Tea Party in Tennessee: Slavery Did Not Happen?

The plot thickens: Apparently the clueless folks in another confederate southern state (remember Texas School Board) - Tennessee this time - wants to literally white wash American history to fit their Tea Party agenda/narrative. They want to remove all negative historical facts in the education curriculum that fails to show our American forefathers in a glowing light.

The Rebirth of a Nation: Directed by D. W. Griffith

Native American genocide - Get the white-out and presto - it never happened.
Brutality of Slavery - Gone With The Wind.
Terrorism of KKK - just some good ole boys expressing their 1st Amendment Rights.
Mexican/American War - apply the airbrush.


Yeah just like that. According to these folks, one can just pick-chose-ignore American history at one's discretion. If the portrait is disturbing just recast it to be more favorable - get rid of the inconvenient truth.

Read On:

A little more than a year after the conservative-led state board of education in Texas approved massive changes to its school textbooks to put slavery in a more positive light, a group of Tea Party activists in Tennessee has renewed its push to whitewash school textbooks. The group is seeking to remove references to slavery and mentions of the country's founders being slave owners.

According to reports, Hal Rounds, the Fayette County attorney and spokesman for the group, said during a recent news conference that there has been "an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another."

"The thing we need to focus on about the founders is that, given the social structure of their time, they were revolutionaries who brought liberty into a world where it hadn't existed, to everybody -- not all equally instantly -- and it was their progress that we need to look at," Rounds said, according to The Commercial Appeal.

During the news conference more than two dozen Tea Party activists handed out material that said, "Neglect and outright ill will have distorted the teaching of the history and character of the United States. We seek to compel the teaching of students in Tennessee the truth regarding the history of our nation and the nature of its government."

And that further teaching would also include that "the Constitution created a Republic, not a Democracy."

The group demanded, as they had in January of last year, that Tennessee lawmakers change state laws governing school curricula. The group called for textbook selection criteria to include: "No portrayal of minority experience in the history which actually occurred shall obscure the experience or contributions of the Founding Fathers, or the majority of citizens, including those who reached positions of leadership." source

Marco Rubio to GOP: Cut out the harsh anti-immigrant language

Take note: My black conservative friends, if you want more blacks to consider joining the GOP it may help to speak out - like Senator Rubio - to chastise your party when they use over-the-top rhetoric against the African-American community (Herman Cain and company, the perfect opportunity was when Newt suggested that blacks should demand jobs and not settle for food stamps).


I know former RNC chairman Michael Steele once stepped up to the plate to voice his concerns of race baiting language by Rush Limbaugh; unfortunately he was taking to the shed - You name is Toby, Boy style - and we never heard a peep out him again on this subject.

Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, told CNN's D.L. Hughley Saturday (February 28) that Rush Limbaugh was "entertainment," agreed he was "incendiary" and said, "Yes, it's ugly." Two days later, in a statement reported by the Associated Press, he apologized for his words, saying he respected Limbaugh as a "national conservative leader" and did not want to "diminish his voice."

Why apologize? What did he say that could have been construed in any way as to necessitate an apology? Nothing he said about Limbaugh was either untrue or impugning.

Except to Rush Limbaugh.

Rush Limbaugh -- who has found that with the election of Barack Obama, he has become a driving force within the Republican opposition to the Democrats -- took exception to Steele's words and suggested he resign on his nationally syndicated radio talk show Monday. "Why are you running the Republican Party?" he asked. "Why do you claim you lead the Republican Party when you seem obsessed with seeing to it that President Obama succeeds? ... I would be embarrassed to say that I'm in charge of the Republican Party in the sad-sack state that it's in. If I were chairman of the Republican Party, given the state that it's in, I would quit."

In his statement late Monday, Michael Steele said, "I respect Rush Limbaugh, he is a national conservative leader, and in no way do I want to diminish his voice. I'm sure that he and I will agree most of the time, but will probably disagree some as well, which is fine."  source

Rubio, on his home turf stated enough is enough:

Marco Rubio condemned unnamed members of his own party Friday for using "inexcusable" rhetoric about illegal immigrants.

