George Allen’s racism is now front and center in his campaign. This all came to the fore when he used the racist term “macaca” in reference to his opponent’s campaign worker who was attending an Allen event. This word was commonly used by French Tunisians in reference to people of Indian extraction. Allen says he just made up the word but, it was discovered his mother was French Tunisian.

Then, more recently, even more allegations have come forward from associates of Allen who knew Allen as a young man and say his use of the word “nigger” was very much a common thing for him and he has a fondness for Confederate symbols. He issued an apology, of sorts, because he had been “slow to grasp the pain that Old South symbols like the Confederate flag cause black people”.

Well, now that all this is out in the open, Allen has been scrambling to show just how racist he’s not and this may have a silver lining for black farmers. Read More… »

Popularity: 24% [?]

Well, it looks like Bush got what he wanted. He has the trifecta: he can torture detainees, keep them from ever seeing the inside of a courtroom and he will not have to face war crimes charges for violating the Geneva Conventions. It is truly a sad crescendo to the so-called “war on terror”. But, here’s an even sadder statement: he got some help from a dozen Democrats to do it.

The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 65-34. This number includes 12 Democratic votes in favor of the travesty. Let’s share the names of those senators here:

Tom Carper (DE), Tim Johnson (SD), Mary Landrieu (LA), Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Joe Lieberman (CT), Bob Menendez (NJ), Bill Nelson (FL), Ben Nelson (NE), Mark Pryor (AR), Jay Rockefeller (WV), Ken Salazar (CO), and Debbie Stabenow (MI)

This is a list of people who will find themselves on the wrong side of history on this bill. We have told the war that it is okay to torture and to redefine the Geneva Conventions on how we treat detainees. Sadly, we can now expect that other countries will do the same when it comes to our military personnel.

So, let’s give these Dems the well-deserved Middle-Finger Award!

Popularity: 12% [?]

2nd Lieutenant Emily Perez was no stranger to firsts. She was the first minority female command sargeant in the history of West Point. Tragically, she also became another first: she was the first female graduate of West Point to die in Iraq.

On September 12, Lt. Perez was killed when a roadside bomb exploded under her Humvee.

It appears that she died doing the job she loved. She was raised in a military family and a soldier of strong character.

I’ll withold my personal opinions on the war, just this time, to honor the death of a woman, a soldier, who died much too young.

I salute you, sister.

Popularity: 12% [?]

The Maryland governor’s race is heating up and at the heart of it are two election-year mainstays: race and crime. On one side is Baltimore mayor Martin O’Malley. On the other side is incumbent Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Between the two is a hot potato: Baltimore’s record of arrests of black residents.

In a new ad for the Ehrlich campaign, Baltimore attorney William H. “Billy” Murphy Jr slams O’Malley with claims that his police department has unlawfully arrest thousands of black residents in Baltimore.

“[O'Malley] sanctions and directs the arrests of thousands of Baltimore city people -predominantly black - without ever charging them with a crime,” Murphy says in the 60-second spot running on black radio stations in the Baltimore and Washington markets.

The sad part is that you have two people who are passing the buck. Mayor O’Malley heads a city with one of the highest murder rates in the country fueled by a huge drug trade. However, Ehrlich happens to be Governor of the state in which this city resides. So, wouldn’t an attack on the problems of a city in his state also reflect negatively on him?

If this is what passes for a legitimate debate of the issues, I am saddened for the people of Maryland today. In this case, you have people who are both at culpability for a problem playing political football with the lives and freedom of everyday people.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Over the last several years, I have read stories, both historical and contemporary, of how discriminatory lending practices have adversely affected minority people. I have read of how people, unable to get a fair shake, end up paying more for the same loans. In some cases, people unable to get conventional loan servicing, have fallen victim to predatory lending practices that have cost them homes, family farms and businesses. These people were denied an access to capital that similarly-situated (or, in some cases, worse-off) white customers did not face.

So, it heartens me to hear when a lender is held accountable for discriminating in how they approve loans. Southstar Lending, LLC has negotiated a $500,000 settlement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over its discrimination against African American and Hispanic borrowers.

According to a March 2006 complaint filed by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), Southstar refused to make loans on row houses in Baltimore, Maryland valued at less than $100,000. An overwhelming majority (two-thirds) of Baltimore’s row houses are owned by African Americans and Hispanics.

NCRC will use the settlement money to fund initiatives that battle housing discrimination.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Are you an aspiring racist rap group with no hope of breaking into the mainstream? If so, what will you do to sell records? Here’s an idea: promote them using prisons.

Apparently, RBC records thinks this is a great idea. They are having one of their groups, Woodpile (a group will affiliations with the Woods, a white power prison gang), disseminate their promotional materials to incarcerated friends and family members. The hope is that their prison buzz will turn to street sales. Read More… »

Popularity: 14% [?]

It’s no secret that, in general, girls with loving fathers tend to fare better. Often, having a father in their lives can delay girls’ sexual activity. However, a controversial new study proposes something even more interesting.

According to the results of a survey being reported in the current American Journal of Human Biology, the pheremones emitted by a father may delay the onset of puberty in girls.

Pheremones are describe as “chemicals that are secreted by animals that influence the behavior or development of others of the same species.”

This obviously works on lower animals but, if this study is to be believed, it could also be working on humans. Read More… »

Popularity: 14% [?]

If you have seen the news over the last several months, it’s no secret that black males are facing some huge educational hurdles. Our dropout rates are, in a word, uncacceptable. This means that too many brothers will resign themselves to a fate of low-paying jobs, unemployment or illegal activities.

So, it is good to see that someone is actually wanting to address this problem head-on. In Nashville, a new plan for a private school for black boys has been planned. The school will be called Bridges Academy.

The plans call for the new school to be opened in downtown Nashville next fall with a starting class of 50 fifth-graders and 50 sixth-graders. Future plans are for the schoold to open up for boys in grades 5-12. Read More… »

Popularity: 12% [?]

I give credit where credit is due. Arnold Schwarzenegger has done what most black colleges have failed to do. He has signed a bill that will ban the state’s pension funds from investing in companies that do business with the Sudan.

This sends a huge message out about the level of commitment, in some corners, to end this crisis as California has the largest state pension fund in the country.

State funds managers say that any investments in the Sudan would already be small but, what this does is place greater pressure on the governors of other states, who have not already done so, to call for similar measures.

If we can’t appeal to the humanity of people, we must hit them where they do feel it — in their wallets.

I never thought I would say this but, kudos to Gov. Schwarzenegger.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Growing up, I saw how certain crimes were more prevalent among offenders of certain racial backgrounds. So, at one time, if I heard about crimes like those allegedly committed by Tiffany Hall of East St. Louis, Ill., the face of a white woman would have come to me.

And I would have been wrong.

Hall is charged in the deaths of Jimella Tunstall and her fetus. Tunstall died as a result of having her throat slashed. Her fetus was cut from her womb.

Today, it is being reported that Hall may have also kidnapped and drowned Tunstall’s other 3 children, ages 7, 2 and 1. Read More… »

Popularity: 12% [?]