Why all Chicago Aldermen, not just the Black Caucus, should reject Tom Ricketts insulting Cubs outreach efforts

By John V. Moore (@johnvmoore)

This morning in the Chicago Sun-Times Fran Spielman reports that Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts is reaching out to the Chicago City Council's African American members in an effort to breath life into his request for public funds to help finance Wrigley Field renovations.  Since the revelation that Joe Ricketts, patriarch of the family that owns the Cubs, was soliciting proposals to attack President Barack Obama, Tom Ricketts has been in damage control mode.  As the New York Times reported the plan presented to the Ricketts family (not just Joe, but Cubs shareholders Pete and Todd) used race in attempt to do political damage to the President.  To me this outreach to African American Alderman is insulting for the following reasons:

1. Both Dan Bernstein (@dan_bernstein) and Steve Rosenbloom (@stevenrosenbloom) have made the allegation, with compelling evidence, that the Ricketts family is misleading about their father's role in Cubs ownership.  If this allegation is true, why should anyone believe Tom Ricketts explanations and spin regarding the family backing of the racist attack on the Obama?  Hopefully reporters, Alderman, Mayor Emanuel and anyone else that Tom reaches out will challenge him to fully explain Joe's involvement in Cubs ownership.
2. The New York Times also reported that the race baiting proposal was presented to Cubs shareholders Pete and Todd Ricketts.  So while its great to separate Joe Ricketts from Cubs ownership, how does the family explain Pete and Todd's apparent participation in the solicitation of the racist proposal?  
3. Why is Tom Ricketts only reaching to African American Aldermen?  Is he of the belief that white and Hispanic Alderman weren't offended by his father's and brothers' efforts to launch a race based attack on President Obama?  Shouldn't his outreach be to all Alderman?

Tom Rickets must think the African American Aldermen and the people of Chicago are fools.  It is appalling that he is misleading everyone about his father's role in the ownership group, while at the same time ignoring the fact that his two brothers who are acknowledged Cubs shareholders were involved in this raced based plan to attack President Obama.

See also: Ricketts Tap-Dancing Around The Truth (Dan Bernstein)

President Obama should call Bristol Palin per her request and say. . .

Huffington Post and other media outlets are reporting that Bristol Palin feels that President Obama should call her or her mother just like he did Sandra Fluke after she was attacked by Rush Limbaugh. I agree. I have provided the following script for him:

"Hello Bristol, I wanted to call you and offer my encouragement to you. Since your mom is one of the most divisive people who has done everything in her power to divide us, your family has had to deal with some ugly things said about them, similar to the ugly things she has said about my family.

You became a target when you decided to exploit her notoriety to seek fame for than the fact that you are single mother with a jerk of baby daddy and famous mom. What has been said about you is awful. I appreciate your frustration, as you can imagine Michelle and I have had many folks, say ugly things about us, we can understand your frustration. However we understood that when we chose to be in the public eye, we were opening ourselves up to that.

Many young single mothers work hard, go to school and provide loving homes for their children without being made fun of by comedians. I should point out that these single mothers don't seek fame like you do. They don't act as spokespersons for abstinence campaigns, they don't go on Dancing With The Stars, they don't write books and they don't do reality shows. They just want to provide for their children.

I agree that we need to start treating people, especially those we don't agree with, better. You could start by telling your mom to shut up."
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Why I want Melissa Harris-Perry and Joan Walsh to settle their differences publicly

I don't want this to go away, I don't desire to see one declared "the winner" and the other declared "the loser," I want this to be a "teachable moment" and I am confident that both of them can show us how to engage constructively on the issue of race

By John V. Moore @johnvmoore

As some of you know by now two progressive columnists, Melissa Harris-Perry of the Nation and Joan Walsh of Salon are engaged in a feud over over the issue of race in liberal politics.

The dispute started after Harris-Perry wrote "Black President, Double Standard: Why White Liberals Are Abandoning Obama" in the Nation, the premise of the piece is that white liberals are

holding President Obama to a higher standard than they held former President Bill Clinton. She points out that while Clinton failed in his effort to pass health care reform, Obama gave us health care reform and while Clinton gave us Don't Ask Don't Tell, Obama repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell. Yet, she goes on to point out, when Clinton stood for re-election in 1996 he enjoyed strong support amongst white liberals, many of whom are now luke warm to the idea of supporting Obama re-election next year.

