Tea Party Racism & Violence Continue to Surge in the 2010 Elections

Tea Party candidate Al Reynolds says minorities prefer drug dealing over college

With 6 days away from the election more and more racism, violence and outrageous behavior is being blatantly displayed by the Tea Party. Let’s start with this doozie. Here we have Tea Party candidate Al Reynolds who is running in the 52nd district in Illinois who during a candidate’s forum said minority men preferred drug dealing vs going to college.

“I’ve been in the city and the dichotomy of the women and the men in the minorities, there is a difference in the fact that most minority women, either the single parent or coming from a poor neighborhood, are motivated more so than the minority men,” Reynolds said, when asked what he would do to increase diversity at state colleges. “And it’s a pretty good reason. Most of the women who are single parents have to find work to support their family. The minority men find it more lucrative to be able to do drugs or other avenues rather than do education. It’s easier….We need to provide ways that are more incentive, other than just sports avenues, for the men for the minorities to want to go to college and get an education and better themselves before the women have to support them all.”

We’re not sure if he saw a BET comedy show or if watched one too many rap videos. Perhaps he overheard the rhetoric of one of those self hating token Black and Brown folks who are a part of the Tea Party. In any case, it’s an erroneous statement and quite offensive. It’s also indicative of the Tea Party and their supporters.

The big irony here is the other day after I put out my article about the parallel’s between the rise of the Tea Party and the rise of the Klan at the turn of the century when the movie ‘Birth of a Nation‘ was released, these Tea Party folks went and found a some Black guy to write a blog calling me a bonehead for speaking on their racism. My guess is he’ll defend these remarks. Thats how such folks usually do..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsIqRpEB7lQ&feature=player_embedded

The other incident that has everyone talking involves Tim Profit a volunteer co-ordinator Kentucky Senator Tea Party candidate Rand Paul and a 23-year-old woman named Lauren Valle who is a member of MoveOn.org. A video shows Valle being stomped by a group of men who support Rand. Included in that footage is Profit actually stomping on her head.

Valle explained that she was in Kentucky to bring attention to Paul being a puppet of corporate interests and she has been using street theater as a way to get her message across. The night of the debate, when Valle got beat up, she was wearing a sign and wanted to satirically give Paul and ‘employee of the month award’.

Paul supporters who knew who she was had surrounded her claiming they were doing ‘crowd control’ and might have to ‘take some one out’.

Valle describes what was shown in the footage;

When Rand Paul’s car arrived a couple of them stepped in front of me so I stepped off the curb to get around them to get back out front. At that point they started grabbing for me and I ran all the way around the car with them in pursuit. The footage is after I’ve run all the way around the car and I’m in front of the car and that is when they took me down. One or two people twisted my arms behind my back and took me down… It was about two-to-three seconds after that another person stomped on my head. And I lay there for 20 seconds or so and my partner Alex came and got me up and that’s the point where there is the media clip of me speaking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsrD9NxRC74&feature=player_embedded

So what we have at the end of the day is Tea Party members stating unabashedly that Black men prefer drug dealing over education and a young 23 year old woman who wearing a sign getting stomped by a group of men. This is the same Tea Party folks who were running around just a year ago disrupting Healthcare Debate Townhalls. Have people forgotten that? Sadly the Tea Party is reminding the world that violence is a way of life for them. In the words of former SNCC member H. Rap Brown ‘Violence is as American as Apple pie’. If you think that assertion is far-fetched we remind you of this infamous confrontation involving the Tea Party misfits confronting a man with Parkinson’s disease.

written by Davey D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ik4f1dRbP8&feature=related

Celtics vs. Heat: "Overrated" Heat and LeBron Fall To Celtics 80 - 88

LeBron James to The Miami Heat was not a move favored by this blogger, who thought King James should have went to the greener pastures of New York City and The Knicks.

But observers, and The Miami Heat, asserted that with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, James was all but assured of an NBA Title.

Okay.

But there's that little thing called chemistry that has to develop before a team can put up wins. That's what the Miami Heat lacked as they fell to the Boston Celtics 80 to 88 to open the NBA's 2010-2011 Season.

What the Boston Celtics have is the "original big three" in Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo. Add Ray Allen, and ex-Laker Shaquille O'Neal, and you have a formidable team that was ready to put Miami in it's place and did just that.

Now, the question is, how long will it take The Miami Heat to be that NBA Finals contender everyone talks about. Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers thinks it's just a matter of time. He told ESPN "They're going to be great."

Time will tell.

Is Texas Governor Rick Perry Gay?

Is Texas Governor Rick Perry Gay? As the 2010 Midterm Elections comes to an end, one question that was not in the Fox News and CNN and MSNBC eye was about Rick Perry and the "Gay Issue."  The opponent of Gay Marriage is considered by some to be "in the closet;" they've been working to get him out of it, if he's there.

