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Archive for the ‘politics’ Category

R.J. Hadley Runs for Senate Against Isakson

Posted in politics, tagged , on June 25, 2009| 5 Comments »

Keith at Peanut Politics blog emailed me that R.J. Hadley is running for Senate against Senator Isakson.  I personally like Isakson and wonder why candidates bypass the House and target the Senate on the first run.  We will see but watch the Democrat power establishment produce their candidate despite Hadley credentials.

 Does anyone read my blog because I tried to tell the Dem Team to blow off the Isakson race and therefore leave his war chest and machine on the sidelines—the way Ralph Reed as head of the Georgia GOP did not run anyone against Rep. Sanford Bishop when Saxby Chambliss won his Senate seat the first time.   

 Peanut Politics: RJ Hadley to challenge Johnny Isakson for U.S. Senate.

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Father’s Day with a Twist: Salute Intentional Childless Men

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on June 20, 2009| 2 Comments »

father day

This weekend we will hear everything that can be said fondly about America’s fathers.  I wanted to take this opportunity to salute an often forgotten group, intentional childless men.  Some men take parenthood so seriously that they wait for the optimal time and conditions to bring a child into this world. 

If those conditions never occur, some deliberate guys choose to enjoy their wives, extended family and/or the sweet single life.  My wise cousin who grew up in Philly tells me to go where you want and do what you want when you want because you have neither “chick nor child.”  That statement must be her way of saying thank heaven that your selfish behind realized your selfishness and skipped parenthood. 

Fatherhood in the Black community is the toughest job you will ever love.  But, it is a roll of the dice.  My deer hunting friends (code for White guys) put that little red and black Georgia Bulldog football in the crib with their sons and look forward to gameday at Sanford Stadium in twenty years.  Of course, their sons will likely be sitting in the stands next to them rather than on the field.  What about the brothers who think that their sons practicing basketball 6 hours a day will get them into the N.B.A.  If Junior would get his homework with that much determination he could be in the N.B.A., the National Bankers Association and own a basketball team.  Wait a second; non-parents have no rights to offer commentary on parenting.

If I had to work as hard as my daddy did—that man loved working- to provide for some kids who might turnout to be crappy people, I will pass and by the looks of things a considerable percentage of those who produced children should have passed also.  If the kids are here, it is time to step up because the human infant is likely more dependant than any other mammal.  “Did he just refer to my precious buddle of joy as a mammal?” 

In high school, I worked at a little radio station and next to the microphone the station owner placed a Winston Churchill quote.  Basically, the quote stated that it was not expected of you to do your best; it was expected of you to do what was expected of you. That statement has Father’s Day written all over it. 

In politics and policy, the officeholders from my community are reluctant in asking young people to refrain from starting families until they are prepared.  Of course, parenthood and marriage (not in that order) actually seasons and matures some fellows—who knows.  Successful guys my age can always get involved with Big Brothers, be good uncles or adopt a nice teenager. 

The public assistance and abortion debate should include targeting teens with real options and information so they will hopefully understand that parenthood is different from having a puppy and I have seen some folks with babies who I would not trust with a puppy. 

How in the world has the conservative movement failed to capitalize on the common sense mindset of reasonable African Americans?  I like President Obama as head of the executive branch of government and the residual benefit of a strong young family in the White House is priceless to Americans of any color.  If the Georgia GOP wants to pick up a congressional seat in say Macon, a genteel Black Republican with say a strong intellectual husband would appeal to our community like southern Obamas—giving Black fatherhood examples is better than still another grant.  

Girls with “daddy issues” might have messy relationships with men. Boys with absent fathers might ended being raised by the streets and fellow inmates.  The women who were mother and father to their children should enjoy their second holiday in two months.

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Common English Errors

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on June 18, 2009| 1 Comment »

While teaching an academic refresher class in a welfare to work program, a student asked me to make a list of the common English errors she should avoid.  The list because the first day icebreaker for new groups and the standard for speaking at the facility—in and out of class.  Former students still thank me for “the list” because it helped them with interviews, work and parenting.  From 600 plus students, a surprising number have kept the list handy for years to improve the English of their families.

ENGLISH ERRORS

 1.     fittin’ = fixing

2.     gull    = girl

3.     baze   =bath

4.     bout   =about

 5.     –in     =ing

6.     dat     =that

7.     doze   =those or doors

8.     dez     =these

9.     nem    =them

10. wit     =with

 11. menz  =men

12. y’all   =you all

13. chew  =you

14. showl =sure is

15. betcha =bet you

 16. nann   =none

17. sometin’=something

18. wartor   =water          

19. flow =floor

 20. foe =four

21. ax =ask

22. lawd =lord

23. lil =little

 24. bitness =business

25. stoe =store

26. lunt =loan

27. wuz =was

28. hur=her 

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Education of Our Youth

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on June 18, 2009| 2 Comments »

Kids who think that they are not suppose to learn in the summer are simply wrong.  School is formal education and everything else is informal education or other components in the learning process.  What about the family that plans summer vacation trips to hit historical sites and science centers or the families who would send the city kids to the country and vice versa?  Listening to grandparents’ wisdom and knowledge helps complete the well-rounded child.

