Mamie~Louise Anderson's Special Editorial

My Morning After Response to the Debate

Just when we think our champion is the underdog, watching powerlessly as his opponent preens with over-confidence, puffs up his (or her, in the case of Hillary) chest, juts out his jaw and scrambles ideology like the shape shifter he's known to be, the Commander in Chief delivers the unexpected knocked out by a deft, dignified, unassuming and lethal stroke of genius! Alas, that didn't happen. In last night's high stakes verbal sword fight, hope and change was not the case. I was waiting for the element of surprise - some wry and pointed remark to cut through Romney's barrage of conservative talking points and well-rehearsed mythology that Gov. Christie warned us on "Meet the Press" was coming.

Romney showcased his CEO command at President Obama's expense and the moderator was as ineffectual as a lowly employee serving tea in the board room. For the president to allow Romney this runaway performance so late in the game showed the miscalculation of a cagey enemy by his handlers who neutered him with his own brand: Mr. Nice Guy. I doubt President Obama has allowed himself to think of Romney as "the enemy," but that psychological adjustment would have made his fighting skills effective.

And make no mistake, that skinny guy can fight! But you don't bring a butter knife to a gunfight; this is war! The camera angles made it worse. Practiced Romney faced the nation and the President, confidently. President Obama looked down, like a student taking notes. The optics were awful. Like most of you, I was screaming at the TV, trying to coach our distant leader out of that sleep walk.

And yet... Here we are, the morning after, weighing the lopsided victory of the desperately animated, amped and dominating Governor that has the pundits and fact-checkers doing President Obama's work for him, in effect, proving Romney aggressively wrong on points and even more distasteful as he flipped into attack mode in a manner absent of diplomacy. In the President's defense, everybody now talking about what (contender) Obama coulda or shoulda said is effectively building the case against Romney, siding with the Prez in a whispering campaign that highlights the lies and distortions that have characterized his feckless, Etch-a- Sketch campaign.

If letting the media do the work for him is the Obama campaign's calculated risk, and I don't believe it is, Chicago is slicker than slick and more street smart than we've ever given them credit for. They have mastered the politics of shaping public sentiment by default, allowing rude Romney to display his latent bully as Obama's cool and likeable persona remains presidentially intact. I think, to be honest, Romney kicked Obama's ass at a time when mastery of debate was all it would have taken to put Romney away for good.
This is a choice election and mano a mano, it was ideology vs ideology. Conservative vs liberal, a dichotomy antithetical to President Obama's "there are no red states; there are no blue states" core values, pragmatism and political philosophy. He needed to take it to the bridge, but he didn't. 

The President's table was set and Romney was his guest, but he let him take over the house, not just the dinner party. I'm watching this and thinking, confrontation is a skill the President would be wise to master. When the enemy is face to face; in point of fact, in your face and looking down his patrician nose at the nation, pretending to have compassion, it's time to ball up your verbal fist and land one, Pow! Right in the kisser! The President lacked this killer instinct and without it, he lost round after unstructured round when facts and figures, a few pithy anecdotes and a flash of humor would have won by a knockout punch upside Romney's big head! I waited all night for that. It didn't come.

This is all spin. We will see in the days ahead how it all shakes out. Romney's lies landing on our punch-drunk champion. The President's unvoiced deflections. Michelle's brow creased with concern. Miss Ann's smug condescension. The nation's compassion for the leader who has run himself raggedy on our behalf, crisis after crisis. The Black Man who dares to climb to the lonely heights yet a second time to save us from oligarchy. Time will tell...

 Initially, the polls will shift in Romney's favor, if only because America loves a comeback and a fighter. After all, as Joan Allen pointed out, he was boning up on debate skills while the President was running the world. In the end, that doesn't matter. This is WAR! If debate is the arena that can determine this close race, our fearless gladiator, President Obama, must master it and come out swinging next time, preferably without the gloves. (but that's just me talking smack, a girl from Harlem 's tenements and el barrio's projects who learned to fight to survive.)

And this thing about suppressing Black rage and appearing to be unflappable. Here's my thinking: To be human is to display the full range of human emotion, no matter how it is broadly misinterpreted. Surely a second term president has earned the right to fully express fighting instincts. The non-angry Black Man is a reverse stereotype we simply can't afford. Yet, Obama doesn't have to be mad to defeat Romney. It ain't personal; it's business. He doesn't have to stoop to conquer or fight dirty, but he really does have to fight like the devil to win.

