GOP Senators OK With Race-Based Sotomayor Attacks:Silence is Acceptance

Generally silence is not considered acceptance unless you receive a benefit from your failure to speak, however, the GOP it seems what to have it both ways. On the one hand, they are allowing such Republican luminaries as Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich to falsely characterize Judge Sotamoyor a "racist", while others in the party call for a respectful debate over her nomination with the other.

In essences the Republicans seem to want the benefit of saying crap on conservative radio; accepting the benefit, while returning the proverbial box unopened. Sorry, if you will not strongly denounce and call for a stop to this language, then you are accepting the benefit—your silence or as Jeff Sessions put it " I am not going to baby-sit conservative commentators," can be tacit acceptance to the language.

I am not shocked, but I am disturbed by the volatile tactic as it will allow Republicans to use the most vile and incendiary language possible. The biggest problem I have with the whole Sotomayor nomination debate is the hypocrisy of Rush Limbaugh, who made the following statement on his weekly rant about Judge Sotomayor, "She brings a form of bigotry or racism to the court." Oh wait, let me in his words "soften" that a bit reverse racist, as if putting a pillow around a Molotov cocktail will make it burn less hot.

I was floored by the sheer hypocrisy, because this is a man who called the current President of the United States, a grown man; a "man-child," that is, a synonym for a "boy," and a "magic negro." Yet he is going to talk about someone being racist. However, based on these tactics I believe the GOP are opening themselves up to a potential landmine.

Think about it....Are Rush and the Republicans playing the Reverse Race Card? Do they want to open up the Racial debate with some of the Racially-and Sexism-charged excrement that Rush's mouth that the GOP fails to denounce?

Like I said Silence is Acceptance.

Disrespectful -

You know I cannot take it anymore; the level of disrespect for the First Lady is ridiculous and too a certain extent there is a racial element b/c she is the First African-American First Lady and they are not judging her on a standard of our Black Beauties. Also what did Jay mean that Michelle was waiting 200 years to put her arm around the Queen of England--did you mean that Black Women were waiting 200 years to be seen as equal?

The door for this crap was opened by Iman, a fellow black woman, who said the First Lady was No Great Beauty but she is Smart. Wow, thanks Iman for that backhand slap of a compliment to the First Lady. Now I know this is coming from a woman who got plastic surgery to probably gain European-like features to meet a certain indoctrinated standard of beauty.That being said, her standards of what a beautiful black woman are flawed, as it’s a European standard.

Nevertheless that how the door was open, because now its kosher to say horrible things about the First Lady since a black woman said it first. The hate parade has started.

Yesterday, I came down to the shop, and heard that some has-been Z-list personality tries to take a shot at the beauty of the First Lady, using a standard that is not even appropriate for her race. If you think that the typical African-American woman on a standard of beauty that does not represent the broad range of women--you are wrong. She is African-American; she has the features and grace brains and beauty of Angela Basset.

But no you pick a basket ball player because she works out and does not look some malnourished 90 lb model on the catwalk with European features. You do realize that most women do not look like that; wrong standard you washed up hack

Who are you comparing her to Jay? What standard of beauty are you using? Whose body dimensions and figures are you judging the First Lady by; other African-American women—I think not. I mean do you think all black women look like Hallie Barry or Beyonce Knowles and the rest are basketball player? I would like to know?

Well Jay here is the rub; Women come in all shapes and sizes, so your point of reference is off. If you are going to judge the Mahogany Beauty of the First Lady I suggest you pick up an Ebony, Jet, Black Hair, or any other magazine devoted to the beauty of women of color and study it.

Now.... What did Jay mean that Michelle was waiting 200 years to put her arm around the Queen of England--did you mean that Black Women were waiting 200 years to be seen as equal? Black women have always been treated equally because when it came to the racial track record of our country; it never married if you were male or female--you just had to be Black to be shown the ignorance you have shown. I mean if this is the best you have no wonder you are on the Z-list.

Credit Card Industry Aims to Profit From Sterling Payers

The feeding frenzy is beginning as a recession causes the U.S. Government, for the first time in years to protect Main Street American interests from the unending greed of creditors and Corporate America. It is because finally the Congress and the current administration are actually trying to help consumers. Now they have decided if I cannot have one, then I will take the other.


