Thursday, April 28, 2011
Lupe Fiasco's New Video - Words I Never Said
I'm taking a break from talking about Donald Skunk and the birthers. Check out Lupe Fiasco's new video, Words I Never Said. I'm sure that this video is going to generate some controversy.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Obama Slams Birther Wackos!
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
What Should Progressives Do to Hold President Obama Accountable?
As far as I am concerned, voting Republican is not an option. That party is opposed to everything that I stand for. Sitting out the 2012 Presidential Election is not an option. If progressives and Democrats decide not to vote, that will only help the Republican Party win the Presidency.
Unfortunately, our options are limited. There is no viable progressive alternative to President Barack Obama. How do we hold the President accountable without empowering the opposition?
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Donald Trump Panders to Racists
Rather than addressing pertinent issues such as the economy, war, poverty and deficit, potential GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has decided to wallow in the gutter. In addition to peddling debunked, ridiculous birther conspiracies, Mr. Trump is now questioning President Barack Obama’s academic qualifications.
As reported in the Grio,
“Real estate mogul Donald Trump suggested in an interview Monday that President Barack Obama had been a poor student who did not deserve to be admitted to the Ivy League universities he attended. Trump, who is mulling a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, offered no proof for his claim but said he would continue to press the matter as he has the legitimacy of the president's birth certificate.
"I heard he was a terrible student, terrible. How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?" Trump said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I'm thinking about it, I'm certainly looking into it. Let him show his records."
“Obama graduated from Columbia University in New York in 1983 with a degree in political science after transferring from Occidental College in California. He went on to Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude 1991 and was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.”
“Obama's 2008 campaign did not release his college transcripts, and in his best-selling memoir, "Dreams From My Father," Obama indicated he hadn't always been an academic star. Trump told the AP that Obama's refusal to release his college grades were part of a pattern of concealing information about himself."
Essentially, Donald Trump is pandering to a racist undercurrent of the Tea Party and the Republican Party. No matter how successful a black person becomes, racists will continue to question and doubt that success. Trump is playing to the reactionary base of the Republican Party. That base believes in the false notion that unqualified minorities are taking jobs and school admissions from well qualified white applicants. Like the late Senator Jesse Helm's racist "Hands" ad, Trump is resorting to race baiting for political self aggrandizement.
This situation also reminds me of late Geraldine Ferraro’s outrageous assertions during the 2008 Presidential Campaign. Ferraro stated that, “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”
Clearly, Mr. Trump’s arguments about Obama's academic qualifications are simply absurd. President Obama was admitted to the most prestigious law school in the nation, became president of Law Review and graduated magna cum laude. Obviously, President Obama was qualified to be admitted to Columbia and Harvard.
Similarly, the birther conspiracy theories are rooted in Islamophobia, racism, and xenophobia. To prove this point, one only needs to view Republican/Tea Party photos depicting Obama as a chimpanzee, an Arab terrorist, a witchdoctor, etc. The bottom line is this. Many right wing Republicans, and even some Democrats, resent the fact that a black man holds the highest office in the land. So what do they do? They manufacture outright lies to discredit the President. As retired General and Secretary of State Colin Powell stated, Republicans should challenge the President “on substance, not nonsense.”
The fact that Donald Trump is leading the Republican Presidential candidates in the polls speaks volumes about the true nature of the Republican Party. The Republican Party is becoming a primarily Southern, white male political party that is hostile to African Americans, immigrants, women and Muslims.
In light of that reality, it is not surprising that Donald Trump would use fear and racial anxiety to gain a political advantage. If the President was not an African American with a Muslim name and a black African father, I doubt that anyone would question his legitimacy or academic qualifications. I do not recall Mr. Trump ever questioning former President George W. Bush's qualifications for admission to Harvard.
This article is cross-posted on Jack and Jill Politics.
Monday, April 18, 2011
What More Evidence Do You Need?
"A California Republican party official who sent out an e-mail of President Obama's face super-imposed onto a chimp says she's sorry, but insists she wasn't trying to be racist."
"Marilyn Davenport, an elected member of the Orange County Republican central committee, sent the e-mail on Friday. The "family photo" features the commander-in-chief as a baby chimpanzee with two chimp parents...."
"The Tea Party activist then offered up a half-hearted apology."
"I'm sorry if my email offended anyone," she wrote, according to the OC Weekly. "I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama..."
Davenport wrote she hadn't considered that Obama is "half black."
"In fact, the thought never entered my mind until one or two other people tried to make this about race," she wrote.
"The GOP committeewoman then blamed the "media" for trying to make a big deal out of the racist e-mail, insisting that the "average person knows and agrees is much ado about nothing."
"Amusing"? Really? Ms. Davenport's racist email is not just an attack on the President. It is an attack on all African Americans. Essentially, her email depicts black people as subhuman and animal like.
What more evidence do you need? Clearly, there are racist elements in the Tea Party Movement. Ms. Davenport and other Republicans who harbor such racist views should be removed from power! Instead defending the Tea Party, Black Republicans need to stand up and condemn this nonsense.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
I am a Proud Member of AfroSpear!
AfroSpear is a community of prominent African/Black bloggers. Here is some background information on AfroSpear:
"The origins of “AfroSpear” started from a discussion a group of us had in regards to developing a community of African/Black progressive minded bloggers (click here). From further discussions it developed into an idea to create a diasporic-wide think tank type blog comprising of 6 bloggers: 3 women and 3 men. This original 6 were: Sylvia, Aulelia, Kizzie, thefreeslave, the Field Negro and Asabagna. The vision was that it would focus on discussing issues, exchanging ideas and creating strategies, with the objective of developing concrete and viable solutions to tackle the concerns relating to those of African descent worldwide."
Read more.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
President Obama Unveils His Plan to Cut the Deficit
Yesterday, the President unveiled his plan to cut the national deficit. He offered a more humane alternative to the Republican proposal.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Who is Right, Cornel West or Rev. Al Sharpton?
Shout out to my Facebook family for posting this thought provoking video. Who is right, Cornel West or Rev. Al Sharpton? Please tell me what you think.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Donald Trump Goes Birther and Bill Cosby Goes H.A.M.
Instead of talking about pertinent issues impacting all Americans, potential Presidential candidate Donald Trump has been spewing regurgiated Birther garbage. That Birther nonsense was discredited a long time ago. No serious candidate should waste his or her time and energy on such foolishness.
It is great to hear Bill Cosby go off on Trump.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
I'm A Jack & Jill Politics Contributor
I am proud to announce that I have been selected to be a Jack and Jill Politics (JJP) Contributor.
Please visit http://jackandjillpolitics.com/2011/04/who-is-anson-asaka/ to read my first JJP article. Thanks for your support.
Please visit http://jackandjillpolitics.com/2011/04/who-is-anson-asaka/ to read my first JJP article. Thanks for your support.
Friday, April 1, 2011
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