i'm not sure where i'm living anymore...

this is for real; it is not a joke -

Louisiana magistrate denies marriage license to interracial couple

A justice of the peace in northern Louisiana has refused to grant a marriage license to an interracial couple because he believes it would harm any children born of that relationship.

“I’m not a racist,” Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in the state's Tangihapoa Parish, told the Hammond, Louisiana, Daily Star. “I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house. My main concern is for the children.”

October 15, 2009, Raw Story

"I'm not a racist?" "I'm not a racist?"

then WTF is he?

as an officer of the law, has he never heard of Loving v Virginia, 1967?

it is a 9-0 decision by the Supreme Court that struck down Virginia's miscegenation law and, consequently, all of laws like it in the country.

i had to read the story twice.

with all the crap that is going on in this country since January 21, 2009, i'm really not sure where i am anymore...

inaugaration day...

the use of fear in the United States...

I would also add hatred, but it would be an oxymoron because hatred is being used to promote the fear.

It's taken me awhile to digest a report at Media Matters from November 13, 2008 -

Women, minorities, autistic children: Conservative radio's vitriol not reserved for Obama

by Eric Boehlert and Jamison Foser on their blog County Fair that is part of the broader Media Matters site.

Today, there was a follow-up to the report - Homophobic Hate Speech "More Than Offensive" - on County Fair that addresses the specific reaction to the LGBTQ venom that the conservative right-wing media spreads.

LGBTQ is only a part of the initial report. It includes smears against immigrants, sex & gender, race and ethnicity, the poor, "those with HIV/AIDS, people with autism, teachers, other radio hosts, comedians perceived as progressive, Democrats in the House and Senate, and the organizations that document their attacks."

Just one example cited in the article by ultra-conservative radio blatherer Michael Savage on his show The Savage Nation:

... Democratic Party's "membership is made up largely of minority blocs ... that are all against the white person..."

Racist, sexist, homophopic, anti-Latino, and all blatant and non-apologetic. All men, and women, are not created equal to these people. No matter what the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution of the United States say, even though these men quote and spout it at every turn as justification for what they say.

Every member of the right-wing media has one thing in common. They all profess to be christian.

Yet when you read the article, listen to these people talk and hear the quotes from not only Savage but others like G. Gordon Liddy, Mark Levin, or Bill Cunningham, you see the blatant blindness they have to the law set down by their Jesus in the gospel of Luke,10: 25–37. There is no love in their words; there is no acceptance in their thinking; nor is there any "Go and do likewise."

These people spread fear and hatred in order to maintain their false sense of power. They are losing hold on what they know, deep down in their psyches, is no longer applicable. We no longer live in a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant world. The christian nation they so highly tout has created a world that wants what they have, and they are fighting to keep it away from them. These radio personalities speak out of both sides of their mouths - at the same time.

I recommend that you click on the links to the Media Matters report and today's follow-up. It is long and at times difficult to read without getting angry, but it puts into one place the hypocrisy and an accurate description of these people as the pharisees of today's world.

These men, and they are all men, are not ignorant; they are not stupid; they are idiots. An idiot, according to a group of fourth graders I taught one year, is someone who is too stupid to know they are ignorant.

fourth graders! that would be nine & ten-year olds...

unbelievable ignorance...

the American Family Association is selling these online for a suggested donation of $81.85, to people who are Looking for an effective way to express your Christian faith this Christmas season...





a burning cross?

this is not a joke. you can click on the link before the photo to see it for yourself, but be careful not to hurt yourself...

these people have lost their minds.

i can't wait to hear the African-American reaction to this...

i'm also wondering if this is not a reaction to the election results of November 4, 2008. subliminal or otherwise...

and, of course, the christianists will scream that people are trying to stop their right of free speech and freedom of religion as an excuse when this makes the news and shows up on more and more websites. when did they become the victims?

one friend's reaction when i emailed him was: I won't have to work all day stringing lights in the front of my house. One cross will do.

i think we may have just officially entered the Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and Scare Tactics all at the same time.

unf****** believable ignorance!


thanks to The Box Turtle Bulletin for the heads-up on this.

it IS about race - part 10...

In New McCain Robocall, Rudy Giuliani Suggests Obama Opposes Jailing Murderers And Rapist

Shades of Willie Horton again.

