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…

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…

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…

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”

Visit: http://johntwills.com

AMAZON

Legacy – A New Season

UNSOLICITED EDITORIAL

Every now and again someone shares with me powerful words that I am compelled to pass on share with the world. A politically minded friend wrote this commentary to which I was so impressed that I should call her the Minister of Explaining Sh*t.This is very clear assessment of where we are today – “politically”.  

Thank you Earlene Williams Hancock for this powerfully correct commentary.

~ no pictures, no graphics...just straight talk. “In revenge, as in life, every action has an equal and opposite reaction…”. Two Democratic groups played a part in creating the CHAOS we're experiencing now: (1) Those who couldn't be bothered voting in 2010...and (2) The "intelligensia" bka/Progressives (some not all) who wanted to teach Barack a lesson because, as petulant children, they didn't get their "single payer"...-:( Be great if those people could look at the BIG picture ~ at least we have something! ...30 Million people including children are now covered under "Obamacare".

By staying away from the polls in 2010, guess what happened? • Teabaggers slipped into the House (63 damn seats!) • GOTP Governors were elected • State Legislatures turned RED! • ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) unleashed VOTER SUPPRESSION LAWS, as well as Stand Your Ground legislation! [Don't get me started about Trayvon!!!] • John Boehner became Speaker of the House and Eric Cantor, majority leader in the House!-:( • Republicans hatched their plan to OBSTRUCT every single bill that the President put forward...especially the AMERICAN JOBS BILL • For the first time in history, this country's credit rating was reduced because Boehner & The 'Baggers are willing to let this country get close to falling off the cliff...again • The Supreme Court upheld CITIZENS UNITED...allowing corporations to pour in millions of dollars to buy elections • Unions have been attacked • Women have been attacked • Social Security & Medicare are being attacked! ..... Our way of life is under attack!!!

Barack needs a Congress he can work with. Let's pick up 25 BLUE seats in the House and insure the Senate 60 filibuster-proof BLUE seats! There is no excuse in not voting in 2010...all politics is local and had you shown up, we wouldn't be going through this sh*t right now...nor subjected to the likes of Willard Mitt Romney...who's let you know how insignificant we are.

Do whatever you've got to do ~ get your paperwork together ---► go get your photo ID, if required ... and let NOTHING keep you from voting November 6th! LET'S GO ALL BLUE!!! GOBAMA / GODEMS!!! ..... or live to regret it! Let's get it together and...V ♦ O ♦ T ♦ E !!! ~ while we still can...

VOTE on November 6^th like your life depended on it because it does! And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective...

“Just a Season”

http://johntwills.com/

AMAZON

 Legacy – A New Season

The Heartless Tin Man

There was a football commercial that aired a few years ago where a coach was asked did you know your opponent. The coach’s response was “they were who we thought they were”. The Plutocrat known as the Tin Man has now told us that he is who we thought he was! He could not have been more honest when he said:

"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…. These are people who pay no income tax.... [M]y job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

Some of Mitt’s supporters say these remarks were stupid and arrogant. I call this a disgrace for a man who could become the leader of the free world. It's worth noting that a good portion of the 47 percent who don't pay income taxes are Romney supporters. These people are seniors, many are lower-income Americans, soldiers, college students, and of course the Tin Man’s friends. So Mitt seems to have contempt not just for the Democrats who oppose him but also half of the American citizens according to him.

This is a guy that can only claim the best part of the Good Ol Boy’s convention was a senile old man talking to a chair. The Tin Man has now shown himself to be a bumbling fool and its time that he and the Boy Wonder be sent back to the Land of Oz because we have now seen the Wizard! It is hard to justify this “not so eloquent statement” as anything other than distain.

I cannot recall a presidential race in modern times that has had so little substance; yet so many untruths that have produced truth. So it seems this statement is devastating only because it shows he is “who we thought he was”! 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!!!

Poll Tax Rejected in Florida

A federal judge has said he will permanently remove recently enacted voter registration restrictions in the state of Florida. According to Talking Points Memo, Judge Robert L. Hinkle has declared that he will grant a motion to permanently strike down the new rules once the state of Florida has dropped its case against the federal government in U.S. appeals court.

