Bush Dictatorship
“Maybe the people who think there’s a conspiracy out there are right.” - Rep. Pete DeFazio
I recently wrote about Bush's new National Continuity Policy in my Black Agenda Report column. The new policy essentially lets the president use any event, incident, epidemic or natural disaster as an excuse for taking over all three branches of government.
The national corporate media paid no attention to this new policy and the Democratic presidential candidates did not utter a peep. Thankfully some members of Congress were concerned, but it doesn't help much if they are denied access to classified documents.
Pete DeFazio is a member of the House Homeland Security committee and he has the security clearance that goes along with that membership. No matter. The White House denied him access to the materials.
Yes, we conspiracy theorists are right. In fact we shouldn't call ourselves theorists anymore. Bush has given us too much ammunition and it is past time for impeachment. Too bad for us. The Democratic party is determined to do just the opposite of what we want.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Nazis Attack Iran
That is the title of my column in the current issue of Black Agenda Report. By a vote of 97 - 0 the U.S. Senate has joined the House in calling for the extermination of the Iranian people.
Of course no one ever says those words, but make no mistake about it. Mass murder of the Iranian people is the number one agenda item of the United States and Israeli governments. Americans are about to be turned into war criminals because of the power of the Israeli lobby and the blood thirstiness of the neo-cons.
The silence surrounding the impending holocaust is shameful. Most liberal bloggers won't touch the issue and the media is silent. Arthur Silber puts it beautifully.
The conclusion is stark and infinitely bleak: an attack on Iran would wipe every other issue and concern out of existence for the foreseeable future, probably for years to come if not much longer. Forget debates about global warming; nuclear clouds might be spreading across the globe. Never mind reforming our health care system; millions of people around the world, and possibly here at home, will be worried about survival of the most primitive kind. Nothing else will matter in the least.
The deck has been stacked, the lies are big enough and told often enough to be believed. The U.S. is about to bring about armageddon. Please speak out before it happens.
That is the title of my column in the current issue of Black Agenda Report. By a vote of 97 - 0 the U.S. Senate has joined the House in calling for the extermination of the Iranian people.
Of course no one ever says those words, but make no mistake about it. Mass murder of the Iranian people is the number one agenda item of the United States and Israeli governments. Americans are about to be turned into war criminals because of the power of the Israeli lobby and the blood thirstiness of the neo-cons.
The silence surrounding the impending holocaust is shameful. Most liberal bloggers won't touch the issue and the media is silent. Arthur Silber puts it beautifully.
The conclusion is stark and infinitely bleak: an attack on Iran would wipe every other issue and concern out of existence for the foreseeable future, probably for years to come if not much longer. Forget debates about global warming; nuclear clouds might be spreading across the globe. Never mind reforming our health care system; millions of people around the world, and possibly here at home, will be worried about survival of the most primitive kind. Nothing else will matter in the least.
The deck has been stacked, the lies are big enough and told often enough to be believed. The U.S. is about to bring about armageddon. Please speak out before it happens.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Photos: Marie DeBanville, Bruno Garcin-Gasser
Marianne Pearl is Black
The American media machine cannot digest Black life, and can only package its semblance of real life in white-face. Apparently, white people cannot stare "Others" in the face, and must tell stories that have their own made-up existence featured. - Black Agenda Report
How hard is it to understand? The woman in the photo and her mother are obviously people of African ancestry, yet Hollywood is having none of it. Marianne Pearl has been white washed, with her full permission. I for one don't care that she doesn't have the confidence or the consciousness to speak up for African people. She doesn't have the right to tell the rest of us that yet another removal from the pages of history is in any way permissible.
It is truly shameful that so many white people cannot bear to see a picture that doesn't have themselves at the center. Even the left succumb to the assumption that only whiteness is normative. David Corn dismisses the casting complaint out of hand.
The recent blog-driven fuss kicked up by the movie A Mighty Heart -- whether casting pale-skinned Angelina Jolie as darker-skinned Afro-Cuban-Dutch Mariane Pearl, the wife of murdered journalist Danny Pearl, was an act of racist dimensions -- seems irrelevant when you consider an important piece of evidence: the movie itself.
