Bob Johnson is a shining example of unintentional self-parody.

Here’s a man who became a multi-billionaire by peddling black stereotypes, trying to tell the rest of us about the minds of black people.

Here’s a guy who should be calling shots playing foot soldier for a presidential candidate.

Here’s a voice for the Clinton 2008 campaign.

For people who are supposed to know black folks so well, the Clintons sure don’t know how to pick black folks to help them in their outreach to Black America.

Or, could it be that they are trying to marginalize black voters and are looking for a black hired gun to do the job?

I believe the latter to be the case.

Bob Johnson has decided to open his mouth again and make us wonder just how it is that he became so financially successful.

Channeling Geraldine Ferraro, Bob Johnson said that Barack Obama has only been successful in this presidential campaign because he’s black.

“What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant is that if you take a freshman senator from Illinois called `Jerry Smith’ and he says I’m going to run for president, would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote?” Johnson said. “And the answer is, probably not… .”

“Geraldine Ferraro said it right. The problem is, Geraldine Ferraro is white. This campaign has such a hair-trigger on anything racial … it is almost impossible for anybody to say anything.”

Wow!

Where do I even begin with this. First of all, black people comprise about 13-14% of the population while white people comprise some 70+% of the population. Now, let’s look at the last presidential cycle. There were over five times as many white voters as there are black. So, let’s say that Obama would get 90% of the black vote. That would mean that he would have won many fewer contests because, with the exception of a few places, there simply aren’t enough black people to comprise a majority of voters.

Secondly, Obama didn’t start off with 90% of the black vote. The Clintons, primarily Bill Clinton, managed to drive black voters away in droves. In fact, for much of last year, the conventional wisdom was that Clinton would run away with the black vote (see here, here and here). So, no, the black vote was not a given for Obama.

Finally, as in the case with Ferraro statements, when has it been a given that a black man will attain easy success in the field of politics? In the entire history of the Senate, for example, there has only been 5 black senators (4 men, 1 woman). How many white women are there in the Senate right now? I believe the number is 16. I am not saying this to spark a debate on whether racism or sexism is the greater evil I am just saying that, in the Congress, black men don’t exactly dominate.

However, what Bob Johnson is doing is what you would expect from Republican politicians — painting Obama as some affirmative-action hire in order to scare off working-class white voters.

Well, I’ve given Bob Johnson much more consideration that he deserves…

Popularity: 77% [?]

Somebody call Kwame Kilpatrick’s mother and have her slap him upside the head. Or, better yet, call in an I.T. person to explain to the Detroit Mayor that, in this day and age, any electronic message you send in this day and age is stored on at least one server, somewhere. I mean, really, what was this dude thinking?

In case you don’t know, Mayor Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, are probably holding their collective breath as they ponder their futures. You see, last summer, they testified in a police whistle-blower trial. Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown and former police officer Harold Nelthrope claimed that they fired in 2003 because their jobs as part of the mayor’s security detail might have seen them offer testimony in the probe of the mayor and would have exposed the mayor’s affair with said chief of staff.

Yes, I said “affair”.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. In sworn testimony, Kilpatrick and Beatty denied that they colluded to fire Deputy Chief Brown and denied ever having an affair but, they weren’t careful enough in covering their tracks. Unable to separate work from play, they decided to send text messages back and forth and Beatty used her city-issued pager to do so.

After going over 14,000 messages sent from Beatty’s pager, they found messages between the two referencing their love for one another and past sexual trysts ( I wonder how the mayor’s wife felt about this). Furthermore, they also found a message from Beatty discussing the “decision that we made to fire Gary Brown.”

Now, of course, Brown and Beatty are in really hot water. First of all, rather than settle, they let this case go to trial, costing a cash-strapped Detroit some $9 million. But, probably the most damaging aspect to this was that they lied under oath. As a result, the two could be facing perjury charges. Though we are not even at the point of being charged, it should be noted that perjury charges carry a maximum of 15 years in jail. However, even if perjury is off the table, Kilpatrick could face losing his law license if it’s determined that he lied to a jury.

In the end, I have to ask, was the lovin’ that good to go through all of this?

Popularity: 19% [?]

I’ve been meaning to speak on this for a little while now but, I am just now getting around to it.

You might remember me posting about ColorOfChange.org. Color of Change is a group that brings black activism to the web. One of its campaigns has been to raise money for the legal defense of the Jena 6.

