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Nice.
I particularly liked the jail shots and the frog march.
Oh, yeah, and the huge lump in McCain’s cheek. Looks like Bush rammed it so far up his ass that it’s coming out of his mouth.
Good luck with the presidential campaign, John Boy!
You should post a summary of the video so those of us without broadband know what the thread is about.
With more specificity than REPUBLICANS SUCK I mean.
Here’s Mike Huckabee on Jeremiah Wright:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTFLOu8fjxU
How come our intolerant wingnut assholes can’t be as understanding as Crazy Mike? Jeremiah Wright grew up when lynchings were still occurring the the US (3,500 blacks were lynched in the USA between 1882 and 1968–that we know of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching), and how many civil rights workers were murdered while he was growing up? You gotta ask yourself, how would you feel?
Poor McCain.
The Pianist
(a real musician, never having been accused of being a bagpipe operator)
I’ll Bet This Guy Is A Republican
“Federal agents have … learn[ed] the real identity of the man previously known as ‘John Doe’ … [is] Scott Andrew Shain, 52, … a former officer in the Air Force ….
“Agents are untangling a web of identities stretching back to the mid-1980s. They believe Shain has obtained dozens of driver’s licenses, Social Security cards and had at least two passports under other names.
“Agents also are waiting for more information on his military history after Shain’s parents said he ‘fell off the face of the Earth’ after he washed out of flight school ….
“In 1993, Shain — using another identity — was interviewed by the Secret Service after making threats against then-President Clinton, Velling said. Agents found and confiscated a homemade flamethrower, according to federal prosecutors.”
Quoted under fair use; for complete story and/or copyright info see http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....oe25m.html
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Why do I think he’s a Republican? Because (a) he’s ex-military, (b) he keeps changing his identity, (c) he’s a criminal specializing in fraud crimes, and (d) he hates Clinton. Yep, everything is Clinton’s fault, including getting caught! Ask most criminals why they’re in jail and they’ll say, “My lawyer fucked me!” But ask this guy and he’ll probably say, “It’s Clinton’s fault!” I’ll bet he was one of McCain’s students. McCain was a crappy pilot so it stands to reason he wasn’t a very good flight instructor either.
Why Airline Pilots Should Carry Guns
So they can shoot down their own planes in case the terrorists don’t get them. http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....plane.html
Roger Rabbit Commentary: If this guy is the only thing standing between me and al Qaeda, I’ll take my chances with the terrorists. Maybe I can take them out with a shoelace or something.
For the second time in 10 days a construction crane has collapsed and killed people, proving the industry isn’t regulated enough.
The cause of today’s accident was, “Tower cranes and crane operators are not licensed or regulated by the state of Florida, but bills moving through both houses of the Legislature would change that.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....ident.html
Strange, isn’t it, that Huckabee — whose positions on numerous issues are as far out there as it’s possible to get — is the most enlightened (hell, the only enlightened) Republican on the planet when it comes to immigration and race relations.
I can’t tell the difference between a bagpipe and a transmission blowing up.
Bunny Boy @ 7 “I can’t tell the difference between a bagpipe and a transmission blowing up”
You can’t seem to tell a lot of things from one another, but that’s what the friendly people in the white coats are for. I’d suggest you up the Aricept dosage.
Is #8 a bagpipe or a mechanical noise? I can’t tell. One shriek sounds pretty much like another.
Are you saying Pelletizer the hue and cry of Clueless Idiot over Huckabee was wrong? Are you saying Huckabee is empathetic? Are you saying Clueless Idiot is a Clueless Idiot after all?
I think he already did!
11 – Stupes, it was your hero, the flatulent gasbag Limpblows who called him the Huckster.
I liked Mike. He was crazy and I wouldn’t vote for him in a million years but he played an ok bass and he had a sense of humor.
He entertained me. Well they all entertained me with what losers they were anyway.
Losers like you.
#5 how’s your feeling regarding hagis.
(30 years bent over a bass)
Since Daddy Love brought it up, I’ll chime in. Here’s Pat Buchanon’s tirade on the subject:
http://buchanan.org/blog/?p=969
Notice that comments are closed. I guess he’s not interested in a dialogue, is he?
