The Gathering

Did you get your invitation from James Crow Esq. to attend the 21^st Century Citizens Counsel gathering the Good Ol’ Boys call CPAC? No, I didn’t get one either, but I heard it was a “Yee Ha” kinda weekend!

I will be upfront and say that I have called the Good Ol Boys (GOP), like most, many things and coming from a time where I have seen this movie before; I think my assertion is fair. I will try to capture the essence of what the rightwing nuts and the frightening Republican candidates represented as they continued clinging to a version of reality unique to a world alien to sane people.

Last weekend the conservatives paraded their best spokespeople to advance their cause, and if they were trying to make a good impression on each other and observant voters, they failed miserably because it was nothing but the same. No, actually it was worse! I saw racism and bigotry that went back to the days of segregation, if not the Civil War.

The show or ignominy hosted the usual daily recapitulation of crazy to comprehend the conservative conclave’s purpose was to put on a torrid display of groundless anti-Obama rhetoric based on the roster of speakers. One by one, their so-called best and brightest fired up the crowds preaching that America’s salvation is steeped in religion, austerity, guns, and voiding the federal government. The speakers each reiterated that Republicans lose elections because the GOP failed to articulate conservative’s values and not that voters rejected conservative extremism.

In essence, what they said was “We don’t need new ideas. The idea is called America, and it still works” and it revealed to Republicans, extremism defines America, and voters are out of touch with America. The list of characters represented fanaticism at its finest with the same cast of character; Donald Trump, Rand Paul, Sara Palin, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan rambling on about America’s demise stemming from voter’s rejecting conservative ideas. Many of the gang, marquee spokespersons, came to lay the nation’s woes at the feet of President Obama.

It seemed to me that these so-called patriots favored the Russia President of the American President. Another highlight of the event was “Obama-Care”. Only this time, they did not accuse president Obama of killing grandma but did not hold back on anything else. I would be remised if I did not mention the only Negro in the room – the doctor. It is amazing that every year the find “one” and let me just say for the record black people did not clear him!

The only thing I did not hear from this group that I heard in the past years was – how grateful we should be to have been dragged onto the shores of this great land and given food and shelter to cheers and applause from the crowd.

CPAC was an extremists’ dream, and they brought out the cream of the conservative crop to parrot extremist rhetoric. I still say, because I have a memory of history where we saw the extreme lynch, murder through the use of terror, African Americans could not drink from the same water fountain, trampled and beaten by people of this ilk. In fact, Rand Paul is on record say if he were a Senator he would not have voted for the Civil Rights Act. This sounds to me a lot like what this mean when they say they “want their country back”.

The most memorable, however, was Caribou Barbie’s rendition of a twisted fairytale rendition of a Dr. Seuss like story.  If I could make a comparison to this the 2014 gathering, it was more like a Star Wars bar scene gone wrong. People the 2014 elections are not far away and dare I say - Be afraid, Be very afraid. If any of these people are elected God Bless America! And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

Perception Or Reality

The Republican Party (GOP) is really interesting to watch these days; frankly that is an understatement! Two of the parties shining stars are alleged to have been less than ethical in doing the public’s business. I have said many times that “If you follow the money, you will also get the correct answer”. The interesting thing about both of their situations, even though it appears that they did have their fingers in the cookie jar, they stand before us self-righteous pretending not to be crooks. I remember a guy named “Tricky Dick” who did the same thing and we saw how that turned out.

As a result, now the deck gets shuffled because both of these guys are done. Unfortunately, these two, the Golden Boys, were suppose to be the cream of the crop, which means the GOP now has to deal from the bottom of the deck, and my lord there are some really bad cards in the deck. In my view, this is emblematic of the GOP whose mantra is to preach righteousness while they practice deception. Both of the situations that involve these two are simple about “greed”.

Both of these guys had presidential aspirations with strong conservatives support. Could you imagine having men like these two being in the most powerful position in the world? But then, we have seen them before in the likes of, in my view, all of the republican presidents since “Ike” had similar fallacies. And to be honest, we have not had a president in eighty years to think of the middle class and none since Johnson that showed an interest in African Americans.

So let’s look at some of the other cards in the deck where there are the same noise makers being recycled. There is always the possibility of Caribou Barbie, Mr. Huckaberry, Perry, the Cruz Missile, the Cuban, and others just as or more extreme that are in the equation, as prospects who are down-right frightening. But of all of these characters there is one, who is also extreme but the other make him looks like a moderate. Mr. Paul speaks well and has become more seasoned as a politician. However, his past is recorded and that past is ominous.

What concerns me about Mr. Paul, who became a cult figure among libertarians and Tea Party activists, not unlike his father, both known for marching to a different drummer. This republican has little regard for the GOP party line and believes in a philosophy that might best be described as radical individual freedom and privatizing as many functions as possible to reduce government to its barest bones.

