TonyaTko's Sad About The State Of Race; I'm Not

I just read TonyaTko's blog where she's sad about the state of race. I think what she's talking about is racial self-hatred, and I do agree that it does seem to be alive and well. But I'm hopeful in that it's not as widespread in my experience and I feel that digital media can play a role in repairing the problem.

Republicanmarket - Racists At The Texas Republican Convention

Republicanmarket - Racists At The Texas Republican Convention

This sad report comes from the blog Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Scott, where it's reported that a button reading "If Obama's President, Will We Still Call It The White House" was being sold. The button is made by a company called "Republicanmarket" which claims to sell "Patriotic and Republican Products."

So racism is patriotic? I think they meant idiotic.

All bloggers -- Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Scott, burntorangereport.com, this blog, and more -- are calling for you to contact that organization and discourage them from using the mental illness of racism to make a buck.

You can email them at sales@republicanmarket.com. You should also contact Tina Benkiser, the head of the Texas GOP at info@texasgop.org and share your feeling with her.

Why is it that Republicans are generally associated with racist thought? I guess examples like this are why. But in an age where racism has been identified as a mental illness, you'd think the party would rush to avoid any associations with people who exhibit paranoid delusion.

But no.

Buttons like that one confirm the idea that the Republican Party has been taken over by the lunatic fringe. So if you're a Hillary Clinton supporter still fighting the civil war, and moving over to the GOP side, look at who your associating with.

Want to be thought of as a person who should be in a rubber room?

Overt Racism and Sexism at Fox News

Want to be amazed at just how overtly racist and sexist Fox News can be? Go to Daily Kos and check out this post: Fox Smears Michelle Obama with Sexist/Racist Slur. You'll get the breakdown and the screenshot, which I won't reproduce here out of respect for their having it first. What I will do is share the caption they showed, with Michelle Malkin hosting, under Michelle Obama on screen:

"Outraged Liberals: Stop Picking On Obama's Baby Mama!"

Are you kidding me? Even for Fox Noise, this is dipping way deep into the racist and sexist pit. If you're as offended as I, write to Fox (yourcomments@foxnews.com) and to the FCC to register your disgust.

White Women And Obama - Tim Wise' Open Letter On Counterpunch

White Women And Obama - Tim Wise' Open Letter On Counterpunch

Tim Wise, a contributor to the website "Counterpunch", wrote a great column essentially taking any "White Woman" to task for stating they will vote for McCain over Obama, stating

"You are not thinking and acting as women, but as white people. So here's the first question: What the hell is that about?"

And then masterfully following with:

"And you wonder why women of color have, for so long, thought (by and large) that white so-called feminists were phony as hell? Sister please...

Your threats are not about standing up for women. They are only about standing up for the feelings of white women, and more to the point, the aspirations of one white woman. So don't kid yourself."

You've got to read the whole thing. But what I do find really troubling is to what degree we allow open racism to be expressed without challenge. Racism is a proven mental illness that should not be tolerated. It wrecks economic development, causes the inhuman treatment of people, and harms even the very people who practice it, which is why it's a mental illness.

This election does come down to this: if you're intelligent at all, you can see people as individuals, and vote for Barack Obama. If you're not smart at all, and tend toward racism or racist thought, you're going to back McCain.

It's that simple.

In closing, check out Tim's column with a click here.

ABC= Assault Black Candidate Obama Smeared by ABC News In Debate

Once again, ABC News showed its biased and unprofessional approach in this election year with a debate last night that seemed not to be that at all, but an attempt to assault Senator Barack Obama.

Charlie Gibson and George Stephanapolos should be fired for this. They were terrible. It's a good think Obama weathered the storm, but this was supposed to be a debate anyway.

Taylor Marsh and MSNBC Misquote Barack Obama

Sometimes there are people who are so busy looking for smoking guns they see ghosts. Taylor Marsh is one of those people. Taylor Marsh is so upset that Hillary Clinton will lose to Barack Obama that she stoops to misquoting Senator Obama.

Barack appeared on a popular radio show called "Angelo Cataldi"

If you see the show's website , it glowingly praises Senator Obama, writing:

Philadelphia's Angelo Cataldi interviewed Barack Obama this morning on Philadelphia's Sports Radio, WIP-AM 610.

Cataldi, a wildly popular sports personality in Philadelphia, did a great interview, which you can listen to here. According to local listener Eric Schmeltzer:

Cataldi and his crew were raving about Obama for two hours after his interview was done. Guys were calling in saying they didn't know who they were going to vote for, until Obama called in, and that cinched it for them. Cataldi was saying he's going to do everything to elect him, and was getting his tux ready for the inaugural ball.