Walsh responded with a piece in Salon titled "Are white liberals abandoning the President?" in which she disputes Harris-Perry's argument that a double standard based on race contributes to the white liberal apathy towards Obama. In my opinion, while Walsh raises some valid points about the problems with comparing the two Presidents given the impact of the internet and other circumstances, I believe she is wrong to dismiss the role that race plays in white liberal reaction to Obama.

After getting a ton of negative feedback on her original piece, Harris-Perry followed up in the Nation with "The Epistemology of Race Talk," a response to many who criticized her original piece, including Walsh. Writing about Walsh's assertion that they were friends Harris-Perry stated:

"I was shocked and angered when Salon’s Joan Walsh used this strategy in her criticism of my piece. Although I disagree with her, I have no problem with Walsh’s decision to take on the claims in my piece. I consider it a sign of respect to publicly engage those with whom you disagree. I was taken aback that Walsh emphasized the extent of our friendship. Walsh and I have been professionally friendly. We’ve eaten a few meals. I invited her to speak at Princeton and I introduced her to my literary agent. We are not friends. Friendship is a deep and lasting relationship based on shared sacrifice and joys. We are not intimates in that way. Watching Walsh deploy our professional familiarity as a shield against claims of her own bias is very troubling. In fact, it is one of the very real barriers to true interracial friendship and intimacy."

As one can imagine, this resulted in a ton of responses on Twitter and throughout the progressive blogosphere. Many folks, myself included, sided with Harris-Perry, many others sided with Walsh. Walsh to her credit apologized to Harris-Perry via Twitter posting:

"@MHarrisPerry I certainly apologize for saying we were friends, Melissa. I did not deploy it as a shield, but to acknowledge my affection"

I was disappointed and offended by the response of radio host/blogger David Sirota who sought to exploit the dust-up and spent a significant amount of time baiting Harris-Perry via Twitter. In many ways he was the white liberal that she was writing about.

But lets take it back to Harris-Perry and Walsh and the opportunity their dispute presents. We need these two to sit down and discuss their differences in public. While I side with Harris-Perry and feel that many of us in the African American community are justified in seeing the racial component in some white liberal attitudes towards the President, I feel that Walsh is an ally, an imperfect one, whose voice needs to be heard as well. More importantly I feel these two need to talk to and listen to one another. Not for themselves but for all of us.

Please understand I call Walsh an imperfect ally because I am one myself. I know that I am ally to the LGBT community, I know I am ally to women and I know I am ally to the immigrant community, but I also know that despite my race, as a straight, male, American born citizen I enjoy certain privileges that my friends in those communities don't. As much as I feel connected to others I don't always understand their struggle or get the language right. I know that no matter how strong of an ally I believe I am I most likely imperfect and not as enlightened as I believe I am.

I think too many times as we discuss the issues that divide us along the lines of race/ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation and immigration we often end up making the problem worse when we as allies don't realize our imperfections. Additionally, all of us need to do a better job of not letting our allies imperfections get in the way of our understanding and appreciating their efforts to support our respective groups.

Since 2007, when President Obama first announced his candidacy for President this country has had many potential teachable moments regarding race and with the exception of his "A more perfect union" speech we as a nation have failed to have any meaningful dialogue on race or other issues that divide us. I realize there are some people who will never have constructive discussions on race, but I hope that these two, Harris-Perry and Walsh, who I would assume are allies, will take this opportunity.

What I want from this teachable moment is not Harris-Perry prevailing over Walsh, what I want is the two of them to model for us how people can sit down and have a constructive discussion over our differences. There are too many folks who are not allies who seek to divide us, we owe it to ourselves to not do their work for them.

Obama out classes Perry by talking calmly to teabagger as Perry loses temper and pokes college student in chest

Look at how President Obama deals with an extremely rude Teabagger the same day Governor Rick Perry pokes a college student in the chest after he asked a question that Perry didn't like. Sadly, if President Obama had treated the rude Teabagger the way that Perry treated the college student, President Obama would have been taken to task. Already the run in with the Teabagger is being sensationalized despite the fact he was calm and treated the rude Teabagger with respect.

With Obama Hip Hop BBQ headline FOX proudly shows dog whistle racists how its done, take notes!