However, despite their best efforts, this did not stop them from being the subject of attack by radio talk-show host Michael Baisden. Baisden had Marcus Jones on his show. Jones is the father of one of the Jena 6, Mychal Bell. On this show, Jones claimed that ColorOfChange.org was collecting money against the wishes of the Jena 6 families. Bell and Baisden went on to claim that Color Of Change had been pocketing the money for themselves, even saying that a $10,000 donation made by David Bowie was kept by Color Of Change.

Unfortunately, this was untrue and this dishonesty was spread across the airwaves.

Where do I begin? First, Bowie never made a $10,000 donation for the Jena 6 defense to Color of Change. That donation was made to the NAACP (see the press release from the NAACP).

To date, Color of Change has raised over $230,000 for the legal fees of the the Jena 6 and their attorneys have acknowledged receipt of the funds.

Now, honestly, I would have cut Baisden some slack, had I not been informed of the background. You see, Baisden’s interview with Jones was on November 5th. But, Baisden’s staffers had contacted Color Of Change in October for information regarding these allegations and Color Of Change provided them with information supporting the fact that they were operating above-board:

James Rucker (Director for Color Of Change) has talked with Baisden directly, and at his direction, with Pamela Exum, his business manager, and Yvonne Gilliam, his publicist. From the start, we have explained our procedures to Baisden and his staff; we had them verify payments were received by lawyers; we had them verify our process with the lawyers and families–it was in response to an inquiry they started, driven by Marcus Jones’ accusations almost two months ago.

In fact, Yvonne Gilliam faxed us Marcus’ Jones authorization to release funds. It makes it clear that Baisden’s staff knew that Marcus knew ColorOfChange.org and that he had asked us to direct funds to his attorney.

In mid-October, Yvonne Gilliam, who works for Baisden indicated by phone that every lawyer she’d contacted had received their checks.

But, despite knowing the truth, they went on ahead with the show.

However, it gets even better.
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Popularity: 43% [?]

You know, I used to think Isiah Thomas was a sensible brother. Now, I really don’t know.

To be honest, I had heard some things in passing about him being named in a sexual harassment suit but, I had not really followed it. But, something I read recently made me do a double-take.

The plantiff in the case is former Knicks vice president Anucha Browne Sanders. According to Ms. Sanders, she was subject to some rather foul, berating language at the hand of Thomas. In a 2004 incident, she alleges that Thomas called her a “f—ing ho”,”b–ch”,”f—ing b–ch” and “ho”.

In another incident, Thomas supposedly told her, “Don’t forget, you f—ing b–ch, I’m the president of this f—ing team.”

But, believe it or not, this was not the worst part of the story for me. This was:

(Jeffrey) Nix’s testimony came a day after a jury watched Thomas’ video deposition, where he said that white men weren’t allowed to call black women “b–ch,” but black men could.

“I’m sorry to say, I do make a distinction,” Thomas said in a videotaped admission viewed by a Manhattan federal jury yesterday.

“A white man calling a black female ‘b–ch,’ that is wrong with me. I am not accepting that. That’s a problem for me,” he said.

But asked if he’d have a problem with a black man calling a black woman “b–ch,” Thomas said, “Not as much.”

Okay…now I have a headache.

Popularity: 39% [?]

In the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, I cut Ray Nagin a lot of slack. One would expect that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) actually be able to handle a federal emergency. However, over the last couple of years, Ray Nagin has shown to be just another politician. While many of his city’s poorer residents still remain scattered across the country, Nagin has enacted a property grab that would have made the most staunch free-market conservatives proud. Nagin has, most definitely, proven himself not fit to run a major U.S. city.

So, what should be next for Nagin? How about governor?

Yes, now that he’s done such a “heckuva job” in New Orleans, he may want to take his “success” statewide. Of course, Nagin says that the only way he would run is if he “thought it would help this recovery.”

Ray, please, just stop. Make this your last term and go of into a dark, quiet corner. Perhaps, then, the people of New Orleans…even the poor ones, Ray…might get the type of leadership necessary to have their lives back on track.

Popularity: 28% [?]

I often use this phrase to describe the price at which some black folks will sell you down the river. Today, I saw something that made me wonder how good the money must have been for Creflo Dollar to totally lose his mind. To be honest, I never trusted the dude. Really, how can you trust a minister whose last name is “Dollar”? But, seriously, what I saw displayed a new low for evangelical ministers, in my eyes, and should clearly indicate how people are being propagandized by this government and its appointed mouthpieces. Just look at a recent letter from Creflo Dollar to his followers, titled “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”.

When a nation is on the brink of war, the worst thing its citizens can do is allow themselves to become divided. The Bible says that there is a time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:8). In fact, Jesus said that in the last days there would be wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6). When this country was attacked on September 11, 2001, there was a fierce public outcry. America wanted her enemies to pay. Now, two years later, those same Americans are protesting the war against terrorism.