In a past interview Paul has said, he could not bring himself to endorse the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Civil Rights Act of 1964. "I think there's a lot to be desired in the Civil Rights Act... I haven't read all through it, because it was passed 40 years ago and hadn't been a real pressing issue on the campaign whether I'm going to vote for the Civil Rights Act" suggesting that he might not have voted for it if he was around. In addition, he continued with his view that businesses should not be forced by government to adopt anti-discrimination rules. He had to be dragged into recognizing some of the largest moral achievements of recent American history, while still suggesting that the country should go back to the days of old.

It's simply astonishing in this day and age that a possible nominee for anything would try to breathe life into the long discredited notion that the Constitution might protect an individual business owner's 'right' to exclude customers on the basis of race. Sometimes saying nothing is worst that saying what you really mean but I can hear what he is not saying. This philosophy has the virtue of being easily explainable and the drawback of being impossible. Separate but equal is the remedy for what was not accomplished during the last eight years, which I suppose is the message that he wants to return to those days.

The current federal role did not grow primarily because of the statist ambitions of liberals; it grew in response to democratic choices and global challenges. Federal power advanced to rescue the elderly from penury, to enforce civil rights laws, to establish a stable regulatory framework for a modern economy, and to force by law a wicked system that was designed to suppress the helpless. I might add that these are the same people who benefit from these same government handouts.

There are reasons why movements were necessary and gains achieved. This it is not black people along seeks equality and they have attached women. If you know anything – the worst thing you can do is to scorn a women. Therefore, I am certain they will pay a price in November. And that’s my thought provoking perspective…

False Witness

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius does not know that he is stupid. I have repeatedly said that the conservative operatives seem to always find some Negro willing to sell their soul or one that is just plain stupid.

The latest Herman Cain type is retired pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson who recently said President Obama's signature domestic policy achievement Obamacare is "the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery." I am really disappointed to hear that a doctor would compare something that helps people to slavery, which was the worst thing in the history of mankind.

Carson, who retired in May from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said at the conservative Values Voter Summit in Washington that "It is slavery, in a way, because it is making all of us subservient to the government… It was never about healthcare. It was about control.” He went on to say, "That's why, when this administration took office, it didn't matter that the country was going off the cliff economically, all forces were directed toward getting this legislation passed," naturally the event's 2,000 attendees loved this – sorta like red meat!

He went on to say, "Why did they want to pass it so badly? …socialized medicine is the keystone to the establishment of a Socialist state. That's the problem." I would ask if this supposedly smart man can recall who run the country of the cliff for eight years prior to President Obama. The things the prior president did were far worse than anything done since 2008.

I was taught the character of a man is the company he keeps. Brother Carson has been keeping company with the devil: the GOP and organizations like the Heritage Foundation, the American Family Association, American Values, Liberty Counsel Action, and the same crowd that supports the Tea Party.

He has aligned himself with the like Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Tim Scott of South Carolina. Others included House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. To include former Arkansas Gov. and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint are also scheduled to speak at the summit.

Carson, who has been mentioned as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2016, continued his attacks on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as well as other policies of the president that began with his comments in February at the National Prayer Breakfast as Obama sat on the dais, which was a so disrespectful.

"Government plays a very important role when, in fact, it believes in the Constitution… When they begin to neglect the Constitution, when they begin to impose their own will." “That's the problem,” he said. My guess is that he has not read the constitution! Yes, the same constitution that labels people of color as three fifths a man. Not since it was written has that language been changed to identify said people of color as full citizens and he dares to suggest publicly the this crowd of his gives one damn about him or us.

Just because you are smart and gifted does not me you are intelligent! Therefore, I say sir – “you bare false witness”. And that’s my thought provoking perspective…

Meet The Wizards

I like to think I am a fairly well read man and have read newspaper articles about the Master’s of the conservative party and the so-called patriots but not until I saw this video. In the wake of the ongoing government shutdown I would like to introduce you, via this video, to David and Charles Koch. I strongly suggest that everyone see this video to be educated as to who the Koch Brothers are and how they impact your life.

There are crimes and then there are criminals to which I am of the opinion that both must co-exist in order not just become wealthy but to remain wealthy. Thanks to the Supreme Court giving them license to buy America. Please view this documentary about, like the Wizard of Oz, the men behind the curtain. And that’s my thought provoking perspective…

Somethings Never Change

Arnold Glasgow once said, “The future is the past returning through another gate.” In other words, history repeats itself and just as Solomon said, “there is nothing new under the sun”. This is particularly evident today in our political environment because, I would argue, America is more divisive than at any time in the country’s history. In fact, the so-called conservatives are actually telling us when the say “We want our country back”.

Just look at the destructive business of justice for example; we see the racially biased war on drugs, stop and frisk, the prison industrial complex that is now a profit entity, and the most destructive law of all - stand your ground. This means people the other hue can “kill you”, if they feel threatened. There is no question, and statistics bear it out, that these policies and laws disproportionately affect African Americans and minorities. It is not much different than the Black Codes or Slave Laws of the past.

