Before they throw papa Joe under the bus 3 questions for Tom Rickets & family

UPDATE: See update below.

Before the Ricketts' family dismisses the racist super pac proposal I have some question for Tom Ricketts that I would love local media and Mayor Emanuel to ask (provided he takes their calls).  The questions are from the following passage in the New York Times article that exposed Tom Ricketts:

"The proposal was presented last week in Chicago to associates and family members of Mr. Ricketts, who is also the patriarch of the family that owns the Chicago Cubs."

• What Ricketts' family members were there when the proposal was presented?
• Were any of the Ricketts' family members that were present members of the Chicago Cubs ownership team?
• While Tom Ricketts' condemned the racist plan after it was revealed that his father and other family members considered it, are any members of the Cubs ownership team on board with Joe Ricketts super pac and its efforts to unseat President Obama?

It easy to dismiss this as a misguided attempt by Joe Ricketts, but the article talks about Ricketts family members.  Who are those family members and what are their roles with the Chicago Cubs?  Might Tom be involved?

UPDATE: According to the New York Times the proposal was presented to two of Joe Ricketts's sons, it should be pointed out that all of the Ricketts' children are in the ownership group of the Chicago Cubs so it is absolutely fair to say that members of the Chicago Cubs ownership group sought to attack President Obama.

"The president and general counsel of the Ending Spending Political Action Fund, Brian Baker, said through a spokesman that the plan was submitted to a group that included him and two of Mr. Ricketts’s sons at a meeting in Chicago last week. 'I was surprised and troubled by what I saw,' he said. 'It was not what we asked for.'"

petition @nbc to #saynotoracism & cancel @apprenticenbc due to @realDonaldTrump's birther racism http://act.ly/3dz RT to sign

To sign this via Twitter click here

Donald Trump’s recent birtherism binge is nothing but simple racism and NBC is profiting off of it. Since he started this disgusting charade the ratings of “The Apprentice” have skyrocketed. It’s time for NBC to let us, the viewers, know where they stand. Do they support racism or not? Are they willing to sacrifice ratings to take a stand against racism or are they happy profiting from racism.

Birtherism is a form of “othering,” which is often used in “dog whistle” racism. It has been long established that Obama was born in Hawaii and he has even presented his “certificate of live birth.” By questioning President Obama’s birth place and demanding to see a birth certificate folks like Trump remind those predisposed to harbor racist feelings that Obama “is not one of us.” Birtherism allows Trump to call Obama the “n-word” without actually saying it.

NBC is directly complicit in Trump’s racism, on Thursday, April 7, he was interviewed on THE TODAY SHOW by Meredith Viera and told blatant lies about Obama’s birthplace by stating that his grandmother claimed he was born in Kenya, which has been proved to be false. Viera did not pushback. Later that morning he appeared on MSNBC’s MORNING SHOW and did the same thing.

While many media outlets have also acted irresponsibly by giving Trump a platform to spew his racism, it is NBC that directly profits from it. Trump is a corporate partner of NBC, in addition to “The Apprentice” they are also partner on the “Miss USA” and “Miss Universe” telecasts. In short NBC is in position to hold Trump accountable for his racism and if they do not act by severing ties with him, we should all assume they endorse his racism.

Rush Limbaugh: 'How Many People Really Think Of Obama As Black?' (AUDIO)

As someone who grew up being called an OREO, ridiculed by both Black and white folks, and questionin­g where I belonged, this just hurts. Fortunatel­y for every asshole I encountere­d growing up and in college, I was graced with so many supportive and understand­ing friends, not to mention a strong and loving immediate/­extended family.



Rush Limbaugh needs to be condemned and condemned loudly for this shit. The problem is his audience applauds this and no Republican­s/conserva­tives would dare call him out because they pander to, and in some cases agree with, those very racists he calls his audience. He will most likely pay no price for this.



This shit is so damaging to children/y­oung adults as their identities are being shaped. For a while I even found myself picking on others in the same manner in an attempt to belong. Rush Limbaugh is an absolute piece of crap.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Let’s be clear, Rush was rejected by his kind, a bunch of “rich white guys”

Sure Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton threatened to raise hell if the investors group Rush Limbaugh was part of was allowed to purchase the St. Louis Rams, the NFL Players Association spoke out against his bid and a number of African American players said they wouldn’t play for him, but at the end of the day he was not rejected by them, he was rejected by a bunch of “rich white guys.”

Rush wants you to think he is a victim and it’s a rejection of his conservative politics, but this is not about politics, this is about bigotry and business. The other “rich white guys” rejected Limbaugh’s special brand of racism, homophobia and misogyny and know that it is bad for business. Limbaugh’s mistake was thinking that other “rich white guys” would embrace his bigotry or at the least they would ignore it.

Before blaming liberals, minorities, women, the LGBT community and the media, Limbaugh needs to accept the fact that they (we) did not make the decision to prevent him from owning an NFL franchise. They (we) don’t have that power.

Limbaugh’s first call should be to his partner in the deal, “rich white guy” Dave Checketts, who made the decision to dump him from the group. Checketts had the opportunity to say “Rush, forget the haters I got your back, we are going to forge ahead and win this bid. Don’t you worry, after all we are ‘rich white guys.’”

Instead Checketts effectively said “look man, you aren’t worth the trouble. Besides most of us ‘rich white’ guys don’t think like you.”

Checketts made his decision because he knew that other “rich white guys,” including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, were opposed to Limbaugh being part of the group bidding on the Rams.

I don’t blame Limbaugh for being upset and feeling betrayed. I am sure he is friendly with a lot of NFL owners, many of who share his conservative political ideology. They most likely run into each other at airports as they land or take off in their private jets, they probably share luxury suites at sporting events and they probably dine together at swanky restaurants. Some (NOT ALL) of them might have even sent him a complimentary note or two telling him how funny it is when he calls President Obama a “Halfrican American” or “Barack the Magic Negro.”

While I mentioned some owners share Limbaugh’s views, it would be negligent of me not to acknowledge the good guys like Goodel, Irsay and Dan Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have worked hard to make sure that the league leads by example when it comes to diversity and social responsibility.

Limbaugh probably thought the other NFL owners would have his back, after all they have the whole “rich white guy” thing in common. But unlike Limbaugh, they know that if they want to remain rich Limbaugh is someone that they cannot afford to do business with.

Crooks and Liars--Colin Powell: The GOP Still Has a Problem With Racism