Another Philadelphia talk radio host, Michael Smerconish, who was in the audience for Obama's speech, had nothing but glowing praise for it and its message when he appeared on the the Today Show this morning. Smerconish's praise was notable, because his radio show caters to a right wing audience. Since appearing on the Today Show, Smerconish's listeners apparently have driven him to couch his praise of Obama. But its really too late now, as he's already spoken. It looks like even right wing radio talk show hosts like Obama!

One of the questions posed by Chris Matthews of MSNBC's Hardball was how he was going to get the regular beer drinking guys working day jobs to vote for him.

Obama seems to be doing just fine in this area. It looks like a pretty good move on his part to go on Sports Radio, especially for a guy that has some other moves of his own like this left handed layup.....

But Taylor Marsh can't stand that, so she prints this misquote of what Senator Obama said on the interview:

The point I was making was not that my grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person who, uh, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know there's a reaction that's been been bred into our experiences that don't go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way and that's just the nature of race in our society. We have to break through it..."

But that's not exactly what he said. Obama said this:

"The point I was making was not that my grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is the typical White person, who uh, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know. You know, There's a reaction that it's been bread into our experiences that don't go away and sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that's just the nature of race in our society we have to break through it. And what makes me optimistic is you see each generation being a little less like that, and that's powerful stuff"

The radio host didn't flinch at that, and gave Obama a glowing review.

Maybe some people aren't ready for straight talk about race. It seems Taylor Marsh is not.

NewsMax Racist Obama Smear Campaign Misses Mark

NewsMax is an off-the-wall, stupid, fly-by-night, third-rate web-based operation that fakes news stories.

This one regarding Barack Obama is one good example. Apparently bent on using race and racism to form a story, they fraudulently report that Senator Obama was at Trinity Church to hear a "hate America" sermon supposedly given by Pastor Jeremiah Wright.

In point of fact, Ronald Kessler wrote a story that's an outright lie and calls into question their ethics as a publication and his as well. Senator Obama was here on that day, at The National Council of La Raza event.

This is the most irresponsible example of journalism I've ever seen. Barack spoke at 1:30 PM at this event, and at that time it was 12:30 CST. A flight from Chicago to Miami is about 3 hours and that does not include to and from travel time, so we're looking at 5 hours, making it impossible for Ronald's story to occur as Obama would have to leave at 7 AM CST.

Plus, the Trinity Church website reports that:

Anthony Burnette, Jr. gave the 7:30 am service
Otis B. Moss III gave the 11:00am service
Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. gave the 6:00pm service

So Pastor Wright didn't even speak that morning.

Obama was the featured speaker on July 22nd 2007 and not "in the pews" as Kessler put it, and this schedule and video shows it:

Sunday, July 22
11:00 a.m. LATINAS BRUNCH, Una Charla Con Hillary – Hall B
Welcome: Governor Charlie Crist (R-FL)
Speakers:
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Interview led by Monica Lozano, Publisher and CEO, La Opinión
1:30 p.m. SPECIAL FORUM: Foro Del Pueblo Con Sen. Obama – Room D128-129
Featured Speaker: Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)
3:30 p.m. Town Hall: Innovative Public-Private Partnerships To Reduce Obesity Among Latinos, presented by the Office of Minority Health – Room B214-218
Moderator: Jackie Guerra, Comedienne/Actress/Author
Panelists:
Dr. Garth N. Graham M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, Office of Minority Health, Department of Health and Human Services
Dra. Isabel Gomez-Bassols, Univision Radio
John Govea, JD, MPA, Senior Program Officer, Childhood Obesity Team, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
8:00 p.m. Noche de Concierto – Knight Concert Hall, Carnival Center for the Performing Arts
Featuring:
Luis Fonsi
Fanny Lu
Mariachi Campanas de America

1/3rd of Democrats Racist? Seems They Agree With Geraldine Ferraro

Ok, kids, here's a question: if we agree that Geraldine Ferraro was expressing racism in her comments regarding Barack Obama, what does it say about those who agree with her? Hmm? Well, logically, it would say that they too have views that are racist.

Thus, if a survey shows that 34 percent of Democrats agree with Geraldine Ferraro , then it means that according to this survey we have a party with problems.

It means that about 1/3rd of the Democratic Party is racist and in my view, the party could lose part of that one-third to the Republicans and John McCain, unless something is done. Barack Obama has a wide lead in delegates and Clinton will not catch him. Dean needs to end this contest, now.

It also means that Dean and Pelosi should worry about causing the Democrats African American base to erode for the first time in history.