In their desperation the Credit Card Industry is turning on their once favored child; the cardholders who paid their bills on time. In addition, the Banks are blaming the favored child and others for the problems they helped cause in the first place. I did not use to be this way, as reported by Andrew Martin, in the New York Times:


“Banks used to give credit cards only to the best consumers and charge them a flat interest rate of about 20 percent and an annual fee. But with the relaxing of usury laws in some states, and the ready availability of credit scores in the late 1980s, banks began offering cards with a variety of different interest rates and fees, tying the pricing to the credit risk of the cardholder.

That helped push interest rates down for many consumers, but they soared for riskier cardholders, who became a significant source of revenue for the industry. The recent economic downturn challenged that formula, and banks started dumping the riskiest customers and lowering their credit limits in earnest as the recession accelerated. Now, consumers who pay their bills off every month are issuing a rising chorus of complaints about shortened grace periods, new hidden fees and higher interest rates.”


No one told you to rely on a business model built on the greedy practices of “ high penalties” “annual fees” and “interest rate hikes” ---you gave people to had dodgy credit and bet on them failing. I mean the industry cannot even feign ignorance, because of the readily available credit reports (DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THOSE).

Now you are going to punish the good child, who did what you asked and beat them mercilessly with annual fees and penalties, while tell them it’s their fault you had to beat them…..I know that is a harsh criticism but it is a true one. Ok, here is a better one, its loan sharking in a sense; because you are hoping, the person will fail so you can get even more money and chain the person to you forever by paying outrageous interest.


However, this is only the beginning of what I foresee as a huge challenge for the Obama administration. Credit Company’s are culling the herd of risky cardholders they are raising the interests rates, and the Senate handed them a huge victory by not capping interest rates, so banks can continue to lift them, albeit at a slower pace and with greater disclosure.


Hmm, I think I will call that one a draw. Banks are already capitalizing on the opening though as they are expected to look at reviving annual fees, curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs and charging interest immediately on a purchase instead of allowing a grace period of weeks, according to bank officials and trade groups” …


In my book, such actions will only shrink revenue from existing cardholders, so the argument that that increased regulation will cause Banks to issue few credit cards at a greater cost to current cardholders is bunk. Do not believe the BS, this is a $20 billion industry so I doubt it will just go away. Money is green and they will find a way to get it. The cards will flow.

What gets me is that credit card companies appear to be showing the flawed rationality of career felons or carjackers , in my view, and on that note I will end with the following statement in the New York Times,


Austan Goolsbee, an economic adviser to President Obama said that while the credit card industry had the right to make a reasonable profit as long as its contracts were in plain language and rule-breakers were held accountable, its current practices were akin to “a series of carjackings.”

“The card industry is giving the argument that if you didn’t want to be carjacked, why weren’t you locking your doors or taking a different road?” Mr. Goolsbee said.

Michael Steele: Gay Marriage Is Bad For Small Businesses-Michael Steele: The Man with the Plan

I was watching some old episodes of the Tudors, the hit Showtime Original about King Henry VIII the other day, and I began to thumb through a few books on the politics of his reign, particularly Protestant Reformation of the Church in England to the Church of England. I decided to bone-up on the ruthless efficiency of King Henry VIII in collaborating with Protestant Reformers to bring about his desires for a male heir, as I enjoy fact and fiction. The next night, I was hanging out with my Capitol Crew, a group of Latte Liberals, Cappuccino Conservatives, Blue Dogs, and Red Rocks ( the name I use for the ultra-right), and somehow we began talking about Michael Steele and his “tactics” of his “master plan” to rebrand the GOP, much to the chagrin of my Conservative colleagues. Nevertheless, through all the political hoop-la and banter, a book on my friends coffee table caught my eye, The Prince by Machiavelli, that is when I said it….are we underestimating Steele?

Could Michael Steele really have a real plan to reform the GOP; are all his antics a superfuge for a Machiavellian scheme of a Henry VII-like plan to partner with moderates and bring about his desires to expand the base into new area? Then I saw the article Gay Marriage Is Bad For Small Business, on the Huffington Post, and the answer was plain…H—NO!!!

I mean come on ; —now this is Keith Olbermann WTF moment guys.

Republicans can reach a broader base by recasting gay marriage as an issue that could dent pocketbooks as small businesses spend more on health care and other benefits, GOP Chairman Michael Steele said Saturday. Steele said that was just an example of how the party can retool its message to appeal to young voters and minorities without sacrificing core conservative principles. Steele said he used the argument weeks ago while chatting on a flight with a college student who described herself as fiscally conservative but socially liberal on issues like gay marriage.