Let’s go one step further. The state of race relations is at its worst in a hundred and fifty-years. The American president and in fact all minorities are much maligned and chastised by a newly formed group called the Tea Party, which is nothing more than the new face of the “Klan”. Billionaires have bought and paid for the GOP electing politicians who do their bidding with no regard for American or its people.

Overtime this culture of hatred has appeared in a number of different forms, i.e., slavery, separate but equal, segregation, and Jim Crow. However, what we see today is a new name with the same face of racism. It is easy to see because often times they will quickly say they are not racist or that they have black friends. So beware of the pat on the back as they smile in your face.

There may be some who will disagree but the foundation of this democracy is built on the backs on group or another. Even before African’s were stolen and brought to this country the nation’s forefathers had already begun to annihilate the people who were already on America’s soil, although the complete process was not complete for several hundred years – they were destroyed.

The mindset of these people in the GOP, the so–called Conservatives, and the Tea Party have turned even more dangerous because they have now begun to eat their own, which is a clear indication that the least of thee have no chance. From Nixon to their hero Reagan, to Bush, Bush II, and beyond; the goal has been the same, to protect the rich and destroy all others. Therefore, it appears that it is not black and white anymore; rather it’s rich or poor.

So may question to white America; how does it feel to be a N-word, because we are all N-words now! And that’s my thought provoking perspective…

SHUTDOWN: Snakes In The House

The snake has always been deemed the reptile most associated with evil. I don’t want to sound too biblical but we remember the story of Adam and Eve! So from the very beginning of this Republican ideological conflict within their “Klan” things have intensified since the so-called “Young Guns” arrived. It is obvious they want to destroy America or at least want America to fail, which reminds me of what it must have been like in the years leading to the American Civil War.

This move to shut down the US Government over Obamacare is like “putting pins in a voodoo doll” that looks like President of Obama. By the way, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and the law takes effect today. This insanity of consequences be damn is just another attempt to damage the legacy of President Obama – if not destroy it. In other words these so-call patriots are nothing more than “terrorists”.

The Tea-party populism has moved quickly to do everything they can to attack and destroy American. Hence, we will see a revolt against the Republican “establishment” or a revolt against anyone who accepts the constraints of a political reality. Conservatives are excommunicated not for holding the wrong convictions but for rational calculations of their convictions.

The U.S. government began a shutdown today for the first time in 17 years after a Congress bitterly divided over President Obama’s signature health-care initiative failed to reach agreement to fund federal agencies. So the so-called “job creators” allowed millions of Americans to be out of work confirms that this is the worst Congress in history. These so-called patriots have declared war on us all.

I don’t like to name names but the generals of the this confederacy have names like Cruz, Boehner, McConnell, Ryan, Cantor, and about twenty crazies hell bent on political disaster have all the virtue of an un-intellectual clown circus.

The impasse means 800,000 federal workers will be furloughed, national parks, monuments and museums, as well as most federal offices, will close. Tens of thousands of air-traffic controllers, prison guards and Border Patrol agents will be required to serve without pay.

In a last-minute ray of hope for active-duty troops, Congress approved and sent to the White House an agreement to keep issuing military paychecks. But Obama warned that the broader economy, which is finally starting to recover from the shocks of the Bush years, would take a substantial hit if congressional gridlock shutters “America’s largest employer.”

“Keeping the people’s government open is not a concession to me. Keeping vital services running and hundreds of thousands of Americans on the job is not something you ‘give’ to the other side. It’s our basic responsibility,” Obama said in a statement Monday evening at the White House.

Privately, senior Republicans predicted that the closure would last at least a week. A fraction of today’s House Republicans were on Capitol Hill in 1995 and 1996 when a Republican-led Congress last shut down the government in a dispute over the budget with a Democratic president. Younger lawmakers don’t remember the pain the shutdown caused constituents, senior and the poor and many of them now question the conventional wisdom that the closures weakened the GOP presidential candidate in 1996 and nearly cost the party control of the House.

So for all of the folks who support those so-called patriots, who wear the funny hats, pointed or otherwise, will now feel the pain of their insanity. So yes, I’ll say these terrorists or teajadists are snakes in the house. And that’s my thought provoking perspective…

THE IMPACT

Divided He Stands

Every so often some fool of color is found that is frankly offensive and in fact a disgrace to his race. We know there have been many overtime and in this case the one that has emerged is cloaked in the guise of a Reverend. The list is long with the likes of Ward Connelly, Allen West, Allen Keys, Herman Cain, Let Elder, Clearance Thomas, and unfortunately so many more. Many of their reputations are despicable to everyone but them and, of course, those of that bigoted ilk.

I came across this man named Jesse Lee Peterson who is president and founder of The Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), which is an American religious nonprofit organization dedicated to a conservative agenda. He is a Tea Party darling, which means he is a black man who’s sold his sold to the devil or more aptly put a Black Klansman. He has hosted a cable TV program and a syndicated radio talk show.