What you bet he brings his “A game” next time and the final debate will be brilliant, no matter what else is happening in the world? What you bet? 10,000 Monopoly dollars? Let this be a lesson in gauging the enemy and ferreting out Romney's long-hidden agenda. Seeing how far he's willing to pivot from his base to take the Oval Office. I am confident President Obama will rise to the occasion. There is too much at stake for him not to and with The First Lady in his corner, he cannot simply lose. 

KEEP THE FAITH, BABY!

Mamie~Louise Anderson

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The Dangers of Reality TV

I am so honored to have my very good friend the incomparable Jackie (Morganfield) Lambert who happens to be the great niece of the legendary blues man Muddy Waters. Thankfully, she has so graciously offered to empower you with her insight and wisdom. Jackie offers a powerful commentary on "LET'S TALK ABOUT IT" every Tuesday night at 9:00 PM (est) on Spreaker.com with me and the Wild & Wonderful Brenda White. You must join us for the fastest growing political talk show on the air talk where we talk about the political news of the day and all the crazy goings-on in our country.

Click to listen: SPREAKER.COM

The Dangers of Reality TV

On May 31st in the year 2000, Americans were introduced to a television show called “Survivor”. It was the first program in the TV genre known as “reality TV’. Since “Survivor’s” debut, a slew of shows following this format have flooded the American airwaves. And, even though these shows aren’t real – reality – they provide entertainment to millions of American households.

This year, another reality series has hit the airwaves. This series is called the Republican Presidential Debates. This series has given us a lot of memorable dialogue. For example, reality TV star Michelle Bachman declared that no American should have to pay taxes. And in his supporting role, Rick Santorum told us that racial profiling is necessary to good order and peace in the kingdom. Series co-star Herman Cain gave us 9-9-9 and guest star Rick Perry gave us, well, um - a performance memorable only for its forget ability.

Yes, the Republican Presidential Debates have given Americans hours and hours of entertainment. The sad part is that as the “stars” are voted off the list of presidential contenders in the upcoming Republican primaries, the candidate that remains will be running for the highest office in the land. With the serious problems facing our nation, do we want “reality TV” spilling over into our reality? What would the very REAL consequences be to our society? I cringe to think of it! Let’s talk about that!

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A Simple Message

If read and/or follow my THOUGHT PROVOKING PERSPECTIVES, you’d know that I have written many critiques concerning the “Ol’ Divide and Conquer” strategy that has been used so effectively to keep us fighting each other.

This week another prominent Brotha has weighed in with his commentary on the Chief and West/Tavis tiff. Right or wrong, he like all of us have the right to say what we wants and I don’t begrudge anyone of that. However, just maybe we should keep our divisiveness between us and not so public with some commentary concerning our issues.

These kind of thing always take me back to what my Granddaddy taught me a long time ago. He was a firm believer in the concept that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop and he would always remind me to never forget who you are. With that said, Granddaddy was and had a profound positive character influence upon my life through the many things he taught me. His approach was to always put his lessons in the form of a story and he used characters that I could identify with to make his point.

There was one story in particular that stood out more than any other. This tale had the most lasting impact of all of his life lessons. It was about his friend Bob. Mr. Bob was a man who I thought was a little strange or maybe crazy. Well, crazy is a bit strong. I’ll just stop short of calling him a fool. After all I was a kid and knew better than to refer to grown folks in this way, but it didn’t stop me from thinking it. I just could not say it out load. Regardless, the old guy sure was a funny man. I always enjoyed being around him because there was constant foolishness and laughter.

The way the story was told to me, Mr. Bob’s job was to offer a prayer every Sunday morning at church during the service prior to the preacher’s sermon, a job he had held for years. Sunday was a special day for the community, and for him to have a position where he would have the attention of everyone was a big deal. More accurately stated it was a platform for him to perform. He would have been a great entertainer. I had been a witness to this many times.

Mr. Bob would walk to church every Sunday morning, rain or shine, from his home. The trip was several miles up and down hills and around curves, and he would be dressed in his best suit for the morning service. During the walk he would practice his part for the service, the prayer, with the intention of making it a show complete with screams and tears. This show would sometimes last thirty minutes. There were many Sundays that I would wonder how one man could have so much to ask of the Lord. I would think, please, let somebody else get a blessing.

On his way to church this particular Sunday, Mr. Bob came across an injured snake. In what he perceived as divine intervention, God said to him, help this poor creature. He realized he did not have a prayer for that day’s service, so he thought, wow, if I help the snake I can pray for us to have the strength to help all of God’s creatures. Since the snake is the lowliest of all creatures, this would really inspire the congregation and hopefully give them the encouragement to do the same, at least until next Sunday’s message. So he picked up the badly injured snake and placed him in a safe place until he could return from church.