By John V. Moore @johnvmoore

Dog whistle racists throughout America, step the fuck aside, FOX NEWS has out classed all of you with today’s headline “Obama's Hip-Hop BBQ Didn't Create Jobs” which is an article on the President Obama’s 50th Birthday celebration that was held at the White House on Thursday, August 4.

For the unenlightened, “dog whistle racism” as defined by the Center for Social Inclusion is “also known as symbolic racism – is political campaigning or policy-making that uses coded words and themes that appeal to conscious or subconscious racist concepts and frames.”

Given the demographics of the FOX NEWS audience and their perceived attitudes on race you can imagine the reaction that this dog whistle will elicit from that crowd.

This headline and accompanying photo are blatant examples of dog whistle racism. “Hip-Hop” is code for “Black people” even though many white folks like hip-hop music and many Black folks don’t. “BBQ” is another great code, which when used in combination with “Hip-Hop,” implies that there were bunch of Black folks doing what you’d expect Black folks to do and that the leads to a reinforcement of the “othering” tactic which has been used multiple times against President Obama.

By my estimation (based upon a pool report and my assumption that the President’s immediate family, including mother-in-law, attended) there were at least 49 guests and only 20 of them, less than 50%, were African American. However the photo accompanying the article featured four African American men, Charles Barkley, President Obama, Chris Rock and Jay-Z.

Yeah, there were at least 21 Black folks there, including some bonafide hip hop stars, but this was hardly a “hip hop BBQ.” Jay-Z was not working the grill, holding a 40 ounce and smoking a blunt as Barack and his boys (don’t get it twisted Pat Buchanan) were holding red plastic cups of gin and juice, while looking at the ladies in their Daisy Dukes dropping it like it was hot with Ice Cube’s “You can do it” blaring over the speakers in the Rose Garden. But with its framing, that is what FOX NEWS wants you to believe.

A more appropriate headline would have been “Diverse group of friends join President Obama for White House 50th Birthday Cook Out.” A more appropriate accompanying photo would have included Nancy Pelosi, President Obama, Robert Gibbs and Gayle King.

But as long as FOX NEWS is telling the story that is not going to happen.

Even the reporting of the music played undermines the frame that FOX introduces with its headline.

“ … with dinner in the Rose Garden, accompanied by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. Then the First Lady and his daughters presented POTUS with a cake, and everyone moved into the East Room for performances that included R&B singer Ledisi, and Herbie Hancock. Stevie Wonder came up at the end and sang a medley ending in “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours.” DJ Cassidy played Motown, hip hop, and ’70s and ’80s R&B.”

Hip hop was played but so R&B, Motown and even given the presence of the Marine Band, I would dare suggest there was some John Philip Sousa bumping (hip hop term). Which prompts me to revise my headline one more time to “President Obama celebrates 50th Birthday Day with friends to the tunes of John Philip Sousa.”

Since FOX NEWS is making shit up let me join them in doing so. I decided to give this party a 2.52 rating on the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air Hip Hop (FPBAHH)” scale (which I just made up). A 5 rating equals the "Fresh Prince" himself (Will Smith) and 1 point equals "Carlton Banks" (Alfonso Ribeiro). A 2.52 FPBAHH ranking equals the father on the show, “Uncle Phil” (James Avery), who was a judge, lived in Bel Air but when he needed to knew how to get down.

My methodology (see guest list below): I gave each African American who attended a FPBAHH ranking, totaled them up and divided that figure by the number of reported/assumed AA attendees (minus Reggie Love who I assume was there but did not include). I gave careful thought (I really did) to each persons’ ranking. For example while Grant Hill is a Black male who has played in the NBA he went to Duke, so there is no way I could have ranked him higher than a 3. When it comes to the President’s daughters the Sidwell Friends/University of Chicago Lab School education really undermines their hip hop credentials as well. Even though Hill Harper graduated form Harvard Law with the President his 4 rating just feels right. POTUS gets a 5 just because as the first African American President he deserves it.

While my FPBAHH ranking is bullshit, so is FOX NEWS’s headline, accompanying graphic and the racist frame they are attempting and succeeding in introducing.

In a week that saw the President referred to as a “tar baby” and a “boy” FOX NEWS wins the week with its clever use of dog whistle racism. I do believe that Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-CO) and Pat Buchanan need to be taken to task for their comments but in my book its easier to give them the benefit of the doubt. FOX NEWS knew what it was doing and sadly the damage they have done will be much worse than the other two offenses.