(As far as Florida and Michigan, just split the delegates 50 - 50 and move on.)

I think both Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi need to step in and correct this problem now. They need to make statements against these findings, because Ferraro and by extension Hillary Clinton is still doing damage to the Democratic Party, and Pelosi and Dean need to stop it.

Here's the results of the survey by MediaCurves.com (N=431 means that 431 people were surveyed.)

Geraldine Ferraro Defends her Statement About Barack Obama

Total N=431

Do you agree with Geraldine Ferraro’s comment that “Barack Obama would not have made it this far if he was a white man?”

Prior to viewing Ferraro’s explanation

Yes 29%
No 57%
Don’t Know 14%

After viewing Ferraro’s explanation

Yes 34%
No 53%
Don’t Know 13%


Do you believe that Geraldine Ferraro’s comment was racist?

Prior to viewing Ferraro’s explanation

Yes 48%
No 43%
Don’t Know 9%

After viewing Ferraro’s explanation

Yes 42%
No 51%
Don’t Know 7%


Do you agree with Geraldine Ferraro’s explanation of her comments about Senator Obama?

After viewing Ferraro’s explanation

Yes 45%
No 46%
Don’t Know 9%


Do you think Geraldine Ferraro should have resigned from Senator Hillary Clinton’s finance committee?

After viewing Ferraro’s explanation

Yes 45%
No 39%
Don’t Know 14%

Sean Hannity's Messed-Up Obama Reporting Features Security Threat

Yes, you read my title correctly. Fox News' Sean Hannity should be FIRED. Yanked off the Fox News telecast by his legs, upside down , by the Secret Service and in full prime-time view of the American Public.

Sean Hannity's a total jerk of a TV personality who thinks it's cool and good ratings to assist by association in placing a respected U.S Senator in danger, which is what he has done by featuring one man, a friend of Sean's who's a white supremacist named Hal Turner and who Sean's frequently had as a guest, and who also threatened Obama.

Yes, you read that correctly. Sean Hannity is -- as newshounds put it -- "ever-vigilant-against-black-racism but ever-sympathetic-to-white-racism". But to the point of allowing a person he's friendly with to threaten the life of Barack Obama? This is nuts, and Sean's just plain horrible.

Hal Turner's had bomb-making tips on his website and has written such dangerous and really sick words as ""smart Frenchman Burned The Place Down To Prevent More Savage Negros From Gaining Access To France" and who's page is linked to from a Neo-Nazi groups website. And add to that, he's not even supposed to have a webpage, because he's been rejected by so many people. Maybe the Secret Service should take this down.

And with all of this, Sean Hannity has a relationship with this idiot? WFT?!

(I'd link to Turner's page, but it makes me barf to even write the link code to do it. But on second thought, if it helps the FBI and the Secret Service, I'll do it...here's the link.)

This means Fox News speaks for Hal Turner.

I can't believe Fox News is to desparate for rating that on top of the whole short skirts, upskirt legs habit they've launched on the part of their female hosts, they harbor as a TV personality a guy who has no problem -- none at all -- giving voice to someone who wants to eliminate Barack Obama.

I can't figure out which is worst: Hannity or Turner, or Fox News itself. I guess I'll take all three of them put together.

According to Newshounds, Hannity, this total piece-of-shit fuck in my free-speech opinion regarding a public figure who's played agent to the threat of Barack Obama, has " has never renounced Turner." Moreover, according to McSweeney's Internet Tendency , Hannity has helped Turner overcome a drug problem and has invited him to the set of his TV show. Think about it. Sean Hannity maintains a friendship with a person in Hal Turner who -- again according to McSweeney -- advocates killing African Americans, and I'm way not making this up.

It's about time Sean rejected Turner on his show, or get booted from his show. But really, it's about time Fox News got some real balls and kicked Hannity off the air, regardless of the appology. It's totally un-American to have a person who's arguably a threat to national security on the public airwaves. Get his stupid, ignorant, racist ass off television now.

Now for those of you who think Hannity has a point about "The real Barack Obama," you're smoking something other than a very good Mike Ditka Cigar. According to Newshounds, which "watches Fox so you don't have to" ...

Obama has renounced Farrakhan and the radical organization the Weather Underground, of which two former members developed a seemingly loose association with Obama 40 years later. Naturally, those renunciations were not good enough for Hannity. But Hannity, to my knowledge, has never renounced Turner.

Obama’s “connection” to Farrakhan is tenuous at best. Obama’s pastor’s daughters awarded Farrakhan some kind of lifetime achievement award. It’s worth noting that Obama has said he disagrees with the award. But that did not satisfy the ever-vigilant-against-black-racism but ever-sympathetic-to-white-racism Hannity.