Giuliani has recorded a new McCain robocall in which he suggests, in effect, that Barack Obama doesn't think sex offenders, drug dealers and murders should have to go to jail, according to Jennifer Henderson, a stay-at-home mom in Maine who tells us she received the call.

Oct. 23, 2008, TPM Election Central

The problem with the call is one of omission. What Obama is opposed to is specific mandatory minimum sentences and that's left out of the robocall.

Here we are hitting the fear factor again - rape, murder, drugs - add to the welfare comparisons the last couple of days and it is the old tactics updated with new target words that leave out the explicitness and transparency by couching terms in PC phrasing.

it is about race - part 9...

from the mouth of the dittoheads' "dear leader"...





In the video dear leader brings up Stanley Kurzt. Kurtz had a post on NROonline yesterday entitled Wright 101: Obama funded extremist Afrocentrists who shared Rev. Wright’s anti-Americanism
. His post used an Afro-centric history/social/emotional growth program as an illustration of what dear leader thinks was a example of making Black youth angry. The progam was one of the grants that Senator Obama & Bill Ayers, working on with Annenberg Foundation* in Chicago funded for around $200,000 out of the millions that the Foundation granted. Both Kurtz and Limbaugh used it to fire up the base against Senator Obams and increase the alleged influence Bill Ayers had.

I was involved personally with the grant and this program, as well as many others through the Annenberg Foundation. It was something that was done to increase awareness of the contributions African cultures added to the world's civilization. The content of the program was excellent. The instructional techniques were lacking because the writers did not have a solid background in education. We modified as we went along, and I learned a lot of things I never knew. Things that, at the time, I personally questioned why they were not part of the regular Social Science curriculum. I most also add that because of the problems delivery was difficult and it was abandoned in less than two years, maybe even one.

The things that were in the program were kept. The facts and histories were solid. Fortunately, a lot of the content is now part of the regular curriculum. AND I never saw one child with whom I was working ever get angry. What I saw were children discovering that they had the potential to contribute and to become whatever they wanted as successful persons.

I question if Kurtz and Limbaugh are consciously aware that they are keeping their biased views under the radar. By using things that they are slanted as facts but are not supported they are not representing both sides of the coin. Of course, the coins they use only have the heads on them.

oh, what a silly question... of course they are aware! it's their nom de guerre...

i probably will be posting more about the Kurtz article later today or this evening. i was livid when i read it. you might want to check out a post on Citizen Crain entitled Hate and Fear. one of the comments had me p***** beyond belief and i had to retort.


*Some history of the Annenberg Foundation: it was founded by Walter Annenberg, a very conservative Republican and close personal friend of Ronald Reagan. It's focus was to aid in the improvement of inner city schools with many aspects. It was pre-NCLB and already encompassed many of the things that NCLB wants to do. The main difference? It provided the money to do it and train staff and parents. Something NCLB requires but does not follow through. one of the comments after my initial response gives a great factual account of the Foundation.

i have a confession to make...

months and months ago, i stopped reading Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish.

He was making me crazy. At every turn during the Democratic Primaries he did nothing but dis the Clintons, and sometimes what he wrote was like nails on a chalkboard to me.

So, my confession is that I have started reading him again. He has stopped berating Bill and Hillary and has taken a stand for Obama and reports objectively on the hypocrisies of the GOP and the Mcpains. Though, I still disagree with him on many things and I don't read him closely, I'm back to reading, or at least scanning him, on a daily basis.

I had to make this confession because he posted something today with which I completely agree: Clintonites for Obama

Though I still believe that Hillary would be the better president for addressing the problems we're in right now, I certainly have shown my support for Senator Obama, and not just because he is the lesser of two evils. In comparison, there is very little different between he and Hillary when it comes to issues. I just think she would be stronger for many reasons.

Back to the post Andrew wrote that I mentioned above. He quotes a story in the Washington Post [Hillary Clinton for Supreme Court?]

Voters attending Mrs. Clinton's homecoming rally, a campaign event for her one-time rival, said they will now back Mr. Obama, and most of them, unprompted, told The Washington Times they want him to choose their former first lady for the high court.

Sullivan writes that he has been pushing this idea for years.