Guest List Black folk in bold
1. Al Sharpton FPBAHH Rating 3
2. Patrick Gaspard FPBAHH Rating 3
3. Robert Wold
4. Julius Genachowski
5. Nancy Pelosi
6. Paul Pelosi
7. Tim Geithner
8. Arne Ducan
9. Ron Kirk FPBAHH Rating1
10. Hillary Clinton
11. Eric Holder FPBAHH Rating 1
12. Katheleen Sebelius
13. Debbie Wasserman Shutlz
14. TIm Kaine
15. Anita Dunn
16. Bob Bauer
17. Robert Gibbs
18. Davd Axelrod
19. David Plouffe
20. Valerie Jarett FPBAHH Rating 1
21. Michael Stratumanis
22. Pete Rouse
23. Bill Daley
24. Alyssa Mastromonaco
25. Denis McDonough
26. John Brennan
27. Rahm Emanuel
28. Tina Tchen
29. Sam Kass
30. Julianna Smoot
31. Marty Nesbitt FPBAHH Rating 2
32. Eric Whitaker FPBAHH Rating 2
33. Linda Douglass
34. Jay-Z FPBAHH Rating 5
35. Hill Harper FPBAHH Rating 4
36. Charles Barkley FPBAHH Rating 3
37. Steve Harvey FPBAHH Rating 2
38. Tom Hanks
39. Rita Wilson
40. Grant Hill FPBAHH Rating 3
41. Gayle King FPBAHH Rating 1
42. Stevie Wonder FPBAHH Rating 3
43. Ledisi FPBAHH Rating 3
44. Barack Obama FPBAHH Rating 5
45. Michelle Obama FPBAHH Rating 3
46. Sasha Obama FPBAHH Rating 3
47. Malia Obama FPBAHH Rating 3
48. Marian Robinson FPBAHH Rating 1
49. Eleanor “Mama Kaye” Wilson FPBAHH Rating 1

Sadly being the first African American President is not the only "first" President Obama can claim

Other "firsts" for President Obama which, in my opinion, are sadly a result result of him being the first African American President of the United States:

• 1st American President to be forced to release his long form birth certificate;
• 1st American President to be openly heckled by a sitting member of Congress during a State of the Union speech when Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) yelled "You lie";
• 1st American President to have the nation's "full faith and credit" threatened because the opposition party in Congress has refused to raise the debt ceiling;
• 1st American President since John F. Kennedy was assassinated to be routinely confronted with protestors openly displaying firearms at his events;
• 1st American President to have the opposition party's leader in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) state "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president";
• 1st American President to see the rate of his death threats increase 400% over his predecessor;
• 1st American Presidential candidate to receive Secret Service nine months before voting began in a Presidential Primary.

This is just a partial list but I am sure he will collect many more "firsts" that should not be considered a reflection of his character, but rather a reflection of the character of this country.

Emo Progressives need to look at Obama's poll numbers & fundraising as well as Sharpton's ratings. . .

. . .and re-evaluate their strategy, tactics and temperament.

By John V. Moore

First of all you might be asking yourself "what is an Emo Progressive?"

Well as Motor City Liberal puts it "They're the whining, gloom and doom, 'Obama didn't give us everything we wanted in the first 15 minutes of his Presidency like he promised he would so now we're never gonna vote again' crybabies who are responsible for the mess we're in today. Spend five minutes on Daily Kos. You'll see what I'm talking about."

I'd go on to say that Emo Progressives (EPs) are not necessarily more liberal/progressive than others on the left, including President Obama, who just happen to be more pragmatic. While EPs often expect progressive purity from their political allies, this is not about ideology its about temperament.

A good example of this is Firedog Lake's Jane Hamsher who loves to run around telling folks Obama is not progressive enough and calling his ardent supporters "the dumbest motherf$%kers in the world," while records show an organization she controls actually works for Republicans. If she held herself to the standard that she holds Obama to, she'd be a huge sellout. But just like Republicans, EPs often specialize in hypocrisy.

From a ideological perspective I have a lot in common with those that I identify as EPs, but in politics, ideology is only as good as the strategy and tactics employed to meet these objectives.

Celebrated EP grifter Adam Green of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee inserted himself into LOCAL Chicago politics by circulating a petition for Illinois voters to pledge not to vote for former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in this year's Mayoral race. Not sure how many folks signed the petition, especially those from Chicago, but Rahm, is now Mayor Emanuel and Green is trying to raise money by bashing Obama over the debt ceiling issue.