The casting outrage is irrelevant? It certainly isn't to the people who are told to keep quiet when their very likeness is erased. In this case Pearl's nationality is the excuse for putting Angelina Jolie in blackface. Sorry, race is the issue, not being Cuban and Dutch and born in France. Pearl should not be portrayed by a white person for the simple reason that she is not white. How hard is that to understand?
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Happy Juneteenth
"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer."
Major General Gordon Granger, June 19, 1865, Galveston, TX
If you benefitted from the free labor of enslaved people, and you found out they were free, would you say something or would you keep them in chains? Well, slave owners in Texas and other states said nothing. Surprising? Hell no!
In June of 1865, 4 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and 2 months after the confederacy was defeated, enslaved Texans found out they were no longer enslaved. It is a date well worth celebrating.
Happy Juneteenth!
"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer."
Major General Gordon Granger, June 19, 1865, Galveston, TX
If you benefitted from the free labor of enslaved people, and you found out they were free, would you say something or would you keep them in chains? Well, slave owners in Texas and other states said nothing. Surprising? Hell no!
In June of 1865, 4 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and 2 months after the confederacy was defeated, enslaved Texans found out they were no longer enslaved. It is a date well worth celebrating.
Happy Juneteenth!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Mitt Romney and the Jerusalem Post
First the good news. The Jerusalem Post won't do anymore political ads for Rudy. The bad news is that Giuliani isn't alone. Mitt Romney got the same treatment from the right wing Israeli paper. Read here and scroll down to the comments section.
In their respective fund raising screeds Giuliani took Democrats to task for being insufficiently easy on terrorists. Romney said we don't need the U.N.
The silence continues. There have been no mentions of this ought to be scandal in the press and there has been silence from Democrats. Is there an Israeli lobby? They certainly think so. My guess is that they are right.
First the good news. The Jerusalem Post won't do anymore political ads for Rudy. The bad news is that Giuliani isn't alone. Mitt Romney got the same treatment from the right wing Israeli paper. Read here and scroll down to the comments section.
In their respective fund raising screeds Giuliani took Democrats to task for being insufficiently easy on terrorists. Romney said we don't need the U.N.
The silence continues. There have been no mentions of this ought to be scandal in the press and there has been silence from Democrats. Is there an Israeli lobby? They certainly think so. My guess is that they are right.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Jerusalem Post Raises Money For Rudy Giuliani
You read that correctly. The right wing Jerusalem Post is sending out a fund raising email on behalf of Giuliani.
Hmmm. A foreign newspaper raises money on behalf of an American presidential candidate? Where is the outrage? Of course, none will be expressed. The Norman Finkelstein lesson has been learned. The tenure denial was akin to cutting off his head and sticking it on a pole.
Why is this email a big deal? Well, for starters, foreigners are not supposed to make contributions to American political campaigns. The fund raising letter doesn't bother to raise that point. Also, corporations are not supposed to make contributions to American political campaigns, even in kind donations like sending an email. The Democrats won't complain because they all feed from the same AIPAC trough. You will be able to hear a pin drop.
On the other hand, what does the Jerusalem post have to fear? Israeli "art students" end up at the FBI and DEA, Israeli "movers" celebrate as they take photographs of the burning twin towers and Congress said and did nothing.
So I take it all back. The Jerusalem Post should do whatever the hell it wants. They can get away with anything.
Sorry. I forgot myself.
You read that correctly. The right wing Jerusalem Post is sending out a fund raising email on behalf of Giuliani.
Hmmm. A foreign newspaper raises money on behalf of an American presidential candidate? Where is the outrage? Of course, none will be expressed. The Norman Finkelstein lesson has been learned. The tenure denial was akin to cutting off his head and sticking it on a pole.