Obama’s connection to Ayers is also sketchy. It has been reported that Obama met with the two former radicals, Bill Ayers and his wife, Bernadette Dohrn, in 1995; Obama served with Ayers on the board of an anti-poverty group; Ayers donated $200 to Obama's 2001 state senate campaign;

I'm glad Patriot Boy called the Secret Service about Hal Turner; the Secret Service should keep a watch on Sean Hannity, too. I've seen the real terrorists, and they're Hal Turner and Sean Hannity.

There are some who say Hannity is a moron , but I say he's just plain a threat to our country. Please get him off the air; he's done far more damage than Don Imus ever did, and Imus got the boot. Hannity should get the jail.

Kellyanne Conway's Racism Shows Again - This Time On Larry King

Republican Pollster Kellyanne Conway's a person who just can't watch her mouth, and what comes out of it is not good at all. On November 24th of 2007, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann taggged her "The Worst Person In The World" for this comment:

"'It is,' she says, 'one day going to blossom into two air traffic controllers who don't speak great English because political correctness has made us appoint them to those positions. We're going to have two planes crashing in the sky. And that's not a dramatic example. That's what happens with slippery slopes.'"

Let me chime in here and explain how stupid that is. Not every air traffic controller in the World speaks perfect English, and in some cases they don't speak much at all, yet there's not been a major air accident tied to a language difference. I guess Conway didn't know that. Keith was right to tag her, but what she said on Larry King's show Friday March 7th 2007 at night makes her a far worst person in the World.

This is what she said:

KING: Kellyanne, you think he (Senator McCain) is enjoying this Obama-Clinton fight?

CONWAY: He ought to be. I have to slightly disagree. I don't know that he showed his temper. It's not like he hauled off and let her have it, or called her a monster or a liar like the other two are doing. But she really didn't have a follow-up question, Larry. He sort of politely gave her an opening to change the subject and she was tongue-tied in doing so.

John McCain is in New Orleans tonight addressing the Council on National Policy. It's been reported these are just the cream of the crop conservatives. This is what he's doing behind the scenes now while Hillary and Obama argue about whether she should let him sit on the back of the bus of her presidential ticket, or he argues whether or not she lied us into war in 2002.

So there he is doing something out of the headlines. For all the arguments that John McCain's not a part of the headline and the byline and the story line now, he's going to suffer. Hey, if the headlines are who is a monster, McCain's better off being in New Orleans, addressing these top of the line conservatives.

SIMMONS: Larry, we have to address that. We have to address that. This back of the bus comment is beyond the pale. I think Senator Clinton, whatever our disagreements are between the two candidates, Senator Clinton has never done or said anything that would imply that she would rather have Barack Obama sitting in the back of her campaign bus.

CONWAY: No, as V.P. You aren't paying attention.

SIMMONS: No, you are not speaking clearly, because that's out of line.

CONWAY: No, she doesn't want him to be the first black president. She wants him to be her V.P. She said that this week. She would consider putting him on her ticket, but I guess he wouldn't consider putting her on his ticket, would he?

KING: Did you use the term back of the bus?

CONWAY: I did. I just said --

KING: Meaning? CONWAY: Meaning that she wants -- she has said she would have Barack Obama as her V.P. Thereby she is denying something that many Republicans are not denying, that Barack Obama has a very strong chance of becoming this country's first black president, that someone like me respects.

That's called "foot in the mouth disease" and it's no wonder Conway was not seen after this segment. I can see the show producers smacking their heads and saying "What the....Get her outta here!"

And they did.

One online publication will cry that this is an example of political correctness run amok. But I will assert that any such argument is an example of the blind acceptance of racism.

One has to ask of all the possible statements Conway could have made, why in living hell did she have to use that one? Moreover, she doesn't even realize how incendiary her statement was. She just kept talking on and sticking her foot way down her mouth.

Good for Larry King to catch her statement however. Bravo.

Racist GOP Congressman Steve King Opens His Big Mouth

That's about all I'll say regarding GOP Congressman Steve King of Iowa. He's racist in my view, and thinks that the old trick of using Barack Obama's middle name, thinking that there are racists out there who will agree with him. Maybe someone will let him know this is 2008 and not 1808.

Clinton Racism Out Of Control: Clinton Caller Uses "Osama" Not "Obama"

On the eve of what some call the second "Super Tuesday" we have a Chicago Tribune report of an Ohio Clinton Campaign caller using the name "Osama" in place of Obama and saying "Osama Bin Laden".