"For those of us who come from the conservative movement, we must admit that there are those among us who have used rhetoric that is harsh and intolerable, inexcusable," Rubio said at a conference for the conservative Hispanic Leadership Network. "We must admit, myself included, that sometimes we've been too slow in condemning that rhetoric."

Rubio, a Republican senator to Florida who is often floated as a potential vice presidential nominee for the party in 2012. source

Let's hope Rubio sticks to his guns and doesn't cave. But then again, this may be nothing more than a coordinated  and cynical ploy (I smell Romney and potential VP nomination for Rubio as the impetus) to win over the valuable Latino vote.

The GOP:The Party Of Exclusion

In his State of the Union rebuttal, Mitch Daniels, in a measured tone, lambasted President Obama for being and supporting divisive policies.

Presenting the Republican rebuttal to the State of the Union address, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) attacked President Barack Obama, saying his administration’s extreme and divisive policies have held back economic recovery. He said the country must instead be righted by a pro-growth agenda, a simpler tax system, and a balancing of deficits. source


Now, granted, we should always strive to be grown-ups in the room. I am aware that the politics of name calling represents a breach of decorum. But how else do you describe Mitch Daniels and the GOP/TeaParty without suggesting that they suffer from sociopathic behavior?


For starters, the GOP has perfected the dubious strategy of campaigning by using the Southern Strategy of divide and conquer. Via exploitation of white resentment, the GOP's claim to power is based on  Us against Them.  Consequently, the GOP's tent is remarkably absent - except for a few tokens - of diversity.


Their campaigns are based on wedge issues against blacks, immigrants, feminist, Arabs, gays, urban dwellers and the list goes on. And their mantra is: We want our country back. They are the party of Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachman,FOX News, Rupert "Phone Hacker" Murdoch - the party of extremism.


The Alternet featured an article that further underscores this point.

The 10 Most Racist Moments of the GOP Primary (So Far)

The Republican Party is digging deep into the old bucket of white racism, using the politics of fear, hostility and anxiety to win over white voters.

One cannot forget that the contemporary Republican Party was born with the Southern Strategy, winning over the former Jim Crow South to its side of the political aisle, and as a backlash against the civil rights movement. This is a formula for a politics of white grievance mongering and white victimology; a dreamworld where white conservatives are oppressed, their rights infringed upon by a tyrannical federal government and elite liberal media that are beholden to the interests of the “undeserving poor,” racial minorities, gays, and immigrants.

In keeping with this script in order to win over Red State America, the 2012 Republican presidential candidates have certainly not disappointed. Both overt racism and dog whistles are delectable temptations that the Republican presidential nominees cannot resist. With the election of the country’s first African-American president, and a United States that is less white and more diverse, the GOP is in peril. In uncertain times, you go with what you know. For the Republican Party, this means “dirty boxing,” digging deep into the old bucket of white racism, and using the politics of fear, hostility and anxiety to win over white voters by demagoguing Obama.

Racism is an assault on the common good. Racism also does the work of dividing and conquering people with common interests. While the 2012 Republican candidates are stirring the pot of white racial anxiety, this is a means to a larger end—the destruction of the country’s social safety net, in support of vicious economic austerity policies, and protecting the kleptocrats and financiers at the expense of the working and middle classes. read more

Do You Trust Mitt Romney?

Mitt Romney gives me the creeps - for many reasons.

First, he has a long track record of saying anything to be elected. If he needs to be anti-abortion, he will adopt that position. If he needs to be pro-health care or anti-health care, he is comfortable with both positions. He told the state of Massachusetts that he would govern to the left of Ted Kennedy; now he pleads for conservatives to let him carry their water.

Second, he made his several hundred millions as a greedy corporate raider who put profit over people.  Similar to the fictional character Gordon "Greed is Good" Gecko of the movie Wall Street, Romney made his loot by bleeding dry companies purchased by leverage buy outs. Here's one example:


In 1992, Mitt Romney was running Bain Capital, a private equity firm. Bain Capital bought American Pad & Paper Co. (Ampad) for $5 million.