I wholeheartedly agree. She would be a logical choice and a brilliant addition to SCOTUS. She has the background and experience. She would be a great replacement for John Paul Stevens, who has gone above and beyond the call of duty. [I might add he's a great man. I met him in the 1990's and was completely won over to his accomplishments and history after listening to him for five minutes, and it was a social event.]

Politically, it would be a brilliant stroke for Obama. If Hillary is on the court, he wouldn't have to worry about any future contest with her.

Let's wait and see what happens. First, of course, Senator Obama has to be elected. My cynicism prevents me from saying he is the shoo-in that many are prophesizing. I don't actually trust the American electorate to do what is right. I have run into too many people who say the right thing, but they do the opposite. They don't want to be discovered for the hypocrites they are, and I still think this election IS about race when you get right down to it to many of these voters.

this is soooo sad to me...

it is about race - part 8...

of course, the guy who posted it immediately took it down from his website with explanation, i mean an excuse:

I never, ever wished any harm come to Obama, at all. I was simply making a point and doing exactly what the left is doing to Sarah Palin. That is all, nothing more to see, move along...

Thank you to Pam's House Blend for bringing this to people's attention. read the entire post here: This bigot wanted to own it - Obama and a noose

there is no comment necessary about this ad. it is vile and detestable. it would make Abraham Lincoln, the Republican, not just turn in his grave but make him sick.

if McCain makes no comment about it, i should say state in no uncertain terms that it is despicable, he not only does not deserve to be president, he deserves to be considered for dismissal from the human species.

this sort of thing really pisses me off...

it is about race - part 7...

Palin Supporter Brings Racist Monkey "Obama" Doll to Rally

from YouTube.com

no comment...

the truth is just too obvious.

it is about race - part 6: with ANOTHER reason why it shouldn't be...

My friend's mother sent me this and I made sure I sent it to all my Black friends. I know they had a great chuckle with it. It is ANOTHER reason why this election should not be about race - this in a cute, funny way...

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye...


This was written by a black gentleman in Texas years ago and is so funny. What a great sense of humor. And creativity!!!


When I was born, I was BLACK ,

When I grew up, I was BLACK ,

When I went in the sun, I stayed BLACK,

When I got cold, I was BLACK ,

When I was scared, I was BLACK ,

When I was sick, I was BLACK ,

And when I die, I'll still be BLACK .

NOW, You 'white' folks....

When you're born, you're PINK,

When you grow-up, you're WHITE ,

When you go in the sun, you get RED,

When you're cold, you turn BLUE,

When you're scared, you're YELLOW,

When you get sick, you're GREEN,

When you bruise, you turn PURPLE ,

And when you die, you look GRAY.

So who y'all callin' COLORED folks?

it IS about race - part 5...

I wanted to post this in case anyone missed it.

from The Smoking Gun

"Keep The N*gger Out Of Office"

Cops: Man threatened voter officials over tardy registration card

OCTOBER 8--Angered by a delay in the receipt of his voter registration card, a Louisiana man today threatened election officials, claiming that he urgently needed to cast a ballot to "keep the nigger out of office," according to police. Wade Williams, 75, was arrested this morning on a felony terrorizing charge after allegedly calling the Registrar of Voters and warning that he would come to the state office and empty his shotgun unless he got his registration card. Using profanity and racial slurs, Williams told a state official "about needing to vote to 'keep the nigger out of office," according to an Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office affidavit, a copy of which you'll find here. Though the document does not name the candidate to which Williams is so violently opposed, it seems likely he was referring to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. After being arrested at his Monroe home, Williams was booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center, where the below mug shot was snapped. En route to the jail, he "continued his 'tirade' about niggers and also stated that he had a shotgun, but had it hidden at his residence," reported Lt. Michael Judd.

you can see pictures of the man if you click on the link to Smoking Gun

The man is blatant and more honest than McCain and Palin are. They are trying subtly to objectify Senator Obama. They are pandering to the fact that people in this day and age know that it is not acceptable to say out loud what they think when it comes to prejudice, whether it be racial, ethnic, feminist, sexual orientation, or others.