Why is this email a big deal? Well, for starters, foreigners are not supposed to make contributions to American political campaigns. The fund raising letter doesn't bother to raise that point. Also, corporations are not supposed to make contributions to American political campaigns, even in kind donations like sending an email. The Democrats won't complain because they all feed from the same AIPAC trough. You will be able to hear a pin drop.
On the other hand, what does the Jerusalem post have to fear? Israeli "art students" end up at the FBI and DEA, Israeli "movers" celebrate as they take photographs of the burning twin towers and Congress said and did nothing.
So I take it all back. The Jerusalem Post should do whatever the hell it wants. They can get away with anything.
Sorry. I forgot myself.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Norman Finkelstein Denied Tenure
The fix was in long ago but still I hoped. I meditated good positive vibrations and sent them in the direction of Chicago. It didn't matter. Alan Dershowitz put critics of Israel and its lobby on notice. You will never work in any town again.
Norman Finkelstein is, for now, an assistant professor in the political science department at DePaul University. He is the author of one of my favorite books, The Holocaust Industry. As anyone can tell from the title, his insistence on honest scholarship made many enemies. Dershowitz was just the most persistent. He threatened to label DePaul anti-Semitic. He threatened to label all Catholics anti-Semitic. He won.
Academic freedom was the big loser. Actually, if the ADL and Dershowitz are happy, then the entire nation loses.
DePaul president Dennis Holtschneider ought to be ashamed of himself. It would be interesting to know how many faculty are personally denied tenure by the president after the members of their department gave the green light. I will go out on a limb and say the Finkelstein case is unique in that regard.
God bless Finkelstein. If you want to send your regards email him at normangf at hotmail.com.
Update
Finkelstein was interviewed on Chicago Public Radio today. Listen up.
The fix was in long ago but still I hoped. I meditated good positive vibrations and sent them in the direction of Chicago. It didn't matter. Alan Dershowitz put critics of Israel and its lobby on notice. You will never work in any town again.
Norman Finkelstein is, for now, an assistant professor in the political science department at DePaul University. He is the author of one of my favorite books, The Holocaust Industry. As anyone can tell from the title, his insistence on honest scholarship made many enemies. Dershowitz was just the most persistent. He threatened to label DePaul anti-Semitic. He threatened to label all Catholics anti-Semitic. He won.
Academic freedom was the big loser. Actually, if the ADL and Dershowitz are happy, then the entire nation loses.
DePaul president Dennis Holtschneider ought to be ashamed of himself. It would be interesting to know how many faculty are personally denied tenure by the president after the members of their department gave the green light. I will go out on a limb and say the Finkelstein case is unique in that regard.
God bless Finkelstein. If you want to send your regards email him at normangf at hotmail.com.
Update
Finkelstein was interviewed on Chicago Public Radio today. Listen up.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Congressional Black Caucus and Fox News
I was happy to sign a letter to Democratic presidential candidates (Clinton, Obama, Edwards) who chose not to participate in a Fox News sponsored debate. It is a long, sad story, but some members of the Congressional Black Caucus are in favor of holding a presidential debate with Fox. Incredible, isn't it?
Color of Change has admirably led the charge on this issue. Here is the letter.
Dear Candidate,
Your decision last month not to attend the debate sponsored by Fox News and the Congressional Black Caucus institute demonstrated truly principled leadership.
Now, a group of CBC members, led by Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), is asking you to reverse that decision. But the truth about Fox and its partnership with the CBC institute has not changed. A Fox-CBCI partnership will use the brand of the CBC—perhaps the most prominent and powerful Black political institution in America—to lend legitimacy to a propaganda network that regularly denigrates black people, black culture and black institutions. This partnership is bad for Black America, and it is a huge mistake.
Since before the debate partnership was announced publicly, Black bloggers, community newspapers, columnists, and radio hosts have expressed outrage that such a partnership would even be considered. Over 16,000 members of ColorOfChange.org reached out to individual CBC members and the CBC institute in hopes that they would be responsive and accountable to the community they purport to represent. But the leadership of the CBC institute has continued to willfully ignore the voices of Black Americans, and amazingly, also dismissed voices of dissent from within the CBC itself (nearly a quarter of CBC members have expressed opposition to the debate, either publicly or privately). Now, more than ever, it’s obvious that the CBC’s leadership is painfully out of step with Black America.