It's something that was brought to light again, after being dormant for a period, by blogger Mike Stark of The Stark Reports.  That's the same blog that brought you the charge that Rep. John Boehner (R - Ohio) has a girlfriend in powerful Washington Lobbyist Lisbeth Lyons.

But this time, unlike the other story that doesn't have much in the way of media legs, this one has been covered in the past and the media continues to mention it in Texas.  But Stark's blog is the hardest hitting effort yet.  Stark writes:

As I began looking into this, I repeatedly heard detailed rumors of a past gay relationship between the Governor and his former Secretary of State, Geoff Connor. A version of this story included Perry’s wife, Anita, catching Connor and Perry in the act and screaming at him the next day from her office phone. The most common retelling has it that the Governor was caught, struck a quick (and expensive) deal with his wife that allowed him to avoid an immediate trip to divorce court, and swore everyone involved to secrecy.

I also learned of a new rumor making the rounds. Several sources told me they had heard that the Governor is in a current gay relationship with one of the two (male) chefs that Perry he keeps on staff at the tax-payer funded ($10,000 a month) temporary governor’s mansion.

What’s interesting, given the longevity and evolving nature of these rumors, is that as far as I can tell, no media outlet has ever publicly asked the Governor the simple question: “Are you gay?”

 Stark also names members of the Texas Republican Parry who want Perry to declare his sexuality.  But the other question is, the most important one, is will the electorate care if he's Gay?   The bet here is no, but then he will have to clear-up his anti-Gay rhetoric.

Stay tuned.

Oakland Mayor's Race: Joe Tuman Interview

Oakland Mayor's Race candidate Joe Tuman and this blogger met last Thursday at Merritt Station at 614 Grand Avenue for this interview. It came at a time when Tuman, like this week, is riding a high of name recognition thanks to Grand Lake Theater Owner Allan Michaan, and a powerful word-of-mouth campaign on the part of people who've met Tuman.

The kind, seemingly mild-mannered San Francisco State Professor of Communications has changed the climate of the race from what some have seen as a three-person battle in ten candidates, to a four-person contest among the same field.  Tuman did this even with a late start in the campaign.  He says the campaign  is still "going well.  We managed to get a co-endorsement from the East Bay Express, and a second-place endorsement from The Oakland Tribune.  It was a good boost," Tuman said.  "I don't think people vote on the basis of newspaper endorsements. But it has added to the buzz around the campaign."

Tuman vs. Matthai Kuruvila and The SF Chronicle

On the subject of newspapers, Tuman and I briefly talked about the little feud between San Francisco Chronicle "Reporter" Matthai Kuruvila. The issue from this blogger's perspective is that Kuruvila has upset a number of the campaigners with a form of coverage that reveals a bias not expected for a "reporter." He's only talked to some, not all, of the persons running for mayor, openly expresses his opinion even by body language as he did in the San Francisco Chronicle Board Meeting with Tuman, and when he does blog - in this case in an attack on Tuman, the effort is intellectually sloppy at best.

The best Oakland political reporter was The Oakland Tribune's Kelly Rayburn (who's in law school now), who kept his personal views to himself and was a consummate professional - such cannot be said for Mr. Kuruvila. Moreover, Kuruvila is crossing over into territory reserved for the legendary San Francisco Chronicle Columnist Chip Johnson. Tuman had enough.

While Joe will not say Matthai has a bias against him, he's "If not hard on me, maybe harder on me, and a little dismissive," Tuman said. But. I've talked to him about that and I take him at his word when he says he treats everyone the same. But, in all honesty, sometimes it hasn't felt that way."

The Campaign's Progress

Tuman says his numerous house meetings have "Gone great. I don't know what number we're at. Sometimes it seems like we do one every night or every other night. Sometimes we have several in one day, like on Saturday I did three." Tuman says the house meetings are all over Oakland, both the hills and flatlands, and the response has been "uniformly good."

Allan Michaan and Parking

Tuman got a real significant elevation in visibility from Grand Lake Theater Owner Allan Michaan, who  used his marque normally reserved for movies and anti-war announcements, to say that Oaklanders should vote for Tuman.  The reason is that Tuman's openly adopted Michaan's call for an end to Oakland's predatory parking enforcement system, even to the point of saying he would "phase it out" and do away with the parking machines.

Tuman observed, "I could run on a platform that says 'Let's do away with the boxes that spit out the white pieces of paper that fit in your dashboard,' and I'd get all the votes."  Tuman says he's not opposed to charging for parking, but he wants to make it, over the long term, free "only for a couple of hours," and says, again echoing Michaan, that the parking rates should be "around $20 or $30," and not the $60 to $80 they are at now.