The teens of south Georgia should spend a few weeks working in the infamous “fields.” When I harvested watermelon, cantaloupes, and tomatoes, my muscles ached but I learn that the slaves and sharecroppers had in rough and this was not the work for me.  I was on the honor roll the next year because I was trying to have educational and career options to keep me out of those fields…unless I was the farm owner. 

Some of the kids today don’t know how to learn.  The information covered in class should be used everyday for the rest of their lives.  Kids walk out of English class speaking the worst English you ever heard.  Parents should be mindful of the English spoken around kids at home and correct mistakes.  I was a “community organizer” with a community development program at my alma mater and my duties included teaching job skills and academic refresher classes in a welfare to work program.  My students would complain about not getting jobs in retail at the local mall and I would tell them the real reasons—they couldn’t speak or listen properly. 

The first thing I noticed was their fast manner of speaking.  One student would repeat everything three times to get the listener to understand. “WhatagotoBurgerKing, WhatagotoBurgerKing, WhatagotoBurgerKing.” I pointed out that it would have been easier to say it one time a little slower and speaking slowly was the considerate thing to do..like an attorney during court cases on Law and Order.  With the addition time, a speaker could construct grammatically correct sentences and be that much closer to the coveted job selling chinos at the Gap.  Of course, working in the mall might introduce them to a man who was more focused than the kuckleheads from some of their pasts. 

I tried to teach them to be resourceful by watching the more educational channels and news discussions rather than a constant diet of music videos and “he is not this child’s father” shows.  To me, Maury Povich and BET can damage America as much as Kim Jong-il. 

What Obama does for or to our community cannot compare to what we could do by being more resourceful and deliberate in our formal and informal educations and President Obama will quickly tell you that.  During the July 4th cookouts, we should look for two groups at the same party.  One group will feature “uncle in and out of jail” telling glorious stories about his sordid past.  The other groups will feature “uncle the military gave me options” who will be emphasizing personal responsibility and consequences.  The first uncle talks fast and you can hardily understand what he is saying while puffing on a Newport.  The second uncle speaks clearly and composes his statements around a central theme…while puffing on a Newport. 

While the cookout does not take place in a farmer’s field, both uncles will plant seeds with the youth.  In twenty years, the kids from that cookout might reflect lessons learned that day from the uncles.

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The People Have Spoken: SPLOST VI passes in Augusta

Posted in politics, tagged , on June 17, 2009| 1 Comment »

Although it was less than 10,000 of the Richmond County, Ga. voters that took the time to go and vote, there was mandate of 70% of them that said ‘yes’ to SPLOST VI. This issue was one of the first that I was publicly vocal because it impacts so many people. Local, state and federal government are not the perfect models. Especially in this day and time. But it’s what we’ve got. And for a local municipality to have a revenue stream to fund infrastructure, roads, capital projects and quality of life projects without having to put the total burden on property owners, SPLOST VI is the way to go. My prediction was 68% yes and 32% no. Seems I was pretty close and I’m pleased about that. Vocal supporters had a victory party at one of the local night spots and the media took notice. Check out the front page photo of today’s Augusta Chronicle. http://www.augustachronicle.com. By the way, I’m the one in the middle holding my Blackberry that showed the election results.

hbatax

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/06/17/met_527947.shtml

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Some of These Teens Out Here Today: Part 1

Posted in politics, tagged , , on June 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

When I hear those heart-warming songs on the fourth of July, my national pride is strong.  But, great nations aren’t born; they are built brick by brick and person by person with determination, resolve, respect, fortitude, shame, focus and responsibility.  My friends and I jokingly say that they don’t make Black folks like they use to when referring the character of our parents’ generation compare to our generation.  Is it just me getting old and cranky or are the school kids today considerably more disrespectful and unfocused. 

The disclaimer: there are great teens who say “yes sir” and “no sir” like the young people who work at the local Harvey’s grocery store.  They don’t know where any items are actually located but they are nice.  That’s it; even the nice kids are not resourceful enough the look at the items as they walk the store a hundred times a day.  In my day, a kid employed at McDonalds or at a golf course would impress a business person who would offer them a job just for working with enthusiasm and drive.  Today, a kid will cuss you out for recommending a low paying job that would take them away from texting their friends, surfing the web or playing video games.  If the video games, giant HDTVs and the web are so visually stimulating, how can teachers and pastors keep young people’s attention?