Voting rights activists have welcomed the decision, which makes permanent an temporary injunction that Hinkle granted in May, in which Hinkle called the restrictions forbidding third party groups from organizing to register voters “harsh and impractical” and said they would impose unnecessary burdens on organizations trying to ensure voter participation.

New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice has issued a press release calling the ruling “a decisive victory for Florida voters.”

“Florida’s anti-voter law created impassable roadblocks for our volunteers, who have been bringing fellow Floridians into our democratic process for over 72 years,” explained Deirdre MacNab, President of the League of Women Voters of Florida, one of the three groups who filed suit against the state in December of 2011. “Thanks to today’s ruling, we can finally put these roadblocks behind us and concentrate on getting Floridians registered to vote. We are grateful the court recognized that the Constitution does not tolerate these types of barriers to civic participation and voter registration.”

The League of Women Voters was joined by Rock the Vote and the Florida Public Interest Research Group Education Fund in the suit, which was filed separately from a Justice Department inquiry into the stringent new regulations, which have been revealed by a former Republican Party member to be an effort to "keep black people from voting" by conservative Republicans.

As reported by Talking Points Memo

You can read Judge Hinkle’s ruling here (.pdf).

Thankfully there is someone who agrees that what the Republicans are trying to do is no more that a "Poll Tax". And that's my Thought Provoking Perspective...

http://johntwills.com

A love Fest In Tampa

The root of American civilization is grounded in citizenship. I guess it would be wise to say that the root word is “civil” and often times, as history shows, this is not always apparent. I say that in terms of the elephant always in the room – race. Yes, I meant to use that expression because there are those who recognize the elephant (GOP) as the icon of their thinking, which in my opinion is rooted in the old ways, meaning that which is rooted in the master-slave ideal of “supremacy”.

We see voter suppression, i.e., “Poll Tax” that has reappeared with a vengeance. There is talk of a Civil War! Then there was the recent Emmitt Till like murder of Trayvon Martin and the most recent incident where the police claim that a black youth shot himself in the head while handcuffed in the backseat of a police car. Not long ago, we witnessed the brutal beating of Rodney King and the police said we did not see what we saw!

I could give plenty example of injustice including the system of unaddressed poverty and the pitiful education system that have created despair in many African American communities. Now, I don’t want to just bring up the least of thee with regard to injustice. Henry Louis Gates the Harvard Professor was arrested trying to enter his own home and the fraud of the Shirley Sherrod character assassination.

This brings me to the Republican “love fest” taking place in Tampa this week. It will have all the hallmarks of an old time revival full of Klan like coded or maybe not so code language and surely reminders of states rights. This event will be scary because it surely will be an assault on minorities, women, and the poor charging that it is the American way. To some degree that is true – remember slavery and Jim Crow.

The irony of is this is very clear as they have repeatedly said, “We want to take back our country”. Racism is not merely a simplistic hatred. It is, more often, broad sympathy toward some and broader skepticism toward others. Black America consistently lives under that skeptical eye. The election of an African American to our highest political office was alleged to demonstrate a triumph of integration and even then, full acceptance is still withheld.

I lived and witness this country they want to revisit and I will tell you “it was not a nice place”. I wonder will we see a cross burned? And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

_____________________________

The Book Tree Radio Show Returns and I extend a personal invitation to you to call in and let us know what you’re doing, tell us what you’re writing about and where our audience can get your projects. If you are as passionate about literacy as I am; join Silver Rae Fox and John T. Wills for what is going to be an exciting evening on the night that The Book Tree Radio Show returns to the airwaves… Mark your calendar you don’t want to miss it!

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A Long and Mighty Walk

A season is a time characterized by a particular circumstance, suitable to an indefinite period of time associated with a divine phenomenon that some call life. One of the first things I learned in this life was that it is a journey. During this passage through time I have come to realize that there are milestones, mountains, and valleys that everyone will encounter. It saddens me that African American’s have had to endure more than any other culture!

Dr. John Henrik Clarke famously said, “History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is also a compass that people use to find themselves on the map of human geography. History tells a people where they have been and what they have been, where they are and what they are. Most important, history tells a people where they still must go, what they still must be. The relationship of history to the people is the same as the relationship of a mother to her child.”