My question for wingnuts: Is Pat Buchanon a “typical white person”?
@13 Not interested in debating context, or interpretation, at the moment. But factually, with what in Buchanans article are you in dispute?
@ 14
There are actual, honest to goodness facts in that screed?
Oh, yeah. Something about 40 trillion dollars. To read Buchanon say it, every dollar of that was spent on black people. If that’s the case, then I must be black, because some of that 40 trillion dollars got me through college.
DonJoe @ 13: [From Pat Buchanan] “First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.
Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.”
Thanks, DonJoe. It is most important to show how this incredible nonsense still exists here in the good old US of A.
13
Well I am a typical white Democrat senator…. does that help you out Don????
@16: yes – Pat Buchanan thinks that slavery was the greatest thing that ever happened to black slaves from Africa. Reminds me of the arguments for slavery coming from the south during and before the civil war:
The negro was better off under slavery – what would they do if they were free? How would they take care of themselves…and on and on….
the white slaveholders or taxpayers are the only one’s helping the poor negro…
What a bunch of patronistic crap! There ain’t no racism like the well intentioned racism…
@ 17
Actually, I’d say Robert Byrd is rather atypical in a number of respect, not the least of which is his honesty about his own attitudes.
But you don’t think so simply because he happens to be a Democrat. We get that. No need to repeatedly demonstrate your inability to grasp nuance.
@ 14:
I just read Buchanan’s article. Some things I agree with; the race dialogue is a two-way conversation and not just one-way.
But, what Pat leaves out, is that Barak articulated BOTH sides of the racial divide, of course I’ll have to inject some common sense here for the wing nuts. Barak couldn’t and didn’t articulate each and every single possible concern, but that was not the original point. The original point is both sides have valid issues.
Pat only addressed Barak’s comments that were pointed to the white community without balancing his article to the very pointed comments Barak made to the black community. He also reflected attitudes of both sides. Attitudes that are not exchanged in “polite company,” as Barak said in his speech.
At lunch today I made it perfectly clear to Puddybud that one of the things white people say at their kitchen table is that “my white teenage son isn’t getting any special scholarships because of the color of his skin.” Barak, in his speech acknowledged this concern of ours. As one of many possible examples.
The truth is there will always be some form of racism by all groups of people in this country. Speaking for my white experience, the vast majority of white people I know have moved beyond institutional racism. Not all, but the majority. Regardless of what anyone thinks, there is no economical benefit to America as a whole to have a segment of our population as working class poor. The vast majority of white people I know want to move beyond race. My dreams are my dreams and I will achieve them. But, don’t worry black America I will achieve them, but not at your expense. A class of Americans that live in high crime area’s, a population that commits a high percentage of crime and is incarcerated to the point of over crowed prison populations does not help me achieve my dreams. In fact, it detracts from my dreams. There’s a cost to society to maintain law and order, to enforce the law, and to incarcerate lawbreakers. There is a bigger benefit to me and my dreams where the vast majority of every community is working, productive, contributing to the GDP and paying taxes. But, I must first acknowledge their plight and work to find a solution to their problem, which in turn, will help solve my own problems.
At the buffet of life there is plenty for everyone. Sure not everyone will be as rich as Bill Gates, but the ability for everyone to have a job that pays a living wage, not to have housing, food, and medical insecurities needs to be a real a possibility for every American.
Slavery and Jim Crow Laws have led to the conditions of poor black communities in America. Getting a good public education in an economically poor area is extremely difficult. This leads to a poverty cycle where an undereducated populace lends itself to the proliferation of crime as a means to meet the aforementioned basic human needs. Having to resort to crime, leads to unfulfilling lives, it leads to the path of hatred, crime and incarceration, it leads people to see whites as the reason for their condition. There is some truth to that. But it’s also a deception. In my family’s case, we were too poor and too late to participate in slavery so we didn’t contribute to the plight of the black community as it exists today. But, I can also understand the frustration Black America faces today trying to escape from poverty.
To that end I just don’t see where the black community, or as Pat put it; “ America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known. Rev. Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.” Having to drop down on your knees and give thanks to God that you don’t have it as bad as someone in Darfur is an intellectually empty argument to the realities of America.