Steele made the further blunder-filled and illogical analogy of gay marriage as follows:

“Now all of a sudden I’ve got someone who wasn’t a spouse before, that I had no responsibility for, who is now getting claimed as a spouse that I now have financial responsibility for,” Steele told Republicans at the state convention in traditionally conservative Georgia. “So how do I pay for that? Who pays for that? You just cost me money.”

1. Mr. Steele I would love to see your marriage. I mean did you have this sentiment when you proposed, or did it hit you after saying I do? I mean lets take your statement and turn it around…

“ Now all of sudden I’ve got someone who wasn’t a spouse before, I had no responsibility for her, and she is now getting claimed as my spouse that I now have a financial responsibility for..So how do I pay for that? You cost me money”

I can answer your question quite easily Mr. Steele:

1. It is called getting a job to support your family, or in the modern age both people getting jobs to support their family. I do understand that its hard in the current recession that Bush left us, but we all have to make sacrifices to live. Yes, Mr. Chairman it does cost money to live, and provide for one’s spouse but did you think pennies would fall from heaven? I mean did you not shell out money for the license that was an indication of some type of cost involved in the decision.

Come on Mr. Chairman. I do not know what to say about your continued antics, they are getting old and cliche. What’s next, Sir? I do know one thing this is not a plan by any stretch of the imagination; its a cluster flop( I would have used the other “f” word but I am being nice.)

You cannot claim that every foul-up and foible is part of your master plan, unless your plan is to fail and fail miserably. You cannot comprimise to modernize your party, either you are going to moderate the message or you are not. I got to tell you that many in your party have expressed the sentiment that they will not bend to the moderates, RINO, etc….. So what is the plan Mr. Chairman?

However, I do agree with this statement though about the “hip-hop makeover “You don’t have to wear your pants cut down to here or the big bling” that is true but you do have to act competent Mr. Chairman. I truly hope for the sake of our multi-party system this final word figures into your plan…

competency…

One more thing, Since you are hell bent on having a more modern hip-hop makeover of your party—Please remember hip-hop, true hip-hop was not about “bling-bling”, etc…it was about positivity, self-awareness, and empowerment through education and morality. In saying this I would urge you to listen to “Common- I use to Love Her” to start and maybe—you will be on the right track.

Picture of the Day

I was on Jack and Jill Politics today, and saw the picture next to the morning thread with the following caption:

President Barack Obama bends over so the son of a White House staff member can pat his head during a family visit to the Oval Office May 8, 2009. The youngster wanted to see if the President’s haircut felt like his own.
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)


I smiled as I read the caption, while thoughts of my niece O, and my nephew, D, filled my head and smiled even wider because they can grow up in a world where the President is just like the two of them. Young, Black, Intelligent, and Strong


You know folks, after living in the Deep South for most of my life, I find myself still in awe when I see pictures like this one. I remember growing up in my classrooms and getting asked the question of "what do you want to be when you grow up?" and the ridicule if you said "I want to be president someday." But who is laughing now !!!


Ok, I had my moment lol.

Top House GOP Recruiter Wants Pro-Choice Candidates

Wow, when I read this article on Huffington Post today, I wonders did the GOP finally get the memo?!! Yes, this is the way to make your party relevant in the 21^st century guys; elect republicans with “cross-over” appeal, or what I like to call some of my GOP friends, ”Cappuccino Republicans” . The day of the Rock-Ribbed, Raving Bachmann-Limbaugh like Republican should be left in the 20^th century and the G.W. Bush-Cheney eras. Our country deserves a government of the people, both Democrat and Republican thinkers, and not the party of the zealots.

I was so happy to hear that California Representative Kevin McCarthy, the chief recruiter for House Republicans, said he wants his party to select candidates based less on ideology and more on their chances of winning. The goal, he said, is to seek out prospects who are ethnically diverse, female, less partisan and even supportive of abortion rights. (If we could get them to throw in some who backed civil rights, climate change, torture, the stimulus package and immigration reform…Woo, I might believe you, but what about the base?