Tuman Against Measure BB

Measure BB, if passed, would rehire the 63 neighborhood officers responsible for crime prevention on the Oakland police force. In Adams Point, Hong Bahn has served as one of those officers and has done an incredible job. This blogger's in favor of Measure BB; not Tuman. Tuman says he's in favor of the programs that BB puts money into, like Youth Uprising, but is in opposition to the measure because it does not address the reason Measure Y, which it modifies, was passed which was to serve both the desires of those who wanted more beat police, and those who wanted more money for after school programs.

Tuman says that Measure BB is a way for the Oakland City Council to get around the problems of Measure Y, where the City failed to meet its obligations to that program.

What happened was that Oakland did essentially raid Measure Y money and use it for other services - what Tuman calls a "bait and switch" - while police were laid off, and failed to conduct a good program audit. (While I disagree with the logic in not wanting Measure BB, the interview is Tuman's platform, not mine to disagree with him.)

Tuman objects to the idea of a "fix" and wants Oakland to live up to its obligations.

The Tuman Mayor's Office

The conversation turned away from that, and to what kind of Mayor's Office Tuman would have if he won. What I mean is style and structure. Anyone can talk about policy issues, but what separates the wonks from the leaders is a knowledge of how to form a managerial and organizational structure that can effectively push policy through to adoption, improve city service delivery, and fill the giant leadership vacuum that exists in the Office of The Mayor (and something Oakland City Attorney John Russo and I talked about in an interview earlier this year.)

Tuman says he does not want a large staff or for that matter a security detail. He says he'll drive himself around Oakland "or ride my bike."  Tuman wants to appoint a new city administrator, and bring that person into the Mayor's Office, essentially fusing the City Administrator's Office into the Mayor's Office.
He will then set times with the City Council - separate meetings where they bring "a punch list" of things they need to get done.  "I want them to let us manage the bureaucracy."  Tuman wants control of the city staff to get things done.

As to the City Council, as a note, Joe says Councilmember Desley Brooks (District 6) has endorsed him.  But in full he says he can "count to four" City Council votes, and in time will be able to "count to five."  Moreover, Tuman will attend all City Council meetings, much as Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris did during his tenure.

Should Oakland Sue The Oakland A's?

Tuman's not in favor of using the legal process against the Oakland A's, which seems to be threatening to leave Oakland every year, as he thinks it just encourages them to try harder to do so.  But suing the City of San Jose is something Tuman's willing to consider, as that municipality has worked to try to take the A's away from Oakland, interfering with contracts between the parties in the process.

Tuman says he will be a friend to all of Oakland's sports teams, but does not want to give away public money to retain them.  But he does leave tax increment revenue as an exception because of it's market  generated nature.    

Tuman The Candidate

Overall, Tuman expresses a very good feel for the issues, politics and, management of The City of Oakland, and has come a very long way in a very short time.  Give his website - Joe4Mayor.com - a study as well as this video and learn about all 10 of the candidates, too, before you make a decision (if you've not voted already).

Unemployment News: Millions Still Waiting For Assistance From Congress

It isn’t difficult to see the unemployment news for America is not good. It is terrible and getting worse by the day. Millions of Americans are still waiting for assistance from Congress.

Unfortunately, those in Washington only care about the upcoming election, while the devastated long term unemployed are wondering how they will survive until help arrives. Too bad everyone running for office in the midterms isn’t forced to live in one of the tent cities depicted below (see all 3 videos) until Tier 5 is passed.

The post election unemployment nightmare is a great possibility. Is it to be or not to be - Your vote may decide. The following scenario is playing out all over the country and we just cannot afford to empower the Party of NO come November.

Hendry County (FL) - Sometimes the early birds arrive by 4 a.m. They line up in the dark, outside a beige, stucco building on East El Paso Avenue. By the time Hendry County (FL) social services opens, the queue can run 90 to 100 people deep – and they all need help.

Some can’t pay rent. Some are behind on utilities. Some can’t afford food. And just about every one of them is out of work.

“We have to prioritize,” said James Donald Coddington, the county’s social-services director. “We’re asking people questions like, Are your lights already turned off, or have you just gotten notice that they’re going to be turned off? ”

More on Florida’s highest unemployment rate. And please view the emotional videos below.

An Election Day Nightmare Foretold via IM (International Machinist Union)

How important is it to get out the vote this midterm election? Ponder this… Sen. Orrin “Drug Test the Unemployed” Hatch (R-UT) with jurisdictional control over unemployment insurance benefits, Social Security, Railroad Retirement, pensions, international trade and Trade Adjustment Assistance.

It could happen if Republicans gain control of the Senate on November 2, 2010.