With great energy, and now inspired, Mr. Bob went on his way. He planned and practiced his prayer as he marched on to church. After he arrived and exchanged a few greetings, the service began with a joyful noise, as they say, meaning full of song. Then it was his turn to pray. He began to pray with a powerful tone, full of emotion. He asked God to give each person within the sound of his voice the strength to reach out and help all God’s creatures, from the loving dove to the lowly snake. His message had many in the tiny church standing with shouts of Amen. He felt he had done his job as he closed, asking God to bless the church and said Amen. In his usual style this took about a half hour.

To his surprise, the pastor also chose a sermon nearly identical to his message which took about another hour and a half, talking about helping all of God’s creatures. What a great day it was, Mr. Bob thought. Normally after the service ended everyone hung around and fellowshipped as it was one of the few chances they had to socialize. Mr. Bob would not hang around on this day. He was on a mission and left church in a hurry. He rushed back to the spot where his injured snake was placed hoping it would still be there. He was very excited when he arrived to find it was where he left it. He put his snake in a burlap bag he had gotten from the church and took the snake home.

Over the next several weeks Mr. Bob cared for this creature, desperately trying to save the snake and nursing it back to health. About three weeks later he thought it was time to take his snake back to where he found it, thinking it was well enough to be set free. The following Sunday, he put on his best suit and started his journey to church with snake in hand. As he arrived at the spot where he had found it, he thought, what a wonderful thing he had done. He was sure to receive God’s blessing for this act of kindness.

He rubbed the snake gently and said goodbye. However, as he reached into the bag to grab it, suddenly the snake raised his head and bit him. Then bit him again and again. Mr. Bob cried out, why would you bite me after all I’ve done for you? My God why? I guess he was expecting an answer from God, but none came. He repeated his cry once more. Then the snake stuck his head out of the bag and said, “I am a snake and that’s what we do.”

I would later learn that my Granddaddy would tell me these stories to which I would have to figure out their meaning or find the moral of the story. After hearing this story over and over again, I finally figured out what it meant. It was a lesson that would prove to be invaluable. Be careful in your dealings with people because people, just like the snake, will hurt you - that’s what they do.

I think advocating for the African American community and its despair should be more important than shooting missiles of hate toward those with whom you disagree, which just further divides. This is a critical period in black political history. We have a right to our own version of blackness but I say we have a responsibility to that blackness because so many died for us to not be in chains or hanging at the end of a rope. Therefore, let’s face the real problem, deal with it, and make a better America for our children, as was done for us.

And that’s my THOUGHT PROVOKING PERPECTIVE!

Steve Harvey talks about Tavis Smiley & Cornel West



Dr. Boyce and Wilmer Leon: Tom Joyner's Tirade on Tavis Smiley and Cornel West

What do you think???

I’d like to offer a few thoughts concerning the current political discourse revolving around the health care debate. I’ve often asked myself; how can man/people love God who he/they cannot see, but cannot love the physical being of a man who he can see? If we were about to witness the Second Coming of our Lord, another question would be; what would Jesus say? Believing and knowing that his life was lived in service of the least of thee and also died for our sins - I wonder if he would react much in the way he did with the thieves in the temple.

I’ve watched the outrageous antics displayed during many of these town hall meetings where the opponents of something as morally correct as helping the sick are just “acting a fool”. Many of these folks are Republicans, it’s safe to assume, who believe in the sanctity of marriage, call themselves compassionate conservatives or Christian Conservatives, and believe in the right to life. Yet, they display such outrage and bigotry over an issue that would greatly benefit so many lives.

These are, many of them, the same folks who don’t believe our current elected president is the president. In this democracy to be qualified for the job one needs to be born in America to which most reasonable people would agree Hawaii, where records clearly indicate President Obama was born, is part of America. Then of course one must be elected by a majority of voters, which he was and by some accounts a “Landslide”. These same folks are all for bringing democracy to countries around the world but they apparently are not willing to accept it when it works here. I suppose this is the hypocrisy of democracy.

While watching television coverage of the town hall debates my thoughts were, I’ve seen this before – like in 1960. At one town hall event a news report covering the issue asked someone attending the rally; what are your concerns? She said, “We want our country back”. As if the country was overthrown. The elderly woman went on to say “she wanted to restore the country back to what the founding fathers wanted in the Constitution”.

