black…MYstory

I had to laugh at how hard some right-wingers are willing to push against reality or, at least, credibility, to prove a point.  For example, you KFYI’s (Phoeniz, AZ) right-wingnut Bruce Jacobs who decides to read, on air, a Wall Street Journal “article” attributed to Bill Cosby.  You might have seen it before, it starts off with the following:

“Rev. Wright epitomizes the thoughts and actions that have prevented and continue to prevent black America from moving ahead and achieving their potential as a people. He suggests that this United States of America made up of sons and daughters of immigrants (I’m talking of the millions of 1st, 2nd, 3rd generation immigrants in this country) of every race, creed, color and religion each and everyone of them who had nothing to do with slavery, some how owe something to a group of people who have never been slaves?”

Now, if you click on the link above, you might be confused.  You might say, “hey, that’s not the article!  This article is about Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s recent speeches on reconciliation, not Bill Cosby’s article!”

Well, that’s because you didn’t scroll down to the comments section.  My quote above was from comments posted by a reader calling himself “Bill Cosby”.  So, because this person posted under the name of “Bill Cosby”, the internet has been lit up with message board posts and blog posts about what “Bill Cosby” said about Rev. Wright.  Funny enough, in all the posts I’ve seen, I had not seen one link to this supposed article.  So, I went to Snopes.com, which is an internet myth-busting site, and saw that they  had the real deal on the story.

The funny part about it is that Jacobs was reading the story like it was in an actual newspaper and not a printout of comments from a post on the Wall Street Journal blogs.  So, Jacobs deceived his listeners and, no doubt, many of these suckers went on to repeat this nonsense.

However, it doesn’t appear to be the first time he’s done this.  In 2003, Jacobs reported an urban legend about Bill Clinton as fact.  In that urban legend, Bill Clinton dodged the draft and became a fugitive from justice.  However, as a “fugitive from justice”, Bill Clinton ran for Congress in 1974 and for Attorney General of Arkansas in 1976 (okay, has this gotten ridiculous enough yet?)   They way this urban legend goes, he was pardoned by President Jimmy Carter right after Carter was inaugurated in 1977 (never mind that Presidents usually issue pardons when leaving office, not right after they’re sworn in).

In other words, Jacobs is not big on the truth.

Now, of course, he was not content with just making himself sound stupid so, yes, he put up a YouTube video.

Popularity: 16% [?]

As I shared with you yesterday, Fox News contributor Liz Trotta made a very tasteless joke about “knocking off” Presidential candidate Barack Obama when she said the following:

…”and now we have what … uh…some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama …uh..um..Obama ….well both if we could “…

There must have been some heat on her because, on Fox News, she apologized both yesterday and today.  However, at least in the “apology” I heard, she did not specifically apologize to Senator Obama, the person she actually spoke of knocking off.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Apparently, references to shooting and assassinations in regards to Senator Obama seem to be okay, whether they be in a joking (and unfunny) manner like Mike Huckabee did or in the veiled manner of Hillary Clinton.  Political assassination is not the stuff to talk about in a flip way, much less a joking way.

Enter Liz Trotta.

According to her bio on Foxnews.com, Liz Trotta is…“the former New York bureau chief of The Washington Times and is a contributor for FOX News Channel.

…

Trotta has worked for Hillman Periodicals; Inter-Catholic Press Agency; Long Island Press; Chicago Tribune; Newsday; NBC and CBS. She has taught Journalism at Stern College of Yeshiva University.

The winner of three Emmy awards and two Overseas Press Club awards, Trotta is a graduate of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.”

Apparently, she is also just another right-wing tool.

In referencing the flap over Hillary Clinton’s evoking the RFK assassination as her rationale for staying in the race, Trotta brings to us this gem:

…”and now we have what … uh…some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama …uh..um..Obama ….well both if we could “…

Yes, she joked about knocking off Obama while a guest on a national “news” network.  I guess this is par for the course in Republican World.  If you can’t win on the issues, appeal to the hate in people.

The video is below:

Popularity: 17% [?]

In a previous post, I referenced how, in citing her reasons for staying in the Democratic nomination race, Senator Hillary Clinton invoked the assassination of leading Democratic candidate Robert Kennedy in 1968, seemingly as an example of occurences that could change the complexion of the presidential race.

In this post, I wrote of how low I believe this to be and that, given the very real threat of assassination that Barack Obama lives under, this reference was particularly sickening.