There are many ghosts of the greats who sacrificed so much for us to exist today. We would not have had our history known if it were not for the great historian Carter G. Woodson, we may not have succeeded in the civil rights movement without a strong Rosa Parks to push Dr. Martin Luther King into bring the civil rights movement to the forefront of America’s consciousness. Then came the Black power movement that was so strong and so serious that it gave even more urgency to the White House and American government to change rather than prepare for violence.

Dr. Clarke was the powerful mind that many leaders of the Black power movement would come to for his knowledge. People like Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown and the most notable of the all - Malcolm X. Clarke became Malcolm X's chief consultant and best friend. His work with Malcolm resulted in one of Malcolm's greatest speeches, indeed, one of the greatest 100 speeches made in America, "The ballot or the bullet."

Dr. Clarke never wrote an autobiography but he had a huge impact his teacher and what he left the minds of his people. Clarke was born in Union Springs, Alabama on New Year’s Day, in 1915. His was a family of poor sharecroppers. But they soon moved to Columbus, Georgia when he was about four years old. There, he met a school teacher named Eveline Taylor. Clarke said Ms. Taylor told John that she saw something special in him. She saw a thinker. And she said to him:

"It's no disgrace to be alone. It's no disgrace to be right when everyone else thinks you are wrong. There's nothing wrong with being a thinker. Your playing days are over."

Here's a eulogy of him written by The Los Angeles Times:

John Henrik Clarke: Activist, Professor July 18,198

John Henrik Clarke never got around to writing his life story, which encompassed some of the more turbulent periods in American history.

Dr. Clarke is remembered as someone who put the forgotten history of Africa back into the textbooks, and gave an analysis of history that wasn’t mainstream and for this we honor him so dearly. This man who descended from a family of sharecroppers was born in 1915 in Union Springs, Ga. He left Georgia in 1933 going to Harlem where he became one of the greatest unsung heroes of our time.

His political and community activism began quickly, when Clarke opposed the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in the 1930s. Later, he became a close friend of black activist Malcolm X. Clarke helped to forge a link between Africans and African Americans.

Clarke studied history and literature from 1948 to 1952 at New York University and later at Columbia University. During his career, Clarke edited or wrote 27 books. His editing work included the classic “American Negro Short Stories” in 1966. I just wanted to remind us of this man who brought into remembrance of our Great, Mighty Walk!

And that is my Thought Provoking Perspective…

http://johntwills.com

The Book Tree Radio Show Returns!

I am personally inviting you to call in on September 5th and let us know what you’re doing, tell us what you’re writing about and where our audience can get your projects. Mark your calendar and take down this number – (718) 506-1699.

I am personally inviting you to call in on September 5th and let us know what you’re doing, tell us what you’re writing about and where our audience can get your projects. Mark your calendar and take down this number – (718) 506-1699.

Mightmare on MLK

We hear a lot of talk about this street or that street; namely Wall Street and Main Street but who’s talking about MLK Street. You see when they talk about Wall Street they are talking about the 1% or more aptly put the “Robber Barons”. Main Street is supposed to be where the rest of us reside surviving on the crumbs or what little we can scrape to survive. I suppose it is reasonable to place everyone in these two camps but why can’t MLK Street be added to the conversation.

There was a term or distinction devised not too long ago calling the neighborhoods where MLK Streets called the “Ghetto”. As cool and hip as it sounded it was not a positive description of the communities where people of color reside. I should say that distinction has been upgraded to a more modern term that many have embraced – “the Hood”. As it is by design, it carries the usually, although sounding cool, a negative connotation of the black community.

 In this place depicted as crime riddled and drug infested with gangsta’s rests the lives of the disenfranchised and the hopeless. When there are no jobs or in many cases no way to survive – it breads despair. I think we all know that this is cleaver social engineering at work and a misconception by design! Not a single soul living in the “Hood” has the means to bring in the drug or weapons into the community.

Moreover, when the people of these neighborhoods are deprived of educational opportunities as a result of being segregated - hopelessness is the by product. Let me suggest that if you are ever in the Nation’s Capital ride by the Capital Building you will notice that just a few blocks away you will find neighborhoods where just such a place exists – The Hood! Oh, did I say this is supposed to be the richest nation on this little rock called earth!

