal of
the Confederate flag from government institutions, such as the South
Carolina State Capitol? And which party is trying its best to preserve
"heritage not hate" regarding the Confederate flag? And let me know if
you want to defend the "heritage" of the Confederate flag. If you do,
since you're well-versed in history, you will want to include such
things as the Cornerstone Speech by the Vice President of the
Confederacy, and the words of the Confederate flag's designer - all of
which supported white supremacy and the subjugation of Africans in
America. </span><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text9:0" /><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text11:0" /><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text12:0">4.
Let's look at Voting Rights. Yes, the Republicans back then fought in
favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But when the
conservative-leaning Supreme Court decimated this landmark legislation,
as yourself this: Which party TODAY celebrated by passing draconian
"voter ID laws" that reminded Civil Rights stalwarts such as John Lewis
of the time before this legislation was passed? And which party today
is now fighting to have this legislation restored?</span><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text13:0" /><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text15:0" /><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text16:0">You
may have convinced yourself that there was no ideological switch
between the parties, but history, facts, and the modern ideals of both
parties say otherwise.</span><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text17:0" /><br data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text19:0" /><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text20:0">And
lastly, which party TODAY has pundits that tell Black people that we
ought to be THANKFUL for the horrors of the TransAtlantic Slave Trade?
The key to answering this question is by Googling "Jesse Lee Peterson."</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<i><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class=" UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text20:0">Edited to add the following regarding GOP Presidential Front-Runner, one Donald J. Trump</span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<br />
<span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class=" UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text20:0">BONUS ROUND:</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class=" UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text20:0"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class=" UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text20:0">If you really believe that the Republicans are the party of civil rights, and that the Democrats are the party of racists, then ask yourself this:</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class=" UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text20:0"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class=" UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text20:0">In recent memory, when was the last time that someone felt comfortable enough to <a href="http://freakoutnation.com/2015/08/white-power-yelled-from-the-stands-in-alabama-at-donald-trumps-rally/">yell "White Power" </a>and <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/08/21/3694178/the-absolute-insanity-of-donald-trumps-big-alabama-pep-rally-in-17-tweets/">pass out racist literature</a> at a Democratic Party Presidential candidate's rally? Because that certainly DID happen at Donald Trump's rally.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<i><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class=" UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text20:0">Edited again, because the hits just keep on coming.</span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
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<span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class=" UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text20:0">One more thing to my conservative brothers and sisters. If the Democrats are the pro-slavery party, when was the last time a liberal media host talked about slavery? And you know where this is going.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class=" UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".mu.1:5:1:$replies990732824356303_990793057683613:0.1:2:$comment990732824356303_990899554339630:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$text20:0">A conservative Iowa radio host, who is supposedly an Iowa king-maker for the Republicans (think Karl Rove on a local level), offered a unique solution to the immigration problem. If they don't leave,<a href="http://www.salon.com/2015/08/20/conservative_iowa_kingmaker_jan_mickelson_proposes_plan_to_enslave_undocumented_immigrants_have_them_build_trumps_wall/"> they become property of the state</a>. Property. PROPERTY. In other words, under this guy's plan, immigrants who don't leave become SLAVES. And he thinks that idea is just peachy-keen. </span></span></span></span></span></span>Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-15870240352880303312015-08-09T12:22:00.000-07:002015-08-09T12:22:37.926-07:00Why We, As Progressives, STAY Losing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Black Lives Matter vs. Bernie Sanders</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0hlT7AwhUhwlGXnLU92eA0S5Pwqv1IUw_895ziX8gaKH_9GHRmkP-pUMyw07ckxTS5AOLDH6FCtEgKglA2mcOSUF30O1UQREgMLOCUlZQAihbJAEKUJ1COqO579XlDUwKQ-RG0Er_d0/s1600/Black+Lives+vs+Sanders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0hlT7AwhUhwlGXnLU92eA0S5Pwqv1IUw_895ziX8gaKH_9GHRmkP-pUMyw07ckxTS5AOLDH6FCtEgKglA2mcOSUF30O1UQREgMLOCUlZQAihbJAEKUJ1COqO579XlDUwKQ-RG0Er_d0/s320/Black+Lives+vs+Sanders.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is why, as progressives, as liberals, as people trying to fight the good fight, we STAY losing. We stay too busy trying to fight the small skirmishes, fight the little battles, fight the inconsequential wars and then stay home when it really matters. </div>