Don’t you dare say go high tech because I want to go low tech or no tech.  Let’s start a charter school like the one on Little House of the Prairie with water pump outside.  Children sit down and learn..period.  If the students don’t like it, who cares because that was the point; learn to do something you don’t want to do.  I would take 20K a year to work at that school over 45K in a regular public school.  If you hear that I am teaching school, tell the local news van to back up to the school and leave the motor running…story coming soon about new teacher putting a little monster in a headlock; parents planning lawsuit.  

People need to have the ability to do what they don’t want to do.  Time for a non-P.C. racial stereotype: many Asian kids are very obedient, respectful and focused before they hanging out with other kids.  Isn’t it amazing that the last five years of being a teen shapes the next five decades.

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Some of These Teens Out Here Today: Part 2

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on June 16, 2009| 5 Comments »

Mortgaging our kids’ fiscal futures is a concern but a bigger issue should be the drive of the kids in the developing world (Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe) compared to the average American teen if you read Thomas L. Friedman’s The World Is Flat.  While there are excepts, many teens in our community have the entitlement mentality that First Lady Michelle Obama and her mother refuse to allow the Obama girls to develop.  Our children have funky dispositions and I can’t stand them as far as I can throw them.  Can I throw them?

So, I am playing tennis with a former basketball coach at the high school yesterday and the football team is going through drills.  Evidently, the coaches worked with the younger players first, then took the underclassmen pass the tennis courts to the practice field.  For the next hour, I heard about a dozen players who appeared to be around ninth grade used the worst language in front of the gym as loudly as they could—s, a, mf, b, d, p and n-gger.  Not my business, don’t speak to other people’s children, my name is West, I am not in that mess.  Then I started to place the blame for this unacceptable behavior: the kids themselves, parents, lower grade teachers, church, family, DNA, lack of oxygen in the birth canal, was not whipped like we were.  Spare the rob…spare the rob.

While I was no angel at that age, I respected women, children and older people during public conversations.  We would change the language or say salty things quietly.  Since I can’t give up on the youth because they are my classmates’ kids or sometimes grandkids, I employed the glare technique to no avail.  For all the years I was respectful, I intend on enjoy the same reverence.  As coaches’ wives and children walked past them, the ugliness continued without pause.  I had enough after hearing part of the talk that would make a drunken sailor blush and said, “Fellows, would you please watch your language.”  The ringleaders laughed and I decided that I would be at their games in the fall so I can watch decent kids put them on their behinds every time the ball is snapped. 

In recent years, our high school sports teams have looked good on paper but lacked the character and focus to win state championships.  Champions are made between the ears and coaches can’t be blame if they start with youth without strong moral fiber and will.  I really don’t think I was upset at the kids as much as the parents who failed to prepare them for life—they are being raised by music videos.  It pains me to say that those kids had the mentality and social skills of fourth graders and the okay kids were being negatively influenced by the worst ones.  Here’s the fun part.  As the coach walked back to the gym, the loudmouths got nervous when thinking that we were going to rat them out.  Of course, I sung like a jaybird, which might have been a mistake because the little homies could be “connected.”  

I don’t have the answer but someone needs to figure something out soon because today’s kuckleheads or tomorrow’s inmates/fathers—talk about your vicious circle.  But, those coaches are well-intended professionals and you don’t measure an operation by who comes into the program; you notice the quality of the products who finish.  Of those loudmouths, only a few will be with the team in the fall.  Some folks can’t take discipline. 

In education, teachers who can’t reach the youth should admit failure and allow someone else the opportunity to get the job done because the consequences of failure are bigger threats to America’s future than the Taliban. 

While I won’t say it, some friends think the answer starts with encouraging less than bright people to refrain from populating the nation with idiots.  We have all been riding in a car and saw rough-looking teens courting and someone said, “let’s hope they don’t have a child because that gene pool is polluted.”  I can see it in their eyes; a disconnect from a functioning value system and the inability to determine appropriate social behavior.  What’s sad is that many will ended up in shackles like the ones we worked hard to throw off.  I can’t watch that happen. 

To end on a positive note, it feels good when a young adult stops me and say thanks for trying to talk some sense into his head during his teen years.  I say no problem, it is the least I can do since folks talked to me during my teen years and if you get really rich buy me a pontoon boat.

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Young Cons rapping on Huckabee Show

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , on June 15, 2009| 3 Comments »

Blog contributor HBA said she saw Young Cons on the Fox channel.  Megan Fox or Vivica Fox has her own channel and Huckabee has a show there.  Kidding aside, it’s is cool that rapping as a medium grown from the streets of New York to every corner of the nation and globe. 