It has been suggested that by skipping this debate, you are missing a valuable opportunity to speak on issues of concern to Black Americans. However, the CBC institute debate broadcast by CNN as well as Tavis Smiley’s debates on PBS provide similar opportunities to address these issues without sending the message that you are willing to validate a network that is consistently hostile to Black Americans and Black political interests.
You did the right thing by rejecting Fox. We applaud your leadership and will continue to support your decision.
Brandon Quante White, The SuperSpade
Garlin Dorell Gilchrist II, The SuperSpade
Jill Tubman, Jack and Jill Politics
Wayne Bennett, Field Negro
Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report
Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report
Leutisha Stills, Sr. Correspondent & Chief Researcher, CBCMonitor
dnA, Too Sense
Pam Spaulding, Pam's House Blend
Chris Rabb, Afro-Netizen.com
Rikyrah, Mirror on America
Earl Dunovant, Prometheus 6
Margaret Kimberley, Freedom Rider
James Rucker, ColorOfChange.org
We are still looking for signers, particularly bloggers. If you are interested, please email Gabriel at gabriel AT colorofchange DOT org.
I was happy to sign a letter to Democratic presidential candidates (Clinton, Obama, Edwards) who chose not to participate in a Fox News sponsored debate. It is a long, sad story, but some members of the Congressional Black Caucus are in favor of holding a presidential debate with Fox. Incredible, isn't it?
Color of Change has admirably led the charge on this issue. Here is the letter.
Dear Candidate,
Your decision last month not to attend the debate sponsored by Fox News and the Congressional Black Caucus institute demonstrated truly principled leadership.
Now, a group of CBC members, led by Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), is asking you to reverse that decision. But the truth about Fox and its partnership with the CBC institute has not changed. A Fox-CBCI partnership will use the brand of the CBC—perhaps the most prominent and powerful Black political institution in America—to lend legitimacy to a propaganda network that regularly denigrates black people, black culture and black institutions. This partnership is bad for Black America, and it is a huge mistake.
Since before the debate partnership was announced publicly, Black bloggers, community newspapers, columnists, and radio hosts have expressed outrage that such a partnership would even be considered. Over 16,000 members of ColorOfChange.org reached out to individual CBC members and the CBC institute in hopes that they would be responsive and accountable to the community they purport to represent. But the leadership of the CBC institute has continued to willfully ignore the voices of Black Americans, and amazingly, also dismissed voices of dissent from within the CBC itself (nearly a quarter of CBC members have expressed opposition to the debate, either publicly or privately). Now, more than ever, it’s obvious that the CBC’s leadership is painfully out of step with Black America.
It has been suggested that by skipping this debate, you are missing a valuable opportunity to speak on issues of concern to Black Americans. However, the CBC institute debate broadcast by CNN as well as Tavis Smiley’s debates on PBS provide similar opportunities to address these issues without sending the message that you are willing to validate a network that is consistently hostile to Black Americans and Black political interests.
You did the right thing by rejecting Fox. We applaud your leadership and will continue to support your decision.
Brandon Quante White, The SuperSpade
Garlin Dorell Gilchrist II, The SuperSpade
Jill Tubman, Jack and Jill Politics
Wayne Bennett, Field Negro
Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report
Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report
Leutisha Stills, Sr. Correspondent & Chief Researcher, CBCMonitor
dnA, Too Sense
Pam Spaulding, Pam's House Blend
Chris Rabb, Afro-Netizen.com
Rikyrah, Mirror on America
Earl Dunovant, Prometheus 6
Margaret Kimberley, Freedom Rider
James Rucker, ColorOfChange.org
We are still looking for signers, particularly bloggers. If you are interested, please email Gabriel at gabriel AT colorofchange DOT org.
