The President Explains Why Bain Matters

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Yesterday, President Obama explained to reporters why Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's record at Bain matters. Later, Newark Mayor Cory Booker backtracked on his comments opposing the Obama campaign's attack on Romney's record at Bain. Now that Mr. Booker has apologized, you all can stop crucifying him.


 

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Voices from the NATO Protest!

The corporate media depicts the NATO protesters as a bunch of crazy people and even terrorists. Thanks to Democracy Now, one of the few remaining independent news sources, we can hear the protesters' prospective. Listen to the voice of the voiceless. The war in Afghanistan must end now!

The End of White Supremacy?!?!

The white man's reign as the majority is coming to an end. The Washington Post reports that:

For the first time in U.S. history, most of the nation’s babies are members of minority groups, according to new census figures that signal the dawn of an era in which whites no longer will be in the majority. 

Population estimates show that 50.4 percent of children younger than 1 last year were Hispanic, black, Asian American or in other minority groups. That’s almost a full percentage point higher than the 49.5 percent of minority babies counted when the decennial census was taken in April 2010. Census Bureau demographers said the tipping point came three months later, in July.

The racist Right Wing sees their world slipping away. Perhaps, this is why they have been vigorously pushing anti-immigration measures, voter identification requirements and anti-affirmative action efforts.

This may be part of the reason why they hate President Obama. At least symbolically, his election represents the beginning of the end of white supremacy. The White House is no longer for white men only.

Honestly, the percentage of the white population does not matter.  American racism is institutional, systemic and structural. The racial disparities in education, criminal justice, economics and health care will remain in place. White owned corporations will continue to wield undue influence over the White House and Congress. Similar to Apartheid South Africa, white supremacy will remain in place even as the white population decreases, especially if Latinos, African Americans, Asians and white progressives do not unite and organize.  It does not matter if black people and Latinos are in the majority if we remain disproportionately uneducated, poor and incarcerated.

White supremacy is a system, not a population rate. The fact that this story is even news speaks volumes about the racist history of this country.

Trayvon Martin Update - New Evidence Released

As reported by NPR,

George Zimmerman had a broken nose, black eyes, cuts on the back of his head and a minor back injury the day after he shot and killed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, according to medical records compiled by his doctor, ABC News reports. 

Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Fla., says he acted in self defense on Feb. 26 when he shot Martin, a 17-year-old African-American. Martin's family and supporters have argued that Zimmerman racially profiled the boy and followed him through the Sanford neighborhood before their tragic encounter. The case has rekindled a national discussion about race relations and racial profiling.

For more information, visit ABC News.

Frankly, I find this medical report to be suspect for a few reasons. First of all, the medical report is not consistent with the police video images of Zimmerman. The police video was taken the night of the killing. In the video, I did not notice any visible signs of a broken nose or black eyes. In addition, according to ABC News, his family doctor prepared the report so that George Zimmerman could obtain legal clearance to return to work. However,the doctor probably prepared the report to keep Zimmerman out of jail. I want to see the hospital medical report.

Today, according to ABC News Trayvon Martin's autopsy was released. His autopsy allegedly reveals that Trayvon had traces of marijuana in his blood and urine. The report also indicates that Zimmerman shot Trayvon at very close range, between 1 inch and 18 inches away. The autopsy shows that Trayvon had a small abrasion on his finger. Although this reported evidence obviously supports the claim that there was a struggle, it does not necessary absolve Zimmerman.  Unfortunately, this is probably going to be a very difficult case to try.  We must continue to monitor this important case.

Why I Don't Support Same Sex Marriage

Last week, President Obama publicly supported same sex marriage and liberals celebrated. Many black bloggers and intellectuals heralded it as a historic leap forward for humanity. Not me. I don't care what the media says. Right is right and wrong is wrong. I will never support same sex marriage.

In this secular and hedonistic society, religion and morality have become irrelevant. Although I am flawed, God is primary in my life. Everything else is secondary. Islam, Christianity and Judaism condemn homosexuality as a sin. No ultra-liberal distortion of scripture can negate that fact. Here are a few verses from the Holy Quran, Surah 7:

80. We also (sent) Lut:
He said to his people:
"Do ye commit lewdness
Such as no people
In creation (ever) committed
Before you?"