Though I despise what Wade Williams said, he was honest. Mcpain is not, and what they are doing to hide it is attack Obama for his honesty, trust and past. It's a tried and true practice that goes back millenia.

ask Socrates...

it is about race - part 4: don't let it be...

I have had a political crush on Donna Brazile for a long time. She is forward thinking, open and honest in what she reports and comments. She is not afraid to say things as they are and this is an example of how race cannot be part of the 2008 election.

The video below is from a panel discussion the New Yorker Magazine held last Saturday, October 4, 2008, moderated by Jeffrey Toobin. It is the part with Ms. Brazile pointedly saying that the election has to get down to the issues and she puts things into a real perspective making it as obvious as she can that this election is one of the most important in U.S. history.





Here is the corresponding story on the New Yorker website: DONNA BRAZILE: “IF I WERE RUNNING THIS CAMPAIGN” where you can view the video of the entire panel discussion.

It frightens me that we could go backwards as she implies explicitly and not just on race.

An idea that has been rolling around in my head for the last couple of weeks is a comparison of the McCain campaign to the all out-fight the Catholic church waged in the Middle Ages against the Guttenberg Printing Press. The church wanted to keep people ignorant so that they could keep control of their thoughts, their lives, and their money - complete enslavement.

The church fought to keep the invention of Gutenberg's printing press under wraps, because if people could easily get printed material, more would want to learn how to read. If people know how to read, their minds can be open to new ideas that others have and form their own ideas as well. The church realized that knowledge was dangerous to their control.

Sadly, this still goes on in some places in the world, e.g. the Taliban in Afghanistan, and other groups, even in this country, struggle to control what people think by feeding on their fears, by trying to stifle the media through intimidation and innuendo, and by pushing fundamentalism on the country.

i'm sure Jefferson, Madison, Adams et. al. are somewhere shaking their heads at what they are seeing...

it IS about race - part 3...

McPain's new ad makes the point that Obama knows nothing about the economy, but it forgets the fact that John McCain has said that he knows nothing about the economy himself. His major adviser is Phill Gramm who's leadership in deregulating the banking and financial markets put us into the great mess we are in now. [You can view the complete ad here.]

It also mentions nothing about his own campaign manager, Rick Davis, whose company is/was a paid lobbyist for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the tune of $30,000 a month bringing $2,000,000 to him. Well, that and also there are a number of other of McCain's staff members who worked to aid the two discredited mortgage companies. [McCain Aide’s Firm Was Paid by Freddie Mac - New York Times, September 24, 2008]

Last week Mr. McCain accused Obama of staying mum on the financial crisis while he kept changing his story. The economy is strong. The economy is in trouble. No regulation. Wall Street needs oversight and regulation.

Mr. Obama stated that Congress and Administration needed to work things out and it would be imprudent for either he or Mcpain to make it political. Oh, and Obama said this while he held a meeting in public to show he was not just taking a backseat with some of his financial advisers - Warren Buffett, Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, Former Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers and Paul O'Neill, and Former Chair Of The Council Of Economic Advisers, Laura Tyson. Sort of difficult to question credentials like that.

Back to the ad:

In it, Mcpain focuses on Franklin Delano Raines, who is not one of Obama's adviser, though members of his staff have had conversations with Raines asking advice on some elements such as housing and mortgages. Both Obama and Raines say that there is no official advisory capacity. Of course, there are some questions about Mr. Raines work at Fannie Mae, and no one is denying that.

Of all the possible people that Mcpain could have brought into focus in the video, why did they pick Franklin Raines? I propose that it is very transparent. If you didn't see the Mcpain ad, here is a picture of Mr. Raines -




hellllloooooooooo...

What is the subliminal message here? Actually, i don't think it's very well concealed what is going on. it's pretty overt that the intentions are very clear....

you can put 2 + 2 together; it's just more and more about race...

"elitist" is the new racial slur...

Stop and think about it. The Mcpains are taking great pains to label Obama as elitist. This in spite of the fact that McCain is a celebrity whore, owns a lot of property, is married to a very rich woman who sells alcohol, and has a new supporter in Lady Rothschild [see the LA Times article Lady Rotschild Thinks Obama Is Elitist]. I have brought this up in a couple of other posts [it IS about race...; as of late...; it IS about race - part 2...].