Dr. Woodson’s challenged his readers in the epic novel "The Mis-Education of the Negro” to become empowered by doing for themselves: regardless of what they were taught: “History shows that it does not matter who is in power... those who have not learned to do for themselves and have to depend solely on others never obtain any more rights or privileges in the end than they did in the beginning.”  
And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

http://johntwills.com

I am personally inviting you to call in on September 5th and let us know what you’re doing, tell us what you’re writing about and where our audience can get your projects. Mark your calendar and take down this number - (718) 506-1699.

Listen to the show!

LONGING FOR THE GIPPER

It marvels me as I listen to politician’s worship the Gipper and if you did not know I am talking about the actor who was president – Ronald Reagan. One, if not both, of our major political parties has become imbued with the Gipper's political philosophy and governing style. I find this amazing that they praise him so because my recollection of his rule is very different.

Those in the GOP trying to claim that cloak, be it the right wing-nuts or the new Klan (tea party), has moved so far to the right that they now inhabits its own parallel universe. On their little rock, or under it, that today's GOP leaders call home, Reagan would qualify as one of those big-government, tax-and-spend liberals who they would say was trying to destroy the American way of life.

I wonder if these Republicans can remember the real Reagan legend or are they simply unaware of the truth. I have some bad news for you guys; Reagan raised taxes and he did it often, and by a lot. I just want to add that this is the guy who wanted to cut school lunch programs for children, remember he said, “Ketchup as a vegetable” and he also broke the union by firing the air traffic controllers.

When he took office as governor of California in 1967, the state faced a huge budget deficit. Reagan promptly raised taxes by $1 billion - at a time when the entire state budget amounted to just $6 billion. It was then the biggest state tax increase in history. During Reagan's eight years in Sacramento, business and sales taxes soared, and the top state income tax rate increased from 7 percent to 11 percent.

From there the man, and without my vote, moved into the White House. He brought with him a theory called "voodoo economics". This fallacy was supposed to be an idea that implied the way to balance the budget was to lower taxes not raise them. Reagan quickly pushed through the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, a tax cut of about $264 billion, which he and his fellow Republicans hailed as the greatest milestone in human history.

Reagan subsequently raised taxes 11 times, beginning with the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. All told, he took back roughly half of that hallowed 1981 tax cut. Why? Because he realized that the United States needed an effective federal government and to be effective the government needed more money.

Just like today, the Good Ol’ Boys and their unshakable commitment to smaller government should know that on Reagan’s watch the federal employment rolls grew; they shrank under Bill Clinton. Reagan had promised to eliminate the departments of Energy and Education, but he didn't. Instead, he signed legislation that added to the Cabinet a new Department of Veterans Affairs.

On social issues, Reagan advocated a federal ban on abortions, the legalization of organized prayer in the schools and an end to court-ordered busing to achieve racial balance. He accomplished none of this. None of this is to suggest that the patron saint of modern American conservatism was some sort of flaming liberal, just that he was a pragmatist who respected objective reality. In a big state or a big country, big government was a given. When taxes needed to be raised, the thing to do was raise them and I say on those who have benefited the most.

Even though Reagan knew that ideology had its limits, in fact, those extreme views have become orthodox. In my opinion, I don't doubt that he or the GOP today truly believe that ideology. There are some Democrats today that sound and act almost like Reaganites. From my vantage point, if we had not had the last decade of Lord George there might not have been a need for this conversation because when he walked into the White House there was a surplus.
Let me remind you that it was Clinton, who balanced the budget. President Obama has pledged not to raise taxes on the middle class, and Democrats couldn't even manage to reverse tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that might have made even Reagan blush. Obama based his, what they call, Obama-care on Republican ideas - including the individual mandate, which had been proposed by conservative think tanks and implemented by Mitt Romney.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party has lost its mind. The GOP argues for deep across-the-board budget cuts of a kind that Reagan ultimately rejected. Party leaders denounce the belief that government can do any good for anybody as "socialism."

Here's a quote that might have come from a Democrat during last fall's tax-cut debate: "We don't seek to aid the rich, but those lower- and middle-income families who are most strapped by taxes and the recession." In fact, it was Ronny who said those words in 1983, when he was arguing for tuition tax credits.