Maybe if EPs stopped treating other Democrats and/or progressives as the enemy they might be more effective.

EPs run the risk of marginalizing themselves because they think the world revolves around what they believe and what they want. They don't understand the President's willingness to compromise, because they don't really know what it takes to govern. They are quick to turn potential progressive allies into enemies.

They ignore or belittle the President's impressive list of accomplishments when they claim he hasn't accomplished anything. When you list the accomplishments they tell you why those are nothing to brag about (trust me when I post this on one of my favorite progressive websites I will be asked to list his accomplishments and if I take the bait I will be told why they don't count, it happens all the damned time).

If the EPs and the pragmatic, a.k.a. Obama, progressives can get on the same page the Democratic tickets will be unbeatable in 2012. The debt ceiling debate is exposing some serious cracks on the right, a unified left can exploit the hell out of this. . .that is if we want to take back the House, protect the Senate and re-elect the most progressive and effective President we have seen in recent history.

Each week I keep hearing how they will not support the President, but then I see his poll numbers among Democrats remain strong.

Some EPs threatened to not donate to the President the same week it is revealed the President raised over $80 million for his re-election campaign and the Democratic Party.

Now EP favorite Cenk Uygur is leaving MSNBC because the network is reportedly giving his time slot to Rev. Al Sharpton. EPs are furious, threatening not watch, even though it appears that Sharpton's ratings were stronger than Uygur's. While I have not seen raw numbers I find myself watching Sharpton nightly, I couldn't bring myself to watch more than 15 minutes of Uygur.

Threats not to support or contribute to Obama ring hollow when his polling and donations from Democrats remain high. Boycotting MSNBC because they gave Sharpton Uygur's slot seems silly considering Sharpton is a progressive, who actually stands to have better ratings than Uygaur.

The Democratic Party, the White House, Obama progressives, like myself, and even MSNBC would be foolish to ignore EPs, however, if the they want to remain relevant they need to re-evaluate their strategy, tactics and temperament so that they are not left out in 2012.

If they don't change I encourage the larger Democratic/progressive community to move on without them. The time spent banging our heads against the wall trying to get them to come around will be better used to recruit new folks to the movement.

At some point the poutrage temper tantrums EPs throw will grow old and their effectiveness will fade, if it hasn't already.

Found, Barack Obama's to do list from last week

BREAKING ON TWITTER: Anthony Weiner has seen Obama's plan and "LIKES WHAT HE SEES"

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

Presidential Weekly Address: "Before We are Democrats or Republicans, We are Americans"

R. Lee Ermey apologizes for dissing President Obama. . .

Last week I posted a YouTube video of GEICO's R. Lee Ermey going after President Obama during Roe & Roeper's Miracle on Indianapolis Blvd. Holiday Extravaganza broadcast. The event raised funds for the USO and when Ermey appeared to make a pitch on behalf of Toys for Tots he launched his attack claiming the President was destroying the country in an attempt to introduce socialism.

Since I uploaded the video it has received over 435,000 hits and 4,000 comments. As should have been expected, there was a strong reaction from both the left and right. Many on the right applauded Ermey for "speaking the truth," while my brothers and sisters on the left (this is a progressive blog after all) criticized him for politicizing an event meant to raise money for the USO as he made an appeal for Toys for Tots.

Additionally, many folks took GEICO to task for not distancing itself from Ermey after it fired voice over artist D.C. Douglas for leaving a voicemail with Freedomworks critical of the tea party.

On Monday Ermey did the honorable thing, apologized and posted it on his website "My comments were misguided, and emotionally based, and for that I am truly sorry."

Ermey deserved the criticism he received for his outburst but I believe his apology should be taken at face value and accepted.

Is/should all be forgiven?

No, but he should be afforded the opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of those he offended. Once someone makes a mistake and gets called on it he can pushback against the criticism, claim he was misquoted or just apologize.

Ermey apologized and sadly, in today's polarized politically charged environment, that doesn't happen enough.

Ermey's actions and statements going forward should dictate our long term impression of him, not this one incident. The jury is still out but it should be noted that he has previously defended Obama against the birthers.

Now that Ermey has acted what will GEICO do? What should they do? Personally, rather than firing Ermey I'd like to see them give D.C. Douglas his job back.