I had not really heard of him and don’t usually pay much attention to folks of his ilk but after listening to him I was simply floored and embarrassed. Listening to him spew his venom had absolutely nothing to do with God or a ministry of any kind. But then the KKK burns crosses suggesting that their bigotry has something to do with God’s grace. It could be that his ministry is little more than a cult rather than a church. Or just his insanity! He gives credence to the term a sheep in wolves clothing.

I am going to be direct and to the point. For a black man in his middle sixties to have known segregation and racism to say he thanks "God and white people" for slavery adding if it weren't for the slave trade, blacks might have never made it to the promise land and described slave ships as akin to "being on a crowded airplane". This is beyond insanity!!!

A more recent statement that is as troubling is that he says women should not be allowed to vote:

“Women cannot handle power. It's not in them to handle power in the right way. [...] I think that one of the greatest mistakes America made was to allow women the opportunity to vote. We should've never turned this over to women. [...] It was a big mistake. [...] And these women are voting in the wrong people. They're voting in people who are evil who agrees[sic] with them who're gonna take us down this pathway of destruction. And this probably was the reason they didn't allow women to vote when men were men. Because men in the good old days understood the nature of the woman. They were not afraid to deal with it. And they understood that, you let them take over, this is what would happen.”

Peterson once established an annual “National Day of Repudiation of Jesse Jackson” event that was held on a street corner outside his offices in Los Angeles, which received no public attention outside of conservative media. On September 21, 2005, Peterson penned a column for WorldNetDaily, in which he suggested the majority of the African American people stranded in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina were “welfare-pampered", "lazy" and "immoral". Peterson also criticized New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin for blaming President George W. Bush for his lack of response to the crisis, stating that "responsibility to perform legally and practically fell first on the Mayor of New Orleans.

On February 28, 2006, as a member of a student panel discussion at the UC Irvine on a Muslim cartoon controversy, Peterson described Islam as an "evil religion", and stated extremist Muslims "hate us [America] because we are a Christian nation and we support Israel”.

In January 2010, Peterson issued a statement calling for the resignation of Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele, saying "Michael Steele is a weak leader and he needs to resign or be fired. We need someone who's not afraid to boldly promote strong conservative Republican ideas. The only reason Steele is still RNC Chair is because he's black and the party is terrified of the implications of firing him."

He has claimed, "Barack Obama hates white people, especially white men" and "Barack Obama is Jeremiah Wright Jr. He is the NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus! He embodies the aspirations of every left-wing black group that wants to tear down this country and take power away from the "oppressive" white man. He's not an obvious race hustler like Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson; but Obama is a smooth pathological liar with a wicked heart". WOW!!!

I can’t conjure any speech that would allow me to share my opinion of such a fool, and I use that loosely, because my mother taught me that if you can’t say anything good about someone - say nothing at all and saying nothing here speaks volumes. However, I won’t go as far as Brother Malcolm and call him a “House N-Word” but he does remind me of my Uncle whose name is “Tom”. And that’s my thought provoking perspective…

Apocalypse Now

The Bible tells us about the end times when there will appear Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse described in the last book of the New Testament as the Book of Revelations. Most Christians know the story of fear and damnation. The chapter tells of a book in God’s right hand that is sealed with seven seals. Jesus opens the first four of the seven seals, which summons forth four beings that ride out on white, red, black, and pale horses.

The four riders are seen as symbolizing Conquest, War, Famine, and the last rider is death. Yes, this is scary stuff but to most believers it is expected and very real. Could it be upon us now? There are many who have refer to our president as the Anti-Christ, so its reasonable view the obstructionist as purveyors of doom. They are false idols intent upon destroying the middle class and the needy through the policies.

The first horsemen called represents Conquest and we have seen and can confirm that this rider has visited because the rich get richer and the powerful has conquered the least of thee. The second horseman as depicted in a thirteenth-century Apocalypse manuscript is a fiery red one whose rider is given the power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other and to him was given a large sword. [Revelations 6:3-4] This horseman may represent civil war as opposed to the war of conquest that the first horseman is sometimes said to bring.

The third horseman rides a black horse which is generally understood as Famine. The horseman carries a scale, indicating the way that bread would have been weighed during a famine. The indicated price of grain is about ten times normal, with an entire day's wages buying enough wheat for only one person, or enough of the less nutritious barley for three, so that workers would struggle to feed their families much in the way life is today.

The fourth horseman who is the most ominous has a rider who’s named is Death known as the pale rider. These horsemen are to be given power to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. Unlike the other three, the forth horseman is not described as carrying a weapon although illustrations commonly depict him carrying a scythe - like the Grim Reaper. The verse beginning "they were given power over a fourth of the earth" is generally taken as referring to destruction.