Jerry Falwell and the Savage Christians
"Christians perpetrated the crusades, the inquisition, the slave trade and imperial adventures too numerous to mention. It may be comforting to pat ourselves on the back and consign those behaviors to past centuries. We are living in the 21st century after all. Who would use the name of the Christian God to justify mass killing? A majority of modern day American Christians, that's who."
Who made this brilliant statement? Yours truly in this week's Black Agenda Report. The words are harsh, but I can back it all up. Let me know what you think.
"Christians perpetrated the crusades, the inquisition, the slave trade and imperial adventures too numerous to mention. It may be comforting to pat ourselves on the back and consign those behaviors to past centuries. We are living in the 21st century after all. Who would use the name of the Christian God to justify mass killing? A majority of modern day American Christians, that's who."
Who made this brilliant statement? Yours truly in this week's Black Agenda Report. The words are harsh, but I can back it all up. Let me know what you think.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Christian Terror Plot
"Christian Terrorist Arrested at Falwell Funeral"
That should have been the headlines in today's newspapers. Mark D. Uhl is a Liberty University student. I'm guessing that means he is a Christian. He was also arrested with homemade bombs in his possession. He says he wanted to keep protesters from disrupting the funeral. It isn't clear who he thought was going to disrupt or how they would do it, but making bombs is an indication of violent intentions and a very sick mind.
The right wing are going nuts because of a poll that showed 8% of American Muslims approving of suicide bombing in some cases. So, a majority of Muslims are opposed to terrorism. They certainly aren't like Christians. A majority of them are in favor of torture and a majority of them are in favor of deliberately targeting civilians in warfare.
Thank God for Muslims. Hopefully they will keep those crazy Christians in check.
"Christian Terrorist Arrested at Falwell Funeral"
That should have been the headlines in today's newspapers. Mark D. Uhl is a Liberty University student. I'm guessing that means he is a Christian. He was also arrested with homemade bombs in his possession. He says he wanted to keep protesters from disrupting the funeral. It isn't clear who he thought was going to disrupt or how they would do it, but making bombs is an indication of violent intentions and a very sick mind.
The right wing are going nuts because of a poll that showed 8% of American Muslims approving of suicide bombing in some cases. So, a majority of Muslims are opposed to terrorism. They certainly aren't like Christians. A majority of them are in favor of torture and a majority of them are in favor of deliberately targeting civilians in warfare.
Thank God for Muslims. Hopefully they will keep those crazy Christians in check.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Bush Plans Dictatorship
"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."
George W. Bush
Bush uttered those very unfunny words on December 18, 2000. On that day the president-elect went to capitol hill to meet with Congressional leaders and emerged from the meeting flipping them and the American people this rhetorical bird.
The president is making good on those words and there hasn't been a peep out of Congress or the press. In a document released on May 9, 2007 entitled "National Continuity Policy," Bush makes good on his sick fantasy. In case of “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function” Bush will control the entire U.S. government, not just the federal branch.
It isn't really surprising. Bush decides who is an enemy combatant, a person without legal rights, and who should be spied upon.
If ever there was a moment for conspiracy theories, this is it. Will there be a phony terror attack, or a declaration of war against Iran? We don't know what the trigger will be but it is time to be afraid.
Actually it is time for impeachment. Bush's unpopularity makes him particularly dangerous. So does the acquiescence of the media and the silence of the Democrats. State legislatures have the right to begin the impeachment process but they have been smacked down by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.
We are screwed. The phrase may be inelegant, but it says it all. Maybe we will all end up in Guantanamo. Who knows? The National Continuity Policy contains "classified continuity annexes." WTF!? As I said, we are screwed.
Thanks to Crooks and Liars for the tip.
"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."
George W. Bush
Bush uttered those very unfunny words on December 18, 2000. On that day the president-elect went to capitol hill to meet with Congressional leaders and emerged from the meeting flipping them and the American people this rhetorical bird.