Currently, Sen. Hatch is the senior minority member of the Senate Finance committee, which oversees a significant amount of programs aimed at assisting the jobless and America’s working class. If the GOP gains enough seats, Hatch, as seen in

UCubed’s Bite Back ad

suggesting the jobless should be required to take drug tests before receiving unemployment benefits – could become the committee chair. With his new post could come an end to many of our nation’s important safety-net policies and programs.

“We should not be giving cash to people who basically are just going to go blow it on drugs,” said Sen. Hatch as he and his fellow GOP Senators repeatedly blocked unemployment insurance benefits for millions of unemployed Americans this past summer.

“It is extremely imperative that voters – particularly jobless voters – show up at the polls this election day,” says IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger. “We must not give power back to those responsible for this economic crisis, and those who heartlessly turn their backs on Americans who need them the most. We have the power to win on November 2nd. Tell everyone – family, friends, neighbors, etc. – to get out and vote.”

With not enough money to fund UI extensions as is, it is very doubtful that Congress would authorize the extra millions of dollars it would take to fund any program requiring recipients of UI to be tested for drugs anyway.

As All247 News put it recently:

The U.S. Congress has an enormous amount of unfinished business when they do return to Washington after the election; passing a budget fo the U.S. Government which has to be passed by December 3 to avoid a government shutdown, legislation on extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, possibly a vote to give Social Security recipients a one time payment of $250 in 2011, and of course, unemployment insurance legislation to name but a few. Each of these initiatives could take weeks to make their way through the U.S. Congress, time that simply does not exist. Therefore to get what many members of the House and Senate are calling “must have” legislation passed, it is clear that both sides will have to bring to the table a greater willingness to compromise. In effect, a compromise that would have been considered unacceptable before the mid-term elections may well be much more possible after the midterms.

While some have suggested that will be no action on unemployment insurance during the midterms, and this may happen, it is clear that the Democratic leadership and a few moderate Republicans recognize that reauthorization of the current levels of unemployment insurance and a Tier V should be enacted during the lame duck. It should also be noted that those that are predicting as a certainty that unemployment legislation will pass in the lame duck session are probably being overconfident. It will be a battle. However, the passage of renewal of the current federal extension and a Tier V between now and the end of the year is possible and more important, desperately needed in millions of households across the nation as winter (not to say the Holidays) approach.

The state of the economy always has a significant impact on national elections, and this year Republicans appear to be benefiting from voter concerns that the U.S. economy is still trying to recover from a recession. The weak economic outlook has shaped a public mindset that took hold months ago.

Why would the Republicans benefit? By destroying the economy to begin with and blocking every step Congress has attempted to make to correct the problem - the Republicans should be the most hated bunch of losers in the world - but money buys you a great deal of clever ads and Americans seem to take in that hog wash, hook line and sinker.

Are we that lazy or do we just spend more time and effort in choosing what to TIVO than who we vote for? Educated, sane voters (even angry ones) are the best defense against voting in more losers.

The following is a guest post from fellow 99er advocate Eric King. He really nails it:

The "99ers" are an understandably angry, afraid, and frustrated group. Their UI benefits have long expired, and they've had to drain 401ks, kid's college funds, and personal savings, in an effort to simply survive...and those are the lucky ones. Job searches have proven as fruitless as chasing unicorns, and become more difficult each day they're out of the workforce.

Yet, even as they think they're seeing their American dream fade, they have shown us all what is right with the American spirit. They have used their networks, voices, and time to win UI extensions for the millions more recently unemployed (also benefitting the US economy at large), only to be left out in the cold themselves by Congress time and again. Everyone still collecting a UI extension is in their debt.

Understandably, many "99ers" have thrown up their hands and said "enough is enough," and plan to voice this anger, fear, and frustration by staying on the sidelines for this fall's election.

However, now is not the time for apathy. No fight has ever been won by giving it up; and there may be no fight bigger for jobs, benefits, and the entire economy than on November 2nd. True, Democrats haven't gone far enough in almost anything they've done. It's also true that Republicans aren't concerned with you at all, but "fiscal responsibility." A key part of that tired GOP slogan is "entitlement reform," which in plain English means putting Social Security in the hands of Wall Street and slashing programs like food stamps, Medicaid, and UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. Simply put, Republicans win and we all lose.

Turnout is going to win this election. The same companies that turned us out to protect their bottom lines have spent millions, not creating new jobs, but on this election trying to buy back the Congress, and it's given the Republicans a huge lead. Obviously, simply voting won't win extra tiers, but not voting surely loses them. Withholding your vote doesn't teach the Democrats a lesson, it teaches Republicans that if they ignore you, you’ll eventually go away.

On November 2nd, we ALL need to show them that we are NOT going away.

