Wish I'd Said That

"Of course, the guy is an Obama supporter, which apparently gives him the freedom to question the motivations of blacks who complain just a bit too much about racism. Stop whining and assimilate!, he more or less told them through me. White people are sick and tired of listening to your crap! It was an astonishing moment, as I had not until that instant guessed that this guy harbored such feelings. But it further underlines my belief that Obama is the perfect candidate for race-challenged liberals, since Obama makes them comfortable in their grayish-pink skins, and does not pester them with tales of racism and oppression. This will become more evident now that Obama has nailed down the nomination."
Dennis Perrin, A Red State Son

Kudos from Floyd and Silber

Aside from Black Agenda Report, my two favorite web sites are Chris Floyd's Empire Burlesque and Arthur Silber's Once Upon a Time, Power of Narrative.

Today Silber did me the great honor of quoting from a column I wrote last year. The subject of that column was the the book Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present. Floyd in turn quoted Silber, and thus my name is linked with greatness in not one, but two places.

Silber and Floyd are heroes of mine because they tell the truth. They tell the truth about Bush, and Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. They spare no one and they have no allegiance to either of our dreadful political parties. I am truly honored that Silber would give me some attention and put my name alongside that of Jeremiah Wright.

Wright is being pilloried because he is a truth teller. Black Americans used to be the most consistent truth tellers in the country, but the ascendance and possible presidency of Barack Obama has changed all that. That will be the subject of my next Black Agenda Report column to be published this Wednesday.

Thanks again Chris and Arthur. I truly appreciate you both in so many ways.

Sami al-Hajj speaks of his Guantanamo ordeal - 02 May 2008

Sami al-Haj was an al-Jazeera camera man imprisoned on Guantanamo since 2002. He was never charged with a crime, he was interrogated more than 200 times.

Wright and Obama

"Almost every politician lies, and most politicians lie repeatedly. Yet in one sense, Obama's speech is exceptional, rare and unique -- but not for any of the reasons offered by Obama's uncritical, mindless adulators. It is exceptional for this reason: it is rare that a candidate will announce in such stark, comprehensive terms that he will lie about every fact of moment, about every aspect of our history that affects the crises of today and that has led to them, about everything that might challenge the mythological view of America. But that is what Obama achieved with this speech. It may be a remarkable achievement -- a remarkable and detestable one, and one that promises endless destruction in the future, both here and abroad." Arthur Silber

I didn't weigh in on the latest Obama/Wright contretemps because my personal life has been much too busy of late. You can as always check out Black Agenda Report, which keeps it very real as always. "In order for his race-neutral strategy to appear sane, Obama must constantly paint a picture of an America that does not exist. This cannot be accomplished without mangling the truth, assaulting the truth-tellers, and misrepresenting America's past and present."

I'll keep it short. Obama is still bad news for the nation and for the world. He wouldn't be a worse president than Hillary "we'll obliterate them" Clinton. But he wouldn't be any better. He is pledged to continue the dominance of the ruling class and the ever growing American empire. The best that can be said of him is that he will be no worse than anyone else who is acceptable to the ruling class.

But for black people he will be worse. Hillary Clinton would have been taken to task if she had said she would have a foreign policy "like Ronald Reagan's." Obama was allowed to get away with that and other outrageous remarks and it doesn't bode well. He will do what he said he would do. He will keep the empire intact, he will keep government lawlessness intact. After all, he still sees no reason to impeach Bush or Cheney. Obama will be very bad news indeed.

Remember you read it here first.

Sami al-Haj is Free

Sami al-Haj has been freed from Guantanamo and is now in his home country, Sudan. He was a camera man for al-Jazeera who was seized by Pakistani officials and turned over to the U.S. in 2002. al-Haj went through more than 200 interrogations, and was subjected to forced feeding. His family say that the 39 year-old now looks like a man in his 80s.