I have been in the developing world and some lovely woman says in broken English that hip hop and the urban struggle is similar to their struggle with their oppressors.  While I am from the rural area, who am I to argue with a local.  I might as well claim to assisting with the creation of hip hop the same summer I helped Al Gore create the internet.

But, I still won’t turn my baseball cap to the side (that’s un-American and disrespectful to Jackie Roosevelt Robinson from Cairo, Georgia, and the Negro Leagues.)  And I only turn my cap backwards when I am nailing something in a confined place—HGTV that’s the channel. 

Back to the point, the Young Cons have their message down but should work on their mic skills—rent 8 Mile and watch M flow or better yet check Eric B and Rakim; 3rd Base and Wu Tang Clan.  I am still amazed my Wu Tang Clan’s extensive vocabulary and knowledge so pay attention in school budding rappers.    

Young Con are going to be okay and serve their purpose for them team- peace to them.  Ice-T was wrong to say that Will Smith can’t rap if he is not from ghetto; rap what you know and the children of Black professionals don’t know the struggle…thank heaven. 

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The Libertarian Affect

Posted in Conservative, politics, tagged , , , , on June 15, 2009| 6 Comments »

Incumbents general cruise to victory in Georgia congressional politics but recently Libertarian candidates forced several elections into runoffs where two candidates duke it out without the coattails of their party’s heap in their corners.

How many Democrats voted for Rep. Jim Marshall during the Obama wave last November but could not pick him out of a lineup?  Actually, I am wrong about that because TV viewers saw the 1.3 zillion political ads he ran that never connected him to my guy Obama.  About Obama, while the president is quick to kiss and make nice we will live in this South while he is planning his presidential library on the side of an Hawaiian mountain or in a Kansas cornfield.  President Obama doesn’t have the right to tell me not to be upset that Rep. Jim Marshall never help us get Hillary or him into the White House.

I have been listening to the Libertarians and other “third” parties lately and came to realize that they are often about creating better government and deeper discussions rather than winning elections.  A non-Democrat or non-Republican candidate gets into the debates and asks the real questions about what’s what and if the people are feeling that whole truth thing a runoff is needed and all bets are off.

So Rs and Ds are forcing to make better policy and be fiscally sound now because the people will remember in November after the third party candidate constantly reminds them.  In the past, Rs and Ds could do whatever they wanted because the only other choice was other considerably different.  The Libertarian candidates I have seen in the past, who get their debates suits at Jacque C. Penne, actually thought they were going to win and it turns out they were right because their objective was to improve the accountability of officeholders.       

If a few of those Tea Party guys run for congress next year, things will be interesting for the Blue Dogs and GOPers because those cats have a double barrel shotgun of fact checking.  If you have a Blue Dog in a runoff with a decent GOP candidate because a third party candidate ran well, history has proven that the Democrat base doesn’t come back out. 

On the other hand, the GOP should be concerned about losing supporters who are discovering that our current national crisis is due in large part to Chaney, Rove and congressional Republicans leading W down the wrong path and misleading the people as they planned their cushy post-government careers with elite private sector companies and firms.  What if GOP voters start think, “Wait a second, Bush did do all of this alone..where was the congressional oversight from the Blue Dogs and the GOP.”

For sake of full disclosure, my personal problem with the establishment is that I did get my corner office….yet.  As  rapper Biggie Smalls said, “Call the crib…same number..same hood…it’s all good…and if you don’t know…now you know.”  That’s the unsettling thing about third party movements; they can’t be bought.

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Can Michael Steele and John Boehner Stop GOP Self Destruction?

Posted in African Americans, Georgia, politics, tagged , , , , , , on June 14, 2009| 3 Comments »

I keeping hearing the hook from rap anthem “Self Destruction” when I think about Obama’s concerns for our community.  With elements of Kennedy’s “Ask not what this country can do for you” classic speech, President Obama and his lovely family will outline the formula for better living for those who care about themselves and how we carry ourselves.  However, that same rap hook applies to the self-destruction of the GOP.  

The GOP is working hard to marginalize themselves and doing a fine job.  Alienate Blacks with attacks on Obama, Steele and Powell…check…alienate Hispanics and women with attacks on Sotomayor….check…alienate centrists by pushing Specter away and preparing to attack McCain and the few remaining moderate GOP senators if they voted for Sotomajor’s confirmation….check and checkmate.  You just guaranteed defeat in the midterm elections.  

If the GOP purifies their rank and file, those voters pushed away will natural hang in the center or join the Blue Dog division of the Democrats.  The Blue Dog selection of the Democrat team could therefore grow large enough to counterbalance the far-left urban ultra-liberals and give President Obama the opportunity to be more corn-fed Kansas populist than Chicago rural liberal.  We must remember that Obama created his statewide appeal in Illinois by connecting with the country folks down state. 