The president is making good on those words and there hasn't been a peep out of Congress or the press. In a document released on May 9, 2007 entitled "National Continuity Policy," Bush makes good on his sick fantasy. In case of “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function” Bush will control the entire U.S. government, not just the federal branch.
It isn't really surprising. Bush decides who is an enemy combatant, a person without legal rights, and who should be spied upon.
If ever there was a moment for conspiracy theories, this is it. Will there be a phony terror attack, or a declaration of war against Iran? We don't know what the trigger will be but it is time to be afraid.
Actually it is time for impeachment. Bush's unpopularity makes him particularly dangerous. So does the acquiescence of the media and the silence of the Democrats. State legislatures have the right to begin the impeachment process but they have been smacked down by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.
We are screwed. The phrase may be inelegant, but it says it all. Maybe we will all end up in Guantanamo. Who knows? The National Continuity Policy contains "classified continuity annexes." WTF!? As I said, we are screwed.
Thanks to Crooks and Liars for the tip.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Obama and Affirmative Action
". . . if we have done what needs to be done to ensure that kids who are qualified to go to college can afford it, that affirmative action becomes a diminishing tool for us to achieve racial equality in this society."
Barack Obama
Was I right or what? In this week's Black Agenda Report I asked if black Americans ought to want a black president. If the would be president in question is Barack Obama, the answer is a definite no.
In his over rated speech at the 2004 Democratic convention, Obama declared that "there is no black America." What nonsense. Identity politics haven't disappeared for anyone else in the country. It would be ludicrous for black people to think that anything about their situation has changed because St. Barack says so.
Unfortunately, black politicians only get support from white voters when they deemphasize their blackness. That inevitable means not standing up for other black people or for their interests.
George Stephanopoulos doesn't really care about the handful of black kids from double Ivy League households. He wants to get rid of affirmative action and he asked about Obama's kids as a convenient excuse. It just wouldn't do to 'fess up that George wants white guys to stay on top withouthaving to deal with pesky newcomers demanding a slice of the pie.
That is not surprising, but a black politicians have to give the answer that most whites want to hear. Bad news for us, for Obama and any other black presidential candidate.
". . . if we have done what needs to be done to ensure that kids who are qualified to go to college can afford it, that affirmative action becomes a diminishing tool for us to achieve racial equality in this society."
Barack Obama
Was I right or what? In this week's Black Agenda Report I asked if black Americans ought to want a black president. If the would be president in question is Barack Obama, the answer is a definite no.
In his over rated speech at the 2004 Democratic convention, Obama declared that "there is no black America." What nonsense. Identity politics haven't disappeared for anyone else in the country. It would be ludicrous for black people to think that anything about their situation has changed because St. Barack says so.
Unfortunately, black politicians only get support from white voters when they deemphasize their blackness. That inevitable means not standing up for other black people or for their interests.
George Stephanopoulos doesn't really care about the handful of black kids from double Ivy League households. He wants to get rid of affirmative action and he asked about Obama's kids as a convenient excuse. It just wouldn't do to 'fess up that George wants white guys to stay on top withouthaving to deal with pesky newcomers demanding a slice of the pie.
That is not surprising, but a black politicians have to give the answer that most whites want to hear. Bad news for us, for Obama and any other black presidential candidate.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Corruption in Nigeria
As I said in Black Agenda Report recently, Nigeria is a sea of corruption because of the crookedness of Andrew Young and others. Read it here.
As I said in Black Agenda Report recently, Nigeria is a sea of corruption because of the crookedness of Andrew Young and others. Read it here.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Israel Shoots Peace Prize Laureate
". . . when Palestinians do engage in nonviolent protest, and are subjected to brutal repression as a result, how come the mainstream U.S. media don’t pay any attention?"
Common Dreams
The Palestinians can't win. Even when they and their supporters practice non-violence they can be killed and the American media won't report it at all.
If Mairead Maguire or any other Nobel peace prize winner was shot by soldiers from any country other than Israel, their would be a nation wide out cry. Of course, you can't cry out when you don't know what is happening. That is the whole point of shutting out inconvenient information.