Over the next several years Romney's firm bled the company dry. Hundreds of workers lost their jobs. Stockholders were left with worthless shares. Creditors and vendors were paid less than 50 cents on the dollar. While they were exploiting the company, Romney's firm charged Ampad millions of dollars in "management fees." In all, Romney and his investors reaped more than $100 million dollars from the deal. source

Third, not only did Romney amass his fortune at the cost of thousands of American jobs, he used shady tax loopholes to pay a lower tax rate than the average middle-class family - 14%. Additionally, he had millions of dollars in a Swiss bank account and hidden in the Cayman Islands - both notorious for serving as havens for people trying to hide money or escape tax collections.

Romney's tax forms show he had a bank account in Switzerland, which he closed in 2010, and accounts in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. All three have reputations as offshore havens where the extremely wealthy keep their cash, sometimes to avoid paying taxes. source

Most of all, Romney, who has declared Corporations are People, embodies virtually every economic inequality that has crushed the American middle-class for the last 30 years. And now he wants to be our president - like I said, Mitt gives me the creeps.

Weekend Box Office: Red Tails Scores Well

It is gratifying to hear about the successful box office debut of Red Tails. This box office performance dispels Hollywood's entrenched belief that an African-American cast is not marketable. Hopefully this serves as a cure for, as Roland Martin states, Hollywood's irrational allergy to black films.

The next big opener was the surprisingly solid debut for Red Tails (review).  The Lucasfilm-produced Tuskegee Airmen action drama debuted with a pretty terrific $19.1 million.  The longtime passion project for George Lucas was a rarity in today's marketplace, a big budget ($58 million) action film centered entirely around an African-American cast.  Even with the financial strength of six Star Wars films, Lucas was unable to get funding for the film, so he dipped into his own pockets to produce and market the picture while allowing 20th Century Fox to distribute.  The success or failure of this one will depend on legs and word of mouth (it apparently received an A from Cinemascore), but the 3.1x weekend multiplier bodes well.  As expected, the film was marketed heavily in African-American communities and the opening weekend was apparently made up partially from African-American schoolkids who had been bused to matinée showings.  Fair or not, the film will likely be seen as a test case for larger-budget genre fare starring African-Americans, so it's worth rooting for even if you liked the movie less than I did. source

Junior Orange Bowl Creative Writing Awards - Second Place Winner - Yael Rosenberg

Yael Rosenberg reads her second place winning entry at the 2011-2012 Junior Orange Bowl Creative Writing Competition Awards Ceremony at Books & Books in Coral Gables

Congratulations to my dear niece Yael. Keep up the great work and we all are so proud of you. Love uncle Ben

Jewish Newspaper Suggests That Israel Should Assassinate Barack Obama

When I first read this BS I thought it was one of those phony web stories cranks like to circulate on the internet. But upon confirmation that this was a legitimate story, I thought WTF (sorry mom).

Read On:

The owner of a Jewish newspaper in Atlanta has said he deeply regrets writing a column suggesting that Israel consider "a hit" on Barack Obama if he stands in the way of the Jewish state defending itself.

Andrew Adler told the Guardian he wrote the column in the weeklyAtlanta Jewish Times "to get a reaction" from the paper's readers.

"The headline for the column was: 'What would you do?' That's what I wanted to see," he said. "It's got like a Dr Phil reaction: what were you thinking? I feel really bad it did that."

The column asks readers to imagine that they are the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, confronting the threat posed by Hezbollah and Iran's nuclear programme while also under pressure from a US president with an "Alice in Wonderland" belief in diplomacy over force.

Adler lays out what he says are the three options available to Netanyahu: attack Hezbollah and Hamas; defy the US – which is willing to let "Israel take a lethal bullet" – by striking against Iran's nuclear facilities; or a third option.

"Three, give the go-ahead for US-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice-president to take his place, and forcefully dictate that the United States' policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies," Adler wrote in a column that appeared in print by not online.

"Yes, you read "three" correctly. Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel's existence. Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, don't you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel's most inner circles?"

Adler went on to ask: "How far would you go to save a nation comprised of 7 million lives – Jews, Christians and Arabs alike? You have got to believe, like I do, that all options are on the table."source

I truly hope this paper and gentleman receives a visit from the Secret Service. His diatribe raises several troubling issues: 

1. Is there a US based Mossad in our country and what are they doing?
2. Does he believe the Mossad has a right to conduct covert activity on USA soil?
3. Is he suggesting that a foreign government hatching a plan to assassinate President Obama is in the best interest of Israel? 
4. Does he believe the foreign policy of USA should be dictated by Israeli President Binyamin Netanyahu?

