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

ABOUT ME: http://about.me/nialoves2dance

BLOG:http://mamielouiseanderson.posterous.com/

http://johntwills.com

By Any Means Necessary

Malcolm X was no doubt one of the most profoundly significant, famous, and controversial African American leaders of our time. I cannot recall any other MAN, except maybe Dr. King, whose impact was so overwhelmingly felt by so many. The Minister Malcolm’s prophetic words spoken over forty-five years ago resonate as relevant today as the day they were spoken evoking the same emotions of truth.

February 21st is the anniversary, for lack of a better word, of Minister Malcolm X’s assassination at the Audubon Ballroom that has yet to be fully resolved in the minds of most of us. What I can say is that we lost a champion unlike anyone I have witnessed in my lifetime. Therefore, it would be blasphemy to dedicate an entire month to the ghost of the greats and not include the most articulate orator of our time.

I could go deeply into the making of this man but so many people, agencies, institutions and organizations have covered this great man’s brief life on earth in much more detail than I can. As you know, there is a vast sea of in-depth analyses, books, movies, and biographies on his life and philosophies. I will not try to rewrite history rather simply pay homage to the legacy of this great man as brief as I can, honoring him for his contributions to the African American Diaspora.

There are facts (known & unknown), suspicions and of course theories surrounding the assassination of Malcolm X, the impact it has had on our culture and the world the world. Like the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X also had a dream. It began bathed in the tenets of anger and hatred, fostering economic independence on the shoulders of retaliatory separatism that ended with the swelling acceptance of a unified brotherhood and the replacement of hatred with peace and with the nagging thirst for international equality for all mankind.

As the story goes, early in Malcolm’s life a white teacher asked him what he would like to be and his answer was “a lawyer”. The teacher, who had encouraged his white students on their career choices, told Malcolm, “That’s no realistic goal for a nigger”. This statement discouraged a bright student to not seek his full potential leading to a life of crime. After being caught and arrested for carrying a concealed weapon he was sentenced to prison. While serving more than six years he began educating himself, converted to the Islamic faith and became a Black Muslim in the Nation of Islam (NOI).

After his release in 1952, Malcolm Little, now known as Malcolm X, went to Detroit and began to actively preach to the frustrated African American population about what Islam had to offer. It made no difference where he conducted his sermons and teachings, whether on the streets or in a temple. He spread the word to anyone who would listen.

It was not long before Malcolm became a favorite of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. He was made a minister and began to travel from city to city, preaching the message, founding new temples and converting thousands of people to the faith. Two years later, Malcolm X became minister of the famed Temple Number Seven in Harlem, New York.

In April of 1964, Malcolm X made a pilgrimage to Mecca which led to his second conversion. He met brothers of the faith who were from many nations and of many races, black, brown, white, and all the sons of Allah. The reality dawned on him that advocating racial cooperation and brotherhood would help resolve the racial problems in America and, hopefully, lead to a peaceful coexistence throughout the world. Malcolm X’s transformed ideas and dreams reached full fruition and were ready for implementation. He changed his name, this time to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and found himself going against the system, but this time he would not be alone in the fight for equality and justice.

It did not take long for the reactionaries to strike out at Malcolm X. Members of the NOI resented what they thought were his attempts to supplant Elijah Muhammad. Government entities feared his involving the NOI in international issues, as well as his starting to lean too far to the left, while law enforcement officials looked upon him and his actions as radical, criminal and detrimental to society.

Early on the morning of February 14, 1965, Malcolm and his family were peacefully asleep in their home in Elmhurst, New York. They were suddenly awakened by the sounds of shattering glass and explosions. Several Molotov cocktails had been thrown through their living room window, engulfing the house in roaring flames. Malcolm and his wife, Betty, quickly gathered their children and rushed out of the burning house. Once safe, they stood outside in the cold air, watching as their home and possessions burned. It was never determined who had tried to kill them, though Malcolm did tell authorities he thought it may have been the NOI.

Just one week later at a scheduled appearance at the Audubon Ballroom, which was almost full on a cold February day with over 400 followers of Islam anxiously awaiting Brother Malcolm X. No uniformed police were visible inside the Audubon, but two were stationed outside the entrance although it was common knowledge that an attempt on Malcolm’s life was a real possibility. Inside the Audubon Ballroom, several dark-suited NOI guards were positioned near the stage and towards the rear of the room. As soldiers of the NOI, the militancy of the neatly dressed men was evident in their demeanor, as they surveyed the room, quietly watching the seating of late arrivals.

Malcolm X, his pregnant wife and their four children waited as a tense and nervous Malcolm X ordered two of his guards to take his family out into the hall to their seats in a box near the front of the stage. Seemingly irritated and exhausted, Malcolm X mentioned to his aides that he had reservations about speaking. Malcolm’s misgivings were reflected in his taut features as his restless eyes darted around the room as he listened to Brother Benjamin Goodman making his opening speech.