I don't know when the Clinton racism will end, but I do know that regardless I'm not voting for Hillary Clinton at all. She's ran a campaign that just plain speaks to the worst of America, and I'm not happy that people like John Edwards have not come out to endorse Senator Obama, because their actions would help end her race-based campaign.

The Clintons are using the worst aspects of America to win. Is that any way to run a campaign? It's not worked for them to this point, but God help us all if it does. America should be ashamed of itself for even allowing this kind of political farse of a campaign to go on.

To use a term I find myself coming to again and again with repect to Clinton, it stinks. It really does.

Oh, this is the full text of what the Clinton caller said:

So last night around dinner time, the phone rings. It’s the Hillary campaign–official number, per the caller ID. The woman on the other end asks me if Hillary can count on my support Tuesday. I say I have not decided.
She asks what would help me decide. I say, “Well . . . maybe she can make Bill her vice president.” She does not know how to take me, of course, but has to assume I am serious. “I don’t think she can do that.” “Bill will have a significant role in major decisions, though, won’t he?” I ask. “Oh, certainly he will be very involved. Do you like Bill?” “Very much.” I reply.

She then launches into a two-minute spiel on all the very specific initiatives and proposals Hillary has put forth on health care, the war in Iraq, etc., etc. At the end of her spiel, she says, “And we haven’t heard anything that specific from Osama bin Laden.”

I say, “You did not just say that.” She replies, “I’m sorry . . . just a slip of the tongue.” She then thanks me for my time and encourages me to vote for Hillary on Tuesday.

Someone get Hillary to quit before she wrecks the Democratic Party.

Hillary Clinton Disses African Americans and Activists After Obama Wins

In an uncharacteristic show of unfortunate speech, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, as reported by CNN , unleashed her anger over losing to Senator Barack Obama by targeting the reason for his wins to activists and African Americans.

Clinton told reporters who had gathered to watch her tour a General Motor plant here that "everybody knew, you all knew, what the likely outcome of these recent contests were."

Clinton: "These are caucus states by and large, or in the case of Louisiana, you know, a very strong and very proud African-American electorate, which I totally respect and understand."

Clinton has publicly dismissed the caucus voting system since before Super Tuesday, seeking to lower expectations heading into a series of contests that played to Obama's advantage. His campaign features what many consider to be a stronger and more dedicated grassroots organization than Clinton's.

Noting that "my husband never did well in caucus states either," Clinton argued that caucuses are "primarily dominated by activists" and that "they don't represent the electorate, we know that."

So let's take a time out from this and think. Senator Clinton has just said essentially that African American and activists in a caucus system are the reason she lost. Why say that at all? It's a total dis -- and she failed to congratulate Senator Obama, which means she's totally angry about the whole thing. But to say all of this is a totally terrible thing to do. Now, she's going to have to back-track on her statements -- again.

Emma Thompson @ Davos Forum replies to (My) Zennie62 Video On Racism

Readers of The Zeitgeist may remember the video I submitted to the Davos Forum in Switerland and as part of "The Davos Question" where YouTubers were asked to make videos that responded to the question: "What one thing do you think that countries, companies or individuals must do to make the world a better place in 2008?" The process set up by YouTube at Davos allows attendees to make video responses to the questions submitted.

Well, I got my video response to the Davos question in right under the time wire, but the effort was more than worth it! On Friday, January 25th award-winning actress Emma Thompson took time at Davos to make a video answering my own. Thompson said "I really loved your video...One of the greatest problems that we have is in receiving and tolerating anyone who is different from ourselves, and we have so many boundaries in the World. And I think the only way that we can melt those boundaries is in talking to each other. We need to listen to each others stories. I think art and culture can help a great deal and we need to encourage businesses and politicians to listen in a slightly different way."

She ends the video by saying that she hears my message and that one action all of us can take every day is to turn around the talk to someoe who is different from ourselves.

It's any honor to receive a response from Ms. Thompson because her humanitarian efforts have been inspirational, and in fact she received an awards at Davos for her work on that area. Here's the video she made:



I'll make a video that futher outlines my idea for a program to help in this area.

Rush Limbaugh Hit For Using "Spadework" Term That Hillary Clinton Used Twice

Conservative shock-jock Rush Limbaugh's the hit-person-of-the-day for using a term in a monologue that's generally taken to be racially offensive, even though it's formal definition has nothing to do with race.