In any event, his threats (hypothetical or not) are very disturbing and un-American. Can you image the justifiable outrage and negative feedback any American or Arab newspaper would receive if they published comments or opinions calling for the assassination of President Netanyahu? Someone would and should be fired!

President Rutherford Hayes' 19th century warning about the 1% controlling wealth

Rutherford Hayes, our 19th president - 1877 to 1881 - on the danger of wealth being concentrated in so few hands:

"In church it occurred to me that it is time for the public to hear that the giant evil and danger in this country, the danger which transcends all others, is the vast wealth owned or controlled by a few persons. Money is power. In Congress, in state legislatures, in city councils, in the courts, in the political conventions, in the press, in the pulpit, in the circles of the educated and the talented, its influence is growing greater and greater. Excessive wealth in the hands of the few means extreme poverty, ignorance, vice, and wretchedness as the lot of the many. It is not yet time to debate about the remedy. The previous question is as to the danger—the evil. Let the people be fully informed and convinced as to the evil. Let them earnestly seek the remedy and it will be found. Fully to know the evil is the first step towards reaching its eradication. Henry George is strong when he portrays the rottenness of the present system. We are, to say the least, not yet ready for his remedy. We may reach and remove the difficulty by changes in the laws regulating corporations, descents of property, wills, trusts, taxation, and a host of other important interests, not omitting lands and other property."^[


Did he envision today's Occupy Wall Street movement?

Southern Strategy: Alive & Kicking...

Newt's lecture to Black folks

GOP and the genesis of the Southern Strategy:

The GOP, of course, was created to resist the forward march of slavery; after the Civil War, Republicans fought heroically to make former slaves at least partially whole. But all that ended along with reconstruction following the presidential election of 1876. Rutherford Hayes, a Republican, turned his back on the fight for equality; and the party leadership essentially sanctioned segregation and Jim Crow. 


The modern Republican Party has only the most tenuous links to the party of Lincoln; it is really the party of Richard Nixon, who made a deal with the devil in the 1970s. Nixon ceded the black vote to Democrats, leaving Republicans to cater to white resentments. That decision worked well for decades; it even gave rise to the notion of a permanent Republican governing majority. But a political party can only run in a different direction than the country for so long. And America was changing, not only in its demographics—which were increasingly ethnic and “minority”—but in its attitudes, which were increasingly inclusive. source

Ken Mehlman - former Republican National Committee Chairperson - on the Southern Strategy:

In 2005, then RNC chair Ken Mehlman apologized for the so-called Southern strategy. “Some Republicans gave up on winning the African American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong,” said Mehlman at the national convention of the NAACP.  source

Alas, old habits die hard for the GOP. In order to resurrect his floundering campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich rediscovered the effectiveness of pandering to white fears:

Newt Gingrich looks to be winning the race-baiting competition this Republican primary season. Fueled by a new version of his well honed attacks on the safety net, Gingrich celebrated Martin Luther King Day on Monday by restating what has become a staple of his stump speeches, calling President Obama the “best food stamp president in American history.”

The remark came, this time, after debate moderator Juan Williams asked if Gingrich’s campaign-trail suggestion that poor students be given jobs as janitors might me “viewed at a minimum insulting to all Americans, but as particularly to African Americans?” “The fact is that more people have been put on food stamps by Barrack Obama than any president in American history,” Gingrich said before an audience that erupted into vociferous applause.

Gingrich argues that the reason so many people are on food stamps is not that the economy has thrown millions into poverty, but rather that lazy black families are getting on the dole and don’t want to work. Earlier this month, Gingrich told an audience in New Hampshire, “If the NAACP invites me, I’ll go to their convention and talk about why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps.”

Gingrich’s attack on the food stamp program is not surprising; it’s the kind of politics that he’s been helping to perfect for over 30 years. He’s been waging the conservative counterrevolution against economic justice for a generation, using whatever Southern Strategy relics he can get his hands on. source

The exuberant embrace of this evilly shrewd strategy by working class white folks (a theme I frequently write about) is the number one hindrance to economic fairness in our country - without a doubt. Their fears, bigotry, resentment and ignorance is pimped by the powers to be on the right for the purpose of installing the draconian unfair Supply Side economics.