As you view the following videos, do not kid yourselves into thinking that these are drug addicts who chose their addiction over a more secure life. Do not for one minute think that these folks chose to be in this situation. These are ordinary, main street Americans who have been the victims of those who corrupted the banking system, gambled with our money on Wall Street and have for the most part been ignored or even lambasted by unfeeling politicians (mostly Republicannots). These people are just like us but far more unfortunate than most reading this blog.

These are the Americans who need to be bailed out from what corporate greed, political corruption and Washington indifference has done to America. Watch them and weep! Then vote out those responsible.

Oakland Mayor's Race: Marcie Hodge Sues East Bay Express

Oakland Mayoral Candidate Marcie Hodge is suing the East Bay Express over articles and blog posts the Perata Community College Board Member and her family asserts have been defamatory.

Prior to a wide-ranging video interview, where the Oakland Mayor's Race candidate talks emotionally about the East Bay Express coverage in addition to her run, Hodge explained and later confirmed for the record that her sister, a lawyer, filed a lawsuit in Alameda County specifically targeting the East Bay Express.

What triggered the lawsuit was "the last straw:" last week's entry by East Bay Express writer Robert Gammon asserting that Hodge had been violating campaign laws; Hodge told this blogger her campaign finance report would be filed this week. This is what Robert wrote:

Finally, it should be noted that mayoral candidate Marcie Hodge has yet to file a campaign finance report as required by law during the election. Hodge has spent significant sums on billboards, mailers, radio spots, and now TV ads. Several black leaders in Oakland believe that Perata supporters are bankrolling her campaign in an effort to siphon votes from Kaplan and Quan. Hodge has denied getting help from the ex-senator and said she loaned herself a large donation, but it’s unclear where she got the money, because she reported having no job, no income, and no investments on her official financial disclosures in August.

Records show that Hodge also has a history of not filing campaign finance reports disclosing her donors until several months after the election is over — a blatant violation of state and local law.

Marcie says that Robert has "never once" called her to confirm what he wrote, Gammon just wrote it. Moreover, Marcie angrily holds that Gammon's overall coverage of her has been sexist and racist, from asserting that her campaign was "baffling," to claiming that "black leaders" were questioning her campaign without naming a single "black leader" by name or providing Internet link evidence in the form of another article or blog post.

And before last week, on September 29th, Gammon ran a blog post that used a so-called quote by Oakland City Councilmember Desley Brooks (District 6 - Central East Oakland) saying Hodge was "dumb as dirt," but without a link to the interview or a video presenting the quote.

Indeed, in the overall review of Gammon's work on Marcie Hodge, it seems he's taken a line against her that walks on the edge of acceptability. If Brooks went on the record with Robert, that's different my miles. But she did not go on the record with him and Gammon presents no video or audio evidence, yet uses Councilmember Brooks to write a smear against Hodge. It's that kind of work that sent Marcie and her sister to court against the East Bay Express.

In our interview, which, to restate, will be out on video later today, Hodge says she does not know Don Perata well at all and has no ties to him, and resents the notion that she's a "plant for Perata."

Hodge said to me, almost tearfully, that it's as if Gammon's saying that she as an African American woman from an educated family can't be taken seriously in running for Mayor of Oakland.

Gammom's problem, in looking at this, is a really cavalier and brazen and unfortunate line he's taken that does not include actual quotes from people he actually got to go on the record.

Gammon places himself and the East Bay Express in the position of possibly losing in court - and big. In the case of the "dumb as dirt" statement Gammon claims Brooks made, there's no Internet record of such a statement other than what he wrote and the angry reactions of Express readers.   Gammon should hope that Brooks comes to his defense.   Indeed, this blogger already called Councilmember Brooks office to confirm that statement.

Not a good situation at all.

Stay tuned.

Charlie Sheen Calls Police While Intoxicated And Naked In Hotel Room

Charlie Sheen's actions are questionable most of the time, but it's never really shocking to hear the situations he gets himself into.

Many online publications (including USA Today, iVillage, E!Online, etc.) are reporting that Sheen was taken to the hospital early this morning after he was found naked and drunk in his hotel room at New York City's Plaza.

People magazine online reports that police responded to the call and Sheen was taken to the hospital at 2:30 a.m. "for alcohol abuse and psychological evaluation."

E! Online reports that Charlie Sheen's rep released a statement explaining the circumstances surrounding his recent hospitalization by saying:

"What we are able to determine is that Charlie had an adverse reaction to some medication and was taken to the hospital, where he is expected to be released tomorrow."

Access Hollywood reports that the 45-year-old was not arrested.

No one is really surprised by this story, but it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

The Tea Party Movement: Is Nation's Troubled History Repeating Itself?