While the GOP is counting on the big spending from the White House helping them during the mid-term elections, America might actually like Obama and the Democrats more as the White House slides toward the center.  Cover the children’s eyes because the sight of a dying elephant could traumatize them for life.     

Michael Steele has some elephant-sized EKG paddles in his hands but I don’t think he can get pass those who are in denial about what when wrong in the past or those who don’t want new congressional candidates to be more Sen. Isakson smooth and less Fox News bitter. They could pick up three House seats in Georgia just by reading this blog. 

The House Minority Leader John Boehner recently said what…I can’t believe it…no he didn’t…he told the truth.    

Boehner: ‘Digging Ourselves Out of a Deep Hole’ – George’s Bottom Line

“We’re digging ourselves out of a deep hole,” he admitted.  “We took it in the shorts with Bush-Cheney, the Iraq War, and by sacrificing fiscal responsibility to hold power.”  Boehner also acknowledged that the GOP hasn’t done a good enough to job shaking the “party of no” label. 

Rep. Boehner outlined his positive strategy turning things around but I think he needs some fresh face with encouraging vibes.  Michael Steele should consider the following a personal gift from me: in Georgia, getting Austin Scott,  Deborah Honeycutt into the correct congressional races would be your best spot at picking up seats by pulling voters from Blue Dogs.

As the Republicans taught the Democrats in the 90s, voters are reluctant to vote out incumbents from the party controlling the power in Washington.  The GOP can’t win any congressional races in Georgia without producing Obama and dare I say Palin like popular, fresh candidates.

We know that traditionally Organized Labor and the Trial Lawyers controlled the Democrats with money and the Faith community and big business did the same for the Republicans.  Obama got most of his money from the people so after all this bailout stuff he should do what the people want if he wants a second term.  (And I am not sure he actually does.  Maybe he wants to change the whole game with sweeping reforms without concern for reelection..walking away on top of the game like Jim Brown.  Is that the secret deal he cut with Hillary?)

What would happen if the faith community created a third party?  Who would be left in the GOP?  Hear me: embrace some less bitter GOP candidates now or suffer the consequences.

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Shep Smith in Wolf Blitzer clothing

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , on June 12, 2009| 2 Comments »

shep1sept25

I am watching MSNBC and wishing that they don’t be come the left version of Fox News.  Keith Olberman and Bill O’Reilly are both journalists to me but Rachel Maddow is starting to smirk in a way that is as negative as those people on Fox in the morning—two wrong does not make….

Shep Smith, currently of Fox News, is going through some things with the far right because he has evidently grown weary of twisting the truth and pushing propaganda—good for you Shep.  It had to be Smith who announced that Obama was president on Fox News that night because anyone else’s head would have exploded.  I am no expert but there is a line between reporting the news and facts as a journalist and some form of news entertainment that doesn’t follow the appropriate code of reporting ethics.  (i.e. MSNBC’s the Ed Show.)

The one that gets me most of all is Michelle Malkin, blogger turn Fox News talking head.  She is clearly a bright woman who at some point decided she would write or say whatever took her to fame and fortune.  She puts me in the mind of southern political leaders from the last century who were raised loving their family housekeepers (who look like me) but would say the ugliest things about all members of my community who get ahead politically and get rich.  The type who made a tennis court out of the local swimming pool the day the order came that Blacks citizens had a right to dive-in.  That would be the same day I decide be a tennis player so thanks.  If they turn the court into a polo field, I give up.  

Like George Wallace, many of those so-called leaders would have a change of heart as their death approached; don’t want to explain that stuff before the pearly gates.  To be fair, the hate speakers who look like me often have their change of heart also.  A date with hell is a natural laxative.

Here something interesting: what is the first institution of higher education in America to admit Black students in 1835?  Michelle Malkin’s alma mater Oberlin College of Ohio.  But, they welcome her on-campus speaking dates because decent people like dialog and discourse.  

When you are pitifully poor (old school Black college term), some decision must be made and people weight their personal integrity against pending financial doom; what profits a man to gain the whole world…. 

This blog acknowledged John McCain’s efforts to dial down the rhetoric last year; rhetoric that would compel the sickest minds to get on a rooftop and turn their baseball caps backwards…you know the rest.  It’s good to be a moderate because the extremists on the far-left and far-right take recreational “hate speak” as a call to arms.  

Wolf, is there room in CNN’s Situation Room for a Shepard? 