I hope Barak becomes the president. One, because I just think he’s the best person for the job at this moment in history. Two, in one election all the glass ceilings, and the marble ceiling for that matter, will be forever broken. At with that, the critical thinking that will be required to move America beyond race will be unleashed. Only those who choose to be chained to the ignorance of the past will be left behind — black or white.
But you don’t think so simply because he happens to be a Democrat. We get that. No need to repeatedly demonstrate your inability to grasp nuance.
03/25/2008 at 6:25 pm
Ah yes, the nuance between being a grand dragon in the KKK and a democrat senator is quite minute. Very good obeservation. Bravo
@ 21
Ah yes, the nuance between being a grand dragon in the KKK and a democrat senator is quite minute.
So, you’re going to pretend that if Robert Byrd were a Republican you would still be slamming him for what he did 60 years ago? Is this what passes for thoughtful insights in your circles?
But, hey, by all means. Keep this up. You provide a fascinating portrait of an intellectually bankrupt and feckless ideology.
@20 – GREAT GREAT POST!!! Very well written and let’s all pray Obama makes history in November!
What’s so great about Christianity that black people had to endure such crap to be members of that faith? Dosen’t sound like such a “blessing” to me. In fact, maybe it would have been better for both whites and blacks if Christianity had stayed in the Middle East from whence it emanated. What’s wrong with Europeans following Pagan faiths instead?
GBS @ 20
I appreciate the thoughtful comments, but there’s a side of the race issue that still hasn’t changed. Whites still have a very deeply ingrained sense of superiority. It exudes from the pores of Buchanon’s screed. The whole notion that blacks are, today, “better off” than they would have been without slavery presumes a value system that defined “better off” in a particular way without considering the possibility of defining “better off” in other ways.
From time to time, you see this sense of superiority spill out like it did in Buchanon’s screed, but it’s still there, and I don’t think it has diminished all that much since the mid 60’s. It’s been submerged beneath ever-increasing layers of varying forms of politeness, but we’ve yet to get to the core.
The LA Times’ Sandy Banks made an interesting observation about this. We talk about race, but most of the time what we’re really doing is trying to get inside each other’s heads. We can’t deal with race by trying to mow the lawns on the other side of the fence. We have to mow our own lawns, and dig out the weeds.
But, and this is the catch: white people can always put the conversation on a shelf. The harm to white society isn’t anywhere near as palpable as it is to blacks. As long as white people don’t see the need to change their own attitudes, this problem will continue to fester. And that is the core of racism in this country.
So, you’re going to pretend that if Robert Byrd were a Republican you would still be slamming him for what he did 60 years ago? Is this what passes for thoughtful insights in your circles?
Actually if he ran as a republican he would never be elected…. republicans are not racists. Do you know of any elected republicans who were members of the KKK???? I sure don’t.
republicans are not racists.
What a dumb mutt!
Well what else would anyone expect from a feces eater?
Actually if he ran as a republican he would never be elected
Let me guess. Faux Noise mistakenly stuck a “D” after David Duke’s name the last time he was on TV. Hey, it’s not like they never made that mistake before.
ReLoveless @4: Huckabee is way wrong on Wright.
Jeremiah Wright grew up in Philadelphia. Just like some of the resident douchebags. He never experienced segregation growing up in Philly. Blacks rode the same busses, travelled the same routes, shopped in the same stores. His hypocrisy is stunning. Nevertheless: Typical of liberals.
Barack Hussein Obama never knew racism. He grew up in an upper middle class home in Indonesia and then Hawaii (oh, the pain, the suffering!!!!!). He has skated his entire life. And, he has affixed himself to a party of racism, befriended racists, attended racist-spewing churches and now espouses racist theory as candidate. Disgusting!
In contrast, Ronald Reagan grew up dirt poor, arguably the humblest beginning of any U.S. President. But, look how far he came, never once claiming he “deserved” a break because of some perceived slight. He achieved through hard work and perserverance, like all real Americans.