Keith Olbermann, on his show, Countdown, offered a special comment on Senator Clinton’s remarks.  His statements are strong and unequivocating.  I share them with you, now.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Senator Hillary Clinton, of late, has gone down a very bizarre path.  For example, she recently compared her fight to have the Florida and Michigan delegations seated as-is at the Democratic Convention to efforts to free black slaves and to the fight for winning the right to vote for blacks and women (never mind that she was perfectly okay with Florida and Michigan being “disenfranchised” when she was ahead in the race).  We all knew it to be grandstanding but, hey, whatever, right?

Today, though, we heard something from Senator Clinton that not only showed her desperation but, also showed how low she is willing to go to still try to get the presidential nomination.

Today, Clinton offered the following rationale for staying in the Democratic presidential race:

“And again, I’ve been around long enough. You know, my husband didn’t wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary sometime in the middle of June. Right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. You know, I just– I don’t understand it. And you know, there’s lots of speculation about why it is, but uh…”

My question is why reference an assassination when being asked why you are sticking around when you are behind in the delegate math, both in elected delegates and superdelegates?  She seemed to be saying that anything could happen, such as an unfortunate accident or even the death of the leading candidate at the hands of an assassin.

This year, we commemorated the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.  and will soon observe that same somber marker for the assassination of Robert Kennedy.  Today, we have the leading candidate who, because he is black, has received what are being called very credible death threats, so much so that he had to accept a Secret Service detail over a year ago and has to have more security at his events than either Senator Clinton or Senator John McCain.

So, to imply that you are sticking around in case something happens and one of those things being referenced is that, previously, a leading presidential candidate was murdered is beyond the pale.

Hillary Clinton’s chances were sinking more and more each day.  Now, one must ask if, after all this time, it is now the time for the superdelegates to step forward and end this.  There are rumors that Clinton has been pushing for the Vice President slot.  Well, one has to ask, would she be willing to take such a role because, hey, who knows when the presidential slot might open up.  After all, there have been Presidents who have been assassinated?  Trust me, while I was being somewhat facetious, I certainly wasn’t trying to be humorous.  Barack Obama is fully aware that there are some out there who wish to to him harm for no more reason than he is a black man who dares to dream big enough to want to be President.  The fact that another presidential hopeful, of his own party, no less, would raise the specter of assassination leaves one wondering what lurks in the mind and heart of Senator Clinton.

Of course, she has apologized, sort of.  But, this is sort of like trying to unring a bell.  Once such things are out there, it is not easy to take them back.

However, before I wrap up, I do want to call attention to one thing THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME SHE HAS MADE THIS REFERENCE.  Keith Olbermann, in a special comment on his show, Countdown, has cited no less than three previous instances where she cited her husband’s June win in 1992 and the killing of Robert Kennedy in 1968 as reasons for her to stay in the race.  In at least one prior instance, she specifically used the word “assassination” in referencing Kennedy’s death in justifying her continued campaigning in this race.  Then, as now, the inference was that you can’t be sure what would happen.  I’ll post the Countdown video shortly.

So, perhaps we have seen what may prove to be the final implosion of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.  She asked who would be ready on Day One to be president.  Today, it is clear that one person is not — Hillary Clinton.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Well, I’m not done with John McCain just yet.

Much has been made over statements by Barack Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright. From about 30 seconds from a couple of sermons, this man was dismissed as a racist, anti-American kook.

However, little has been made of McCain’s “pastor problem”. Though John Hagee is not McCain’s pastor, per se, he is someone whose endorsement McCain sought out for a year and, even after Hagee’s statements about referring to the Catholic church as “the great whore” and Hagee’s assertion that Jesus never saw himself as the Messiah and his claim that Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for a gay-pride parade scheduled in New Orleans, McCain has said that he rejects some of Pastor Hagee’s statements but heartily accepts his endorsement.

In my previous post about Hagee, I promised that there would be more and more there is. Hagee often touts himself as a friend of Israel. There is a belief that there are some evangelicals who want to hasten the coming of Armageddon. The idea would be to bring about the second coming of Jesus and fulfill the prophecies in the book of Revelations. Part of that is to make sure that Jewish people are securely back in their biblical homeland in order for Christ to return. However, in this belief, this would not mean the salvation of most Jewish people. In fact, this belief states that Jewish people would be cast into Hell, along with other “non-believers”, unless they convert. Some friends of Israel, huh?

