“The huge calamity of Katrina and the need to rebuild the Gulf Coast provides Congress and state legislatures with the opportunity to implement big ideas that could begin to transform America in the first decade of the 21st century. We have a golden opportunity to “green line” the Delta and Gulf Coast with government policies that facilitate and empower the private sector and private citizens.”

-Jack Kemp, Human Events, Sept. 2005

Before the flood waters had receded and long before the dead had been counted, the privatization vultures were circling. What was seen was a New Orleans to be molded in the white, conservative image of “free market” capitalism that excluded even the most basic needs of the people whose lives had been thrown in the chaos and whose families had been dispersed across the U.S. in a manner not much unlike enslaved Africans who saw their families sold off and scattered to the four winds.

What we have seen is black employment diminished by in influx of cheap (and too often, illegal) labor; black businesses debilitated due to contracts going to large, out of state operations; black families not being able to rebuild their lives due to delays in aid and, in some cases, flat-out fraud. Now, we can add public education to the list of victims.

Conservatives have long held on to the notion that government-funded programs don’t work and they prove it by trying to choke the life out of them when they’re in power. It’s like cutting a man’s legs off and then complaining about how slow a runner he is.

So, it’s little surprise that privatized charter schools have popped up all over New Orleans.

Now, let’s step back a little. Over the last several years, Republicans pushed for school vouchers in D.C. By doing so, this meant that money would come out of private schools and into public schools. The idea was that parents could get their kids out of “failing” schools and into schools where the educational opportunities were better. This all sounds good, right? Then, answer this, why weren’t these politicians able to get these initiatives going in their own states? Perhaps, the devil in in the details.

You see, in a nutshell, this whole plan had a fatal flaw — not just any student could benefit. You see, private schools, to maintain their elite attractiveness, rely on keeping a certain academic standard. So, it takes more than a voucher to get your child into such a school. These schools get to cherry-pick the best and brightest. So, if your kid’s not at the top of the academic pile, you’re out of luck. Also, given the level of students they expect, it is very unlikely that much is offered in the way of remedial help to get your child up to speed. However, these type of programs would exist in a properly-funded public educational system. But, remember, Republicans don’t like government money going to help people.

Read More… »

Popularity: 30% [?]

This is just a quick follow-up to a post from earlier this week (see Freaky-a** Republicans, Part 3).

“Several high-placed GOP resources”are saying that Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) will resign from the Senate, possible as soon as today. Craig was arrested for soliciting sex from a male undercover police officer in a Minneapolis airport this past June. Craig plead guilty to disorderly conduct and paid a $500 fine.

Craig, an opponent of protection for gays in the workplace, now seems to be the victim of anti-gay backlash in his workplace. Karma is always interesting, isn’t it?

However, this also smacks of GOP hypocrisy in another respect. Another GOP Senator, David Vitter, frequented female prostitutes in the D.C. area and in his home state of Lousiana. However, he seems to be staying put in the Senate.

My analysis on what the difference is: Lousiana is a majority-Democrat state with a Democratic governor who would appoint a new Senator if Vitter were to resign. This would likely lose another Senate seat for Republicans. Idaho is solidly-Republican with a Republican governor. This would allow Republican voters over a year to get to know a new Senator (and hopefully forget the Craig incident) before the Nov. 2008 elections.

Update: A Craig aide has stated that the senator has no immediate plans to resign.

Popularity: 33% [?]

Despite what the government is saying, black contractors are saying that they are being left of of the windfall of federal dollars coming in for the rebuilding effort in New Orleans. To hear this is not suprising. We have seen how big contractors brought it illegal labor to work in New Orleans to avoid having to hire New Orleans residents who might have actually wanted more than minimum wage. We also have seen how federal dollars have disappeared down a black hole because of suspect contracts.

You see, in George Bush’s America, everything is for sale and politics take precedence over people.

So, when you could be helping people take an active role in rebuilding their city while enabling them to earn a wage that would help them get their lives and businesses back on track, you instead stick to the old formula of taking care of your cronies.

Sadly, this is indicative of the Bush policy on Katrina — just make more promises you don’t intend to keep.

Popularity: 25% [?]

You ever read something that just made you say, “Huh?”

In the past year, I have seen a couple of rap videos that were both shocking and thought-provoking. One was NY Oil’s “Y’all Should All Get Lynched”, which called out rappers who engage coonish behavior and who advocate killing, selling dope or the whole thug image, in general. The second on was a parody song called “Read A Book”. It basically plays like a Lil Jon song but, calls on black people to read, raise their kids and to “…buy some land, buy some land…f**k spinnin’ rims!”

Now, according to Rainbow-PUSH:

A common definition of satire is witty language used to convey insults or scorn. The video is plenteously scornful and insulting, but not of crassness. The video insults reading, personal hygiene, family values and frugality. “Read a Book” heaps scorn on positive values and (un)intentionally celebrates ignorance. The narrator is obviously illiterate, unkempt and disrespectful. So who takes his advice seriously?