His interrogators offered al-Haj freedom if he would agree to spy for the U.S. but he always refused, hence the 6 years behind bars. Obviously goodness and nobility have nothing to do with his release. The U.S. government must have seen some advantage in releasing him now.

Sami al-Haj is a living witness to the criminality of the American government. His brother, Asim al-Haj, said it best. "Today, I'd like to urge the United Nations, international human rights organizations and the international press to bring a serious investigation into the case of Sami al-Haj, because we really have no idea what happened to Sami al-Haj while he was at Guantanamo." Asim al-Haj might have added the United States Congress to that list of investigatory bodies. Of course they will never investigate anything because that would mean taking some sort of action, like impeachment.

Oh No He Didn't

"The world owes Bush a huge debt of gratitude." - Gordon Brown

Watch it, if you can hold down your lunch.

Bilal Hussein is Free

We have to rejoice when there is some justice in this world. Pulitzer prize winning photojournalist Bilal Hussein is now a free man. Hussein was held by the U.S. military in Iraq for more than two years without ever being charged with a crime. He was one of more than 25,000 Iraqis who shared that fate.

Hussein became a target of Uncle Sam's wrath because he told the truth about the occupation. Apparently a picture is worth 1,000 words. Hussein's photos of the destruction of Fallujah were the final straw and he was arrested.

Before he was arrested he was the target of right wing bloggers such as Michelle Malkin who told outright lies about him. The military in fact told Malkin they had Hussein in custody before they told his employers at the Associated Press.

Malkin is always a villain, but so are the corporate media. None of them bothered to do any serious reporting on Hussein's case. The New York Times hired liar Bill Kristol while never telling readers about the injustice committed against Bilal Hussein.

If there is any real justice in this case Bilal Hussein will act like a good patriot American and get a lawyer. A law suit against Michelle Malkin would be the perfect ending of this story.

"Get out of that seat. You have no right to be here."

Who does not have the right to testify before government representatives? I thought every American had that right, but noooo. I was very wrong.

Last week Robert Sherman, a candidate for a seat in the Illinois state legislature, was testifying before the State Government Administrative Committee to oppose the governor's decision to grant a Chicago church $1 million to rebuild after a fire. Sherman argues that the allocation to Pilgrim Baptist Church is unconstitutional. Not only is the grant in all likelihood unconstitutional, but the money that was supposed to help rebuild instead went to fund a school housed in the church. Governor Blagojevich claims it was all a "bureacratic mistake." Well, the mistake is considerable because the school is more than a little shady.

The grant came as state and federal authorities were trying to collect thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes from the school, the Tribune reported Wednesday. Other potential roadblocks also were cleared to make the grant possible: The governor gave a rare and swift pardon to the school's director, a convicted felon; the school registered as a charitable organization for the first time in its 25-year history; and the school filed three years' worth of required state tax documents in one day.

But I digress. Representative Monique Davis could not contain her rage when an atheist dared to show up and ask questions about the use of the public's money. "And it’s dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists!" She told Sherman he had no right to testify and tried to show him the door.

Where does one begin? The ignorance spewed by Davis is just astounding. The transcript is bad enough, the audio which clearly indicates that she was getting exhortations of "amen" are even worse.

So it comes to this. Christians can't bear to even know that atheists exist? Shameful.

Obama's Lies

Nearly two weeks have passed since Barack Obama gave a speech on race. I never knew why so many people fainted, wept or saw God when they heard it, but then again I don't get the appeal of Obama at all.

I am stuck on an Obama truth telling mission and I don't want to stop. So, not to beat a dead horse or anything, but these statements emanating from the Jeremiah Wright controversy just stuck in my craw. I had to share my dismay at the outright lies and slanders that came out of Obama's mouth when he was a guest on The View last week.

"The statements that were made were rightly offensive. What they spoke to was a brilliant man caught in a time warp where he grew up and didn't have a good enough sense of how America's changed."