81. "For ye practice your lusts
On men in preference
To women: ye are indeed
A people transgressing
Beyond bounds."

82. And his people gave
No answer but this:
They said, "Drive them out
Of your city: these are
Indeed men who want
To be clean and pure!"

83. But We saved him
And his family, except
His wife: she was
Of those who lagged behind.

84. And we rained down on them
A shower (of brimstone):
Then see what was the end
Of those who indulged
In sin and crime.

The Holy Bible contains similar verses in Genesis 19. Leviticus 20:13 states that:
"If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable..."

Yes. The Bible was deliberately misinterpreted to justify slavery and Jim Crow. However, like its stance against adultery and fornication, the Bible's opposition to homosexuality is unambiguous. It is not a question of exploitation or misinterpretation of the Bible. Calling someone a "sexual redneck" does not change that reality.

Since the critics are unable to refute holy scripture, they mock God, scripture and believers. They desperately scour the Bible for other "objectionable" verses and exploit those verses to try invalidate the Bible.  No one uses those "objectionable" verses to justify adultery or fornication.  So why do they drag out those verses to justify homosexuality?  For those of us who believe, God's word is infallible and timeless. We are not fazed by current trends. God's word is not subject to Gallup polls.

When that hustle does not work, people try to draw comparisons between the plight of African Americans and the plight of the LGBT community. However, such comparisons don't hold.  Unlike homosexuality, racial diversity and oneness of humanity are celebrated in holy scripture. Moreover, race is an immutable and obviously visible biological characteristic.  One cannot hide one's racial identity. Africans were enslaved, robbed of their identity, brutalized, lynched, segregated and humiliated just because of the color of their skin.

The oppression of LGBT people in America does not approach the scale and scope of the oppression of black people. Sexuality is a behavior pattern. Whether or not homosexuality is innate or learned is debatable. Unlike race, sexuality is not necessarily a visible trait. One can easily conceal one's sexuality. However, one cannot hide being black. It is outrageous for anyone to exploit our history of suffering and pain to further their own unique and unrelated agenda.

Certainly, Martin Luther King, Jr. employed the nonviolent tactics and example of Gandhi to further the Civil Right Movement in America. Both movements shared many similarities.  Both movements were fighting against racism and white supremacy.  Therefore, a comparison between those two movements is more justified.  Furthermore, Dr. King did not use Gandhi's movement to morally justify the Civil Rights Movement.  Instead, Dr. King relied on the Bible, the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to morally inspire the movement. I wish the LGBT community would stop pimping our movement to further their cause. 

In addition to love, the primary purpose of marriage and sex is reproduction of the human species. In order to sustain strong communities, we must rebuild the most basic and fundamental component of society, the traditional nuclear family. With more than half of all black children being raised in single parent households, our focus should be on rebuilding the traditional family, not jumping on the same sex marriage bandwagon.

Finally, we must understand that this whole spectacle is just election year politics as usual. Other than sparking a conversation and gaining the political support of the gay community, the President's statement did not make any practical difference. In fact, he essentially said that same sex marriage should be left to the states. Approximately thirty states ban same sex marriage. The President's statement does not change any of that. I fear that he has only given the Right a reason to rally around Mitt Romney.

This article is cross-posted on Jack and Jill Politics.

A "Brother" Found Guilty of Selling Out the Community for A Few Dollars

"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26

On this past Friday, the Baltimore Sun reported that:

Jurors acquitted Henson on three of the four charges he faced in connection with the "robocall," made on behalf of Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s campaign about two hours before the polls closed.  

Henson was found guilty of a single conspiracy count, for failing to include a campaign authority line in the call. He will be sentenced June 13 and could face a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.  

Henson, 63, who wore a three-piece suit with his trademark salt-and-pepper dreadlocks pulled back Friday, dismissed the significance of including a line to note that the robocall was authorized by the Ehrlich campaign.  

"Fifty percent of campaign materials don't have an authority line; it's sort of similar to spitting on the sidewalk, jaywalking," said Henson. "It's not enforced."  