I was also pleasantly surprised that Eric Cantor told Bloomberg, The essence of being a Republican is the belief in free markets, the belief in individual responsibility, and the belief in the faith of the individual. This is what our party is about." Wow, can I hold you accountable for that sentiment Mr. Cantor, as I know Rush, the Neo Cons, Religious Rights, etc will totally NOT go for such a GOP.

In addition to these august figures of the party let me not leave out NRSC Chairman John Cornyn, who said:

Republicans have to "get away from this attitude that people who disagree 20 or 30 percent of the time somehow are not welcome in the Republican Party, particularly if we're going to maintain our relevance and grow our numbers."

Mr. Cornyn did you mention this to Dick Cheney, who chose Rush Limbaugh, who carries the ultra right-wing party line, over a person who disagrees with you 20-30 percent of the time, Colin Powell? What about Michelle Bachmann, Ann Coulter, David Vitter, etc… What will they say? Do you not fear a backlash, because it seems this is a Johnny come lately, or I want to be like Obama ( Yes, I am making a pun of I want to be like Mike) and the Democrats strategy?

I have a sincere doubt that ultra-right elements in your party are going to let you do it, or allow you to push such candidates down their throat with the vague threat “ we can let the Democrats keep the majority... they are crazy, be afraid, be very afraid and please vote for us…

Come on, guys you had a majority for 6 years and two wars, a economic recession bordering on a Great Depression, trade deficits that make us less safe, and a tainted image abroad because you chose to torture ( as justified by Cheney) of America the Beautiful….and I should be afraid of a Democrat majority. I just don’t see it, especially with Bachmann, Newt, and Uncle Dickey spewing their collective swill on the airwaves..

One Drop? WTF?

I was reading the Field Negro blog today, about Nick Cannon’s comments about Eminem as follows:


“Maybe I'm going too far, but I thought we moved beyond the days where white men could spew vulgar obscenities at our beautiful queens and get away with it. What's next? Source: Rap-Up.com Cannon continues:

Are we going to let this trash say something horrible about our lovely first lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama? Or would Marshall have talked sideways out of his neck like this about Oprah Winfrey? This act of racist bigotry cannot go unnoticed. Calling my wife a "c-word" and a "whore" is way worse than anything Don Imus could have ever said. So trust, repercussions will be served. Cannon raises an interesting point. Given that Eminem has used racist, derogatory language to describe black people, and black women in particular, in previous lyrics, why do so many black people lap up what he lays down? Reading the comment threads surrounding this drama, I am surprised by the number of women and black people defending Eminem when Asher Roth just got excoriated for joking about "nappy headed hoes." And rightly so, I might add.Please explain it to me. Why does the black community continue to support Eminem despite his racist lyrics?"


It seems, Field had a particular problem with Cannon’s comment as he commented as follows:


“Nick, there won't be any repercussions from moi, because, sorry, I am just not feeling your wife Mariah as one of our "beautiful Queens". Yeah yeah yeah, I know she passes the "one drop rule" and the whole nine. But in my humble opinion, to be a black "Queen", you have to first consider yourself a black Queen.”


Ok, folks what is up with the miscegenation rules in the modern era? Why are we still trying to categorize who is black enough to be identified as part of the black race?


Now let me jump right in on this one-drop rule Bull, and cut to the chase because trying to categorize ourselves as black enough or not black enough is beyond the Cannon-Eminem feud. Field you need to get off the one drop rule thing field, its the same ole thing from the election, is Obama black enough? President Barak Obama, an intelligent, successful man, CHOSE to identify himself as African-American and what does he get for it –are you black enough? WTF!! What the hell, that is nothing but foolishness and you know it Field! Its offensive now to try to categorize someone’s ethnicity by the amount of blackness one possesses. Obama could have done a Tiger Woods on and thrown us away; instead, he stood strong despite characterizations as not being black enough, by a stereotype-saturated media.


Do not get me wrong I think it is questionable that Nick wants to play the “race card”, at this moment when he is actually affected ---Where was he when Eminem first came out, if he was so offended by his racist rants? Nor did I hear him back Oprah, when she fronted Ludacris on her show. Where was his outrage for the portrayal of our Black Queens, when for years many African-American rappers have labeled them as B’s and Whores. In addition, where was his spontaneous Afro centrism when they were calling Black Kings the N word? In that sense I can slightly feel your comment on you have to first want to be a Black Queen, but the one-drop rule… No, that is NOT happening