As I wrote this piece I could not help but compare this story of the end times to what I see in our politics, particularly from the obstructionists. The ideology of states’ rights and the injustice of stand your ground laws enacted by the right-wing, who call themselves conservatives, take us back to days of the Citizens Council’s of old. Like the Horsemen of the Apocalypse their purpose is to bring Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

Gone Too Far Rush

The carnival barker Rush Limbaugh offered one of the saddest commentary’s I think I have ever heard over the airwaves. Frankly, his latest outburst lets me know that he has finally lost his damn mind or he has relapsed and reverted back to drugs. I have to question his frame of mind with respect to his rewrite of history. He told his listeners on Monday that “it’s time for this white guilt to end… if any race of people should not have guilt about slavery, its Caucasians.”

The drugster proffered a theory that only lives in his mind or maybe the racist who listen to him. According to Limbaugh, compared to other parts of the world, slavery in America was “by no means…anywhere near the worst.” He went on to say that Native Americans started wars with each other for slaves, and that “Ancient Rome went to war to win more slaves.”

According to Media Matters, Limbaugh closed his argument by saying “despite it all; no other race has ever fought a war for the purpose of ending slavery, which we did. Nearly 600,000 people were killed in the Civil War. It’s preposterous that Caucasians are blamed for slavery when they’ve done more to end it than any other race, and within the bounds of the Constitution to boot. And yet white guilt is still one of the dominating factors in American politics. It’s exploited, it’s played upon, it is promoted, used, and it’s unnecessary.”

Oh, there is more!

Limbaugh made headlines last week for his comments following Zimmerman trial witness Rachel Jeantel’s interview on CNN’s Piers Morgan. During the interview, Jeantel said there was a different meaning to the n-word when it ends in ‘a’ as opposed to ‘er.’ Limbaugh said the n-word ending in ‘a’ on his radio show the following day, adding that because of Jeantel’s statements, the drugster believes he should be able to the N-WORD from now on. Again, he has lost his damn mind and crossed the line!

LAW AND ORDER THEME!!!

With the prevailing discourses of politicians and anti-public intellectuals who believe that the legacy of the Enlightenment needs to be reversed this clown has secured his spot at the top of the list. Politicians such as Michelle Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich along with talking heads such as Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck and Anne Coulter have made outrageous statements but they don’t have the reach of this nut. All are symptomatic of a much more disturbing assault on critical thought, if not rational thinking itself. This language is devoid of power or command of logic and divorced from social responsibility, critical analysis or facts.

I thought the above mentioned were a special kind of like but Rush has taken insanity to a whole nother level! The beauty of his racist views is that big name and small locals companies are dumping his to the tune of about 2700 sponsors so far. Some of the most loyal Rush Limbaugh sponsors, who have ignored protesters for over a year… are now bolting.

These racist rants must stop! So let’s give him a lot of press and say to his sponsors that the drugster must go for the sake of humanity. So use your power through social media to put an end to this clown - by any means necessary. And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

Faces Of Dispair

I am a huge fan of America’s favorite past time. You know the game, as they say “happens every spring”. The same could well be said about politics and the conservative’s never ending quest to find some Negro to be virtually the black face of their party. Don’t get me wrong, it is perfectly acceptable for any American to partake and join any political party they desire. We’ve seen a long list of black republicans come along who share the values of the extreme. Are they opportunist or as they were called in the Grio “The GOP's black mad men”.

I would not dare compare or reference any of them to the character in the novel Uncle Tom’s cabin because he was actually the hero of the story. Let me just say that all of these intelligent men must be aware the black people still do not have the permanent right to vote and the Supreme Court will soon render a decision that may weaken what exists. I won’t get into either of those now, but every so many year congress has to reauthorize our right to vote and it was last done in 2006. 

One of these so-called republicans a few years ago, remember Mr. 999, preached to black people that they should pull yourselves up by your boot straps! Well sir that is a very difficult thing to do when you don’t have boots. I use this example to express shame on them because the black man who has done just that is maligned for doing just what he suggests.  

I am not going to go back too far because history has shown that there has always been black people in two camps according to Malcolm X. There were the house Negro and the field Negro. To some this may be difficult to understand but the house Negro was someone so loyal to his owner; the slave master that he had no sense of logic and his devotion was insane. On the hand, the field Negro was whipped, raped, beaten, and treated no different than an animal.  

If I could say to them, respectfully, African American’s were not granted any semblance of civil rights until 1965 and that was 100 years after it was suppose to have been granted after the Civil War. Let me add another piece of history; because the voting rights of each of these black republicans remain suspect, you are still 3/5 a man as the Constitution states - less than a man! And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

Michele Bachmann Quits!!!

New sources are reporting that Tea Party firebrand Quits. Bachmann said, “rest assured, this decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries into the activities of my former presidential campaign or my former presidential staff.”

This might be clearly understood by Bachmann, but not by the FBI, the Congressional Ethics Office, the special prosecutor in Iowa, the FEC, and all the other agencies that are investigating her 2012 presidential campaign.