Henson's lawyer, Edward Smith Jr., said he will seek a retrial on the conviction. Henson had also faced two counts of conspiracy to influence voters' decisions to cast ballots and another count of distributing the message without including an authority line; convictions on all counts could have led to a 12-year sentence....  

He was paid $112,000 by Ehrlich's campaign and had been promised a $30,000 bonus if Ehrlich had beaten Gov. Martin O'Malley, who was seeking re-election. O'Malley won handily.

As few days earlier, the Sun reported that:

Political consultant Julius Henson returned to the witness stand Monday and placed blame for a controversial Election Day 2010 robocall on a top campaign aide to former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.  

Henson told jurors in Baltimore Circuit Court that he was eating with his granddaughter at a Baltimore McDonald's at 4:42 p.m. Election Day when Ehrlich campaign manager Paul Schurick called him and authorized Henson to arrange the call — which prosecutors have described as a plan to suppress the black vote through fraud.  

The automated call suggested registered Democrats in Baltimore and Prince George's County should "relax" and stay home. It implied that Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, had already won his race against Ehrlich, a Republican, even though the polls were still open.  

Henson, who is charged with election fraud, testified that he wrote the call in three minutes on the back of a McDonald's napkin and called Schurick to read to him what he proposed to tell potential voters. That's good," Henson recalled Schurick telling him. But Henson said he was surprised when Schurick instructed him not to include an Ehrlich campaign authority line on the call.

Brothers and sisters marched, fought, bled and died so that African Americans could vote. The power to vote is the power to determine one's destiny. All other rights flow from the right to vote.



It is unbelievable that a so-called "brother" would help racists suppress the African American vote. I should not be surprised. Every race has its traitors and sellouts. I just hope that Henson receives the maximum sentence for his crime.

Did President Obama Make the Right Decision by Publicly Supporting Same Sex Marriage?

As reported by ABC News ,

"President Obama today announced that he now supports same-sex marriage, reversing his longstanding opposition amid growing pressure from the Democratic base and even his own vice president."

Did President Obama make the right decision? Why? Why not? What impact will this have on the Presidential Election? Tell me what you think.

Mr. President, Why Is the U.S. Still in Afghanistan?!?!

The Washington Post reports that:

The last of the 33,000 troops Obama dispatched to Afghanistan in 2009 will head home at the end of September. Senior administration officials said Tuesday that, though no specific future troop levels have been determined, a “steady reduction” will follow over the next two years.  

Obama’s timeline calls on Afghan security forces to take the lead in combat operations by the end of next year. All U.S. troops are scheduled to leave by the end of 2014, except for trainers who will assist Afghan forces and a small contingent of troops with a specific mission to combat al-Qaeda through counterterrorism operations.  

In his remarks, Obama emphasized that the United States will not seek permanent military bases in Afghanistan, a country that for centuries has fiercely opposed foreign interlopers... 

Those U.S. trainers and Special Operations troops that remain beyond 2014 will live on Afghan bases. Senior administration officials said the agreement is meant to send a signal to the Taliban that they cannot “wait out” the international presence, which is supporting a fragile Afghan government.   

“The goal I set to defeat al-Qaeda and deny it a chance to rebuild is now within reach,” Obama said.

Karzai has long requested reassurance from Obama that U.S. support would not wane after 2014. The agreement commits Obama to ask Congress for money to support Afghanistan through 2024, but it does not specify the amount of annual aid...  

The accord is designed to promote the training of Afghan forces, a reconciliation and reintegration process for Taliban fighters who leave the battlefield, and regional stability with a focus on improving relations with Pakistan. A second senior administration official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, called it “a crucial component to bring the war to an end responsibly.”  

..Americans have not outlined what the U.S. troop presence will look like beyond 2014, and NATO has yet to specify its long-term financial commitment to the Afghan security forces. That topic will be a focal point of the NATO summit in Chicago this month.

Al Qaeda has been defeated in Afghanistan. According to a 2009 ABC news report, less than 100 Al Qaeda fighters remain in Afghanistan. Far less probably remain now. Osama Bin Laden is dead, and he was found in another country, Pakistan. After approximately 10 years of war, why is the United States still in Afghanistan? 2014, really? 2024, really?