The question is: Why can’t democrats accept people as people, rather than grouping by skin color or sex or any arbitrary difference they can? Why can’t democrats judge by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin?
GBS
Do we need anything more than the astounding ignorance in the post @ 30 to prove my point?
@25 Don Joe, your perception is that European-Americans “still have a very deeply ingrained sense of superiority”. That doesn’t make it so. I submit that your own ideological biases have predisposed you into believing such. The fact of the matter is, while you can easily find folks who fit your notion, you can just as easily find those who do not. Not that this is something that can be objectively measured anyway… However your interpretation of Buchanan’s missive does say a lot about your own attitudes, DJ. Using his assertion that Blacks in the US are better off, which you seemed to find particularly offensive, does indeed presume to judge that condition predicated on Western Values. But so what? That happens to be the basis for the society in which we live.
Most assuredly, any other basis for comparison is irrelevent by dint of those belief systems not surviving to perpetuate themselves into the modern era. You can criticize that or not, though its an entirely different discussion. But western society, in various permutations, is the basis for the modern world and no society exists today that hasn’t been heavily influenced by it. Therefore Buchanana’s basis for comparison does become valid. It’s pretty hard to disagree with the notion that any given country on the African continent has a significantly lower standard of living compared with any segment of American society.
So what you perceive as thinly veiled racism, is in fact a simple statement of fact. Which is not to say that Buchanan could have been a bit less obnoxious about it…
Don Joe, your perception is that European-Americans “still have a very deeply ingrained sense of superiority”. That doesn’t make it so.
I’d say it’s more a matter of experience than mere perception, and that’s not merely my experience. Though, I suppose you could argue that it’s only my perception that every time I let go of a pencil it falls down and not up.
Using his assertion that Blacks in the US are better off, which you seemed to find particularly offensive, does indeed presume to judge that condition predicated on Western Values.
First, what makes you think I found his parochialism to be offensive? It’s evidence, and I’m merely taking it for what it is.
Most assuredly, any other basis for comparison is irrelevent by dint of those belief systems not surviving to perpetuate themselves into the modern era.
I’m afraid you’ve lost me on this one. You seem to be equating an exceedingly materialistic value system with Western European values, which, frankly, I don’t think is a valid equivalence.
That happens to be the basis for the society in which we live.
Now you’re begging the question.
But western society, in various permutations, is the basis for the modern world and no society exists today that hasn’t been heavily influenced by it.
Sorry, but that strikes me as an extremely myopic view of history, but, just as a point of reference, why do you suppose we refer to our number system as using Arabic numerals? Do you know the etymology of the word “algebra”?
But, you know, we can set aside all of these notions of some kind of objective “fact” in light of culture values by simply asking blacks whether or not they really believe they’re “better off” in America. Is there some reason we need to decide upon an answer to that question for them?
Now, do you get what I mean by a deeply ingrained sense of superiority?
Let me guess. Faux Noise mistakenly stuck a “D” after David Duke’s name the last time he was on TV.
What office did he win again??????????
There are racists in both parties, but only democrats elect racists. roof roof.
@33 “Sorry, but that strikes me as an extremely myopic view of history, but, just as a point of reference, why do you suppose we refer to our number system as using Arabic numerals? Do you know the etymology of the word “algebra”?”
I’m not someone who subscribes to the belief in cultural equivalence. As a Libertarian, how could I? My fundamental beliefs are in the superiority of the individual, over the power of the state. That to me is more representative of Western Culture than mere materialism. And yes, I am aware of Arabic numerals and algebra. My appreciation of history is not myopic, in the least. Did you know that Islam was literally on the verge of overrunning Europe in 1763? And yet their defeat before the gates of Vienna set about a precipitous decline and a cultural malaise that continues to the present. Is it likely that “western civilization” would have continued to develop as it did, had the Turks succeeded in overthrowing the Austrians, and possibly the rest of Europe? And yet in less than a generation Europe was dominant throughout the world. That is the basis for my cultural chauvinism. When I stated that the modern world is based on western values, I don’t believe that I exaggerated at all.
“But, you know, we can set aside all of these notions of some kind of objective “fact” in light of culture values by simply asking blacks whether or not they really believe they’re “better off” in America.”