I looked at her wondering if she was aware that the Constitution was signed in 1887 by all white men excluding everybody but them. The founding fathers she referred to lived in a time when they owned human beings as chattel and women had no rights whatsoever. Nonetheless, she was correct in that the Constitution affords us the right to free speech no matter how ridiculous it might be.

In her rage, she also said she does not want the government in her life making medical decisions for her. Hmmm – like the insurance company’s and HMO’s are doing now, if you are lucky enough to have insurance. She went on to say that “Obama wants the government to kill old people, socialize medicine, and take away our Medicare”. The lady who looked to be in her seventies and was wearing a t-shirt that said support the troops obviously did not understand that both entities are government systems providing medical services that are socialized not to mention, I am sure, she took advantage of Social Security. To be respectful, this lady was surely among the low information crowd.

Standing near her in the frame of my television screen were people carrying signs with an erratic horary of issues. The most disrespectful was a sign that had the president looking like Hitler, arguably the worst man to every live. This might just be the reason for the Nazi remarks that could very well be a codeword for N- --- (n word) much in the way they throw around words like communist or socialist when referring to our president. Let’s be clear, the real issue is the face of what America looks like; a black President, a Jewish Chief of Staff, newly appointed Latin Supreme Court Justice, a woman Speaker of the House of Representatives – faces of ultimate power that are no longer all white men.

I don’t have to go back thirty or forty years because these people are the same ones we saw last summer attending rallies held by President Obama’s campaign opponent. However, I am old enough to remember the Jim Crow era when bigotry was a way of life and segregation was the law of the land. The problem is, I think, most African Americans have forgotten what it was like to be “Colored” and in spite of wanting to forget that myself I believe we are about to have a “Columbus Experience”. By that I mean, we are going to discover America that “Real America” the one that the now former Governor decried during the presidential campaign. Because the actions of these people are eerily similar to the racism of a time I’d hoped to never see again.

I am an avid history buff. I just love knowing about the past because to know it and understand it allows you a glimpse into the future. For example, I can recall somewhere around 1860 when there was a movement by many states with a perverse idea called “secession”, which occurred and the United States split into two countries. The reason, as we all know, was about money and the profits gained from the institution of Slavery. Today the issue has again been raised for the same reasons – money, profits, and race.

Recently conservatives held what they called “Tea Parties” in many cities around the nation because they believe the country is going in the wrong direction. I suppose this was to symbolize the Boston Tea Party where the colonists were planting the seed of revolt. It is the same thing that was done in 1860 - revolt. Before I go on, let me say that they seemed to forget what course the nation was on during the last eight years when terror was the main concern.

When you talk about secession and government revolt – it’s called treason and that is brought about by terror. As much as we’ve heard about terror over the last eight years this mindset/behavior rises to the level of a greater evil. Let me highlight the most inflammatory act perpetrated to date. The other day a protester showed up for a town hall meeting held by the President of the United States - ARMED. “Strapped”, yes with a gun – a side arm in plain view where the president was speaking.

At another town hall event there was a guy arrested by the Secret Service because the protester was holding a sign that said he wanted to kill President Obama and his whole family. At the same event there were several signs that said, “Death to the tyrant”. This can’t be simply about health care reform. It’s been reported that the president receives 4-5 hundred death threats a day and with America’s horrible history of assassinations we should be very concerned. Let’s not forget the decade of the 1960’s where we lost a President, a King, an X, a Senator, and several other prominent leaders to assassination.

The actions of these people and let’s not leave out the radio commentators they listen to, who want the president to fail, spew their venom are creating a very dangerous environment reminiscent of the 1960’s. Surely there are a lot of mean spirited evil people in this world and evil is not usually associated with Jesus. Therefore, I think we know what Jesus would say, maybe something like - let’s turn to each other not on each other.

Torture - why not use the RECO Statue

We have all been hearing about the national debate on torture that has saturated the airways and print media. Let me first say that I am not a lawyer but I am knowledgeable enough to have heard about the RECO (Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations) statute. This law essentially says the government convicted a person for just about anything including merely knowing of a crime. Now, this is where I am perplexed. I have not heard it mentioned during this entire debate – WHY?

After noticing this I decided to do a web search. So I visited the Legal Information Institute webpage of Cornell Law School and read the US Code (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sup_01_18_10_I_20_96.html). It seems to me that much of what I read could apply in this situation. Now I know that this law was enacted to address organized crime figures and kingpins to which I would argue that is really what we are dealing with concerning the development and administration of these policies.

What do you think????