The best Hip-hop is clever, with allusions to politics, history, great music and literature. Part of the fun is finding the hidden meaning. I was prepared to forgive the crude language and lack of creativity if there was as message encouraging viewers to read and otherwise conduct themselves responsibly. I was disappointed. The simplistic repetitive rhyme and tune made it clear that the creator had not taken his own advice, i.e. to Read a Book.

Well, we must have been watching a different video. Malcolm X believed in “making it plain” when speaking to people so that they would clearly get the message you were trying to convey. This parody did just that. It was clever by turning the imagery seen in too many rap videos on its ear. My wife, who is an Algebra teacher got it. My best friend who is a long-time Programmer/Developer got it. I am a Systems Analyst and I got it. We all caught on and did not feel dumbed-down by it in the slightest.

The problem is that some in the “afristocracy” have forgotten that, sometimes, you need to do things to shake people out of their slumber, even if it’s a little crass or crude. Sometimes being clever involves resisting the urge to point one’s nose in the air and getting a little dirty.

More importantly, however, is that the creators of this video deserve credit for actually trying to say something important about our need to better educate ourselves and to be more responsible adults. If that was missed by these critics, then perhaps they should actually be more questioning of themselves than the video’s creators.

Popularity: 31% [?]

Often, I intentionally refrain from high-profile stories because we get beat over the head with them enough. Instead, I normally choose those stories that get overlooked in the media in order to help give them more visibility.

I’m breaking with my normal M.O. to share some thoughtful analysis I read in regards to the Michael Vick situation and our reaction to it.

Jamele Hill, in writing for ESPN’s Page 2, reminds us of how easily we lose what my mother would call our sense of “priority and proportion.”

Hill reminds us that Ravens’ linebacker was never this vilified when he stood accused of being involved in the killings of two people (he later plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice). She also looks back on how Rams’ defensive end Leonard Little was treated with kid gloves after he actually struck and killed a woman while drunk-driving. Little got an 8-game suspension and got to serve a 90-day sentence at a time that was convenient to him. So, here we see instances where human lives were lost and there was less public outcry than this Vick circus.

Hill also lets us know about contemporary stories that are being ignored while we talk about Vick. Specifically, she speaks on how we are ignoring the plight of the “Jena 6″, which we as black folks should be greatly concerned. Here we have young men who could languish in prison for decades over what should have been, at worst, a simple assault case.

Vick deserves punishment for his crimes, no doubt. However, what more important issues are we ignoring while we focus on this mess?

Popularity: 34% [?]

All across America, foreclosures are up. However, what will the government do to help those people out — nothing. You see, according to pundits, people should have been smart enough to know that they were getting in over their heads with bad loans they would have difficulty in paying.

If that’s true then, what about the people lending the money? If someone’s business is to understand and work with money, wouldn’t you expect even more from them? And, if they should do a poor job at just that, shouldn’t they be held to at least the same standard that you held the department store manager who just bought her/his first home?

Not if you’re the government.

The Federal Reserve is now bending the rules to help out Citigroup and Bank of America. Citigroup is already expected to lose about $1 billion in third-quarter profits over losses due to subprime loans. Bank of America, to its credit, got out of the subprime market in 2001 but, seems to be trying to jump right back in again in its bid to invest in Countrywide. B of A also does business with payday lender Advance America. So, its hands are also dirty in this subprime mess.

But, thanks to friends in high places, they are getting a bail-out.

The Aug. 20 letters from the Fed to Citigroup and Bank of America state that the Fed, which regulates large parts of the U.S. financial system, has agreed to exempt both banks from rules that effectively limit the amount of lending that their federally-insured banks can do with their brokerage affiliates. The exemption, which is temporary, means, for example, that Citigroup’s Citibank entity can substantially increase funding to Citigroup Global Markets, its brokerage subsidiary. Citigroup and Bank of America requested the exemptions, according to the letters, to provide liquidity to those holding mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities, and other securities.

This unusual move by the Fed shows that the largest Wall Street firms are continuing to have problems funding operations during the current market difficulties, according to banking industry skeptics. The Fed’s move appears to support the view that even the biggest brokerages have been caught off guard by the credit crunch and don’t have financing to deal with the resulting dislocation in the markets. The opposing, less negative view is that the Fed has taken this step merely to increase the speed with which the funds recently borrowed at the Fed’s discount window can flow through to the bond markets, where the mortgage mess has caused a drying up of liquidity.

So, those who should know money better than the rest of us made bad loans and, when the loans go south, they get to use taxpayer money to get themselves out of this fix?

This is good-old corporatist double-speak. Helping working people is bad but, helping weathy corporations is good.

Popularity: 38% [?]