You know, I’d agree with this…as long as we weren’t depending solely on “community leaders”, or anyone else with a vested interest in discord, for the answers. Just out of curiousity, you are aware of the history of Liberia?
When are Americans going to cease thinking that we are the greatest people on earth and that we have created the greatest culture in human history? Pat Buchanan’s “essay” is full of that assumption. The trolls who have posted on this thread reflect the same illusion. Have any of you Republicans considered what it’s like to be a black person in Guinea today, or Namibia, or France, or Canada? Do you think Buchanan considered such? Of course not. Do you even consider that maybe they are pleased that their ancestors weren’t brought here in chains? He just assumes, as you trolls do, that everyone is better off here, well, just because. Naturally, there is no need to take a survey. Do you dumbshits on the right know where Africans want to emigrate now, if they were to emigrate? China and India. That’s where they see opportunity. Not here. Have any of you trolls here ever been outside our country? Do you own a passport? I’d suggest that you not talk about that which you don’t know about, but I do live in the real world.
@37 When are you going to cease thinking that everything your country does is wrong/bad/inferior/evil?
Since, presumably, I am one of the trolls to whom you refer, you have the answers to at least some of the questions you posit. If you can’t handle reality, that is on you, not me.
I’m not requiring that anyone else in the world admire the US and/or want to come here. If you require that kind of external validation, perhaps it’s you that is living in the wrong place?
I’m not someone who subscribes to the belief in cultural equivalence.
Well, I’m familiar with a concept of cultural equivalence, but I’m at a loss as to grok how the concept is trumped by Libertarianism. Cultural equivalence is a language translation issue.
I’m guessing that you believe there are some values that are universal, and independent of culture, no? How does one objectively arrive at such a conclusion?
Did you know that Islam was literally on the verge of overrunning Europe in 1763? And yet their defeat before the gates of Vienna set about a precipitous decline and a cultural malaise that continues to the present.
First, the Ottoman Empire had overrun Europe long before the wars between the Turks and the Habsburgs. The wars with the Hapsburgs were an attempt to regain what they’d lost, and it was a last gasp attempt at that.
Second, the malaise of which you speak had also settled in long before the wars with the Habsburgs. Its fundamental cause was a rather strongly-held belief throughout the world of Islam that the West had nothing to offer them. After all, in their heyday, they were the center of the Universe, and Europe was in the throes of the Dark Ages. To paraphrase an earlier comment in this thread, Islamic society, in its various permutations, was the basis of the modern world at that time, and no society existed in the known world that hadn’t been heavily influenced by it.
You know, I’d agree with this…as long as we weren’t depending solely on “community leaders”, or anyone else with a vested interest in discord, for the answers.
How do we decide that someone has a “vested interest in discord”? Arms dealers, perhaps?
Just out of curiousity, you are aware of the history of Liberia?
A country in West Africa formed by freed slaves that had left, some would say “been shipped back by,” the United States. Is there a point behind that question?
I-Burn @ 37: “When are you going to cease thinking that everything your country does is wrong/bad/inferior/evil?”
Did you read what I wrote? I asked, “When are Americans going to cease thinking that we are the greatest people on earth and that we have created the greatest culture in human history?” Your spin on what I wrote is not a matter of nuance, but of outright misrepresentation. I love this nation. I love what it can be. I love what we have contributed to the notions of liberty and the rule of law. But, to deny our sins is nonsense. To deny how far we have strayed from our ideals is pathological. I suspect my connection to reality is a bit stronger than yours.
@39 Suspect whatever you want. I’m not the one walking around with an advanced case of “white guilt”. By itself, not a problem. Just don’t insist that the rest of us wallow in it with you. And no, I did not misrepresent what you stated. That may not have been what you meant, but it is most definitely the way it was interpreted.
That may not have been what you meant, but it is most definitely the way it was interpreted.
By your own admission, you threw the shit on him. But, you’re still going to blame him for the smell?
@38 “First, the Ottoman Empire had overrun Europe long before the wars between the Turks and the Habsburgs. The wars with the Hapsburgs were an attempt to regain what they’d lost, and it was a last gasp attempt at that.”