President Bush is worthy of your prayers and support. He is a man who rises early every morning to seek God and His wisdom through prayer and the study of the Word. This is not the time for Christians to picket, carry protest signs or throw their opinions around. The election is over, and the man in the Oval Office is the one we, as Americans, voted in. Numbers 32:7-13 makes it clear how God feels about a nation divided during a time of war.

This country needs unity, and it begins with the church. It is your responsibility as a believer to pray for the president, others in leadership, this nation, the men and women serving in the Armed Forces and our enemies–whoever they may be. Forget about your political affiliation or preference. You are first and foremost a Christian.

Begin by making these confessions:.

• In the name of Jesus, I declare that I will not allow any corrupt communication to proceed out of my mouth concerning President Bush or others in leadership (Ephesians 4:29).
• I declare that he is a man of wisdom, and he is strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit. I wholeheartedly support the decisions he makes for this country (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
• I lift up every man and woman serving in the Armed Forces. I declare that they walk in favor, wisdom and safety and that their lives are redeemed from destruction (Psalm 91:7; Psalm 103:1-6).

If you have taken part in any protests or have allowed any corrupt communication to flow out of your mouth concerning the president, repent and begin to show your support for him by calling his name out before God. Pray for wisdom and wise counsel regarding the decisions he must make for this nation. Obey what the Word says in 1 Timothy 1-2 and 1 Peter 2:13 and: 1) continue to pray for those in authority over you; and 2) submit to that established authority. In doing so, you honor God, our president and thousands of service members. When the temptation comes to murmur or complain, rejoice that there is a man in the White House who walks and talks with God daily. Remember, united we stand, divided we fall (Matthew 12:25)!

—Dr. Creflo A. Dollar

Did you catch this part — “Obey what the Word says in 1 Timothy 1-2 and 1 Peter 2:13 and: 1) continue to pray for those in authority over you; and 2) submit to that established authority. In doing so, you honor God, our president and thousands of service members.”

Creflo Dollar is equating following George Bush with following God? The saddest part about this is that there are some sheep people who will be dumb enough to fall for this foolishness.

Creflo Dollar, TD Jakes and others have shown me that they are truly the masters of multitasking — they are both full-time pimps and full-time hoes. So, they get their money on both ends (pun intended). However, what we are seeing is not just something to shake your head about, it is a reason to be really concerned. Anytime a so-called “man of God” instructs you to stop using the brain God gave you, it is time to walk…no, run away from that man.

Popularity: 41% [?]

The hypocrisy of Republicans knows no bounds. They diminish the concerns of black folks at every turn. Black Republicans, especially like to do this. Any time a black person not of their political persuasion brings up the issue of race, they are often quicker than their white counterparts at criticizing the person, especially if they are defending a fellow white Republican. They tell us color is not a real issue and that the majority of us black folks use race as an excuse for our not taking personal responsibility for our lives and actions.

Of course, these rules on apply to non-Republicans.

I’ve posted about Lurita Doan, chief of the General Services Administration, before (see “Playin’ politics in the wrong places” and “It all comes out in the wash” ). One thing was clear, her actions were clearly in violation of the Hatch Act, which clearly prohibits federal employees from using work time and work resources for partisan campaigning. The fact that she, as chief, allowed Republican operatives to use GSA time and resources to promote campaign strategies and that she inquired of GSA employees in attendance to think about how they could use GSA resources and initiatives to help Republican candidates was clearly a “no-no”.

So, what do these colorblind black Republicans do when caught red-handed? They claim racism.

Lurita Doan says that she was targeted because she was a black woman and a Republican.

So, she and her white Republican benefactors tried to play with the serious issue of race because she busted.

For her part, Ms. Doan says that she is only interested in public service and not partisan politics but, during her testimony the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Elijah Cummings blew this argument out of the water. He cited an email she sent two years ago when she was seeking to head up the Small Business Administration:

“I believe that the party has a unique opportunity to make about a 5% swing of the black votes to the GOP….small black business owners who represent the largest percentage of participants in the various [Small Business Administration] programs,” Doan wrote in an e-mail to the White House’s Al Hubbard prior to joining the Bush administration when she sought to be appointed head of the SBA. “As the SBA administrator I would have an unparalleled ability to serve as an articulate and passionate ambassador for the president’s agenda and at same time be in a position to encourage both funding and votes to the GOP.”

Cummings pointed out the contradiction with her earlier statements.