At approximately 3:08 pm, Brother Benjamin ended his speech and introduced Malcolm X, who walked out onto the stage to a lengthy ovation. Malcolm stepped up to a wooden podium and looked out at the audience. When the applause finally settled down, he offered the audience the Muslim greeting and smiled when they responded in-kind. Just as he began to speak again, a commotion broke out near the rear of the ballroom. Two men jumped up, knocking wooden folding-chairs to the floor, as one of the men yelled, “Get your hand out of my pocket!” As Malcolm responded with cool it there brothers, a loud explosion suddenly erupted in the back of the room, which began to fill with smoke.

Malcolm’s bodyguards and aides hardly had time to react as the well coordinated ruses effectively diverted their attention from him, allowing unopposed gunmen to begin their attack. A man rose from the front row and pulled out a double-barreled sawed-off shotgun from under his coat and fired twice at Malcolm.
Simultaneously, as Malcolm was falling backwards and clutching his bloody chest, two more men jumped up and fired pistols at him as they rushed the stage. Although Malcolm was down, the two men repeatedly fired bullets into his body before turning and running to flee the premises. More shots were fired as they ran.

Betty Shabazz shielded her children with her body beneath a bench. As soon as the shooting ceased, she rushed toward the still body of her husband as she screamed, “They’re killing my husband! They’re killing my husband!” When she reached his side she realized he was dead, despite the frantic efforts of followers trying to stop the flow of blood from his bullet riddled body.

Upon learning of the assassination of Malcolm X, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remarked that “One has to conquer the fear of death if he is going to do anything constructive in life and take a stand against evil”. We may never know all of the facts about who was behind the assassination or who ordered his death. But we do know that these assassins denied him the chance to act upon his newly formed convictions.
Today, the man and the name, Malcolm X, are known in America and throughout the world. He was a celebrated freedom fighter and motivating force to those whose future he had the vision to see, the will to stand up and fight for. Postage stamps and posters now bear his image out of recognition and honor for his final crusade.

The eulogy that actor Ossie Davis delivered at his funeral profoundly impresses upon us that, “However we may have differed with him, or with each other about him and his value as a man, let his going from us serve only to bring us together, now. Consigning these mortal remains to earth, the common mother of all, secure in the knowledge that what we place in the ground is no more now a man but a seed which, after the winter of our discontent, will come forth again to meet us. And we will know him then for what he was and is a Prince, our own black shining Prince! Who didn’t hesitate to die, because he loved us so.”

Malcolm X was a man who fulfilled his place in history and stayed true to his words: "It is a time for martyrs now, and if I am to be one, it will be for the cause of brotherhood."

A collection of Malcolm X Speeches

And That's my Thought Provoking Perspective!

"Just a Season"

http://johntwills.com/

AMAZON

 Legacy – A New Season

Ball of Confusion

I watch the Republican’s and those running for office in the upcoming election season an view them as a revived edition of the Citizens Counsel of a day I thought had long past. Their convention was as poor as any that I have ever seen. If I can use the words of James Brown, they were “talking loud and saying nothing”. 

What struck me most was the lack of diversity. I counted over the three day convention in Tampa a total of 104 black people in attendance and that is including some counted more than once. This speaks volumes!

As I witness this disaster I liked it to the days of Richard Nixon and when you couple that association with Bain Capital all I could hear from Mitt was “I am not a crook”. The candidate is sometimes called the “Tin Man”; you know the character from the Wizard of Oz who had no heart. Both of these comparisons are very appropriate with the Republican candidate and for that matter the Republicans who live into their land of “Oz”.

Those who want to go back to this mythical time of the past are very confused in that it was not such a good period of time for most, particularly, African Americans. I will borrow some words from a hit song of the sixties Ball of Confusion; “Segregation, determination, demonstration, Integration, aggravation, Humiliation”. So where is obligation to our nation?

As I though more about the words of that song I recalled these words: An eye for an eye. “A tooth for a tooth. Vote for me, and I'll set you free.” Am I the only one who heard a dog whistle - “keep America American” and we know what that means! Coupled with their constant theme “take our country back” tells us that we will not be set free but rather enslaved sort of like what was do during Reconstruction. And we know how that turned out! So the band plays the same old tune.

Eve of destruction, tax deduction
City inspectors, bill collectors
Mod clothes in demand,
Population out of hand
Suicide, too many bills, hippies movin'
To the hills
People all over the world, are shoutin'
End the war
Air pollution, revolution, gun control,
Sound of soul
Shootin' rockets to the moon
Kids growin' up too soon
Politicians say more taxes will
Solve everything
And the band played on…

So round 'n' round 'n' round we go where the world's headed, nobody knows. The Republicans are singing the same old tune – “take from the need and give to the greedy”. So to Mitt and the gang I see your platform is Just a Ball of Confusion. Oh yea, that's what the world is today. And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

http://johntwills.com

Bill Clinton Speaks!!!

Brother Bill explains the the most precise discussion as to why you must vote. This is the most important election of our lifetime. Some say we have a choice - well this is the choice - OBAMA. VOTE!!!