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The latest example comes from some Black Lives Matter activists <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/08/black_lives_matter_protesters_shut_down_bernie_sanders_at_seattle_rally.html">shutting down a campaign rally</a> by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. He was there to speak about some of his campaign issues, specifically, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicare. He was shut down by activists who refused to let him even speak. I don't understand it, and it's counterproductive. Then, I saw a Facebook post that seems to encapsulate the defense of these activists:</div>
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<span class="_58cl"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/berniesanders?source=feed_text&story_id=10155905490300300"><span class="_58cl">#</span><span class="_58cm">BernieSanders</span></a>
needs to get with ghe program. While we as young black people
understand what he has done in the past, and we are well aware of the
Medicare and Medicaid system and its affects on our elderly family
members of color. Bernie needs to understand that his speeches aren't
addressing racism. Until he addresses racism and how the system he wants
to change was built on that notion, <a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/blacklivesmatter?source=feed_text&story_id=10155905490300300"><span class="_58cl">#</span><span class="_58cm">BlackLivesMatter</span></a>
will continue to interrupt his rallies. He is the only one talking the
talk and #BlackLivesMatter wants him to walk the walk. He can and we
hope that he does because he could win the election with a landslide. We
will see how this plays out...</blockquote>
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Bernie Sanders needs to "get with the program"? Maybe it's me, but if I recall correctly, Sanders was "with the program" before most of these activists were even born. As for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, this response is the epitome of being short-sighted. EVERYONE can be potentially affected by cuts in any of these programs. A simple Google search can help explain the <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/081114/medicaid-vs-medicare.asp">difference between Medicare and Medicaid</a>. While Medicare is a program that assists senior citizens, Medicaid assists poor families, period. And these activists are shutting down one of the candidates who has always defended these programs. Then, this person says that Senator Sanders' speeches don't address racism. If they were serious about confronting Sanders' stance on racism, then they might want to<a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/"> visit his site</a> to see where he stands on the issues. And here is just a snippet:</div>
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<li>We must demilitarize our police forces so they don’t look and act like invading armies.</li>
<li>We must invest in community policing. Only when we get officers into
the communities, working within neighborhoods before trouble arises, do
we develop the relationships necessary to make our communities safer
together. Among other things, that means increasing civilian oversight
of police departments.</li>
<li>The fight for minority voting rights is a fight for justice. It is inseparable from the struggle for democracy itself.<br />
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<li>We must work vigilantly to ensure that every American, regardless of
skin color or national origin, is able to vote freely and easily.Congress must restore the Voting Rights Act’s “pre-clearance”
provision, which extended protections to minority voters in states where
they were clearly needed.</li>
<li>We must expand the Act’s scope so that every American, regardless of skin color or national origin, is able to vote freely.</li>
</ul>
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<li>We need to ban prisons for profit, which result in an over-incentive
to arrest, jail and detain, in order to keep prison beds full.</li>
<li>We need to turn back from the failed “War on Drugs” and eliminate
mandatory minimums which result in sentencing disparities between black
and white people.</li>
<li>Knowing that black women earn 64 cents on the dollar compared to
white men, we must pass federal legislation to establish pay equity for
women.</li>
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<li>We must prevent employers from discriminating against applicants based on criminal history.</li>
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</li>
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Then, the writer admits that Bernie Sanders talks the talk, but the activists want to see him walk the walk. Maybe it's me, but demanding that arguably one of the most progressive, left-leaning candidates "walk the walk" while admitting that he "talks the talk" is counterproductive. You want him to address racism, but then you shut him down to the point that he can't even speak about ANY of the issues, let alone racism. </div>
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The activists promise to interrupt the campaign rallies. But here's what gets me. They are shutting down someone that is arguably on their side, while letting the people vehemently OPPOSED to them off the hook. We just had a Presidential debate that featured a Kid's Table debate and a prime-time debate. Not one activist tried to shut them down. One of my friends posited that it's because these kinds of activists wouldn't be let near a Republican campaign event. But because Sen. Sanders grants them access, they will use that access to disrupt the event. Again, this is counterproductive, because if Bernie Sanders starts restricting access, then what have we won? Who have we convinced about the issues?</div>
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This kind of ideological purity is what kills us every time. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. We saw it when some progressives stayed home from the 2010 midterm elections, and it allowed the Tea Potty to gain the control it has now. Why? Because President Obama had not walked on water as part of his first term. We see it again when the President is heckled... BY PEOPLE HE INVITES TO THE PROGRAMS... because he's not... what... behaving like a benevolent emperor and eliminating problems with a wave of his hand?</div>