On his show, Rush twice used the word "spade," which can be used as a racial slur. Specifically, Limbaugh said that "Obama is holding his own against both of them [Bill and Hillary Clinton], doing more than his share of the 'spadework,' maybe even gaining ground at the moment, using not only the spade, ladies and gentlemen. But when he finishes with the spade in the garden of corruption planted by the Clintons, he turns to the hoe. And so the spadework and his expertise, using a hoe. He's faring well."

But as people are piling on Rush for using the term, they seemed to forget that Senator Clinton's staff used the same words on July 24, 2007....

In a post-debate rebuttal of Sen. Obama, reported by CBS, a member of Sen. Clinton's inner circle had this to say:



"I would think that without having done the diplomatic spadework, it would not really prove anything," former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said in a conference call with reporters set up by the Clinton campaign.

It's not the first time Senator Clinton has done this. According to Rush Limbaugh himself, Senator Clinton herself has used the term "spadework" before. Here's Rush:

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Did you hear what Mrs. Clinton said on the Today Show today with Matt Lauer? She said that Barack Obama "hasn't done the spadework necessary to be president." He "hasn't done the spadework necessary to be president," as though she has. Now, let's imagine, shall we, if Trent Lott, or Mitt Romney, or Ross Perot had said that Barack Obama "hasn't done the spadework necessary to be president." Nothing that happens in the Clinton campaign is coincidence, folks. Barack Obama hasn't done the "spadework"? Whew. Where is the Reverend Sharpton on this? By the way, big story: Reverend Sharpton is waiting on his time to endorse. He's waiting for commitments. That means he's probably waiting for money from one of these two camps.

He's right. Where's Al Sharpton on this issue? And why do the Clintons throw racist barbs into the campaign?

Al?

On CNN, Jennifer Donahue Blasts Hillary Clinton For Playing "Race Card" On Obama; Clinton Advisor David Gergen Can't Stand Truth

Jennifer Donahue, who's a political pundit and Senior Advisor for Political Affairs at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, gets my award for a major act of courage.

Thursday night, on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, Jennifer Donahue blasted the Hillary Clinton campaign for using the race card against Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Race. She was on the show with Cooper, Clinton Advisor and Political Consultant David Gergen, and CNN contributor Jeffrey Toobin. Whereas Toobin and Gergen were circumspect in their way of addressing the matter, Donahue was right on.

This seemed to rankle Gergen.

Gergen tried to hide his anger at the mere mention of race and Clinton campaign strategy, but he's angry because deep down he knows they've taken a path of trying to "Willie Horton" Barack Obama. Look, Gergen's a Clinton Advisor -- something Anderson Cooper didn't mention -- and this is the second time in as many weeks he's tried to protect or soften a person's attack of a Clinton campaign tactic, beit Carl Bernstein who claimed the Clinton's were being desperate, or now.

Gergen's openly using the CNN platform to help Hillary Clinton's campaign for president. Thus, he's fair game to be denounced.

The simple fact is that with the Clinton Campaign having both volunteers and paid campaign staffers who worked to launch a race-based smear campaign against Obama, starting with planting the idea that he's Muslim -- a total lie -- they have indeed played the "race card" and Gergen knows it.

For Gergen to argue otherwise is in itself advancing a lie. For CNN to allow Gergen to do this without revealing that he's a Clinton operative is just aiding and abetting the advance of the same lie.

I noticed that no one bothered to claim that Hillary Clinton was playing the "sex card" when she said the "boys were ganging up" on her.

Geez. David, you should know -- indeed, you do know -- that people make some views of others based on racial stereotypes and that the Clintons have been playing to those stereotypes.

To the woodshed with Gergen! His assertions to the contrary are an outrage! Thankfully, the main stream media, like the Washington Post , is picking up on this terrible approach.

TRANSPORTS' Beverly Uses Sex; Race As Weapon For Her Own Pleasure With Co-Worker

Yep. That's a weird title, but as readers to my blog know whenever there's a weird something that happens in my life, I'll report it and this is certainly up there.

As of this writing -- things change -- I'm not dating anyone. So as it happened I was at a cool lounge in Oakland with an interior that looks like you've walked into a Polynesian hut. Awesome place called The Tiki Lounge. Anyway I'm hanging out and chatting and eventually started talked to the woman seated next to me, who was attractive to be sure and quite interested in my name.

Her name's Beverly, which she seems to think is a boring name, but it's not. That and the occasional "I'm Asian" comments were a bit annoying but I could deal with it.

After a good time of talk, it seemed we were both interested in each other, except I had one question, which I'll get to. But then at that point, she starts to involve this guy who seemed all of about 20 years old next to her. He was also with a group of people that, as it turned out, all worked for Beverly.