Inspired by an article written by Eugene Robinson with facts derived from it.

And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

http://johntwills.com

Where Do They Come From

I never use the “N-word”. You know that word that has been reduced to a letter but sometimes it is necessary to make a point. Every so often, they find some Negro who has gone beyond anything rational when it comes to the African American Diaspora. Their latest wing-nut is none other than Congressman Allen West a black Republican and one from Florida - that should say it all - but I digress. Maybe the more appropriate question should be “what is going on down in Florida?”

One of the big-time Republican donors said that President Obama was “the most dangerous man in America.” I beg to differ. I think, from my perspective, that designation is directed toward the wrong person and from my vantage point it should be the Florida Congressman - who I hope will have a short lived political career. He is the person Dr. Carter G. Woodson wrote about in the “Mis-Education of the Negro” where he so eloquently said, “If there is “no back door,” he will make one”.

Can I say West is ignorant of history (I will) because “those who forget the past are bound to repeat its mistakes”. I will remind Mr. West, and I use that loosely, of the fate of a few Republicans that came before him like the ghosts of Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas, Michael Steele or J.C. Watts who were dismissed when they were no longer useful.

These Negro’s and I meant to use that term, who chooses to place great emphasis on being a “conservative.” Must remember that there were and are very influential members of the Ku Klux Klan, and other terror groups like the Red Shirts, Knights of the White Camelia and White Citizens Council, many of which wore white sheets and did dreadful things to our people.

Let’s take Cain for example. One of Cain’s shortcomings was that he came on the scene swinging with statement like Blacks who voted Democratic were “brainwashed” and that thirty-five percent of Blacks were ready to vote for him. Then he boldly proclaimed the Koch brothers were his “brothers by another mother.” How did that workout for him. He now resides in the forgotten piles of useless Black Republicans.

Let’s look at another example, Michael Steele former Chairman of the Republican National Committee. When the Republican Party could not settle on a leader after several rounds of voting the GOP tried the Ol’ Willie Lynch strategy that was to pit him against President Obama. What better way to bring down the Black man from the lofty position of leadership than to sic another Black man against him.
Again, this Negro came out swing; “I will engage the Black Community”. The shame in this is; when some of the most vile criticisms and racist characterizations were leveled against President Obama, Steele did not have the guts to say, “Wait a minute this is out of bounds!” See where his treason got him.

Then there is Ol Uncle Thomas who was nominated to the Supreme Court replacing the only Black man to sit on the Court. As a Republican, many people believed Thomas was not really a replacement of the Liberal Thurgood Marshall, who was instrumental in the historic 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case in which the Supreme Court ruled segregation was illegal and unconstitutional. Let me remind you this is the guy who appears to be sleeping on the bench and said during his confirmation hearing it was a “high tech lynching.” He went to work; siding with some of the most Conservative rulings imaginable.

How about J.C. Watts who, and I will only admit this once, I liked. He was young, articulate and good looking; presumably with a great future in the Republican Party. Didn’t seem to work out or let me just say he was soon “retired” and only trucked out now and then to make a comment about some on an insignificant issue? Do these guys sound like Allen Keys, Ward Connelly, or any number of others used by the GOP? Ray Charles who was blind and dead can see this. Maybe thirty pieces of silver is worth more to them than it is to me.

This brings me back to West who came to town to fight Republican battles with the same “Gung Ho” spirit as presumably he did when he was in Afghanistan. The only problem is he wants to fight anyone who is not Republican or more specifically Democrats whose ranks comprise Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Asians, Handicapped, women and especially immigrants.

The darling of the Tea Party Movement born in the cauldron spewing racial venom toward Obama, needed to attract Black members. They needed a sort of Spook who sat by the Door. Well, they got one because West spoke their language and they bankrolled his candidacy.

West seems to view himself as some kind of supreme patriot! With that said, let me end with this pitiful act. He sent an e-mail message to Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, calling her “vile, unprofessional, and despicable,” “a coward,” “characterless,” and “not a Lady,” and demanded that she “shut the heck up.” Let me suggest that he read it to himself and take his own advice.