Conservatives Attack Fox’s Shep Smith — Politics Daily

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Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Karen Handel on Helen Blocker Adams Radio Show Friday at Noon

Posted in Georgia, politics, Republican, tagged on June 11, 2009| 2 Comments »

Handel and Helen at GOP State Convention

Handel and Helen at GOP State Convention

Helen Block Adams (HBA) sits down with Georgia Secretary of State and Candidate for Governor Karen Handel at high noon on Friday.  I bet HBA will have all the candidates for governor before the end of the year. 

In my opinion, a party that seems stagnate could use some fresh blood with a woman perspective for governor and/or congress (stay tune for something big…hopefully.)  You have the Nathan Deal crew, the Eric Johnson crew, the Ox crew, and the Austin Scott youth crew before you get to the drama on the Democratic side. We will see.  The GOP should learn that you get more people with honey than cutting them down and the Dems need to learn that our community won’t always be marshalled around.

Listen online

http://www.newsradio1230.com/

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Healthcare Debate: Misinformation

Posted in politics, tagged , on June 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Here we go again, advocates on both sides of the healthcare system reform debate are posturing with untruths and misinformation.  To be clear, there is a difference between being mistaken and knowingly lying to protect your personal financial interests.  It’s a dirty game. 

Despite the talking points, there is no way in Hades that people with real money will be forced to have second rate insurance coverage.  Period.  If the White House or congressional Democrats push a system that removes an individual’s right to select their doctor, count me out.  I want to hear some tough talk and action on those who have income and choose to buy everything under the sun (jewelry, bass boats, rims, giant T.Vs) but run to the hospital hoping the Hippocratic Oath can save them on a technicality.  A system is badly broken if a working poor person should become unemployed to qualify for better coverage.

At the risk of oversimplifying the discussion, we should aim toward a minimum coverage similar to mandatory car insurance and the penalty for opting out is…rest in peace.

I was excited to read President Obama second book because good old common sense tells us that regular doctor visits and checkups detect problems early before the need for expensive and serious procedures.  When Newt Gingrich was speaker, he wanted a system that rewarded fitness, cleaner living and better diet.  Under that proposal, a person without a major healthcare cost in five years would not pay premiums or was on some level vested. 

How many people take better care of their cars than their bodies?  In a free society if you decided to eat, smoke, and drink whatever you want, you went out as you wanted with clogged arteries and a smile on your greasy face.

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Joe Scarborough and the GOP: Start with Temperament

Posted in Conservative, politics, Republican, tagged , , on June 9, 2009| 2 Comments »

Former GOP congressman, turned author and T.V. guy Joe Scarborough has the formula for fixing his party and “hateorade” is not in the mix.  In his new book, The Last Best Hope outlines a technique for debating issues in a substantive matter without the bitter temperament that helped drive America into President Obama loving arms.  Is Obama the nicest person ever?

Scarborough always points out that President Reagan did not walk around with a heart full of hate like many leaders today.  My personal list of cool temperament politicians from Georgia would include Senator Sam Nunn, Senator Johnny Isakson, and Rep. Sanford Bishop.  The next group of Georgia GOP congressional leaders could include a woman or two with the same vibe if they were smart enough to look in the correct places.

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Disney Princess and Black Royalty

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on June 8, 2009| 1 Comment »

The fact that I am seriously thinking about the new Disney movie “The Princess and the Frog” is indication that I really need to get a life.  My sister is one of the Black parents who wrote Disney for years looking for a Black princess.  This sister took me to see “Tales of the South” which came from the stories of Joel Chandler Harris of Eatonton, Georgia. 

Eatonton, Georgia, has the historic significance of having an ancient Native American Rock Eagle.  The monument is surrounded by a 4-H camp and the tower overlooking the giant rock eagle is where I had one of my first real kiss.  No, the girl did not turn into a frog.  

We now know that Harris’s Uncle Remus cloaked racism designed to plant seeds of continued subjugation in our little Black heads under our big afros—not real; I just felt like being radical.  That movie was cool with me at the time.  Eatonton’s other famous author is Alice Walker gave the world The Color Purple.   When I was young, we wondered why Walker “had to” marry a white guy until we learned that her husband was one of the attorneys who would get civil rights workers out of jail in Mississippi at great risk to himself.  Later, we wondered why Walker “was kicking it” with singer Tracy Chapman.  Like most people, if I spent more time minding my business and staying out of other people’s business, I would be better off.  

Okay, I had a crush on Walker with her sexy dreads back in the day.  You know the Street Committee says “Black don’t crack” and the list of famous Black women my friends and I still wonder about being “too old to date” is long…how old are Lena Horne and Diane Carroll again.