Actually, not. The Turks were in an expansive phase, and had been since their overthrow of the last vestiges of the Byzantine Empire. However, the extent of their conquest in Europe were, to that point, in the Bulkans. They’d been defeated in at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, which nuked their naval aspirations in the Med, and by the by, saved Italy, but they were still expanding on land. Until, that is, the Austrians finally put paid to any further aspirations in Europe.
I believe that the malaise of which you speak was that of the Abbasids, which rose to a peak in Persia and, ironically, Iraq . They’d seriously declined by the time the Ottomans became of consequence. And while it was clever of you to try and use my own words, it wasn’t, strictly speaking, accurate. The Islamic world was not as influencial throughout the known world, as western civilization has been. Off the top of my head? China. Very little direct, or indirect influence there, while the same certainly cannot be said about western influence there.
As for my question about Liberia? I should have thought that it would have been the perfect illustration of the proof of Buchanan’s assertion about Blacks in the US ultimately being better off than those in Africa?
The Turks were in an expansive phase, and had been since their overthrow of the last vestiges of the Byzantine Empire.
The Turkish expansion reached it’s peak in the 16th century. It’s not clear how they were in an “expansive phase” two centuries later.
I believe that the malaise of which you speak was that of the Abbasids
The general sphere of the point is Islamic culture, and, in that respect, the Ottomans weren’t all that different from the Abbasids. The malaise in particular derived from the attitudes of the Ulema, not the ruling clan that happened to be on the throne at any given time.
The Islamic world was not as influencial throughout the known world, as western civilization has been.
Actually, that’s debatable, even as far out as China, but it’s a tad bit beside the point, don’t you think? Or, are you going to claim that the parochial attitude showed by Muslims during the height of Islamic civilization is, in some substantive way, any different from the attitude both you and Buchanon have demonstrated?
As for my question about Liberia? I should have thought that it would have been the perfect illustration of the proof of Buchanan’s assertion about Blacks in the US ultimately being better off than those in Africa?
Not without a cogent argument that connects the dots. Frankly, I don’t think you can construct such an argument that doesn’t, ultimately, beg the question. But, I’m open to persuasion.
but only democrats elect racists. roof roof.
Cur. David Duke was elected to the State Senate in LA.
What a dumb mutt!!
26 JBD
So are you saying it doesn’t count that the Republican Strom Thurmond broke away from the Democratic Party to run for president as a segregationist before finding a comfortable home with like-minded people in the GOP? And does it not count when Southern Republicans are members of or are cozily entwined with the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC)?
Are you saying that those things “do not count?” Also, can you answer without mentioning Robert Byrd? I’m betting against the latter.
30 cmk
It’s telling that you do not claim that Jeremiah Wright never “experienced racism” growing up in Philadelphia, but only that he never “experienced segregation.” Was Jeremiah Wright ever a visitor to the South in his life (where, um, he certainly could have “experienced segregation” to your satisfaction)? Could he not read, or did he have no access to a television, where he would have watched his people being attacked by dogs, beaten, murdered, or lynched because of the color of their skin? Wasn’t he then in Philadelphia when the brutal racist Frank Rizzo was mayor?
You’re a willfully ignorant fool, which I have always thought is the worst kind. You’ve made youself that way, and I think it is pitiful.
“Telling” what you clown?
I’m far less ignorant than any of the left-wing hate-America, hate-whitey, hate-YOURSELF clowns on this blog. That’s for damned sure.
Because that’s really what it comes to isn’t it? You lefties just hate everything, including and especially yourselves.
There can never be equality because in the eyes of a lefty there is no such thing. Racism, sexism, ageism, discrimination of all kinds. It is fostered by the attitudes and deliberate misperceptions of the left.
“his people”? You mean Americans? Because that stuff goes on EVERY SINGLE DAY in Africa. And if they are “his people” here, then by YOUR standard, they certainly are much more in Africa, aren’t they? Oh, but then Wright wouldn’t have the chance to scream at “whitey” for all the perceived injustices he has never suffered.
So, since the problem of black suffering is so much greater in Africa, then surely Wright is already on aplane to go and correct it? Non? And, you’ll go with?