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Someone on Twitter replied to my question by saying that the BLM activists don't like Hillary Clinton, either. To my knowledge, I haven't seen a Clinton event shut down by some of these activists. And to a bigger point, if this were a matter of simply "not liking the candidate", then they should be chasing EVERY GOP CANDIDATE across the country with pitchforks and torches until these problems are erased.</div>
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So, who are we going to go after and shut down: The guy(s) on our side that doesn't say EXACTLY what we want to hear, EXACTLY when we want to hear it, RIGHT THEN AND THERE, or the guy(s) that openly stand AGAINST the things that we stand for, and dare us to do something about it?</div>
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It should be a simple choice, but apparently, it's not.</div>
Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-74827732932188419752015-07-21T18:57:00.005-07:002015-07-21T18:58:35.317-07:00The Sandra Bland Dashcam Video...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://heavyeditorial.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/sandrabland2.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&strip=all" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://heavyeditorial.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/sandrabland2.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&strip=all" width="200" /></a></div>
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A few days ago, I saw a video of a white guy being stopped at a DUI checkpoint in Tennessee. He rolled his window down partly. The cop demanded that the guy roll his window all the way down, and the guy refused, stating that as long as the cop can hear and see him, he's fine. The cop demanded that the guy identify himself, and the guy refused, citing his Constitutional rights. The cop used some trickery with a police dog to suggest that there may be a suspicion of drugs. The dog followed the commands and made actions as if the dog detected drugs. With that, the cop was able to search the guy's car without his consent.<br />
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Upon searching the car (on a bogus search), the cop talks to another cop, and they commend the guy (when he was out of earshot) on knowing his Constitutional rights. They then see that they are being recorded. The guy lives to tell the tale and post the video.<br />
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Contrast that to the <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/dashcam-footage-shows-texas-cop-threatening-sandra-bland-with-taser-i-will-light-you-up/comments/#disqus">Sandra Bland video</a>, where the cop demanded that she get out of her car because she wouldn't put out her cigarette. He manhandled her and threatened to taze her. Now, you can't tell me that someone who is willing to put up a fight for her Constitutional rights suddenly becomes suicidal. You can't tell me that a woman who recognized that she was being mistreated (and who TRIED TO RECORD THE INCIDENT HERSELF and said that she will take this to court) suddenly decided to end it all. I'm no health care expert, but that dash cam video does not reveal a person surrendering in a struggle with mental illness. <i><b>I</b></i> saw a woman who wasn't going down without a fight, and I'm very suspicious that in jail, the cops gave her a little "tune-up" to adjust her "attitude."<br />
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I couldn't watch all of it, but I saw more than enough of what was needed.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jeffhead.com/obama/Wright02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.jeffhead.com/obama/Wright02.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"...and you want us to say 'God bless America?! NO, NO, NO... not God <b><i>BLESS</i> </b>America..."</td></tr>
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You said it, Doctor. You said it all right there...Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4360689172716204013.post-51491851585160787062015-07-11T12:21:00.003-07:002015-07-11T12:21:52.497-07:00Welcome!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.keithtemple.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/welcome-mat-on-doorstep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.keithtemple.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/welcome-mat-on-doorstep.jpg" height="132" width="200" /></a></div>
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Welcome to the Chronicles Of S.A.L.T. (Socially Awkward Life of Ty). See the welcome mat? Come on in.<br />
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What can you expect here? Well, this will be a consolidation of the things that I currently blog about, like <a href="http://shutchergobbigemowf.blogspot.com/">politics</a>, and <a href="http://meditationsfromme.blogspot.com/">faith and spirituality</a>. I will try to post about music that I like, pop culture, my hobbies (including photography), and maybe post about semi-personal and awkward things, like dating and health.<br />
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I got the idea to consolidate my blogs by following people like <a href="http://www.mynameisnotmatt.com/">My Name Is Not Matt</a>, <a href="http://realawkwardmoments.com/">Real Awkward Moments</a>, the great <a href="http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/">Awesomely Luvvie</a>, and a few others. <br />
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This blog is an ever-evolving process of trying to find my voice, express myself, and maybe even become less awkward (if such a thing is possible via the internet). So, have some tea, kick your feet up, and thank you for visiting my little corner of the interwebs. Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16363656030707681164noreply@blogger.com2