It’s time for another installment of “Freaky-a** Republicans” — the show that shows you that “hypocrisy” is spelled G-O-P. In this installment, we bring you Senator Larry Craig of Idaho. The Senator has recently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge in Minnesota (in addition to a $500-dollar fine and a year’s probation) over an incident in an airport there. Craig was spared a charge of lewd conduct.

So, what’s so freaky about this, you say?

According to D.C.’s Roll Call newspaper, Craig’s arrest record shows something very interesting. Police in the airport had been investigating claims of sexual activity in the men’s bathroom. On June 11, 2007 an plainclothes officer had stationed himself in a stall when…well, I’ll just quote this one and let you see for yourself:

Karsnia entered the bathroom at noon that day and about 13 minutes after taking a seat in a stall, he stated he could see “an older white male with grey hair standing outside my stall.”

The man, who lingered in front of the stall for two minutes, was later identified as Craig.

“I could see Craig look through the crack in the door from his position. Craig would look down at his hands, ‘fidget’ with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again. Craig would repeat this cycle for about two minutes,” the report states.

Craig then entered the stall next to Karsnia’s and placed his roller bag against the front of the stall door.

“My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall,” Karsnia stated in his report. “From my seated position, I could observe the shoes and ankles of Craig seated to the left of me.”

Craig was wearing dress pants with black dress shoes.

“At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male in the stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area,” the report states.

Craig then proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times, and Karsnia noted in his report that “I could … see Craig had a gold ring on his ring finger as his hand was on my side of the stall divider.”

Karsnia then held his police identification down by the floor so that Craig could see it.

“With my left hand near the floor, I pointed towards the exit. Craig responded, ‘No!’ I again pointed towards the exit. Craig exited the stall with his roller bags without flushing the toilet. … Craig said he would not go. I told Craig that he was under arrest, he had to go, and that I didn’t want to make a scene. Craig then left the restroom.”

Here’s another interesting part of the tale:

After he was arrested, Craig, who is married, was taken to the Airport Police Operations Center to be interviewed about the lewd conduct incident, according to the police report. At one point during the interview, Craig handed the plainclothes sergeant who arrested him a business card that identified him as a U.S. Senator and said, “What do you think about that?” the report states.

Craig, who is up for reelection in 2008, has not commented on whether or not he will run again.

Update: talkingpointsmemo.com has posted the police report.

Popularity: 26% [?]

It’s official — Alberto Gonzalez has resigned. The departure is one of several high-level resignations, including that of White House Political Director, Karl Rove and Deputy head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Bradley Schlozman. We have already seen the departure of many Justice Department officials such as chief of staff Kyle Sampson, White House liaison Monica Goodling and Deputy Director Paul McNulty.

During his tenure, was mired in controversy that culminated in the highly-unusual move of firing what appear to be now about a dozen state attorney generals for what appear to be their desire to not prosecute Democrats on flimsy evidence or their active prosecution of corrupt Republicans.

In the end, Gonzalez made the Justice Department a political wing of the White House which saw the department undermine the Voting Rights act and enable illegal spying on Americans.

Bush has not yet named a replacement but, one can rest assured that this White House is going to want a sycophant who is not going to look under an rocks to uncover the shady activities that have been going on at Justice. Let’s just hope that the tough questions will be asked of the next nominee that, obviously, weren’t asked during the Gonzalez confirmation.

Popularity: 18% [?]

It’s no secret that Rush Limbaugh is a racist.

Over the years, the comments he has made on both radio and TV indicate as much. However, his latest may be a new low, even for him. In citing reasons for the call for action to stop the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, Limbaugh hypothesizes that the only reason that some Democrats are calling for it is to get black votes. However, it gets even more interesting after that:

“So you go into Darfur and you go into South Africa, you get rid of the white government there. You put sanctions on them. You stand behind Nelson Mandela — who was bankrolled by communists for a time, had the support of certain communist leaders. You go to Ethiopia. You do the same thing”

According to Limbugh, we should not go into Darfur because they didn’t attack us (…and Iraq did?) Kind of a screwy argument, huh?

The bottom line is that to people like Limbaugh, black and brown life are insignificant. Statements like this show just how much he believes this.

The audio from the segment is below.

 

 Rush's Racism Concerning Sudan: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 31% [?]

…but I see this as racist.

This cartoon, drawn by Ed Gamble, appeared in the Jacksonville Times-Union nearly two weeks ago. It is glaringly obvious that Gamble knows nothing about which he speaks or this would not have come of as clumsily as it did.

Perhaps the most disrespectful part is seeing the word “ho” being used to refer to a black girl on the pages of a city newspaper.

The editor of the newspaper, Mike Clark, said he regrets not editing out the word. He stated that, by the word being there, it offended law-abiding Jacksonville citizen and did simply focus on the “rise” of the stop-snitching culture (personal note: just because you are just now paying attention to it does not indicate a “rise” in a certain thing).

Like I stated, I’ll leave it to others to draw their own conclusions…

Popularity: 26% [?]