It’s important that we remember a couple of old sayings 1-’Nothing is new under the sun‘ and If you don’t learn the lessons of history you are destined to repeat it‘. Many people have forgotten about or never knew about DW Griffiths landmark film ‘Birth of a Nation‘. It was taken from the book ‘The Clansmen‘ which depicted newly freed Black slaves running the government and causing the country to fall to pieces. The movie showed that this country was falling until an organization was formed that gave rise to the country and restored order. That outfit was the Ku Klux Klan‘.

The part that most people know about Birth of a Nation is the Reconstruction.. Here’s a clip and brief synopsis

Part 2: Reconstruction

Stoneman and his “mulatto” protegé, Silas Lynch, go to South Carolina to observe the expanded franchise. Black soldiers parade through the streets. During the election, whites are shown being turned away while blacks stuff the ballot boxes. The newly elected black legislature passes laws requiring white civilians to salute black officers and allowing mixed-race marriages.

Meanwhile, Ben, inspired by observing white children pretending to be ghosts to scare off black children, devises a plan to reverse the perceived powerlessness of Southern whites by forming the Ku Klux Klan. Elsie is angered by his membership in the group.

Then Gus, a former slave who became educated and gained a title of recognition through the army, proposes to marry Flora. Scared by Gus’ lascivious advances, she flees into the forest, pursued by Gus. Trapped on a precipice, Flora leaps to her death. In response, the Klan hunts Gus, tries him and finds him guilty, kills him, and leaves his corpse on Lieutenant Governor Silas Lynch’s doorstep. In retaliation, Lynch orders a crackdown on the Klan. The Camerons flee from the black militia and hide out in a small hut, home to two former Union soldiers, who agree to assist their former Southern foes in defending their Aryan birthright, according to the caption.

Meanwhile, with Austin Stoneman gone, Lynch tries to force Elsie to marry him. Disguised Klansmen discover her situation and leave to get reinforcements. The Klan, now at full strength, rides to her rescue and takes the opportunity to disperse the rioting negroes. Simultaneously, Lynch’s militia surrounds and attacks the hut where the Camerons are hiding, but the Klan saves them just in time.

Victorious, the Klansmen celebrate in the streets. The film cuts to the next election where the Klan successfully disfranchises black voters and disarms the blacks.

The film concludes with a double honeymoon of Phil Stoneman with Margaret Cameron and Ben Cameron with Elsie Stoneman. The final frame shows masses oppressed by a mythical god of war suddenly finding peace under the image of Christ. The final title rhetorically asks: “Dare we dream of a golden day when the bestial War shall rule no more? But instead-the gentle Prince in the Hall of Brotherly Love in the City of Peace.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynCku4c01VE&feature=related

People should take a look at some of these clips and think about whats going on right now with the anger and racial hostility attached to your modern-day Tea Party and sympathizers. There’s a study that by the University of Washington and the NY Times that shows the motivation behind the Tea Party was ‘conservatism’ (a desire to return to the good ole days) and the election of Barack Obama. We will be doing a radio show this week where the folks behind the study will go into great detail explaining all their findings. It’ll blow you away.

The other thing about the Tea Party is, it’s a media creation. The information, tone, marching orders are all rooted in a large network of right-wing media outlets and personalities with Fox being the centerpiece.

The word used to describe this phenom is Videocracy... the use of media to move people politically. This happened in Italy with media mogul and its current President Silvio Berlusconi. There’s a documentary called Videocracy that focuses on Berlusconi and his 30 year media reign over Italy and the impact that’s had. Needless to say he went all out to prevent the showing of this film on his vast networks.
This concept of Videocracy was also shown in Oliver Stone‘s new film South of the Border where he shows how media corporations including our own CNN has been used to push political agendas, help launch coups and undermine democratic process in various countries. Berlusconi’s ascension was called a coup of sorts and if the Tea Party creation becomes politically successful it’ll go down in history as a coup as well.

Race Riots resulted in a lynching in Omaha during the Red Summer of 1919

We need to keep all this in mind when looking at the clips from Birth of a Nation and recall all the increased lynchings, attacks and race riots that took place during the first few years after this film was released. The most notable was the Red Summer of 1919. The movie (media) created a hostile climate that lasted for years.
We should also keep in mind that the newly formed NAACP denounced the film while filmmaker DW Griffith emphatically denied the film was racist.

If that wasn’t enough then President Woodrow Wilson not only gave the film two thumbs up. He said ‘It’s like writing history with lightening’. He added, that his only regret was what the movie depicted was terribly true.
It’s hard not to draw parallels with the emphatic denials of racism by Tea Party leaders while witnessing the enthusiastic endorsement of racial hostility by political leaders and media pundits here in 2010. From the racial charged remarks of radio talk show host Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh to the overtly racist remarks by politicians like Sharon Angle, Debbie Riddle and Betty Brown one can see the handwriting on the wall. All this is compounded by the fact that there’s been a rise in right-wing hate groups and hate crime. The vitriol, vandalism and attacks we saw around the proposed ‘Ground Zero Mosque‘ (Park 51) the other month underscored that point.
The bottom line is that we now have a climate where any shortfalls or discomfort will be scapegoated to people of color who have growing political, economic social power.