No shut outs here. Watch the video.
". . . when Palestinians do engage in nonviolent protest, and are subjected to brutal repression as a result, how come the mainstream U.S. media don’t pay any attention?"
Common Dreams
The Palestinians can't win. Even when they and their supporters practice non-violence they can be killed and the American media won't report it at all.
If Mairead Maguire or any other Nobel peace prize winner was shot by soldiers from any country other than Israel, their would be a nation wide out cry. Of course, you can't cry out when you don't know what is happening. That is the whole point of shutting out inconvenient information.
No shut outs here. Watch the video.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
"Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Iran" - John McCain
I posted these comments on the Huffington Post website. Don't know yet if they will appear.
"It is impossible to run for president without repeating every lying utterance of the Israel lobby. It is Israel that has the bomb, not Iran.
Hillary and Obama will say nothing about this disgraceful, ugly display. McCain will get a pass from them and from the media when in fact he is no better than the Virginia Tech gunman. Cho came by his murderous rage through pure insanity. McCain would kill on an even larger scale and make it all sound good and reasonable.
Once again we see the awful hypocrisy that is killing this nation. We recoil when individuals kill but sing songs to encourage government killing, which is always the most lethal. No terrorist group in history has ever killed on the scale of a government.
The fundies are right. The end is near."
I posted these comments on the Huffington Post website. Don't know yet if they will appear.
"It is impossible to run for president without repeating every lying utterance of the Israel lobby. It is Israel that has the bomb, not Iran.
Hillary and Obama will say nothing about this disgraceful, ugly display. McCain will get a pass from them and from the media when in fact he is no better than the Virginia Tech gunman. Cho came by his murderous rage through pure insanity. McCain would kill on an even larger scale and make it all sound good and reasonable.
Once again we see the awful hypocrisy that is killing this nation. We recoil when individuals kill but sing songs to encourage government killing, which is always the most lethal. No terrorist group in history has ever killed on the scale of a government.
The fundies are right. The end is near."
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Does White America Love Imus?
The Don Imus debacle just gets worse. For years he has been the biggest purveyor of racist hate speech on the air waves. He is also very powerful, so even prominent liberals like Frank Rich will bow and scrape in order to stay in the very lucrative Imus circle.
After describing the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy headed ho’s” he first apologized and then had a two hour long come to Jesus meeting on Al Sharpton’s radio show. He was still slapped with a two week suspension. Clearly his bosses were not amused by his comments and were not impressed with his contrition. Thank God for small favors.
Now the truth is coming out. Don Imus is popular because he is so hateful. Like Howard Stern, he has a large white, male audience because he gets away with making the racist, misogynistic statements they wish they could get away with saying. It is at the very least impolite to call anyone a “ho” or to talk about a former first couple as “Bill Clinton and his fat ugly wife, Satan.”
Now the apologists are coming out of the wood work and some of them are black. Congressman Keith Ellison says that black people should think of "redemption and reconciliation" if Imus is truly contrite. Gwen Ifill, host of Washington Week on PBS, was herself a victim of Imus’ bigotry when he called her a “cleaning lady.” She criticized Imus, but in a strangely detached way. In a New York Times op-ed she asked, "Why do my journalistic colleagues appear on Mr. Imus’s program? That’s for them to defend, and others to argue about."
Ifill knows the real deal. Don’t complain too much about powerful white men. They can do what they want, including insult and offend, with impunity. Why shouldn't she ask about her colleagues who sully themselves to suck up to this misogynistic bigot? Ifill certainly knows her bread is buttered with the corporate media and that she had better not step out of line if she wants the spread to stay on the loaf.
Here is a good rule for everyone to follow. Don't trust anyone who apologizes for Imus. They are all believers in white male supremacy, whether they admit it or not. James Carville, Paul Begala, John McCain, and Rudy Giuliani are all guilty. So is Frank Rich if he returns to the Imus fold.