"Imagine someone compiled the 5 stupidest things you ever said, and then played them over and over again for weeks."

"I spoke to Rev Wright after this episode, and I told him I felt badly he's been characterized in this one way. But he was my pastor. I think people overstate his role as my mentor or spiritual advisor."

I shouldn't be speechles and yet I am. Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a stupid old uncle, caught in a time warp, who was a pastor but not really a mentor or advisor or anything. So much for the question of whether or not Obama threw him under the bus. Wright has tire marks all over his body.

I have never thought that ignorance was in any way blissful, so I will see you in the time warp. That time warp is called reality and I like living there.

Hat tip America Blog

Players, Not Cheerleaders

"There is no question that the Bush administration has proven impervious to public pressure. That's why it's time for the anti-war movement to change tactics. We should direct our energy where it can still have an impact: the leading Democratic contenders.

Many argue otherwise. They say that if we want to end the war, we should simply pick a candidate who is not John McCain and help them win: We'll sort out the details after the Republicans are evicted from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Some of the most prominent anti-war voices--from MoveOn.org to the magazine we write for, The Nation--have gone this route, throwing their weight behind the Obama campaign.

This is a serious strategic mistake. It is during a hotly contested campaign that anti-war forces have the power to actually sway U. S. policy. As soon as we pick sides, we relegate ourselves to mere cheerleaders."

Thank goodness someone gets it. In this case those persons are Naomi Klein and Jeremy Scahill. They seem to have figured out what ought to be obvious to everyone. Neither Clinton nor Obama are serious about ending the Iraq occupation. If the anti-war movement had acted strategically earlier, there might have been a possibility to move the agenda and have a true anti-war nominee.

The most basic rules of political strategy have been ignored in this campaign. Politicians respond to pressure. They don't respond to adulation. Actually I have to take that back. They do respond to adulation. They respond by treating the idol worshippers like chumps.

Moveon and The Nation have done great damage to the progressive cause by backing Obama without demanding anything from him. Now he has no reason to do as they want on any issue. Of course, I could be giving progressives too much credit. Many of them don't really want change either. Some are tired, some are cynical, some just want invitations to the White House.

Hillary Clinton could have been useful, in spite of her ham handedness and blatant lies. She might have been used strategically earlier on when it counted, despite her weaknesses. Obama might have been forced to stop the double talk and truly promote an agenda for change.

Now we are left with a nomination that is all but decided, and a probably nominee who won't end the occupation. The 2008 election will go down in history as an enormous wasted opportunity.

Progressives for Obama?

". . . my foreign policy is actually a return to the traditional bipartisan realistic policy of George Bush's father, of John F. Kennedy, of, in some ways, Ronald Reagan, . . ."

I just don't get it. Why would anyone who calls him or herself progressive support someone who vows to emulate Reagan or Bush? What a joke.

There is no progressive in this race. Get over it. Admit it. Obama is no progressive and his habit of channeling Ronald Reagan whenever he needs white conservative support ought to prove it. Progressives for Obama should put themselves out of business.

"However, the fact that Barack Obama openly defines himself as a centrist invites the formation of this progressive force within his coalition. Anything less could allow his eventual drift towards the right as the general election approaches." No s_ _ t. Because Progressives for Obama give support without making demands, he will move further and further to the right. He said so himself in the Pennsylvania hinterlands.

It is amazing. Obama can praise Republicans and still get progressives to believe that he will listen to them. There is no convincing people who are naive, cynically jumping on the winning bandwagon, or just plain stupid.

No matter. Someone has to keep speaking truth to the powerful and to the deluded too. I think Progressives for Obama are in the deluded category.

Obama Praises Bush 41 and Reagan

"The truth is that my foreign policy is actually a return to the traditional bipartisan realistic policy of George Bush's father, of John F. Kennedy, of, in some ways, Ronald Reagan, and it is George Bush that's been naive and it's people like John McCain and, unfortunately, some Democrats (read Hillary) that have facilitated him acting in these naive ways that have caused us so much damage in our reputation around the world."