See ya!
Don Joe, I-burn, et al on the racial issue:
You all make good and interesting historical points. They are valid in their own ways and do pose significant implications regarding the racial problems we face today.
There is plenty of blame to go around to be sure and that discussion has a place of importance, but only to the degree that explains how we have arrived at this point in history as a nation.
Albert Einstein once said; “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
That of goes to the hear of my closing point at 20 if Barak is elected: “the critical thinking that will be required to move America beyond race will be unleashed. Only those who choose to be chained to the ignorance of the past will be left behind — black or white.”
Don’t get so hung up on the fact the Robert Byrd, a Democrat, or Strom Thermond, a Republican, were in fact racist. They were. Pointing that out as an endless game of “got your nose” only preserves the racial stalemate we find ourselves in.
The question you should be asking yourself is “What can I do each and every day that will move the issue of race relations forward to a better and prosperous future for all Americans, including myself and our posterity?”
One thing I’ll say about the rhetoric frequently used by the right that is grossly inaccurate is that Liberals are a part of the “hate-America first crowd.” The reality is, we do not hate America. What we are doing is looking for ways of continual self-improvement.
It is simply impossible to improve upon one’s self, in this case improve America, without honest self critique you wind up in an echo chamber. It is a farce to claim or believe the notion that America has NEVER done anything wrong on either foreign or domestic issues. Vietnam for instance. The lie LBJ told regarding the infamous Gulf of Tonkin incident led to the deaths of over 57,000 American soldiers, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese whose only crime was the yearning to be free of foreign occupiers. Can any of us really blame them to fight to the death by all means necessary to claim their own freedom and liberty? Not really. Looking back at the decisions made by Truman, Ike, JFK & LBJ, could they have made better decisions than to turn on a country who volunteered to be an ally to America when we found ourselves under attack from Japan? Ho Chi Minh echoed quotes from America’s founding fathers during his inauguration after WWII when Vietnam declared their independence from France.
We could have had a staunch ally in Cold War on the border of China, instead we found ourselves embroiled in the worst foreign policy decisions of the modern era. Sans Iraq.
The ability to stand back and question the wisdom of our elected representatives is not only a right, but an obligation of the true patriot. To blindly follow anything the President decides without question is to fall into the same mistake Germany made in the late 1930’s.
The next time you are debating a conservative and you critique America’s policies and they tell you “you hate America” remember, they are admitting they don’t have a defensible argument and they are attacking the messenger and not the message. For if they did have a leg to stand on, they would.
Yes, let’s talk about the difference between the messenger and the message. Spinning that into patriotism is a moral wrong Mr GBS.
Legs to stand on:
Republicans freed the slaves. Democrats wanted to keep slavery, we realized it was a moral wrong. The good side won.
Republicans voted overwhelmingly for the Civil Rights Act, ensuring its passage. Democrats would have let it die. Again, the good side, the Republican side, won.
And yes, critique is good.
For example: It is a moral wrong, a lie, to blame AIDS on the U.S. government when the number one way that it is spread is through an immoral act: Homosexual sodomy.
It is a moral wrong, a lie, to equate the actions of terrorists who hate freedom, with the actions of freedom-fighters like those who defeated the evil empires of Japan and Germany in WWII.
Policies that define the liars as such are good. Defending the indefensible, i.e., the liars like Wright and most of the democrat party, is bad. And yes, Mr. Wright does hate America, but like most of his ilk (democrats) is a coward.
@ 50:
Well, your rant proved my point regarding rehtoric. I could pick apart the hypocrisy of the opening statement to the gross inaccuraces within the body of your work. But I’d rather move on.
Now that you’ve gotten your “conservatives are mostly right and liberals are mostly wrong” rant out of the way; what, in your opinion, is the best way forward regarding race relations in America?
Assimilation. Simple.
When folks (kids, blacks, men, women, anyone) quit trying the in-your-face tactics of using offensive music, offensive speech, offensive clothing or offensive behavior to demand space then everybody would get along a whole lot better.