Unfortunately, the Rutgers team has decided to meet with Imus. I see no reason why the subjects of his hatred should help dig him out of the hole he dug for himself. Of course they are being lionized for their decision, but that is to be expected. Black people are always told to forgive mistreatment. It is time for someone to say enough already. Imus should not be allowed to have a kumbyah moment with the objects of his scorn.
He believes in his ugly words. He shouldn't be allowed to pretend he doesn't. It is time for him to go and it is time for everyone of every race to say good riddance.
The Don Imus debacle just gets worse. For years he has been the biggest purveyor of racist hate speech on the air waves. He is also very powerful, so even prominent liberals like Frank Rich will bow and scrape in order to stay in the very lucrative Imus circle.
After describing the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy headed ho’s” he first apologized and then had a two hour long come to Jesus meeting on Al Sharpton’s radio show. He was still slapped with a two week suspension. Clearly his bosses were not amused by his comments and were not impressed with his contrition. Thank God for small favors.
Now the truth is coming out. Don Imus is popular because he is so hateful. Like Howard Stern, he has a large white, male audience because he gets away with making the racist, misogynistic statements they wish they could get away with saying. It is at the very least impolite to call anyone a “ho” or to talk about a former first couple as “Bill Clinton and his fat ugly wife, Satan.”
Now the apologists are coming out of the wood work and some of them are black. Congressman Keith Ellison says that black people should think of "redemption and reconciliation" if Imus is truly contrite. Gwen Ifill, host of Washington Week on PBS, was herself a victim of Imus’ bigotry when he called her a “cleaning lady.” She criticized Imus, but in a strangely detached way. In a New York Times op-ed she asked, "Why do my journalistic colleagues appear on Mr. Imus’s program? That’s for them to defend, and others to argue about."
Ifill knows the real deal. Don’t complain too much about powerful white men. They can do what they want, including insult and offend, with impunity. Why shouldn't she ask about her colleagues who sully themselves to suck up to this misogynistic bigot? Ifill certainly knows her bread is buttered with the corporate media and that she had better not step out of line if she wants the spread to stay on the loaf.
Here is a good rule for everyone to follow. Don't trust anyone who apologizes for Imus. They are all believers in white male supremacy, whether they admit it or not. James Carville, Paul Begala, John McCain, and Rudy Giuliani are all guilty. So is Frank Rich if he returns to the Imus fold.
Unfortunately, the Rutgers team has decided to meet with Imus. I see no reason why the subjects of his hatred should help dig him out of the hole he dug for himself. Of course they are being lionized for their decision, but that is to be expected. Black people are always told to forgive mistreatment. It is time for someone to say enough already. Imus should not be allowed to have a kumbyah moment with the objects of his scorn.
He believes in his ugly words. He shouldn't be allowed to pretend he doesn't. It is time for him to go and it is time for everyone of every race to say good riddance.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Rosie O'Donnell
Right wingers have their pants in a twist because Rosie O'Donnelle questions the official 9/11 story and said it was "an inside job." They even say she should be fired.
Wrong. Rosie should have been fired for making fun of Asians with her "ching chong ching chong" routine. The right wing only care about subservience to their point of view. Racist jokes are no biggie. Not only did she offend many people but her so-called apology was anything but and just as offensive as her original comments.
BTW, if O'Donnell is going to delve into 9/11 conspiracy theories, she should stick with the only one worth mentioning, that Israel knew about the terror plot. Even an outspoken "liberal" won't touch that one.
Right wingers have their pants in a twist because Rosie O'Donnelle questions the official 9/11 story and said it was "an inside job." They even say she should be fired.
Wrong. Rosie should have been fired for making fun of Asians with her "ching chong ching chong" routine. The right wing only care about subservience to their point of view. Racist jokes are no biggie. Not only did she offend many people but her so-called apology was anything but and just as offensive as her original comments.
BTW, if O'Donnell is going to delve into 9/11 conspiracy theories, she should stick with the only one worth mentioning, that Israel knew about the terror plot. Even an outspoken "liberal" won't touch that one.
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