And to add insult to injury, after 30 years of the Supply Side economics decimating the American middle-class, the GOP conveniently blames Democrats and minorities for the economic woes of Main Street USA. Ponder the irony, a thief continues to steal your wallet for decades and all he has to say to divert your attention from his crimes is: The Nigger did it.

Wake up middle America!

Gregory Gee's Super Bowl picks: Conspiracy Theories Aside - written with bharv

NFL Comish Roger Godell: Super Bowl Conspirator

Let's have a little fun with our NFL Conference Championship and Super Bowl predictions folks - tongue-in-cheek, of course.

First, I digress, conspiracy theorists were abuzz when the Denver Broncos high school offense led by Tim Tebow defeated the number one defense (Pittsburgh Steelers) 29-23 in Tebow's first NFL playoff game. Here's a cyberspace sample of conspiracy in the works:

I believe the reason behind Tim Tebow's success is due to the NFL's marketing. Everyone everywhere is talking about Tebow and the NFL is cashing in. Top selling jersey, the networks are fighting over game coverage, and their now putting him on the cover of their inaugural NFL magazine......Which means that most of these games has to be fixed for him to win. Take notice on all of his game winning drives, he's making his plays due to missed defensive reads or blown coverages. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Just look at his TD's his receivers are W I D E open. source

So, in the spirit of Conspiracies Gone Wild, here are my real and conspiracy predictions for the remainder of the NFL playoffs - including the Super Bowl.

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP

REAL PREDICTION: I'm sticking with what I wrote two weeks ago:

Many NFL experts/analysts/pundits see this as the year that a high powered offense can win it all without a good defense. I am not on that bandwagon (reference my Saints prediction).

So, the Ravens - with a mediocre offense - will go into Foxborough and defeat the high octane New England Patriot offense. The Tom Brady led offense has rescued their poor defense (31st ranked) all season by scoring a ton of points. However, Brady will not be able to do that against the Ravens. The Ravens defense knows him too well and they have beaten the Pats before in Foxborough.
Ravens win 23-20.

CONSPIRACY PICK: This a league that wants what is best for it's image, brand and pockets: Therefore, Captain America...errr...I meanTom Brady and the Patriots will win; and Bill Belechick's 5th Super Bowl  appearance will cement his position on the Mt. Rushmore of NFL coaches.
Patriots wins 27-24.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP

REAL PREDICTION: The New York Giants vs San Francisco 49ers should be a fun game to watch for defensive minded people like me. Both defenses are fundamentally sound and very physical. This will be the season's best playoff tackling game  - not a lot of yards after the catch because both teams pursue and wrap well. The 49ers are the most complete team but the Giants will win. Huh?

The Giants pass rush (game changer) will make Alex Smith get rid of the ball quickly but his receivers will not be open. Big Blue will play tight coverage and be physical with the 49ers receivers (New Orleans allowed Niners receivers free release) which leads to sacks, turnovers and a overall bad day for Smith. Eli Manning is proving to be money on playoff road games. And I'll take that experience over Smith. Giants win 31-14.

CONSPIRACY PICK: How did a rookie head coach - with a condensed pre-season and a seven season under-achieving QB (Alex Smith) finish 13-3 - get to host the NFC championship game? Hmmm..."someone" is looking out for Jim and John (Raven's head coach) Harbaugh - maybe the league wants to market a Super-Baugh  with Jim's Niners vs. brother John's Ravens. Anywho: 49ers win a thriller 29-27.

SUPER BOWL

Did I say the Giants/49ers game would feature the best tackling exhibition in the playoffs? Well, the two week Super Bowl layoff will allow players to rest and rejuvenate. As a result, the Super Bowl will feature even more sharp tackling. Players, well rested, will be reved up and defensively hungry(think caged animal). Again, it will come down to which QB will make the most big plays. Once again, my money is on former Super Bowl champion Eli Manning  Giants win 23-10.

CONSPIRACY PICK: The Patriots/Ravens ("backed by league") will easily win against the 49ers - no score predictions - but look at the bright side, a revitalized San Francisco franchise is good geographical business for the NFL.