Ermey's full statement:

A Message from the Gunny

"I recently appeared at a fundraising event designed to collect toys and raise awareness for underprivileged children. While that event succeeded in raising thousands of dollars and hundreds of toys for this cause, I regret that I delivered a monologue that was inappropriately critical of the President. I was trying to be entertaining and simply went too far in this instance. I am mindful that my success as an entertainer relates in part to my experience in the Marine Corps, my devotion to its members, and the deep respect I have for members of all our Armed Forces. My comments should not be seen as reflecting on them or their views. I was just very disappointed in the amount of success that we were having raising toys and money for the underprivileged children this season. The poor economy has greatly hampered our efforts. My comments were misguided, and emotionally based, and for that I am truly sorry."

Semper Fi

R. Lee Ermey

Windy City Watch friends who helped drive this story

Buzzflash
Karoli via Crooks and Liars: GEICO's R. Lee Ermey Uses a Toys4Tots/USO Event to Slam Obama
Dave von Ebers via the corner tavern: A tale of two Americans
GottaLaff via The Political Carnival: GEICO’s R. Lee Ermey, appearing on behalf of Toys 4 Tots & USO, slams President Obama
sdpdx via Twitter

GEICO's R. Lee Ermey, appearing on behalf of Toys 4 Tots & USO unloads on President Obama

During a December 10, 2010 appearance on Roe & Roeper's Miracle on Indianapolis Blvd. Holiday Extravaganza broadcast, live from The Venue inside the Horseshoe Casino, which benefitted the USO, GEICO's R. Lee Ermey appearing on behalf of Toys 4 Tots took an opportunity to unload on President Obama, claiming his administration was destroying the country so that it could impose socialism.

The sponsors must be proud to associate themselves with these comments.

Dear President Obama its time for "A More Perfect Union" to fight the race baiting

After watching the craziness of the Shirley Sharrod situation and the manufactured New Black Panther Party controversy I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm beyond disgusted by the blatant race baiting of FOX NEWS, Andrew Brietbart, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, et al. I decided to write President Obama and remind him he made us believe in "A More Perfect Union."

Dear President Obama-

I hope this letter finds you well.

Its time for you to be the man who went to Philadelphia to deliver the speech “A More Perfect Union,” instead of a president whose administration is timid and clumsy when it comes to dealing with the issue of race. That speech was one of the most powerful, truthful, yet hopeful commentaries on race in America. We need you, the man who gave us that speech, to be the president who will move this country in the direction of “A More Perfect Union.”

As long as you concede your moral authority by remaining cautious/silent on the issue of race you allow FOX NEWS, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Andrew Brietbart, talk radio, et al to moderate this discussion and as a result our country risks further polarization. Under their moderation we have seen discussions of racism distorted and used to divide us, instead of bringing us together.

This group is responsible for manipulating the facts of the New Black Panther Party (NPP) case in an attempt to make you and Attorney General Holder look soft on racism directed at whites. They also succeeded in destroying the reputation of USDA employee Shirley Sherrod by creatively editing a video of a speech she recently gave to an NAACP chapter in Georgia. Sadly, in the case of Ms. Sherrod your administration took the bait and prematurely forced her to resign.

I can’t believe the man who gave us “A More Perfect Union” would have allowed his administration to be manipulated like that.

It should be pointed out Mr. President that neither the NPP or Ms. Sherrod were the real targets of this race baiting, you were and you will continue to be vulnerable to these attacks as long as your administration abandons its leadership role in this area. You have been taking the high-road, while people who seek to do you harm politically will stop at nothing, including dividing this country along racial lines, to destroy you and derail your agenda.

I understand how discussions of race can distract us and derail your legislative agenda, but think for a moment about the damage your silence is doing. Think about what is in the best interest of the country. The folks seeking to divide us along racial lines are going to attempt it whether you are silent or not, you may as well speak up and lead on this issue, because your administration’s silence will cost us for generations to come.

When the NAACP did the right thing and pushed back against some of the racist signs and rhetoric associated with the tea party movement, a number of folks in the media questioned whether or not they crossed the line. Think about it for a moment, there were blatant examples of racism, yet the NAACP has to be careful about how it addresses the situation.

Those attacking the NAACP are being reckless, accountable to no one.

After taking heat for coming out against the tea party the NAACP ended up on the defensive, took the bait and also prematurely condemned Sherrod. I may be in the minority, but I don’t blame them, they were manipulated.