The other thing to keep in mind, is that film premiered in Los Angeles which shortly after housed the largest Klan chapters in the country. The KKK was so powerful that in early 20s the group began protesting Hollywood’s film industry because of two films ‘The Pilgrim‘ and ‘Bella Donna’ which they felt did not depict them in a good light.

The Klan bolstered by the DW Griffith film saw themselves as a reform organization and political entity that demanded legitimacy. What do we see happening today with the Tea Party and its racism which is couched in so called ‘legitimate’ political discourse?

We see them being embraced and held up as a legitimate force that is on a mission to restore America. For them restoring America means taking away any sort of safety net for those who have have fallen on hard times or are members of groups that have been systematically denied opportunities.

Restoring America means trying to change the constitution to to deny citizenship to Brown folks born here, under the guise of ‘terror baby‘ and‘anchor baby‘ threats.

In short restoring America means an aging population of people, scared of change and the Blacking and Browning of America are pulling out all the stops and going full steam ahead to not only hold on to power, but to also suppress those they deem a threat… Watch the clips below and when you get time, the full length feature and you’ll see that many are pushing to have a tragic part of this nation’s history repeat itself.

-something to Ponder-

Davey D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t-7SVbLjBw

Bad Credit? Job Seekers Need Not Apply

Can you get employment with bad credit? Can you get housing with bad credit? This is an incredibly important story that I hope everyone pays attention to and pushes to make sure lawmakers use their resources, power and influence to lessen the harm this dilemma is causing. Why has credit suddenly become a driving determination for your eligibility for employment? This has been America’s dirty little secret during the worse economy since the Great Depression. Major props to Laura Bassett of the Huffington Post and her excellent article on this topic-

Are Credit Checks Keeping The Jobless Out Of Work?

Talk about kicking a person while they’re down and out, we now have employers who are now looking at your inability to keep up with bills after you been laid off for downsizing or some other ‘out of control’ circumstance as a primary criteria.

We won’t even talk about what its like to get housing with bad credit. This is compounded by ajob market that in some places like California where unemployment is 12%. Here in Oakland its 20%. Such numbers have already allowed potential employers to be extra picky. Heck if you walk into a job interview and you have a wrinkle in your shirt, that can be used against you. But with this credit check situation being used as weeding out tool, this points to us as a country moving in a rapid direction to create a large, permanent underclass. Here’s what Bassett penned;

While the credit check has always been a routine part of the job application process, experts are wondering whether it’s still a fair screening tool in the wake of a recession that has left 15 million Americans unemployed and unable to keep up with their bills.

In a meeting of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission last week to discuss the use of credit history as a discriminatory barrier to employment, a panel of legal experts and social scientists explained how the screening practice may be harmful and unfair to American workers.

“A simple reason to oppose the use of credit history for job applications is the sheer, profound absurdity of the practice,” said Chi Chi Wu, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “Using credit history creates a grotesque conundrum. Simply put, a worker who loses her job is likely to fall behind on paying her bills due to lack of income. With the increasing use of credit reports, this worker now finds herself shut out of the job market because she’s behind on her bills. This phenomenon has created concerns that the unemployed and debt-ridden could form a luckless class.”

According to a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, 60 percent of all organizations polled said they conducted background checks on applicants, and 17 percent in the Northeast reported that favorable background check results are the most important factor influencing the final decision of whether to hire someone.

Considering the fact that more than half of all working adults in America have either been unemployed, taken a pay cut, had their work hours reduced or become involuntary part-time workers since the beginning of the recession, more and more job applicants are hampered by blemishes on their credit reports in the search for a steady salary.

How does one handle such a horrific catch-22? You lose your job, you fall behind, your credit slips. The less opportunity you have to get a job your credit falls even more. At the very least its puts an employee in a super subservient position where out of desperation they will do literally anything to keep a job in spite of bad credit, including working less than minimum wage, putting up with abusive behavior or unsafe conditions at work.



We need to hear our leaders be more forceful in pushing potential employers to not punish those who've economically fallen behind.

Personally its been the one thing I been frustrated at NOT hearing about from those in leadership. I been wanting to hear President Obama and talk emphatically about this during his campaign stomps. I been wanting to hear him say say that he would be working with corporations or at least encouraging them to remove or at the very least back off doing credit checks. This would be a clear indications that not only jobs are a major focus, but that he’s also aware and in touch with those who are without.