After watching Bill Maher last night, I realized and am convinced that ELITIST is being used as the replacement term for UPPITY and one that white folk can identify better than uppity. It's so transparent.

One of the basest fears among older white people is that African-Americans believe that they will become or already think they are better than white folk. This is nothing new nor is it anything others haven't talked about. It can also be said about impressions of Jews that the white folk have. They hold to the Old Country beliefs that have been around for centuries.

The Republicans have always bartered on fear and racism. Willie Horton is a prime example. It may just have cost the Dems the election in 1988; at the least it added to it. The Repubs made a scary picture [to most white folk] of a man and turned it into caricature. The incident concerned Horton, who was on a Massachusett's furlough from prison program who twice raped a local woman after pistol-whipping, knifing, binding, and gagging her fiancé. He then stole the car belonging to the man he had assaulted, but was later captured by police after a chase. The subtle message? Do you want your wife or daughter to meet someone like this on a darkened street? Of course, Willie Horton was black.

They are doing it again. Only this time they are being much subtler. They think that by pretending that the American electorate is now smart enough to see what is happening fear will work again.

It will.

Maher said on his show last night that he didn't believe that the American electorate is smart enough to see through the b.s. and has repeatedly shown that for the last 30 years of elections. Andrew Sullivan, appearing on the show, said that they are smart enough to know. and see through it all. Maher's response, "You're not American."

The expression on Sullivan's face was priceless and he was speechless. He was coming from the point of view of a person who chose to become an American citizen and who cannot see the subtleties of our history from anything but books and not living it. To what he should be likening it is the centuries old conflict in Northern Ireland. With that he has experience. The situations are quite similar. Rather than color being at the base of the problem, it is religion.

Earlier in the show Sullivan said the key to Obama winning was telling five of your friends who are not bigots to get out there and vote. Maher said to him, "How do you know they are not bigots?" It caught Sullivan off guard briefly, until he stammered something like, "You know your friends." No, we don't!

I mentioned in my post, it IS about race..., of friends I have known for 40 years who said they would not vote for Obama because he is black. I was shocked. I never expected. this They are extremely intelligent and cultured people. They have been married for over 50 years. Maher's point hit home when he gave his response to Sullivan. We don't know.

but..., i am going to agree with Sullivan on one thing. we need to do everything we can to make certain that people do get out and vote.

even if we have to use the tactic that their vote is one against Tsar George, because Mcpain is actually worse! [that's for another discussion, i.e. rant, later]

it IS about race - part 2...

After my previous post about race playing a part in this election, Pam Spaulding over at Pam's House Blend put up a post that bolsters my concern into the wider political field:

Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland calls Obama 'uppity'

"Just from what little I've seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity," Westmoreland said. Asked to clarify that he used the word "uppity," Westmoreland said, "Uppity, yeah.

I suppose that my first reaction should be, "Well, he's from Georgia. Whatta ya expect?" but that is unconscionable on my part. This would be stooping to his level, and I know people from Georgia who have no inklings like his.

I fear that issues are not going to be the deciding factor in this election. It will be interesting to see if McCain puts himself above the fray in his speech tonight.

and... no, i will not be watching it. i much prefer to read it like i did Palin's. A speech that when read rather than listened to (i have heard parts) is really rather boring and does not deal with any issues or say anything of substance. her lipstick line was amusing but (to be catty) her shade would look better on a pit pull. [she has opened herself up to a lot of hits for that line in the coming two months.]

it IS about race...

I am disappointed by some things I recently heard about people I have known and cared for many years. I must admit that I never expected it and I am wondering if there is an undercurrent that is more prevalent than anyone expects going on in this election cycle.

What I was told is that they are not going to vote for Obama because he is black!

I suppose that I shouldn't be as surprised as I am. I worked in a predominantly African-American public school for many years and also have very close African-American friends who have taken me into their families. I know first hand from them what they sometimes go through and have witnessed myself. I have never had a problem with race or color and that is thanks to the teaching from my parents.

I also thought that most people I know are beyond this. I'm personally hurt by it, but there is nothing I can do about it.

though i am often saying "they'll get over it, and when they do, they'll realize there was nothing to get over in the first place." i don't think that i will be able to get over this. it is truly something that is beyond my comprehension...