Believe it or not, I don’t even blame those who manipulate these incidents in an effort to divide us. It is what they do, it is what I have come to expect of them. These folks are despicable excuses for human beings, but sadly they are only living down to the very low expectations I have of them. Your administration is allowing them to moderate and control the discussion of race in America.

The White House is in a position to foster an environment that encourages tolerance as well as understanding, and it needs to take the lead. By moderating the discussion in a healthy, inclusive manner you limit the damage that those who seek to divide us can do, while making this country “A More Perfect Union.”

Mr. President, I know you have a lot on your plate, but this problem will not go away if the administration doesn’t address it immediately. Its not just a discussion of race that this country needs, it needs an open and ongoing dialogue on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social class, tolerance and how we celebrate our diversity.

Americans want to get along with one another, sometimes they just need a leader to show them how. I am confident you are that leader.

As an African American I cannot tell you how proud I am of the example that you and the first family set for all Americans.

As a progressive I’m thrilled with your legislative victories and accomplishments (yes, despite what the blogs say, happy progressives do exist).

As an American I and others need you to be the President who went to Philadelphia to deliver that speech as a candidate, not because you are first African American President, but because you are the man who made this country believe in “A More Perfect Union.”

Sincerely,


John V. Moore
Hyde Park
Chicago, IL

Obama tells Matt Lauer he wants to know "whose ass to kick"

Drudge uses Harry Reid's foot in mouth as an excuse to call President Obama "the Negro"

Sure Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) messed up when he referred to President Obama as a "light-skinned" African American "with no Negro dialect," during the campaign, but it is doubtful that he called Obama 'the "Negro"' as Matt Drudge implied with the following headline:
Just remember it is Drudge who is calling President Obama "the Negro," not Senator Reid, whose reference to "Negro dialect" is bad, but no where as offensive as what Drudge did by implying that he called Obama "the Negro."

Make no mistake this nothing but blatant race baiting on Drudge's part by using Reid's words as an EXCUSE to call President Obama "the Negro." This is an attempt to make an embarrassing and unfortunate situation worse but exploiting the volatile issue of race and trying to drive a wedge between the Majority Leader, the President and the African American community.

Don't be surprised that if in the following days Drudge's racists co-horts Brietbart, Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity and others all use Reid's words as an excuse to refer to the President as "the Negro."

Senator Reid, understanding his mistake showed contrition by issuing a statement expressing his regret for his poor choice of words, however what the hell is Drudge's excuse?

He is a racist scumbug!

Unfortunately Drudge is not accountable to ANYONE. His advertisers? Many of them share his unabashed ignorance and most likely applaud his race baiting.

Folks, Matt Drudge is nothing but a GOD DAMNED RACIST flame thrower. He needs to be called out. Won't you join us.

Why Jimmy Carter was right, Joe Scarborough is a miserable a-hole and Mika Brzezinski is an ignorant sycophant

Joe Scarborough is spitting mad at former President Jimmy Carter for his comment that much of the opposition to President Barack Obama is rooted in racism. Earlier this week on a couple of episodes of MSNBC’s MORNING JOE, Scarborough expressed his displeasure towards our nation’s 39th president for giving his own frank assessment, an assessment that is shared by many folks in this country.

Scarborough is being dishonest when he frames the controversy as Carter and many on the left accusing anyone who opposes the president as racist. No one said that, THAT IS NOT THE CASE.

By introducing this deceiving frame it is easy for Scarborough, and others, to paint those of us who share Carter’s view as playing the race card.

“I don’t know what America Jimmy Carter lives in, because he doesn’t live in the America where I live,” Scarborough said on the September 16, edition of his show. “There is desperation out there on the hard left and they just can’t figure out why people in the people of America are upset at this guy.”

In making this statement Joe ignores the role that the anger whipped up towards Obama during tea parties and town hall meetings has played in his dropping approval ratings. These events are important when it comes to understanding Carter’s statement because the rhetoric and images coming from them had both subtle and not so subtle racial as well as violent undertones.

Whether it’s the poster that had Obama dressed up as a witch doctor, the birther movement, the numerous signs calling him a Muslim or the lady who held up the poster that referred to the president as the “lying African,” it is hard to deny the influence that some who oppose him are influenced by bigotry.