I was told a coworker that a sister in the office did not need to be a peanut, watermelon, or cotton princess because she was an African queen before we arrived in America.  But, my biological sister and many other professional Black mothers are deep into this Disney princess stuff for their daughters like fathers wanting their sons to play for the Gators, Bulldogs, or Irish rather than Howard or FAMU.  Are they living vicariously through their children? 

In college, I heard that Walt Disney had race issues and the witches and villains in some of those movies seem to have anti-Semitic undertones.  Anyway, I have to tell my niece her name Maddy will not be the name for the new Disney princess as earlier planned;  It has been changed to Tiana.  Blame President Barrack Hussein Obama for that since he leads the liberal media and the Hollywood elite.

Maybe I am being overly sensitive but I never really like referring to the Kennedy era as Camelot or to the Obama era as New Camelot.  We are in a democracy with no kings, queens and royalty.  While there were and are African kings and queens, some of the those leaders were as psychotic as the detested colonialists.  If that movie was correct, the great Shaka Zulu buried many people alive with his dead mother Nandi so she would have servants in the next life.  

During the mourning period Shaka ordered that no crops should be planted during the following year, no milk (the basis of the Zulu diet at the time) was to be used, and any woman who became pregnant was to be killed along with her husband. Massacres were carried out of those deemed insufficiently grief-stricken, though it wasn’t restricted to them, and cows were slaughtered so that their calves would know what losing a mother felt like.  You can keep your royalty. 

Who Needs a Black Princess Anyway? We All Do – BV Black Spin

Black Don’t Crack: Fabulous Celebs Over 50 | News | BET.com

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The Art of War

Posted in politics, tagged on June 7, 2009| 19 Comments »

In politics and business, the high points of The Art of War can be useful if not essential.

The Art of War

By Sun Tzu

18. All warfare is based on deception.

19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

20. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

21. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.

22. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

23. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.

24. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
25. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.

11. What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.

12. Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor credit for courage.

13. He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.

14. Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.

15. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

29. Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards.

30. So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.

31. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.

32. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.

33. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.

21. Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.

28. Now a soldier’s spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is bent only on returning to camp.

29. A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return. This is the art of studying moods.

32. To refrain from intercepting an enemy whose banners are in perfect order, to refrain from attacking an army drawn up in calm and confident array:–this is the art of studying circumstances.

33. It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill.

34. Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not attack soldiers whose temper is keen.

35. Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.

36. When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

11. The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.

41. He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them.

31. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.

15. Those who were called skillful leaders of old knew how to drive a wedge between the enemy’s front and rear; to prevent co-operation between his large and small divisions; to hinder the good troops from rescuing the bad, the officers from rallying their men.

60. Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy’s purpose.

4. Thus, what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.

5. Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits; it cannot be obtained inductively from experience, nor by any deductive calculation.

6. Knowledge of the enemy’s dispositions can only be obtained from other men.

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Congressional Courtesy and Georgia Women in Congress

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on June 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush’s personal history includes being born in Albany, Georgia and time in the Black Panther Party.  While working for Albany State University, I bumped into Rush coming out of the old Broad Street Bistro downtown.  When I called him congressman, he was surprised to be recognized in south Georgia. Unfortunately, he was in town for the burial of his father and said that Rep. Sanford Bishop made the customary congressional courtesy offer of putting his local office at Rush’s disposal during his visit to the district. 

Congressional courtesy is a classy gesture that is quickly vanishing.  Traditionally, the same consideration applies on the staff level.  Recently, I bumped into Bishop’s District Director at a function and he listened to my laundry list of policy concerns in the parking lot because that is what staff does for former staffer or those who are “informed constituents.”  This director’s counterpart to the east makes it a hobby to not humor this particular former colleague—alright then. 

Bobby Rush has the distinction of being the last opponent to defeat President Barrack Obama.  After the 2000 congressional race, Obama regrouped and did well for himself.  Rush spoke to our Black congressional staff organization once and told us that he was late for a Panther meeting that ended up in a conflict with the authorities; he might have been dead or in prison if he was on time that day.

Rush said that the Panthers felt that Blacks in America were similar to a trained elephant in the circus.  A baby elephant is tethered to a steel rod in the ground and taught to walk in a circle.  After the animal grows into a massive giant, the trainers can push the rod into the ground with their hands only because the trained mind of the elephant does not realized it could simple free itself by recognizing it’s powerful potential.  

Rep. Rush also told the sad story of baby elephant being found next to their mothers’ bodies after ivory hunter killed the mother.  Babies elephants have been discovered dying of dehydration while standing in the river.  The mother was slaughter before teaching the young one to reach down and drink.  Rush’s parallels between the Black community and elephants were classics.  

This blog’s foundation is political diversity because different voices and histories at the table create better discussions and better solutions.  Judge Sonia Sotomayor needs to stop back peddling on her statement that her Latina experiences brings different judicial perspective to the table or bench. 