And that is my Thought Provoking Perspective…

http:johntwills.com

Hear's Mitt

I am going to say from the onset that I am a huge supporter of President Obama, mainly because he is my president. Not to mention the fact that he’s brilliant and has done an amazing job in light of what the last president left for him to work with.

I won’t profess that I am apolitical because I am not. You see, everything is political and I have lived long enough to know that!

With that said politics, and often times, are those forces that usually have self motivating interests that’s represented by the evils that lurk amongst us. The basis of that interest is money, which has corrupted or is corrupting our system that has never been fair to the least of thee.

Moreover, it has become even more diabolical in this political season. Money is the most powerful instrument known to man; at least it is in a capitalistic society. Those who have it will do anything to keep it and to get more of it.

This brings me to my thought for today, which is to share with you in his own words that of a man who, in my opinion, wants to eliminate the least of thee. This man they, the republicans, his own, call “Him”. Known for being a serial “flip flopper” changes like a chameleon. If they don’t want “Him” - then why should we?

Watch the video and you decide for yourself if you want “Him” to be your president of these United States. I am going to agree with what the Former NBA Great Charles Barkley said, "Mitt Romney, hey, listen man, we're going to beat you like a drum in November".

And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

http://johntwills.com

A MUST HEAR REALITY

Never before in the history of America has such vial despicable language been espoused against a sitting president. PLEASE LISTEN as the honorable Minister Farrakhan exposes the hate-filled rhetoric and writings of right-wing conservative elected officials and influential members of American society directed at President Barack Obama and his family.

Forget what you may perceive as the Ministers politics – this is the reality of truth.

As I see it

History is never old; it is just refashioned as His-Story. If you follow my words you have heard me say that the greatest crime the world has ever known occurred that day in August of 1619, when the first Africans were dragged onto the shores of this country. I have given that some thought and want to add a caveat to that claim.

I would argue that the foundation or the beginning of this ideology, slavery, happened in 1492 when this guy that history tells us, was lost, and landed in the Caribbean calling it the “New World”. It is interesting that they phrased it this way because where Columbus landed - this place was not new at all – there were people living there thriving. Now, don’t forget history tells us “he thought the world was flat”.

I say what happened that day Columbus put in motion what lead to all of the crimes that were to follow. It was the foundation of what came to be established in terms of racism, as “Manifest Destiny”. What this means is that people of European decent had domain over all that existed in the world – its people and their possessions. Sort of like what we see now with the tyrants and criminals on Wall Street who orchestrate what I call “White Collar Crooks”.

You see, this principle means this think or principle makes them feel entitled or have the right to reduce all to servitude. We are being robbed by the robber barons and banks, which makes us slaves to the system. Just look at the conservative political movement. Their mission is to support the interest of the one percent of the wealthy not the 99 percent of Americans who are servants to their power.

Now, consider who their candidate is whose running for the president of the United States. A place that really does not seem very united today. Mitt, the rich man, is a man who built his wealth via this principle. Do you think he can relate to us and do you want him as president?

All I am saying is this principle of Manifest Destiny speaks directly to the conservative principles they are trying to sell us. And again, I say history is never old. Don’t forget we lived through the years of Bush and these republicans will make him look like a Cub Scout.

And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective!

http://johntwills.com

Eventually, You have to pay the Price

Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, sent an email to its affiliates on March 9^th, listing 98 large corporations that have requested their ads be placed only on shows that are “free of content that you know are deemed to be offensive or controversial (for example, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Tom Leykis, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity).”

Over all of the years that Rush Limbaugh and his ilk have been insulting women and various minority groups over the airwaves, there has never been a serious backlash against this style of programming – until now.  Limbaugh’s attack on third year Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke has created a backlash of near biblical proportions as major corporations scramble to escape justifiable feminine rage at the latest right-wing attack on women.

Some people may wonder why, given more than 2 decades of this type of bile being spewed over the airwaves, that this particular affront is the last straw.  The answer is just that – it’s the last straw.  Women are sick and tired of having their reproductive rights litigated over, and over, and over again by evangelical kooks, Republican culture warriors and mean-spirited talking heads.