To make a long story short, Beverly basically tried to use my interest in her to attract this guy who's also her direct employee at a store in Oakland called Transports. I said to her during this difficult period in our talk, "Say, aren't you considering that you are his boss?" She said she's known him for three months and also said that he never did anything in the way of an advance until I expressed an interest. She said this. I'm not kidding.

That's lame.

I also wondered quietly to her if part of her problem was that perhaps she had a preference for White guys. At first, she said I was playing "the race card" -- but then just five minutes later admitted to him, but within earshot of me, that she "was used to White skinny guys." To which I politely called her on it, and you could see her wheels turning as if to say "I got caught."

Geez.

Then I asked Bev about the ring on her finger. It turns out that by her own admission, she's still married, although she says she's in the middle of a divorce. If that's the case, take off the ring.

With all this, and I told her, I lost interest. Plus, the guy was a total dweeb who makes snide remarks and is constantly looking for drama and controversy. and Beverly was egging him on, saying to him "Don't you get into bar fights?" Because she was trying to pit him against me. To which I remarked, "I don't get into fights; I call the cops." At that point, I though Beverly lost it. She would blame the cocktail; I blame her judgement.

Beverly and he also said that "no one would find out about this" -- meaning their planned romance, and using that term is a stretch at best. And they were dumb enough to say it before me, even though I said "Hey, this is so weird I could blog it." To which the guy said "Oh, who reads the blogs! No one reads the blogs."

Okay!

They -- she and he and his friend Dan -- finally left, thank God.

The point here is that no one should play games involving race and sex with anyone. Also, I find a number of women seem conflicted in choising a mate based on race. The bottom line is this: you should not do it. The reason is that if you try to segregate your romances racially, you must -- by default -- be racist to maintain that segregation. Better to judge the person as an individual rather than a type. I find that more men don't seem to care what color the woman is as long as they're hot and nice.

Also, if you're working for a company, don't take up relations with the person who works for you and right under you and you're still married, and it's in front of co-workers!

That's not smart and Beverly was certainly not being smart or nice.

Finally, never ever assume that people don't read blogs and don't tell that to a blogger!

On Fox, Tom Tancredo Says That Republican Debate For Spanish Speaking Americans Is For Those Who Aren't American

I could not believe what I was hearing when I heard it today, but out of the mouth of Republican U.S. Presidential Candidate Tom Tancredo was a series of very bigoted statements which essentially add up to this:

If you're speaking any language other than English, you're not American.

That was the message he sent and it was totally ugly. So much so that Fox's Shepard Smith could not resist grilling him with a set of "setup" questions on this.

I'll call him "Tom The Terrible" from now on!

Hillary Clinton and Staff Dislike Barack Obama and Smart African Americans?

This video was insprired, if that's the right term, by a blog written by Dave Corn over at CQPolitics, and from which I discovered while reading Sam Stein's blog at the Huff Post. The title of the blog by Corn is "Hillary on Obama: Fear and Hatred on the Campaign Trail" and has these statements:

"When talking to Clintonites in recent days, I've noticed that they've come to despise Obama."...." They're not spinning for strategic purposes. They truly believe it. And other Democrats in Washington report encountering the same when speaking with Clinton campaign people. "They really, really hate Obama," one Democratic operative unaffiliated with any campaign, tells me. "They can't stand him. They talk about him as if he's worse than Bush." What do they hate about him? After all, there aren't a lot of deep policy differences between the two, and he hasn't gone for the jugular during the campaign. "It's his presumptuousness," this operative says. "That he thinks he can deny her the nomination. Who is he to try to do that?" You mean, he's, uh, uppity? "Yes." A senior House Democratic aide notes, "The Clinton people are going nuts in how much they hate him. But the problem is their narrative has gone beyond the plausible."

And I think the Clinton people have gone a little too nuts. It seems like they and the candidate herself has an issue with bright, smart African Americans as represented by Senator Obama. The campaign's mounting a series of words that point to this, from Bill Clinton describing Obama as "articulate" to these terms captured by Corn, particularly the term "uppity."

Now the term "uppity" is commonly and stupidly combine with "negro" in American Culture. According to The YBP Wiki , it means

"Uppity Negro, 1. A fearless black person who by social definition is “not in their place”. Unapologetic. 2. A black person who knows his or her American legacy, his or her actualized social status, and his or her social and emotional plights with still the identical high regard to self as an equally entitled American due the same privileges, attitudes, concessions, and respectability of the entitled.