To use a worn term, she is uniquely qualified and I will be smiling when the next election brings a less bitter GOP House member or maybe a woman into the Georgia delegation.  Georgia has only had six women in congresss and three of them serve less than a year.  If Bobby Rush can go from Black Panther to congress then Georgia should have more than three females in Congress since World War II.   It’s not affirmative action to think that the Georgia delegation’s vibe is a little testosterone-driven.   

http://womenincongress.house.gov/data/wic-by-state.html

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President Obama’s Islam Speech and the Two-State Solution

Posted in politics, tagged , , on June 4, 2009| 4 Comments »

obamacairo

Muhammad Ali once said the problem with Atlanta is that it is surrounded by Georgia but the Two-State Solution is not about our state and the “Cairo” President Obama is visiting is not in syrup-making Grady County. 

The comprehensive speech President Obama made today outlines the history of Islam that was not covered in my comprehensive high school.  Obama’s personal history uniquely qualifies him to mend the damaged relationship between America and the Muslim World.  But, he did not blink regarding our support for Israel’s right to peaceful exist.  What Obama did today was less John Wayne cowboy mentality and more Sidney Poitier 60s smooth.

I wonder how many southerners recognize that Abraham had two sons –Isaac and Ishmael—and that Ishmael is a prophet in Islam.   

Genesis 21:17-21 (New International Version)

 17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

President Obama is correct in supporting the Two-State Solution for Israel and Palestine because that conflict needs resolution.  At the risk of hyperbole, Obama speech on Islam and the Muslim world is one of the top ten presidential speeches of all time to me and could “simmer down” our conflict with the followers of that faith.   I particularly liked the way our president used passages from the Quran and Holy Bible to illustrate that terror was wrong.   

 Peace

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A Debate in Cyberspace on SPLOST VI

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on June 4, 2009| 11 Comments »

Seems I’ve been on the frontlines of politics lately. Umm.. Wednesday night,  I was on the air with Herman Cain and this coming Monday afternoon, it will be a cyberspace online debate with a local Liberterian on an important Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST VI)upcoming vote. See article below from the Augusta Chronicle. http://www.augustachronicle.com

P.S. By the way, that photo was from my 2005 Mayoral race in Augusta…

Coming Monday: online SPLOST debate

Posted by Johnny Edwards on June 03, 2009 – 5:18 PM

SPLOST VI – a mean, lean infrastructure package, or chock full of pork?

A good way to keep property taxes down, or yet another government mechanism for fleecing the people?

Back on track now that the Augusta Commission has made progress on the TEE center, or doomed because commissioners did too little too late?

So far, about 400 people have cast early ballots on the city’s proposed $184.7 million special-purpose sales tax package, which goes to the polls citywide on July 16. For the benefit of the remaining registered voters – about 10 to 15 percent of whom are expected to take part in the referendum – The Augusta Chronicle will hold an online debate on the merits of SPLOST VI on Monday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., moderated by yours truly.

In one corner, representing the “No SPLOST” crowd, will be Libertarian Party of the CSRA Chairman Rocky Eades. This will be the first time any Libertarian anywhere has been permitted to take part in a debate in the United States. Not really, but I do believe it’s high-time the nation’s third-largest party had a voice in national and local political forums.

In the other corner, from the “yes to SPLOST” viewpoint, will be Helen Blocker-Adams, former mayoral candidate, host of “People and Issues with Helen” on NewsRadio WNRR-AM (1230) and one of the Garden’s City’s sharpest pundits. Far from a tax-and-spend liberal, Ms. Blocker-Adams was a speaker at the Augusta Tax Day Tea Party at at Riverwalk Augusta’s Jessye Norman Amphitheater in April.

The debate will unfold on our Web site in a live chat format. To follow along or take part, go to http://augustachronicle.com/metro.

So long as you’re logged on to our site, you can submit questions as we go which I will selectively pose to the participants. (Stick to the subject matter, be civil and no profanity.) Questions can also be submitted in advance though a link already up on the Metro page.

I’ll also take early questions at my e-mail address, johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com. To preserve the integrity of the debate, please don’t post your questions on this blog. At least not if you want me to use them.

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Helen Blocker Adams on Herman Cain Radio Show tonight

Posted in politics, tagged on June 3, 2009| 4 Comments »

Project Logic Ga Contributor Helen Blocker Adams will be on the Herman Cain Radio show tonight at 8p.m. on wsb radio.  I first met Helen when we were trying to push political diversity by get our community to consider Cain for Senate.  Where have the years gone?

 

Helen Blocker-Adams will be a guest on the Herman Cain Show.

Topic: Independent Politics

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

8 p.m. EST

www.wsbradio.com

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