“You said earlier that you weren’t interested in the political stuff, the partisan stuff,” the African-American Democrat from Maryland said. “When we combine everything it leans more toward not pure truthfulness under oath, than truthfulness, and I’m sitting here, I’m trying to get where do you stand in all of this….where do the mistakes end, and the truth begin?”

So, Ms. Doan, spare us. You got caught playin’ politics where you shouldn’t have and now it’s time to face the music.

In other words, “Negro, please!”

Popularity: 24% [?]

“I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.”

-Harriet Tubman

I don’t know if I have ever had a black recipient of the “Middle Finger” Award so, if I haven’t, let me bestow the honor to South Carolina state senator Robert Ford.

Both Ford and fellow black Democratic state senator Darrell Jackson are putting their support behind Hillary Clinton because they believe she is the only Democratic candidate with a chance to win.

Both were courted by Obama, as well. However, Ford’s response to Obama’s overtures were particularly telling. According to Ford, if Obama won the presidential primary, it would drag down the rest of the party.

Why? Perhaps his following response tells it all:

“It’s a slim possibility for him to get the nomination, but then everybody else is doomed… Every Democrat running on that ticket next year would lose — because he’s black and he’s top of the ticket. We’d lose the House and the Senate and the governors and everything.”

So, what Ford did was the same thing we have seen white racists do in regards to the prospect of black people being in charge — preaching gloom, doom and the end of our way of life if black people ever got into positions of authority.

Well, Ford got a lot of heat for his statements and issued a general statement saying that any of the candidates would suited for the job and issued the following weird apology:

“If I caused anybody — including myself — any pain about the comments I made earlier, then I want to apologize to myself and to Senator Obama and any of his supporters.”

However, I consider Ford’s initial statements to be truly indicative of where his heart lies. Just as the white Republican power structure has black lackeys who work against black people being in positions of power and influence within the party, so does the white Democratic power structure.

I would suggest Mr. Ford do some soul-searching and realize that it is possible that a black person could possess the qualifications to be President.

Popularity: 37% [?]

If you have read this site for any time, you’ll know that it’s no secret that I don’t like Ward Connerly (for historic reference, see here, here and here).

Ward Connerly represents the “sellout” to me, a word I use very sparingly. As I have stated previously, a sellout, to me, has to meet at least one of two criteria:

1. They start out on your side but, for money, power or prestige, they switch allegiances.
2. They take advantage of opportunities but, try to close the door on you when you try to do the same because it will bring them more money, power or prestige.

Ward Connerly fits the second all too well. These days, he is a staunch opponent of affirmative action in education, hiring and public contracting. However, in the early 90’s, he had no problem accepting minority contracts for his own business.

But, these days, being an anti-affirmative action crusader means that he makes hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in his capacity as president and spokeperson of the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) — an oxymoronic name if I’ve ever heard one. If you combine this with his anti-affirmative action speaking engagments, he easily brings in over $1 million per year. His organization has also garnered millions in donations from white conservative corporate interests.

Now, isn’t he pimping the issue the same way that white conservatives accuse Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton of doing. But, I guess as long as you pimp black folks for them but still remain the “hoe” for their interests, it’s all good.

I say all that to say this, Ward Connerly now wants to expand his anti-affirmative action campaign to 9 more states. That’s right, he now wants to take his “fight” to Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. He has already been successful in crippling affirmative action in California, Washington and Utah.

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Popularity: 29% [?]

There are some things that I am almost embarrassed to admit exist on the internet but, I can’t deny that they do. A new website called, get this, niggaspace.com, was launched a short while back.

By name alone, it is already sparking controversy.

It is modeled after the popular MySpace.com and its slogan is, “A place fo’ niggas”.

What’s even more interesting is that, on a recent radio interview, the site’s proprietor, “Tyrone”, refused to identify his race. Now, he may be black (still no pass from me) but, my suspicions are aroused.

However, Dr. Francis Cress Welsing, author of The Isis Papers (a must-read, in my opinion) provides some great perspective on this issue:

When it is used by black people, it is an indication that they do not understand the system of racism/white supremacy, according to Welsing, where the word evolved from.

Welsing compared Black people calling themselves “niggas” to the Stockholm Syndrome, a psychological response to being held captive. As a defensive mechanism, the captives develop loyalty for their captors, according to Welsing. This is parallel to the relationship between Blacks and Whites, Welsing said.

“It is essential for Black people to understand the system that is oppressing them,” Welsing said.

Needless to say, while the site has some 10,000 members, I will not be one of them.

Popularity: 36% [?]