He hasn't channeled Reagan in a while. Now he is trying to win over red neck Pennsylvania, so the GOP love is back. Can't say I didn't tell you so. Read Black Agenda Report. We always tell you so, whether you are ready for the truth or not.

"His Fingerprints Are Smeared All Over The Case"
Don Siegelman

There is good news to start the weekend. Don Siegelman was released from prison pending an appeal of his bribery conviction. Siegelman was the former Democratic governor of Alabama who was victimized by Bushite selective prosecution under the direction of head henchman Karl Rove.

Not only was he convicted of a bribery that never took place, but he was immediately jailed and his appeal was delayed by the suspiciously slow production of a trial transcript.

He is out and he is scheduled to testify before Congress. Sometimes there is a little bit of justice, but as Siegelman said today, “I wish I could say it was over. But we’re a long way from the end of this.”

Karl Rove - Free Don Siegelman!

Karl got his wish. Funny! Today Don Siegelman was released pending an appeal. There is sometimes a little bit of justice after all.

Wish I'd Said That

"Barack Obama had a plan. He knew that the only way a Black man could possibly stand a chance of becoming president of the United States was to pledge allegiance to the national white historical narrative, or religion – the Big Lie that says God wanted all those Indians dead and Africans enslaved, for some higher purpose that will be worked out sometime in that sweet by-and-by."

Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report radio

Wish I'd Said That

Yesterday Glenn Greenwald had an excellent post in Salon about the media black out of foreign policy experts who opposed the occupation of Iraq. Greenwald used the Charlie Rose program as an example of this corporate media censorship policy. One letter writer, eastriver, said the following in response.

"Charlie Rose lives and tapes in NYC, where I happen to reside. For all of the Big Apple's leftward-leaning politics, there is a large, monied, and very influential segment of the population that cares greatly about the US staying in Iraq; forever. Because if the US has an army in Iraq, Israel is considerably safer from foreign invasion.

Sure, terrorists attacks will still happen, and the Palestinian situation will remain unsolved, but there will be absolutely no fear of Syria, Egypt, or Iraq attacking with an army.

Charlie Rose is a sociable guy. He goes to lots of parties, and runs into lots of people. I'm sure he's not immune to a coordinated effort to influence his guest list. For these kinds of seminal, landmark shows (which only roll around about once a year, anniversary-like), it wouldn't be too hard to jiggle things.

Just a respectful observation. And a little inside knowledge of how things work in the un-real world."

Thank you eastriver for putting the nail squarely on the head. Israel wants the U.S. to destroy Arab nations. Israel's allies make sure that government gets its way. Sadly there will be no change from the policies that have made this country the United States of Israel. No one can raise $130 million (Clinton/Obama) without strictly adhering to the constant demand to do what Israel wants.

That is part of the reason that thousands of Iranians are about to be killed by our government. Israel, the outpost of pax Americana in the Middle East, wants it to happen.

Krugman and Obama

Back on December 19, 2007 Talking Points Memo Election Central interviewed New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. Krugman has consistently asked tough questions about Barack Obama's policies. He should. All progressives ought to look askance at a Democrat who says there is a social security crisis or who describes the 60s and 70s as "excessive." The Obama cult don't like Krugman, but so what. They don't like anyone who questions their great saint. There is no reason for eveyone to suspend disbelief.

Hillary Clinton will not get the nomination, despite an expected victory in Pennsylvania. The trends are going in Obama's direction, so it is important to remember why Obama is so problematic. Hopefully someone, somewhere will have the guts to ask him tough questions before November.

"EC: What other things gave rise to your current critique of Obama?