Their justifiable outrage has been given expression through the internet which provides an instant forum by which women can effectively voice their opposition and organize a response.  Given the fact that women comprise 52% of the American population, a plurality of the electorate and make the majority of purchasing decisions, women are the most powerful interest group in the United States.  And they are skillfully exercising that power.

After years of being the biggest bully on radio, it appears that Rush has kicked women one too many times and now he is paying a price.

By Jackie Lambert

LTAI word of the week:

Scatological – interest in or treatment of obscene matters, especially in literature

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Mitt Speaks About Slavery

In yet another seemingly faux pas moment for the former governor and presidential candidate, Mitt Romney tells a crowd of supporters in Alabama that he can relate to the plight of black individuals because his ancestors were slave owners in the 1800′s.

Mitt Romney was addressing a crowd in Prattville, Alabama this past Monday when he stated:

I understand how difficult it can be for an African-American in today’s society. In fact, I can relate to black people very well indeed. My ancestors once owned slaves, and it is in my lineage to work closely with the black community. However, just because they were freed over a century ago doesn’t mean they can now be freeloaders. They need to be told to work hard, and the incentives just aren’t there for them anymore. When I’m president I plan to work closely with the black community to bring a sense of pride and work ethic back into view for them.

Is this the man we want as PRESIDENT???

The Jig is Up

I love to praise the most powerful man on the planet, particularly because he looks like me. Our president is strikingly handsome, articulate, likable, a family man, and accomplished as the incumbent in the White House that the fools who call themselves Republicans want to defeat.

They make stuff up, which is exactly what the GOP has been doing since President Obama took office. I get the sense that before this campaign is over one of them will call the Chief the “N-Word”; after all one of those guys had a lodge that was called the N-Word Head. Hmmmm.

We know they have tried to do everything they could to make sure the history making event that made him president is over with this term. Now, it is my opinion that they want to make sure that no other black man or person of color ever lives in the White House again. This man, my hero, has done more than the last several presidents to save us from destruction. Yet, it is the GOP who would rather see American destroyed. What a deplorable lot but I’ve seen their kind before in the form of a group called the “Citizens Counsel”.

I can go on and on but I won’t because we can all see this power play. They have been doing it since they stole the land from the Indians. His opponents will go so far as to prevent job creation to put the blame on President Obama. They have not presented a jobs plan that would actually create jobs since taking control of the House of Representatives or at any time for that matter. They have been too busy trying to prevent women, gays, and unions from having rights of their own. They have unanimously voted against any bill that would create jobs presented by President Obama, simply because it was presented by President Obama.

Many parts of his jobs plan include old Republican ideas that the GOP has been quick to disavow now that Obama presents it back to them. When the only thing you have against Obama is something that you have to manufacture to make him look bad, you will be the ones to look bad in the end. President Obama was indeed born in the USA and it has been proven more than once. President Obama is certainly not a Socialist, as evidenced by his love for capitalism and how he helped save it. He doesn’t want the government to run your life; he simply wants a government that enables people to be able to run their own lives.

Obama actually granted more gun rights by allowing individuals to be able to carry a weapon into national parks. President Obama’s health care law simply holds insurance companies accountable to actually care for the people they insure, and to provide a mandate that will end up being cost-effective because fewer people will be reliant on the government dime. The Affordable Care Act also prevents insurance companies from neglecting individuals that need care the most.

Saying that Obama hates white people or rich people is about as useful as throwing sand in the sand box… it’s obviously childish, and holds absolutely no proof or clout except for being a nuisance. Obama has undoubtedly proven that he is not soft on terror by his recent international take-down of the worlds most sought after terrorists.

He has also proven that he is not weak on immigration with record numbers of deportations every year since he has taken office. Obama has opened the lines of communication up further than most Presidents in the past have been able to between Israel and Palestine. He has also made it clear that he believes it’s a woman’s right to choose, and his choice is life. Lest they not forget he got be Laden and a whole lot of others. That is really something to consider as they make up or manufacture “Bull S###”. Get used to it the jig is up; he will be reelected.

And that is my THOUGHT PROVOKING PERSPECTIVE!

THE BEST THING WE CAN DO IS SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT AND VOTE.

"Just a Season"

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AMAZON

Legacy – A New Season is Coming!

Listen to the author's interview!