The media has taken the same excuse that they crafted for Sarah Palin, that she was an undisciplined conservative star who flamed out, and glued it on to Michele Bachmann. The problem is that in Bachmann’s case it doesn’t fit. It isn’t a surprise that Rep. Bachmann would deny everything surrounding the ethics investigations in her video. That is exactly what she is supposed to do. She is not going to admit that she is quitting because of allegations of misuse of funds, theft, and money laundering, among other crimes.

Michele Bachmann didn’t choose to quit on a whim. She quit as a preemptive strike to stop this scandal from either costing her the election next year, or bringing her down later. All together now -YEAH!!! And that's my Thought Provoking Perspective...

THIS IS HOW SHE PUT IT!

WARNING: This Is Very Disturbing!!!

I guess every since there have been black people there have been those who are different. One of my subscribers sent me this chilling video and all I can say is this guy takes different to a whole-nother realm! I’ve been taught and affirmed by definition that “insanity is downing the same thing you’ve always down and getting the same result”. I don’t believe that describes sufficiently to what is going on in the mind of this guy. SMH!!!

VERY DISTURBING!!! And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

The Gathering

Did you get your invitation from James Crow Esq. to attend the 21^st Century Citizens Counsel gathering they call CPAC? No, I did not get one either but I heard all about it. I will be upfront and say that I have called the Good Ol Boys (GOP), like most, many things and coming from a time where I have seen this movie before; I think my assertion is fair. I will try to capture the essence of what the rightwing nuts and failed Republican candidates represented as they continued clinging to a version of reality unique to a world alien to sane people.

Last weekend the conservatives paraded their best spokespeople to advance their cause, and if they were trying to make a good impression on each other and observant voters, they failed miserably because it was nothing but the same. No actually it was worst. I saw racism and bigotry that went back to the days of the Civil War.

The show or disgrace hosted the usual daily recapitulation of crazy to comprehend the conservative conclave’s purpose was to put on a torrid display of groundless anti-Obama rhetoric based on the roster of speakers. One by one, their best and brightest fired up the crowds preaching that America’s salvation is steeped in religion, austerity, guns, and voiding the federal government, and the speakers each reiterated that Republicans lost the November election because the GOP failed to articulate conservative’s values and not that voters rejected conservative extremism.

Marco Rubio said, “We don’t need new ideas. The idea is called America, and it still works” and it revealed that to Republicans, extremism defines America, and voters are out of touch with America. The list of characters represented fanaticism at its finest with Donald Trump, Rand Paul, Sara Palin, Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan rambling on about America’s demise stemming from voter’s rejecting conservative ideas. Many of the gang, marquee spokespersons, came out of retirement to lay the nation’s woes at the feet of President Obama.

They had the nerve to host a panel on “Trumping the Race” card, which appeared to be the highlight of the day. A man from North Carolina complained that embracing diversity in the party by reaching out to black conservatives was “at the expense of young, white, Southern males like myself, my demographic is being systematically disenfranchised.”

When the discussion leader from the Frederick Douglass Republicans shared a story about abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s letter to his former slave-owner forgiving him for holding him in servitude, the racist said, “For giving him shelter and food?” The racist’s remark evoked cheers and applause from the crowd.

After the brief exchange, the racist muttered “why can’t we just have segregation?” When the racist was asked if he supported an America where African Americans were subservient to whites, he said “I’d be fine with that,” and continued that African Americans “should be allowed to vote in Africa,” and that “all the Tea Parties” were concerned with the same racial problems that he was. When a woman confronted the man on the GOP’s racist roots, he said “I didn’t know the legacy of the Republican Party included women correcting men in public.”

The interchange, although not part of the scheduled program, highlighted Republicans’ racism that the election of an African American as President has brought to the voters’ attention and alienated minorities in November’s election. To reinforce the point, Tea Party Patriots blamed the racist’s remarks on an African American woman reporter for asking a question they said was “disruptive and coercive;” she asked, “How many Black women were there?”

The Black reporter also took exception to the contention that Democrats are to blame for the existence of the Ku Klux Klan, that enraged the crowd who shouted the woman down with cries of “We don’t want your question,” and “we don’t want to hear it.” One teabagger regaled in tri-corner hat, waistcoat and breeches typical of a Revolutionary War soldier shouted incessantly at the Black reporter and finally stormed out of the room.

CPAC was an extremists’ dream, and they brought out the cream of the conservative crop to parrot extremist rhetoric. The was a time in recent memory where we saw the extreme lynch, murder though the use of terror, African Americans could not drink from the same water fountain, trampled and beaten by people of this ilk. In fact, Rand Paul is on record say if he were a Senator he would not have voted for the Civil Rights Act.

If I could make a comparison to this gathering it was more like a Star Wars bar scene gone wrong. People 2014 is not far away. I counted five black people and one Latino - Be afraid, Be very afraid! And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

Why General?

I have always admired brilliant men of courage and distinction but on Sunday I watched Meet The Press with disappointment. I heard General Colin Powell condemned the GOP of its “dark vein of intolerance” going on to say that the party’s repeated use of racial code words to oppose President Obama to rally white conservative voters.