A fair, just, and loyal person. Historically, a Black person who has been reprimanded or persecuted for voicing his/her dissatisfaction with or rejection of the sub-standard treatment of himself or other Black people. A Black person who holds others fully accountable for their actions and demands adequate treatment from everyone including family members. A Black person who was never or is no longer willing to rearrange himself or conform her behaviors simply to ensure the comfort of White people. A Black person who requires and demands respect, fair treatment, and regard. A Black person who is committed to reversing the crimes of self-refusal, self-denial, and self-hatred that are endemic to the Black community and detrimental to the Black psyche. One who is not in his or her place; furthermore, an Uppity Negro is one who has no concept of “place” definable by factors such as race or class. An Uppity Negro’s place is wherever he or she chooses it to be. www.uppitynegro.com"

By that defintion, and looking at the statements of the Clinton Campaign it would seem that they think Senator Obama does not know his place as a Black person. There's no other way to interpret their statements and any other definition without evidence would be a stretch at best.

This, then, is the a view at what the cultural glass ceiling look like and why we must break it. Senator Obama's a great example of the American ideal: that anyone can make it in their chosen profession in this country. Senator Clinton and her staff don't seem to get this, and it may be that in their anger over losing the lead in Iowa, their real prejudices have come to the surface.

If that's so, and I think it is, the campaign owes African Americans an appology, especially the "uppity" ones, like me.

Pew Poll African Americans Divided Over Identity

My friend who's a frequent reader of my blog sent me this news below. My personal view is it's about time we had a poll of this type. I'm not surprised at the report.

Blacks See Growing Values Gap Between Poor and Middle Class

Optimism about Black Progress Declines

November 13, 2007

Download the complete report

African Americans see a widening gulf between the values of middle class and poor blacks, and nearly four-in-ten say that because of the diversity within their community, blacks can no longer be thought of as a single race.

The new nationwide Pew Research Center survey also finds blacks less upbeat about the state of black progress now than at any time since 1983. Looking backward, just one-in-five blacks say things are better for blacks now than they were five years ago. Looking ahead, fewer than half of all blacks (44%) say they think life for blacks will get better in the future, down from the 57% who said so in a 1986 survey.

Whites have a different perspective. While they, too, have grown less sanguine about black progress, they are nearly twice as likely as blacks to see black gains in the past five years. Also, a majority of whites (56%) say life for blacks in this country will get better in the future.

Telephone interviews for this survey were conducted among a nationally representative sample of 3,086 adults from September 5-October 6, 2007. African Americans and Hispanics were over-sampled - a total of 1007 interviews were completed with blacks, and 388 with Hispanics.

Other key findings include:

Asked whether blacks can still be thought of as a single race, given the increasing diversity within the black community, 53% of blacks say they can, but 37% of blacks say they cannot.

Big gaps in perception between blacks and whites emerge on many topics. For example, blacks believe that anti-black discrimination is still pervasive in everyday life; whites disagree. And blacks have far less confidence than whites in the basic fairness of the criminal justice system.

But there are also areas of agreement. For example, blacks and whites concur that there has been a convergence in the values held by blacks and whites. On the popular culture front, large majorities of both blacks and whites say that rap and hip hop have a bad influence on society.

Blacks and whites express very little overt racial animosity. As they have for decades, about eight-in-ten members of each racial group express a favorable view about members of the other group. More than eight-in-ten adults in each group also say they know a person of a different race whom they consider a friend.

The most newsworthy African American figure in politics today - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama - draws broadly (though not intensely felt) favorable ratings from both blacks and whites. But blacks are more inclined to say that his race will detract from his chances to be elected president; whites are more inclined to say his relative inexperience will hurt his chances.

Three-quarters of blacks (76%) say that Obama is a good influence on the black community. Even greater numbers say this about Oprah Winfrey (87%) and Bill Cosby (85%), who are the most highly regarded by blacks from among 14 black newsmakers tested in this survey. By contrast, just 17% of blacks say that rap artist 50 Cent is a good influence.

Over the past two decades, blacks have lost some confidence in the effectiveness of leaders within their community, including national black political figures, the clergy, and the NAACP. A sizable majority of blacks still see all of these groups as either very or somewhat effective, but the number saying "very" effective has declined since 1986.

A 53% majority of African Americans say that blacks who don't get ahead are mainly responsible for their situation, while just three-in-ten say discrimination is mainly to blame. As recently as the mid-1990s, black opinion on this question tilted in the opposite direction, with a majority of African Americans saying then that discrimination is the main reason for a lack of black progress.

On the issue of immigration, blacks and whites agree that most immigrants work harder than most blacks and most whites at low-wage jobs. Also, blacks are less inclined now than they were two decades ago to say that blacks would have more jobs if there were fewer immigrants.