“I actually worry about the fact that he brought this up,” Joe’s resident sycophant Mika also chimed in. “It may not just be wrong Joe, it may be irresponsible.”

Oh Mika you can such a dunce at times (more often than not unfortunately).

There DEFINITELY is some irresponsible behavior going on out there, but its not coming from Carter or others who have raised concerns about the new ugly tone that has been present since last summer. It is the behavior of Joe, Mika and others in the media who pretend that this is normal and acceptable political discourse and trivialize those who are concerned about it as being irresponsible and playing the race card.

Obama is not only the first African American president, he is the first president who is subjected to folks showing up at his event with guns, he is the first president who was treated like a sexual predator when he spoke to our nation’s students, he is the first president to be called heckled as a liar by a Congressman during a joint session of Congress.

What might contribute to these other “firsts?” Race? Nawwwwwwwww (sarcasm)

Joe, Mika and others will claim this is nothing new and President George W. Bush was subjected to protests and regularly disrespected by those of us on the left. While that observation is true, there needs to be some distinctions made.

The left never brought guns to Bush events and were often relegated to First Amendment zones. Reports are that Obama has received more threats to his life than any other president in American history, AND HE IS ONLY NINE MONTHS INTO HIS FIRST TERM!

Whenever Move.Org, CODE PINK and other left leaning organizations offended the right the Democratic establishment at times overreacted and distanced itself from them, however the tea party movement, while resembling the lynch mobs of the Jim Crow era, is embraced by GOP party leaders.

Joe and Mika can marginalize Jimmy Carter all they want but it doesn’t change the fact that what he said was right. I just hope as a country we wake up, realize its time for us to be part of the solution and have an honest and ongoing dialogue on race, instead of being part of the problem by trivializing the issue and calling those who raise it irresponsible.

Joe and Mika embrace an unrepentant bigot like Pat Buchanan as a regular contributor to their show, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they have no interest in being part of the solution.

Cartoon credit: Britt Springfield Journal Register

Before anyone gets worked up about the HuffPo "set-up" we give you Jeff Gannon

Mainstream media outlets (MSM) are all a twitter (literally) over President Obama calling on the Huffington Post's Nino Pitney during today's press conference. The concern is that the White House may have contacted Mr. Pitney in advance to let him know that POTUS would be calling on him during the press conference. Mr. Pitney had soliticited questions from Iranians to see what they would ask the President. Before folks get too bent out of shape on this issue we should remind them about Jeff Gannon who know for lobbing softballs to President George W. Bush. Mr. Gannon, it was later revealed, was a fraud and was exposed as a one time male escort.

Mr. Pitney, as noted by Gawker, has done an exceptional job of covering the crisis in Iran and as far as we know has never sold his body on the internets.

From Politico:

Reporters typically don’t coordinate their questions for the president before press conferences, so it seemed odd that Obama might have an idea what the question would be. Also, it was a departure from White House protocol by calling on The Huffington Post second, in between the AP and Reuters.

CBS Radio's Mark Knoller, a veteran White House correspondent, said over Twitter it was "very unusual that Obama called on Huffington Post second, appearing to know the issue the reporter would ask about."

According to POLITICO's Carol Lee, The Huffington Post reporter was brought out of lower press by deputy press secretary Josh Earnest and placed just inside the barricade for reporters a few minutes before the start of the press conference.

Some background on Mr. Gannon from wikipedia:

James Dale Guckert (born 1957) posed as a conservative columnist under the pseudonym Jeff Gannon and was given credentials as a White House reporter between 2003 and 2005, eventually being employed by the news organization Talon News during the latter part of this period. Gannon first gained national attention during a presidential press conference on January 26, 2005, when he asked United States President George W. Bush a question that some in the press corps considered "so friendly it might have been planted."^[1] Gannon routinely obtained daily passes to White House briefings, attending four Bush press conferences and appearing regularly at White House press briefings. Although he did not qualify for a Congressional press pass, Gannon was given daily passes to White House press briefings "after supplying his real name, date of birth and Social Security number."^[2] Gannon came under public scrutiny for his lack of a journalistic background prior to his work with Talon^[3][4] and his involvement with various homosexual escort service websites using the professional name "Bulldog". Gannon resigned from Talon News on February 8, 2005. Continuing to use the name Gannon, he has since created his own official homepage and worked for a time as a columnist for the Washington Blade newspaper, where he confirmed he was gay after he was outed as a homosexual prostitute.