Without mentioning names, most of us knew who Powell was talking about; former Mitt Romney surrogate and New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu for calling Obama “lazy” and Palin, who, Powell charged, used slavery-era terms to describe Obama. Frankly much of what comes from the GOP were terms used just a generation ago.

The general went on to say:

“When I see a former governor say that the President is “shuckin’ and jivin’,” that’s racial era slave term. When I see another former governor after the president’s first debate where he didn’t do very well, says that the president was lazy. He didn’t say he was slow. He was tired. He didn’t do well. He said he was lazy. Now, it may not mean anything to most Americans, but to those of us who are African Americans, the second word is shiftless and then there’s a third word that goes along with that. The birther, the whole birther movement. Why do senior Republican leaders tolerate this kind of discussion within the party?”

Well General, if you can acknowledge that this activity exists, and even Ray Charles can see that it does, then why Sir do you associate with this ilk? You saw what they have done to all other faces with melon and what they did to you with that Weapons of Mass Destruction thing. Isn't it a little disingenuous to report that you see a disturbing problem? And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

The Insanity of Some Peoples Reality

In the last few weeks I've heard some of the most ridiculous statements on the issue of gun control, from the right-wing nuts, that simply boggle the mind. Of course, it more of the same – more guns. I want to go out on a lamb and say that is exactly what the problem is; too many guns. We all know the urban communities have been crying out for help concerning the easy access to guns as long as I can remember. It seemed perfectly fair for the NRA and others to ignore the problem of gun violence in these communities, which could be viewed as genocide.

These same Politian’s who, in my opinion are bought and paid for, have failed to support sensible legislation to address the issue of guns that are designed for war. I heard Chris Rock say that the problem is not the guns, it’s the bullets. It is surely a huge part of the problem especially when a person can buy thousands of rounds of ammunition and no one sees a problem or asks a reasonable question; for what?

Since the horrible shooting at the Sandy Hooks Elementary School MANY places in America are passing laws to allow teachers to bring their guns to class. One such school district passed a law to have the janitors be the first line of defense and plan to give the janitor two days training! These are just two of the most insane options out there but what makes these so crazy; supposedly the parents of the children are not required to be notified.

I am not going to belabor or dignify this type of madness other than to say “INSANE”! I am a veteran who served in the Army during a war and I can tell you that the months of military training does not fully prepare you for that moment when faced with a gun by someone wanting to kill. Moreover, it is not as easy to use said gun when the moment arrives knowing you are going to kill. Last point, once done you have to live with the guilt.

The real reason I wrote this blog today is because I am discussed at those who compare the right to have guns to the Civil Rights Movement. One nut had the nerve to say that if every person had a gun maybe there would never have been slavery in America. I say, shame on you! To this guy, the slaves were considered chattel and not human nor citizens; according to the Constitution they were 3/5^th’s human. I wonder if this fool realized that slaves were captured and brought to this country by force with guns.

My blood pressure is rising so I will close by saying simply, as you see in the captioned picture, more guns did not protect Ronald Reagan. So what makes anyone think more guns will protect our children. And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

The attached video is dated July 2012 – just multiple the stats’ by two and the message is the same.

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The Face of Pride

I recently read an article where the author asked a question that needed not to have been asked – “Are Black People voting for Obama because he’s black”. Let me say first, he is half white by virtue of the woman who birthed him and he was raised by white grandparents. So let’s take that off the table.

The author asked; “are black people supporting Obama mainly because he's black? If race is just one factor in blacks' support of Obama, does that make them racist? Can blacks' support for Obama be compared with white voters who may favor his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, because he's white? These questions have long animated conservatives who are frustrated by claims that white people who oppose Obama's policies are racist.”

History is clear; an entire race of people was taken from their land by force, survived slavery, segregation and discrimination that have certainly forged a special pride within the African-Americans soul. There is enough evidence to show a hard-earned pride in a president who looks like us. Our loyalty to President Barack Obama is pride - not prejudice!

It has been reported that the president lived a life much like many African America and therefore can empathize with our plight and by the mere fact that his complication is dark makes him black. He needed assistance in the form of food stamp at a point in his early life and has endured racism like the rest of us, and that also makes him black. Just look at the racism he has endured since he became president.

Race matters – there is no argument here. Voting for someone who would understand your side of the coin is not racism. It is voting for your interests. Such logic runs into trouble when applied to a white person voting for Romney because he understands whiteness better. This is a right afforded to us in our political Diaspora.
It is a fact that Martin Luther King Jr. fought Jim Crow laws, which deprived blacks of political rights after Reconstruction, upheld by Southern Democrats. But black voters switched after Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed through the 1960s civil rights legislation and Republicans successfully pursued the votes of white people who disliked the civil rights agenda.