In my ‘hood, there are blacks and whites and whatever else, but you know what: We all dress pretty much the same, keep our yards mowed, keep the noise to a minimum and don’t try like hell to offend each other. AND, WE ALL HAVE JOBS! THAT IS THE SIMPLEST REMEDY THERE IS.
Parents who take responsibility for their kids all the way to adulthood would be a good first step. Anybody who thinks it’s acceptable to have a baby out-of-wedlock has started the whole train towards the wreck as have people who think they have to have “bling” instead of paying the bills (this can be any color).
It is the lack of a moral compass. Just giving a handout, or accepting all the immorality around you isn’t answering the problem. Quit rewarding the immoral behavior. And, quit blaming some race-boogeyman when you don’t have enough “stuff”.
Folks who demand reward w/out achievement (not talking corporate types here, start in your own backyard) should have it pointed out that behavior is unacceptable. Through stiff jail terms for starters.
CM @ 52:
Good start to a HUGE problem in this country.
I agree with your “caps on” analysis “WE ALL HAVE JOBS!” That is the simplest remedy I know of, too.
When you have a job you don’t require the generosity of society to live. A generosity that eventually becomes an expectation; particularly when the experience is generational.
Now the question becomes employability. What in your opinion would constitute a good employability factor for a potential job applicant?
You should know the answers to that last question. But being you are a liberal, and therefore easily confused, I’ll point out a few…
Cleanliness. Showered. Shaved. Hair a reasonable length. No unsightly tats (certainly none on yer neck/face). No visible piercings (I remember when only sailors had earrings, not like some of these kids w/ silver dollar sized HOLES in their lobes!) Teeth brushed. No ill-considered mannerisms (picking yer nose while talking to the boss or a customer is N/G). Likewise: Scratching, rubbing, chafing. Cleaning yer ears in front of others. Picking yer butt. Etc, etc, etc.
Those are just the visible things. Learning the skillset necessary to accomodate an employer takes longer. But it also takes ambition. A culture that denigrates ambition is (minimalist term) unhelpful.
Folks with multiple brain cells have no problem finding jobs. You don’t tell the boss “my car is broke, I can’t make it to work next week”. There is always a way. Always.
You don’t apply for employment and ask “What is it you guys do here anyways?” Another killer question. Research. Educate.
There are numerous job fairs and every local newspaper runs “career” ads and how-to tips.
Too many of today’s under 30 crowd (hell, some under 40!) think they should get to start at the top.
I could cover the “what-to-do-after-getting-a-job” but that, too, is common sense.
CM @ 54:
I do know the answer to the question I asked which is precisely why I asked it. And, as I had thought, you answered my question in the manner in which I had intended for you to do.
I’ll set aside your “liberal” comment since I’m trying hard to avoid the fireball comments and reach a point of an exchange of meaningful ideas. Perhaps, you could reciprocate in your next response?
The main point you made in attaining employment, at least a job in which you can have a real living wage is “Learning the skill set.”
And that goes to the heart of the matter. Funding a public education system that truly prepares students for the 21st century will pay dividends far greater than the investment.
The cycle, however, is that property taxes are the primary revenue sources for schools. A poor neighborhood can only fund a poor educational system. For the 1-2% that manages to escape the cycle the majority does not and the cycle continues to get larger each generation.
Having marketable skills, or better yet the skills to be an entrepreneur and a job creator are the best investment we can make in our society.
The public school system is OVERFUNDED.
Eliminate the waste, fraud and abuse and there’d be money flowing like rainwater.
Get rid of the ESL teachers. At my local elementary, the WEA has it stacked so there are 2 teachers doing ESL. No child should be taught in a language other than American. Right there could save $150k a year (counting all bennies). Multiply this throughout a district or state and the savings are in the $millions.
The number one thing missing in the education system is discipline. Kid gets out of line, he gets a hack. Simple. Cause repeated disruptions: Gone. Banished.
The boss ain’t gonna coddle ya when yer working. He’ll say “don’t let the door…” The sooner kids get that in their heads as kids the better. Disruptive behavior (later in life it’s called “criminal behavior”) MUST NOT BE TOLERATED. That message needs to get out to parents.
And the schools need to be taken back from the WEA/NEA!