Anyone who is falling behind, knows quite well that not everyone is willing to help. Try getting a break on parking tickets especially after they gone to collections. Try talking to some of these banks who got bailed out, but wont back off on conditions that would help bail you out. Then we have these new aggressive debt collection companies who have brought up old debts for pennies on the dollar and are now suing people to collect. They definitely aren’t trying to work with you.

This brings me to my last point. far too many people who are doing ok, have been oblivious and overtly insensitive to this scenario. I’ve had more than a few conversations with people who should know better where they arrogantly assume that escaping bad credit hell is easy or that its the height of one being irresponsible that landed folks in that predicament. I’ve had conversations with people where they say things like; ‘Cant you get a loan from your parents’? or ‘Don’t you have any frioends who can spot you some money?’ Here’s the worse one ‘Why don’t you just get a second job so you can catch up with your bills?’

Such remarks indicate there’s an unawareness of what its like for folks who have been desperately searching for work, many for over a year. Not everyone has the same network of friends and family who can come to the rescue. This is especially true for those who are older and are now playing the role of care-giver for parents and other elders in their family. Its not so easy to get up and bounce back or even sleep on someone’s counch when trying to keep a family together or care for an elder who is sick.

The other dirty secret is that many employers aren’t particularly interested in hiring folks who are older, when they have a younger pool they can pay lower wages without benefits. Many within that younger pool will accept subpar job situations and chalk it up to ‘paying dues’.

I know when I first sought out my dream job in the music biz, I worked for damn near free for more than a year just to get my foot in the door. I had the comfort of inexpensive student housing with 3 roommates. I also had an array of odd jobs including deejaying which allowed me to get by. If anything fell apart I had the option of going home or couch surfing. For many it’s not that type of party, not to mention not having your own place can be looked at as you not ‘being responsible’.

The bad credit excuse although being spoken about now in a very public way, is not new for many who live in marginalized and poor communities. not sure if there are any studies, but many of us have heard or actually experienced situation where the credit history was used to shut folks down. Oftentimes it appeared to be used selectively.

At the end of the day, all of us are going to have to pull together and be a bit more aware of those around us. One’s fortunes can be turned upside down at any moment and the worse thing to have happen is to be in position where you’re in dire straits after thumbing your nose at others the week before.

Something to ponder

-Davey D-

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Tony Romo Clavicle Fracture Points To Need For Better NFL Pads

Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo suffered a clavicle fracture, sustaining a hit that points to the need for better NFL pads. Something's really wrong when it seems that too many NFL players are going down due to horrific, yet legal, hits.

That was the case on ESPN's Monday Night Football, when New York Giants Linebacker Michael Boley sacked Romo, and such that Boley's entire body weight landed on the QB's side shoulder, basically crushing his body against the turf from the side.

The hit marred the NY Giants 41 to 35 win and knocked Tony Romo out, perhaps for the season, if not the 6 to 8 weeks time estimated.

For a second it looked for all the World like Romo was going to die on the Cowboys Stadium turf. The problem is the NFL game - the pro football athletes - have become faster and stronger than the equipment they're wearing. It's so bad that every aspect of the NFL uniform, starting with the pads, must be rethought and rebuilt before someone does die on the field.

In the case of Romo, his pads should be designed to take on a lateral hit. In fact, they should be designed to form an actual protective light cage that encases his body, yet is flexible enough to give him room. The system's design should be such that if he's hit from the side, the impact is transferred around, not into, his body.

To accomplish that, some kind of light, epoxy-resin "bar" has to run across Romo's chest, then up either shoulder, and around the back, and then attached to the pads but loosely so. Upon impact, the bar would be strong enough to provide the necessary impact deflection to protect his upper body.

If the design's followed, it should not hamper playing flexibility.

Right now, such protections don't exist. They should. This can't be repeated too often: the possibility of death on the NFL field - or any football field - should be avoided at all costs.

ESPN's Jay Mariotti Has New Twitter Account @realjaymariotti

ESPN's Jay Mariotti (who will be referred to as that until it's totally certain he's not coming back to ESPN), has a new Twitter account after his original one was "hacked."

According to The National Sports Journalism Center, the former AOL Fanhouse and Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist and ESPN Around The Horn TV personality lost his original account on October 22nd, and gained @realjaymariotti Monday.

In contacting the NSJC, Mariotti showed his hostility to blogs, even though he may wind up with his own blog, or being on someone's blog, some day soon. Jay wrote:

"In response to a typically inaccurate blog item referenced by your site, my first Twitter account had to shut down due to suspected hacking. My new account, @realjaymariotti is up, complete with photo."

Frankly it's sad that someone out there feels they have to take away Jay's ability to express himself. Look, we may not agree with what he says, but he not only has a right to say it in America, Mariotti represents one of a few of a dying breed, and that's the well-paid sports columnist.

Mariotti is the custodian of the art of the argument in sports in America. That' a key part of American Culture not appreciated today.