This is democracy at work. When you have the right to vote it means to vote for that which or those who supports your interest. In the case of President Obama he smashed what was thought to be the ultimate glass ceiling. He understands that black pride springs from a shared history of being treated as less than human, while the history of pride in whiteness has a racist context.

Black people understand the dog whistles of the GOP and the negative stigma about us through their generalizations in speeches about our race, such as terms like welfare queens. But the danger here is that they have taken such language to a whole nother level; like Romney’s 47% comment and those concerning reproductive rights that now include at least half of the American citizenry.

The author of the article quoted Sherrilyn Ifill, a law professor at the University of Maryland, who wrote a column exploring why so many black voters are rejecting Romney. She said it has less to do with the candidate than with his party's treatment of Obama, such as John Sununu calling the president "lazy" after the debate, a congressman shouting "You lie!" during the State of the Union address, claims that Obama is not a citizen and more.

In an interview, Ifill said that for black voters, such accusations feel like white people are attacking their own dignity. "In essence," she says, "they are closing ranks around Obama."
She noted that women were justifiably moved by Hillary Rodham Clinton's candidacy and Catholics flocked to the polls to elect President John F. Kennedy. Comparing black pride in Obama to white pride in Romney is a "false symmetry" because of the history of black oppression. "There should not be this resistance to pride over the first black president," Ifill says. "If we get to the fifth one, I'll be with you."



This is why we support! And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

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Slavery was a ‘blessing in disguise’ – Really!!!

Something’s people say are insensitive and sometimes outrageous. Often times within these statements you will find truth! For example, a GOP State Representative from Arkansas has released a book that he is calling his own personal memoir, which means he is revealing his soul. Most of the Good Ol’ Boys routinely blow what we have come to know as the typical conservative dog whistles. No, No, No, not this guy –he screams his racism loud and clear.

I know this post may help his book sales but I thought it was more important to call-out this guy for the bigot that he is. Arkansas State Representative Jon Hubbard writes in this newly released memoir titled "Letters to the Editor: Confessions of a Frustrated Conservative" a host of complaints and grievances commonly spoken by conservatives. However, he exercises his freedom of speech to extremely take his work one step further.

As reported by Michael Cook's post on talkbusiness.net:
 

Hubbard argues that slavery was actually a "blessing in disguise" and that African-Americans have benefited from it in the long run. From reading Hubbard’s writings, it is clear he believes that African-Americans are lazy, ignorant, lack discipline and that they should be thankful they were once enslaved. Let’s start looking at the extreme words Hubbard put to paper:

First, Hubbard believes that slavery was, in the end, a good thing for African-Americans:
“… the institution of slavery that the black race has long believed to be an abomination upon its people may actually have been a blessing in disguise. The blacks who could endure those conditions and circumstances would someday be rewarded with citizenship in the greatest nation ever established upon the face of the Earth.” (Pages 183-89)

Here is what Hubbard is really saying: Hey black folks, yeah, I know, we kept you in chains for hundreds of years, beat you, raped your women, lynched innocent teenagers, destroyed your families, but isn’t that really a good thing?

Hubbard believes integrating schools is harmful to white students because, in his opinion, blacks are lazy, have no discipline and are causing a decline in education:
“… one of the stated purposes of school integration was to bring black students up to a level close to that of white students. But, to the great disappointment of everyone, the results of this theory worked exactly in reverse of its intended purpose, and instead of black students rising to the educational levels previously attained by white students, the white students dropped to the level of black students. To make matters worse the lack of discipline and ambition of black students soon became shared by their white classmates, and our educational system has been in a steady decline ever since.”  (Page 27)

Hubbard believes blacks are too ignorant to know the value of a good education:
“Wouldn’t life for blacks in America today be more enjoyable and successful if they would only learn to appreciate the value of a good education?”  (Page 184)

Hubbard believes black folks were lucky they were once enslaved because living in Africa is bad:

African Americans must “understand that even while in the throes of slavery, their lives as Americans are likely much better than they ever would have enjoyed living in sub-Saharan Africa.”

“Knowing what we know today about life on the African continent, would an existence spent in slavery have been any crueler than a life spent in sub-Saharan Africa?” (Pages 93 and 189)

Here is where Hubbard basically says black folks are lazy and don’t do anything worthwhile:
“… will it ever become possible for black people in the United States of America to firmly establish themselves as inclusive and contributing members of society within this country?”  (Page 187)

Although I should not have been surprised because this is what’s considered mainstream for the Republican base and maybe the new “Citizens Counsel” we know as the Tea Party. In this political environment, which is not all that much different under the surface than it was in the days and times where the conservatives want to take America back too. You know the mantra, “we want to take back our country”!

I did a little research and have not found a single word from any so called conservative who has condemn this intolerance and ignorant attitude. While the mainstream Republicans party might not be as clear as Hubbard, the underlining core of their bigotry shines through. Silence  speak volumes!

Let me just add that the faith of this year’s presidential candidate did not allow Black people to participate or become members until 1968. And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

 “Just a Season”

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AMAZON

Legacy – A New Season