I say all that to help provide some context for a recently-revealed sermon from John Hagee. In a sermon delivered in the late 90’s, Hagee stated that Hitler was an instrument of God to force the Jewish people to return to the land of Israel.

You read right. Hagee stated that Hitler was doing God’s will when he persecuted, enslaved and murdered millions of Jewish people. But, I’ll let you hear the words for yourself. Someone has posted the audio of this sermon and it’s as crazy as I’ve stated here.

Some will say that McCain’s pastor problem is nothing compared to Obama’s. I would agree — it’s not the same, it’s worse.

You see, McCain clearly referred to these people as “agents of intolerance” when he last ran for president. Therefore, he knew the type of people he was climbing into bed with, politically, when he actively and eagerly sought out their endorsements. He can’t argue that the was blinded by friendship or familial loyalty. He went in with both eyes open.

So, corporate media, is this story sensational enough for you to give McCain’s endorser 1/100th of the attention you paid to Rev. Wright? It seems that Hagee has more than enough material to keep you busy.

Popularity: 15% [?]

The picture you see appeared in the Roswell Beacon, a new free weekly paper serving North Fulton County, Georgia.

Now, if you remember, former Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, in addressing the National Rifle Association, joked about a loud noise backstage, saying the following:

“That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he’s getting ready to speak…Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.”

Huckabee quickly apologized.

On the heels of this, the Roswell Beacon shows this photo on their cover. Here’s the explanation they offer:

The article was pitched and reported by veteran freelance journalist Alan Sverdlik, who said he was curious how law enforcement agencies were handling the increased number of threats lodged against Obama by white supremacist groups, some of whom are based around north Fulton. Sverdlik said Tuesday he had not seen the cover and had no input in its development.

The Beacon’s publisher said the art “projected the story,” one which he believes serves a valuable public interest: “We’re hoping federal law enforcement takes notice.”

Who knows…maybe I am overreacting but, this struck me as being in extremely poor taste.

Popularity: 11% [?]

I commend Barack Obama for trying to run a “post-racial” campaign, one in which he wants to people to see his ability and not his color. However, I also find this both naive and troubling. First of all, I have yet to meet a truly “color-blind” person. Now, I have met people who don’t choose friends, associates, employees, business partners, etc. based on color and look at the characters, qualifications and capabilities of the the people with whom they choose to enter into relationships. However, people see color. It’s a very visible characteristic and, therefore, not easily ignored.

Unfortunately,in America, we have many inferences made about people based on skin color. If you happen to be black, you are often assumed to be less qualified, less educated, morally-deficient and of lower intelligence than your white counterparts. Often, to be black, is to be placed outside of the mainstream while simultaneously being criticized for not abandoning your identification with other black people and adopting more “mainstream” values.

Obviously, America has never definitively addressed the issue of race. This is why some issue flares up every few years that futher stirs the troubled waters of race. In our communities and workplaces, we (kind of) debate the current issue for a week or so (or longer if it’s O.J. Simpson), talk about the need for a national dialogue on race and wait for it all to blow over. We all do it, black people not excluded.

This is why I find it no surprise that quite a few Obama campaign supporter are seeing, firsthand, how deep some racial hostilities run.

In addition to some not-so-subtle statements made to them by voters about why they would not vote for a black candidate, others are dealing with vandalism and bomb threats to campaign offices.

We can always hope for and push for a post-racial society. I want it for my son and will strive to make it so. However, we are not there, now, and trying to ignore the issue certainly won’t get us there.

Popularity: 10% [?]

All I can say is “Wow!”

EDIT:  It looks like YouTube took down the earlier video.  Get this one while you can.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Surprise — more race-baiting from the Clinton campaign!

This time, it’s from the candidate herself.

In attempts to make her case for the nomination (though her chances are currently slim), she wants to remind us that she is the candidate of white voters.

“I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on,” she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article “that found how Sen. Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.”

“There’s a pattern emerging here,” she said.

Now, how is it that you have a much broader coalition when Obama has some of those same working-class white voters, some of those white women voters you tout, a solid majority of the black vote, a solid majority of the youth vote and more independent voters.

That, to me, is quite a broad base.

However, what Clinton is really doing is trying to remind white voters that Obama is the “black candidate” and insinuate that white America may not vote for a black guy.

Obviously, desperation is kicking in because, the kitchen sink strategy just went into overdrive.

Popularity: 13% [?]