PK: When Obama used the word "crisis" about Social Security it gave me a little bit of a sense of, "Hmmm -- I'm a little worried that my initial concerns were more right than I knew."
To have Obama sort of sounding like the Washington Post editorial page really said among other things that he just hasn't been listening to progressives, for whom the fight against Bush's Social Security scare tactics was really a defining moment. Among the Dems he seems to be the least attuned to what progressives think.
It's a tone thing. I find it a little bit worrisome if we have a candidate who basically starts compromising before the struggle has even begun."

Amen Krugman. Obama is either terribly naive or a complete cynic. Whatever. The end result will be disaster if he wins and governs the way he says he will. There is no compromise with Republicans. Compromise with them means just one thing. Assume the position. Please.

Keep Kucinich in Congress!

"The United States has to not only end this war but reject war as an instrument of policy."

Dennis Kucinich is probably the only member of Congress who would make that statement. He was the only presidential candidate who acknowledged 1,000,000 Iraqi deaths and who advocates for a complete end to occupation.
Help Dennis out at www.kucinich.us

Saudis Prepare for Nuclear Fallout from Iran

I think we can stop asking if Bush will attack Iran. This little gem was reported by the German news service DPA.

"The Saudi-based King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology has prepared a proposal that encapsulates the probabilities of leaking nuclear and radiation hazards in case of any unexpected nuclear attacks in Iran, the Okaz Saudi newspaper said."

Well, that little NIE report last fall was just a minor inconvenience. Bush and Cheney know that if they keep lying they get their way. They also know that the Democrats will do nothing. John Conyers swears that he really, really means it this time. He claims he will hold impeachment hearings if Bush attacks Iran. Puhleeze. Spare us. The Democrats will do nothing and Bush knows it.

I for one can't stomach being an accomplice to a war crime. Not enough people feel the same way, so many thousands of Iranians are about to die.

Hat tip to Chris Floyd.

Wright was Right

"But the common and ordinary wisdom of Black America is inadmissible in mainstream US discourse. In the reality-defying bubble of US corporate media, one does not speak of the genocide and dispossession of Native Americans as “terror”. Comparing the atomic bombings of hundreds of thousands of civilians in World War 2, the snuffing out of two million Vietnamese lives in the sixties and seventies or one million plus Iraqis in the current war is, in mainstream media, strictly off-limits. And any suggestion that US imperial policies in the Middle East, Africa or elsewhere might provoke resistance or retaliation is deemed beyond-the-pale anti-American hate speech." Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report

"For this is where we are in the United States, nearing the end of the Year of Our Lord 2007: the truth is not merely unpleasant, an uninvited guest who makes conversation difficult and awkward. Truth is the enemy; truth is to be destroyed. To attempt to speak the truth on any subject of importance requires a deep reserve of determination, for to speak the truth requires that one first sweep away an infinite number of rationalizations, false alternatives, and numerous other failures of logic and the most rudimentary forms of thought -- as well as the endless lies."
Arthur Silber, Power of Narrative

There you have the Jeremiah Wright story in a nutshell. The truth of America's genocidal beginnings and its imperial atrocities must not be told. Anyone who does manage to break through the bubble and speak truthfully is ground into the dirt.

I don't know why Jeremial Wright thought that his association with Barack Obama could continue or that it should. An association with a presidential candidate should have been anathema to this man who has spent his life speaking truthfully. Was he blinded by the the thought of going to state dinners at the White House? Did he believe Obama when he whispered sweet nothings in his ear?

Wright knew or ought to have known that speaking truthfully and becoming president are simply inconsistent. Truth tellers are not allowed anywhere near the presidency. They can't raise money, they aren't allowed to debate and consequently are erased from memory. Just ask Dennis Kucinich.

Wright was not mistaken in his comments. The United States has terrorized people across the globe. The killing of Americans on 9/11 is no worse than killings anywhere else on earth. All of these things are true.

Wright's only mistake was believing Obama's hype. Anyone else who wants to speak the truth and also join the Obama band wagon should remember this lesson and decide now. Will you follow Obama or will you tell the truth? You can't do both.